Today I thought, “What was life like before?” and to be perfectly honest, I do not remember and cannot fathom a life without Emi. I mean, I did stuff and it was things I enjoyed, but now I do the same stuff, just with Emi beside me. And I cannot imagine doing it without her. We go shopping together – Emi loves touching clothes and grabbing them, which makes me convinced she is going to be an even better shopping buddy later! -, run errands, and just enjoy every moment together. So what is the daily life of Emi? She wakes up, eats, goes to her swimming class, takes a bath, has lunch, takes a nap, and plays, plays, plays until it is time for dinner and her night time bath. We vary the routine every now and then, but for the most part it is all about spending this summer vacation with her. Once the swimming lessons are done, I definitely want to take Emi to the zoo, aquarium, park…I just want to squeeze everything in before I have to return back to work. (Double sad face) I want to absorb it all inbecause being home with her is absolutely amazing and it allows me to see her grow and progress each and every single day.
So Emi is crawling…to an extent. I call it the army one-legged trench crawl. That is how she gets around. She literally crawls on her elbows and only uses her right leg. Despite just using one leg, she can go across her room or the rug in the living room pretty quickly. Once she figures out how to use both of them it is only a matter of time before she gets into everything. She already has her eye on the tv stand and the contents of it. In addition to crawling, Emi has figured out how to prop herself up on her knees to peer into things or grab for toys. Emi hasn’t quite figured out how to pull herself up yet, but similar to full on crawling, she is going to figure it out very soon. Even though she doesn’t know how to pull herself up, Emi can bear weight on her feet and can stand up on her own, propped up against her toy table. She doesn’t use the walker yet only because she is much more fascinated with reaching over the walker to push all the buttons. It is pretty funny.
I have given up on “crying it out.” The first time was so difficult and I stuck through it. It worked for three whole days and then it went back to Emi waking up once in the middle of the night/morning. It literally made my stomach hurt hearing her cry so I decided not to do it again. Emi just is not the type who cries for no reason. When she is riding in the car, she doesn’t even make a peep and you can easily believe she is sleeping peacefully. Nope. She just stares into the mirror, looks at the animals hanging, and sucks her thumb. Emi only makes a sound when it is time to get out of the car. It is the same thing when I have to quickly shower after swimming. She just hangs out in her bouncer and patiently waits. So Taro and I just feel that if she is crying in the middle of the night, Emi must need something. So that is our attempt at “crying it out.”
The only other thing with Emi is that she now has her seventh tooth. Yes, seven! When I was a baby, my mom told me my first tooth popped out at 10 months. And look at Emi – 7! The latest tooth did irritate Emi, but even still, no fever and just mild crankiness. I think we are really lucky that her teeth really do not bother her. And since she has all these teeth, she loves to crunch down on the puffs and chew her food. Luckily Emi has progressed beyond the peas and now enjoys pasta, porridge, and clementines! If you know me, I love clementines and bring a baggie of them to work every day. Is it any surprise that Emi likes them, too?
Emi is getting longer and is able to grip her legs around my waist now. When I stand her up I just imagine what it will be like to hold her hand while she walks next to me. I know I have said it before, but it is going by so so fast. She is not going to be a baby anymore so I must enjoy this last month of vacation that I have with her.
Or perhaps I will just bring her to work with me. Until next month with the big 11!
I love this picture of Emi because I caught her saying, “Ohhhhhhh.”
Emi has now decided that when I try to take photos of her, her goal is to grab the hood of the lens. It definitely makes it much more challenging to take pictures now! However, it did not stop me from taking photos of her in this ladybug outfit, which was a gift from friends in Japan!
Yes. This is extremely late, but I have been busy ever since my summer vacation began! Not only was there Napa, but a photo session and currently, swimming lessons every morning! There have also been random outings with Emi so I have to say, my vacation is absolutely fantastic. So what is new in Emi’s world? To go a little beyond her 9 month mark, she is officially just a scooter. She knows how to lean and get on her tummy to reach for toys, but crawling is still not of an interest. In fact, she dislikes being on her stomach so much that Emi has learned how to raise herself with her arms, scoot back, do the splits – I am not joking about doing the splits which is amazing to watch! – and sit herself right back up. No matter how many times I put her in the crawling position, she sits right back up and continues doing what she was doing. I am sure she will crawl…one day. I know it is going to be right before I have to call her pediatrician so as of now, I am not too worried. Perhaps she’ll walk first…or not. I think she just likes sitting and hanging out. The funny thing is everyone says to enjoy it before she gets mobile because once she is, there is no stopping her. However, then people ask, “Why isn’t she crawling or walking yet? Is she lazy?” I’ve learned that you just have to shrug it all off. Emi is going to move at her own pace and I am okay with it. She always laughs and has a smile for me and that beats crawling.
Emi is expanding her “vocabulary” beyond ba-ba-ba, which is a sound that I find adorable. Today she started saying ma-ma-ma and meh-meh-meh. She mixes in the “b” sound and alternates to compose a sentence in baby talk. It is pretty darn cute. Another sound that she started recently making is ohhhhhh with the pursed lips. It was funny because she first did it when she saw the box of Friskies food for Peanut. After that, when Emi’s ball rolls away, she makes the same sound. Emi is definitely going to be a talker.
And she is definitely going to be a swimmer. (Possibly following in mommy and Auntie Kris’ footsteps?) She absolutely loves the water and I am glad we are in the mommy and me class. Emi kicks her feet, splashes and twirls her arms, and gets her face all wet. She even starts talking and slowly gets louder with her ahhhhhh as we go back and forth in the pool. She is the loudest one and usually initiates the other two babies to join in. I cannot wait until next summer when she is in Tiny Tots and I can watch and photograph her!
Emi now officially has 6 teeth. Her sixth one broke today and day by day, her top two front teeth are slowly coming down. Despite having plenty of teeth, she still isn’t a big eater and favors eating oatmeal, fresh fruit, bread, and cereal puffs. I have given up on baby food because Emi simply just doesn’t like it. That’s okay, though. We can now share apricots, peaches, and fresh bread together! (She especially likes the brioche from 85 Degrees Bakery!)
Time is going by so fast and 10 months is literally right around the corner. Taro and I are already starting to think about her 1st birthday because I know it will just sneak up on us. Just imagining Emi turning one is crazy. Again, where did the time go?!? This really is an awesome adventure with her and I am just glad that we have the entire summer to spend together. I love it.
Emi and her favorite uncle!
Emi and friends! Jen and Danny came down from up north and we were able to meet their lil’ one, Alyssa. In addition, we were able to hang out with Muhammad, Suzy, Maryam, and Karim. Hopefully all the kids will be great friends.
Pictures taken from Day 2 of Mommy and Me class.
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