January

January 1st! Happy 10 Months!

Emersyn was becoming quite the explorer with her increased confidence in crawling. Typically she would only stay close be me as I worked in the kitchen or spent time on the computer. And, although she preferred close quarters with mom, occasionally she would venture into another room or down the hallway. She usually ended up crying once she realized she was all alone and I would have to call to her until she found her way to me, or just go get her. Chris and I made sure that the house was well baby-proofed. Since Emersyn really like to stick her fingers in little holes all of the outlets were covered. We put locks and the cabinets and started making sure the doors to the bathrooms were closed while she was awake.

It seemed that the gap from rolling to crawling was much bigger than the crawling to cruising transition. Emersyn was standing up on whatever she could pull herself up on. This created a lot of opportunity for slips and falls. Emersyn did get the hang of her walker and with some help starting using it a little more.

One of the biggest changes over the months was the amount of hair that Emersyn had. Among the multiple features that are attributed to Chris is Emersyn's hair. It is blonde and straight, and she even has his hairline on her forehead. Her hair started getting long enough that it would hang in her eyes. Because of the cowlicks it couldn't be brushed to fall in any other direction. In our first attempt to get it out of her eyes we used a bobby-pin, which worked well, but wouldn't stay in.

Emersyn took her first trip to Layton Park to feed the ducks with Grandma D, Tyler and Ainsley. The weather was cold, but it was a great day to get out and play. As is often typical with Emersyn she had to evaluate and take in the new creatures, which she seemed to do for most of the time. I think most of the fun came from seeing Tyler and Ainsley. The biggest smiles came when we went to the park and played on the swings and slide.

Over the week since Emersyn had started getting diarrhea it seemed to increase. We were having to change her clothes every time she pooped. Eventually a diaper rash started to appear. It seemed like the affected area spread from one small area to the entire bottom overnight. The day we drove to Alpine for Fae and Ila's baby blessings it seemed to be at it's worst. Changing a messy diarrhea diaper in the car was difficult for me and painful for Emi. We stopped at a pharmacy on our way home to get some Nystatin, that thankfully Chris could call in. The next day started some serious diaper rash treatment. For most of the day Emersyn played in her pack-n-play with her diaper off. When she did make a mess I had to change the sheets and crib pad, throw it all in the wash, delicately wash Emersyn using a squirt bottle, dry her off with a blowdryer, and then do it all again. The diaper rash regimen and medicated ointment payed off big time and within a couple of days all was clear.

One thing I thought I would never resort to was sticking my child in front of a tv so I could get something done. With Emersyn becoming more and more interested in the world around her, and especially in anything I was doing, getting things done became more of a challenge. So, I did something I thought I was above.

With Tyler and Ainsley having the same routine of having a bath each night it was inevitable that all the days spent at Papa and Grandma D's bath time would become a cousin party in the tub.

Occasionally the increased noise and chaos would get to Emersyn.

One of Emersyn's ways of giving loves was to press her nose up to yours. It was a type of snuggle and hug. Sometimes she would open her mouth and put it over your nose as in a type of kiss. It was a daring move because sometimes she would decide to use those chompers to take a bite. bjk

Emersyn became more of a chatterbox this month. There were less grizzly bear growls and more self conversations. It was fun to hear her talk to herself. At times she would become pretty intense and start yelling about something, only to return to her usual chattering. She was still pretty adept at saying mama and dada. There were undecipherable phrases or words she would say whenever she was in a certain circumstance. When we would go outside, especially at the horse property, Emersyn would make a noise that sounded like 'buh', and would say this continuously, but it didn't seem directed at anything in particular. I figured it was just her excited-to-be-outside noise. It made Chris and I wish we could understand what was going through her head and what she was trying to get out.

At this point Emersyn was still eating mostly baby food

identify nose, but she thinks it's her mouth

waving goodbye

circles on the tile floor

still eating mostly baby food