Emmet at One Year Old

This post is officially titled "Emmet at One Year Old" but an alternative title could have easily been, "Leah forces Emmet to wear a party hat and take a buttload of pictures while Emmet consumes the remote to his moon in my room...on his first birthday"... but I decided that it might be too wordy. Emmet woke up around 6:30 on his birthday on Tuesday and rather than being disgruntled about being woken up before 7:30, I was so excited to see him! I sprung out of bed at the first sound that I heard and pulled him out of his bed before he could get into his usual open/close the bedroom door until Mom comes to get him routine. He admittedly was a little disappointed, as opening and closing doors is currently one of his favorite activities, but we moved on with our day anyways. I changed him into his birthday clothes (of which there were 4 different outfits throughout the day- not because I planned it that way but because he is everywhere and in everything) and set up our photo backdrop and began snapping pictures before the coffee was even made. Let me just tell you right now. When planning and getting your hopes up about how your first birthday photos will turn out... stop. They won't be how you are picturing them at all, but they will still be adorable and even more authentic. Emmet was all over the place the entire time. We stopped and started as we needed too to make sure he stayed happy, after all it was his birthday. He didn't cooperate with any of the "staged" photos I had intended to do and instead all he wanted to do was chew on the remote to his moon in my room... but I like them even better. They are Emmet in his silly little all of over the place one year old glory. Just how I want to remember him how he was on his birthday.

Emmet at One Year Old:
-This little boy is GROWING. I find it so funny how much it changes here and there. Last well check they were worried about his weight and made us come in a week later to make sure he was gaining and this time he gained THREE POUNDS! Emmet now weighs 19 pounds and 15 ounces and is 29 inches long. He is quickly outgrowing his 12-18 month clothes, we've been frantically stocking up on the next size! I'm not loving the fact that the next size goes up to 24 whole months. I know the sizes don't directly correlate with their age, especially since Emmet is on the small end of babies his age and is already in "18-24" months. But still. Little bubba slow down.
-Emmet eats almost* everything! It is so nice to just be able to feed him whatever we are having. He likes almost all of the food we put in front of him and eats a TON of it! He once took down an entire Prairie Harvest Bierock (a meat and cabbage filled roll for those who are unaware) which has an approximate 5 inch diameter and is 3 inches tall and is about the size of his little baby old man gut. It was very impressive. His current favorites are Macaroni and Cheese, Cereal Bars, Chipotle, and Cinnamon Rolls. He throws his food and gets it all over himself and even lets Moose like it out of his hands. And when he is done he uses his little arms and hands like windshield wipers and knocks the rest of the food off onto the floor. *almost being when I go out of my way to prepare a delicious and nutritious meal and feel really good about myself for being a great momma, it is the one meal he won't even touch. 
-Emmet has 4 teeth with two more coming! The first to come in were his bottom two middle teeth... the two heart melty ones that get me every time he opens his mouth. He loves to dig them into the chair upholstery and bite and pull on them like a puppy. We frown about it but still find it secretly hilarious. The next two were his two upper 2nd teeth, making him look like  a little vampire. He's been a vampire now for a few months, until just recently his front to teeth decided to start peeking through his gums. 
-In the last few months since we last did a major update Emmet has gone from belly crawling to crawling on all fours. He even goes into super speed which involves crawling with one leg stuck all the way out to the side. He crawls underthings and over the bars on the high chair. He can get pretty much anywhere he wants but he often gets stuck and needs Mommy's help getting back out.
-Emmet is pretty much walking! He can now take several steps all on his own which much less wobbling. He loves to walk around holding one of my hands... and I love how tightly he holds on. We explore the house and yard together until he spots something he wants and plops down onto the floor. He walks with his Hape walker toy and pushes the dining room chairs from one side of the room to the other. He has even started to CLIMB! which will cause trouble here very soon.
​-He has said a few words! "Dada" came first and I was too proud to be jealous, plus "Mama" followed shortly after. I also swear that he says/can say and chooses not to "Hi," "Up," and I promise you he once said "Banana" clear as day. Fart sounds are his favorite though. He makes fart sounds all day long. Sometimes it is the only way we can make it all the way home from daycare/work with out him screaming. We just both make fart sounds continuously for 10 minutes. Its not weird.
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-A List of Things Emmet Loves:

• He kicks his little legs and breathes really funny right before the food hits his tray when its time to eat.
• Waking Dada up in the morning. He speed crawls over to him and smacks him on the face and yells until Dave wakes up. I think it is HILARIOUS. Dave not so much.
• (assisted) Jumping on the Bed/Couch
• When Moose does anything. He throws the ball for Moose and laughs hysterically when Moose runs around the yard. The other day he even tried to eat Mooses' tail. Which was adorable and hilarious as it sounds (for now)
• He loves playing with wooden blocks and stacking toys. He crawls all around to find them and loves the sounds they make as they hit the floor. He has even started stacking toys and putting things in other things. Experimenting with where things go and what fits together.
• Drumming on the toilet lid and unrolling the toilet paper roll
• Adjusting the settings/volume on the TV sound system
• Dropping toys/books behind the subwoofer/media stand
• Pulling all of the craft supplies off of my new handy dandy craft cart. Ribbons and Yarn are his favorite.
• Opening and closing all of the doors in the house. 
• His Blanket! He loves his blanket. In the morning I'll find him standing at the edge of his crib, blanket in hand, waiting for me to come pick him up and he brings his blankie with him. At night I tuck him in and pull it up to his cheeks and he falls right asleep. 

I love my little boy and the current stage he is at! It is so fun to watch him grow and figure out new things. His personality is really starting to grow and we love getting to know him even more! Yes, somedays are hard and sometimes he is grouchy or just high pitched screams for no reason. But I wouldn't trade in any of our memories. I love him so much.