Everything Emma: A Look Back

So I know I have been a horrible slacker when it comes to my daughters blog and I feel pretty bad about it... I especially feel bad because her one year blog is such a big deal and I completely dropped the ball on it. Since Issac got home from Afghanistan in March life has been busy and I have been so wrapped up in my two loves that Emma's blog has been continually put off. She is now 14 and a half months and I am just now getting around to her one year blog. I suppose that it is better late then never so here it goes!

It is official, we have survived our first year as parents and oh what a ride it has been! Emma is officially out of the baby phase and is now into the toddler phase. Despite the many temper tantrums and the little attitude that comes along with this phase of life, I can honestly say that I am having the time of my life. Every time Emma has progressed into a new stage I have always thought to myself... "There is no way she could ever be more fun than she is now" and "There is no way that I could ever possibly love her more than I do now." As we move from one stage to the next I always come to realize that just like previous stages, the new stage is always another fun ride that I know I am going to miss when it too has passed. Since this update was supposed to take place several months ago I suppose I will update everyone on the progress she had made at that point...

At 12 months old Miss Emma was already quite the talker! Her vocabulary consisted of, "Mama. Dada, no no no no no, Charger, bad dog, bad boy, hi, yay, yea, bye-bye, whoa," and my personal favorite... "What tis' that?" She enjoyed saying "What tis' that" so much in fact that she would sit there pointing at every object in the room while asking "What tis' that." In fact, sometimes she would get so into it that she would just start throwing her hands in the air, point at everything, and simply saying, "That that that that that" while she pointed in every direction. She is still using that phrase frequently but rather than using it as a conversational piece, she now does it because she really wants to know what things are. It is probably one of the cutest things she has said to date.

Another change between months 11 and 12 were teeth! I was starting to wonder if Emma was ever going to cut anymore teeth until a few days before her birthday party when I noticed that teeth number 3 and 4 had finally made their debut! They were barely there but at least they had cut. Poor little one still had to have all of her food pureed into baby food consistency since she did not have enough teeth to chew with.

Like I have said in previous blogs, Emma is a very cautious little girl and appears to always need a plan of action before she does anything. The caution had remained the same as far as her walking was concerned. I had hoped that she would muster up the courage to take her first steps by her first birthday but she decided that she was not quite ready. She was pulling up on everything within arms reach and was cruising all over our furniture and even along the walls but at this point, was just not quite ready to take those first few solo steps. I know that a lot of parents base physical development like crawling and walking on how athletic a child will be later in life but this was not a concern for me because I too, was a late walker and an early talker. Despite not walking until the end of my 13th month I have always been very active, fit, and athletic so I doubt that her being a late walker will have much bearing on her future. Her mental development is what I have always been focused on because of the two year window you are given to actually boost your child's life long IQ.

At one year of age, Emma's love of music had only grown stronger. She and Daddy spend a few hours a week together singing and playing guitar which I believe has only heightened her love of music. She loves sitting out on the front porch working on finger painting masterpieces and enjoys coloring with her markers in her high chair every evening while I cook dinner. Just as in previous months, she loves looking at books and being read to. Issac and I read her 4-5 books every night before bed and I often read her another 2-3 throughout the day while he is at work. Her favorite books are a set of Seasame Street pop-up books that I bought at a resale shop for 50 cent a piece. Nice steal!

These are the major changes that Emma made between months 11 and 12. If I were to go through all of the changes and numerous cute things she does, this would be a very, VERY long blog.

Thank you so much too all of our friends and family who have loved and supported our little princess throughout the past year. Despite the long deployment this has just been an incredible past year, far too wonderful for me to ever put into words. That little girl makes my world go round and I honestly can not imagine (nor would I want to) my life without her. She is the most beautiful little girl inside and out and some days I just do not understand what I did for God to think that I deserved someone so special and so perfect to be my daughter. I love you Emma Reese and I cannot wait to see what this next year has in store for you!

Below is a look back on Emma from the very begging through her first year.

Dec 14 2010

18.5 weeks- the day we found out we were having a girl!

A peek at Emma from inside of the womb

Profile picture from inside the womb

22 weeks pregnant and so excited for her to arrive!

28 weeks pregnant and off to a date night with Daddy

30 weeks pregnant- NC baby shower

32 weeks pregnant- maternity photo shoot

I never thought I would miss being pregnant but looking back, it was actually an incredible experience.

35 weeks pregnant- 3 weeks before delivery!

38 weeks pregnant- less than 48 hours before she was born!

May 3, 2010- 8:55pm

Welcome to this crazy world Emma Reese Ohnheiser

She came 2 weeks early (naturally-no induction) and weighed a whopping 7lbs 10oz and was 21.5 inches in length. I do not even want to think about how big she would have been had I carried her all the was to 40 weeks!