I know it's been awhile now since I've posted. By the time I get home from school, I have no energy and I still have to take care of Emmerson. Believe me, she definitely keeps us busy. You'll see why soon.
But first...thought I'd update those of you who read my blog but don't get to see her often.
Oh our sweet Emmerson. She's twenty months and growing by leaps and bound...waaaay too fast, if you ask me. It seems like she adds a few words to her vocabulary every single day and it never ceases to amaze us how incredibly smart she is. I know I sound biased since I'm her mommy, but her daycare teachers and nursery workers have also said the same thing. Those kinds of things just make a mommy proud. Our little "Boo Boo" can say a few simple sentences like "Sit up", "Get down", No, no, Bay-yee (Baylee, our dog)", "I seepy (sleepy)", "Tiss (kiss) boo boo" and her newest from tonight, "I show Daddy" and "I show Mommy." She can identify all of her body parts and even a few animals and their sounds such as dog, cat, horse, sheep, and cow. We are working on her manners and she is getting pretty good at remembering to say please and thank you, which end up sounding like "Pees" and "Day-doo." Emmerson is very independent and loves to read and play by herself. We are SO thankful for that. When I read her favorite book to her, I'll leave out the last word of the sentence and she'll what they are supposed to be. She is truly a little comedian and will do anything for a laugh, even if it means repeating someone else's words. Currently, her favorite things include running, jumping, watching Praise Baby, singing, reading, being with family, playing peek-a-boo, and climbing.
Climbing. Like all toddlers love to do, especially her. Apparently, she loves it SO much, that last night, she decided to take it to the next level....FROM HER CRIB.
Yes, you read that right. If you know Emmerson at all, you knew it'd happen one day (and pretty soon, too). She didn't do it just once, mind you. The little escapee got out THREE TIMES.
The first time it happened, dh was in the living room and I was on the computer. Emmerson was in her crib and supposed to be SLEEPING. All of a sudden, I heard a "THUD" and ran into her room. "OH MY GOOOOOOSH!" was the first thing I said when I saw Emmerson standing on the floor looking at her crib with an expression of, "Holy Cow! Did I just escape?!" I asked her how she got out of there, but she ignored me and decided to lie flat on her stomach with her arms and legs spread out like she was swimming. All I could do was laugh. Dh came in and we just stared at one another, our eyes saying, "The time has finally come."
We wanted to see how the little escapee did it, so dh put her back in her crib and caught this second crib escape on video.
Simple. Just like that. We've been calling her Houdini lately. She can get out of ANYthing. Just yesterday, she slid her way out of her stroller. Twice.
After realizing that she might be climbing out all night, we decided to tie her crib bumpers to the top of the crib rails and head/footboards to ban her from using them to climb out. Through the crack of the door and the lights off, we watched our little monkey swing her long leg over the crib rail and scale down the front of the crib with ease. UNbelievable.
What to do now? I regularly read a blog that a mother of quads writes. Once her little toddlers came to the age of crib-climbing, she got advice from other quad mommies to take the cribs out and just use the mattresses and get them used them as beds. Of course, everything not toddler-friendly had to be taken out for safety purposes. And so, even though we don't have quads (whew!), we decided to use this advice, and that is exactly what we did last night. We took out ALL of her baskets of toys and the bookshelf (that isn't bolted to the wall). We had to turn her nightstand around facing the wall so she wouldn't open the door. Her lamp was taken out too and any outlets were safety-plugged. We took her mattress out of her crib and put it in the middle of the floor. No sense in putting her back IN b/c she'd climb out all night and we wouldn't get ANY sleep. All that was left in there was the glider, nightstand, dresser, and crib.
Her bookcase, baskets, and toys were put out in the hallway.
Our little angel asleep in her new "bed".
All the extras were thrown into the crib.
Her room is starting to look bare.
It didn't take too long for her to finally go to sleep. Today we took the bed apart and it's going upstairs until it's needed again (not for awhile).
Emmerson isn't the only one going through change. SO AM I!!! I had a huge mommy meltdown last night! Hearing Em run to the door, screaming to get out, just broke my heart. I guess when she does it in the crib, it's not as bad b/c she can't get out. She literally pounded on the door. It's worse now that she can run to the door and I had to shut it for the first time so she couldn't get out. Oh, she finally fell asleep after about thirty minutes.
But it.was.hard.
I went to bed before dh and once he came to bed, he heard me crying. I vented to him the whole, "She's growing up so fast and is not a baby anymore. " Oh, I'm tearing up right now just typing this. I know with the first, everything is a huge milestone because you've never experienced it before. Don't even get me started on potty-training. Oh, I'll be a complete mess with that too. I was crying about that as well. What I'll miss most is patting her cute little bootie and hearing the little diaper sound.
It's funny that just the other day, we were like, "What are we going to get Emmerson for Christmas?" Now we know. A bed. We're going to go ahead and get a twin bed and get guard rails so we won't have to worry w/ spending money on a toddler one. Gosh, she's gonna look so tiny in that bed.
Putting her down for a nap today was a mess...more so for me. I told her to lay down on her bed (mattress w/ sheets and blankets...it's not like a prison cell....lol) and she wouldn't. I thought I'd try the hard way and took all of her stuffed animals and her lovey (she calls it Bun-Bun), thinking that she'd lie down right away if I did. Nope. It took about an hour and a half for her to finally get to bed, but she did and slept for about two and a half hours.
I thought tonight was going to be another hard night. Earlier we had moved her mattress where the crib used to be and made up her "bed." Once we started winding down for bed, we read a book in the rocker together and then all three of us said our prayers. I had a nice, snuggly blanket tucked underneath her bed and showed her wear to lie down on her pillow. She's only known the comforts of her crib. We did our hugs and kisses and then I quickly ran out of the room with an "I love you" on the way out. She ran to the door, screaming, but calmed down in a matter of minutes. We peeked in a little later and guess where she was...in her bed, under the blanket, head on the pillow, with a book on her chest. That's how I always fell asleep too...when I had been studying, at least.
Awwwwww, right?
The room is actually dark. I just had the flash on.
I gently took the book away and pulled the blanket up to her neck and tiptoed back out, closing the door behind me. Mission accomplished!! Let's hope this keeps up! Guess we'll need to tire her out every night before bedtime. hehe We decided that we're going to continue letting her get used to her own area and let her sleep on the mattress while we look for a twin-sized bed in the meantime.
Please pray for me, as it is harder on me than Emmerson, because I'm having to face the fact that she is growing up and not a little baby anymore. Transitions and new milestones are NOT easy for first-time moms, at least not for this one. I've been encouraged by a few to remember to take plenty of pictures and video and cherish the memories we have with her because they really grow up way too fast. It's a bittersweet feeling. When they're a baby, you want them to hurry and get a little bigger so they can do some things on their own. Once that time comes, you hate that they don't need you anymore. I'm looking forward to seeing what God has in store for her, but at the same time, I just want her to stay a little girl forever because I'll know I'll miss those baby "firsts." Sigh.
Does all this emotional babbling mean it's time for another one?
She loved the ferris wheel ride.
"Hello? I'd like to speak to the manager of this place. Some kid keeps bugging me and asking for my tokens."
