Happy 15 Months Emily!

Today Emily turned 15 months old...so that means off to the doctor tomorrow and yes, even a shot or two. She's going to be getting a new car seat very soon, so we can turn her around. She only weighs 21 pounds, and supposedly the law is 22 pounds and we're perfectly fine with waiting.

She must say like 50 words now. She even says her own name. She yells EMMY EMMY!
Kyle left his job with eServ to take a new position, so that has been quite an adjustment, he actually has to be on time to this job and dress nice! =) But, he really feels like he's a real engineer now, not just hired-help.

We're down to one afternoon nap a day and I hope this works, her sleeping hours have always been lengthy, but never really starting or ending at a good time. The cats are still terrified of her, but sometimes I catch Fred and her having a friendly moment. I think this week, she's managed to get a hold of 4 cans of my pop and dump them all over, but saving a little bit for herself "POP POP POP."

I'll try to update more often, but it's getting difficult to find the time! I'm still attending births as a doula and really enjoying helping women through the journey.

That's all for now!
Cari Kyle and EMMY EMMY!

Months 10 and 11....countdown to ONE!

Because of my mobile child, less time to be on the computer! But, for months 10 and 11, we learned a bunch of fun things!

She does not like hot dogs, eggs or mashed potatoes.
On June 14th, she was standing up looking out the window, then turned towards me and took one step! Now, in a matter of less than a month, she walks across the room, but is still pretty quick to fall down.

I thought she learned to welcome Kyle home by saying "Hiiii dadddayyyy." But she says it to the vacuum, Elmo and this morning she said it to a can of Mountain Dew. Oh well, we're getting there!

She learned to say puppy, but doesn't say it often and when she does it sounds more like "Happy." She is also learning to drink whole milk, but still prefers the nasty taste of formula.

When I ask her how old she is, she holds one finger up, then prompty claps! One year is almost here. Today was my due date last year. I had absolutely NO sign that labor was coming. I was prepared to wait it out, but thought perhaps an extra few days...not 8 DAYS! My how time does fly! She's even getting her molars in. She has 12 teeth (if not more that I can't see.)

As for baby #2....ugh. I just want to enjoy this one while she's young. We don't plan on having another one until we move out of the condo and Emily is old enough to help out. I just couldn't handle 2 kids in diapers! It's sad this is the last time I will write before my little baby (that I feel like I had just yesterday) is 1 whole year old. It blew by. Late night nursings and size NB diapers seem a million years behind me. Sunrise...Sunset!

Cari, Kyle and Emily (our big, little girl).

9 Months and Counting

Emily is quickly finishing up her 9th month. She continues to cruise along the couch and is saying new words almost every day. Today she said "baby" and will say it when she sees herself in the mirror, or as she flips through her baby book.

Trying out new table foods is like a guessing game. One day, she'll eat scrambled eggs with no problem, the next day, she gags on them and refuses to eat them.

Last weekend, Kyle and I celebrated our 4th wedding anniversary and Kyle's 30th birthday. We had a small gathering at our condo and it was nice to have people over, because I don't get out much these days. Emily continues to obsess over Elmo and she is leaving to treat the cats with more respect. She kisses them, then I get to pull all of the cat hair out of her mouth. Elwood runs from her, but Fred stays around for a while, in hopes to get his head scratched. She hasn't quite perfected her cat petting.

Her favorite toys continue to be whatever is hanging out on the floor. She's also facinated by throwing a ball to me and having me roll it back to her. I'll tell her she's so big...and she'll throw her hands up in the air with excitement. She's been a great baby! I bet by the next time I update this....she'll be walking!

Cari

8 months...Sigh....

How can it be 8 months since Emily was born? Where does the time fly? Emily now has 5 teeth. She says Momma, Dadda and Hey/Hi. She's still her happy little self and has started to crawl. March 4th was the first time she started moving, but now she is crawling with her belly up off of the floor.

Some of her favorite foods are:
Puffs

Yogurt

Avacado

Apple Sauce

But basically, the kid eats everything. She had a fun Easter. Next year we might be able to hide some eggs are let her have a little hunt. She continues to torment our cats and she has even bitten Daddy! She drew blood! Her nights remain to be pretty quiet as long as she can get her own pacifier back in her mouth. Teething has been pretty rough on her, but she's a trooper. So that's all for now!

Cari

Emily is 7 months old!

Emily has now passed the 7 month mark. At her last appointment, she was 17.5 pounds and 27 inches tall!

She loves every type of baby food that exists. I make it myself, and honestly, the stuff from the jars tastes like garbage compared to fresh-made food. She also has a lot of love for Elmo. She has the Elmo Encore and a DVD of Elmo singing and dancing. She screams and waves to him.

On the March 4th, she crawled for the very first time. She still prefers to roll to her destination, but if you tempt her with a toy, she will hurl herself forward with her mouth wide open.

She doesn't pay any attention to my parents' Westie dog, yet when she sees one of our cats, she squeals and tries to grab at them. I'm sure she and Elliot the dog will be best friends once she's older.

Her sleep schedule is good, as usual. She likes 3 short naps during the day (an hour or less) but really loves a long 12 hour nap at night. She usually is asleep from about 9pm-9am. I can deal with that for now.

She has started to show signs that she is aware when people are strangers, but for the most part, she loves whoever is paying attention to her. Her personality makes it hard to not have 100 more kids, in hopes they'd be just like her. But I know better!

She still has the same 2 teeth that made themselves known on Christmas day, hopefully she'll get some more here sometime soon.

That's all for this month!

Cari

6 months old.

Emily is now a whopping 6 months and 16 pounds old. She's in size 3 diapers and eating actual baby food.

She loves avacados and sweet potatoes, but really, she hasn't turned anything down yet.

She got her first 2 teeth on christmas, right on the bottom. She is teething more and seems to be in a bit of pain. I do what I can, but those puppies just have to surface before she'll get any relief.

I finally got to say goodbye to maternity clothes, which is pretty exciting. We had our first christmas with Emily and it was great, though next year will be better because she will probably be able to open her own gifts. She continues to be a great baby and provides Kyle and me with hours of entertainment.

16 Weeks

Emily has now reached 16 weeks of age!

For the first time this week, she has rolled over from her back to her belly, yet can't get back the way she came. All of her 0-3 month clothes have been packed away...with a few outfits being kept for the cuteness factor. She talks constantly and likes to hold on to toys. At her appointment at 14 weeks she was almost 13 pounds and 24 inches long.

She still can't get her clock straight, thought she sleeps all night, night starts at about 2am. I'm glad I work from home, I can't imagine having to get up, get her to a sitter and get myself to work. This week, on November 4th, her new best buddy joined the world: Caroline Elizabeth. We already have matching outfits for the girls, and it will be fun to take pictures. Hopefully they get along when they're older!

That's all for now!

Cari

12 weeks old!

Emily is turning 12 weeks old!

She weighs about 11 pounds and isn't a fan of being on her tummy. She still sleeps through the night like always and continues to be a very happy baby. This coming weekend we'll be taking her on her first road trip to ames to go to Bret and Lindsey's wedding. We expect her to meet a lot of new people who have been wanting too see her for a long time.

It's been business as usual here, as Kyle and I have both resumed normal work routines now. I recently took a position as Editor in Chief for a travel magazine and am really excited to see where that goes. Emily will soon be going up to size 2 diapers, as she's growing like a weed.

There's not a whole lot to report, so that's all for now!

Cari

8 weeks old!

My Emmyloo has turned 8 weeks old today. Today is her last day in size 0 diapers, as I only have a few left before I open the packs of size 1. It's kinda sad, but that's how it goes! She weighs 10.5 pounds and drinks about 4-5 ounces per feeding. She's starting to actually fit into some of her clothes, but just in time for the weather to start turning cold....so I'm afraid some of the cute little outfits might just go to waste.

Yesterday she watched her first Packer's game with her daddy, and they actually won! Hopefully she'll appreciate football more than I do. So far I've lost 20 pounds since having her, but there's still plenty more weight to drop. The bad thing about not having morning sickness is that I continued to eat and eat and eat.....then eat some more! I'll know better for next time I suppose.

She sleeps 8-9 hours a night, which is crazy but I let her sleep as long as she wants. I figure if she's hungry, she'd wake up and let me know. She smiles all the time now and really loves to watch the fish aquarium on the TV. I couldn't have asked for a better baby. I hope her good attitude follows her through the years...especially the teens.

That's all for now!

The Cooneys

The first month of Emily

Emily has been a great baby. She continues to want to sleep 5-6 hours at night between feedings and usually goes right back to sleep for another 3-4. I think her sleep patterns save me from being insane. At 3 weeks and 5 days, I got her to smile for the first time out of being happy, not just gas. She's starting to lose that dark hair she was born with, and I'm interested to see what grows in. Her eyes are blue and I'm sure they'll be staying that way.

The only thing that sucks so far was my ability to nurse her. I just never produced enough, and it's daily fight just to even get a half ounce of my milk to her, for the sake of anti-bodies and all that good stuff. I don't know why it never came in, but I guess similac is good enough!

She's so lean that she doesn't fit into many of her cute outfits, just onesies, but I'm getting her pictures taken Friday, so I'll have to find something cute to put her in. She loves to sleep in her bassinette but hates her crib at this point, I think she senses that it's just too big for her!

So that's my first month!

Cari