Emmy at One

Emmy is one. How can I possibly describe this last year? I mean, really, how do you put into words the constant challenge just simply surviving has been for us this last 365 days? Let's not. We'll just skip over the botched delivery attempt, the malaria scare, the scrounging through rotten food for lost truck keys, the awful c-section, the dog dying, the colicy baby who only napped for 15 minutes at a time, the 16 month old sister who would stand at my legs and cry all day for 5 months, the reflux and the non-sleeping. We'll just leap frog over all of that and talk about Emmy. Dynamic and effervescent Emily.

Here are some stats on Emmy: She weighs 26 lbs and is 31 inches long. She wears a 2T clothes. They guesstimate she will be around 5'9" or 5'10" when she stops growing.

Emmy is still eating elemental formula, but we're weaning off of the bottle. She is completely weaned off of her reflux meds (happy dance). She loves to eat. But, she has milk protein and soy allergies which prevent us from feeding her lots of yummy foods. Plus, she shows many signs of a gluten allergy. So, she eats a very limited diet, but eats a lot. Thankfully, there is an increasing awareness about food allergies so finding milk, soy and gluten free foods is becoming easier.

Emily is still a horrible sleeper. Now, I'm a tried and true cry it out type of lady. This child does not buy into that method. She just cries. And cries. So, we just wait until she's obviously tired and ready for bed and then proceed with the program. That's usually right in line with the normal bed time routine so it's not a big deal for us.

Emily has this really fun habit of waking up in the middle of the night for 2 or 3 hours. She used to do it every 3rd day. We'd let her cry. She'd cry for 2 or 3 hours. I'm not lying! Slowly, over the last year, it's stretched to once a week and now, finally, once every month. So, rather than have her cry for hours on end, I just get up with her and watch TV while she toddles around and plays. She gets tired and goes back to sleep and sleeps until 9 if I let her (but I don't because then the whole day is ruined).

This little girl is a pistol. I swear she does not feel pain. She doesn't cry at shots (no, seriously, we have to have a series of 3 to get tears), when she falls down, or when her sisters accidentally run her over. She is loud and I mean a complete yeller. She has this raspy voice too, which I think is completely adorable on a baby.

She is a daredevil. No fear at all. She regularly scolds our 90 lb. doberman.

Emily adores her sisters and plays really well with them. Most of the time, Emmy is content to play for hours on end in the play room. She comes to me when she's messy or hungry or tired. For as high maintenance as she was, she is a total dream baby now. Since she's discovered the art of running, she and Addie play chase almost non-stop. They help one another retrieve dropped pacifiers and they like to snuggle, too.

She is vivacious and confident. She is quick to smile and laugh. Emily loves to be on the go and is a great traveler. She already has about 7 words and a couple of phrases she uses on a regular basis.

It's very clear that she is much older and wiser than her 12 months. And while she came to our family earlier than we thought she would and the last year has been painful and miserable in almost every single way a real chance for emotional and spiritual growth, Emily is a very important and necessary part of our family. She adds so much joy to our lives. I don't think a single one of us would know what to do if she wasn't with us now.

Happy Birthday baby girl!