Catching Up

We have been so busy it seems, busy doing nothing at all.

Every day is the same for me. I take care of Emily all day, I try to keep the house looking somewhat clean, and I usually manage to take a shower at some point. Having a baby who is mobile is a lot of work. And it's my job.

I haven't felt like blogging lately. I don't feel like I have anything that is interesting to write. Emily is now letting go of the furniture in an attempt to stand up all on her own. She is getting better every day, standing for more and more seconds each time. She even took a step from the coffee table to the couch without holding on to either one. Walking is getting closer each day.

She is also becoming very, very funny. Last night she played peek-a-boo with her Pop by squatting down and then popping up between his knees as he sat in his recliner and she stood at his feet. The top of our coffee table lifts up to dining table height, and this is where Denny and I eat our dinner. A few nights ago, Emily reached up to hold on to the edge of the table, lifted her feet off the ground and began swinging. She won't keep her socks on for more than a minute, so unless we are leaving the house I don't even bother with putting them on. Her favorite thing to with her socks is to put them in her mouth and bite down while trying to pull them out. She sometimes pulls so hard that she pulls herself over.

She's very vocal too. She talks and squeals all the time. She can say mama and dada and bye-bye and dog. She waves bye-bye and hides her face when someone says hello. She tries to act like she's shy but it's just a bluff. She flirts with everyone, especially her daddy. Oh, how she loves her daddy.

Right now we are dealing with some separation anxiety. She wants mama and daddy and very few other people. Nobody else if Denny or myself are around. She falls asleep in my arms at night and I put her in her crib. She stays there for a few hours and then she sleeps between us for the rest of the night. She is a better bed mate than she used to be. Instead of sleeping sideways and forcing me to sleep on the edge of the bed, she now snuggles up right next to Denny, who sleeps with no shirt and is incredibly warm and cozy.

We took Emily to get her Christmas pictures taken. It's her first Christmas. It's my first Christmas as a mother and it is so much different than it has ever been before. I want for nothing, because I already have all that I need.

Thanksgiving was very low-key for us this year. We went to Denny's parents' house to spend the day with his Dad's side of the family. Emily fell asleep 20 minutes before we needed to be there and she and I stayed home so she could get her nap and by the time we got there we missed seeing half of the family. I would have gone when Denny went but it's just right across the street and naps are very important to be had.

The 3 of us went shopping on Black Friday but we didn't head out as early as we had in the past. We didn't camp out in the car and we didn't set any alarm clocks. We woke up on our own and although we missed a few of the sales, we also missed a lot of the crowds. Denny got a gun and some pants. Emily got more clothes that she didn't need but I couldn't resist the cuteness. Like I've said before, she might be the only baby that I ever have, or she might be the only daughter that I ever have, so I might as well live it up. Have you seen the clothes that are made for boys? The majority of them are NOT CUTE. I must get all of the cuteness I can while it lasts.

We got some throw pillows for the living room that we had been eyeing for a few years. We first saw them at Target for $20 each. We waited for the price to drop but it never did. Then we found pillows made of the same fabric at Walmart for $15 a piece. We still refused to pay that much and our thriftiness paid off. We finally got the pillows we wanted at Stein Mart for $5 each. That's 4 for the price of 1.

Right now Emily is napping on the couch. She has a low grade fever and she is feeling bad today. I don't know if it's her third tooth coming in or if she's getting the cold that Denny has had for the past few days. I hope it's just a tooth.