Ten Months

So... I have a one year old now. Yeah.... so crazy! I can't believe how fast this past year has gone - so many changes and so much fun. Now it's time to force myself to finish up these last couple months of Monthly Updates for Emerson! I can't stop now! Must. Finish. All. So here we go!

Maternity Photos (One Year Later)

So this may be a little weird, but I realized I forgot to share with you guys my maternity photos! We only got them taken about a year ago... :) If you follow me on facebook, then you probably saw when I posted a link to them (you can see them here). But, I also want to share them on the ol' bloggy blog since this is my little diary. :) We used Katia Hudson (she also did Emerson's newborn photos) and she did an amazing job! We love how they turned out so much! Check her out if you are in the Centralia/Olympia area - she's awesome.

Nine Months

I'm so behind, that Emerson took her first solo steps tonight!!! She's currently 10 months old (almost 11 months). The most she took was six steps in a row! We'll see how long it takes for her to really get the hang of it and then she'll be unstoppable - and we'll be in trouble!

But anyways... I'm slowly catching up with my monthly posts. Emerson turned nine months on 5.25.14 and she was 19 lbs 12 oz and 29 1/2 inches! Still in the 98th percentile for height! Here's some of the fun stuff she was up to this month...

Eight Months

She's ten months old now, so I guess that means I should probably do an 8 month update! I'm so behind... I should have known this was inevitable!

Emerson's Weekly Photo Project

Hey guys! You may have noticed that in my Monthly Emerson posts there are weekly/monthly photos at the beginning of each. And, if you follow me on Instagram you probably notice my weekly and monthly photos of Miss Emerson too (#weeklyemerson and #monthlyemerson). I decided to organize them all in one place on the blog too (in case you can't get enough). It's just so much fun to see how she has changed over the weeks and months. Check out the new page here (you also can find a link on the main blog page - see below).

And here's some more of my favorites!

Seven Months

Time for a seven month update! I told you I was slooooowwwwwly catching up! Here it is!

Herringbone Quilt for Emerson

It's only been over a year since I worked on this project... sheesh! Last year towards the end of tax season I got the major nesting bug. Like whoa. I hadn't done anything for the nursery yet besides gather my overall inspiration. I really wanted to make a quilt for Emerson and I loved the quilt from my inspiration nursery (see it here). I also wanted to do something really easy - those are my favorite kind of quilts. I like having something creative to do that isn't overly complicated. That I can still work on while I watch my "stories." 

I used this tutorial, which was super easy to follow. I made this crib-sized (or close to it), so about 42" x 52". 

Fabric:

1/4 yard each of the patterned fabrics (I did not use the gray pictured above)

1 yard of white fabric

1/2 yard of solid aqua fabric

1 1/2 yards for orange/coral polka dot fabric (used for back)

(I think overall I spent about $50 on fabric at a local quilting store)

Fabric Cuts: 

15 squares each of the patterned fabrics (ish)

60 squares of white (ish)

The method used for cutting the triangles was so easy it is a major "DOH!" moment once you realize how awesome it is. Instead of cutting and then matching up a zillion triangles, you just keep the squares intact, place them right sides together and pin. Then, from one corner to the other draw a diagonal line with a pencil and ruler. From there you can just sew a 1/4 inch seam on each side of the line. Once you sew on each side, you just cut down the line and now you have two new squares, but made up of two different patterned triangles! Genius! 

As far as layout goes, I used the "organized chaos" method. No official pattern, I just started laying down the triangle/squares making sure that no two patterns were right next to each other and were somewhat evenly spaced.

Helpful hint for keeping the layout preserved while you are sewing... we (and by we, I mean my Mom and Me - she is the quilting queen!) set out the squares on top of the backing, then rolled up the backing with the squares (another genius idea from mi madre!). It keeps everything compact and in order so you don't have to keep it set out on the floor while you sew. Also very helpful if you need to move it, but don't want to take apart your layout! 

I sewed the squares together horizontally first and then sewed the long rows together vertically, if that makes sense. Then came the ironing. Lots and lots of ironing...

My mom had the top and bottom quilted together by another lady that specializes in quilting. I had her keep it simple and quilt "in the ditch." My mom did the aqua binding to finish it off!

I absolutely love how it turned out and it works so well in Em's nursery! I hope Em loves it for years to come!

Emerson's Six Month Photos

A few days before Emerson was six months old we had her photos taken by Tami with Lorene Photography. I was referred by a friend and couldn't be happier with the photos! We had an hour long session and Em did so well for the first 45 minutes or so. We got lots of good smiles and poses. It was so much fun! Em loved the fluffy pink carpet. We also tried to recreate her six-day-old photo with the tutu and the gray background, but it was during the last 15 minutes and the little stinker was not having any of it.  

I would highly recommend Tami if you are in the Seattle/Snohomish area! So many good ones, it's hard to pick a favorite, but I LOVE the ones with the fluffy pink carpet.

Six Months

Well, I'm a little behind in this department and I'm slowly going to catch up! Luckily, I've been good about jotting things down on my phone as I remember/as they happen under my "Notes" app. It's really convenient and has been so helpful to write down the little things that I don't remember after a month or two! So, here's a little update of our sixth month with our little stinker.

Six Month Stats: 18.2 lbs, 27 3/4 inches

- Emerson started sitting up on her own! So excited for this milestone! It also meant that she always wanted to sit up, which led to a slow decline in activity in our bouncer chair and the baby swing. Fine with me though - takes up much less room in the house!

- Em started rolling over a ton and doesn't stay on her tummy for long. She is almost rolling from back to front. 

- She's super giggly and happy all the time! Well, most of the time. She definitely has her moments. She loves to do this high pitched cackle!

- She's finding her voice and "blowing bubbles" a lot. 

- Wake up calls at 3 or 4 every morning are the norm. She's wide awake and happy and is just babbling away! Not so happy for Mommy and Daddy...

- She's been getting really good at grabbing her binkie and started putting it back in her mouth all by herself.

- Always wants to hold her own bottle. 

- She's been making friends at daycare! On Valentine's Day, her teachers said she scooted across the room (very slowly) and held hands with her friend Emma! So cute!

- She started moving around her crib when she sleeps. We put her down on her back facing one direction and she wakes up facing the other direction. She also started sleeping on her side. 

- So... the perpetually stuffy nose from daycare has begun.

- At daycare, they make fun projects every once and a while. And by "they" I mean the teachers. :) She did make a pretty cute salt cookie foot print heart (see picture below) and it was so cute. I loved it.

- Em and I also tried to make Daddy a cute Valentine's card. Instead it turned out like a bloody valentine. It's the thought that counts right? #mommyfail

- We bought a high chair! We ended up going with the Ikea high chair that was super cheap (yay!) and so far has worked out great. There is no cloth, which makes for very easy clean up. Plus, it's very neutral with simple lines which I love and it doesn't look to bulky in the kitchen.

- We started solids with a few nights of rice cereal. She liked it but it still took some time to get used to. 

- Loves Sofie the Giraffe and all her chewable toys. Except that Sofie has been renamed to Geraldine by Daddy... 

- Em loves bouncing in her Exersaucer! She bounces all over and can't get enough!

- She's in love with the balloon mobile I made her. She loves trying to catch the balloons and is getting better at it too!

- Em had her first snow day! We went outside to sit in the snow and take some pictures. She wasn't very sure about it - it was so bright out!

- And.... the Seahawks won the SUPERBOWL!!! Not bad for her six month of being alive and she gets to see the Hawks win. Some of us have had to wait a lot longer! :)

Now, for the photo portion of our monthly round up...