Chelsea & Joe: My baby isn't a baby anymore

On April 16th Emilia turned one year old. She is rapidly losing all of her baby qualities and looks and acts more like a toddler every day. The morning of her birthday, we met Joe's mom at a tasty diner near Park City. Mary had Emilia's present so we had a good breakfast, visited, and picked up the gift. After breakfast, we headed to the outlet mall to do a little shopping. Emilia had a little birthday money and she picked out a baby doll and some cute clothes to buy.We wanted to go to the park, but it was chilly so we decided to go home and watch Frozen. Emilia was teething and not feeling her best so she spent most of the movie cuddled on my lap. After the movie, we went out to dinner at Emilia's favorite Mexican restaurant. It was a really fun day.

Here are some thoughts from my first year with my baby girl:
From the hospital-
I had almost no pain during my entire 20 hour labor
The anesthesiologist was very nice and the the epidural was awesome
I think labor would have been pretty fun if the scary heart decelerations hadn't happened
Emilia was so small 5lbs 10oz. I was so worried that we wouldn't be able to bring her home
The small talk between the Dr. and nurses between pushing contractions was funny- they chatted about weather a lot
When Emilia's heart rate dropped again, everyone knew she had to get out immediately. I'll never forget how proud I was that I was able to deliver her quickly and safely.

About my baby-
She was so small. We needed to buy preemie clothes. They are so tiny!
Emilia cried a lot. And screamed a lot. She was not an easy newborn
The bouncy seat from Ethan and Jessica was a lifesaver
She was strong- she could lift her head really early
She was determined- she rolled early, crawled early, walked early

About my girl-
She is so beautiful
She is so independent. She has just started to give hugs and cuddle on the couch and I love it
She doesn't crawl anymore- she is starting to run
She is so smart
She can throw a good tantrum (especially if you try to bring her in from outside)
She is a great eater who loves flavor. Thai yellow curry is her favorite!

I feel like I have done everything "wrong" while raising Emilia. We formula fed starting at 10 weeks, we bedshare, we don't have a set daily schedule, we let her watch TV. But, she is happy and friendly, and good and everyone who meets her loves her so I must be doing something right. Watching her grow and learn is the most amazing thing in the world. I love her so much.

Emilia's Likes:
The movie Frozen
Chocolate
Flavorful food (Thai yellow curry, Chinese food, pickles)
Her baby dolls
Her stroller
The park
Splashing in the bath
Walking everywhere
Her cousins and neighbors

Emilia's Dislikes:
Sweets that aren't chocolate
Getting things taken away
Going inside
Her crib (working on this one)

12 months