i posted (kind of) every day in november, but i didn't write a summary post about thanksgiving. it was a great week, being in louisiana with ek and the fam. i never do as many things as i plan (my list this time was read 3 books, work on e's baby books, and take naps, none of which were in the cards), but i really needed the week away and it was lovely, despite emme being sick for the first part. the thanksgiving day feast my mom prepared was exceptional, as always. justin made it in to town in time to smoke one of the turkeys, and it was amazing. i will take credit for two things where food is concerned: i brined the turkey, and i baked the desserts. the brining was an ordeal unto itself - i will summarize by saying i hate brining bags, they are trash. the one i used popped after i'd finished adding all the ingredients (including gallons of sticky liquid, oranges, apple cider, etc.). all of this awesome stickiness with a hint of eau de raw turkey exploded all over the ENTIRE kitchen. seven towels, a mop, and lots of clorox disinfectant later, i managed to restore the kitchen to its original state, get the turkey into a semi-functional bag inside an ice chest for added safety, and take a shower to remove my own eau de raw turkey scent. i am amazed and unfalteringly grateful that emme kay slept through the entire debacle, and my one regret is that i was too flipped out to photograph the affair. alas, i don't think pictures could have done it justice.
anyway, i also baked pecan pie and a cheesecake, both of which turned out well and made me feel redeemed in the area of domesticity. while in town, we visited a few different friends. emme loved playing with anna kathryn, the three year-old daughter of my childhood next-door neighbor. i wish i'd caught better pictures of the two of them playing, but this one will have to suffice. we also visited violet and finn, my mom's boss's kiddos. they were SO sweet to emme (and us), and they were so gracious to give e this play table that she absolutely loves (and i think was instrumental in helping her start walking). all in all, a great time was had by all.
so then, on december 7, emme turned 13 months old. i now understand why people speak about their childrens' age in months - it's impossible to believe that my little bug is on her way to being two years old. the journey to 13 months can be characterized by one thing: teeth. when we were home over thanksgiving, i was tickling e at one point and she threw her head back giggling, and i noticed something white in the back of her mouth. upon further inspection, i discovered that it was a MOLAR. and she had not one, but two in there! over the next couple of weeks, the other two came through. add those four to the outer two on the bottom, and that gives a grand total of ten teeth for our little bunny, six of which broke through in a five week time span. no wonder she didn't have much of an appetite and has had perpetual low fevers/runny noses. i know doctors never want to blame all that stuff on teeth, but i am absolutely convinced they are the root of most of what has ailed our bebe since starting school.
anyway. what else can i say about our emme at 13 months? she is not quite ready to walk, but i think she's getting closer by the day. she is endlessly curious and is constantly pointing out things in the sky or on the ground that she wants to know about. she parrots noises and sometimes words and jabbers non-stop. she loves milk (cow's and mine) and does well with water, too. she is, for the most part, still a great eater and a great sleeper. the only times she gets cranky are when she is hungry or she hasn't slept enough. she still wants two naps a day, but school prohibits that during the week, so she has to make do. she is really enamored by opening cabinets and inspecting what's in there - we should definitely get on the ball with putting locks on the kitchen sink cabinets. i'm fine with her exploring anywhere else. she is also starting to be very helpful, even though her attention span is still pretty typical of a 13 month-old. for example, she will help pick up toys and put them back in the bin, whether in the living room or the tub. you have to ask her again after almost every item, but she does it and i'm impressed. her dad, upon seeing her picking up after herself during bath time one evening, decreed that she was advanced because he has not yet learned this skill...haha. books are still one of our favorite things to do together - emme signs more after each one until i finally have to say that's enough. her attention span is getting better here, which is great. i can now read longer, more word-y books to her without her closing them mid-page and insisting that we move on. this gives me great hope that we aren't too far away from reading the harry potter series together - one of the only reasons i can tolerate the thought of her getting older. anyway. i could blather on and on about everything, but i still need to jump in to the present time and write her 14 month post, so i will save some time for that. and now, on to the picture onslaught. these are the random shots of november/early december. clearly there is a reason i'm not the family documentarian as my pics are not nearly as fabulous as jb's.
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