My First Mother's Day

I know I'm way behind here, but I wanted to make sure I documented this special day! I've been wanting to find a day for us to take Emma to the zoo for a few months so I was pretty psyched when Jonathan told me what he had planned for us.

We had a relaxing morning together at home before heading to the zoo around lunchtime. Emma obviously wasn't super interested in anything in particular, but it was still fun to walk around and see everything with her! We had just enough time to see everything and share an ice cream before heading home just as an afternoon thunderstorm rolled in.

We spent the rainy remainder of the day relaxing at home together. I honestly couldn't have asked for a better way to celebrate my first Mother's Day. Doing things as a family like this, going to the zoo, I just felt so grateful all day long. So grateful to be celebrating Mother's Day as a mother myself. So grateful to God for giving me this gift and sending this beautiful, joyful baby girl into our world. So grateful for the incredible man I'm raising that little love with. Just so grateful.

"Making the decision to have a child is momentous. It is to decide forever to have your heart go walking around outside your body."    - Elizabeth Stone

Emma Joy: 9 Months Old

Emma Joy, 

Happy 9 months, sweet girl! This last month was a big one! Just a few days before you hit 9 months, you started crawling and just a few days after that, you were already pulling yourself up to stand! It brings us a whole lot of joy watching you do all these new things, but my goodness, I'd love it if time could slow down just a tiny bit. At your 9 month checkup, they asked me if I wanted to schedule your 1 year appointment and I just couldn't believe we were even discussing you being a year old!

You also celebrated your first Easter, had your first swimming pool experience (you loved it!) and started eating all kinds of new foods this month. Just a few days before you hit 9 months, we started introducing new foods like chicken, rice and pasta. You're adapting pretty well to all these new textures and tastes but you go totally wild over bananas, oatmeal and yogurt. 

You're still the absolute best sleeper! You're down to 2 solid naps a day and you're ready for bed around 7 every night. You still sleep straight through and don't wake up until around 7 -- sometimes even 7:30! We can't seem to stay away though - you're daddy and I sneak in at least once before we head to bed to take in the sweetness of you sleeping. 

You're hanging out at 16 lbs, 3 oz and you're still 27" long. You're in mostly 9 month clothes by now and this month, I was finally able to gather just enough hair for clip in bows. It was a very exciting day for mommy since you just love to pull your headbands off the second I put them on these days! You have teeth coming in like crazy now, too! 

You love to clap, bounce and you still love when daddy flies you to bed every night. You think it's hilarious when the blender is on. You used to get so upset because it's super loud, but now I look at you when I turn it on and you're laughing and so excited about it. You love the Itsy Bitsy Spider and really any book we read to you before bed. You do not like to sit still, especially now that you're crawling! When you're sleepy though, you love to suck your thumb and snuggle up on mommy or daddy's chest. We are convinced there is no better feeling in the world than when you do that. 

You bring so much happiness to us and everyone who loves you, Emma Joy. Every day I thank God for making me your mommy. These 9 months of you have been such a gift to us and we're soaking up every second of this fun stage with you. We love you so much!