Each week we see something new in Emily as she learns to be more of an individual. Her play is becoming more developed and very entertaining (most of the time).

In an effort to reduce obstacles for Mommy as her tummy gets bigger, we changed the baby gate layout in our house. Previously we had our living room divided to give Emily some safe play areas where Mommy could leave Emily and not worry about her safety. This required Mommy to step over the baby gate a lot. We have now set baby gates at the doorways leaving the living room, giving Emily much more freedom. Emily has loved her new freedoms and access to more toys. Mommy has trouble multi-tasking while walking and has proved that even with the new layout that stepping over anything is bad.

I have found that Emily is more open to learn new things from other people and children than Mommy. We have had trouble teaching Emily to bite food to get a mouthful. While we were on our vacation my cousin’s daughter Annmarie was having a snack while sitting next to Emily. She introduced a whole banana to Emily. She helped Emily learn to hold the banana and how to ‘chew’ on it until she figured out how to bite. Now I can hold the banana for Emily and she can take bites for herself. She is still learning quantity control, but she will figure it out eventually. Thank you Annmarie!

Yesterday, when I put Emily down for her first nap she was not inclined to fall into a deep sleep, so she didn’t get a long nap. So when it was time for her second nap, I decided to let her play a little longer to get really sleepy. In the 30 minutes I was going to wait, I fell asleep on the couch. I was awakened from my nap by Emily climbing up on top of me. She likes to try to sit on my big tummy. I helped her sit on the couch and lean up against me. The next thing I knew, she had laid down on the couch by herself and went to sleep. She continued to sleep for about two hours. I was stuck for a while, until she moved and quit laying on top of me. Then I was able to get up. I really wanted to take a photo of her, but I was not about to wake her up. It was very sweet to get to watch her sleep!

When I got Emily up from her first nap yesterday, she had been playing for a few minutes. She managed to get her arm out of the arm hole and through the neck hole of her shirt. I had to take a photo of this—once I quit laughing. She hasn’t figured out how to take her clothes off yet, but she is trying to help me get her dressed, so it won’t be long. In the photo you can see her two new bottom molars.