10 Months - Oscar

For anyone keeping count, my little Oscar is actually turning one this month. But between laptops dying, the busyness of business and babies, and a holiday too, I'm a wee bit out of date with this project. In an attempt to remedy that, I present you Oscar's 10 month old post. There weren't many shots taken on this particular day, as my teething babe quickly fell out of favor with the whole idea and wanted to be held instead. Oh teeth, how difficult they can be. I often say if it wasn't for the three T's I would have had ten children - teething, tantrums and toilet training. At ten month he had three teeth, at almost twelve months he has six.

I see many more sleepless nights ahead of us yet...

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Here's Miss Emerson at 10 months.

9 Months Old - Oscar

My third baby seems like less and less of a baby everyday! Nine months old and this little darling is commando crawling after his brother and sister, pulling himself up on the furniture and pulling things out of drawers. His shirts have a permanent stain on them from where his tummy rubs along the floor, as one arm and one leg do most of the crawling work. He has a pair of go-go-Gadget arms that can reach an astonishingly long way, so that he is always surprising me with the things he manages to grab, despite my thinking they are out of his reach.

He is an avid floor-food eater, a lover of cats tails and a connoisseur of squeezey food pouches - he grabs hold of them and all but inhales them! He is still the most refluxey baby I have ever met, but it doesn't both him, and as you can see he is not underweight. He is still awaiting his first tooth, though his top right tooth is the most likely candidate and puts him in a fussy mood at times. He still feeds up to four times a night, which I like to think has something to do with the teething... Though third time around I am much more used to being awoken at night and I feel like I have had a full nights sleep if I only get woken twice.

Did I mention I could eat him all up! Those chubby thighs, that ticklish double chin, that tummy that's just made for blowing raspberries on! He is a delicious little one for sure.

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Here's Miss Emerson as a delightful 9 month old.

7 Months - Oscar

Oh my little bundle of joy! Look at those sparkling eyes and those chubby cheeks! My little Oscar is a darling seven month old now and he wants to move. He is inching further forwards on his tummy each day, after weeks of being able to wiggle backwards. He's quite vocal when the object of his desire is frustratingly out of reach. I snapped this photos in a hurry, before we went out for the day and he was just about ready for a nap.

As you can see from the photos, he's fascinated by the cats, who walk teasingly close to him. He does manage to grab a handful of fur occasionally. At this age Emerson was fascinated by our cat too. How different they are as babes. Oscar has been rolling for months, while Emerson was this age when she started rolling. Emerson had been sitting unassisted for a month or two by now, while Oscar is still wobbly and unable to find his balance while sitting independently. All in their own good time. I'm still in no hurry for them to grow up.

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Emerson at seven months.

Oscar at four months, five months, six months.

12 months

There were a few tears yesterday as this Mama welcomed toddler Emerson and fare welled baby Emerson. First birthdays are just so bittersweet to me. From a jaundiced newborn, to a healthy crawling girl learning to walk, she has been such a delight. I'm so glad that I did the monthly portraits this past year. It's great to see them all together. There is still much of the baby about her, but the toddler is emerging. A cheerful cheeky toddler who loves to play with her brother and his toys. A fearless climber who Daddy has nicknamed bruiser - due of course to the bruises she receives as she goes. A sweetheart who loves to give big 'mwah' kisses and waves with a floppy wrist.

Yesterday my sister and I took Cohen and Emerson to Lone Pine Sanctuary (pics tomorrow) to celebrate her first trip around the sun. This was followed by dinner with family, sparklers and birthday songs, then cake. Cohen of course helped her unwrap and play with all her gifts (and told several people it was also his birthday!) 

Happy birthday gorgeous girl. xx

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One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, ten and eleven months old

11 months

I'm running late posting last months portraits. If not for my sister there may well be no eleven month photos. My eyes were not recovered enough to be able to pick up the camera. The 27th was a rainy day, but a couple of days later the sun came out. Fiona was here and I handed her the camera, determined to capture twelve months of portraits one way or another. I think she did a wonderful job obtaining these images.

Our dear little Emerson is growing like a weed. Taller, faster and busier each day this past month I'm sure. Her confidence has also grown. She pulls herself to a standing position on any likely object, pair of legs or piece of furniture, and cruises from one item to another while holding on. She laps around the coffee table when we sit on the couch and flicks us a smile each time she starts the lap anew. She has reached new levels of speed with her crawling as well, racing Cohen, sometimes for a toy other times just for fun.

That gummy smile of hers is filling in too. The second of her top front teeth cut the gums this month, making a total of six teeth thus far and resulting in three nights of her only sleeping while on my chest. The poor wee love.

Only one more monthly portrait to go. (Sob)

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One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine and ten months old

10 months

A few days ago our little Miss turned ten months old. The first of the double digits and a month full of many firsts. From tentative beginnings by mid-month Emerson was officially crawling and then standing with support. Oh, those chubby legs and those little feet always seem to be moving away from me now. This month too, "Mama" and "Dada" have emerged from her sweet babblings. A growth spurt and continued teething have left us with many a sleepless nights. And there was an altercation between baby and shower screen that left Emerson with a bruise on her forehead. Another incident while crawling added insult to injury when she acquired an additional bruise on top of the original. Her love of our cat has not abated. Thankfully dear old Seth is a patient animal. When the fur and tail pulling get too much he resigns himself to leaving the vicinity, often times closely followed by the little lady.

We also celebrated our first Christmas as a family of four. I think it was the decorations on the tree that were the final encouragement Emerson needed to start crawling. And while she may not have understood the goings on of the season, she did seem to enjoy them. From Christmas lights to a bounty of fruit, piles of wrapping paper and ham on the bone, she was in her element. 

I took a look back at the images from her previous monthly portraits today. I see the most change between the first and the second month photos. And slowly I can see a toddler face emerging from that sweet baby face. It feels like we are racing towards her first birthday. I'm quite sure the first year flies by faster than any other year in a persons life.

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One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight and nine months old

9 months old

Our blue eyed baby girl is nine months old today. Emerson has been out as long as she was in, as they say. I'm not sure if those beautiful blue eyes are here to stay or not. Cohen's turned brown like mine, but Em may take after her Dada. Little by little she is on the move. Her preferred method is a bit of bottom shuffling, sometimes she pushes herself backwards while on her tummy. She seems to think about crawling at times, rocking on all fours, but she just loves to sit this girl of ours.

At nine months of age Emerson is quite good at communicating her wants, as well as her dissatisfaction.  She squeals loudly when you take tiny forbidden objects away from her! Emerson's idea of sleeping through the night is having only two feeds. Her fascination with the cat continues. She is perfectly happy now to sit on a blanket while we work and play in the yard. Meanwhile she tries to consume as much grass as possible. She is happiest in the sling when out and about and peeks over my shoulder at people. It's gorgeous seeing everyone from young children to elderly couples smiling and waving at her, or playing peek a boo. Her second favourite place is the bath. Her chubby legs hardly rest once they start splashing in the water. She never seems to tire of it and looks amazed each time, as if it were the first bath she'd ever had. Food is more and more important to her, and though they say 'food is fun until they're one,' to Emerson it is serious business. Happily she will eat just about anything. Given how fussy Cohen is about food, I can only hope this lasts!

Oh my dear Emerson, I could swear that you just get cuter and cuter. I really couldn't imagine life without the two of you now.