Emme's 10 Months Old

Time is certainly flying. It's hard to believe that the little bundle of attitude that we call Emme is already ten months old.

Physically she's somewhat small. In fact, for a few months she was in the very low percentile in height. Weight was ok. That confused us because I'm a veritable giant at a massive 6'2 1/2". And my father's side is even taller. And Heather's side isn't short either. But once we did some digging we did find some data points on both sides of the family that make it seem much more likely. Throughout, the one doc that Heather trusts has told her that there's nothing to worry about. But when it's your kid you just tend to worry. Not to obsess. Just to worry. In the last couple months she's grown a bunch and seems poised to climb back up the height bell curve.

Because she's climbing over everything else. Crawling here and there. Up stairs. Down stairs. Over obstacles. Towards things she wants.

What she lacks in height she more than makes up for in volume. When Emme wants something, well, she wants something. Now. Not in a couple minutes. Now. She's intense.

And she's already learning manipulation (yay.) Last night we were by the fireplace. Emme was reaching for the glass door. It wasn't hot but Heather thought she might get her hand caught in the hinge. Two or three times Emme reached for it only to be pushed away. We expected a barking command. Instead Emme touched the stone fireplace for a couple seconds. As soon as mommy looked down her hand shot up like lightning to the glass door. Success! She's quick.

With three teeth she's eating rice cake patty things. And all sorts of smashed fruits. She's in the process of being weened, something I know little about so I'll stop while I'm ahead. We're a little concerned that she may have a food allergy to gluten so we're trying to reduce her intake. Once she's weened we'll be able to more closely monitor her reaction because Heather's intake will be out of the equation. Doc says not an issue. We're not convinced. Tests are inconclusive at this age. The symptoms include slow growth and some poopy/diaper things that we see, including flat pancake poops. The internet rocks for home physicianing!

Her personality is starting to shine through. She'll point and wave. Play hide and seek. She's starting to talk. It's obvious that she wants in on all the action around her. For months she sat back and absorbed it all. Now she jumps right in there.

Ava likes to hang out with her little sister. And by hang out I mean carry, drop, push, drag and otherwise maim her. Poor little Emme. She often sounds a screaming alarm when Ava gets within a meter of her! Although these days she's so mobile that she can usually escape with a little persistence.

She's pulling up onto everything around her. Climbing steps. It won't be long before she's walking. We're back to having gates all over the house. It's like a maze getting around.

The one thing Emme doesn't have is a lot of blog posts. That's my fault. We spend as much time or more with Emme as we did with Ava. It's just that we're able to spend more time enjoying the moment. It's hard to describe. It's not that we enjoy her less or more. It's just different. Some things, like the sense of surprise, aren't as strong watching Emme. But because we know what to expect, we're able to appreciate its role in the big picture more.

And that's one of the big takeaways of the last ten months with Emme: she's not Ava. She's her own person. Physically and emotionally. Emme is Emme. And Emme is pretty cool!