Bouncing Baby Meyer: November 2013

Well, it happened! Emery has discovered the joys of being upright and over the weekend figured out how to use her push toys to stay on her feet and get to where she wants to go that much faster. Friday afternoon she decided to try it and by Saturday evening she was doing laps from the living room to the kitchen and back. I tried my very best to capture this on video, but to be honest the first time she started doing it, I was in shock and had both excitement and fear running through my veins. Of course, initially I was so excited for her. She was so proud of herself and was smiling from ear to ear as she put one foot in front of the other and pushed her walker toy down the hall. At just 8.5 months she was walking and loving every minute of it. Then my excitement drained and my mama-bear panic mode kicked in. She’s going to fall; wipe out; hurt herself. It took everything in me to not swipe her up in my arms and protect my little girl from the potential pain that this new adventure could cause her. Okay-okay, it wasn’t quite that dramatic; but close. I stood in front of her walker and guided it down the hall way with my foot just off the front of it to make sure that it wouldn’t slip out from her as she walked all the way from the living room to our back bedroom. She was so happy with this new, foreign experience and didn’t want to stop. As soon as we got on the carpet (the "safe-zone"), I turned on the video and started to record it.

Since then, she has discovered that her little, pink car walker works a whole lot better if she stands on the outside of it then if mama puts her in it. Emery, the little daredevil, doesn’t like to be restrained and has the “I can do it by myself” mentality. (I wonder where she gets that from?!) She spent most of Saturday pushing her pink car around the house, figuring out how to maneuver it around the dogs, chairs, and walls, She quickly learned that when-in-doubt, walk around the car, grab on to whatever is close and keep on going (this gives me a slight panic attack every time she does it)! She was so impressed with herself, she practiced all day, & continued to show off for daddy when he got home from a long day's work.

It’s a weird combination of feelings watching her grow and figure out the world around her. I can’t help but feel proud, and share in her joy as she learns new things and becomes more and more independent, Then again, there is a tinge of sadness & longing for the little 7lb 14oz baby girl born not that long ago, who would just sleep in my arms and snuggle with me until I decided to put her down. Now she’s off and running (well walking), figuring out & doing things on her own. (Note to self: invest in many pairs of no-slip socks).

I know, I know- everyone warned me, “Enjoy it, it goes fast”, but you don’t realize just how fast it really goes until it’s gone and the next step is already here. I have no desire for things to go any faster than they already are. Do as the country song says, and "let them be little". I continue to remind myself with every challenging day (yes, we have those) and every exhausting night, that these days will come and go too, just as those days that she would just lie in her rocker and stare up at me are long gone. There are many things that I miss from her early days, but they are replaced with new, exciting things- so I suppose it all balances out. Today it is walking with her push toys… I’m not sure what tomorrow will be- but I can guess that it will be exciting as well. So as I jet off to rescue my little love from her morning nap, I leave you with a few clips of her new “trick”.

ctober proved to be yet another busy month for the Meyer Family. Matt is still working double time, putting in long hours at the Palms Casino and working day and night expanding his real estate business. After getting his first listing and it falling into escrow just 3 days after hitting the market, he is more motivated than ever to make the transition out of the casino industry and into something of interest with limitless potential. Inside the Meyer house, mama and baby Emery are still trying to figure out that incredibly challenging balance of work-at-home vs keeping house vs chasing baby. So far, chasing baby is winning with the “work-at-home” a distant, yet somehow successful second, and as far as the “keeping house”…. well, let’s just say that it’s a good thing we haven’t had any unexpected guest visits (or planned for that matter) lately!

October has always been, and will always be my favorite month. With it being the heart of my favorite time of year, fall, and of course the re-introduction of Starbucks’ ever-famous Pumpkin Spice Latte… it also holds a special place in my heart with our wedding anniversary on the 24th and of course the tricks & treats of Halloween. This year was no different, although, with continuing to figuring out new “sacrifices” in order to keep me at home with Emery, my PSL addiction switched to home brewed pumpkin spiced coffee grounds (which actually turned out to be a very yummy "sacrifice") And then there was Halloween, which somehow creeped up unexpectedly fast with little-to-no time to plan a family themed costume, so the month ended with the cutest little lady bug and a very poor attempt of a retro golf couple.

Luckily, we were able to find some time to enjoy each other on our anniversary by taking a nice drive up to Mt Charleston. Matt, Emery, and I – along with Dallas in tow, drove up to the mountains to enjoy a brief couple of hours out of the hustle and bustle of the city. Clean air, a brisk breeze, and sweet smell of cedar trees, was enough to keep a smile on Emery’s sweet face as we introduced her to the great outdoors. Matt & I took turns wearing her up the small hiking trail, but it didn’t take long to realize, it has been way too long since we have done anything active, and promised Emery that we would work on getting back into shape so that we can do more hikes, more often! :- )

Emery has been super alert and active since the day she was born, and 8 months later- nothing has changed. She is crawling around the house like crazy, chasing the dogs and anything else that might catch her eye. Luckily, our house was already pretty baby friendly, so she pretty much enjoys the freedom of going here there and everywhere, with mommy keeping a close eye on her of course. Although I am hoping for a little longer before the bear crawls turn into full blown walking, I'm not sure it is far off. She is constantly challenging herself by pulling herself up with the help of every table, wall, or stool, as well as figuring out how to balance flat footed with little to no support. Just last night, as I was making dinner and she was discovering the joys of an open dishwasher, I looked down only to discover that she had both hands full with utensils, and her feet planted flat on the floor, waving a large plastic ladle in front of her face. She looked up at me and smiled, which broke her concentration, causing her to gracefully fall down to her bum. . I couldn’t help but be amazed at how quickly this little girl goes from not doing something to just all of a sudden figuring it out. I fear the next time I write, I will be talking about the joys of the pitter-patter of little feet.

She has also started to figure out using her tongue and lips to make different noises and form different “words”. We are still a long ways off from her actually saying anything with meaning but she is mastering her “b’s”, and recently (to my delight) her “m’s”, which in turn translates into “mama”. Matt was first to catch it one night when he was changing her into her pj’s. “She’s saying mama” he said to me. At first I thought he was crazy, but the following few days, it was unmistakable, and she, for sure was getting the hang of ma---mmmmm—ma-ma. Whether she understands what she’s saying or not, it still warms my heart every time I hear it, and of course she understands she gets quite the reaction from us when she does it! Lately I have been trying to get her to work on her “ds” and I’m sure it won’t be long before Matt gets to join me in this sensational feeling. She has also caught on to the dogs’ vocal ability, and when they get excited or bark at the front door, so does Emery- well- sort of “barks” it’s more of a yell but it’s quick and high pitched like their bark, and of course SUPER cute! The other thing she has picked up from her “puppy brothers” is the shaking of her head. I’m pretty sure she saw Dallas shake his head back and forth with a toy one day (which he often does), and now she does it every time she gets excited. It proves to be pretty funny to us, since in our minds it looks like she is saying “no”, but ultimately she is merely at the beginning stages of repeating everything she sees.

A reminder to us that is it time to watch what we do and say!