Emme Turns to a Toddler Before Our Eyes {Spring 2014}

It was the moment everyone was telling me was coming. Boom! My baby was now a toddler. It definitely was a gradual process, of course, but there were moments when I would look at her and just realize how old she was getting.

The supermarket, for example, was now a very social place. Emme said "hi!" to just about everyone we would encounter. It was so interesting to watch some people talk and play with her and others look very uncomfortable. As you can see, she was naughty in always standing up (still is!). I think on this one outing I had to tell her to sit down approximately 97 times.

With the toddlerhood, Emme seemed to get more needy too. This is a moment that I captured in her room. With the growing frustration of some new whiny patterns, I had to remind myself that my baby girl needed me and that there was tremendous fulfillment in that. She whined and cried for me at all hours of the night because I am her person. It's such a blessing.

Emme also began to be attached to "Baby Girl," a little rattle doll that I found at TJ Maxx. She took this doll with her everywhere and wouldn't go to sleep without her. Right before I took this picture, Emme woke up from her nap and asked, "Where did my baby go?" I couldn't believe how well she was talking.

Playtime with Daddy started to get really fun! Here they made a couch fort one evening. Em always feels special when she has daddy time.

Here is a photo of us by the fireplace--one of the things we thought was pretty cool about our 70s rental. We felt like illegitimate adults when we lit the fire and the flu was still shut. There was so much smoke so fast. Later we got half a clue of what we were doing--and thus, the smiles.

When Emme turned 18 months, this seemed like a big moment to me. We were part of a playgroup that I had put together. Sometimes Skye Howick would bring her kids, sometimes Stephanie Hulet would bring her son, and Kelsey Walker would bring her little girl, and we would have other friends drop in on certain weeks. This particular playgroup day at the splash pad, however, no one came. It might sound lonely, but it was a special and sweet day for us. Emme played at the splash pad for hours and even wore her darling swim cap the whole time. I marveled at the playfulness of my darling girl and celebrated a year and a half of her making my life beautiful!