Emmett is ONE!!

Happenings of the last month:

• Emmett took his first steps alone (towards the dog, not a person, of course) and then was full-out walking within 2 1/2 weeks.
• Emmett got tooth #8 (his lower left molar-type tooth)
• He "wagged" his tongue back and forth
• He got his first taste of yard-saleing (and the bounties it brings lol.  My mom and I got him $350+ worth of stuff for around $60)
• Emmett LOVES music.  One of his 'Little People' toys (that we got yard saleing) makes sounds, one of which is playing a song.  One day he would sit and push the button quickly to get to the music, look at a book while the music was playing, and then repeat the process.  It was ADORABLE!
• He has started pointing.  He'll point at things he wants, people, and things he wants to go look at.  It has definitely helped the communication!
• He figured out stairs.  The first time was when he was walking around the church during 2nd hour (he was being antsy in class so I took him out and let him walk.)  We were in the chapel and he went right up the steps to the pulpit without hesitation!  And he'd really never shown much of an interest in the stairs before.  Since then, he has conquered the stairs at my parents' house.  If the door at the top is open, he'll escape right on out to wherever his little heart desires.  Otherwise he'll either a) pound on the door until someone comes to rescue him or b) cry until someone comes to rescue him.  Luckily he hasn't fallen down them yet.  I'm trying to figure out the best way to baby-proof them; they're circular, so I don't know if a baby gate would even be able to grip the walls very well.
• Emmett went swimming for the first time and LOVED it.  Although he was not happy when I put his hat on him.
• He has figured out how to open the pocket doors in the house.  We had been using them to keep him from getting to the rest of the house, but he has learned how to open them if they're left open even 1/4" and sometimes manages to get them open even if they're completely closed.
• He has started "dancing."  He'll either sway to the music or swing his arms across his chest.  It's super cute.
• He loves to eat whatever we're eating for dinner.
• He will mimic some animal sounds, especially the dog barking.

Jeremy's dad was able to make it up for Emmett's actual birthday.  His work was kind enough to get him a route up this way and then allowed him to take a couple of hours and go off-route to see us.  It was really good to spend time with him and I know Emmett really enjoyed playing with him.  He made Emmett a super cute wooden car and trailer for his birthday.  Emmett LOVED them and immediately started playing with them.

For Emmett's birthday we had egg-free chocolate cake (which was AMAZING, btw) with fresh strawberries (from the garden) and whipped cream on top.  It was super tasty.  Emmett wasn't quite sure what to make of the big pile of goodness on his tray at first, but after I dipped my finger in the whipped cream for him to taste a couple of times, he went after it.  That kid sure loves his whipped cream!  Jeremy's grandma and one of my good friends from high school came to celebrate Emmett's birthday with us.

We also went and got pictures taken this past weekend.  Hopefully you'll be able to use this link to go take a look at them.  They sure turned out super cute.  And in case you were wondering, yes, he will be getting a haircut soon.  Jeremy wanted to wait to cut his hair until after we got his 1 year pictures taken.  So the appointment has been scheduled for Tuesday.  I'll try to get some pics up shortly thereafter.

And of course, what post would be complete without pictures??

Emmett with Grandpa Cress on his birthday.

 The classic cake shot: This was toward the end of him eating it.  Notice that all the whipped cream and most of the strawberries are gone, but there's still a goodly amount of cake lol.

 Emmett sleeps like this quite often, but I always think he looks adorable with his bum sticking up in the air!

 He was walking around holding these 2 glitter balls for probably 30 minutes, just having a blast.

Swinging in his new (to him) swing.  He LOVES it!  (In case you couldn't tell by his face)

Emmett "dancing" to Sultans of Swing