Time Flies...

I am quite jealous of/impressed with my mommy friend (you know who you are) who does such a great job documenting her daughter's goings on so regularly and amusingly. She keeps me inspired to continue to document Emily's milestones this way, so three and a half months later, here it is!

At Emily's 15 month visit with Dr. Nash she was 23 pounds and 29 1/4 inches. So far, she is in the 75th percentile for height which surprises her short mom and also does not fool this same short mom into thinking that Emily will continue to top the charts! Her biggest developmental milestone has been that she has started walking...really walking! It took 15 months, but she finally got there and is enjoying every minute of her new found independence! She started to just get braver and braver with the amount of steps she was taking in between stationary objects and then, before we knew it, she had no use for us or tables in order to stable herself.

Although this past three months has been full of joyful events, there were a few weeks in August that can only be described as a waking nightmare. We have appreciated and adored Emily since she took her first breath (actually long before), but watching her battle an illness and the chance of losing her only strengthened our feelings. Two weeks after her one year immunizations Emily came down with a disease called Stevens Johnson Syndrome. None of us had ever heard of it and if you google it, you will wish that you had not. Thank goodness Emily's case was more mild than most and she had amazing medical care. She still spent one week at Cook's and suffered much more than a one year old ever should. The infectious disease doctor attributes the reaction to her Chicken Pox vaccine. We are so blessed that Emily made a full recovery and, other than some remnant redness/roughness on her knees, there is no evidence on her body that she ever had it. Emily could have lost her eyesight, a lot of her skin, and even her life...and for all this, we are eternally grateful that she only lost a week of her innocence.

In her continuing effort to keep Cook's in business (with her friend Noelle's help), Emily landed herself in Cook's last month with fever and ended up having a febrile seizure (scary, but not an epileptic seizure or anything that could threaten her health). Here is to many well-deserved hospital free years ahead of her!! Dr. Nash laughs because she refers to Emily as a healthy child, but realizes that is an odd thing to say about a child that has spent a lot of time in the hospital.

Unfortunately, at her 15 month vaccines, Emily had a very mild reaction again that resembled Stevens Johnson. We and Dr. Nash have decided it would be best to go ahead and postpone anymore vaccines for Emily for about a year. To me, it is a double edged sword...getting vaccines and not getting vaccines both have risks for Emily. Time will tell and we will be doing a lot of praying.

Back to happier things..while Emily took her time with motor skills, she continues to amaze us with her verbal skills. We attribute a lot of it to Gail and her friends at daycare. Here is a sampling of some of the words that she says on a consistent basis now: thank you, ball, monkey, puppy, green beans, happy girl, good girl, oatmeal, egg, nana, cheese, baby, home, shoes, socks, ice, cookie, mommy, daddy, book, read, water, more, fish, car. She also can point to her hair, teeth, knees, nose, head, feet, eyes, (although she typically points to her ears!!), and mouth. She also gives fantastic kisses, but can be stingy with them when she wants to be! She still loves her nightly baths and being read to before bed.

In late August she got to visit with her favorite NJ! She loved seeing her and spending time with her...all redheads love NJ! She also got her very first haircut (Deeda was very pleased). It was special because Harold cut her hair and he had done Kyle and Ashley's first haircut as well. She got some bangs so she did have a bit of a bullet (baby mullet) but it worked for her!

In September, she had a great week with her Deeda and her Gigi and Papi when Kyle and I went on vacation (a delayed one year anniversary trip since we had a 2 week old at our one year anniversary!) In October, she had a fantastic visit to the zoo (monkeys!!) and had a great Halloween dressed as the world's cutest, most feminine lion! She has enjoyed a lot of football watching these last several months and has unfortunately been taught to say "Aggies"...which is all that they can get out of her when they try to push "Gig 'em Aggies"!!!

Emily is still making her Nickell and Jeroslow heritage proud by being a good eater! She has been known to eat THREE eggs and a pancake and part of a "nana" for breakfast...and can tackle a whole piece of stuffed sole with some veggies and fruit for dinner!

We are looking forward to the holidays with our amazing friends and family and will continue to relish the little girl that is Emily Grace.

I will end with a quote from Gail. I texted her to see how Emily was doing one day. She wrote back: "Wonderful, so sweet!" I asked if she had done anything in particular and she wrote: "No. She's oozing sweetness!! Such an awesome personality!!"

We could not have said it better ourselves!

Emily is One Year Old!!

Reaching this magnificent milestone naturally makes a parent retrospective. When I think back to my pregnancy and this past year, I realize how much more a baby is than baby shower's, all the attention, setting up nurseries, picking out names, and eating a bit more than you should without any guilt. Being a parent to a baby is a lot of work...many sleepless nights, endless amounts of worry, time spent mindful of another person's bowel movements and literally handling those bowel movements, less romance and quality alone time with your partner, the inability to exercise when you want to, going to work sick so you can save your sick days for another, worry about money and added expenses. The reality of it all hits shortly after the baby is born. That being said, no one can put into words or prepare you for the the joys of parenthood that go so way beyond nursery themes and having all the "right" baby accessories. The sheer splendor of bringing another life into this world that looks and feels like you...who you are charged to protect and nurture...who looks to you for answers and guidance and all things comforting. The realization that worldly goods pale in comparison to this slobbering, pooping, crying little person who brightens your world with just the hint of her smile. The newness of her every look, sound, and movement that gives your stomach that feel of a new romance. The hope for another person's future that goes beyond anything that you have ever wished for. Emily just turned one. It has been a year like no other. Happy birthday, E...the past month she has...

-Weighed in at 21 pounds, and was 29.75 inches. She was born at 7 pounds, 14 ounces and was 21.5 inches.

-Celebrated her first Father's Day.

-Mastered crawling and has moved to pulling up on everything. The activity has not yet minimized the solid belly she has going on! We joke that she looks like a Wal-Mart shopper when her belly hangs out of her night clothes!

-Said goodbye to her good canine sister Bailey. She had learned to say Bailey's name (BayBay) and loved to pull at her paws and hair. Bailey was amazing with her and loved her very much.

-Expanded her culinary palette with some calamari and scallops. Emily loves to eat nearly everything and enjoyed tremendously her two visits this past month to Chef Point. She also continues to enjoy her Costco field trips were she samples foods from across the store.

-Discovered all the fun at the Fort Worth Museum of Science and Nature. We became members so that we can go any time we want and escape the summer heat! Emily loves playing in the water at the dino dig and in the kid's water area where she gets soaking wet (we come prepared with a towel and a change of clothes!) She enjoyed going there with her Deeda and Papa when they visited for her birthday.

-Continues to LOVE water. Emily can spend hours upon hours in Gigi and Papi's pool. It is certainly one of her happy places.

-Shared in the excitement of her Aunt Ashley getting engaged to her future Uncle Scott. She is sooo happy for them and can't wait to eat their wedding cake.

-Expanded her vocabulary with "baby" and "ut ooh"...she loves to say "ut ooh" right before she drops things!

-Emily graduated to the "big girl" car seat that Deeda and Papa gave her. She is now forward facing and loves it!

-Celebrated her first birthday in style at Gigi and Papi's surrounded by her amazing family and friends. Her theme was ladybugs because that is what I call her. Gigi made her an amazing teddy bear cake (both Kyle and Ashley had one at their first birthdays) that she enjoyed tearing into. She started with its nose and with some assistance tore into its ears with wild abandon.

Emily is 11 Months Old!!

We must lead off this post with some very exciting news... (even though it is cheating because it happened 3 days after her 11 month birthday)...One small crawl for Emily, one big exciting milestone for her parents! We are happy to report that the draw of a dell laptop keyboard got Emily to crawl on June 22nd (her Uncle Mike's bday). Of course, the woman who brought her into this world was not around (I had gone for a run), but it was caught on video and I have witnessed it since. Now begins the chore of child proofing and of probably counting our blessings that she just now started to crawl around :) And in other news...

-Emily got to meet her brand new baby cousin, Rose. She loved seeing her and is so proud to be her big cousin and will teach her everything she knows throughout the years. We also witnessed Emily's first bout of jealousy. When I was holding Rose in front of her..she stared up with her big sweet eyes and emphatically and repeatedly shouted "Mama, Mama, Mama...." I am ashamed to admit it, but this made me so happy!

-Emily is officially a water baby and loves her time at her Gigi and Papi's big bath! She has such fun in the pool and is never happy to get out. Each time she goes in she gets more and more comfortable and is doing her part to give her Gigi a good arm workout with her "1-2-3- weeeee" lifts into the air! She also adores the highly fashionable new swimsuits that her aunt, Ashley, got her and can't wait to showcase one of them at her birthday bash!

-Emily has a new favorite toy and hence we have a new song constantly stuck in her head. She adores the zoo toy that her Deeda and Papa gave to her. The music is the soundtrack to her playtime as she pushes the button to make the music go every time it stops!

-We had a pleasant surprise a few weeks ago when we went in to check on E a little bit after we had put her to bed. In Kyle walks and is welcomed by our sweet girl sitting up in bed and giving him a big smile. We spent the next 10 minutes lowering her crib!

-E had a fantastic visit with the Beasley's and was SO happy to see her big cousin Alex and meet his foster brother Jonathon. Her mommy was equally as happy to see Alex as she adores him! They had a great time hanging out and celebrating Alex's 4th birthday at Chuck E Cheese. She got to go for a run with mommy and daddy ... their first time running in Illinois! This trip has spoiled Emily as she is now accustomed to riding the friendly skies in style. By sheer luck, we were upgraded to First Class on both flights as they are testing having First Class on American Eagle. E was not able to enjoy the warm nuts (she'll have to wait awhile for that) but we enjoyed them very much on her behalf!

-Emily continues to enjoy so many amazing foods...fruits, veggies, meats, fish, beans...there does not seem to be much yet that she does not like. She especially enjoyed TWO samples of salmon at Costco with her Gigi....and cannot wait until July 19th for ....CAKE!!!

Emily is 10 Month's Old!

Another month has gone by as our little girl approaches her one year birthday. It is unbelievable! Our family had a great month that was special for many reasons but especially because it was my first Mother's Day as a mother. Thank you, Emily, for earning me this title...I am so lucky to be your mommy. Over the past month Emily has...

-Spent an amazing weekend with two of her favorite people, Patrick and Yolie when they visited. They had a great time and even got the chance to tour Cowboy's Stadium and get her picture on one of the stars on the field. Next visit she vows to partake in the Babe's and lemon cookies that everyone else enjoyed!

-Ate lots of new foods, the favorite being spaghetti. We can't imagine why Emily would like carbs...no one in her family does at all :) She also loves garlic...in anything and everything! We have never seen a baby with just two teeth take on so much food with such abandon!

-Had our first Mother's Day! Emily really liked the cheese, bread and green beans at our special Mother's Day lunch.

-Went swimming in her Gigi and Papi's swimming pool with her Daddy. She is a natural floater (and very trusting of her Daddy) and had a good time in her very big bath. She looks forward to many summer days in that backyard making memories (with lots of sunscreen on, of course)!

-Continued to develop her incredible sense of humor. She laughs so much and so often. She was especially tickled when her Daddy tripped in her room while she was on the changing table. Rather than concern, she expressed laughter...he continues to replay the trip just to hear her laugh.

-Is excellent at pressing buttons on her toys with just her pointer finger. She demonstrates such grace and precision when she presses things!

-Became a big cousin when she welcomed her cousin Rose into the world. She can't wait to show her the ropes of being a cute, lovable baby girl next weekend.

-Spent some QT with her Deeda while Gail was on vacation. They had lots of fun together shopping and eating with friends (especially when said friends have garlic mashed potatoes!)

-Continues to protest crawling and is bound and determined not to adhere to the typical development of an infant. It's no fun doing things like everyone else!! :) Rumor has it that Einstein never crawled :)

-Went to the park for the first time. The slide is fun, but nothing beats the swing!

Emily is 9 Month's Old!

Our sweet baby is becoming such a big girl! This has been a fantastic month for our family. Amazing that plans are already under way for her first birthday party. Emily has been up to a lot this past month. She...

-Took a road trip to Austin for her Uncle Mike and Aunt Hava's baby shower. She had a great time and anxiously awaits the arrival of her newest cousin Rose. She had some fun entertaining us with her fine-tuned (and extremely advanced :) ) peek-a-boo skills.


-Celebrated her first Passover and hosted a Seder for some of her friends. She did not get to try her Deeda's matzo ball soup this year (made by her Mommy), but will certainly have the opportunity next year (as long as Daddy is willing to share)!

-Went to her first swimming lesson. She was the prettiest baby in the pool with the adorable swimsuit that her Aunt Ashley gave her. She enjoyed being in a VERY big tub and took to the water well. She got to go down a slide and take some jumps in from the edge of the pool (with just a little assistance)! She is practicing for Gigi and Papi's pool this summer!

-Celebrated her first Easter! She got her very own Easter basket filled with lots of fun toys and candy that Mommy and Daddy happen to really love! She looked beautiful in her pink princess dress and took good notes on the egg hunt so that she can have a solid strategy next year and collect lots of loot for her piggy bank.

-Had a rash (pardon the pun) of ear infections and rashes! She had one ear infection twice. The antibiotic did not knock it out. This is what her mommy gets for bragging to her friends that her daughter had never gotten an ear infection! She was such a sweet girl, even with the infections...did her best to keep her spirits high. She also came home from Easter with a nice case of hives and just got a viral rash with her ear infection! Emily just likes to keep things exciting for us new parents!

-Watched her very first NCAA tournament and Red Sox opening game with her daddy. Daddy is not too happy with his Sox, but that's another story.

-Learned how to clap and wave...and is so proud of herself when she does it! Now if we could just get some upward mobility...or a basic crawl for that matter! Hopefully we'll have some news to report in that arena next month!

-Had a blast at her first Greek Easter (she is such a multi-cultural little girl) with her friends at the lake. She spent time with Nate and Noelle taking in the scent of goat on a spit! She had fun playing, eating, and relaxing with her buddies...Mommy and Daddy had a great time, too!

-Continues to try new foods (lamb, pasta, ham, lentils, turkey, brown rice) and enjoys feeding herself. She still loves water and loves to drink from her mommy's water bottles when she is having one.

Looking forward to another amazing month as Emily's parents!

Emily is 8 Month's Old!

This one snuck up on is, hence I am a few days late reporting on Emily's goings on! It has been a great month for our family and we continue to marvel at our little girl. We manage to have more and more fun with her each day that goes by...she is a treat! This past month Emily has...

-Continued to enjoy dancing with her Mommy and Daddy. Many evenings she gets a solid dance party with them and kicks and laughs to the music. Emily loves music and has more rhythm than you would expect!

-Eaten lots of new and exciting foods. Favorites still are cheese and avocado, but we've taking a liking to chicken and lentils, mango, and blueberries! Eating has become a fun time and we enjoy introducing her to new tastes. She is a great chewer and really works those two sharp teeth that she has recently sprouted.

-Taken a bath nearly every night. Bath time is happy time! Emily loves splashing and playing with (putting them in her mouth) all of her bath toys. She especially loves taking a bath in the sink at Gigi and Papi's house when she has sleepovers.

-Missed both Mommy and Daddy, as both of them have had to go out of town this past month. Mommy for work and Daddy for play! She enjoyed her quality time with each of them but was very happy when both of them were back together...they were very happy, too!

-Enjoyed seeing her Papa for a few nights when he was en route back from Africa. She is very proud of him for climbing Mount Kilimanjaro. Once day she will want to look at all his pictures of the fun animals he saw.

-Took her first visit to the zoo with Mommy and Daddy. She enjoyed a beautiful day looking at all the animals and people at the zoo. She is going to get a season pass so that she can go back whenever she wants and learn about all of the animals.

-Enjoyed her first pajama party with her friends from the neighborhood. She had them over for a breakfast of pancakes and other goodies and spent much of the morning in her PJ's playing. She had such a good time and hopes to do it again soon!

-Had her first really bad fever and sickness. She had Roseola which is a high fever that eventually goes away and is topped off by a skin rash! She was a trooper throughout and even managed to eek out a smile, sick eyes and all!

Emily is 7 Month's Old!

So time flies when you are having fun, well how about when you are enjoying and loving the most precious gift that you have ever received?! Emily is over half a year old now and changing and growing (literally!) every day. This has been such a fun and exciting month for our family. So many highlights, none of which top the fact that she has made some serious sleep duration improvements ;) Since January, Emily has...

-Given her mommy a real kiss. Okay, so, it was rather open-mouthed and her aim was a bit off, but it was certainly a bonafide attempt at a smooch!





-Discovered that "Da Da" is quite the fun sound to make and it makes her daddy's day to hear (no idea why)! She will just sit there and say it over and over in the sweetest voice that you have ever heard.


-Had her 6 month appointment. She was 27" long and was 15 lbs 15 oz! She is 97 percentile for height..we can't believe it!

-Eaten a variety of fruit and veggies. So far she has dined on sweet potatoes, carrots, pears, peaches, and peas. Most of it ends up on her rather than in her, but she is making small improvements. With Kyle and me as her parents, we can't believe she has not taken to food more, but we figure in time, with our genes, she will see the light and realize the wonders and joys of food! She does really like her puffs and yogurt drops, but we certainly want to work on more nutritious foods! She is getting the hang of her sippy cup and really likes water.


-Really gotten the hang of sitting up on her own! With proper precautions (padding behind her), Emily can sit up without assistance and play with her toys. No signs of crawling yet, but we can certainly wait as, from what I hear, once they start going, they never stop!

-Sleeping better and is no longer swaddled. She loves the new breathable blanket (thank you, Jill) that we got for her. She loves to cover herself with it and play peek-a-boo with it.


-Reached a huge milestone in the Nickell family. Her first trip to College Station for an Aggie basketball game with Gigi and Papi!! The Aggies even did her the honor of winning the game (against Tech!!) just for her. She loved all the people watching and lights during the game. She sat in her first high chair at dinner and really seemed to enjoy herself. She watched as all of us stuffed our faces with greasy/fattening food and watched as we enviously devoured our Shake's desserts! She was promised some of it at next year's game! She was, of course, exposed to some Longhorn hating (picture on Bevo with sawed off horns) but she humored her daddy and grandparents with it and will secretly support the Longhorns just for her mommy. ;) She knows that she was not born with orange hair for nothing!





-Had another fun visit with her Deeda and Papa. Papa saw her for a few days en route to his trip to Kilimanjaro (he summitted and she is very proud of him) and Deeda spent the week with her. They had a lot of fun hanging out together and Emily can't wait until she gets to see her more often.

-Had over two days of extreme fever! Being sick is no fun for anyone, but she was a trooper about it. I think she secretly enjoyed it a bit as she got a full day of daddy/daughter time! She had a high fever for several days and just could not kick it. Mommy learned a lot about how to treat a fever thanks to her friends and will be ready for the next one!

-Had another fun slumber party with Gigi and Papi! She was their official Valentine while Mommy and Daddy had a date. Activities included a bath in the sink, playtime on the floor, visiting with Great Aunts and Great Grandparents, and much more!



-She discovered the perfect wonders of a snow day! In her lifetime, she has already had two serious snows! This one was incredible...a foot of snow in Texas. I think Kyle and I were a little more excited than she was, but there will be a day when she appreciates it just as much!

-Emily went to Nicole's going away party. She had a good time but is sad
that her NJ is moving away (as is her mommy). She wishes her all the best, though!!