Emmylou's a good eater, and her favorite things to eat right now are raisins. If I didn't stop her, she'd eat her weight in raisins daily. Okay, maybe I'm exaggerating since I found out yesterday at her 18 month check-up that she weighs 22 lbs., 13 ounces. I don't actually keep that many raisins in the house.

Something tells me Emmylou's just not quite getting this new sleeping arrangement...



After putting her to sleep around 8:00, I heard a little fussing around 10:00, but then she stopped so I figured everything was fine. An hour or two later, when I went to sleep, I decided to check on her. Imagine my surprise to open the door and find an empty mattress, and since it was so dark in her room (the light in the picture is just from my flash), it took me a while to see that she had climbed onto the bed frame and was fast asleep half on an old pillow and half on the metal springs. Comfy, huh?

We had a busy day! First, we went to Hula Hut with Emily, Lizzie and Khanh for lunch where we managed an extraordinary feat: keeping an eighteen-month-old relatively happy during an hour wait and then through lunch. Here's what worked the best:

Me [phone to my ear]: "Um, yes, you'd like to speak to Emmylou? Well, of course, she's right here, just hang on... One sec." [Handing phone to Emmylou] "It's for you, Emmylou!"

Emmylou [taking phone and putting it to her ear]: "Aa-da?"

"Buh ju-doo buh"
"Uh me jah" [nodding head, very importantly].


Also, never underestimate the power of a wind-up toy:





After lunch, Emily and I took Emmylou to the Austin City Limits Music Festival (for Emmylou's second year!). Gary was already there and we met up with him for a few minutes as soon as we got there.

Then, Emmylou enjoyed watching the drum circle in the Austin Kiddie Limits area (we apparently missed the part where they handed out the instruments)...



playing in the sand while we listened to Lucinda Williams...



and then she got a harmonica! Um, she loved that thing.





Emmylou's favorite musician was clearly Regina Spektor. She really took notice when she started playing the piano.

What a difference a year makes, right?

Last year...
Today...


And with Lizzie last year...


and me today!

Dear Lou,

I am in disbelief that you are eighteen months old now! Yesterday was a big milestone, but even if we weren't counting the months since you arrived, I'd still know that you are really growing up. Somewhere between seventeen and eighteen months you really changed. And thank God we took you to Europe before that change.

These days you know exactly what you want but usually have a hard time getting it. You end up getting frustrated because you don't have the words you need or don't understand why you can't have or do everything your little heart desires, but I promise it'll get better soon (at least that's what I'm telling myself). Your vocabulary is already expanding rapidly and as we begin new routines, they always seem to get easier with time. A week ago I was convinced I was doomed to listen to your screaming and crying for hours after bedtime until you were at least ten years old, but you've already made drastic improvements. Sure, there's still a little fussing coming from your room, but I also hear a lot of singing and talking, too.

Speaking of singing, your favorite song right now is a toss-up between "Row, Row, Row Your Boat" and Amy Winehouse's "You Know I'm No Good." You can start "Row, Row, Row Your Boat" all by yourself by singing "Row, Row Row," (that's the only part you know), but when the Amy Winehouse song comes on in the car after your Music Together CD, you start jamming out and dancing in your carseat every single time. And speaking of Music Together, we just started a new semester of classes-- I can't wait to see you learn all kinds of new things and watch you enjoy yourself there every week!

This past month we learned a couple other things about you, mostly that you are seriously frightened of drills, hair dryers and dustbusters. I don't think we'd ever seen you scared before! Although I hate for you to feel this way, I secretly love how you hold on to me as tightly as you can when you come face to face with any of these things. But lately you've been super affectionate with me and Daddy (oh, and Lola, too), so I promise not to torture you with small, moderately-loud appliances just to get some free hugs.

I hope you know that although things aren't as easy as they were a month ago when you were Miss Laid-Back/Go-With-The-Flow, I love watching your personality grow and seeing you beginning to develop into what I can only hope is an independent, strong and confident little girl. I know there are still thousands of tense moments to come, but I hope we can both meet them with a sense of humor, keep some perspective and enjoy all of our time together. You are still the sweetest thing to me, my most favorite person in the entire world, and I love you with every bit of my heart, forever and ever.

Love you,
Mama

Further proof that our little girl is (sadly) growing up:



We had to convert her crib to a toddler bed!

This weekend at the lakehouse after being put in her Pack 'n' Play for a nap, she opened and walked out the bedroom door only moments later. Then, last night when I tried to put her down, she shamelessly threw her leg over the crib rail and tried to hurl her body overboard (she didn't even wait until after I had left!). Since it's a long way down to the very hard, wood floor, we figured the best thing to do was to take that option away.

But let me tell you, life has already changed drastically. Long gone are the days of simply throwing a completely surrendered, sleepy girl into her crib and enjoying hours of silence from that moment onward. No, now we have a fighter--a screamer--and Gary and I are using terms like "cry it out" and "setting boundaries" with each other. Ughh. We're also trying to transition from two naps to one a day now, so that's SUPER.

During one of our many talks with Emmylou on how big girls stay in their beds, Gary was showing Emmylou exactly what to do:



Oh, and don't worry if it still looks like there's a long way for Lulu to fall when she rolls over in the middle of the night. We actually pull the mattress onto the floor when she goes to bed.

Since posting the Lowly Worm/Apple Car photos, we've had a couple of happy surprises!

First, Grammie showed up with this book:



(Emmylou loved it, of course!)

Then, Lulu's friend Link sent this one over:



Here's her reaction when she got it:





Clearly, Emmylou is in love with a fedora-wearing, fruit-driving worm.

Thanks, Grammie and Link, you guys rock!!!

I wouldn't recommend this, but...



I swear she wanted the tape on her! And when you're desperate to keep her in one place so the ceiling fan Daddy's installing at Aunt Em's house won't fall on top of her, one tends to give her what she wants!

We were out of town pretty much all last week, so I have lots of adventures to report!

First, last Tuesday, Lulu and I tagged along to Dallas on Gary's business trip so we could visit with my friend Sherry, who moved there a few years ago. Sherry took us to a lovely place for lunch and then to the Dallas Aquarium! Here are several of the creatures we enjoyed seeing there:

Flamingos...



Penguins...



A jaguar...



And a rare sighting of a (silent!) Toddleris Sittinginstrolleris...



Later, we met up with Sherry and her boyfriend Kevin at the yummy restaurant Asian Mint. Afterwards, they took a picture with Emmylou which was a real privilege-- Sherry and Kevin don't take pictures with just anyone.



See? Here they are with another super-cool human (ice cold, in fact):



We got home on Wednesday and by Thursday were in the car again heading down to the Rio Grande Valley so Gary could go dove hunting. Although we thoroughly enjoyed hanging out with our friends Keith, Ashley and their family and the usual group we see in Brownsville, I didn't take any pictures except for these below. On a rainy afternoon when we couldn't take the kids to the pool or beach, we headed to the mall to ride the carousel and play some arcade games. After absolutely loving riding the merry-go-round horse, Lulu and I excused ourselves from the arcade to walk the mall a bit. It was then, as I turned a corner, that I caught sight of something so wonderful that caused me to stop in my tracks and gasp audibly (maybe letting out an "Oh my God!" as well). Alongside the coin-operated police cruiser, mini-firetruck and Elmo-mobile for the kids to ride in, was a life-size Richard Scarry Apple Car with Lowly Worm inside!! Please tell me you all know Lowly Worm and his apple car. As children, Emily and I loved all of Richard Scarry's books-- I mean, I think we had all of them to learn basic things about transportation, shopping for food, going to school, etc., etc. In fact, I think our earliest moral lessons came from the book "Pig Will and Pig Won't" about two pigs who experience very different consequences when one is helpful and the other is not. And to illustrate just how lasting of an impression these books have been on us, Emily actually suggested a few years ago that "Pig Will and Pig Won't" be the only training manual given to any new employees where she works.

Anyway, I can hardly begin to describe how excited I was to see Lowly Worm in his apple car and that my daughter would now have a chance to meet him herself!

So here they are together at last...



She must have felt some instant connection to Lowly and his apple car as well, because when I took her out of it and put her back in her stroller, I've never in my life heard her scream so angrily!

Emmylou's new favorite spot: on top of Lola!



Actually, it's even better on top of Babo, on top of Lola.





Ahhh... just right!

Since I haven't posted in a while, here's what we've been up to lately...

Last weekend we went to San Antonio to visit with lots of family who haven't seen Lulu in a couple of months. Here she is with Kirk, who was in town from Minneapolis, and playing with bubbles at Lynn's house with Lynn and Granny (and Mimi, regrettingly not pictured):





Emmylou also got to visit with Pawpaw and Nana, getting to ride around in some kind of crazy all-terrain vehicle (what was that?) to see their property and where they'll be building a new house. Emmylou loved it! I'm so mad I forgot to take pictures while we were there!

We stayed with Grammie, so of course Emmylou got to see her and do all of her favorite activities at her house like playing the piano, reading her "Hamilton Duck" book and trying on a variety of shoes.

This week we've been hanging around the house, going to the gym and Town Lake (oops, I mean Ladybird Lake) and trying to help Emily with her house renovation when we can. Here's a pic of Emmylou doing some clean-up work at Em's new house:



With my superb example of housekeeping, I'm not surprised at all that she already knows what to do with a broom (Gary, stop laugh-snorting, please).

...And, Gary and I want to say thanks to Em and our friend Leslie who babysat for us last night. It was the first date night Gary and I have had in a very long while. We got to go to Jeffrey's, one of our favorite restaurants (yes, we got the crispy oysters on yucca chips if you checked out the link- still YUM after all these years!) and went to the Alamo Drafthouse to see a movie. We saw "King of Kong" and we highly recommend it! In case you haven't heard of it, it's a documentary about two men competing to be the world champion at Donkey Kong, the classic video game. I laughed, I cried. Seriously, it was really great. Here's the trailer if you're interested:

MULTITASKING...



Remind you of anyone?

Dear Emmylou,

On Tuesday, you turned seventeen months old. I have to confess that I had to go back and count on my fingers to be sure just how old you were! That should tell you how big you're getting. In fact, that's what everyone says when they see you now-- how much you've grown and how you're not a baby anymore but a little girl. While I do miss that little baby, you sure make the transition easier for me by being so much fun to be around. Maybe I shouldn't tell you this, but I've never been much of a fan of toddlers. Listening to the whining, tantrums, and exhaustingly chasing around a 2 foot tall human tornado just never appealed much to me (maybe that's still coming?). So I guess that's what has been most surprising to me these days: that I actually LOVE to hang out with you! That you don't hamper the good times but actually make them better! I can't tell you how thankful I am that you were on your best behavior on our big trip. Actually, I don't think it was your best behavior, I think you were just being yourself. Anyway, I was worried for weeks that it was a mistake to try taking a one and a half year old to Europe, but I couldn't have been more wrong. I can honestly say it wouldn't have been nearly as much fun without you and your humor and enthusiasm. It's too bad you won't remember the trip, because believe me, you had a great time. Your favorite things on the ship were the bank of glass elevators (those never got old for you: "oooh, oooh, oooh!" [pointing/running/getting on the wrong elevator]), seeing the live music every night (especially the trombone and drums in the Big Band orchestra and going to the piano bar) and the never-ending pounds of blueberries and watermelon brought to you by the waiters. Out in the cities, your favorite things were seeing various European dogs ("woofs"), eating lemon granitas, and running your own cross-continent spaghetti/pasta taste test.

Now that we're home, you're back to your usual favorite antics: wearing whatever shoes are laying around the house (you've even figured out how to put flip flops between your toes the right way by yourself) and trying to call foreign countries on the phone when I'm not looking. I figure you might be bored without having a new European country to explore each day now, so I've been trying to take you out as much as possible. Yesterday Grammie came in and we took you to Barton Springs where we watched the swimmers, played on the playground and then shared snowballs on the train ride around the park. Before we went, we had lunch at Shady Grove where (I'm embarrassed to say) you sat on top of the table-- we tried a booster seat rather than a high chair but it wasn't so effective because you just climbed out-- but you impressed me as you dumped out all the sugar and Sweet 'N Low packets from their holder and then restocked them, sorted on your own by color. Where did you learn to do that? And a few days ago you matched animals in a book, sliding open a window to reveal an animal and then pointing to the same animal on the facing page. I'm just wondering-- are you like a genius or something? Anyway, I'm so proud of you and all of the new things you're learning.

What a fun month this past one has been. Maybe it's sweeter because I didn't expect it to be like this, but I simply couldn't ask for more. I love, love, love being your mom and I know getting to your eighteen month milestone will be a blast.

Love you,
Mama


Probably calling Azerbaijan...




Trying on a couple pairs of shoes...

Okay, I finally decided to try to make a slideshow of our vacation photos to post here, but with the quality of YouTube, it didn't turn out so great. Here it is anyway, in case you still want to try to read the subtitles and make out the details in the pictures, but I'll try making an album on flickr or something in the next couple days so they're easier to see. Also, these are only my photos (which aren't so great because I was counting on just getting copies from a certain professional photographer who was on the trip with us) and I forgot my camera in Dubrovnik, Croatia so that part is missing.

Anyway, until I can do better, here's our trip in 5 minutes starting with Emmylou on the long flight over there:




[Ed. Note: That would be the Pantheon, not the Duomo, of course, and the one I didn't know is simply called the St. Mark's Clock Tower (thanks, Andrew!)]

While I'm waiting to gather photos from my mom, Emily and Lizzie from the trip so I can post the best ones here, we want to send our congratulations to Alison and Craig in Scotland. While we were away, little Isla was born! Isn't she absolutely adorable?!



On Monday night I put Emmylou in bed with us when she was having a hard time sleeping because of the jet lag and I woke up a couple hours later because she was kissing me! It was such a sweet moment and I can't wait to hear all about the wonderful times and experiences Alison will have with her own little girl. I know you'll enjoy every moment, Alison!

After two weeks of cavorting around Europe, we are finally back, happy, safe and sound, in Austin! Here is a picture I took of Emmylou the night before we left that I meant to post then, but couldn't quite find the time what with all the packing I had to do and my slow recovery from the concussion and staples in my head I got 3 days earlier. But we made it to Barcelona very smoothly and had an AMAZING time in every city we visited. Every day just got better and better, even when we didn't think it was possible! Emmylou (who did not actually have to travel in my suitcase but got her own seat on the plane) was more flexible and easy going than I could have ever imagined and became something of a legend and superstar on the cruise ship. I'll start posting some of the stories and photos of the vacation tomorrow, but for now I'm going to bed! As Emmylou would say, "night-night."