Happy First Birthday, Emilia Wilkie!

I blinked. And here we are. Parents of a three-and-a-half year old and a one year old. At this moment a year ago, I was at Memorial Hermann Hospital, snuggling with our tiny, few-hours-old bundle of joy – Emilia Wilkie Petrovic. Now, a year later, I’m chasing around a rapid crawling, sometimes-walking 12 month old babe (refusing to use “toddler” just yet!). I’m the cruel mom that schedules a one year well-check on her actual birthday, so found out today that she is 19 pounds, 7 ounces (45 percentile), 29.25 inches (55 percentile), 18.25 in head circumference (86 percentile – gets that from her dad!). How she’s grown! But in so many more ways than physically.

Her vocabulary now includes Belle (BEH! BEH! BEH!), Mama, Dada, Baba, Nana (Ivana), Isla (IY-YA! IY-YA! IY-YA!), baby, bye-bye, and night-hight (niy-niy). She has taken up to 13 steps, but still chooses to crawl around because that’s still the fastest form of transportation. After yesterday, she has eaten her fair share of sugar, but her favorite foods are apples, bananas, Serbian soup (made by her Baba), yogurt, applesauce, puffs, Goldfish, salmon and pasta.

She is the strongest hugger I know. Once her arms are around you, you’re in a legit headlock until she releases you. But she’s not one to cuddle often, unfortunately. She is a mama’s girl, through and through. We’re going through a little bit of separation anxiety right now, where she wants me-me-me, all of the time.

She loves the Trolls and Zootopia soundtracks. She loves her Lulla doll more than any other possession. She loves drinking water (I wish she got this from me!). She loves copying what her sister does (Isla raises her hand? Emi does too.). Basically, she just adores her sister. She loves when I do “Up high, down low, too slow!” She loves when we read bedtime stories. She loves when her Tata comes home from San Antonio, then almost switches alliances 😉 She loves pulling everything out of drawers – basically making a mess everywhere she goes. She loves pulling bows out of her hair the second I put them in.

She dislikes shoes and will take them off immediately. She dislikes getting her diaper changed. I’m like – HELLO, haven’t I done this 12,380 times now? Aren’t you used to it? The only way to bypass crying during a change is to give her a wipe to SUCK ON. Gross, I know. But you do what you gotta do, I guess. She loves Belle, but really doesn’t like when she licks her face. Which, of course, I understand. But Belle loves to lick her face.

What feels like just yesterday, I was writing Isla’s birth story. And after that, her 1st birthday post. Then, seemingly just minutes ago, I wrote Emi’s. And somehow, just today, that baby turned one and we seriously could not love her any more than we do. I feel like I don’t deserve these two sweet girls, but I’m sure grateful that I get to be their mom.

PS I cannot thank Nancy Aidee enough for these photos she took of us in her amazing studio! I love them!