emma grace // one year old

it's time for a little game we like to call, "what is she thinking??"

emma grace is the smiliest, most expressive human on the planet. 

i swear she smiles 1000 times a day. maybe more.

and every now and again, if you're lucky, she'll even flash her scrunchy-scowl face, which is equally fantastic. :)

we finished off the year 17 lbs strong, 25 inches tall.
she loves blackbeans and blueberries.
she's a crawling and climbing machine.
still hates snoozing, but snuggles like a champ.
she's working on her pageant wave and is an expert clapper.
little miss independent loves feeding herself and always has crackers in each hand.
she has 4 little toothies, the best snarley grin, and a giggle that makes my heart explode.

i'm not gonna lie,
i'm kinda loving that she's so small.
it makes it a little easier to pretend she's growing up.

a little bit about the photo shoot:
as i mentioned in the cake smash post, i really wanted to keep everything simple.
we laid out one of the quilts my mama made for emma grace, prayed for sunshine, and baby girl did the rest. oh, and my new favorite decoration, balloons! the rag bunting is made from scraps left over from the quilt, which is also her nursery fabric.

the deets:
one piece - baby gap (not listed online)
floral headband - little winter shop

all photos by sarah carpenter photography. 

a lesson in unnecessary traditions

this mom thing is really opening my eyes to a new world of fun and unnecessary traditions.  the cake smash has to be at the top of the list. it's for sure one of my favorite unnecessaries to date. :)

i tried to keep it simple. i found a few inspiration photos on pinterest and realized that simple is the way to go.  plus, i didn't want to spend a lot of time and money on anything that was going to be covered in yogurt and couldn't be washed.

i'm not a health nut by any means, but i am trying to make wise-ish decisions about what foods to introduce to baby girl.  i found this cake and thought it would be a safe bet.  the yogurt icing is amazing and i want to eat it by the gallon. while it's definitely not as amazing as my favorite cream cheese indulgence, it definitely hit the spot.

this cake definitely made me think i could give up sugar.
at least until i made my next fro-yo run. oops.

and can i just say, i was expecting her floral headband to last about 2.5 seconds.
but homegirl surprised me and kept it on for almost 7 minutes, which is basically an eternity!

if i was teaching a baby preparation course, i would definitely add "how to clean up your baby after they try and feed themselves anything" to the agenda. luckily, between dad and gran, they got the job done.  and we only had to soak her in the tub for a few hours to dissolve the dried yogurt from all her nooks and crannies. #babyrollproblems #myfavoriteproblem

the deets:
chambray tank - baby gap
bloomers - jcrew baby
floral headband - little winter shop

all photos by sarah carpenter photography.