Emmett outgrew his "Newborn-to-Toddler" tub months ago.� It's been practically impossible to keep the kid's bottom half completely submerged in the thing for a while; he kind of looks like a grown man riding a tricycle with his knees uncomfortably poking him in the face.� Now I know Emmett is somewhat of a long baby, but the "to-Toddler" part of that tub is just unrealistic.

But hey, 1) why would you need your toddler confined to a small plastic tub anyway and 2) who cares?� He absolutely loves the big tub, and now he has the perfect opportunity to play with all 5oo of his bath time squirt toys.

Exhibit A.

[caption id="attachment_1125" align="aligncenter" width="539" caption="Happy Emmett in the tub"][/caption]

Exhibit B. (Hey, don't take my word for it.� Emmett will tell you all about it himself...)

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CtRVnnQVwaA&hl=en_US&fs=1&]

Age Timer: 11 months, 3 weeks

Topics: video, bathtub, tub, bathtime

2009 - what a year!�� I became a mother and an aunt, James graduated from BU and Emmett hit some major milestones.� I think most of my immediate family members regard 2009 as one of - if not THE - best year yet, and I could not agree more.

Emmett's first Christmas was great.� We headed up to Maine for Christmas Day with James' family and then back down to Boston to meet my parents and sister for Christmas round two.� Needless to say, Emmett got a lot of good loot.

[caption id="attachment_1112" align="aligncenter" width="539" caption="Emmett's first Christmas, in Maine"][/caption]

New Year's Eve was pretty quiet.� I co-hosted my company's Internet marketing podcast in the afternoon, which was a lot of fun.� Then James, Emmett and I spent a relaxing evening at home that included some yummy Thai takeout, a cozy fire, watching the ball drop and drinking champagne at midnight.

Perhaps the coolest development of the past couple of weeks, however, was the fact that Emmett took his first steps (literally fewer than 24 hours after my parents went back to New Jersey after Christmas)!� In fact, in less than a week, he's become a real pro.� Check out a video of some of his first few steps below ...

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fFTYofjMDSI&hl=en_US&fs=1&]

Now that the hustle and bustle of the holidays are over, I have to focus on my next big project -- Emmett's first birthday party!� Considering it's only 2 weeks away and I still have a lot to do to prepare, I should keep myself pretty busy.� I'm getting excited though; I just bought some pretty awesome themed decorations online :)

Check out the various Baby Lump photo albums on 2009 at http://www.flickr.com/photos/littlebabylump/sets and videos at http://www.youtube.com/pamelump.

Cheers to 2010 and to more milestones, happiness and love for Baby Lump, and thanks for reading along in '09!

Happy New Year from LittleBabyLump.com!

Topics: Weekly Updates, Milestones, holidays, video, Firsts, New Year, first new year, first steps, first Christmas

Topics: Weekly Updates, Milestones, family, holidays, video, Firsts, holiday, clapping

That's right - ferocious.� Or maybe just adorable.� Either way, Emmett's costume is awesome.� Too bad he's a little young for trick-or-treating and we have no place to show it off.� I'm actually thinking of taking him to the supermarket today for some grocery shopping, because at least some people will be able to see him costumed in person.� That is, if he can tolerate being in it for more than 5 minutes (the current record).

[caption id="attachment_1064" align="aligncenter" width="539" caption="Ferocious Blue Monster"][/caption]

[caption id="attachment_1049" align="aligncenter" width="539" caption=""Too Cute to Scare" shirt from Aunt Sara & Uncle Shawn"][/caption]

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_YtgOWxIT8k&hl=en&fs=1&]

For mischeif night last night, I carved a pumpkin, toasted the seeds (which are DELICIOUS) and James built our first fire in the apartment's fireplace.� Needless to say it was a nice little fall evening.� I'm also pretty darn proud of how well my jackolantern came out.� It's an owl!

[caption id="attachment_1046" align="aligncenter" width="539" caption="Owl Jackolantern"][/caption]

[caption id="attachment_1047" align="aligncenter" width="539" caption="James and Emmett cozying up by the fire."][/caption]

In past news, Emmett had his 9-month checkup the other week.� He was a super champ through the bloodwork.� He didn't even make a peep -� it was incredible - though he wailed when they gave him his shots.� He's now a whopping 20 lbs. 4 oz. (46th percentile) and 30.5 inches "tall" (97th percentile).� Again, one of the tallest kids in his class!

We� had a couple of fun visits this past week.� My best friend Niki stayed with us last weekend, and we had a visit from my good friend, Lauren, from high school last Wednesday.� More aunts for Emmett!

[caption id="attachment_1051" align="aligncenter" width="539" caption="Crazy Aunt Niki - "We're drying our hair!""][/caption]

[caption id="attachment_1052" align="aligncenter" width="539" caption="Aunt L"][/caption]

I'm also convinced that Emmett is extremely close to saying "mamma."� In fact, it sounds like he's already saying it (although he might not exactly know what he's saying)!� Check out this video for evidence.� What do you think?

Age Timer: 9 months, 2 weeks

Topics: Weekly Updates, holidays, video, Halloween, monster, checkup, costume, visits