Emma's Two Pictures

Oh sweet Emma. I can't believe you are already two. I've said it constantly, but you are the best addition to our family. You are full of adventure and mischief. You care so much about others, and will stand your ground (sometimes a little too loudly) for what you feel is right. And sometimes, what you feel is right - is a lollipop for breakfast. You love your big sister and want everything she has. But you are still such your own person. Your nails have to be painted, and repainted when chipping. You are obsessed with shoes. You like anything pink and girly, but you can jump and throw better than most two year olds. You are the best mom to your baby dolls, always feeding them and being so sweet. You point out every baby you see. You insist on your hair being a certain way, whether it is a bow, ponytail or pigtails. You would change clothes 3 times a day if we would let you. You are 0 to 60, and thank goodness for your crib or you'd never go back to 0. Emma baby, we love you for everything you are. Keep being my sweet little spitfire, and don't grow up so quickly! Happy second birthday big girl. 

And, while I am writing a novel, I just have to update more about Emma. She has hardly any teeth. But manages just fine with those gums. Her hair curls at the ends, and gets really curly in the humidity. She's 22 pounds - and I will have to update height after her appt, but pretty short I am guessing. She is still in 18 month clothes and I'm not sure when she'll be tall enough for 2T. 

She says a ton of words - but my favorites is "another" (instead of two, seems so proper). She is stringing words together like "I want that," "I want another," "I Do," or "Mine shoe."

She says "gotchu" which is so funny. She dropped a wipe but caught it on the way down and said "gotchu wipe!" She was stung by a bee early last summer. Every bug she sees, she says "bee" and runs away worried. We were reading a book with a bee, and she said "Bee!" and I said "Emma do you remember getting stung" and she said "uh-huh" pointed to her leg and rubbed it and said "ohhhhh" (like it hurt) and then said "Bee gotchu me!" with an upset face. It was so funny!

For some reason, I couldn't remember "oink" for pig noises - so I would snort. She would try to snort and just ended up sounding like she was choking. So now whenever someone asks her 'what does the pig say' she starts choking. Mom fail. 

We have always called her Emma Drama, because she will take things a little too seriously. She hit me the other day and I said "no hitting!" Her lip curled, she burst into tears, she ran to the corner of the room, sprawled onto the floor and just started screaming like I was the meanest in the world. Emma - you hit me! 

But sometimes the world can seem so hard. And she doesn't like to be disappointed. If she wanted to do something or see something, she will get so upset and we have to let her know that we understand what she is saying (many times the frustration is from her seemingly whining when she's trying to tell us something). 

She will meltdown over a lollipop or not being able to swing outside because its raining. Which can be annoying! I will tell her, "we are going to {insert something fun} but we can't do that until you calm down." She will nod 'okay' and suck in her breath, still quivering. And every ounce of annoyance at that meltdown fades away as I see my baby trying to be brave and calm down, even though life can seem so hard at 1. 

When she really wants to do something, she will raise her eyebrows, nod her head up and down, with a small smile like she's trying to convince us it will be so much fun. 

And when she gets really excited, but wants to hide it, she has a shy smile like this. 

She is at such a fun age. So full of personality. Loves us more than anything. And I just want to bottle up every moment of her smiles, laughs, excitement, and the way her pigtails bounce when she runs. She'll be big before we know it. 

Happy birthday sweet girl - you and your big sister, don't grow up too fast.