Emilies

-- You know, like similes but with Em because she is the one saying them ... ok maybe it is a stretch, it sounded like a good idea in my head -- 

This girl started talking a while back and HAS NOT STOPPED since.  She obviously gets that from her father...PAH!!  Okay, Okay ... like mother like daughter.  :)

I love her facial expressions & hand gestures when she talks.

Anyway, this girl is literally talking from the moment she wakes up until probably about and hour after I put her in bed, with the exception of when she is pretending to be shy for strangers. She is quite advanced in language for her age if I were being honest with you. She has been talking in full sentences long before she turned two. So while most two year olds would say "more please" or "more juice" she says, "Mommy, come into the kitchen and pour me some juice please." And if I said okay, just a moment please. She would say, "Mommy, I want juice in the kitchen right noooowwww." And then proceed to pull me into the kitchen.

My heavens!  What am I going to do with this girl?

The thing is, her voice is so darn cute! And the way she says things is so darn cute! And her face is so darn cute! And she is just so petite! Bah! I just cant handle her cuteness! Even when I have steam coming out my ears she will say something that just melts my heart and brings a huge smile to my face which is good because I shouldn't get so upset, but bad because then I don't discipline how I should. But really, despite how ridiculously difficult she is a lot of the time, I am still loving this phase of her life.

Her are some of her most recent sayings which I need to write down more of because really, they are the best. I mean, I remember P saying cute things and he still does, but I don't remember them hitting me as hard as hers do. So here goes:

• Daddy, eat my face
• But I want to stay in the pool forever and ever.
• I want to do it right noooowww (this is the most common phrase and has been for about 2 months!)
• Do you have ________ at your house?
• "And at last I see the light, and it's like the fog has lifted" - sung in perfect tune
• "Tigger says: Bouncy Bouncy Bouncy, I'm the only one, I'm the only one!"
• "Winnie the Pooh says: Winnie the Pooh, HOO! Winnie the Pooh, HOO!"
• "I have a dream, I have a dream" 
• Where is Parker?  Can I wake him up?
• Singing songs all day long
• Can we go to "Bamba's" house?  (that is how she says grandpa)
• She likes to act out what she did that day for people.  For example if we went swimming she would say something like "I went swimming by myself and did this...."
• Watch me swim by myself (repeated over and over and over and over again)
• My mommy said Yes..... (Smart little booger!  This is what she says anytime someone tells her no.  She has recently been changing the name accordingly as well.  Seriously, how did she learn this one at such a young age!)
• Please don't do that. (I'm trying to get them to use words instead of fighting or hitting back, it is starting to work!  :)
• Anatomy Lessons: Yup, you guessed right, Em loves to point out the difference between boys and girls.  I was taught long ago in one of my classes that you need to just be honest and proper from the beginning when kids start asking about parts.  So we did.  It has gone fine and dandy, but every once in a while Em says "P has a penis and I have a bum, bum, bum." I usually say yes, that is right and then she drops it.  They never joke about it or laugh about it, but randomly she will tell us again a few days later just kind of matter-a-factly, like I know this and I'm going to tell you.  Sometimes she adds more or less, mommy, and daddy, etc. but it is usually the same.  This seems to have worked well in our home so far.  So one Sunday I go to pick the kids up from Nursery (the church class for the 18 month to 3 yr olds) and the teacher who happens to be related to us tells me, Em gave the whole class an anatomy lesson today.  Sounds like it went down the same way it does at home, just some random knowledge she decided to share with everyone.  lol.  I'm glad for a few things: 1) that it was just a tell and not a show & tell, 2) that P is too young to be embarrassed by this yet, & 3) that it probably meant absolutely nothing to the rest of the class. The teachers and I had a good laugh though!  (This happened a few months ago, probably in April or May, she has since for the most part, grown out of this phase but still reminds us of our parts every once in a while. lol.  It cracks me up every time.)

As much as I hate it, I love her attitude

What else can I say about this little girl.  They is SOOOO much to say I just have no clue how to put it into words.  Because the boys are on the Dodger Trip I have had 3 days with her all to myself and it has been a lot of fun.  I think my favorite thing about it is how excited she is to be together just the two of us.  I was worried it would be hard since her main source of entertainment is the P-man but she has done great and we have had a blast together.  I took her to the store and let her pick out her own nail polish color and we painted her fingers and toes for the first time ever.  She LOVES them!  First thing she does when she sees someone is shows them her fingers and toes, even if she has shoes on.  lol.  We also went swimming together, we had a movie night with popcorn, we visited the grandparents, we went to the library, we went to the park, we went to Pixieland, we ate cotton candy, we took a bath together in a jumbo tub, and we even had a sleepover in the living room.  She is in little girl heaven!

Doesn't her had face melt your heart

It has been so great to have some one on one time with her.  Something I have never really had.  She is such a fun, smart, feisty, stubborn, happy, goofy, opinionated, hilarious, talkative, fearless, silly, adventurous, and compassionate little girl.  Probably a hundred other things too.  She seriously has so much personality I don't even know how she handles it all herself.  lol.

Love this profile shot of her singing

She is still a petite little girl.  I throws strangers into major confusion when they see what looks to be a 15 month old with LONG THICK hair, talking in full sentences, climbing ladders, jumping off tables, swinging on poles, and keeping up with the 3-5 year olds in speed and activities.  I have had multiple people come up to me and ask about her.  I have also watched countless people stress and panic as they watch her climb tall things.  I have even had a few call out "who's child is this" thinking I must be some irresponsible parent or something.  It cracks me up and I usually move closer to set their minds at ease.  It is a funny sight for sure!  And to give you a better idea most 18 month clothes are too big on her still... she is almost 2 1/2.  My petite little miss.  I still love her shirt that quotes Shakespeare, “Though she be but little, she is fierce!” 

Peek-a-book!  Mommy Tunnel!

She still doesn't eat much.  Her food staples are: Peanut Butter by the spoonful (she can seriously take ten bites without a sip to drink, how does she do it?), yogurt, beagles & cream cheese, string cheese, most fruit, kids cliff bars, crackers, goldfish, cheese puffs, gummies, PB&J, pretzels, popcorn, and anything sweet.

"Did you say gummies?"

I still don't really know what Em loves to do.  She loves to do whatever her brother is doing and whatever her friends are doing.  I mean, she loves the usual stuff like to swing and slide and swim, but that is one thing that made our time together tricky, I didn't know what to do with her.  I didn't know what we could do that she would really really love.  But it turns out she just really really loved being together.  The more time I spend with her the more I realize that she is literally a MINI-ME!  She looks just like me.  She love to talk, one of my nicknames as a kids was Motor-Mouth.  She is silly, happy, and easy going (for the most part).  And she LOVES to just be around people.  She does not like to be by herself.  She loves music and especially loves to sing. And she is already ridiculously athletic.  Seriously, this little girl is a mini-me!

Ok, now that I have bored you to death, I guess I'll wrap this thing up.  I love this little miss more than words.  She tries me more than I ever knew I could withstand, but she makes up for those times with her sweet, fun, joyous personality.  I know that our lives would be so incomplete without her!  I'm so grateful Heavenly Father gave her to us.  I am amazed at how much our lives and home has changed since she joined our family.  I know this one is going to take us on a wild adventure, so we are holding on tight and enjoying the journey!

Love you Em!