2010 Emily Update

Emily is doing great. She's mostly sweet but definitely has a sassy side. If you spend the day with her, you'll most likely hear her say throughout the day "what's this?," "where did ___ go?," and "can I have it?" She has recently graduated to a "big girl bed". Really we just took the gate off her crib and converted it to a daybed. But it's still closer to a big girl bed than she had before. We anticipated her opening her door and exploring the house while we slept but she has yet to do that (it's been 2 weeks now). Next will be ditching the pacifier. I have hesitated long enough and I've committed to February as the month it's gonna happen. Right now she's only allowed to have it during night night time. Dreading it, dreading it, dreading it. After the kiss off of the pacifier, we will tackle the potty training. Right now she just thinks the potty is a toy since the one she has sings to her. And the girl can't resist her some music. She LOVES music. It tames the wild beast in her. Usually if I rock her while singing my version of Neil Diamond's "Sweet Caroline" (which is replaced with "sweet Emmy Jane") she'll calm herself. Most of the time if I randomly start singing it, she will run to me, reach her arms out, and say "hold you." She must be held while I sing it. She also likes to sing. Whether it be a real song or a made up song. I love her made up songs the best though. She still knows her basic colors and then some and can now count to 15. I'm going to start teaching her how to recognize her letters (she can say most of the alphabet). She also understands what counting means a little better. She will see two of something and then say "two ___. " She is just getting the concept of adding one more to get 3. Though she can point and count objects, she often points at an object more than once and so counts it 2 or more times. She is such a tender hearted little girl. If she sees I'm upset (whether she's the reason I'm upset or not) she will say "I'm sorry." If she sees anyone or anything (inadament objects, such as her baby dolls to even the remote control, included) she will ask them if they're okay and then tell them it's okay. She also gets concerned for people who are upset on t.v. For example, if she sees a lady crying on t.v., she'll say "it's okay lady." Being in the presence of people is something she loves. Sometimes she needs a little while to warm up to strangers or people she doesn't know very well but once she does she becomes the center of attention. She's changed so much in the last few months. It's been so much fun seeing her grow from a baby to a little girl. Speaking of becoming a little girl, she can't leave the house without "Emmy's purse." Well,there's a lot more I could write about but I'll spare you.