Baby blankets

Apparently, dishtowels are the perfect size blanket for Emma's babies.

Baltimore Aquarium

Kurt has been excited to take Emma to the Baltimore Aquarium since we moved back to the area last year. We made plans to meet some friends at the aquarium and began talking it up to Emma on Friday and Saturday. We told her all about the fish and that we would be meeting her friend Morgan there. This morning, while I was getting Emma breakfast, I asked if she remembered what we were going to do today. She looked a little puzzled and I told her we were going to see the fishies. She got a very concerned look on her face put her hands out and said, "What about Morgan?" (It wasn't quite that clear, but that's what she said.) I quickly assured her that Morgan would be there as well and Emma got very excited!

Emma was very excited by the waterfall as we walked into the aquarium and Kurt and I both thought, 'Wow, this is going to be a great day!' and were very excited to move inside to show Emma some fish. Emma was very excited and was busy dancing and running around and pretty much making herself at home. She loved the bubble tubes which welcomed us into the first part of the aquarium and then  looked down into the the sting ray and tiger shark tank in awe. Then we went up an escalator...and Emma decided they were the coolest thing since peeled clementines (I was going to say since sliced bread, but she's not a huge bread fan. :) ) All she wanted to do from that point on was go up escalators, watch people on escalators, or put her hand on the moving rail of the escalator. We made her look at a few fish along the way, but most of the time was spent on the nifty escalators. When we made it to the rain forest portion of the aquarium, she did forget about the escalators for a while and had a lot of fun playing in the water on the ground. She got to see a bird up close as well as a tarantula while we were in the rain forest. They had a lot of fun with some shells and sand in the play area. She and Morgan also had fun running down the ramps on the way out of the museum and stopping to share some snacks along the way.

It was definitely a successful day. Emma was very well behaved and had a lot of fun with Morgan. The girls even did very well during lunch. We'll definitely take Emma back to the aquarium at some point, however, I think we might stick to the mall for escalators and head to Bass Pro next time we want to introduce Emma to some fish.

We weren't able to take many pictures because of the lighting, but here are a couple from the day:

Emma dressed for the day in her froggy sweatshirt. (Thanks Aunt Katie!)

This is what Emma loved most about the day...escalators!

The girls playing in the sand

The girls and their Daddies. I love how excited Emma is in this picture!

Spring days in February!

Yesterday and today were gorgeous spring-like days near 70. As a result, we got to spend some time outside before it got dark. Yesterday, Emma was NOT happy about having her picture taken and screamed "No Mommy! No!" as if I was trying to torture her. Today she was pretty indifferent, but refused to look at me when I asked her to and smiling was completely out of the question. Here are a couple pictures of our willful daughter.

This literally was just because I pulled out the camera.

Still a little pouty

Happy to be climbing on the playground

Looking at a girl on the monkey bars

Pondering something important. 

"I have a boo boo"

About 20 minutes after Kurt dropped Emma off at daycare today, I got a phone call at work from daycare informing me that Emma was completely fine, but she had been bit. This is the first time she's been bit at daycare. They told me that it didn't break the skin and that Emma didn't even cry. While I was on the phone, Emma was proudly showing off the bandaid with butterfly stickers to all her friends. When I picked her up today, the first thing she said to me was, "Mommy, I boo boo." When I looked at her arm, her wrist was all blotchy and she had a cut on her forearm. The teachers were busy tending to other kids and the class pet fish at the time, and I asked Emma if she had been chewing on her wrist, which she's been known to do when she is exhausted. She said she wasn't. Her teacher then explained to me that she had been bit again today. *awesome* I guess the first situation, Emma and another Child were playing in a kitchen area and the other child decided they wanted the pretend food Emma had and bit her. The second situation was a little less clear, but I'm relatively sure that Emma tried to take a toy from another kid and he or she bit in defense. As we on the way to the car, the daycare director said what a trooper Emma was today and suggested that we might want to get a less delicious brand of soap for her. :)

When we got home, while she was snacking before dinner, she pointed to her arm and said matter-of-factly, "I got bit. I have a boo boo." Later, when Kurt called, she told him, "I have a boo boo." I tried to get her to tell Grammy tonight...but she wasn't into talking on the phone too much and just ended up mumbling it instead.

Bigger by the second!

Every day for the last week, Kurt and I have remarked how big Emma is getting and how much she has developed. Within the last few days, she seems to be a happier kid. She wakes up happy, she comes home from daycare happy, she happily goes up to get her bath and read books (we're still working on being happy to go to sleep though). She will just run up to us, say HI! and give us the biggest hug ever. It is adorable and melts our hearts!

Her grasp on language is getting stronger and stronger. She's had a pretty big vocabulary for quite a while and it continues to grow daily. Her enunciation is getting better and better and it's getting easier to understand her. (which probably is one reason that she's been happier...she gets her point across quicker). She continues to work on sentences and speaking in multi-word phrases. Yesterday, one of her teachers told me that Emma went to a window looked outside, pointed up and said, "I see the moon." very distinctly and out of the blue. This evening, I was getting a plate ready for her dinner and I asked if she wanted potatoes. Emma responded, "I want mac & cheese." Luckily we had some left over in the refrigerator!

She sometimes gets stuck when she tries to put two words together. After bed time, we were reading a book and she pointed to the moon. I asked her if the moon comes out during the day or at night. She tried so very hard to say "at night." It sounded like 'aabby' and I repeated what she said and asked if it was correct. She said no and really tried to enunciate the word at. It was really cute to see her working so hard and so intently trying to get the right sounds out.

This is all very exciting to us and I'm sure before we know it, she'll be talking our ears off (she is Kurt's daughter after all! ;) ...but as my Mom has told me time and time again, "You can't wait for them to walk and talk and when they do you just tell them to sit down and be quiet!"

Valentine's Weekend

Valentine's weekend started early in our house. Kurt left work early on Friday and came home to vacuum the whole house, do all the dishes, and mount a television on our bedroom wall. He even had time to stop and get me flowers. :) On Saturday, we dropped Emma off at her friend Calvin's for a few hours while we went out for a late lunch/early dinner followed by coffee and book browsing at Borders and meandering around Target for a while. Some people might not consider this the most romantic valentine's day, but to us it was just perfect. We got some time to do some of our favorite things that aren't really possible with a toddler who is not content to sit in a cart or stroller for more than 5 minutes.

On Sunday, Calvin came to our house for a few hours, while Adam and Melanie went out to dinner. The kids play so well together. It was actually sort of relaxing since they were entertaining each other and Emma wasn't pulling at either Kurt or me to come do something with her every 5 seconds.

Relaxing after dinner with a snack and some Dora the Explorer

Holding Hands

On Monday, Emma brought home a bunch of fun gifts for Daddy and Mommy. A hand-made card, a handmade photo magnet, and a goody bag with a fun tissue paper flower. Emma loved the flower a lot...or she was obsessed with it since she wanted the candy in the goody bag!

She would not look at me and smile

This picture was taken right before she started throwing the cards around the room

What are we in for?

Emma has been home sick for the last two days. She has a cold with a slight fever and we could tell she just didn't feel well so Kurt stayed home with her Monday and Carrie was home with her on Tuesday. Monday, Kurt definitely got off easy. Emma basically just wanted to cuddle all day and sleep. Tuesday, although she felt much better, we didn't feel comfortable sending her to daycare and thought one more day at home would do her good. She also had way more energy on Tuesday...as evidenced by every room in our house looking like a bomb went off. She was really very good for most of the day...until it got to be way past nap time and the little girl still hadn't napped. (Well, she did fall asleep for about 20 minutes, but started coughing, woke up and wouldn't go back to sleep.) As a result, we had a couple trying hours before Daddy got home this evening. By dinner time, Emma was in full on loopy mode and was busy "disappearing" under a blanket and spinning in circles.

Kurt came in, put his stuff down, and was fixing a dinner plate for himself when Emma ran into the kitchen and said, "Dad, I need (to go to) bed." As if Mom had prohibited her from sleeping all afternoon! Kurt proceeded to have the following conversation with Emma:
Kurt: Did Mommy let you sleep today?
Emma: No.
Kurt: Did you try to sleep today?
Emma: I did.
Kurt: Did Mommy wake you up every time you fell asleep?
Emma: She did. (with emphatic head nodding)

I have a dreading sensation that this may be foreshadowing for several years down the road. *Sigh*

Breakfast with Elmo

When I went into Emma's room this morning, she wrapped Elmo in a blanket and handed him and told me that he was hungry and needed breakfast. In the kitchen, Emma said that she would sit in her high chair and Elmo would sit in her 'big girl seat', aka her booster seat. When I set Emma's bowl of oatmeal on her tray and sat down at my seat to eat, she told me that Elmo needed a bowl too. So Elmo got a (empty) bowl and spoon set in front of him. Periodically, Emma would tell me that Elmo needed help and I would have to get up and give him a bite of his breakfast before Emma would take another bite of hers. When Kurt wiped up Emma's hands and face and tried to take her upstairs to change her, she yelled that Elmo also needed his hands and face wiped. It was super cute, although I do have to admit that I'm hoping that Elmo doesn't join us every morning for breakfast!