Then and Now...

Emma and Calvin's first date:

1-2 weeks old
(14 June 2009)

Many dates later:

2 years and 2-3 weeks old
(19 June 2011)

My how time flies! They were WAY easier to photograph when they were brand new! They were laying across the pack and play in the first picture and longways in the 2nd. My how time flies and kiddos grow!

Nap Time or Gymnastics Time?

Getting Emma down for a nap has always been a nightmare, today was no exception.

Backing up, yesterday I had the brilliant idea that Emma and I would get up, eat breakfast, and then head right out to "the big park" which she has been asking to visit for 2 days now in the hopes of tiring her out and making nap time go smoothly. We ended up having a slower morning than intended, but she was happy playing and watching Dora while I did a few chores. At any rate, we were outside at 8:45. Emma sprinted down the steps while I struggled to get the jogging stroller which she had asked to ride in out of the house and down the steps. As she's watching me, she said, "Come on Mommy! Go BIG park, ride swings, go FAST!"

We played at the big park for a while, walked around a pond, played at a smaller park for about 3.5 minutes, and threw leaves off a bridge into the stream. At this point, Emma asked to back to the big park and climbed back into the stroller. When we got there, she DID NOT want to be there...little girl was getting tired! As I pushed her home, she fell asleep and ended up sleeping in the stroller for about 15 minutes. I attempted to transfer her into her bed, but of course she popped right up and was ready for a snack!

After lunch, I could tell she was tired, but was fighting it. I sat with her and watched a Dora hoping that would calm her down. It didn't. She wouldn't let me take her into the cool dark basement and wriggled away from me and back up the steps screaming the whole time. I tried laying down with her in the guest bed, in our bed. Nothing worked. I asked if she wanted her pack and play. She said yes. I put her in, she said, "Bye bye Mommy." So I kissed her and left. Next thing I hear is Emma crying...and it's getting louder, not because she's increasing in volume but because she's getting closer! Little monkey climbed out of her pack and play! I took her back upstairs and put her back in...she immediately vaulted back out. It was pretty impressive. I put her back in and rubbed her back for about 30 seconds and she was out.....finally! Here's hoping she gets a good 2 hours in!

Morning Snuggle Time!

This morning, Emma padded into my bedroom when she woke up. Although we're trying really hard not to bring her into bed with us, I did bring her into bed to snuggle for a few minutes before we got up for the day. She immediately laid down on the pillow on her side with her hands up under her face and smiled. She was gorgeous! As I laid there and woke up slowly, she would lean over from time to time and give me a quick kiss on the cheek or on the lips. It was one of the best ways to wake up!

One of my favorite things....

Kinda weird but...the smell of hours old sunscreen and dried toddler sweat on a happy, snuggly kid. (I'm relatively sure that the kid has to be mine for me to appreciate this.)

All better!

After a brief rain shower this evening, Emma convinced me that we should go outside. We walked, skipped, ran, and walked backwards until we got to the park. Emma didn't believe that the park would be wet. Specifically she said, "I see it Mommy." The slides and the swings were indeed wet. When Emma saw this, she picked up a stick and said, "Time to clean up. I make it all better." She then proceeded to 'clean up' all three slides and a climbing wall with her small stick. She also dumped the water off all three swings. We ended up playing there for a while, because, although it was wet, it was also 80 degrees, so I figured it wouldn't hurt her too much. She enjoyed getting her hands wet. Towards the end of our time there, her friend Natalie and her parents came out to the park and the girls had fun playing (not necessarily together, but at least at the same time!)

This was the first time that I've heard her use the I make it all better sentence. It was cute! 

2 year stats

Emma had her 2 year well check today. She is a little on the small side at 26 pounds (45th percentile) and 33 inches tall (25th percentile) but the doctor said not to worry about it and that she likely will even out in the next year or so. Emma was very brave and did great getting weighed and having her height taken. She even let the nurse listen to her heart without a fight. By the time the doctor came in though, Emma started getting antsy and was a little fussy. The doctor did her exam with Emma wigging the whole time. Emma had a 2nd Hepatitis A vaccine and will now be good on vaccines until she's 4 (aside from the flu shot which she will be able to get via flu mist this fall).

The doctor assured us that Emma is right on target and perhaps a little advanced developmentally for her age. We learned that we're not supposed to pressure her to use a potty for her BMs and that sometimes it takes at least a year until kids can master that. The doctor also gave us a few discipline pointers to try to get Emma to stop hitting us when she gets mad or frustrated and told us that the biggest way to mitigate tantrums is to watch for clues such as hunger/tiredness/general over stimulation.

Although we know that Emma is thriving, it's always nice to have an 'expert' chime in and tell you so too!

Pictures of Emma in May

Emma in May

Emma's 2nd Birthday!

Science Experiment

I am proud to announce that Emma completed her first science experiment tonight!

We on our way home from the park when Emma fell on the sidewalk and scraped up her knee pretty badly. She immediately started crying and told me that she needed ice. (She also told me that she needed her bike as well as bubbles before deciding that ice was what was going to make her knee feel better.) I put a couple ice cubes in a baggie and she decided they were too big and relatively quickly was distracted by something else. A short time later, she wanted to try to ice her knee again and I suggested that we take the ice with us for her bath. She had a great time watching the ice get smaller and melt. Each ice cube's life ended with, "Where did it go?" complete with her little palms facing upwards. It was very cute! We talked about how water freezes to become ice and then when ice gets warm, it melts back into water. Oh, how I can't wait for more experiments!!

Big Girl Bed

Since we had driven up to Pennsylvania separately, we each stopped at different places for errands on the way home. Kurt intended to just stop for gas, but Emma said she wanted to go into a store. Since Emma has Daddy wrapped around her little finger, they went into Walmart for a bit to wander around. Their wandering led them to toddler beds and they ended up bringing one home. Emma was very proud that she helped pick it out and if you ask her, she'll probably tell you that she put it together herself. ;) She did hold some of the pieces and told us that she was helping....over and over again. (Daddy, I helping. Daddy, I helping.) :) She was very excited once it was put together and immediately started to try to bounce on it. We quickly told her that was not good. She seemed to go to bed fine tonight in it, but she was exhausted, so we'll see how it goes tomorrow.

(A few weeks ago, she did sleep on her mattress on the floor for a week. Exactly a week after I put the mattress on the floor, she asked for it to be put back in her crib.)

We had intended on just getting her a regular twin size bed and not using a toddler bed, but the toddler bed was easy and cheap. (Easy meaning, Kurt threw it in his car and we didn't have to worry about delivery or making things fit.) Also, I think it's making the transition from Emma being a baby to a big girl easier for both Mom and Dad!

Grandma and Papa's Birthday Celebration

Emma had a great time at Papa and Grandma's. All the kids were home to help celebrate their parents' birthdays and Emma got loads of attention from everyone. Within minutes of Emma and I walking into the house, Papa had whisked her away and they headed down to the creek to throw stones into the water. In the afternoon, Emma helped Grandma and Aunt Katie make Papa his birthday cake. After dinner, Emma went to the grocery store with Daddy and Papa to pick up some last minute items.

Emma slept like a rock in Grandma and Papa's room and didn't move during thunderstorms. In the morning, she woke up dry, used the potty, and snuggled for a while in bed with them before getting up and helping Grandma make pancakes. When I woke up and walked upstairs, I saw Emma sitting in her little chair at a table on the deck with her 2nd breakfast plate full of pancakes, a water cup, and a milk cup complete with a flower straw! Grandma's B&B was in full swing! :)

Emma also had fun riding her new tricycle in the garage in the morning with Grandma, Papa, and Aunt Rachel. Aunt Rachel braided her hair after Aunt Katie helped her get dressed to go down to the creek to play with bubbles for a while.

Calvin's 2nd Birthday!

On Saturday, Emma and Carrie helped Calvin celebrate his 2nd birthday at Elioak Petting Farm. It was a fantastically sunny morning and the kids had a ton of fun running around and seeing, feeding, and petting the animals. Emma particularly liked the calf and a bunny. The rest of the time I spent trying to convince her to get off the toys and go find the group to see what animal they were looking at next. After the animals, we went on a tractor ride. Emma was very impressed by this and said several times, "I'm on a tractor!" Only towards the end did she get antsy. Hopefully, this Halloween, she'll remember how fun the tractor ride is and we'll be able to enjoy a hay ride! Following the tractor ride, we went on a cow train. Emma found this very fun. I folded myself into one of the cars and sat with Emma. I didn't trust her to go by herself. I was worried that about 1/3 of the way through the ride, she would decide she was "all done" and try to get up and/or get out of the moving car. The rest of the kiddos did great on the ride by themselves, and I'm pretty sure I was just being an over protective Mom.

After some pizza and juice, Calvin opened his gifts. He has a lot of fun trucks and diggers that Emma thinks will be very fun to play with on their next play date! Following the gifts, Emma helped sing Happy Birthday to  Calvin before he blew out his candles and everyone dug into some delicious cake! Emma and Calvin were sitting beside each other eating their cake and all of a sudden, Emma got down from the picnic table bench, told me that Calvin needed his water cup and scampered up onto another bench to grab his cup from the table. When she handed it to Calvin, he said, "Thanks!" Apparently, these very grown-up 2year olds had a conversation that none of the adults heard and took matters into their own hands!

Emma had fun running around for a couple minutes before we packed up and headed up to Grandma and Papa's house for the rest of the weekend. The poor girl was so tired, she got very upset when I told her she wasn't big enough to sit in the front seat with me. She bawled for quite a while and insisted on holding my hand to calm down. (For a Mom with short appendages, it was quite a feat to drive and hold her hand for several miles!) She finally went to sleep about 20 minutes into our trip.

Potty story of the day:
When we first arrived at the farm, Emma told me that she had to go potty. We went to the bathrooms which were port-a-potties. When I opened the lid, she looked down with a horrified face and said, "No thank you Mommy," and walked right back out. Poor girl may have been slightly traumatized by that. However, she did stay dry the entire time we were there!