December pics

This is what they say happens when you have more than one child. You don't take as many photos of them, and you definitely don't update their blog as often! Oh well, we're having fun together whether it's being recorded or not. 

Here's Emi dressed as a cowgirl when I hosted a little cowboy-themed party for my dad's birthday:

Here are my little elves running to check out the tree on Christmas morning:

I love the funny faces she makes:

Checking out a train display with her buddy, Bennett:

What's new with Emi? She is such a pleasure to spend time with. Both my girls are -- most of the tough times come when they are both together, but one-on-one, they are both so pleasant for the most part. Emi still loves to go places and explore. She loves playing with other kids and is usually the more outgoing one who initiates with others. She is in a phase where she likes to say inappropriate things to get a reaction and is also testing limits more. However, she's usually distractible. Snow White is her favorite princess (did you really think she could share a home with Alaina and not get exposed to those?), probably because she "likes red and blue the best." She strikes a good balance of being active and physical but also being able to sit and play for a chunk of time or listen during a story. She is starting to really enjoy trying to write a few letters, with mixed results. She always wants me to come over and see what she wrote immediately. She loves playing Hello Kitty bingo. 

Emi "reading" a book

Here's Emi wearing a top or dress from when I was little. I found it in a box in the basement (I have lots of my old toys, but not many clothes, so it was a fun discovery.) I had Emi wear it as a top even though I think it was probably a dress. 

Alaina's bridging ceremony to go from a Daisy scout to a Brownie was last week, and Emi couldn't resist going over the bridge again and again:

We went to Touch a Truck with a sweet friend:

These play silks were one of the best gifts I've bought the girls. They both play with them and in completely different ways. And I think they are used pretty much every day.

Sorry if this one's a repeat -- I can't remember if I posted it yet. It's from a spring walk I took with Emi.

I think the most interesting thing new with Emi is that she asks to go to the park every day, often multiple times a day! I am trying to oblige her as much a possible. She loves being outside, and she loves going on slides and swings. It's amazing to me how much she is physically capable of doing (and willing to do). Alaina was and is much more cautious (this is commentary, not criticism), so I'm not used to having a girl who just turned 2 and doesn't need any help on the play structures and wants to go down the biggest slide. Really, she is always on the lookout for the biggest one and asking, "Big slide? Big slide?" And if she's on a swing, it's, "Faster!" Yesterday she even told me to push her faster while we were walking to the swings. ;-) She also loves trying to blow bubbles (but isn't good at it yet) and playing in the sand table at home. And she's willing to go on pretty long walks with me.

Emi's birthday, Easter, and more

It has been a wonderful few days! The 18th was Emi's 2nd birthday. Todd, my mom, and I took her out to a wonderful brunch that day at a great new restaurant. On Saturday, her grandparents and aunt and uncle and cousins came to celebrate with her. 

Emi requested chocolate cake for her birthday. This was one of my favorite cakes I've ever made. 

Emi's great-grandma gave her a little white bear that plays "Jesus Loves Me." Emi wanted to play it over and over again and sing along with it.

This is from when we visited family over spring break. Sweet photo of the girls with their cousin Josh:

I took the girls to a children's museum and they got to ride a carousel. I don't think Emi liked having to turn around and pose for the photo:

Just a sweet time relaxing in her bunny seat at home (bunny sit, she calls it).

We got her a little pillow, new soft blanket, and the softest stuffed bunny I've ever felt for her birthday:

During Emi's party, we had several egg hunts:

The girls checking out their Easter baskets:

Alaina and I had fun decorating Easter eggs:

Emi loves being outside, going for walks, playing on playgrounds, etc.! This is from a walk we went on today. I thought the trees with white flowers were so pretty lining this street:

I hope she will always want to be my walking buddy!

Serious Cuteness

I found these adorable outfits for the girls online (Alaina has a pink version). They are so cute and comfy, and they both loved them. Oh my goodness, I just want to hug this girl all day! She is hard to get a photo of -- very busy, and she would rather play with the camera or look at old photos than get her picture taken.

More cuteness. I got this dress at a yard sale last year and she finally got to wear it.  She is holding her beloved "blankie." 

Grandma got the girls Frozen dolls for Valentine's Day -- Elsa for Alaina and Anna for Emi. They light up and play "Let It Go," which Emi can already sing part of. She is definitely learning all about the princesses way earlier than Alaina did! (But she also selected a book about demolishing buildings from the library last week, so her interests are well-rounded...)

Emi loves to sit at the kitchen table just like her sister and have an after school snack (or try to grab Alaina's homework and draw on it).

I dropped off Alaina at a playdate this afternoon. Emi was very upset not to be able to join in. I then asked her if she would like to have a playdate with someone soon and she said yes. I asked, "With whom would you like to have a playdate?" (but in a less grammatically correct manner - ha!) and she said, "La la!" (her name for Alaina). Very heartwarming. They held hands this afternoon when we walked from school to the car. They definitely have a tumultuous relationship, but over time I hope the love part will continue to grow and deepen.

Emi continues to be so fun, generally happy, and friendly. She loves seeing people, whether adults or children. She also loves being outdoors and looking at squirrels, listening to the birds, etc. She is very active but also likes to sit and look at books or be read to, and still is very curious and seems interested in how things work. She has a great vocabulary and is pretty talkative and responsive. She has started to have a few colors that she consistently knows (white and blue come to mind) and knows some shapes (square, circle, oval, triangle, heart, star). She also has started to recognize a few letters (A and H are a couple) and enjoys singing the abc song.

Things to remember

Yesterday in the car, Alaina was complaining that Emi can't say her name properly (she calls her "La la" most of the time). We all kept trying to get her to say it, but nothing worked. So Alaina said, "You need to stop and think before you speak!" Emi paused for a moment and then said, "Bounce house!" :-) (We recently bought a small bounce house for our basement from their cousins.) 

Also, Alaina gets irritated with her sister a lot and often says, "Go away, sister!" The other day, Emi said, "Go away, sister!" and now has been saying it whenever Alaina starts to get stern and frustrated with her. I encouraged her to think about how she talks to Emi and consider whether she wants her to speak this way to her. Food for thought, I hope.

Emi is talking a lot these days and is very understandable in most of the words she says. She is starting to combine words more and more into 2-3 word phrases and sentences. She also impressed us in December with being able to thread beads onto pipe cleaners. She is not very fearful and very willing to take physical risks. She loves pulling a stepstool or stepladder over to anywhere so she can see things and reach things. She is still a very curious girl who wants to see everything, look inside every drawer, cupboard, watch me making dinner (it drives her crazy when she can't see what's on the stove), etc. She also sometimes looks at the back of a tablet or iPad to see how it works. She loves electronic things and pressing buttons. She also still is very friendly, social, and smiley. She loves going places and visiting people or having people come over. She has been swimming twice now and loves it (she keeps grabbing her shoes and socks and saying, "Swim! Pool!"). She's going to start taking swimming lessons this weekend. She also loves being read to and has a good attention span with that (often having a favorite that she wants us to read several times in a row).

Starting to play together!

Due to their age difference, I figured it would be a while before the girls truly played together. Recently there have been more moments of that, including a major dress-up session. At first, Emi didn't want to dress up, but Alaina kept begging her and eventually she relented. By the end, she was wearing a dress, crown, and wings. Princess dress-up school has begun!

This picture is from a tree-lighting ceremony we attended. The girls were shaking jingle bells together.

Finally, something special happened today. Emi says a lot of words, but hasn't done a lot of phrases yet. Today she said, "Oh my goodness!" and "Look at Emi!" multiple times. (Kind of makes me wonder if I say those things a lot...) It's so fun to see her combining words and making sentences. These types of things are so exciting for me as a mom. Not because I get any credit for it, but it's amazing to watch a human being develop and grow.