Tomorrow a 6yo lives here

E's excitement over her 6th birthday is not containable.  She bounded out of bed today jacked up about waking tomorrow and being 6yo. There has been a "how many sleeps until my birthday" countdown all week. We went to the Loveland Art Show today and in the kid art area, she built herself a birthday cake out of clay. After the art show, we went to the store and she picked out her real birthday cake. We are picking up her BFF after school tomorrow to take them on a special lunch and Build A Bear excursion.  E. has no idea, she asked that momma surprise her on her birthday. Mission accomplished.  

Kindergarten is in full motion, E. said her teacher commented on how detailed her artwork is. Understatement.  She seems to like her teacher, as much as we can trick out of her.  The teacher communicated to me the other day that she is very bright and a good friend to her classmates. We try all kinds of tricks to get E to talk about her day at school, but she catches on quick, no interest in sharing. Even with a few weeks into the school year behind us, she is exhausted and has been prone to wild mood swings.  The teacher said E is doing a pretty good job at keeping the sensory seeking under control at school, so we think all that effort to keep from moving, grabbing, running etc gets released when at home.  She leaves for school talking, but when comes off the bus, she is unsmiling, totally shut down and wants to be alone to decompress after eating lunch. E. typically asks to go to her room, by herself.  I keep expecting to find her napping in there, but no such luck.

E. spends most of every day crafting and creating furniture, food and vehicles for her dolls and animals.  She has all kinds of furniture for her dolls and dollhouse, but prefers to design her own our of paper, cardboard and tape.  She piles all the manufactured pieces in a corner and uses her designs.  This week she made an airplane and molded miniature food from quick dry clay...cupcakes, baguettes, sandwiches, cheeseburgers etc.  Once they air dry she paints then clearcoats the food.  At dinner time, animals and dolls joins us with their own special feast.

Gymnastics is progressing at warp speed.  E. was invited to level 2 gymnastics and now trains 6.50 hrs a week.  Over the summer she was also invited into a special session where they work on up to level 5 skills.  Fortunately we have a few hours between school and gymnastics, then gymnastics and bed for decompression time.

As if she isn't busy enough, E has asked to do cheerleading, dance and Girl Scouts.  We told her Girls Scouts only for now and will be attending an information meeting this week.

Spring 2015

We have been enjoying the great outdoors after a snowy, long winter!  Emma has been helping me weed the flowerbeds which turns into her searching for worms. She believes a bucket of dirt is their new home/cage.  We had to upgrade to a new bike size this year and have left the trainers on until she gets the feel for it. It's a heart attack riding in our neighborhood since she has a tendency to look everywhere but forward and there are lots of cars using the neighborhood as a cut-thru.  The first of the season ride, she bumped a neighbors minivan (no mark, whew!).  It's interesting, you would think everyone would be sleeping better and happier with more outdoor activity, but Emma seems to get too overstimulated, becomes very moody and uncooperative for the rest of the day.

Emma made friends with another 5yo on the street and they have been having a blast toggling playdates between houses.  This little girl is also in her Prek class and they will be riding the bus to kindergarten together. She still plays with the little guy next door, but they are very competitive and a lot of bickering back and forth ensues...he is a few years younger than her, but she loves hanging out with him bc he is on the move like she is.

We had our first big injury, a sprained ankle.  Em went to her very first birthday party at an indoor recreation center.  While on a trampoline, another girl jumped and Emma lost balance, rolling her ankle.  The ankle instantly swelled and bruised, so we had an xray to rule out a fracture.  The first couple days were difficult trying to rest it and it's still sensitive, so she can't run like she wants and has to be reminded. Gymnastics modified her sessions and helped her with some rehab moves so she didn't have to sit out.

Speaking of gymnastics, she was invited to Level 1 Team last week.  Team begins in June and she will be at the gym two days a week, 2 hours each day. We need the ankle to heal well!

Fwd: Picture

First Valentines Father-Daughter Dance 2015

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Happy New Year, very late..

Well, American New Year we are late, but Chinese New Year Greetings are early. We are getting ready to decorate the house for CNY this week and maybe try making dumplings this year. We are going to make a trip to Jungle Jim's. 2015 is the year of the Goat. The other day we discussed the fact that Cincinnati doesn't have a large Chinese community and that maybe we should travel to other cities like DC or Chicago where they have more authentic Chinese activities during Chinese New Year.  This year we will be lucky enough to be in CT with adoption friends during CNY.  The girls lived in the orphanage for about 8 months together, Emma was the last to leave, the youngest of the group.

Christmas was all the things it usually is. Possibly the  last Christmas for believing in Mr. Claus and sitting on his lap.  She looked huge on his lap this year.  There was a line of questioning that led me to believe Emma was trying to catch me in a lie about Santa and she tried to trip me up, indicating that Mom was Santa.  

Prek2 is going ok, we have teacher conferences in a few weeks. She is very interested in learning, just not the being more still part and realizing she is not in charge.   Emma says school is boring so Doug taught her how to spell boring she says it so much.  She is very interested in knowing how words are spelled, but the connection to reading a word isn't present; can sound the letter out, but can't put them together for reading.  E. really doesn't want to talk about school or anything else you ask her. It's the age, conversation led by an adult is like a tooth extraction.

Gymnastics is going phenomenal.  With the coaches help, we found a technique to help her focus better in class.  During these conversations, they  realized she is the youngest child they have in all their BLAST sessions, therefore developmentally in regards to listening and focus, she is on par. They forgot that because of her strength.  Emma has done so well the past few weeks, they promoted her to Pre-Team Gymnastics tonight.  Pre-Team is 2 hours sessions every week.  Emma is SO excited, but is going to be exhausted.  This Thursday will be her last swim lesson due to scheduling conflict with Pre-Team.

Fall 2014

School has been in session for two months now, Emma has the swing of things for the most part.  She learns quick, but struggles with impulse control...rats herself out when the teacher has corrected her...the reveal is during feeding and baths. Truth Serum.  She is enjoying writing words, creating patterns and simple math.  Most of her drawings have elaborate back stories. 

We purchased Children's Theatre season tickets with our besties...this season we joined The Kids Club, so before the performance they do special things with the club members like a character meet/greet from the play.  The season runs through the winter months only, which helps winter feel not so long.

Emma now has 10 "siblings" that she is escorting around...will randomly call out to her siblings or kids to follow her.  She wants to be the leader. This morning at breakfast, E. asked if I remembered all her siblings names, then proceeded to name them all..they are the kids names she goes to school or gymnastics with. 

We had a great time at Disney...Pluto, Goofy and Donald are bigger hits in her life than Princesses. I'm ok with that.  I thought her mind would explode at meeting Anna/Elsa but nowhere near as excited as meeting the Characters at Chef Mickey and during the MK parade.  She kept reconfirming that the characters were just people in costume.  Look out Santa, your time is expiring!  We were able to meet up with our extended adoption family in Disney and Emma had a blast meeting Miss N. who she lived 9 months in the orphanage with. They were instant BFF's!  Five days at Disney with a sensory kid was probably a bit much, 3 days would have been more than enough. We walked about 7 miles everyday and we were in bed by 9pm every night...the break from technology and tv was nice, didn't even miss it.  We have over a 1,000 pictures taken that I have yet to sort and create an album for. I'm about 3 years behind in picture sorting! I will do that next year when she goes off to kindergarten.

Emma is still enrolled in swim, only two more levels before competitive swimming, if she wants to continue.  Probably next summer she will do competitive swim. She is still at gymnastics once a week for 1.50hrs. Yesterday they let us know they aren't moving her up yet due to maturity/listening skills. They reassured us the skill level is more than there, but she would never survive the focus required for the two hour class.  They don't want her to burn out and hate gymnastics. We couldn't agree more.  The kid is super strong, they have her doing 5 straight arm chin ups on the 12ft bar and last night she was doing 3-4 spins around the kip bar at a time with so much control, looked like a 10 year old. E is doing "big girl" things as Em calls it, now she needs to develop her big girl maturity.

She knows Christmas is right around the corner and has been talking about all the gifts, but struggles to tell you what she wants.  She really wants/needs nothing. We have noticed she barely touches any of her toys, still into drawing 10+ pictures a day and playing games with us.  I would say she is more of a collector of stuff...likes the idea of owning stuff, but never uses it.  Uno has become a big hit over the last few months.  It's the 2nd thing she wants to do after dinner, the 1st is to hug me...that's her thing, climbing into my lap and hugging me after eating. I likey!

Swimmer girl

The new swim level is working on backstroke, which E. picked up in a minute and earned a ribbon the first time. Her form is good, the speed is out of this world. The instructor stays about a head length behind the student and last night Emma literally ran her over.  We broke into hysterical laughter as did the instructor, it was crazy to watch and felt abnormal that an almost 5yo can swim this well and fast. D. said it was like watching the next Michael Phelps!

Quick summer

Summer is flying by!  School begins again in just a little over a month.  Emma has grown this summer, but not by much, looks like the only thing we will need to school shop for is pants , but not doing that just yet, will wait until it gets cooler.  She is in-between sizes and pants shopping is complicated.

We signed E. up for a few days of a camp in August, which should wear her out, it's an all day experience. Hopefully this will get her back into the groove for school, in regards to listening, following directions etc.  She is "on to me" in regards to library story time, now has no interest in going because the librarian is very firm about sitting still and not talking unless instructed to move or use their voice...lol...smart kid.

Learning to ride a bike happened in about 3 instructions/one week...she is doing great and all about her safety!  Helmet, gloves, elbow/knee pads....won't ride her bike without.  One ride she chose to not wear her knee pads, hit a curb and the bike went flying on one direction and her in the other.  She wouldn't ride the bike for about a week, but Dad got her back on it.

Gymnastics is status quo, will be moving to the next level in September.  Her coach told us E. could take gymnastics every day of the week and still have plenty of energy.  E. is battling open blisters from bar work at home and on the playground.  She is aping the monkey bars not stop.  The blisters heal and then she breaks them right back open/  Her coach told her that means she is working really hard and that's a good thing.

We are going to Disney this Fall and she talks about it all the time.  She steals change off our counters to put in her Disney Fund.  Last week Doug laid a few 20's on the counter for me to pickup, didn't tell me and she "stole" them.  We had a talk with her about asking if it's OK before she takes anything.  She already has a couple of Disney gifts cards and a bunch of change saved up.  E. said she is buying an Elsa dress, cape and shoes when we get to Disney...it's a good learning experience for her to save towards something vs. instant gratification.

School's Out For Summer...

Almost...this coming week is the last week of school.  Emma mastered everything except self control..ha ha...we read that and laughed...self control is never going to be her strong suit, she is just highly impulsive.  The Loveland Kindergarten cutoff is July 30th, so Emma will go to Preschool (Prek2) four days a week next year and hopefully maturity will bring better self control.  Last week school held Mother's Day Tea...Emma was adorable...bold and proud is what her teacher remarked...she was the hit of the room with her random outbursts and tea time prayer...I was asked if she ever stops talking by another mom...never.

The kiddo is swimming like a rocket and doing elementary backstrokes now.  She has no fear, takes crazy dolphin like leaps into the water and pops out on the surface with the biggest smiles.  We laugh the entire 30 minute swim lesson.  She also has a boyfriend in class...they had to be separated and firmly talked to yesterday to knock off their love fest...he has as much energy as she does and are drawn to one another..  Emma will be moving up soon, there are only 3 more skills of the 12 she has to meet before the next swim level. 

At E.'s request, we took the training wheels off of her bike...she is working on balance and puts her feet down like a champ to keep from wrecking.  It's only a matter of training days before she will be 2 wheelin' on her own.  D. let go a couple of times yesterday and she survived a couple of pedals before leaning too far to the side. 

Yesterday we received a call from the team gymnastic instructor inviting us to move E. up.  The gym sessions would be 1.50 hrs long and they will be working on high bar/shapes...we decided not to move her up until September.  We want her to mature up and have a non-intense summer...she has had some intense behavior lately that we want to give time to sort itself out.  Once we agree to the next level, breaks/downtime are frowned upon, so we want to take the time to think about the next level and just have a fun summer before making that commitment.

Art is still Emma's primary favorite activity...she blows through tons of paper everyday making pictures, "gifts" and envelopes.  D. bought colored pencils and crayons have fallen ton the wayside for the time being...I'm not sure she likes them more than crayons, I believe she likes the quantity of pencils and how large they are. Bigger is better in her eyes. I taught her how to make envelopes out of a sheet of paper, so she makes a "gift" then makes an envelope to wrap it in...I find envelopes tucked everywhere.  There is currently one on my desk that I'm not allowed to open until Mother's Day.

Jellyfish

Lookout! Emma is a Jellyfish!  She graduated from a Goldfish to a Jellyfish tonight...she spent 6 weeks as a Goldfish before moving up.  Tonight she was swimming underwater unassisted, diving off the step to grab rings on the bottom of the pool and performing crazy mid-swim twists. She looks like a baby seal in the water.  We can't wait to see what the next level brings! 

Swimmer Girl

I rolled over in the water all by myself and floated!

She loves swimming and looks like a fish in the water

The Gymnast

E. now has a cartwheel mat to practice SAFELY at home. Last night at gymnastics, she executed a balance beam cartwheel all on her own...it was a lowbeam that sits on the floor...she was supposed to be doing something else and busted out a cartwheel instead. She tried one on the high beam a few weeks ago but didn't execute right or seem to like it.  Different day and now she is all over it. D & I are so impressed!  E. claims she wants to replace the basement playhouse with a kip bar and balance beam...we are marinating on the idea for now...we need a buyer for the playhouse too.

Gung Hay Fat Choy!

Happy Lunar New Year...2014 is the year of the horse. Despite the low points we have had happen this week, we are getting into CNY.  Yesterday we decorated the house with lanterns, dragons and prosperity symbols.  We even watched CNY parades and lion dances on YouTube. We were going to go shopping for sobu noodles and lychee drinks today, but several of us are not feeling the best.  Emma has asked me to read books we own on CNY and we assembled red envelopes for her classmates next week.  I asked her if she wanted to talk to her class about CNY but it is still a definite no.  Her school encourages heritage presentations but Emma isn't into sharing yet.

This week we lost our beloved cat, Sport Scott Todd...he was 19 years old...even today Emma is still talking about missing him.  She drew a picture of Sport and put a circle around him...I asked what the circle is and she said, "the hole in the backyard where Daddy buried him".  Sigh.  We need the distraction of Chinese New Year!

Happy New Year...a few weeks late

Ahh...Christmas is over and 2014 has begun in full speed.  Emma loved Christmas, but became a little overwhelmed by the amount of stuff and numerous places to go.  Two gifts seems to be the magical number, beyond two, she is merely unwrapping and tossing to the side, not paying much attention or respect to what was opened.  We had a couple of moments, after abundance of gift openings, where she asked, "Is that all there is?", so we had the conversation about how she has more than enough and there are children who have nothing.  We picked out a set of Legos for another child and had her place them in the Toys for Tot bin to nurture the idea of giving is better than receiving.

Preschool is going well, Emma comes home singing new songs every week and is now counting to 30 with no mistakes.  She pretends to count to 100, but after 30 we have to start her off at 40, 50 etc...she wants to repeat/start at 30.  The idea of reading isn't that interesting to her yet.  Emma can write several words, i.e., cat, dog, town, mom, dad but sitting down to sound words out doesn't hold her attention yet. I have a feeling it's going to take another kid in her class to start reading and her competition gene will be peaked. Emma's teacher has asked us several times if we sleep really well at night, lol.  In class she is in constant motion and running, so has to be reminded to walk.  We are constantly saying, "walk, walk, walk".  Emma was born to move, which is fine as long as she isn't tripping or knocking into others.

Gymnastics is propelling forward at lightning speed too.  A few weeks ago they asked us to move her up to the next level, so we are exploring other gym facilities to make sure we are in the right gym.  Today, they invited Emma to a special invite only class, said they did not want to keep her in the current enrollment, she has to move up.  In the invite class they work on specific gymnastic skills, whereas the general tumble classes they do a little of everything for every skill level.

Speaking of motion...the constant motion and inattention to danger causes a lot of accidents.  The past two weeks has been filled with head bumps, bruises and even her first bloody nose.  Emma is flipping off couches, doing cartwheels, hanging on edge of counter tops,  tipping back in chairs etc...she needs to live at the gym or we need to buy her one.  In the meantime, we cleaned out the basement and purchased an indoor trampoline, with a cage net around it, so she can burn off these urges in safety.  We had been thinking about buying one since the summer, but kept hemming-hawing, since we are already maxing out our available space.  This type of trampoline is a sensory-seekers dream come true.  Emma is doing crazy flips and twists inside "the cage".

Last week we began swim lessons in prep for summer safety.  In the first class she scored two ribbons for back swimming and blowing bubbles/going under water.  The kid is a natural at sports!  The look on Emma's face was priceless when they announced her name over the intercom and presented her with the ribbons.

Emma has quite the creative gene...loves song and dance, even "composes" her own songs, that can last up to 5 minutes when she really gets going.  Yesterday, she sat down and "composed" music for the piano...it's a bunch of random letters on a piece of paper, that she titled, "The Princess Song".  The sun room and fireplace hearth has become her stage for recitals and puppet shows.  We saw the movie "Frozen" a few weeks ago and she is constantly pretending to be Elsa and singing "Let it Go"...the music was fantastic in this movie and we downloaded the song track.  We found the barbie-like dolls that go along with the movie, but haven't given them to her yet...can't wait to see her act out the movie with the dolls.

Christmas is almost here!

Today was the easiest Santa experience ever..no lines, instant smile from Emma and off we went.  Yesterday we visited the Krohn Conservatory and it too was beyond pleasurable.  I think partaking in these events before Thanksgiving helped us beat the crowds.  Emma is super excited about all things Christmas.  I surprised her by setting up her small tree during naptime today and we decorated with her ornaments when she awoke.

Handwriting

Emma wants to know how to spell everything and wants to see how it is written.  Tonight she asked me to write some words down, so she could copy them...pretty dang good!  I did not help her at all.  I hope this interest in words is a good sign she will love reading like her momma.  She likes to make books...I found a great link on Pinterest with instructions on how to fold and cut paper to look like books.  Emma was drawing pictures then taping them into my Potterybarn catalogue this AM, saying she was making a book.

Spaghetti Sandwich

Steve the fish, now has a new compadre, a snail, to help keep the tank clean.  Emma has named the snail...drum roll please...Spaghetti Sandwich.  I have no explanation for the origin of this name, lol.  Em is a crazy, creative and funny kid!

She is loving playing games lately.  We play dominos and a Ravensburger game set everyday...she particularly loves Castles from this game set.    It's a game of rolling dice and chance...we do have to work on not being a sore loser.  Emma is very competitive, likes to win and everything has to be perfect, so we are working on the attitude of "you win some, you lose some, it's more important that we are having fun".  We have a lot more games in the house that we can't wait to break out as she is ready for them.

In November, Emma is going to be progressing to the 5 year old gymnastic class.  Her instructor approached us, indicating she knew Emma just turned four, but she is extremely strong and talented, wants to learn more and is a very good listener.  We might be adding a ballet or another form of dance to complement the gymnastics...trying to figure out the logistics of it all between work, school and gymnastics while trying to maintain some downtime too.

Lantern Launch

Happy Birthday

She is 4...it was by far one of our favorite birthdays.  The theme was Hello Kitty...it's what she requested but yesterday she claimed to have requested Buzz Lightyear.  Emma was WAY into the day...there was lots of silliness and laughter.  We dragged the presents out, opening one at breakfast, one at lunch and one after dinner.  Dad worked until late afternoon, so we started the day off meeting her Great Grandma and Aunt at Bob Evans, where she woofed down chocolate chip pancakes, opened a few gifts and tested out her new hula hoop.  The girl can hula, it's amazing!  Once D. came home, we ordered pizza, ate cake and went to the park.  At the park, she was singing her heart out, "I love you, we are family...".  She loves making up songs nowadays about family, love and hearts.  Her little song on the swing yesterday had me laughing and crying at the same time.  At the end of park play, we set off a Chinese wish lantern...E. liked the idea of having it, but not letting it go.  Last night at bed, there was some whining about missing her "balloon".  We promised on her Dad's birthday next week, we would launch another.  Every year during our private birthday celebration, we light a red candle on her cake, to honor the woman who carried her for nine months and the country that brought us together...this year we brought the wish lantern into the mix too...a family far away made a very tough decision that made our wishes come true. 

The birthday still isn't over...we are off to see J.'s side of the family tonight and will be seeing the Dayton Neeny & Pop-pop soon.  We enjoy spreading it out so E.  doesn't get overcooked and gets to spend individualized time with family and new gifts.

Back to School!

Today was the official full first day of Pre-K...Emma loves it.  Yesterday at orientation, she got so excited, I was afraid her head might pop off...definitely the most excited kid in the room and everyone noticed.  Tonight at bedtime, she said, "mom, I love my school"...whew.

Gymnastics started this week...taking a break from soccer or other activities until we get settled into the new school routine and nap situation.  You should have seen her hula hoop during class...it was the most impressive and hilarious moment.  The instructor came out at the end of class and said, "she is very strong".  Gymnastics is definitely "her thing".

E. has really matured over the last few months.  Conversations are deeper, you can have phone conversations if she is focused and she has some big words, being used in the right context.  There are lots of conversations about what she is going to do when she grows up.."be a mommy", "have 2 kids", "get married"...however, she also wants to still live with me and is concerned about where she will live when she is a grownup.  E. said she might live far away and when I asked her where, she claimed, "Eastgate Mall".  HA!  That's 20 mins from our home.

First Soccer photo

I tried to get the group shot to upload, but the file was too large  :(

Look how grown up I am!

Summer catch up

How is it I have less time to blog when not working?!  We still spend most of our time outside, minus the tsunami week, however she is starting to recognize temperature because she asks to go inside when it's too hot...she and I were going a little nuts by the end of last week between the rain and the paint contractors keeping us couped up at home.  Emma LOVES the park...she doesn't love the swing set, but loves the idea of going to the park...she loves playing with the other kids and the climbing equipment, but mainly she likes to engage other kids in tag or hide n' seek.  Kids at the park are hilarious...one walks up to the other, "you wanna be my friend?"...they are instantly best friends and off they go.  The simplicity of toddler friendships is refreshing...but I do witness some mean girl antics from time to time...yes, "mean girls" are as young as 3.

We took a summer break from gymnastics and are on our 3rd week of soccer...not really into the swing of soccer yet.."something" has happened every week...the first week her buddy cried, so E. got nervous, The week after, he cried again, which distracted E., then she got turf in her eye and we had to leave due to the hysteria of attempting to flush her eye...last night while dribbling the ball she stepped on top of the ball which propelled her onto her head.  No bueno...more crying, but she did recover after some momma hugs and got back out on the field.  I'm surprised she agreed to go to soccer at all yesterday, because the mere mention of soccer, she replied, "I don't want turf in my eye"...the case of turf eye is etched in her brain forever.  Hopefully she forgets the head crash next week.

This summer she is becoming quite the fearless swimmer...she has a new swimmer vest and can paddle the entire pool without assistance...also jumping in without holding her nose...I did not witness it, but apparently she developed a nice dive formation with her arms this week too. 

Today we have two new family members...a new cousin, who E. declared upon first sight, "she looks normal" and a beta fish, named Steve...yes, Steve the fish, because "Steve is a cute name" ...love this kid! 

No vacation this summer for a myriad of factors, so we are going to spend time going to local places.  There is so much in our area I never knew existed.  In the next few days we are going to visit Fossil Park...it's about 15 minutes away...lived here for 39 years and no idea we had a Fossil Park!  You can take a bucket and bring as many rocks home as you want.  Score!  We are in the process of building a rock garden, so Emma is going to be my rock excavator.

BIG girl

Emma is officially a big girl now, no more pullups at nightime.  Last night she wore big girl undies to bed for the first time...since before we went to DC she had been staying dry at night but I wanted to make sure it was consistent.  Em is so proud of herself this AM!  We will have to do something special today.

Emma has said all kinds of funny stuff this week, the funniest was that her cousin Maria is from Guacamole (Guatemala).  We were discussing China and where everyone in our family was born when she volunteered Maria's birthplace.

Em grasps who is who in the family and also family members that are in heaven.  Last night we drove past the Castles (cemetery) and she mentioned her Pop-pops...said they were happy because they were drinking Pepsi and eating cheese in heaven...very true.  E. Knows she hasn't met a few of her Pop-pops and  says, "I haven't met them before, do I?".  These conversations are harder than I thought they would be...I'm always stifling tears when she asks about them and her China mom.

This week Preschool is holding a tea party for moms...I cannot wait to see Emma in her element and put faces to all the kiddos she talks about.  Doug said their Daddy Day at school was hilarious....he couldn't believe how well behaved they were.

Over the past week, Emma has more confidence using the bike with training wheels.  She has rode MILES and sleeps very well on bike riding days; falls asleep in less than 10 minutes... there will be lots of bike riding this summer!

I'm in charge

In case you don't know, Emma is in charge...she declared as much at dinner yesterday, "I'm in charge".   We replied that she is not in charge and she of course disagreed...I am not sure why in that moment the declaration was made...she had climbed up in her chair to eat and we were settling our napkins, drinks etc. I guess she just wanted to make sure we knew the pecking order (insert eye roll).

Self portrait

Today Emma sang me a song, "Thanks for all that you do" and presented me with this drawing/card...she learned the song from a PBS show, Daniel Tiger's Neighborhood.  I asked her who is in the drawing and she replied, "That's me, Emma".

Busy Bee

The last few months have been multiple illnesses, school, gymnastics, library time and a trip to Washington D.C.  The sickies have been out of control since January, so I have to assume that is preschool germs being carried home.  A few weeks ago, 75% of Emma's class was out sick.  We keep getting colds that last forever and by the time we are clear, something else gets us.

In February we went to Build-A-Bear for the first time and came home with a lovely stuffed puppy, named Puppy.  Puppy has a shirt, shoes and ladybug costume.  Emma continues to enjoy dressing her babies and animals...in layers.  In China, they dress their children in layers, so this must be a primal instinct for her.  Most babies and animals are always wearing at least 2 outfits and Emma has a tendency to sneak multiple layers of clothes on herself.  Last week before preschool, I realized E. had put all of her daytime clothes over top of her nightclothes and even had two pairs of socks on...I didn't realize the two sets of socks so she went to school that way!  I am constantly picking up real clothes and baby clothes scattered and stuffed into all corners of the house.  Yesterday I thought all laundry was accounted for and found a pair of socks stuffed into the armchair (shaking my head).

E.  continues to love preschool...comes home every week with a new song, craft and skill, then teaches her babies and stuffed animals what she has learned (when she is supposed to be sleeping, she is holding "school" in her bed).  Her teacher loved to hear in parent/teacher conferences that she was mimicking class work at home...said even though E. doesn't appear to be listening in class, clearly she is absorbing, even if she isn't sitting still.  This coming September, her teacher said pre-school will require the 4 year olds to have more self control of themselves than Emma currently has, so we will be working on that.  FINGERS CROSSED!

Right now E is very consumed with babies...she has a cousin on the way in July and is over the moon about it...if she had the ability, I fear she may kidnap a baby, lol.   I have to keep reminding her that Uncle Jeff and Auntie T. are only having one baby and it's a girl, but E. says there are two babies and it's a boy.  I think she just wants it to be a boy because it's different than being a girl!  Several friends and cousins have had babies and/or expecting babies this year and E. is very curious about all aspects of babies...especially their "stuff".  My cousins baby and his stroller in DC, kept her very entertained during a lunch.  I also keep getting asked about the baby in my belly and I have to remind her I don't have one in there.  :S

We took her to the Barnum & Bailey Circus earlier this month, which she loved...too much.  The horses were her favorite part and she rode her seat, like a horse, for a good 15 minutes straight.  We will go again, but felt like bad parents afterward because the stimulation made her lose all control of herself and was "in the zone"...when she is in the zone it's like she can't even hear us.  The kids below us at the Circus were turning around and looking at her like, "what's wrong with you, stop moving and keep your hands to yourself!". 

The pediatrician recommended occupational therapy for sensory seeking behavior on our last visit and I think we have reached the point where we recognize her constant movement is more than "just being a hyperactive toddler"...there is a list of about 20 different behaviors that sensory seeking children do and Emma does like 18 of them...sensory seeking presents itself as hyperactivity or "high on life" but it has to do with how children process stimuli and they require more pressure, to "feel" what they are doing.

Oddly enough, a lot of the at-home therapy they suggest, we have been doing for two years, because she loves it and seems calmer when doing them...we already chew gum, paint, listen to classical music, use play-doh, ride her bike, stuff bags full of whatever is in reach, fold laundry, go to the playground and carry weighted objects.  Emma has always carried, pushed, and shoved objects around the house that are heavier than she is...didn't realize this was sensory seeking!  I chocked this up to being a "worker" personality...a lot of what she enjoys daily, are activities with a purpose...makes sense now that I understand what sensory seeking is.

It is suggested we start the day with a "heavy load" or "working" activity to get her sensory processing going and then then use suggested activities when we see sensory seeking behavior.  On school days we will have a "sensory breakfast" which means eating something crunchy or drinking a really thick smoothie through a straw...this type of eating creates the feeling of pressure she needs and will hopefully keep her "seeking" under control during the time she is at school. 

Gong Xi Fa Cai! (Happy Chinese New Year)

2013 is the year of the Snake.  We have spent the last two weeks talking about Chinese New Year, decorating the house, reading stories, making lanterns and even had a play date to show Emma's little friends what Chinese New Year is all about.  Today is the official New Year and the 3 of us celebrated with noodles, dumplings and Spring rolls.  Emma is banging her Chinese drum in the other room and we are getting ready have our final reading about New Year...she has story time mats all set up and making D. sit on a doll blanket...might as well be sitting on a napkin, lol.

On our toes...

To say that Emma keeps us on our toes, is quite the understatement this week.  We went to her first Lollipop Symphony and she loved the music...but she loved the snow outside more....halfway through the concert, the luster of the music wore off with Emma and her little buddy Sophia...they wanted to get moving beyond the dancing and conducting they were doing from their seats.  Her snow excitement grabbed the attention of a local newspaper photographer when walking into the Symphony and we now have this great photo to remember the moment.  Her snow excitement also got her in some trouble when leaving the Symphony...one minute she was holding my hand and kicking the snow, the next she let go of my hand to run into the snow beyond the sidewalk, but ran into Elm Street...thankfully police had cars held back a few hundred feet behind us at the crosswalk.  I still don't exactly recall how I got her back in my grip and pulled her back to the sidewalk I was so panicked!

Emma is now over 40 inches tall and can reach everything she wants to...she is helping herself to snacks, pulling chairs over to counters, getting drinks from the refrigerator dispenser etc., so we have entered the next level of childproofing.  The cats are also on the run from her...she put bedding in a drawer, shoved Sport in the drawer, then closed the drawer..  As I'm typing right now, she ran by me carrying Sport and tried to shove him under the sofa cushion (I'm shaking my head as I type this).  The poor cat is 16 years old and probably asks the cat gods everyday to "take him" when she is around.

With all this increased activity (RUNNING everywhere) comes a lot of boo-boos...this week we have skinned knees, cut fingers and she even came home from preschool with a gash in her head...I'm not sure the school knows she even cut her head, because it had to be cleaned up at home.  Emma claims she didn't cry and  I'm assuming a head cut like that, the teacher would have contacted me if she knew.  Emma said she was running in the gym and fell into the door.  Hmmmmm.

Emma is loving preschool, but she has asked not to go a few times over the last week, says she just wants to stay home.  There are days she does not want to leave the house at all and we have to bribe her to run errands.  It's been really cold over the last month, so there are days I don't want to leave either!

Happy New Year!

Wow, I'm really behind...Christmas felt like a whirlwind that took us all about a week to decompress from....I was still tired 2 weeks later!  Emma loved EVERYTHING about Christmas and we spent December doing "all things Christmasy".  We saw Christmas lights, her Dad drove her through a live Nativity (3 times), she sat on every Santa's lap in the city, requesting not one, but 2 baby dolls each time and of course the Elf on the Shelf was a hit for the first few weeks.  The Elf is making a later appearance next year...that was a lot of work.  There were several "Oh crap" moments, when I realized after we were already downstairs, I forgot to move him so diversions were created while I moved "Sparkles".  We spent about a week post-Christmas, re-explaining that Sparkles went back to The North Pole with Santa until next December...she still randomly asks, "Where's Sparkles?" at breakfast. 

2013 began with Emma starting Pre-school...she loves it, but won't talk about school...it is like pulling teeth.  However, she slips up during the day by breaking into songs she learned, artists they talked about or discussing classmates.  Owen, Wyatt and Sarah are apparently the bees knees...but they also get in timeout for talking, per Em.  She makes up a lot of stories these days, so not sure I believe the timeouts.  After spending all day trying to draw out of her what they did in school, she busted out a Jackson Pollock and Vincent Van Gogh conversation during tub time...I have a calendar and I know what they do each day, but she denies it, lol.  Homework begins in Pre-school!  Once a month we turn in homework and on a weekly basis we are asked to bring in books or make playdoh etc. to share with the class. 

Right now we are in a phase where every question you ask E. and she doesn't want to answer, she replies with "Zombies" then cracks up...I have no idea what Zombies is about or where she learned the word.  She has all kinds of goofy toddler behaviors going on right now...zombies, smelling people, licking everything, fingers always in the nose and cracking up laughing at nothing...a handful and REALLY hard not to laugh at.  We do a lot of covering our faces with pillows and pretending to be asleep until we can control our laughter to be stern.

There is so much silliness that E. says since turning 3, we keep a "Quote Board" so we have a record/don't forget funny conversations...we are approaching a page 2  of funny conversations.  My favorite this week is:

Emma to Mom:  Do you mind me cooking something for dinner, for Bunny, real fast?  (I was making breakfast for us at the time)
Mom:  sure, go ahead
Emma to Bunny:  you want a Bunny meal or a salad?

I am still laughing....no idea what a Bunny meal is, couldn't get her to explain it, aka received a "Zombies" reply.  Her sentence structure and connections amaze me everyday and provides a lot of comedy.

She is starting to express interest in writing her letters (finally) and drawing people since pre-school began.  This week she made her first drawing that I recognized as a person...but they all look like Mr. Potato Heads or aliens!

Elves watch movies

Sparkles brought Emma a movie and a snack, for staying dry overnight. However, I goofed a bit and put the remote from another TV in his hand and that was the first thing Emma noticed and sorta gave me the business about how Sparkle watched the movie with the wrong remote.  She is smarter than me, lol.

After we got the remote business settled, she blew Sparkle a kiss, told her Thank You, then ran over to me, hugged my leg, said, she loved me and that her Elf is really nice and so is Hoho.  She also asked me to explain again when/how Sparkles leaves and comes back. 

While I was making breakfast, she sat down in front of Sparkles, eating her Cheerio snack that Sparkles brought and couldn't stop smiling.  She was also perplexed as to how Sparkles retrieved the Cheerios from the top pantry shelf since he is small.  Um....magic?!  Unless I want an interrogation every morning, I'm going to have to keep it simple!

Elfin' around

Sparkles arrived last night...Emma did not know whether to be excited or freak out at first, but after a 2 minute stare down, she grinned real big then hopped up on the back of the couch to meet her Elf.  Whenever we move to another room in the house, she asks if Sparkles is still in the house.  Sparkles doesn't move or go tattle to Santa until after E. goes to bed and will return in a new location every morning...tomorrow Sparkles will be bringing the Elf on The Shelf dvd, a bowl of popcorn and holding the remote...all ready for movie time!

So proud....

I can't believe our girl did it...she really followed through on her word and sat on Santa's lap!  There was a lot of talk, from Emma, that she was going to last year, but she took one look at Santa and was like, "uh-uh" in the final 10 seconds.  We are so proud of her...it did take a few moments of encouraging to sit on his actual lap, but she was all about standing in from of Santa and saying, "I want 2 babies"...she still wants two of everything, seems to be her favorite number.

We were at the Mall with her China "sister" Livi, also from Jiangxi, for a play date and lunch.  After lunch, we ended up with Santa because the girls said they would sit on his lap, together...I believe the girls gave one another courage, because we both were able to walk away with photos, even though not a photo together...Livi took a little more encouraging than Emma, but her Momma got a great picture of Livi sitting on the arm of the chair, next to Santa....sooo cute!  

Life is good...

when dressed like a Garden Gnome...

Happy Fall 2012!

Who is Obama?

We were listening to the radio this morning and the political ads were in full force...I had no idea Emma was actually listening to the ads...

Emma:  Who is Obama? (in her Scooby Doo voice and scrunched up nose expression)

Me:  He is the President of The United States

Emma:  What? No he's not...what's that mean?

Me:  He is the boss of America

Emma:  Like you the boss of America?

Me:  No, I'm just the boss at home (laughing hysterically)


Our girl is still waking up on fire every morning, asking a million questions before my brain is ready.  The mornings I have to go into the office, the questions impede our ability to move quickly and I have to keep reminding her to eat/drink to get us out the door on time.  Yesterday there was a 10 minute convo regarding Doug's snoring and how she was going to put him in time out when he woke up...yes, he really snores, but I don't think she hears it at night, just when he takes afternoon naps.  Lots of coffee is required in the AM.

Emma is still enrolled in Tumble Bees and loving her gymnastics...she loves the outfits and she loves everything that she can bounce off and hang from.  The instructor's indicate she has a lot of unrealized strength, but fear is holding her back on the balancing portions of the class.  Last week E. was supposed to be doing Donkey kicks, but the kicks were so strong, it propelled her into a flip/somersault instead...the instructors had a look of fear and amazement at the same time...she did not land on her feet but was not hurt.  She tumbles all over the house and is perfecting cartwheels that an older girl at daycare has been teaching her.  We are on constant alert however, because there is no consideration for what objects surround her when doing gymnastics in the house...I'm predicting at least one set of stitches are in her future. 

We had our 3 year check up and Emma is 39 inches tall and almost 32lbs, which is a little more than the National average on both accounts (88%H and 67%W)...all clothing is a 4T now, but I wish she would get a little chunkier as her weight requires belts for jeans, but we need the length of 4T's.  Emma LOVES her belts, thinks she is so big wearing them like her mommy and daddy.  EVERYTHING has to be like Mommy and Daddy's now, including eyewear.  She mangled the nose piece on glasses over the weekend and while they were being repaired, we were looking for the next size up...Emma demanded they be like Daddy's.  I was trying to get her to try on a pink and purple wire rims, but she wants the black rims like Daddy...I thought the Hello Kitty emblem on the side would sell her on the purple pair, but no dice.

Developmentally, she is doing all sorts of amazing things now...snapping her fingers has been her favorite for the past week.  We were laying in beds reading books and she just started snapping her fingers.  We of course laughed, so now she is playing up the finger snapping whenever she thinks of it and of course we think it's amazing.

In the Fall, our yard work increases, so we have had to find ways to keep Emma involved this year so we can get the work done and make sure she stays away from the street.  We purchased a little lawn mower so she can cut the grass like Dad does and she uses our small rake to help with the leaves.  Yesterday she was raking the leaves in piles and so proud of herself.  Later that evening, I fired up the gas blower/backpack and Emma "gave me the business"...I was not allowed to use the blower, it was Daddy's and too big for me.  I explained to her that girls can use power tools too and when she was older, I'd let her use it...she then merrily followed me around "cutting grass" while I blew leaves to the street.  Fall cleanup wears her out...she fell asleep quickly last night and I had to wake her this AM...I started to get concerned she was so still in her bed!

And now she is 3...

Our little monkey turned 3 last week...the whole week turned into her birthday.  She loves her birthday so much and sang "Happy Birthday" to herself, a lot, even in her bed, trying to wind herself down for sleep.  We didn't have one large party this year since Doug was working weekends and decided to do something different, so relatives could have their own special time with Emma.  She had mommy/daddy all to herself on her actual birthday, which is actually our wedding anniversary too.  Emma's  3rd birthday worked out really nice, she didn't get too overstimulated by a bunch of gifts at one time and was able enjoy her new gifts with the people who brought them versus a crowded room. 

On her actual birthday, E. opened a new gift every few hours and we took her to the Disney Store to spend some of her birthday money...she chose a stuffed Daisy Duck and figurines to go with her Mickey Mouse car wash/gas station.  We also went to  Blue Chip cookie and she had a big cookie all to herself.  She clanked our cookies together and said, "cheers!".  We had a lot of "I love you" and kisses this week since everything was all about her, especially when eating left over ice cream cake.

Since it was birthday week, it was time to move into her big girl bed.  I'm not sure if she was more excited about sleeping in the bed, or helping turn the bolts and throw out the new bed packaging.  She was a MANIAC during assembly, was so excited, didn't know where she wanted to be in the flurry of bed parts, bolts and brand new bedding!  From the get-go, very comfortable in her new bed and didn't fall out the first night, but has fallen out twice...she never cried, just scurried back into her bed and went right back to sleep.  We placed a body pillow on the edge of the mattress and that seems to keep her from rolling off...Emma is VERY active day and while sleeping, so not too surprised she fell out, but because she has slept unattended on a bed before, we thought she might do alright.  To say she loves her new bed is an understatement, she likes to show the new setup to everyone.

Emma has said some very funny things lately, I need to start keeping a log.  Emma was doing her nervous lip-picking habit and when her Uncle Jeff asked why she does that, she replied, "Because that's how I roll".  She acquired this response from her Daddy, who came up with this response when she asks "why" more than twice.

Another funny thing Emma said this week, in reference to her adoption photos was, "I didn't wear hair when I was little".

Apparently turning 3 also means more accident prone...she has fallen more times in the last week than she did when learning to walk.  So far she has smacked her chin on the table, busted her lip at the park and walked her eyeball smack into the roto tiller handle yesterday afternoon...thankfully she was wearing sunglasses when she walked into the tiller handle, it saved her from serious harm!  She is always looking one direction and walking another...it's going to give us both a heart attack...thank goodness we don't live on a cliff...she'd walk right off while looking at an airplane in the sky!  She loves airplanes and pointing them out....

The Library

I've taken Emma to toddler time at the Library a few times now, trying out several locations and I think we like the one right in our little downtown the best...Emma seems to enjoy storytime once she gets warmed up, but they are all a little too long for this age group.  The last 20 minutes of the 1 hour class, most of the kids go rogue, including Emma...today Emma splayed out on the floor and was playing with her feet, and a few of the other kids were showing off their belly buttons or running around...chaotic...good thing the Library is closed during this AM toddler time.

The Library is a great  FREE, program...they sing songs, talk about letters, read a book, then do a craft that kids can do while there or take home.  I decided it would be fun to let Emma have her very own library card today and we checked out two books after storytime...surprisingly, she even willingly let me put the library card in my wallet for safe keeping.  She was very excited to show her daddy the new library card and books.   Emma was nervous at story time, blowing her finger the whole time, but she participated...she was the only child singing the songs and the only one that new what letter her first name began with...she actually told them her full name, then spelled out E-M-M-A.  So proud! 

When we returned home, Emma told Doug she was nervous at the library...she said "nervous" because I told her she didn't have to be nervous as I was trying to keep her from picking her lip apart.  Emma then re-enacted the entire Library hour to Doug...she played her "guitar"(ukulele), sang itsy bitsy spider, showed off the spider puppet (using an oven mitt), had us tell her our names and assigned us both a library card with books...clearly, she enjoyed the library time despite being "nervous".

Inquiring minds would like to know...

Why...

do I have a mom?

do I have a tongue?

do I have a dad?

do I have to nap?

does daddy have to work?


These are just a few example of the rapid firing squad of questions we are being asked daily, multiple times.  As soon as I enter her room in the morning, the questions begin, usually starting with, "Where's daddy? and "You go to work today?, then "What we do today?".  I need at least 20 minutes before I'm thinking and functioning as clearly as Emma is, but she goes from sleeping to getting busy with her day in 15 seconds flat!

"Hey Big Boy!"

Last night I went out to dinner with friends and Doug took Emma to Frisch's for dinner, aka Frisch's Big Boy...Emma knows the restaurant as Frisch's, but last night Doug referred to it as Big Boy.  While they were dining, an older boy walked past their table and Emma yelled at the kid, "Hey Big Boy!". 

D. was cracking up when he relayed the story and I can't stop chuckling at the imagery of her yelling, "Hey Big Boy"...I'm going to assume, since Emma usually refers to kids larger than her as "older", she has now realized big can also be used for older...or maybe the kid looked like Big Boy...who knows, but it's funny/ironic and a little weird for a toddler to be yelling, "Hey Big Boy".

Emma and I had a conversation about Frisch's just last week...we drove past the restaurant and she tried to get me to take her there for dinner.  I told Emma Frisch's was YUCK (in my opinion it is yuck) and she replied, "No, Frisch's is fun" and continued to be very passionate about the fact that Frisch's is not YUCK all the way home.  I kept asking why Frisch's was fun, but she could never verbalize why it's so fun...I'm going to go out on a limb and say she thinks it's fun because that's where someone gave hera Sprite instead of milk to drink.

Yes, I got sucked into a 10 minute debate with a toddler over why a restaurant is yucky and I'm ok with that...our car conversations are hilarious lately, it's probably my favorite part of the day because Emma has not much else to distract her and she just talks and talks.  This morning, she told me a very elaborate story about a dream she had involving a bear and in her words, "and my ears were popping right off but I put them back on".  WHAT?!  Did she dream a bear tore her ears off?  It must not have been a scary dream though because she was smiling ear to ear while telling the tale and was even laughing when talking about her ears popping right off.

First Triangle

Last night we were drawing with chalk on the driveway...Emma yelled for me to look at her drawing and I expected to see the normal, a blob of not much...she drew her first triangle!  Her brain is really firing/absorbing right now...she is asking tons of questions, wanting to know what everything is and how items work.  Emma is also drawing mostly in the lines when we color, however she will only color with one color and the force in which she colors and paints, usually puts a hole in the paper...very intense and passionate about her art.

While we were chalking the driveway, the neighbor came over to chat and view our work.  Emma demanded that he draw a picture of her, so John drew Emma's head...Emma stood with her hands on her hips and told him she needed arms too.  I told him he might as well draw the whole body, because a face is no longer good enough.  John drew a full bodied Emma, then she demanded John draw her Daddy...he said he was going home to cook dinner, Emma was too bossy and chatty, lol.

I had a dental emergency yesterday and the assistant was showing Emma how all the tools work...she loves mechanical stuff and the tools made her morning.  When the Dentist was working in my mouth, Emma was inches from my face, watching the work happen and asking questions...She was obsessed with the bib clips and suction, tried to carry the clips home with us.  There was also a moment where the dentist turned the light off and Emma told him he needed the light back on to see in my mouth...telling the Dentist how to do his job...priceless

When we watch educational shows, the cartoon/live person asks questions and Emma has starting to respond with the answers this week...I always wondered if she was really watching/absorbing, because she is so busy, even when the TV is on, so I will typically count along, say the colors etc. to get her more absorbed into what they are teaching; even when the TV is on,  her legs are constantly kicking around, she is standing while watching or dressing her babies/animals.  The other night I laughed at myself, because I realized I'm sort of the same...I can sit still while the show is on, but as soon as a commercial comes on, I'm on the move until the show is back on.  Last night Emma was running around the house and told me her legs hurt...I said that's because she needs to sit more!  When we were at the park yesterday Emma was running around, sweating all over the place and she came up to me and asked why she was crying...sweat was pouring from her head, into her eyes!  She sweats all the time, indoors and outdoors because she is always on the move. 

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Scaling the wall

Emma can now officially climb into her crib, by herself...however she seems leery of climbing out, which is good, but I'm sure that won't last long.  Last night Emma said she was going to put herself to bed, so I told her to go for it, then clicked on the baby monitor real fast to see what would happen when she entered her room.  Emma scaled the crib like she had been climbing in forever and had the biggest grin on her face at the accomplishment.  I normally cuddle/rock her for 30 seconds before tucking her in the crib, so last night I just rubbed her back and told her and all her stuffies good night since she changed the order.  She didn't ask me to rock her, but she did demand, "cover me up!".  Over the last week she also yells, as I'm exiting the room, "don't let the bed bugs bite".  Emma gets the biggest kick out of me tucking all of her animals in and telling them goodnight, so that is also a new routine.  I've watched her on the monitor re-enacting my putting everyone to bed, and usually in the morning she has all the stuffies in a row, covered at least 3 blankets deep and tells them goodnight, one by one.  Taking herself to bed carried on into nap time today, so it looks like this might be the new routine...growing independent too fast!

Yesterday we went to the zoo and there was a big realization of how much of a little girl Emma is versus the baby she was last year.  She asks so many questions about the animals and landscape and yells out "hi" to the animals.  In the Children's Zoo, she went into the goat pen and brushed them, which she would have never done last year.  Doug said I needed to watch out, she might try to put the goat in clothes if given the opportunity...most of her stuffed animals wear outfits, so I'm pretty sure she would try and dress a goat!

Sequences

Emma likes to discuss the sequence of anything...it could be what is going to happen today, i.e, Emma was asleep, mommy woke up, mommy showered, Emma woke up and now we eat breakfast.  The other day, Emma wanted to walk on some landscaping rocks, but I wouldn't let her because she had flip-flops on, so she decided since I was wearing gym shoes, I should walk on them.  I said I would probably fall too and Emma came up with quite the sequence of what would happen if I walked the rocks..."mommy walk on the rocks, you fall and hurt your knee and there be blood all over your shoes".  Blood all over my shoes?! 

We have been working on the days of the week, what days I go to work and when her birthday is, so I'm sure the love of sequence stems from these conversations and the fact that we always tell Emma what we are going to do on a given day so she knows what to expect to  lessen meltdowns during transitions.  Emma can now tell you her exact birthday and her Daddy's, plus her address, our names, family associations etc.  When I asked Emma a few months ago what she wanted for her birthday she would only reply "a gift", but yesterday, she replied, "a dinosaur".  Caillou has a dinosaur, so I think that's where she came up with that idea.  I'm not sure what she is getting for her birthday...she has plenty to keep her busy and we are popping at the seams with "stuff", so we are thinking about a "big girl bed" for her birthday. 

The last few weeks have been hot, hot, hot but we still manage to get outside for a little everyday...our temps have been hovering at 100 degrees!  Emma is a pro on her tricycle now and the other night she rode almost a mile in our neighborhood while I walked along, trying to keep her from darting into cars.  About 3 houses from home, Emma gave up, and said she was hot...it was hot...about 90 degrees and 70% humidity.  Now that she can ride her bike, Emma is rebelling against the bike trailer and gets squirrelly at the idea of being strapped in, even with the bribery of snacks and ipods.

Since it's been so hot, I created an indoor sandbox for Emma.  The "sandbox" is a plastic tub filled with "squirrel food", a mixture of corn, peanuts and bird seed.  I bought a bunch of measuring cups, spatulas, and spoons from the Dollar Store, for Emma to dig with and fill up other items.  We also used some of her beach toys and a dump truck to add to the fun.  The sandbox has been great, we bring it indoors on hot days and evenings when it cools down, we take it outside in the shade.  One day, we left the box unattended to water flowers in the backyard and when we returned, a squirrel was on the edge of the box, chowing down, which Emma got quite a kick out of.

Hilton Head

We just returned from a 7 day trip to Hilton Head, our first family vacation since the Hawaii experience and we are glad to report this one was better.  Emma LOVES the water...the pool and the beach.  On the second day of pool swimming, she found her kicking stride and was able to scoot all around the pool in a water ring.  By the end of the week, she was climbing out of the pool with the water ring and jumping into the pool, unassisted.  Emma never really learned to keep her mouth shut when entering the water, but she kept her eyes closed.  Once she discovered she could maneuver the entire pool in the floaty, we were no longer allowed to assist her...as she says, "I'm big... I don't need help...I do it".  Yesterday, when she went swimming, she walked into the water and stuck her head under 3xs all on her own...not sure what possessed her to do it, but she liked it and I'm glad she isn't fearful of the water.

 

While on vacation we rode bikes, swam, and did a little shopping at the typical touristy stops.  One day we visited a children's museum called The Sandbox, which is an interactive museum, but on a smaller scale than our local Children's Museum.  It was a nice place to go as a break from the sun where Emma could run around, do crafts and have imagination time.  We stuck to our at home schedule, to keep Emma as happy as possible in a new place.  We probably won't go back to HH until Emma is a little older when she can ride a bike on her own and do more of the stuff she was too little for on this trip.  The bike paths in Hilton head are amazing and Emma loved riding on the bike with Doug, while I rode behind them.  She appeared kicked-back and relaxed, absorbing the scenery on the bike rides.

Emma is trying to make up for sleep we lost...she slept until 9am today and yesterday she wouldn't get out of bed, even when I said she was going swimming.  There were a few night crying episodes on vacation and she didn't sleep like she should on the car rides to/fro HH... Some kids car nap, Emma will not, but she did not get carsick which is a big HOORAY since the trip was 11-12 hours long.  I averaged 4 hours of sleep per night, so I'm catching up on sleep too, so this week we are taking it easy and getting back to normal. 

 

 

Take your order please?

Last night, Emma decided she was a waitress.  She followed me all around the house, with a notepad and a blue crayon for about 30 minutes, asking to take my order.  Chicken nuggets and a milkshake were all that were on Emma's menu however and I wasn't allowed to order anything but these two items as hard as I tried. Yesterday her Neeney Karen came to visit and I suspect maybe they played waitress, because this is a brand new imaginary play scenario...or Emma just came up with it on her own...she comes up with a lot on her own lately.

During waitress time, there was a bat catching in progress, in the basement, which unfazed Emma...she wanted to go in the basement, while taking orders of chicken nuggets.  The bat was finally captured and placed in a tupperware container for us to see...gross.  Emma was wary of the bat at first glance, said something about, "bat no eat or bite me" and when I reassured her the bat couldn't get out, she said, "I like it, I want to keep it".  Right.

Life's A Beach

We are headed to Hilton Head soon and Emma is SO excited about going to the beach.  When we talk about vacation, she always asks, "Today!?".  Yesterday I pulled out luggage, trying to decide how we are going to pack and Emma was 100mph with the suitcase out, jumping all over the bed and trying to wheel the luggage around, while I was trying to put items in and fill travel size bottles.  Emma asked for her own suitcase, for her clothes.  I explained we are going to share a suitcase, but she could use her suitcase to tote her toys in...yes, she really has her own kid-size suitcase and it's adorable!   I was selling this toy suitcase idea hard but she is not willing to share luggage space with me, is how Emma ended the conversation, lol.  I put the suitcase away to calm matters down, so looks like I will be packing while she is sleeping and while her Neeney comes to play.

The 10 hour or so ride should be interesting...we are packing lots of snacks and hope to have good weather so we can let her burn some energy out at a rest stop after a picnic lunch.  She is very excited to use her new headphones on the car ride...we are excited to not have to listen to Caillou or Barney for 10 hours...chuckle, chuckle.  All kidding aside, Caillou is a snake charmer when it comes to Emma and we hope it still remains magical in the car.  The other night, she was so engrossed in Caillou, Doug and I were yelling, "Snack, cookie, ice cream" to get her attention and the kid didn't even turn her head to look at us!  If Caillou wasn't on, she would have been beating it to the pantry thinking we were really going to give her something. 

The Help

Emma is such a helper right now!  I try to let her clean when she wants to, as long as it's safe and won't cause more mess.  She LOVES the Swiffer mop, so while I'm cleaning up the kitchen, I give her the dry cloth mop and let her go to town on the floors.  Crumbs are abundant with toddlers, so I will take any assistance I can get! Sometimes she does have to be reminded that carpet doesn't need to be swiffered.  ;O

Last night she wanted to help so bad, but I was cleaning with vinegar and water.  I let her smell my hands to show her how yucky the smell of vinegar is, but she was adamant she was going to help and a melt down ensued.  I tried to divert the situation by handing her a duster, but she said no bueno and there was a Mexican stand off over the bucket of vinegar water.  OLE!

Down on the Farm

We met up with Emma's friend, Livi, also from China, for a play date at a local farm.  The farm had a Farm Babies Festival, but I think the girls had more fun running, jumping and following one another around than petting the animals.  Chickens are scary!  Emma kept saying, "eww, yuck" when it came time to pet the animals, but she told me, "I want to ride that horse", which was a huge Dart horse...riding the horse was not an option and I'm pretty sure she would not have ridden.  She did pet a bunny, but was more intrigued by bunny's water bottle and how the water bottle worked.

The girls are growing like weeds and it's a lot of fun to see them together.  We are lucky to live only 45 minutes away from one another, especially the way China adoptions have slowed; what used to be a huge network of families with children from China has disappeared for the age of children we have.   Of course the girls can be fickle with one another, as toddlers do.  There was one point in the day where Emma didn't want anything to do do with any of us, but when I asked Emma what her favorite part of the farm was, she said, "Livi!". 

Castles and Water Towers

In Emma's eyes, anything that is tall is a Castle...this includes cemetary headstones (yikes).  Every Thursday, we pass the Warren County water tower, aka castle.  I explained previously it is a water tower and that is where the water in houses comes from.  This morning, we were stuck at the light by the water tower and Emma said, "I don't drink that water tower!" 

 

Imagination

Emma's imagination is in play.  She makes me pretend that I am Emma and that she is the mommy, or she tells me I am Josh or Mary from daycare and we are riding the bus to school together.  The other day, she was having a "conversation" with a babydoll, letting baby know she was putting her bathing suit on because they were going swimming etc. Emma was parenting her baby, as we parent her, letting her know why we are doing things before we do them.  We love watching and listening to her talk to her babies and animals, she gets very involved and animated.  Emma pretends that she is a baby again, states she is hungry and asks me to feed her a bottle, with a doll bottle...she pretends to suck on it and just stares up at me, smiling with her eyes while she pretends to eat.  I have read this is very common to want to recreate the baby and bottle scene.  Parents are encouraged to go along with it, no matter how old they are, as it's probably one of their first memories of feeling safe and secure.

Pretending to drive is probably Emma's favorite pretend game and sometimes we are told to sit on the couch so she can drive us, then she makes us pretend to drive, which includes engine noises and gear shifting.  Hopefully she doesn't try to really get into a real car and drive!  She has several sets of faux keys and a set of real keys, to a car that no longer exists, so given the opportunity, I'm 99% sure she would try to put them in an ignition.

Emma's recognition of family and relationships has blossomed in the last few weeks (we have been going over who is related to who for a few months now).  She will ask where family members are and what they are doing (i.e. Pop-Pop Bill is at work, John the neighbor is walking the dog)...sometimes Emma even asks about people she has only seen a few times, so her memory is Fort Knox.  Emma has even picked up on the fact that she has never seen my Dad beyond pictures (he passed away years ago, for those who follow the blog, but don't really know us).  Last week during lunch, Emma said to me, "Where mommie's Daddy go?".  Uhhhhhhhhh.  That was a tough one to explain to a 31 month old.  A few days ago, she asked, "Is mommie's brother coming to my house?".  She took me by surprise with the use of mommie's brother vs. Jeff and I chuckled aloud...we were watching Caillou, so not sure what spurred this question.  The timing of these questions is so random...we will be eating lunch, watching a TV show, riding in the car etc, not even talking about the people she inquires about.

Our first real illness and other stuff

Since we returned from China, Emma has only had a few colds, that lasted no more than 2 or 3 days.  Last Sunday (Easter) she started sneezing and we thought it was allergies from playing in leaves the day before.  By Monday it was a minor cold and by Monday afternoon, she had over a 103 degree fever.  Tuesday morning, her temp was 103.8!  The high, high fevers only lasted about 2 days, but she spent the rest of the week with a 101 degree fever coming and going, then developed a nasty cold and hackey cough came on Thursday that she still has today.  Sunday she woke up a brand new kid, but still has the cough and some drippage.  It's crazy, but until the hackey cough, she was still eating and drinking while sick and sleeping throughout the night!  I expected a sleepless night last Monday/Tuesday and even showered with the intention of going to work because Emma was still sleeping soundly as I readied myself that morning.  When she woke up however, I knew upon just looking at her, we were staying home...her cheeks were fire engine red and she had the 103.8 temp...I don't know how she slept peacefully through the night!  As far as sick kids go, she had a decent disposition...there was some unreasonable crying a few times and lots of cuddling, but who wouldn't want to cuddle her.  She kept saying, "hug" and reaching her hands up in the air at us...awww.

 

We had a nice Easter, spent the majority of the day, just the 3 of us and listening to Emma sneeze.  Emma LOVES holidays, which is ironic, because I don't care for them much, but we do them up for her enjoyment.  She left carrots out for the Easter Bunny and went right to sleep, as we told her the Easter Bunny can't come until she's fast asleep.  The first thing she asked Easter morning was if the carrots were gone.  Emma jitterbugged down the hall to get Doug out of bed and we had some fun with her, pretending to go back to sleep and she kept yelling, "nooo, downstairs!".  She found all but one of her eggs (it took me a minute to remember where it was) and loved the clothes and mini Barbies in her Easter basket.  We stayed away from too much candy but there was a mini piece in every egg she found.  Emma wanted to open and reopen the eggs, trying to sneak bits of candy, so we had to dump the 10 whole pieces in a bowl and put on the counter top.  She was then obsessed with the counter, so we had to move the bowl out of sight.  I was ready to throw the candy away that day or just let her eat it all to be done with it, lol.

 

Emma is more verbal and physical at expressing what she does and doesn't want to do.  She says, "I don't want to" then lays on the ground, goes limp and plays like a dead dog.  The dead dog bit usually happens when leaving a park, teeth brushing and bedtime...yea, I was that mom carrying a screaming kid in one hand and a tricycle in the other hand leaving the park last week.  I had to peel her off the ground to get her to the car....we do the 5 minute countdown, so she knows that we are leaving the park but it doesn't matter, she loves the park and no amount of warning that we are leaving matters.

 

Ever since our Texas trip and D's business trip, E. only wants mommy to put her to bed and even though we tell her I'm taking her to bed, she doesn't quite believe us some nights, so she does her dead dog bit .  One threat of "Daddy is taking you to bed", has her scurrying.  We lowered the crib rail this week and are slowly working Emma towards a big girl bed.  At almost 30lbs and half my height, it is back breaking and cumbersome for me to hoist her over the crib rail.  Emma never tried to climb out and we warned her not to...we can see a lot more of what she is doing at bedtime with the crib rail dropped, so it's fun to watch the monitor even more than it was before.  There is lots of singing, (ABC and Twinkle, Twinkle), chatting and swaddling her stuffed animals with a blanket at bedtime.  The other night, we watched her work for 30 minutes, trying to get her swaddle around the puppy just right.  She would not go to sleep until the swaddle was perfect.  We have noticed, she has too much "work" going on in her bed for 30 minutes to an hour after we lay her down, so Doug minimized the amount of stuffies in her crib, but may need to eliminate more.  The other evening, she didn't fall asleep until 10:15 because she was "working".

 

Emma rats herself out on bad behavior now.  The other day, she pushed a kid at daycare and was put in timeout.  Emma told Doug all about the pushing and timeout in the car ride home and we confirmed the story was true with the other girls mom...you never know with a 2.5 year old what is true or made-up.  We don't think the pushing was done maliciously, but as a way to get the other kids attention.  We've been working on E. with this at home, because she sometimes gets Doug and I's attention in appropriate ways too, so I wish I had known this was going on at the sitters.  We spent some time this weekend, teaching her how to say, "please play with me" and "can I play with that toy?" so hopefully the pushing doesn't happen again.