Catching up...

The last two weeks have been gorgeous and Emma and I have been gardening and having picnic lunches on the deck.  I dig the holes for our new plants, then Emma chops the clay soil into little bits for me; she loves "chop-chopping" as she calls it.  We are working on clearing out and renovating the back section of our property so we have a little more yard space that is in the sunlight and not so swampy for Emma to play in.  Emma loves digging, carrying around her spade and wearing her Hello Kitty garden boots.  We have a rain barrel and she also loves filling up her watering can to help me water plants.  She is truly mommy's little helper in every moment of the day and right now, I am taking advantage and letting her do everything she can, as long as it's safe.

We bought an outdoor playhouse, one of those big box, plastic monstrosities and she of course loves it.  She has a few chairs inside the house and a kiddie broom, plus we usually bring out her picnic basket, a baby and her baby's high chair so she can play house.  I am so glad we upgraded our deck last year because we are spending about four hours a day out there, it's truly an extension of our play space.  Speaking of kiddie brooms, she LOVES to broom.  Right now all of the trees are dropping berries and pollen, so we go outside and sweep almost everyday.  At first the concept of sweeping was difficult, but the other day, she finally got it.

Emma can now pedal her tricycle, but hasn't quite grasped the steering part, but she can pedal forwards and backwards.  Our driveway slopes too much towards the street, so for right now, she only rides the bike in the garage or on the deck.  We need to take her to a park walking trail so she can ride freely.  There are several parks with asphalt walking paths that would be perfect for riding on until she can ride safely.  A few weeks ago, we bought a bike trailer for her to ride in while we pedal, so after dinner we have been taking her in the trailer or in the wagon, but it makes her sleepy.  The other night she was singing along, "the ants go marching on, hurrah, hurrah", then suddenly she was dead quiet.  I turned around to see what was going on and she was slumped forward, passed out cold. 

I believe Emma is going through a growth spurt because she is constantly hungry.  Several times over the last week she has asked for second helpings.  Last night/early AM, she was experiencing night crying, which usually comes with teething and growth spurts, but all of her teeth are in, so it has to be growth.  She's been waking earlier, around 7:30am the last few weeks and still taking 2+ hour naps in the afternoon, which is when I can really focus on working from home, so I am grateful the naps are still needed.  She falls asleep within 5 minutes of laying down and if she happens to not get much more than hour, those evenings are looonnngggg.  95% of the time, Emma is extremely happy and joyful, but if a nap isn't long enough, "unreasonable" is her middle name.  Emma won't fall asleep in the car for more than 25 minutes and won't sit in a stroller, let alone sleep in one anymore, so naptime at home is our only option.  Her room has blackout curtains, white noise and a music player that plays lullabies for 20 minutes, so the cave-like atmosphere is the only way she can sleep well.

Over the last week we have tried some new foods.  Emma has had her first crab cake and a BLT.  She LOVED the crab cake, devoured hers before I even finished mine.  We are very lucky to have such a good eater (as long as the dinner table isn't overstimulating with a bunch of people talking loudly).  There are some textural things she spits out, ie apples, raw carrots and mashed potato's.  We attempted corn last week again, but it still disrupts her digestive system for a few days, so we are just going to stay away from it.  I can't eat corn either, makes my stomach literally hurt for days.  Corn is not exactly the most nutritious vegetable, so it's not like we are missing out on vital nutrients by not having it.  We are still the anti-sugar parents and really monitor what is going in on a daily basis.  No fruit juice, capri suns, soda, high fructose corn syrup etc.  We really notice a change in her behavior when she has had these things...she truly gets wild and loses the ability to control herself when she has eaten something too sugary.

Emma is talking up a storm and still asking us, "How was your day...?" when we sit down for dinner.  This past week she's been telling me a lot, "I love you mommy" or "I love my mommy" accompanied by a neck wringing hug...I love it!  Last night, we had family craft time and painted bird houses...on the way to work this morning, Emma told me she was going to have a bird when she was older...she is going to do a lot when she is "older", which is one of her daily phrases, "when I'm older...".  I asked her what color she wanted her bird to be and she said, "a pink one and I want two of them".  Whenever she wants something, she has to have two...she must not like odd numbers like her momma! 

If Emma is not the center of conversation, she does not like it.  We try to explain to her that mommy and daddy are talking and allowed to talk.  One day, we pretended to be "praying", just so we could finish a conversation, lol.  We literally bowed our heads, clasped our hands and finished our conversation.  We have explained until we are blue in the face that we take turns talking and put her in time out, but she is stubborn...I am assuming she will outgrow this phase because nothing is working right now that isn't considered illegal (duct tape).

The past few days, Emma wants to to know what the name of everything is.  She asks, "what's that's name?" as we walk around the house, yard and in stores.  D and I constantly ask one another, is it normal that she talks this much at 2.5, because we are so blown away by what she has to say and how clearly we understand 90% of the time.  However, as her sentence length is increasing, it is getting more difficult to understand, so it can be like solving a puzzle.  Sometimes I have to ask her 2-3 times, "say it again", but she doesn't frustrate easily and will keep repeating until we understand, but she does give us a look, that reads, "geesh, dummies, this is what I am saying".