Baby Emma

In case you are wondering, our house is baby-free.  We're still in diapers, of course, but as far as Emma is concerned, she's a big kid like her sister.  She will no longer sit in her booster seat at the table, which is now reserved for whichever stuffed animal is lucky enough to sit with us while we eat.  She's especially proud of her independent escapades to the top bunk to either wake up Sara or just hang out, and although she hasn't actually used the potty, she thinks she's pretty big when she sits on it.  Emma's favorite catch phrase at the moment is, "I got it!"  We hear this often since she now refuses our help with most things. Last weekend we did a little playroom overhaul, clearing out the baby toys that were just hanging around, and nobody seems to miss them ... so I guess that confirms it, right?

At less than two months from two years old, Emma continues to keep us on our toes.  Her communication is coming along, but at times she still gets frustrated and resorts to screaming (i.e. she was asking for a cup, which came out like puck, which sounded to me like book ... so we went round and round until I figured out that puck was cup ...).  I understand her frustration, but a lot of the screaming is really unnecessary, so we do our best to discipline it.  She's learning, and I know she understands because she can turn it off immediately if there's a consequence or reward on the line.  When she screams over simply not getting her way, I try really hard to power through and not give in, and it's interesting to see that lately she's been realizing more and more quickly that she isn't going to get her way if she isn't behaving.

 On the other hand, Emma can be so kind and sensitive.  She hugs hard and does a lot of little things to show her love for us, especially for Sara.  Emma loves to make us laugh by doing something silly, and she pretty much single-handedly started a family dance party the other night.  She has a total life-of-the-party quality about her that both thrills and terrifies me.

More and more lately, I find myself asking Sara to set a good example because Emma literally tries to do everything Sara does.  Monkey see, monkey do.  Sometimes Sara acts like it's a pain, but most of the time she loves showing Emma the ropes.  They tag-team it pretty well, making it clear that they'll continue to give us a run for our money for many years to come.  But that's how it's supposed to be, right?!

I'm not calling it official until "2", but I can already see it coming ... bye-bye, baby.