March 2011-4 years old

Emma is FOUR! One school year away from KINDERGARTEN! WOW! She is growing too quickly. Emma still loves animals. It never fails, if we are pretend playing everyone else is human and she is some kind of animal :-). She also loves dressing up and loves to play "sleeping beauty". She never tires of pricking her finger on the spinning wheel and being kissed by a "prince" so she can wake up again. She loves playing games on her laptop. Her favorite site is pbskids.org. She is really good at matching letters to their sounds. She can recognize all her letters and count to 30. She still loves puzzles, reading, and all arts and crafts. Her favorite foods are spaghetti, raw veggies and ranch dip, fruits, sloppy joe's (which she calls "messy sandwiches"), ham, and gummies :-). She still loves playing outside and l-o-v-e-s the beach. She has been in swimming lessons for a while now and that is her favorite part of the week because she can "go under the sea" in the pool. I am pretty sure she has a future in water sports!

September 2010-3 1/2 years old

At 3 1/2 Emma can do all kinds of things! She can count to 20, and sometimes past that, on her own, she loves putting puzzles together, playing I Spy, and playing learning games on the computer. She likes to look at books on her own and tries to "read" based on the pictures-I think that is a good start! Now that Anna is a little older they are getting on the same playing field. Emma loves to play with Anna. Some of their favorite things to do are play animals witht their little people or pretend to be animals themselves! They still love dress-up and I think both of them are finally moving away from Ariel and broadening their Princesses :). She still really enjoys playing outside. Her favorite things to do are sidewalk chalk and searching for acorns, pine cones and other neat treasures. Emma loves Henry but she is still a funny about letting him touch her or her things.

March 2010-3 years old

Emma is 3! That is SO hard to believe! She is such a good girl. Of course, she is talking up a storm and loves to help her sister and brother. She can dress herself, go potty on her own, and drink from a regular cup without making a mess! Emma loves dress up time, movies, Ariel, and playing pretend animals. Her favorite animal to be is a kitten. She loves to play with the boys at school and enjoys the dinosaur toys the most. She is learning a lot of new things at school like spanish words, adding, geometric shapes, and lots of other things too. Emma is turning into such a little lady and we are so proud of her!

December '09-33 months old

With Emma just a few months away from her 3rd (!) birthday, I thought it was time for a quick update! Emma is loving school! She is such a smart girl. Her teachers suggested moving her from the two's class to the three's class a little early, so in November she made the switch. She has adjusted so nicely and is able to keep up with the kids in her class very well. She continues to love coloring and crafts. Her school artwork is really starting to come along. Of course she continues to talk up a storm and never ceases to amaze us with her vocabulary. She speaks like such a grown up! She loves her stuffed animals, especially her new horses and cats, and loves to play tea party with all of them! She also transitioned to a new big girl bunk bed and new room that she is sharing with Anna Grace. She has done so well with the move. We are so lucky to have such a super duper kid!

Two and a Half: Emma is SUCH a big girl. She continues to amaze us everyday. Her favorite thing to play right now is dress up. She especially likes Mommy's bracelets and loves to give everyone in the family one to wear so we can all be a princess too, even Daddy! He is such a good sport! She also would spend every minute of the day coloring, but we have to be careful because Anna G still likes to eat the crayons! We also found out that if you grill chicken and give her tons of bbq sauce, she loves it! So that is her new food for the month. She asks for chicken all the time now for dinner. This will probably be the last update on Emma for a while since she is geting "older". So check back in a few months!

28 and 29 months: Emma has finally had some consistent potty training success! Panties full time now (except at night). She is so proud of herself and has had no accidents at school so far! What a big girl! She has come a long way since the middle of the summer. She loves to play dress up and loves Ariel and the Disney Princesses. She is a typical toddler girl. She continues to make us all laugh everyday! Can't believe she'll be two and half soon!

Another month has flown by! Emma is now 27 months old! She is officially potty training. We were on a really good streak of no accidents, but our fabulous vacation seems to have gotten in the way a bit. She has now convinced herself that she is not a big girl and only goes to the potty when she wants to. I am forcing her most times, so it is becoming more of a battle. We will see how this week goes. The potty lockdown will be back in effect! She continues to love playing in her kitchen and strolling her babies. She is making a ton of sentences and is able to tell us when she doesn't feel good, is tired, hurt, hungry, etc. She also continues to love playing outside, enjoying the warm weather.

Oh our sweet Emma gets sweeter every month! She is lovng her little sister and showing her the ropes of all the "big girl" toys, but also seems to have gotten a little bite from the terrible twos monster, throwing little tantrums every now and then. Otherwise she is still my perfect first born child. Her sentences are getting so much better. She loves coloring in her coloring books. She also likes to play with all her baby dolls. Her dramatic play is getting so good! She has been paci free now for about 6 weeks. She has done really well with this. We were lucky!

25 months old--really?! Time sure has gone by fast these last few months. Emma is working on her tricycle riding skills, but when she is outside she is still more interested in running around and playing at the water table. She loves to "explore"  too, looking for spiders, ladybugs, and rocks. She loves to pat-pat you when she has hurt your feelings and she likes to pretend to be asleep, be sad, or be happy. She has turned into a real actress! She also loves "cooking" in her kitchen and tending to her baby dolls. There are no major potty success stories yet. Although she is using the potty a lot more and asks to go from time to time. We can't wait for her to be diaper-free :). 

22 months old: Emma is on the go, go, go. Her two year molars are peeking through, so she is almost done teething! She is into her usual singing and dancing and talking like crazy. Some phrases are turning into sentences! Here are some things she likes/dislikes at this age:

LIKES

1. Playing with Anna Grace: Now that Anna can crawl and get around a little better, they are really interacting.

2. Counting: Emma can count to eight. She can also tell you the number that comes after a number (up to 10).

3. Eating food that isn't hers: Emma has become some what of a picky eater lately, but we have learned that if she sees you eating something she wants a bite right then and there and she does not seem to care what it is! So far she has tried tuna salad, spicy nacho cheese, and salsa--all things she would normally turn her nose up at.

4. Dora and Deigo: These are new favorite shows, second to Sesame Street.

5. Anything with stickers, paint, markers or crayons: She loves all crafts!

6. Snowmen: She has a big thing for snowmen pictures, figures, books--you name it.

7. Bows and Barrettes: Emma likes to have barrettes in her hair and she doesn't pull them out! YAY! :)

DISLIKES
1. Having dirty hands: We don't know what brought this about, but if she has one speck of food or dirt on her hands we immediately hear "hands, hands" in a frantic little voice and her hands have to be cleaned right away.

2. Napping: Unfortunately Emma does not nap everyday anymore. This has become a pretty consistent trend over the last month and her naps have gone from 3 hours to 1-1.5 hours--still good, but not as good at it used to be :).

21 months old already?! Emma is in full motion all of the time. She can count to six on her own and she knows all the shapes. She talks all the timeand learns new words constantly; she is even learing to count in Spanish. She is getting better about "reading" books on her own too and making up the words as she goes along. Unfortunately, this month brought a little case of "mineitis". Emma thinks anything and everything is hers. Poor Anna doesn't stand a chance right now, but this too will pass...:).

Wow, soon Emma will be two! I can not believe how fast time is passing. This month Emma has started to say phrases like "Thank you Daddy" or "Here you go Anna". Her enunciation is really getting much better too. Her art skills are getting much better! We have a few things that she has worked on at school that are frame-worthy! Potty training has been put on hold for now. She shows no interest and with stomach bugs coming and going, I think it would be best to wait until the spring. We'll see, maybe she will surprise me between now and then!

At 19 months old, Emma is working her way into everything! She continues to dance and sing all the time. Her preschool teachers have lovingly nicknamed her the class music teacher! It is amazing how she can hear a song one time and know it from then on. We have added squares and triangles to the shapes she can name and she is working on counting to ten. Most of the time she can make it to eight. We are still trying potty training, but have only had one successful attempt. It will come we are sure, but hopefully sooner than later.

The past 18 months have flown by and Emma has become quite the big girl. She understands so much now! She can sing her ABC's to "i" and still loves to sing along to other nursery rhymes too. She loves to "Moo" and "Meow", thanks to singing Old MacDonald. She is a great helper and loves giving Anna Grace her bath and is always saying "Hi Anna!". Emma knows all her body parts, can point to them, and say most of them as well. She also knows the colors blue and yellow and the shape, circle. She has grown like a weed and is 30 inches tall and 30 lbs. Bob and I can not believe how fast she seems to be growing. The potty has been taken out of the box, but Emma is still just sitting on it for fun. She has not grasped the concept of sitting on the potty to actually use the bathroom. Unfortunately, I have not been too diligent with it either, but I figure she will get the whole idea of using the potty when she is ready.

Emma just turned 17 months old. She started school last month and is doing well. She is learning to drink from a cup already and is also practicing eating with a spoon! What a big girl. Some new words Emma has said this month are: Flower, Elmo, Here you go, There you go, Go, bye-bye, and Shoe. She is working on saying Thank you and Please. Emma is making works of art now and loves stickers and painting with water colors.

Emma is 16 months old now and has officially learned how to climb the furniture! She enjoys running on the sofa cushions from one end of the couch to the other. Emma also discovered toilets and toilet bowl water this month (EW!). Luckily, she hasn't figured out how to drink the toilet bowl water. Hopefully, she will not pick that up from the dogs! She sings the opening to Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star (Tin-kul, Tin-kul in Emma language) and likes to listen along as I sing her the ABC's. She gives kisses and loves to kiss baby Anna. Emma is definitely reaching her terrible twos a little bit early. She does not like being told no and wants to do what she wants to do! One day, this will come in handy when she is the ruler of her own kingdom :). "No, no" and "Uh-oh" are words we hear all day long.

Emma is 15 months old! She has two new teeth, for a grand total of ten. She has said "ca-ker" (cracker) and "Daygo" (Deigo, from Go, Deigo, Go!), but only one time each! She has become very interested in shape sorters, stacking blocks and her stacking ring set. She can stack her rings all on her own! She is a pro at walking and now she is working on speed walking and running. She can climb the stairs very well, but has had a few accidents learning how to come down :o). Emma has been swimming quite a bit this summer and is learning to kick. She loves the water! Emma loves cartoons these days. Some of her favorites are Mickey Mouse Clubhouse, Sesame Street (especially Elmo's World), and Super Why (which is totally for preschool age children, but she loves the characters). She is into everything and loves pushing buttons on anything she can find (mainly the cable box and DVD player). Her big thing is telling Mommy "No, No" by waving her pointer finger at me (hum, who's the boss at our house?).

14 months old: Emma is officially walking! She looses her balance here and there, but that does not stop her! She can walk pretty much anywhere these days, but she has not forgotten that crawling can still get her places quickly. No new teeth to report. She still has her lonely eight. However, she is STILL teething, and we are STILL waiting for the next few to pop through at anytime. Emma's new trick this month is copying things that you do. Like always, she is dancing to everything (even when no music is playing). When we get her out of bed in the morning she is already up, dancing and clapping. She loves to shake her booty! We have been practicing counting to three and Emma has learned to say "tee" (three).

Emma is 13 months old and well on her way to walking independently. She has taken a few steps by herself and practices hard everyday to take more. She has not gotten anymore teeth yet, but she is teething like crazy, so I am sure some new ones are about to emerge. Emma loves helping her little sister and giving her pats. Her new word this month is "duck". Emma is getting very smart and is understanding all kinds of things. She sits down if you say "down" and stands up when you say "up". She also answers questions by shaking her head "yes" or "no"...She is definitely getting a mind of her own.

Emma just celebrated her first birthday! She LOVED her first birthday cake and is currently enjoying her new toy...A cozy cottage ball bit! She is talking more and more every day. She is eating lots of table foods like waffles, pasta, biscuits, and all kinds of veggies. "Anna", "Daddy", "Doggie", and "this" are some of the words she says most often. Her balance is getting very good. She can go from the sitting to standing position on her own and hold her balance for 30+ seconds...Walking will be just around the corner!

Can you believe Emma is 11 months old?! She has  seven teeth and another one on the way. She is standing a lot by holding on to toys and furniture. Emma loves to get her toys out on her own and really likes her stuffed animals, especially Clifford and Mr. Bear. Finally, Emma said Mama! While she doesn't say it a lot, I will take what I can get :).  Emma is saying "Hi" and "Hey" quite a bit too. She is also uttering new sounds like "na na" and "goo". She is trying really hard to learn how to use a sippy cup, but we are still in the early stages. Emma is a pro at self-feeding now! She likes to eat American Cheese, puffs, wagon wheels, and Cheerios. We plan on trying real veggies soon! Emma is loving school. She has a lot of friends and is very social. She LOVES being around other babies and children. She will be one is a just a few weeks...Stay Tuned!

Emma is ten months old now and time has flown by! Here are some new things Emma has learned to do over the last month:

• Pull up on her crib rail and large toys.
• Crawl around to anywhere and anything.
• Attempting to eat some table food (for now she mostly plays with the food instead of eating it!).
• Emma says "Daddy" now. She still has yet to say Mama or Mommy.
• She also calls her bottle "ba-ba" and has even uttered "uh-oh" a few times!
• Emma says "Doggie".
• Emma can point to her nose and yours too.
• Emma likes to wave "hello" and "goodbye".
• She likes to dance to music :).

Emma is nine months old. We can not believe how much she is growing everyday! Here are some things Emma can do at this age:

• She loves to listen to music, play peek-a-boo, and mimick everything you do.
• She is a pro at clapping and doing the motions to "If You're Happy and You Know It".
• She laughs and giggles at the littlest things and loves to make herself laugh.
• Emma loves to eat her vegetables (we will see how long this lasts!) and she really likes her fruit too.
• She loves to get on all fours, but she has yet to crawl. Who knows, maybe she will skip that and go straight to walking!
• She currently has four teeth. 
• She can feed herself by holding the bottle all on her own!
• She can pull up onto her knees, but is a little timid about standing just yet.