emma is 17 months old

Another month gone by quickly- and now Emma is 17 months. She must have grown another inch this month because 18 month sleepers are too short and the feet are too tight also. She can now reach door handles! She can still wear 18 month shirts and pants but is in 24 month clothes as well. Her feet are growing too- she is now in a size 6 or 7 and continues to have wide feet.

-Emma is quite a ham. She loves attention and making us laugh. The twinkle in her eye and her mischevious smile gives us great joy. She still loves the same old peekaboo games, such as opening a door accompanied by screaming, shutting it quickly, and running down the hall only to repeat.

-We are having fun with arts and crafts, such as finger painting and painting with water a few times a week.

-Emma is super chatty, talking up a storm and rambling a lot. Emma’s favorite word of the month is an assertive ”no” and other variations such as ”no,no, no” accompanied by an extremely miserable whine, squinted eyes, and tears. She is definitely asserting her independence! My favorite word that she says is “a-ro-ro” for orange- so cute! She also says “mon” for monkey and says mamama and mimimi. She can repeat many words but doesn’t use them regularly. She still says ba to mean so many things. She says “pa” for puppy and “da” for dog and “ba” for Barkley. She emphatically nods her head yes and shakes no in answer to questions. She still says ”pees” for please and now says “ta” for thank you. She says “da” for duck and “bir” for bird. Still says “bye” and waves, even for night night. I have heard some two and three word phrases but can’t figure out what they mean. I think she repeated “i love you” the other day, but it’s hard to say for sure, although it was emphasized with a hug. She still says “boom” every time she falls or someone falls and “ouch” if she is hurt. I love when she says “oooo” or “oh” for something she is excited about seeing.

-She initiates praying for dinner by folding her hands and she has even started to bow her head. She doesn’t stay focused for long but it is cute. At the end of the prayer, she claps and says “men” for amen. I have noticed that she also will fold her hands at church and recognizes when people are praying. She claps after every song and also pats her leg or sways to the music. She recognizes the people at church and will hug them if she’s in the mood.

-Emma is incredibly sensitive to moods, responses, criticism, etc. She is very observant.

-Emma is getting very particular about things as well. She wants to pick what to wear for the day and pulls out clothes from her drawer several times a day. Her favorite clothes are ones with dots or animals. She is all about asserting her will and likes to be in control. She likes her socks off and will pull them off regularly no matter how cold the floor is. She sometimes fights diaper changes or putting pants back on depending on her mood.

-Emma can point to numerous pictures accurately, particularly animals in books that she reads daily with Daddy. I think she is getting a good education so far.

-Another cute thing- Daddy will ask her to “make him a cup of coffee.” Emma will then go to her play kitchen, take out the coffee thermos, and pour Daddy a cup of coffee. She will serve it to him in a minute after she pretends to make it.

-Emma loves to be outside- especially playing at the local playground or at the beach. She enjoys climbing and sliding a lot! Every time we go out the front door she points to the playground down the street and tries to convince me to take her there.

-Emma has really taken on a helper role in our home. She thrives on structure and routine. She feeds Barkley every day (puts the bowl down on the floor) and hands the bowl to me when he is through. If I spill water on the floor, she will grab a towel and clean it up. She will pass her dish to me when she is done eating and help set the table. If I am changing the crib sheet, she will get a new one out and hand it to me. She likes to help with the laundry- putting clothes in the washer, transfer from dryer to basket, pushing the basket into the next room, and unloading the basket- fun stuff. She will throw trash in the can and run all the way from the living room into the kitchen to do it. Everything is a game!

-She has really taken an interest in cooking and is always asking me to pick her up so she can see. A lot of times I find myself mixing things on the floor so that she can see and help. She is much more likely to eat something we make together.

-She is learning to use a potty at bathtime and how to brush her teeth.

-Emma still loves to dance to music, especially with a beat, but now moves a lot more. She spins in circles, stands on her head in quadruped, and somersaults. She runs around the house.

-Sweetness continues: hugs, “noses” (rubbing noses), kisses, raspberries, face cradling, and head butts. Love all the affection. One of my favorites is family hugs where everybody piles on the sofa for a few minutes. Emma will hug and kiss us, back and forth from mommy to daddy. It is one of the highlights of every day.

-Emma enjoys and looks forward to skyping with family. She will point to the computer and ask to skype. She reads books on skype and shows her toys to her family, trying to get them to kiss the screen.

-She gets so silly when she is tired and runs around in circles and falls over repeatedly. Guess that’s one of her cues that it’s time for a nap.

-In the car, Emma is usually either napping or playing with her electronic dinosaur that says letters and colors or her turtle book which reads stories. She will turn it off and hand it to me when we get to our destination. She likes to take a stuffed toy on car rides too and will carry it out to the car.

-She is interested in buttons, buckles, belts, snaps, and zippers but still needs help with most of them to use them right. Today she was able to unzip her coat and figure out how to take it off by herself.

Emma is growing so quickly I can hardly keep up! Seems like each week brings something new as our little girl continues to blossom and grow! What a blessing she is!