Emily really enjoyed her flotation devices when swimming!

Today, we ran some errands in the car and Emily got to eat several snacks while we traveled. The first snack was a bag of pretzels. I watched in the rear view mirror as she figured out that the salty crumbly remains of the bottom of the bag were quite yummy. She would dig her finger into the pool of crumbs and them put them in her mouth. She did it over and over with joy. Later, when I got the bag out for the trash I found that she had eaten all of the crumbs.

Later, we got a popcorn snack for the trip home. Luckily, I split the bag with her because part way through her portion she poured all of the popcorn out of the bag onto her lap. Again, I got the front row view of the whole event throughthe rear view mirror. I don’t know if she started it on purpose, but I know she finished pouring it out on purpose. She just looked at the pile for a little while. Then she picked up a few and alternately put them back in the bag and ate them. It was pretty slow going and she became upset at the mess she made. I pulled over and helped her clean it up when I had an opportunity. I’m hoping she learned that pouring it out was fun, but sitting in it for a little while wasn’t fun.

Another silly story – Emily has figured out when her nose is running and it bothers her. She will go and get a tissue from the box, wipe her nose, and then throw away the tissue. We just have to watch how many tissues she uses at one time. She gets a little excited and grabs a bunch. She loves this independent action for herself.

Just a little pre-cake testing – Yummy!

A silly story with Daddy (who is more fun to be silly with than Daddy?) – Emily and Julia were playing on Robby’s lap with a play phone. The phone rang and Emily answered it. Robby asked her who was on the phone and she said “Maeve”. Then she put the phone to Julia’s ear. I guess she has figured out that Julia and Maeve are friends and that they should talk.

A photo from our last trip to Florida and just playing outside.

We were all playing on the floor together one evening, and I decided that Emily should learn to do a somersault. She already loves to roll across the floor. She has been doing somersaults for a while by accident. She will crawl off of the couch or ottoman and roll out into a somersault. She couldn’t figure out what she was doing to repeat it, but she loved it.

The best way of learning a new thing is to see it demonstrated. So Mommy cleared a path and demonstrated a somersault for Emily. It was a hit. She loved it and wanted to do it herself. She can get her head down, but can’t figure out how to roll her body over. She will get it soon enough. For now, it is still fun for Mommy and Daddy to push her over. Daddy did a demonstration too to not be outdone by Mommy.

Mommy did realize that she isn’t as young as she once was. I didn’t use the proper technique, and it took my neck and spine three days to get back to normal. Call me crazy, but I’m going to do it again with her. I will just pad the floor a little and work on my technique.

A photo of Emily learning how to play with the spinning toy. We were having a play date and Emily enjoyed playing with Aiden’s toys.

Emily is a typical two year old and learning how to interact with the big world. This involves a decent amount of push back against Mommy’s wishes and boundaries. I realized the other day that I was letting this aspect of our day define too much of my day. So, to help keep perspective and patience each day I am watching for the funny or developmentally cool things that happen. I’m going to try to document them here – not just share them with Robby. This way over a longer period of time I can be reminded of the joy she brings when she is giving me a little push back.

I have to confess that I am a closet belcher. This is a fact known by my immediate family and will be known soon enough by our daughters. I believe that with a few rules that women can hold their own against men. I have been setting the ground work so that Emily can learn the rules. Rule number one is that after you belch you say ‘excuse me’. Emily does belch on her own (no Mommy influences) and I have been encouraging her to say and sign excuse me. Enough setup, the other day the girls were sitting on my lap after the morning milk watching some cartoons. Emily was nose to nose with Julia talking to her and out popped a burp. She backed up a little and said ‘excuse me’ and signed it at the same time. I was so proud! She is starting to get rule number one.

As a side note, please don’t ask for a demonstration of my ability because I don’t preform on demand. Although for some good stories you can check with my brother.