21 Months

Emma Sue,

You are 21 months old today! Only 3 months away from having your age no longer counted in months, but rather in years. As so many new little ones come into our life recently, I am reminded of just how much you have changed and grown in 21 months. As I say every month, it seems impossible that you are so big!

It was another big month of changes for you with some firsts and some no longer(s).

• Your last two teeth (bottom eye teeth) popped through 
• You stopped laying in my arms to fall asleep at night. You are too big and it was uncomfortable for both of us apparently. You began sitting up and laying your head on my chest to go to sleep for about a week and now you sit on my lap for about 2 minutes and then request to be put in your crib. Once in your crib you proceed to lay on your side and get comfortable and then you motion for me to put the blanket over you and then you fall asleep. No more rocking to sleep :(
• You are pacifier free! That is right! No more paci for Emma Sue. You gave it up pretty much all on your own. Very exciting :) 
• You are talking a lot more and saying a LOT of words and you copy things that people around you say, so we have had some interesting words repeated by you from people in grocery stores and other places outside of our house, for example: "oh gosh"  You now say this anytime you drop something or trip and fall   :-\
• You are starting to sing songs and your favorites are Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star, Pat-A-Cake, and Jesus Loves Me. Last month, you could say "Jesus uvs me", this month you can sing "Jesus loves me, I know, Bible.. me so" and "tinko, tinko" is now "Twinkle, twinkle star" and you like to "row it, row it" during Pat-A-Cake and you hug yourself at the end when I say "for Emma and Me!" 
• You are very much into Thomas the Train Engine and Olivia the pig. You've seen each show maybe 1 time but you love the books that we get from the library and you request "piggy" as your book to read at night more than Goodnight Train, which has been the running favorite up until Olivia came into your life. 
• You love trains, pointing out flying airplanes, reading books, having books read to you, singing and dancing, playing with your baby dolls (you still cover their faces with blankets), coloring (on everything but the paper you are supposed to color on, Praise God for washable crayons), the doggy, animals of all kinds, going to the zoo, toddler story time at the library and singing Finger Poppin' while there. 
• You can repeat all of your ABC's and say A-B-C all by yourself. You count to 3, kind of...  "1, 2, 5!" and you are catching on to colors. 8 times out of 10 when I ask you what color something is you say: "Purple!" but you are able to recognize colors and point them out sometimes too. I guess maybe purple is just your favorite color?
• You finally graduate to size 5 shoes! Size 4 shoes actually do not fit you anymore. I was amazed by this despite the fact that this transition was "supposed" to happen before you turned 12 months old. You have tiny, chubby feet just like your Grandma Davenport. Love them :) 
• You are in size 24 months pants and 2T shirts, having grown out of the 18 month pants as well this month. I still have to roll up the 24 months a little bit, but the 18 month pants are too short. 
• Your hair is pretty long and past your shoulders now... it's easy to sweep up in a pony tail in a hurry and you've even had your first french braid but I forgot to take pictures! Bad mommy. :) 
• You still love bath time, brushing your teeth, combing your hair and you have started to learn how to take your own diaper off and wipe yourself. We are working on potty training but it's slow going at the moment. 
• You are becoming very skilled at eating with a spoon and a fork and have even had some drinks from a cup without a sippy lid.
• You like to drink the milk out of your bowl after your cereal is gone. You think it's hilarious.
• You are currently in love with olives (black and green) and bread&butter pickles. You like to lick the salad dressing off of lettuce. You actually like rice now, which is a first ... up until now you have hated rice. You don't like broccoli, but you still love peas and corn and you will tolerate carrots, edamame, and beans of any kind. You live for bananas and cheez-its. 
• You have started giving yourself permission to do things. It is quite funny. "Watch tv, Emma? Yeah." "Drink juice, Emma? Yeah." " 'pay toys. Yes"  "See Daddy? Yes. Yeah. yyyyyyyeah, ok."

Emma Sue, you have grown into a little girl that is becoming more and more independent each day. It is an awesome thing to witness and each day as you do and say new things, I am reminded of how grateful I am to be able to witness them all. You keep us laughing each and every day with your antics, your wit and your laughter. You are a special little girl and we are blessed to be your parents. 

We love you so much!