Emma is 2!

Today is Emma's birthday, and this is the pre-birthday post where I get to write all the fun things about my little girl.  We have all sorts of nicknames for her like "bear," "small fry," "curly sue," and of course "princess."  I noticed yesterday that she is slowly starting to string a few words together.  Her words are developing in a little different order from Rhett.  One of her common phrases is "my turn!"  I don't think Rhett figured that one out until 3 or so, but he didn't need to.  She still loves her lamby (aka "mamie"), and her new Pinky (ake "pee pee").  She is fascinated by all things involved in "night night."  So, she asks for her blanket ("bobbit") and pillow ("pow woah") frequently.  She can proudly tell you that she is 2 years old.  Her new favorite song is Take Me Out to the Ballgame, and I overheard her singing just "ball game" over and over again yesterday.  She says her favorite color is blue.  I keep trying to convince her it is pink or purple, but she likes blue.  When she puts her mind to it, she does an okay job identifying her colors and animal sounds.  I especially love how she says quack because it's more like "kack."  And her oink is more like "eeeink."  Her meow is also cute because she says "maow" in a very high pitch voice.  I finally dropped the bottles, so I'm not sure if she's getting enough calcium (she still adamantly refuses milk out of a cup, and pretty much only drinks diluted juice).  But, that also means that we have time for stories at night time.  Her favorite, favorite, favorite story is Brown Bear.  It is probably the only one that she will consistently listen to in its entirety and usually asks me to read it again.  She also really likes Mr. Brown Can Moo, Can You? and her Sesame Street books.

She is definitely a two year old with tantrums.  This girl is not afraid to cry about anything and everything.  She is so much more difficult than Rhett, and it's mostly just this strong willfulness.  She is very leery of strangers.  She will smile, say hi, and act like she will be your best friend, but don't get too close to her!  She is the same way about dogs.  I heard her telling the neighbor's dog yesterday, "mine!" when she felt like the dog might be getting too close to her at snack time.

If she is home, she thinks Rhett needs to be there.  If Rhett is not around, she will ask for him every five minutes, and more frequently than that in the morning if she wakes up before he does.  They play good together off and on, but now I am seeing a lot of sharing issues, little squabbles, and fits of jealousy.

She doesn't play independently very much.  If she really wants to play, she will come find me.  She will tell me "up!" which means she is telling me to get off my rear and go play with her.  So, usually she is content to follow me around and do whatever I'm doing.

She still loves food!  She probably likes fruit snacks the best.

Stay tuned for birthday pictures, and updated stats from her check up!