I don’t do monthly updates on Emma anymore but because I want to remember what she was like at this age, I think it’s time I do another update. Emma was 27 months on July 7.
Emma’s obsessions lately have been:
* Moons — She points them out whenever she sees them — in books, on towels, in the sky during the day. She also has a projector that projects stars, teddy bears and a moon while playing music and we ‘watch moons’ together before she falls asleep at naptime and bedtime.
* Bikes — She points them out all the time and loves trying to ride the bike we bought her at a garage sale for $10 (she’s still a little too small for it and we have to hold her upright on it). One of our friends biked with his 4.5-year-old son to the beach using one of those pull-behind bikes. Emma saw that and now will randomly say “Andrew. Bike. Daddy.” It’s hilarious… but annoying if she gets stuck on repeat.
* Airplanes — We have a teeny tiny airport near our house so we see small airplanes flying fairly often. If she hears any noise that even resembles a plane, Emma says “a-pa” and looks in the sky for an airplane.
* Choo-choos — There’s a railroad track about a mile from our house but over the river, the sound carries a ways, so we can hear the train really well. Whenever she hears one, her mouth gets wide, “Ooohhh… choo choo.”
* Yogurt — This girl still loves yogurt… A LOT. Just like her cousin Jensen. Those two must’ve eaten about 15 things of yogurt in the few days he was visiting.
* Pointing out colors — Emma is doing really well with recognizing colors! Now we’re getting her started on counting.
* Hearts and all things pink — She’s totally a girly girl! At the library one day, she ran around collecting pink books. She will also pick out or point out everything pink, like purses, the record from the Fisher Price record player, and the pink squid on Finding Nemo (which we just watched for the first time this past week!).
* “If You’re Happy & You Know It” — This is by far Emma’s favorite song. My parents bought her a little bunny that plays the song, wiggles it ears up and down, and claps. It’s really cute.
* Her Baby Sister — Emma loves helping with Annabelle. She unbuttons her onesie and pulls her diaper off, throws the dirty diaper away, brings burp cloths and blankets, entertains Annabelle when she’s unhappy, holds Annabelle on her lap (for about 30 seconds at a time with our help), and goes “Shhhh” if we mention Baby is sleeping. She also loves giving Baby hugs and kisses.
* Being outside — Emma’s favorite things to do outside are: Draw with sidewalk chalk, roll down the hill in her wagon or truck, jump in puddles, play at the beach, and play at the playground or on our swingset (specifically swinging). Emma also loves to watch older kids play. I joke that that’s the only thing that can get her to stand still.
* Towels — I have no idea why, but Emma loves playing with towels, specifically the pink ones she used as a newborn (she loves the hood and “wears” them around). One of her favorite things to say is “Pink towel.”
Even though Emma is a challenge and a very stubborn, determined little girl who will knowingly defy me while looking me straight in the eyes and saying “Naughty,” she is a sweetheart most of the time. She’s also at a very fun age. I love that she’s talking so much (except for when she repeats the same thing over and over hundreds of times in a row) — it’s just fun to learn her personality and hear the crazy things that toddlers think about and say.
On a more developmental side, Emma has officially transitioned to a toddler bed AND is done drinking bottles! Both things went much better than I had thought they would.
For the toddler bed, we had talked about bringing it up to Emma’s room several times and just never got around to it. Then we went to Rochester to visit my parents for a week and discovered that Emma could crawl out of her pack ‘n’ play. So she slept in the big bed with me and after seeing that she did really well with not rolling off and could get out of bed and come upstairs when she was done sleeping, we decided to just go with it. When we returned home, we brought her toddler bed up and the rest is history. Emma loves sleeping in a big girl bed. We still stay in her room until she falls asleep and there have been several nights when Emma comes into our bed, but I’d say 80% of the time, the toddler bed has been good.
For weaning Emma off her bottles, we first started giving her the bottle separated from naptime and bedtime. I’d give her a bottle after lunch and after dinner, but not as part of her bedtime routine. We did that for a few weeks. Then when we went to my parents’ cabin over the Fourth, we forgot to bring bottles along and decided it was time to pull off the Band-Aid. It was hard those first few nights — Emma really wanted a bottle. But she survived without it and it got easier the longer she went without one. We did end up telling her that “bottles went bye-bye” and she seemed content with that explanation… I have no idea why. Once we got home from the cabin, we moved the bottles to a higher cabinet so Emma couldn’t see them. Now Emma drinks milk from a sippy cup before bed (if she drinks any at all). Yay!
Next up… potty training. Oy. Momma’s not ready.
Life, Really Blog 