The Walking Talking Big Girl Place of Life

Ahemmmm... Well, folks, it looks like it's been a little while since this Mama had some good old-fashioned sit-down time for thinking and writing. But, alas! Here I am! Rather than try to tell you all the ways that Emmy is practically in college now, I'll get back into the swing of things with a couple sweet Emmy stories.

Lately, when Emmy has found a pair of my underwear, she looks at them for moment and then does what almost any curious human would do-- puts the underwear over her head and wears them like a necklace. Now, this is not an example of modeling because Ryan and I do not engage in such things. Rather, this is a moment in Emmy's steady stream of genius behaviors. The leg holes in the underwear are the perfect size through which to put her head, so of course that must be what you're supposed to do with them! And if they happen to match her outfit, all the better! Emmy got some experience wearing necklaces when we were visiting my family in Kansas (Gramps got out all of my old play jewelry), so maybe this is really Emmy's way of putting on the ruby shoes and clicking her heels three times. Today she seemed totally perplexed that Grandma and Grandpa couldn't jump out of the computer screen to color with her or accept her offerings of toys, although they were talking to her. Technology is pretty weird.

Enough about underwear...

This evening, Emmy and I were having a casual dinner on the living room floor and in the middle of walking around and offering to share food with the kitties, she came over to me and fell into me for a long hug. She put her head on my shoulder, and then raised it up with a look on her face that said "my cheek is awfully kissable," so I kissed her cheek and she went back to the hug. Granted, she was exhausted. The last week of having our house reroofed has been hard on us all in regards to scheduling a nap for Emmy, or getting one at all. Hopefully this next week will be filled with good sleep for all, lots of long hugs, and maybe a pair or two of underwear.

... The Other Side of the Room!

While I was nursing Emmy to sleep tonight, and she was doing her evening calisthenics simultaneously, I was thinking about what gigantic changes she's made in one week. A week ago, Emmy took a few steps in between pieces of furniture. Now she cutely waddles, not only to inanimate objects, but also to people, cheering her on with big smiles. And she not only makes a few steps, but walks across rooms! The funny thing is that she doesn't seem as blown away as we are. She's just happy to make her way to Mommy, who's squealing away at her for some reason. Emmy's still mainly crawling, and saving the walking for special occasions, but I wouldn't be surprised if that story is completely different next week.

... A Few Giant Steps

That's right. As I was talking to Ryan on the phone this evening, I watched in a seemingly nonchalant manner as Emmy took three or four very steady, very normal-sized, very "ain't no thang" steps. And then I screamed and jumped up and down inside my head until Ryan finished his sentence (because I hate interrupting that much.)

I think she walked because she wasn't thinking about it, and because she didn't know I was watching her. Also, no one was dangling a toy a few steps in front of her, calling her like a puppy. So it's hard to say when it'll happen again. Maybe tomorrow, or the next day, but soon, and for the rest of her life! Needless to say, I didn't take a video or picture of the event ('cause that's not so nonchalant), but here are a couple other cute pictures I took yesterday. Did I say cute? Because I meant CUTE.

... Animal Sounds

Some exciting things were coming out of Emmy's mouth this week, besides indiscriminate food bits. When asked, "What sound does a kitty make?" Emmy started replying in a sweet, high-pitched voice, "mama!" which I know is her version of "meow." Whenever we meow, Emmy says "mama," and I'm not sure if there's any underlying message here about her opinion of our three kitties, or my mothering skills, but it's pretty cute regardless.

And while I'm pretty sure that Emmy said "ducky" two days ago, and Ryan's pretty sure that she said "banana" twice earlier in the week, it seems that Em's saving most of her verbiage for her time with babysitters. When I came home from work on Monday, our babysitter, Justice, said to me, "So, Emmy talks. She said 'mama,' 'dada,' 'fishies,' and when I asked if she wanted something, she said 'mmhmm, yes that.'" The thing is that in all of Emmy's amazing mumblings is a huge variety of sounds, so it's very easy to hear full phrases, which she may or may not actually be saying. We like to give her credit for saying, "Hey, look at that penguin underneath the window over there," but, you know...

Then! Then there was this... on Wednesday, while Emmy was over at Auntie Jennie's house, as she is every Wednesday morning, Emmy apparently said "tiss!" to Jennie, and when Jennie looked down, Emmy was looking up at Jennie with her lips puckered. When Jennie bent down and gave Emmy a kiss, Emmy giggled! Do you know what this means?! This means that Emmy really said "kiss"! How am I 100% positive about this, you ask? Well, Emmy always laughs when she gets what she wants. For example, when she points at Magic Blankie, and then you bring it to her, she laughs as if to say, "You understood my communication!" or maybe, "You fell for it, my mom slave!"

Does this all mean that we can say that Emmy's talking? Or, that Emmy talks for babysitters? Sure, let's give the girl a checkmark next to this milestone. Why not?

... Technology, Technology

I'm sure it will come as no surprise to anyone who's been around kids in the last couple decades... but kids love technology. Well, let's simplify that a little bit. Kids love buttons, lights, and things that make noise. And Emmy is no different.

Cell phones: Emmy has been known to add a new contact, set a date on Ryan's calendar, and leave my mom a voicemail. She may have had something to do with our wireless bill being higher than usual last month-- we're not really sure. We finally became the parents who got their child a toy cell phone, and of course, it's conveniently missing at the moment. Be sure to hide in the closet when answering your phone, or you'll have to deal with the curious hands of Emmy.

Keyboards: Even though Emmy has her very own keyboard to type away on (which she does, usually hunkered down on her elbows), the keyboard attached to the computer is certainly much more cool. Because if you really hammer away at it long enough, crazy things will start happening on the screen, and there will be lots of beeping noises to let you know how awesome you're doing. And that mouse! Don't forget the mouse.

Key fobs (the ones that lock/unlock your doors): I don't know how many times I thought to myself "Darn that Ryan for not closing the trunk again!" before figuring out that Miss Emmy had opened the trunk herself by pushing a little button from inside the comforts of our home. And while 4th street can be a bit sketchy at times, it's Emmy who's setting off the car alarms around our place.

TV area: TV on, TV off. VCR on, VCR off. Satellite on, satellite off. Xbox game ejected, Xbox game inserted. You get the point.

I can see how it's kind of sad that a pull-toy or a block don't have the same thrill as they used to before all this fancy stuff came along, but who can blame 'em? With the instant cause and effect, and the fact that grown-ups are using these button-filled things all the time, it's no wonder they're so intriguing. So don't be surprised if the next blog update is written by Miss Emmy, herself. It might go something like this: nnnnnnnnnnnmm// 8987oij23sskj @%@#$% !!!

... Sign School

Apparently, while I was at work on Saturday and Emmy was doing her best to not nap for Ryan, she was busy learning. Because when I came home, she busted out the sign language for "sleep," "please," and "daddy" on command like she'd been doing them for weeks. She's also starting to verbally mimic some things we say, especially when we repeat the sounds that she makes, she keeps on repeating them. Walking and talking are just days away, I tell you.

Emmy also got to try on her Big Sister hat on Saturday when we watched our friends' 3 1/2 month old baby, Grace. Emmy loves babies, so she was pretty excited to have a real live one right in her own home. She frequently signed "baby" just like she does when she sees the baby on her yogurt cup, and poked Grace's nose whenever she got the chance. What surprised me was that even though I was holding Grace almost constantly for 2 hours, Emmy showed no jealousy and went about her independent play ways. And when Grace started crying when her parents put her in her car seat to go home, Emmy tried to give Grace... (take a seat for this one, folks)... her Magic Blankie! I'm sure Emmy would have whined and yanked it back a couple minutes later if Grace had taken it, but still! What sweetness.

... The Facts

Three things you might not have known about Emmy:

1. Emmy's a giving little girl. Like yesterday, she handed me a piece of half-chewed fish stick straight from her mouth. How sweet.
2. Emmy speaks French. It's just too bad that I do not speak French, so I don't know what she's saying. However, I do hear "au jus" mentioned frequently.
3. Emmy strolls. Although Emmy hasn't fully walked on her own yet, she did start pushing her baby stroller while standing up all by herself this week-- even on the slick kitchen floor. She goes about 20 mph, so watch out toes!

... Her Room!

Emmy has a newly decorated bedroom, which is mostly finished. Since she moved into her room on July 4th, Emmy had still been sleeping amongst her parents' piles of papers, books, and office whatnots, although I'm sure she hardly noticed. And she may hardly notice the new girly touches and the "Indian Princess" theme, but I feel so much better, and that counts for something too. I had to refrain from taking close-up pictures of the embroidery on the curtains, and glitter on the butterflies, because, do you really care? The point is that Emmy now has a friendly room complete with a portrait of her daddy as "The Fairy King" above her co-sleeper, and that's what matters.

What matters even more to Emmy is the green furry item in the picture with Emmy. Meet "Magic Blanket." When my parents were visiting in June, we all realized that Emmy needed something cuddly for comfort, since she doesn't use a pacifier or suck any fingers, all she had was nursing which isn't always an available option. And so this small green blanket, which some have thought is a bathmat, has earned its "magical" name a thousand times over. We try not to tote it around all over town, and instead just have it for sleepy time, for which it is essential. Emmy burrows her head in Magic Blankie and pets it while she nurses, even when she's half-asleep. So if you ever find it left accidentally at your house, call 9-1-1 and have it speedily police-escorted back to Emmy. Please.

And the Emmy Goes to... Blogland!

Welcome to the Emmy blog! Copying the genius move of my cousin, I've decided to start this blog to write a few sentences a day (or every few days) about my daughter, Emmy, so that loved ones can receive more frequent updates about what she's up to. In this way, I'm eliminating the enormous mass e-mails, which cause my carpal tunnel to flare up, and now you don't have to sit around tapping your foot, waiting for me to get my act together. Really, it's a win-win. Perhaps even a win-win-win (the third win yet to be determined).

My genius husband, Ryan, provided the extremely witty title to this blog, so I can't take credit for much of this yet, but just you wait! The updates will all be made by me, and maybe even later today, Emmy will do something extremely cute and I'll remember to write about it. Stay tuned.