Emma-isms at 21 months

Our precious daughter is growing up so quickly and is SO MUCH FUN! She has Greg and I laughing every day with something new out of her mouth. Infants are cute for cuddling and snuggling, but I have to say that this stage has been my favorite. I want to bottle her up and keep her this adorable forever. Avoid acne and training bras INDEFINITELY. :)

We decided that the "cooler" weather (below 90) translated to new outdoor toys to keep Emma occupied. I don't believe in buying new things for my child, so to Craigslist I went. Found this sweet slide for $15 - and Emma's elation on this makes it worth millions. She plays on it for 1-2 hours EVERY day.

If you'll note the stuffed animals at the bottom of the slide, you'll see that she prefers pushing her animals down the slide almost as much as she enjoys going down herself.

I found the push bike at a children's consignment store for $5. As Emma plays on her "new" toys, I enjoy sitting on our patio bench and reading my latest book. A few days ago, she hopped up on the bench by me, forced my book shut with her chubby hands and said, "the end".

I took the hint and began playing. Little Miss Thing knows what she wants and knows how to manipulate her parents just beautifully.
After returning home from our fabulous Oregon trip, Emma brought back a little saying from her cousin Ben. Not an hour goes by that I don't hear, "I NEED IT, I NEED IT". The sheer desperation in her pleas has almost convinced me a few times that she just might die if she doesn't play with the toy immediately.

We've begun using our zoo pass again and have been every week for the last month. This annual pass is worth it's weight in gold and we have taken advantage as much as possible. If anyone ever goes, give us a call! Emma is entertained by the animals, but I need my own adult entertainment of womanly chit chat.

Speaking of animals, I went to pick up my SIL Michelle last Saturday night while our boys attended Priesthood Session of General Conference. The last time we were at their house was in August after our New Mexico trip... but as soon as we pulled into the complex, Emma screamed with excitement, "Michelle, Bunnies! Michelle Bunnies!". Jeff and Michelle have two adorable rabbits that Emma adores. I was so impressed that she would recognize the town home community and remember the animals from almost 2 months ago. Their little brains are simply amazing.

There is no question about it. Emma lives a very charmed life and is one lucky girl. For as long as I can remember, she loves the thrill of finding TWO of her blankets to cuddle with. (I have spares around in case one is lost). My reply is always, "You have two blankets? You are so lucky!". She often copies me, but her version of lucky is "yucky".

Now when she sees two of ANYTHING she says:

"Two buses! YUCKY!"

"Two Crackers! YUCKY!"

Two books! YUCKY!"

The other day she even remembered the intersection where we had previously seen two buses, and exclaimed, "two buses! yucky!". No buses were in sight.

As long as she always remembers how blessed and "yucky" she really is, I will be a happy Mom.

Here she is pictured with her friend Whitney from the ward. Emma almost always plays with boys, so it was really cute to see her interact with a little girl. They giggled all morning long.

Our favorite things that Emma says these days are, "HOLD YOU!" when she wants to be held and "Thank you Mommy" after I do just about anything for her. In fact, yesterday I took her to get a flu shot. She handled it like a champ and was most pleased with her shiny band-aid they gave her. All the way home she said, "Thank you Mommy" for taking her to get a flu shot. Pretty amusing. But a great example of her sweet disposition. She really is such a joy to be around.

She is also quite obsessed with the moon. We're not sure if it came from the book "Goodnight Moon" or whether her ball obsession has transferred over. In any case, we walked to the mailbox as a family a few evenings ago and the moon was full and bright. She wanted to get closer and then proclaimed very loudly that she wanted to "hold it". Now almost every evening she asks to go see the moon and then requests to "hold it". How would you explain that to a toddler? We tell her that it's stuck in the sky... and so far that has worked to pacify her inquiries.

Ah yes, and what would an Emma post be without a description of her "dressing habits". I can't put her in loose clothes, because if she has an inch, she will quickly begin undressing. A few mornings ago she promptly took off her pajamas, ripped out her hair rubber band and began reapplying the clothing "her way". This last picture is what she ended up with.

I call this picture - our little "Mermaid Thing". Just check out that smile though, she was pleased as punch with her accomplishment.

I'll be on a blogging hiatus next week while Emma and I take a wonderful trip to Kentucky with my sister Laura. We are so excited to see family, the horses and FALL COLORS!! Greg will be home supporting our travels, so if you have something fun happening in the evenings, give the little guy a call. He'll be Mr. Lonely.

One LAST thing to cram into this exceedingly long post is a DARLING video of Emma counting to 10, singing "Twinkle Twinkle" and her colors song.