An Emily Update

So, Emily has been learning some interesting things at preschool. I think this is one of them.

Silly faces!

The girls LOVE to dance. Emily is the one to ask for the music and anytime I touch the piano, or look like I might, she asks for her tutus. The girls are just natural little posers.

This is a great pose of my Emily. I wish she would have been smiling.

As usual, she loves any and all babies. She just loves little kids (kids littler than her :).

Emily has started speaking a lot more. She's not afraid of talking in front of adults. And she has improved on communicating to me what she wants. She is very good with her numbers to 20, her letters and their sounds, colors, shapes, etc. She can paint and draw for forever and loves to watch Dora, Blues Clues, Dinosaurs (Land Before Time), and the all-time favorite of Scooby-Doo. Her favorite color, this I have discovered through dress-ups, is pink! She loves to wear the princess dress ups, the crown, the wand, the pretty shoes, but isn't really into the whole watching princesses thing like Meredith. Did I mention that she LOVES dress-ups.

She is also still talking about her Birthday and how she got a bike, and a purse, and her cake was a butterfly. I showed her a few options for her Birthday cake and she chose the butterfly. She loves butterflies too. She really wants to wear her pajama pants with the butterflies on them. Heaven help us if they are both dirty at the same time! If they are dirty I just put on a different pair of pajamas for her and hope she's too tired to look very closely.

It's interesting to have two kids. I didn't realize just how laid back Emily was. Or maybe it's just how NOT laid back Meredith is. But, Emily is so sweet and still loves to be cuddled and read to. I love picking her up from preschool because she'll run to me yelling, "Mommy!" and give me the biggest hug. Those are her best hugs when I pick her up from preschool.

I love having a 4-year-old. I think it is a great age. She will be a great helper when the baby comes and we enjoy our time together while Meredith is taking a nap. (Meredith and I get time together while Emily is at preschool, so it works out perfectly.)

"Mommy, I'm dry!" - a Meredith Update

The many faces of the two-year-old in 2 minutes or less of photographing her.
Happy, silly face.

(explanation on the hair-do: I tried to straighten it. Last time I try that!)
Happy face.

Silly face (I don't know why she's got a finger in her mouth)

Sad, uncooperative face. (Hmm, I'm sure nobody with a two-year-old sees this face as much as me. :)

Happy, playing face.

Meredith has finally decided to be potty trained. (Great! Just when I gave in and bought her some pull ups. I guess I'll just have to save almost an entire bag for the next one.)

It has taken us 2 1/2 months after figuring out how to go potty and stay dry that she finally decided that she actually liked being dry. Did I mention that 2-year-olds are very stubborn. At least mine is. I also think that I probably should have started the 3-day potty training a little earlier because we hit the really ornery 2 1/2 year mark at least 3 months earlier than most kids.

Last night she spilled the smallest bit of water on her chair and got her pants moist. This definitely did not warrant changing her pajama pants, so I put her to bed. Nathan felt that she was moist when he got her up to go potty (Ok, so my trust in her skills are limited to waking her up to go potty one more time before Nathan and I go to bed.). He told her she was wet and she was SO upset. "No! I'm dry, Daddy! I'm dry!" Then Nathan, I'm sure after looking a little more closely said, "Ok. ok. you're dry."

She's grown up a lot lately. I look at both the girls and think, "they so big!" I have to remind myself that in a year from now I'll look back at our pictures and think "awh, they were so small back then."

Meredith can count to 20 with a little bit of help (basically she wants to skip 16 and 17). She's finally counting things correctly. If we get more than 5 or 6 items though she'll lose track and does NOT want Mommy helping her point to the objects.

She sings her ABC's everywhere. And "Santa Claus is Coming to Town", "Jingle Bells", "I Often Go Walking" (that is so sweet. Thank you Daddy for starting to teach the girls that one.) "Reverently, Quietly" (singing it very irreverently of course), "Itsy Bitsy Spider", "5 Little Monkeys", "Happy Birthday to You", and lots of others I can't remember.

I've stopped counting to her when she gets in trouble (ex: come here, 1...2...3...) she will start counting with me like it's some kind of joke, "3...4...5!) She's finally getting over this though, and has done a little better doing something by 3.

I'm so glad we have Meredith in our home. She is challenging, like every child, but brings a lot of joy in the home. (Of course, I'm writing this while the girls are having an argument. Oh, joy!)

"I Love the Baby in Your Tummy"

The girls seem to understand about the baby. Especially Emily.

Me: Do you love Meredith?
Emily: Yah. I love baby in your tummy.

She's also drawn several pictures of the "baby in the tummy". There's always a circle around the baby for my tummy. I guess she's copying the ultrasound pictures I've been showing them.

And I love listening to them play together. (Meredith was too quiet for me to hear what she was saying from the other room.)
Emily: No, Meredith, I'm the teacher.

...15 minutes later

Emily: I don't want to be Swiper!

Have I mentioned how much the girls love Dora and how much I do NOT.