Terrible 2's

I took Emma to get her 2 year pictures yesterday. It went fairly smooth for only having one parent present. I bought shoes especially for this photo shoot and couldn't find them anywhere before we left. Of course those shoes showed up later on that evening in the middle of the kitchen next to the electric saw behind the cabinet shells, why didn't I think to look there? During the shoot when they would change backgrounds she would take off running to the Lego's in the lobby. I always feel like I am the only parent who's child would do that take off running instead of sitting quietly like a good little girl. Seriously the people at the photo studio and even most stores look at you like they have never seen a child misbehave in public ever. Then to get her to smile the assistant would throw the animals in the air, when that didn't work he gave it to Emma to throw. Wouldn't you know at swim class today all Emma wanted to do was throw her toy just like she did yesterday and it was funny then?

It has definitely been a terrible two day with fighting me holding her in the pool. I was very tempted to let her stand to show her it was the deep end and she needed me to hold her. Tempted but obviously would never. Then the instructor kept telling me how I should hold her, I was ok till about the 5th time. I wanted to shout "Are you blind?, Can you not see her kicking and pushing with all her might against me but please let me put my hands just like so??" For those of you that don't know I used to be a swim instructor way back in the day. I am very familiar with how to hold a child in the water to learn different skills, except it is not an option always when said child is not cooperating. After class came the running away thing except this time it was after we are fully dressed lets run in the showers and slip so our pants get soaked. Then I got to watch as some old guy laughed his butt off while I attempted to get my child away from the drinking fountains, pay phone and play boat they have so we could walk out the door. When we got home I gave her some turkey and cheese. After playing with it for a while she threw the turkey on the floor, as I was picking it up I feel the cheese hitting me in the head...... Thank God for nap time! No time for Mommy though had to go to work for a meeting, then I came home to a wonderful surprise my neighbor wanted Emma to come over and play. Usually this ends up with the neighbor girl crying because Emma is invading her space. Fortunately this time all was well no crying, no fighting. We even went over and ate pizza. Emma was very good over there. The minute we came home though.... I said lets get in the shower, she climbed in with all her clothes, coat and shoes on. Then came washing time and it was definitely a battle of wills. I was done when she started yanking the shower caddy and then throwing toys at me because I told her not to yank on the caddy. This is not every day but oh Lord, she is not even 2 yet!!!

birthday traditions

In just a week little Emma Grace will be turning 2. I have been thinking of starting some sort of special tradition on her birthday. Wether it be waking her up with a cake or special trinket or getting her flowers on her birthday. Is there any traditions that you treasured as a child or do for your children that you care to share? She does have a minimal collection of waterglobes I could add to... Just looking for ideas.

day to day

So I bribed Emma to let me put pigtails in her hair today, not that you can tell in the pictures but it was cute. It obviously takes longer than normal with her hair but we got thru it with her mangling my new phone and me going as slow as I could so we did it without tears. She is also getting better about letting me change her earrings but I do have to tackle her and sit on her pretty much with only her head showing but she thinks it is funny. We have been experimenting with the potty too with pretty good results, she actually asks to go every once in a while and they way she says potty is super cute. My goal is by the summer to have her potty trained, well maybe. We found out she can do puzzles pretty well, the wooden kind that have animals or shapes that fit in certain spaces. We have 4 that she does all by herself. She has also figured out who is walking by her bedroom door by their feet either mom or dad (by peeking under it when she is supposed to be in bed). It is also a matter of time before she climbs the dresser, she has figured out she can put her foot on the little ledge of the drawer and pull up on the top. We have managed to escape injury for the last week so hopefully we will be able to get her pictures taken next week. It is hard to believe she is going to be 2 in a matter of days, time has flown by so fast since we brought home such a little tiny baby.

Emma G

Little Emma has been up to alot lately. Apparently this week her goal is to make to the emergency room one way or another. She started out by tripping over the rug and smacking her head right on the corner of the crib. Not even 24 hours later she fell again this time eye first into the corner of the couch, hence the black eye. When I went to check on her at nap time today this is how I found her. The first day we gave her the highchair I had zip tied the tray down so she couldn't sit in the chair since that is the only thing she wanted to do. I figured if it was stuck in the down position she would forget about it and not try to climb in it. Guess I was wrong, it is now sitting in the hallway so she can't fall out of it and break her arm. I am getting ready to duct tape foam around her and put a helmet on to keep the bruising to a minimum. So anyway 2 year pictures are going to be put off while face healing is occurring.

The picture of Em asleep is her new favorite place to go to bed. She loved playing on the dog couch at Vickie's so much we bought her one. She loves it and no she doesn't share with the dogs, it is all hers. The other picture is her playing dress up.

Missing Alabama

I haven't posted anything lately because I have been missing my friend and not wanting to much of anything since she said she was leaving and now that she did. Don't misunderstand I am very happy for her to finally have found what everyone looks for their whole life, happiness. If there is anyone in this world that deserves happiness, it is definitely her. I am just sad she found it across the country. To me we have a very special friendship that has weathered storms and lots of sunshine. She is one of those very special people in life that once you meet her she treats you like you are family. I wish I was like her in ways that she pays attention to details about people, knows that someone is feeling down even when sometimes they don't realize it. She was a great force at work because she was the glue that held us together, in such little ways; decorating the Christmas tree, decorating for other holidays, organizing fundraisers, or even just pj and potluck night. Those are the things that kept morale at work up and I know we will still do those things but it won't have the same class that she always added to everything she did. If she had a party or a bbq, everyone wanted to be invited because you knew it was going to be amazing from the food to the decorations. She did work very hard to make them amazing but each one was worth everything she put into them.

I am going to miss shopping with her, she always knew where to find the best stuff for the best bargains. Emma is going to miss that too, she always got so excited when we met up at the stores.

Just today I had to go to one of our favorite stores and all I thought about was it wasn't the same without her. I thought it would get easier but so far it hasn't. Talking to her today just made me miss her more. I am glad that she does have a great support group back home and they will all help her get settled and take care of her, I just wish I was there too. I miss you Vick, more than you know.