Our Little Fireflies

"Winnie the Pooh Likes Kung Fu"

2011-07-10T09:25:00.004-05:00

Emma is taking classes in China town with a Shaolin monk and had her first kung fu class yesterday. Later when we were home we saw her trying to teach Winnie the Pooh some of the kung fu she learned. She told us "Winnie the Pooh likes kung fu."

"No Pee Me"

2011-07-08T21:37:00.002-05:00

Emma and Maddy both passed gas when we were putting on their pajamas tonight and Maddy giggled and said "I gas." Then Mama said "Phew (pee yew)" and Maddy said "No Pee Me."

"Give me back my sister!"

2011-05-09T14:17:00.000-05:00

Emma doesn't like it when Maddy is put in a time out, so sometimes Emma will tell us "Give me back my sister!" Other times, she goes and stands in the time out corner with Maddy to keep her company. She is a very sweet big sister.

"There are bugs on the lobsters!"

2011-05-07T22:15:00.003-05:00

We went to our first crawfish boil and both girls were fascinated by the crawfish. Maddy didn't want to try any and kept saying no and shaking her head when offered one. Emma on the other had was interested and watched people eat them, but then when flies started landing on them she informed people that there were bugs on the lobsters. She wouldn't try one after that until the host explained to her that they are landing on the outside of the crawfish and you peel the outside off and eat the inside, so the inside was still clean. She thought for a moment and then when Mama offered her one ate it. She liked it and ate several more.

Poor Emma, she was down wind from the boiler once while they were adding in cayenne pepper and got some in her eye.

Maddy's 12 Month Pediatrian Visit

2010-09-08T11:40:00.002-05:00

Maddy's 12 month pediatrician visit went well. Just three shots: MMR, Chicken Pox, and Hep A.

Her stats were:

Length: 32" (99.22% and 1" taller than Emma at this visit)
Weight: 23 lb 13 oz (84.92% and 3.4 lbs lighter than Emma)

So all in all, she's taller and slimmer than Emma was at 12 months.

Crayon

2010-09-08T11:36:00.002-05:00

On the way to Target last night to pick up some more workbooks for Emma, Mama told her that she was going to get more crayons too. Emma then said "crayon", "c-r-a-y-o-n" (spelling crayon), and Mama's jaw dropped.

Made for Mama

2010-06-27T21:12:00.003-05:00

Emma was very naughty and found Maddy's container of diaper rash creme. Our budding artist went to work and decorated our bed frame and herself. When Mama found her creation, and exclaimed, "Oh my!! WHO did this?" She looked right into her shocked face and proclaimed, "I made this for Mama". Of course Mama started laughing.....

Potty Training

2010-06-06T22:43:00.002-05:00

Emma has been doing so well with potty training. What worked for her was Mama's suggestion to put her in underwear and all it took was one weekend for her to understand the sensation and realize she did not to want to go in her underwear. She has been in underwear for two weeks and is doing great. She even had a dry overnight diaper this morning. We are so proud of her.

"One Pizza Please"

2010-06-06T22:40:00.004-05:00

At Costco today Emma and Mama tried out a sample of pizza and after Emma ate it she walked around to the side of the stand and knocked on the window and said to the women who were baking the pizzas, "One pizza please" and she held up one finger to them. They thought it was cute and started laughing to which Emma responded by asking for one pizza again.

More Teeth

2010-06-06T22:20:00.006-05:00

Maddy's first two teeth arrived in January.

A few weeks ago her top two front teeth finally emerged and now it looks like she is getting two more teeth on top. She has started to grind them every now and then and it makes me cringe.

I'm a Turtle!

2010-05-23T23:22:00.003-05:00

So after her bath tonight, Emma walks out of the bathroom and into her bedroom with a towel wrapped around her. Then she leans forward and bunches the towel on her back and says "I'm a turtle!"

Nail Painting

2010-05-11T11:45:00.002-05:00

Emma was coloring using markers the other day while I was playing with Maddy. After a little while I went over to see how she was coloring and the fingernails on her left hand were colored in pink marker. "Oh" was my first thought and then I thought it was cute, so I told her it looked pretty.

We bought her Hello Kitty nail polish the next day, but she didn't want me to put any on her fingernails. She told me to put it on mine, so I did and then she looked at them and said "Oooooo Pretty!" But she still didn't want any on hers.

I'm 3 Years Old!

2010-05-10T20:53:00.007-05:00

Emma is now 3 years old. We can't believe how fast time is passing and how much she has grown. Her birthday party was last weekend (see pics below), so we got her a little cake to celebrate again today.

Emma loves "choo choo" trains, so we rented a train for her party and everyone loved it.

Her party was a combination of Wow Wow Wubbzy and Dora the Explorer.

Emma loved all her birthday presents and especially liked the art and animal ones.

Reading to Baby

2010-04-02T22:49:00.003-05:00

Emma read Goodnight Moon to her Hello Kitty tonight. She used to call her Hello Kitty her baby.

Emma has the whole book memorized verbatim and loves to recite it.

Da da da, Dee dee dee

2010-04-02T20:11:00.000-05:00

Maddy just started saying Da da da, Dee dee dee, etc. today. It's so cute and she has such a cute little voice.

Chicken Pox

2010-04-02T20:07:00.003-05:00

Yep, Chicken Pox. Even though Emma was vaccinated, she still caught the Chicken Pox. It was a very mild case, she's better now, and Maddy didn't catch it. :)

Teething

2009-11-28T22:50:00.002-06:00

Poor Maddy, she has been teething really bad the last two days. We've had to give her Tylenol about 3 - 4 times a day.

Christmas Decorating

2009-11-27T22:24:00.004-06:00

We put up our Christmas tree a couple of days ago and it was so cute how excited Emma was to help and see Mama put it together. Emma loves Christmas trees and Christmas lights and shouts out "Christmas tree!" or "Christmas lights!" when she sees them as we are out and about. She even told our Christmas tree "Night night Christmas tree, I love you" when Mama took her upstairs last night for bed.

And when Mama was putting lights on the Christmas tree she could tell that Emma was going poo poo and Mama asked her "Emma did you go poo poo?" and Emma said "Nope" paused and then tried to change the conversation by saying "Christmas lights". We though that was so funny.

During Emma's bath that night she used her bath crayons to draw a line on the tub and then proceeded to draw small ovals equidistant apart. When she was done, she proudly exclaimed "Christmas lights!"

Today was the day after Thanksgiving and time for the outside decorations and lights, so Emma helped me put those out and had a blast doing so. She kept hugging our penguin and trying to place it next to the deer.

At one point, Emma started to jump with her arms extended....she then shrugged and said, "I can't fly, but I can walk!" and then she proceeded to walk down our front walk. Mama couldn't stop cracking up!!! (Emma's book "Are You My Mother?" has the exact same line in it.)

Sentences

2009-11-23T13:54:00.003-06:00

Emma is now up to 6 to 8 word sentences.

She often surprises us with the things she says. While Mama and Emma were grocery shopping, Mama got some cheese and said "Mommy likes cheese." And Emma corrected her by saying "No, Mommy LOVES cheese!"

I'm 3 Months Old!

2009-11-15T22:23:00.000-06:00

Cut it out!

2009-11-09T22:16:00.003-06:00

Sometimes Mama tells Emma to cut it out if Mama is working on her laptop and Emma is wanting to watch a video on it. I kept
telling Mama to say stop please instead, because we don't want Emma telling us or someone else to cut it out. Well guess what...Mama
was giving Emma a bath and scrubbing her neck and Emma said "Cut it out!" Mama thought it was hysterical.

Retiring 3 Month Sleepers

2009-11-09T19:48:00.002-06:00

Maddy will be 3 months on the 15th and tonight we retired her 3 month sleepers. She was getting too long for them and she is now wearing a 6 month sleeper. It's baggy, but the length fits. Length of body and feet seem to fit almost perfectly, so we'll see how long she can wear them.

She still fits into her 3 month clothes.

Happy Halloween!

2009-10-31T22:34:00.001-05:00

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Emma loved her Wow Wow Wubbzy pumpkin. This year we got 131 kids and gave out a lot of candy, glow bracelets, and little toys.

Mama practiced trick or treating with Emma by having her ring the front door, saying trick or treat, and then I would give her candy. The funniest part of the evening was before they left Emma kept saying trick or treat and pulling candy out of our candy pumpkin and putting them in her own.

Maddy was a caterpillar and Emma was a Jelly Fish.

We also had tendrils in a necklace around Emma's neck, but unfortunately she didn't like wearing them. Maybe when she's older...

Six Hour Stretch

2009-10-11T18:51:00.002-05:00

For the past four days Maddy has been eating last around 7pm ish and then not again until 1am ish. The latest she has fallen asleep was 9:15pm. Not bad of a long stretch for an almost two month old, but it would be nice if we could shift it a few hours so that we could get in some more sleep at night. Can't wait until she can sleep through the night. :-)

(She then eats again around 5am ish and next is 8am ish which coincides with the time Emma wakes up.)

Little Mommy in the Making

2009-10-10T23:51:00.004-05:00

I thought it was so cute today when Emma grabbed the boppy and her baby doll, so I showed her how to put it around her lap.

You can't see it too well in the photo above, but her doll is wearing a diaper. Last weekend Emma grabbed one of Maddy's diapers and wanted to put it on her doll, so Mama helped her.

A few weeks ago Emma started trying to burp her toys like I burp Maddy. She'd hold them over her shoulder and pat their backs.

One time she even tucked a little blanket under her toys chin like I tuck a burp rag under Maddy's.

Pumpkins

2009-10-10T23:43:00.003-05:00

Emma was all smiles, because Maddy and I were going with her and Mama on an outing together. It was the first time we all were going out together.

She kept telling Maddy that she loved her.

Emma wanted to help pull the wagon.

Then she wanted to sit in it.

Sandbox

2009-10-10T23:08:00.003-05:00

Our neighbor gave us their old sandbox and Emma loves it.

Emma and I were outside one day and I didn't want her to play in the sandbox yet, because Maddy was going to wake up from her nap soon. When she asked if she could play in it I told her no not yet but maybe tonight. She then asked for "5 minutes please." We let her know when her bath or something she's doing is going to end soon by saying "Okay 5 more minutes."

"Mama I love you big."

2009-10-08T22:20:00.002-05:00

Today Emma told Mama, "Mama I love you big."

Flash Cards and Thinking Hat

2009-09-29T23:23:00.000-05:00

Emma put on her thinking hat (the tiara she got at a friend's party over a year ago) and then started studying her color and shape flash cards.

Madeline: Week 6 (Sept 19 - 25, 2009)

2009-09-25T22:20:00.001-05:00

Bowling

2009-09-24T23:32:00.004-05:00

Mama bought Emma a large bowling set and Emma and her friends had a good time playing with it outside. Later Emma and I played with it inside and Emma kept chattering away about her friends and kept hugging her bowling pins.

Emma accidentally knocks down one pin and then a second one when she picks up the first pin, then she decides to purposely knock the third and last one down.

"Hen A Yi"

2009-09-22T15:33:00.002-05:00

Emma was watching an episode of Little Bear today and and Little Bear was taking the chickens to visit their Aunt Hen. He said, "Let's go visit Aunt Hen" and Emma said "No, Hen A Yi!"

A Yi is how you say aunt in Chinese (for your mother's sisters).

Swine Flu

2009-09-22T15:26:00.002-05:00

Mama came down with the swine flu on Thursday and now it looks like Emma caught it. Emma started coughing last night and has a slight fever today.

Mama is feeling much better today and can take care of Emma, so I'm keeping Maddy in the bedroom downstairs and Mama and Emma are staying upstairs. Emma has an appointment tomorrow morning with her pediatrician.

I'm glad Mama is feeling better and I hope Emma doesn't get too sick. We are doing all we can to make sure Maddy doesn't get sick too.

Madeline: Week 5 (Sept 12 - 18, 2009)

2009-09-18T22:19:00.001-05:00

Maddy grew out of her swaddlers and is starting to grow out of her newborn clothes and sleepers. We’re now using sleep sacks when she sleeps.

She likes falling asleep in our arms and if we put her too bed too soon she complains until we pick her up. All the books say you can’t spoil them at this age, but as her pediatrician confirmed they can get used to and comfortable with being held all the time.

I'm 1 Month Old!

2009-09-15T23:18:00.001-05:00

Madeline: Week 4 (Sept 5 – 11, 2009)

2009-09-11T22:28:00.003-05:00

Eating
We were given the go ahead to allow Maddy to sleep up to 4 hours during the day and 6 hours at night with out waking her up to eat just as long as she is eating every 3 – 4 hours during the day and 6 – 8 times a day.

Smiling
Maddy has started smiling at us and trying to laugh.

Cousin Winnie and Tam came for a visit.

"One More Minute Please"

2009-09-09T22:19:00.000-05:00

When it’s almost time for Emma to finish playing in her bath we usually give her a heads up by telling her 5 more minutes and then counting down from there. Tonight Mama did the count down and then told Emma it was time to get out of the tub for bed and Emma said “One more minute please” as she held up her index finger. So Mama gave her one more minute and after that Emma said “One more minute please” and Mama gave her another minute, but when Emma tried it again Mama scooped her out of the tub.

Pretty in Pink

2009-09-04T23:38:00.000-05:00

All dressed up and ready to go to a birthday party.

Madeline: Week 3 (August 29 – Sept 4, 2009)

2009-09-04T22:27:00.001-05:00

Mama had to go back to work this week, but I’ve been able to juggle Emma and Maddy pretty well. Emma has been great and tries to help me out when I need it by picking items up off the floor for me or helping me load/empty the clothes washer.

Sometimes Maddy doesn't like her arms swaddled, so I would just swaddle under her armpits.

Maddy likes her play mat. When I put Maddy on it Emma likes to lay down beside her and help her play with the play mat toys.

Madeline: Week 2 (August 22 – 28, 2009)

2009-08-28T22:26:00.003-05:00

Weight
We took Maddy back to the pediatrician for her two week follow up to check her weight and have blood drawn. Guess how much she weighed? She gained her birth weight back and then some, coming in at 8 lbs. The pediatrician was impressed, she didn’t think one week was enough for her to catch up to even her birth weight…Maddy is a good eater.

Breastfeeding
Sometimes Maddy does well breastfeeding before her breastmilk/formula bottle and sometimes she complains that the milk isn’t coming fast enough and refuses to breastfeed.

The routine is that I try to breastfeed Maddy from both breasts, then give her a bottle of expressed breastmilk or formula, and then pump to get breastmilk for one of her next bottles. This way I’m able to give her half of her intake as breastmilk.

Swing
Maddy likes her swing.

Swaddling
She still loves to be swaddled when she sleeps.

New hair style

Still a little skinny for newborn clothes

Aunt Anita and Maddy

Emma loves her sister

Madeline: Week 1 (August 15 – 21, 2009)

2009-08-21T22:21:00.002-05:00

Madeline was a howler right from the start. Once she had her first breath it seemed that she just kept hollering and crying until they let me hold her. Someone on the surgery team commented “Boy is she mad.”

It was so nice to be able to hold Maddy soon after the c-section. She was wrapped in a blanket, but hadn’t been bathed yet.

All dressed up and ready to go home:

Weight, Breastfeeding, Formula Supplementing
Maddy weighed 7 lbs 11 oz at birth and only 7 lbs two days after her birth, so the pediatrician said we have to supplement with formula. She is just as a voracious eater as Emma was, so my colostrum/milk wasn’t enough to satisfy her yet. And like Emma she also is the sleepy nurser where she would suck a few times, rest/nap, and suck again.

The hospital pediatrician asked us to take her to our pediatrician for a follow up by Friday to check her weight. We took her to see our pediatrician that Friday and when she was weighed found out she had lost another 4 ounces, so we were told to supplement her some more to try to get close to her birth weight by the following Thursday. Although the pediatrician didn’t think she would be able to gain her full birth weight in one week.

Emma and Maddy

2009-08-15T22:48:00.000-05:00

Emma holds Maddy for the first time. She gave her a few kisses on the forehead as soon as Mama put Maddy in her arms.

Happy Mommy and Mama!

2009-08-15T22:47:00.001-05:00

Mommy holds Madeline for the first time.

Hello World!

2009-08-15T22:46:00.000-05:00

Our Little Fireflies

2009-08-15T22:45:00.000-05:00

Our Little Firefly is the blog originally created for our daughter Emma, but since the birth of our second daughter Madeline we will use "Our Little Fireflies" for both of them. :)

"Ut Oh, Where Did it Go?"

2009-07-21T22:15:00.002-05:00

We're attempting potty training with Emma and tonight after we sat her on her little potty, Mama just put on her shorts with out a diaper, because Emma was going straight upstairs for a bath. Well Emma took a couple of steps, pulled her shorts away from her body and looked down into them and said "Ut oh, where did it go?"

Emma's Sing Song

2009-07-13T23:01:00.001-05:00

Emma made up her own little song that she sings to herself sometimes. We've been trying to video tape it and finally heard her singing after she woke up one morning, so taped her monitor.

The Wubbzy Wiggle

2009-07-13T22:28:00.002-05:00

Emma loves The Wubbzy Wiggle song and tries to wiggle her body parts by moving them with her hands.

When she's in the mood, she'll spontaneously say "wiggle" and then start doing her version of the wiggle dance.

Emma Reads "Emma"

2009-07-02T23:35:00.004-05:00

Emma is almost 2 years and 2 months. She started reading her letters when she was 17 months old. She knows and can read all her letters, numbers and counts forwards and backwards from 1 - 10. Now she is learning to count in 10s up to 100. She also knows many colors and most of her shapes including the octagon. She started reading her own name and a few other words...

Emma Reads "Emma, Mama"

2009-07-02T23:35:00.002-05:00

Ready to Go Shopping

2009-06-18T22:39:00.001-05:00

Mama told Emma we were going shopping, so she got herself ready by putting on a "hat" and getting her "purse".

Emma the Movie 3

2009-06-18T22:36:00.003-05:00

Here's a nice compilation video of Emma's adventures in Hawai'i and at San Diego's Sea World. The movie ends with a painting by Emma.

Emma couldn't get enough of the beach in Hawai'i or the rides at Sea World. :)

Emma loves the cartoon, Wow Wow Wubbzy. There is a segment when Wubbzy tries to disguise his tail as a tree branch. A little bird lands on his tail and the leaves fall off. Emma thinks this is hysterical and she laughs so hard she almost cries.

2 Year Pediatrician Visit

2009-06-01T16:52:00.000-05:00

Emma's 2 year pediatrician visit went well. Her pediatrician said she's doing great. She weighed in at 32.4 lbs with a height of 38.5 inches, but we think they measured her height wrong (it seems pretty high) and will try to get a better measurement at home.

Unfortunately, we thought she didn't need any shots, but she needed one more Hep A. Wish I hadn't told her she wouldn't be getting any shots that day. I felt really bad.

I'm 2 Years Old!

2009-05-10T16:47:00.002-05:00

Emma had her birthday party at one of those jumping bouncer places and had a great time with her friends after she warmed up to it.

Invoking the Power of the Wubbzy

2009-04-14T21:13:00.004-05:00

Little did we know how easy it would be to get Emma to wear a new pair of shoes. Previously it's been a crying wiggling battle trying them on in the shoe store and first getting her to wear them at home. Lots of "oh pretty", "what pretty new shoes", "cute" until she got used to them.

Well today we went through that at REI and tonight we wanted her to start getting used to a new pair of water shoes for our vacation in a couple of days. Mama brilliantly thought of a new approach. We let Emma watch a little TV tonight and one of her favorite shows was on "Wow! Wow! Wubbzy" and Mama decided to give her a choice of watching the show and wearing the shoes or not watching the show. Emma quietly watched the show and let us put her new shoes on with out a peep. She even wore them for a little while after.

Yes, we plan on taking a Wubbzy video with us on vacation in case we need to invoke it's power again. :)

Resourceful

2009-03-25T22:48:00.001-05:00

Guess who discovered they can use a chair to reach items on the counter?

Coloring the Wall

2009-03-24T22:37:00.003-05:00

Well it had to happen at some point. Emma has been very good about drawing and coloring only on her easel until this morning when mama caught her coloring the wall next to the easel with a purple crayon. She said "Emma no!" and Emma just turned an smiled at her while continuing to color. Lucky for us it washed right off.

"No No"

2009-03-17T21:24:00.004-05:00

Well apparently we say "no, no" to our dog Scout too much. Now Emma thinks that's her name and when we ask her to name all the pets she says "Deeny" for Teeny, "Moww" for Mitten like a cat's meow, and "No No" for Scout.

From Mommy to Mimi

2009-03-17T21:19:00.003-05:00

A couple of months ago Emma started calling me Mommy. I was so happy and excited that she finally said Mommy. Alas, my joy and excitement was short lived when a week and a half later Mommy changed to Mimi. Now even mama calls me mimi. I keep trying to correct them both, but mama thinks it's cute, so I'm fighting a losing battle.

"Van Gogh!"

2009-03-17T21:13:00.003-05:00

Emma loves the In the Garden with Van Gogh
book mama picked out for her. I was a bit surprised that she likes it so much, because it doesn't have letters, numbers, bright colors or cute characters in it. She always wants it read to her several times in a row. She asks for it by pointing and saying "Van Gogh!"

Bravo!

2009-01-11T21:11:00.001-06:00

When Emma watches a video that she *REALLY* likes, she claps her hands and says "bravo!". It's so cute as she doesn't do this for all videos. She certainly makes her opinion well known!

First Snow!

2008-12-10T22:32:00.002-06:00

"Please Read This"

2008-11-24T22:35:00.001-06:00

On Sunday morning Emma handed Mama a book and said "Please read this."

Alphabet and Numbers

2008-11-16T22:19:00.002-06:00

Emma has been recognizing some of her letters and numbers since she was 17 months old and we finally made the time to catch it on video.

Happy Halloween

2008-10-31T22:13:00.005-05:00

There was a Halloween Parade and Party at Emma's school, so we took the day off to make sure we didn't miss it.

I walked with Emma in the parade while Mama took the pictures.

After the parade a children's musician sang several songs for the kids. Emma enjoyed the music and looking around at all the costumes.

Before the kids went back to their classrooms they got to pick out a pumpkin from the pumpkin patch set up at school. Emma loved carrying her pumpkin around and played with it when we got home.

While Mama and I carved pumpkins Emma tried to help out where she could. She had watched Mama scoop out the pumpkins and so tried to help scoop.

She even tried to eat a little bit of pumpkin.

Emma checking out our freshly carved pumpkins.

Our Sugar Plum Fairy wouldn't stay too still for us to get a good picture. We went trick or treating to several houses of the neighbors we knew and she did pretty well. At the first house she seemed surprised when candy was put in her Hello Kitty bag and she bent over and stared at it for a while wondering what it was. We didn't stay out too long, because Emma was getting tired. If day light savings didn't start later like it does now, it would've been dark earlier and we would've been able to start trick or treating earlier.

Our lit pumpkins!

Emma had her first taste of candy! She loved the M&M's and opened her mouth like a little bird for more. Mama only gave her a couple of pieces, because we didn't want a crazy baby on a sugar high that couldn't get to sleep.

Sugar Plum Fairy - Emma-style

2008-10-27T21:51:00.000-05:00

We were playing with Emma in her room when we remembered to try out Emma's Halloween costume to make sure it would fit. After we put it it on her she went back to ride her Bounce and Spin Zebra. It was so cute and we're lucky because it looks like she really likes her costume.

18 Month Pediatrician Visit

2008-10-18T14:21:00.000-05:00

Emma had her 18 month pediatrician visit a bit early this time. She had to do a follow up for an ear infection she had and so the pediatrician said we can do the 18 month early and not have to come back for it in a few weeks.

Emma is well proportioned and still very tall for her age hitting in the high 90% percentile for her stats. Her stats are:

Length: 34"
Weight: 29.8 lbs
Head Size: 20.5"

At her 15 month visit, Emma's stats were:

Length: 32.5"
Weight: 27.6 lbs
Head Size: 20"

We are now getting asked her age when we go to places that are free for kids under 2, so we've decided to carry her birth certificate with us just in case...

5, 4, 3, 2, 1, BEEP!

2008-10-18T14:18:00.000-05:00

Mama has been counting down from 5 to teach Emma patience before she gets something and then she beeps her on the nose by touching Emma's nose with her finger. Emma loves it and at the end leans foward so Mama can beep her on the nose.

She also recognizes the number 5 and when she sees or hears us say 5 she will open her palm to show all five fingers.

Numbers, the Alphabet, Her Name, the Moon, and Stars

2008-10-01T21:23:00.002-05:00

Emma has been recognizing shapes, numbers, and her name for a few weeks. She loves saying the word oval which she started saying after reading a shape book with Mama. She also tries to say Emma.

I write her first name and the numbers 1 - 10 with sidewalk chalk when we play outside. I also draw stars and the sun and moon.

She signs the Twinkle Twinkle Little Star song when she sees a star and is now trying to say star.

When we say moon or she sees a picture of one she points skyward to tell us the moon lives in the sky. She also looks for it when we go out to play in the evening.

Snack

2008-10-01T21:23:00.001-05:00

Just like she does when she tries to say crack, Emma clicks her tongue on the top of her mouth to say snack.

Airplane! Airplane!

2008-10-01T21:18:00.000-05:00

Emma tries to say "air plane air plane" when she sees/hears one flying overhead.

Funny Faces

2008-10-01T21:14:00.000-05:00

Emma has started making this funny face when she wants some food we're eating or water we're drinking. She makes her eyes really wide, pulls her lips over her teeth like a little old lady whose dentures are missing, makes her nose as long as possible, tilts her head back a little, and looks down her nose. We started making it back to her and it cracks her up. When we're able to catch it in a photo I'll add the picture to this post.

Can You Say Crack?

2008-09-25T22:28:00.001-05:00

The first time I read the Backyardigan's Opposites book to Emma and we got to the pages showing a narrow crack and wide crack after I said the word crack, Emma tried to say crack by clicking her tongue. She liked the sound so much that she kept clicking her tongue trying to say crack.

Apple Apple Yum Yum

2008-09-25T22:21:00.000-05:00

Emma has started putting words together to form uber short sentences and she loves to eat apples and loves to say yum when she's eating something she really likes (like mama's cooking). While she was eating apples one day, she said "apple apple yum yum". It was so cute.

Forward Roll

2008-08-18T21:32:00.000-05:00

We've been taking Emma to The Little Gym for several weeks and she's been gradually warming up to it as each class goes by. This past Saturday she absolutely loved all of it and it was so cute to see her have so much fun.

The most amazing thing she did (and she is starting to amaze us by the things she does and understands) was at the beginning of the class the teacher showed the kids how to do a forward roll. She put her feet on two small strips of tape marks on the floor, her hands on "X" tape marks in front of those, put her head down on the floor between her hands, and rolled forward. The teacher then went around the room asking the kids to come to her to do a roll. All the kids were too shy to do it except for one of them.

Later during free play Emma walked over to the tape on the floor, touched the tape, and babbled. I told her yes that's yellow tape. She likes the color yellow. Then I guided her to a gym apparatus. A little while later when Mama was there, Emma went to the tape again and touched it. Then before we knew it she had her feet and hands on the exact tape marks and bent forward putting her head on the floor. I was so excited and immediately helped her roll forward.

How amazing that she had only watched the teacher and one kid do it and when she was ready, she went and did it herself. What a smart little girl we have. :)

More Lotion Please

2008-08-03T21:29:00.000-05:00

Last week after Emma's bath when we started to put lotion on her, she rubbed her hands together like she had lotion on them. It was cute and she loved the lotion on her skin.

Tonight after Emma's bath, Mama skipped putting lotion on her and guess what Emma did...she rubbed her hands together and signed more. Mama then put lotion on her arms and Emma smiled and rubbed her hands together and signed more again, so Mama put lotion on her tummy, legs, and feet. Emma is so smart.

I'm Walking!

2008-08-03T21:24:00.000-05:00

Emma has gained the confidence she needed to walk by herself. She has been walking for a while by just holding on to one of our fingers and now he walks proudly in these videos. We are very proud of her too!

Cheers!

2008-07-28T21:46:00.000-05:00

Now when we grab our glass to take a drink (of water!), Emma scrambles for her sippy cup and with a big smile holds it up to toast CHEERS! Then she downs her milk.

Twinkle Twinkle & The Wheels on the Bus

2008-07-17T23:44:00.000-05:00

The other day when we sang these two songs to Emma during her bedtime reading, she squealed and got excited and then did the twinkle twinkle and round and round gestures while we sang. It was so cute!

We've sang these songs to her lot of times before, but now she's learning them in class and so was able to join in with her excitement and hand signs.

We'll try to take a video of her soon...

Pony Ride Video

2008-07-13T22:35:00.000-05:00

Here is video of Emma riding a pony at her birthday party.

Bye Bye

2008-07-07T22:35:00.000-05:00

Emma started saying bye bye today. It sounded more like buh buh and was so cute. Mama and I always say bye bye to the dogs and cat when we leave in the morning and this morning after I said it once Emma repeated it. Then Emma and I took turns repeating bye bye several times. She was so proud of herself.

She said bye bye again when we left her school after I picked her up.

Emma knew 11 words by her 12 month appointment.

Since then she has started saying No, Ut Oh, Lady bug, Fish.

1st Birthday Party!

2008-06-19T20:47:00.000-05:00

Emma had her 1st birthday party on May 31, 2008. Mama went all out for this occasion and had a special Hello Kitty birthday cake made and even brought in ponies to give rides to Emma and all her friends.

Emma'a Aunts Kathleen and Judy and her cousin Evangelina came to help her celebrate. It was so nice that they came to visit us from CA and FL. They gave Emma some very nice presents for her birthday that she just loves.

Emma and Angelina got along really well and Emma even gave her hugs, kisses, and tried to share her books. Angelina is a very cute baby and we're looking foward to seeing them again. I don't have permission to post pictures/video of her Aunt Judy and cousin Angelina, but will be posting some of her Aunt Kathleen soon.

More pics and video will be posted later...

Hello Kitty Birthday Cake

Pony Riding

How Were We Supposed to Know?

2008-05-24T22:23:00.000-05:00

Well according to my sister, we're supposed to be reading parenting bulletin boards to learn about everything the parenting books don't cover.

Chicken pox and MMR vaccination timing
Emma had always reacted with a fever from her vaccinations which would start in the early morning the day after she received her shots. Knowing this we planned for her 12 month pediatrician visit after our trip to Canada, after a work picnic weekend, and the weekend before her big birthday party. We figured she'd get her shots on Friday, run a fever early Saturday morning, and by Monday will be good to go for school as usual.

Well we didn't know that the reaction from these vaccinations don't appear until a week or two after the shot. We're crossing our fingers and hoping she'll be fine next Saturday for her birthday party.

Overly tired child = hyperactive "crazy" child
Emma missed her 1/2 hour afternoon nap yesterday, because of her pediatrician visit. Not a big deal, since that happened at her last vaccination visit and she just fell asleep early and went to bed without dinner.

Well, she was fine after the vaccinations and so we went out for dinner and then for a little shopping. Emma started getting tired when we were shopping, so we went home and she fell asleep in the car. Home is only 10 minutes away, but when we got there she was zonked out. Didn't even wake up when we brought her inside, so we thought she was out for the night.

Well, the little one woke up while I was changing her diaper and putting her in her pajamas. We thought she'd fall asleep soon, since she was so tired earlier. Nope. We tried to get her to bed from 7 p.m. to about 9:30 p.m. It was at that time that she sat up and started shrieking with pleasure at her stuffed animals, we gave her a book and she flipped through it fast, we put her on the floor and she proceeded to crawl fast from book to book shrieking excitedly and flipping through them fast, tossing them aside and grabbing another, crawled to her learning table shrieking and played with it.

We were worried and didn't know what was going on. Was this a weird serious reaction to the vaccinations? I paged the pediatrician on call. She was very nice about it and after she asked me if she was acting like a crazy baby and I told her yes and that she missed her afternoon nap and hadn't slept yet except for the 10 minute cat nap, then she proceeded to tell me while knowingly giggling a little that she was overly tired and was fighting sleep with the sudden burst of energy and craziness. She also said that if she didn't get to sleep soon she would have a melt down. Since Emma falls asleep easily in the car, she recommended we drive her around and then put her right to bed. Emma fell asleep after 10 minutes of driving. :-)

12 Month Pediatrician Visit

2008-05-24T22:16:00.000-05:00

Emma had her 12 month pediatrician visit yesterday. As soon as the nurse put her stethoscope on Emma, Emma started whining a little...she knew where she was and what might happen next. Also, any time we laid her on the table she started crying. Poor little girl. Emma received her chicken pox, MMR, Hep B, and Hep A vaccinations.

She's still big for her age. Her stats are:

Length: 31"
Weight: 27.2 lbs
Head Size: 19 5/8"

On another visit when Emma wasn't feeling well, Emma started crying/complaining a little when the pediatrician walked into the room. The pediatrician was nice about it and backed into the corner speaking nicely to Emma. Emma doesn't like it when her ears are checked, because the pediatrician usually has to clean out the wax to see her ear drum and Emma hates to be pinned down on the table. She's a strong girl and we need to help the pediatrician hold her down.

I'm 1 Year Old!

2008-05-24T22:11:00.000-05:00

Emma turned 1 year old while we were in Niagra Falls (more on that trip in another post) and we couldn't find a white cake with white icing (mama's request), so we waited until we got home and Emma loved it. We only gave her a little bit and we even cut it in pieces for her, because she will get a lot more when we have her birthday party next weekend.

The Park

2008-04-09T19:40:00.000-05:00

We took Emma to the park this weekend and she got to watch dogs play in the dog park, eat some Beriyo smoothie (yum yummmy she thinks), go down a slide with Mommy, rock on a whale and frog, and swing on the swings.

Feeding Mama and Mommy

2008-04-09T19:35:00.000-05:00

Emma loves to share her food with us. She will even share her favorite pasta and puffs.

Emma Needs a Haircut

2008-04-07T22:53:00.000-05:00

But I'm not allowed to cut her hair anymore after the first time I tried.

So this was my first attempt at little ponytails.

I'm getting a little better and Mama said she looks like a cute little Fraggle.

Loves Books

2008-04-02T22:41:00.000-05:00

Emma loves her books and has some favorite ones like the Touch and Learn: 123 book in this video. She definitely favors books over toys and cries for us to read them to her if she sees them.

Slam Dunk! (Well it's a Start)

2008-04-02T22:36:00.000-05:00

She's on her way to playing basketball like her mommy! :-)

Emma has started putting objects where they are supposed to go. In this video she puts the balls in the right tube on her learning table. She's so excited and proud of herself.

She has also been putting her blocks in the right spot of her farmhouse and started nesting objects within another.

Added Video

2008-04-02T22:34:00.001-05:00

Just added the video for the previous hand and knee crawling and cruising posts.

Emma the Movie 2

2008-03-29T23:19:00.000-05:00

Here is a compilation of various videos of Emma that mama put together two months ago:

Just Started Hand and Knee Crawling

2008-03-29T23:15:00.001-05:00

Emma just started crawling on her hands and knees today. Everyone was right when they said that she would just do it when she was ready. She also is really good now about being able to go back to a sitting position when she's lying on her stomach. I think both of these milestones went hand in hand for her, since she only did this once before a few weeks ago and today she did it numerous times.

Here We Go A Cruising

2008-03-26T23:23:00.000-05:00

Emma has started cruising along our sectional couch and her learning table. She's still a bit wobbly and doesn't quite go on a direct path, since she's still testing her legs and what she can do with them. She even turned to me once and tried to walk to me, but fell forward as I caught her.

It all began when she was playing at her table and she started lifting up her right leg and putting it down like she was trying to walk in place.

Army Crawling!

2008-03-16T21:41:00.000-05:00

Emma is finally crawling! It's army crawling, but it's a start. She started by crawling after her train, then her blocks, and then when she saw her books she had to get those too. She protested on the short crawl to them, because we wouldn't take her to them. Of course, we had to read the stack to her once she got there. :)

First Rollercoaster Ride!

2008-03-16T21:39:00.000-05:00

Well, a hamper rollercoaster that is...at first Emma wasn't quite sure about her hamper rollercoaster, but then she loved it!

Naughty?

2008-03-16T21:37:00.000-05:00

Emma was being naughty one day and started sweeping her hand back and forth to make her puffs fly off her highchair. When I told her she wasn't supposed to do that, she proceeded to pick one up and then dropped it off the side to feed the dogs.

I'm 10 Months Old!

2008-03-10T21:34:00.000-05:00

Better...

2008-03-09T23:28:00.000-05:00

Emma has no problem going from a sitting position to her belly now. And if there is a toy close by, she stretches and kinda does a army crawl toward it. If it's more than a few stretches away, she'll get frustrated and go back to rolling before trying again.

Almost There...

2008-03-05T23:22:00.000-06:00

Emma has been rocking forward a lot while in a sitting position. She was finally able to get her belly over her leg to wind up on her knees for a brief second and then flopped on her belly.