Emma Mei

Emma has just been developing by leaps and bounds lately.  I am doing a bulleted post to try to remember everything.

• She started really speaking in full sentences just in the last couple of weeks.  
• You can actually start to carry on a real conversation with her!
• She had her first real haircut in March to get some shape. 
• It is really growing in cute.
• I couldn't believe she sat so well in the chair while Brittany cut her hair! She was still as a little mouse as long as she had a snack in her hand.
• She graduated from Early On last month.
• She is either average or above average in all of her skills that she needed to catch up on.
• For example, she couldn't stack any blocks when she was first evaluated.  
• Now she can stack 10!  
• She went from being very cautious at the playground her first time to visit this season, to doing it all on her own in just a couple of visits--big slides and all!  Crazy how quick they catch on to that stuff!
• She came up to us with some fairy wings the other night and said, "Emma pretty butterfly!".  "Ma-ma see?"
• The next day, she was running around naked with "butterfly" wings.  I couldn't grab the camera in time for a shot of that one!
• She heard Josh and Katelyn come in Sunday night, and she knew they were bringing home ice cream.  We were in the basement bathroom, and she looked at me and said, "What's that? I hear Ba-ba!  He has ice cream!."  Josh heard her all the way upstairs. 
• I asked her if Katelyn took a bath with her the other night as I had been out.  She told me, "No, Jie-jie want take shower."
• She doesn't quite know what a bonfire is yet, so when I told her Katelyn and Josh were at the neighbors bonfire, she kept telling me that they were going to smell the flowers!  It was pretty cute.  
• She also didn't get the concept of them being in the neighbors back yard, and she kept pointing to her back and asking me to rub it!   
• We visited Frederick Meijer Gardens with Early On/Bright Beginnings, and she let them paint a ladybug on her face.  She was very serious about the whole process, and would constantly touch it to see if it was still there.
• We really enjoyed the children's gardens, and Emma loved the live music!  
• She loved the zoo last Monday, and got a kick out of saying "Gobble, gobble" to the turkey.
• We enjoyed the zoo with Poppy and kids on Memorial Day, that season pass is well on the way to more than paying for itself.  
• Aunt Anna made her some little makeshift pools out of sleds on Poppy's deck, and she sat in it in her clothes and got soaked.  I got some good video clips out of that one.
• Anna and Katelyn gave her some caterpillars and she put 3 of them in her pocket.   "I gots catapiwwer in my pocket!"
• She loved to let them crawl on her arm and her pants, but she needs to work on being a bit more gentle with handling them.  Oops!
• Anna and Katelyn had a bunch of caterpillars in a cup and she kept saying, "Can I see, can I see?"  in the same voice and inflection as Katelyn said it.  She loves to do anything and say anything that her big sister does.  That can be good. . .and bad!  :-)
• Mei-mei had her final post-placement report for China at our agency this week.  It was so fun to share all the things she is doing now.  It almost felt like we "graduated" or something.  It is just a report so that China can be updated, but it feels so nice to finish the whole process!  
• She refers to herself as Mei-mei (May-uh, May-uh--like the month of May with a quick uh sound in there.)
• She will say "That's Mei-mei's book."  or cup, or toy, or whatever.  
• She is fascinated with emotions, and will often say "She's sad." if she hears or sees someone crying."  How do explain to a 2 year-old that people sometimes cry when they are happy?
• She can still eat like nobody's business.  Not too many worries in that department.
• I think her favorite people at church are Pastow Ken and Miss Header who watches her for us when I have treatments.  She also loves Miss Wonda, Nay-nay (under his protest that he is Nathan), Wobyn, and Seffie.  Bella Boo is pretty important too! 
• She also said the other day coming into church, "I heah Miss Twacie." (our nursery coordinator and friend!) 
• She loves to cut with scissors, and she spent almost 45 minutes cutting little slits all along the edge of a piece of paper.  She was concentrating so hard, she didn't even want to stop long enough to eat some ice cream. 
• I am going to have to be diligent about keeping the scissors up high now that she likes to cut!
• She and Katelyn play so much better together.  They were in the sand box for a long time the other evening.  
• They still have "That's mine. No, that's mine." arguments in the car, but they wouldn't be true sisters without those!  Ha, ha!  
• She is getting used to the grass.  We had some issues with it "tickling" her, but it is getting better.
• She is such a little bundle of energy, and loves to have fun.   She loves to be outside, especially when we eat pops (popsicles). 
• We fall in love with her more every day, if that is even possible!