Such a Summer!

Going to the lake with friends is the epitome of summertime. Lunch and snacks in the shade, sand castles, and of course tons of splashing! 

Emma was really throwing herself into the water and beginning to practice paddling. She's had great progress with her balance and movement in the water and her confidence. Splashes in the face are no big deal now, and she recovers easily from accidental submerges. 

My little fish <3

Favorite things

Favorite games:

Playing with her animal figurines, playdough, this Pengoloo game pictured above or a memory game with the pieces, being an imaginary animal, being a boat or truck, being someone who drives or works with boats or trucks, using chalk as an ingredient for pretend soups, smoothies, lotions, etc., pretend cooking at her outdoor kitchen (which is a large stump behind the house that's breaking down), play based on the Laura Ingalls-Wilder book series. "Cat training"

Favorite foods: 

Just about anything we make. Sandwiches, pastas, fresh fruits, berries, vegetables. Homemade fruit popsicles, and banana "icecream", frozen peas and corn, or anything else she can grab from my prep area such as carrot slices or raw diced sweet potato. Cheeses cheeses and more cheeses. Seafood; fish, lobster, scallops, sushi. Anything sweet. 

Favorite places: 

The deck, her dirt kitchen, or anywhere in the yard. Streams at the park, the woods behind our home, Depew/Blue mountain area, Sunnyside playground, anywhere she can go in water or dirt or mud, her friend Ada's home. 

Favorite things: 

'Things that go', her animal toys, things to climb or hang from, books and story time, chase games, foraging, meeting or catching bugs and animals, snacks, sweets, samples, nature, birdwatching, treasures, flowers, building.

A fine spring

  We have had such a lovely, full spring time. Weather has been perfect the last week but similar throughout, cool nights and mornings and warm during the day. We've been enjoying the outdoors so much and using every ounce of energy we've got from the time we wake until bed. 

  Emma finished her Little Bird preschool program last week with a sweet ceremony for the girls to share with their parents. We brought home a basket with some art from over the year, pictures, and a rolled beeswax candle which we made together. I'm so happy that she was a part of this program and with how much she has grown the last year. For us, the 2x mornings a week class was just right. Not too busy a week and just enough time apart. Emma is so much more interested in joining in games and activities with other kids or starting up new ones, and finding someone around her age to run around with at parks is easy and rewarding for her. She's also more focused, more verbal, amazingly bright. I believe all the reading aloud, discussing, and truly engaging is a huge part of it. Oh, I should add here, that after reading Charlotte's Web front to back between 15 and 20 times, we were able to go as a family to se a live performance of it at the Emelin theater in Mamaroneck. Patrick and I so enjoyed her enjoyment of the play! Bright eyes, big smile, and laughing out at the silly parts. Some times she couldn't contain her outbursts- she was really into it! She did notice some parts that differed from the novel, but still was totally engrossed by the performance. Also we've been reading aloud the Ingalls-Wilder series with Little House, and Laura and her families other adventures. We're on the 7th in the series and she has gained so much in inspiration for imaginary play and we've siezed so many opportunities to discuss different topics or vocabulary. It's so rewarding to us both. 

Anyway, Emma is looking forward to the week of camp she will be a part of next month, same place and time as her preschool and with some familiar faces.  I'm excited for her!

  Around the house it feels like I've got some free time, now that we've finished our kitchen renovation. Five months in the process but we can finally sit back and look at all the work we've done, no unpainted walls, uninstalled fixtures, or exposed wires staring us in the face. Emma and I spend a great deal in the kitchen between preparing meals and eating meals and cleaning up after meals,  or just having some quiet time at our new favorite table by the window. It's such a nice place to be. 

  And with that I'm being interrupted again, happily, by Emma who has completed her games with chalk and water and is ready for us to do something together. On a nice day like today we might get into one of our chapter books on the deck or just let imagination run free and see where it takes us. It's never dull!

Today and tomorrow

Were busy inside and out. Summer is just around the corner (though it feels like it's here lately!!) and we are ready for some summer fun- yard parties, bbqs, swimming. Brings it on, we say.

Hosted play today with friends, Emma's pals Esme, Adeline, Anna and James. So nice to see how these big little girls are beginning to include each other in their games, request to play with another, invite others to join them. Amazing what Three means.

Emma will be three next month. I need to get ready for that! (The day-of, not the actual being three part. We're flowing right along and expect more wonderful experiences and opportunities to flow right in) Emma wants (wanted) a lemon cake. Mama wants something light/on the healthy side. I think we can please both! Can't wait to make that special day all about her. Need to make a birthday bunting. 

I have been working more on the weekends and even had a few evening mixed in lately! Gaining clientel, interest.. Very happy to see some growth in my business. This means Emma is enjoying more 1-on-1 time with Daddy, and I must add that Daddy is on point with care, instructing, responding etc to Emma in this new stage. 

Emma's very open with the adults we see regularly and potential new friends. Comfortable staying with them if I leave for a moment. Carries on conversations with them and really craves a back-and-forth dialogue, gifts them things (Flowers to Rev. Karen ❤️) I think she prefers adults right now because we are .. More refined.. Less unpredictable.. More understandable.. at least that is what I'm seeing/my interpretation. Doesn't like baby talk or when adults make a fuss about her but appreciates conversation about relatable topics. 

Will be ongoing

Emma's most used phrases at 2...

AND ten months! Can't believe we're about to have a three year old girl here, folks! She's looking and acting older in the last few months and it's a hint of the big girl changes coming our way in the next year. Can hardly wait to see what's ahead of us. 

Lately I've been noticing some of the vocabulary and phrases Emma has been using, what sorts of things she loves to use, what she's testing out.. I wanted to get some things down here to share and for looking back on.

Starting with.. "Oh My Gosh!"

She can finally say the /sh/ enough that she isn't unintentionally shouting "oh my god!" And she's using this all the time and for everything. Imaginary games: "oh my gosh I'm being chased by a sea lion!" Real life: "oh my gosh, I'm taking a bath with doggy dog!" Anything that she thinks needs a dose of heightened excitement. 

"-perhaps?"

Unsure of something.. Like when I was trying to paint her a bunny and she says "a flower, perhaps?" Let that not serve as an indication of my painting skills! 

"What are you talking about?" with a different emphasis when she's genuinely asking and when she's really saying 'you're ridiculous!'

------cont.

"That's not right." Based on her Ranger Rick Jr. Magazine activity where you find what is wrong with the picture. She loves that game!

02-08-14

Today my little girl was big. She was brave. She did with ease what always took me everything I could muster up, and she went up before an audience.  She declared to everyone she was Big! And sat with the big kids for the children's message in today's service. She walked down the long aisle without me, having only been prompted that the children were going to sit up front. She said her name clearly into the microphone like she's interviewed regularly. She sat and smiled, and answered the tall unfamiliar man's questions. And kicked her feet, being the easy, breezy, casual Emma she always is.

And seeing her do this on her own was Delightful. 

Mama's in the Kitchen with Emma

Dinner comes together one of a few different ways each night. Some evenings I have the kitchen to myself and I work while listening to the music Emma makes as she plays in the other rooms. Other times I am bombarded by requests to be held which isn't possible when I am opening and closing the oven or sautéing vegetables. In the case of a demanding toddler at my feet the easiest way to get the job done is to let Emma share in the preparation. I've mentioned before that Emma is interested in helping in the kitchen. She is sturdy and strong enough to complete many tasks. Or practice. Pretend. 

Peeling: check. 

Ready to mix! (So ready, let's do this!)

Above: Emma was stirring as I added ingredients for our salmon's lemon butter sauce. She's so careful at the stove. One day she is going to shout in my face "Mom, I KNOW!" when I have said for the billionth time that the pan/lid/fire/handle/steam is or could be hot. Because I will remind her until that day comes! 

Worth a little risk I think. There is so much that working in the kitchen can teach a child, beyond safety, and anything can turn into a lesson. (Boiled water turns into steam. 1 cup of rice and 2 cups of water yields 3 cups of cooked rice. Vocabulary: incorporate; roux.) not to mention all the gross and fine motor skills we use when we measure, whisk, pour, and decorate. 

It slows the process. 30 minutes of prep can easily become an hour or more but it is so worth it in all that is gained. When Emma comes to me wanting to help because playing with her toys just ain't cutting it, I try to see it as just another opportunity to learn presenting itself. 

"It is about the journey, not the destination." Enjoy it. Be present. Laugh, learn, embrace now. Respect the process. And try so hard to never, ever forget these special little moments. 

Eat, Play, Love

This was Emma's idea!

So busy this past week, what a whirlwind it has been! We got together with friends nearly every day since Wednesday.

We had three mother/child pairs over on Wednesday (one was a mother-child-child  actually!) for play inside then in the yard with the pool to cool off. We're really taking advantage of the hot summer weather that has snuck up on us as the season is nearing its end. This little pool which we found for free has been used nearly every day by Emma, and her friends when they are over.

Thursday was Emma's 2 year Pediatrician visit, which was very difficult for Emma. We have a kind and gentle pediatrician but Emma still has anxiety, likely anticipating the shot at the end of the visit. We are told it is not uncommon for children to have doctor anxiety at two years and the third year should be better. I'm glad we won't have to have another well visit until next year! After the appointment we did go to our new favorite ice cream shop, the blue pig which is just around the corner from her Drs office. This place is a gem. They use local dairy and pick and prepare all their ingredients and have a huge variety of flavors that changes daily. On this day Emma got Pig M&M icecream, and a scoop of peanut butter chocolate swirl for mama. So tasty!

Friday was a wonderful play at our friends Tricia's with her daughter Shea and a few other girls. At one point Emma declared she is helping Millie, then the two girls pushed a doll stroller together. When Emma stopped this game she said "Millie's turn!" And released the stroller to her. She has really been practicing sharing lately. Later in the yard Emma took it upon herself to bring the girls cups of water that were placed on a table. She makes my heart melt every time she says "He go!" (Here you go!) She also collected tennis balls and piled them in front of the family's dog Rio and would move the pile two balls at a time when Rio moved to a new place in the yard. My little caregiver! 

After play we were invited to go for MORE ice cream and is saying no to icecream something people do? We cannot, not if it's at the Blue Pig(which it was!) on a hot summer day(which it was!)!(!!) So Emma and Millie got to enjoy their treat and play while the moms chatted. I brought home a pint to have around for Daddyman who has been unable to join us on our ice cream excursions.

Saturday we had grown-up friends over, a couple from Brooklyn. It was a nice get together, they got to see our new home and how much Emma has grown. It had been a long time since we saw these friends so Emma's has changed quite a bit but she is as sweet and patient as she has always been. This is confirmed to me when they complimented her well behavior, her independence and merry manner. It goes without saying I'm Emma's #1 fan and I see all these wonderful things about her every day but when another person observes her and vocalizes to me what they see... Well I appreciate it very much!

Sunday was an easy morning at home starting with our tradition of homemade pancakes --and home made syrup to compliment them. Emma's Pop Pop (Patrick's dad) taps maple trees and boils down the sap himself. This is a time consuming process and a good amount of work from start to finish so we're thankful to have a little bit of the fruit of Pop Pops labor! So sweet and lovely, pancakes are not the same without real maple syrup. Later Sunday we went to a friends whose little girl is a year and a half. Emma and Orla played so well together, jumping and rolling on beds, sharing snacks, hugging and making each other laugh. Everyone enjoyed themselves!

We were pretty worn out by Monday morning but being Labor Day we had plans to go to a BBQ in the afternoon. It was a restful day up until then. This BBQ had a couple familiar toddlers for Emma to play with, and some new little boys as well. We hardly ever see boys! Emma concluded our visit there by getting a dance party going in the kitchen. These girls have moves! Emma and Esme exuberantly stoping their feet and jumping around was so entertaining to the audience they had attracted. It was a perfect ending.

Phew. So now it's Tuesday and I'm catching my breath as Emma naps. She has been skipping them a lot lately and this mama needed a break. Though we have no social plans today we did start the day with running around the dog park, groceries (at an unfamiliar store, that always makes it tricky!) and a pop in to the book store to return a book. We saw heavy equipment working in the parking lot on the way out and it was as good as icecream for Emma! She was so interested in this "tractor" scooping and leveling, and the sound of continuous tread on the pavement as the machine seemed to be heading toward us sent Emma running behind me. A thrilling experience! We worked up our appetites so back home I made seared tuna steaks for lunch which were incredibly tasty and quick to prepare and Emma cleared her plate so I'll be making it again in the future. 

Okay. No more typing, I will pluck away with my thumb and post the past weeks pictures as I enjoy my ice coffee, before returning to my domestic duties. Thanks for reading, all!

With love.

All Tall!

Lunch before icecream :-)

Oh gosh the best banana bread is any banana bread stil warm 

Emma leading the way to the dog park this morning.

Seared Tuna steaks

Rubbed with lemon and cooked on a preheated pan over med/high heat for 1-2 minutes each side, then covered with a sauce of soy sauce and grated ginger. Scrumptious!

Favorite books at two(-wenty five months)

Emma loves reading books together and flipping through her favorites on her own. Our favorite stories and daily reads are any of the Little Bear stories, Poems to Read to the Very Young and Jamberry were both favorites of mine as a child, many golden books such as The Color Kittens, any farm related book, and Lost and Found. 

Little Bear was something I enjoyed when I was little but I had the televised version. The familiar characters and stories are especially dear to me and the relatable subjects get Emma's attention. Emma's favorite story from our Little Bear book is Birthday Soup where he makes soup and serves his three friends, believing his mother forgot it was his birthday. Of course she surprises him with a cake! 

 Like in this story, a game Emma plays is serving three friends (also Hen, Goose, and Cat) but she makes pizza. In a similar way to Patrick creating our Sunday pizza Emma stretches out some play dough, puts it on a pan made from a jar lid and rushes it to her oven. She turns all the knobs around, darts back to the table and sits with her friends. 

Waits a while. Then bursts out, "it's READY!!" And runs back to her kitchen to take out a fresh pizza. Sometimes she asks me to make party hats for her guests! This is another thing she sees in one the Little Bear stories. 

I'm in love with illustrations by Eloise Wilkin, especially her angelic children. This is such a wonderful collection of poems to read aloud and recite through the day- all about animals, events or the bits of magic childhood has in store. I love that Emma can fill in any blank I throw her way as I read her the lines. She really has them all memorized, as do I. 

An easy beat to repeat, I hear Emma mumbling lines while she plays. The pictures are so colorful and imaginative, it would be hard not to love this book! Although, it did get Emma worried that a bear was going to eat all of our delicious berries mentioned in that earlier post.

The Color kittens get Emma thinking about colors, or sometimes colors gets her thinking about these two color kittens, Brush and Hush. They have buckets and buckets and buckets of color to splash around with; with these colors they would make all the colors in the world. Those are a couple of her favorite lines to recite but her favorite part about this book is when the excited kittens begin pouncing. This is where Emma learned to jump and lift both her feet, landing on her bum. 

When starting Lost and Found, Emma dashes off to her stuffy basket and digs through until she find her Penguin, which is actually a pelican. She shows the toy pictures as we read through the book.  

Emma also received a subscription to Ranger Rick Jr. magazine and she already loves it! We must have read one story about a turtle 100 times and it became the subject of her play for three days. Getting new magazines in he mail is going to be exciting for her, and I'm looking forward to what the next one will bring to us. Thanks to Emma's MiMi for this great gift! 

Life and lessons at 23 months

Whole lotta love and being gentle with our pets.

Pets teach children responsibility, not by the animal being their responsibility but by us demonstrating their care and the child learning from it. 

Emma and a favorite tree of mine. That bark!

Ready for anything in her garden.

Lessons gardening is teaching us: care of environment, how food (tomato) is formed, how plants grow. Now that Emma's vocabulary has increased she can understand when I tell her that the leaves use sun to make food. Root are like straws to pull water up the plant. Plants get thirsty! We're keeping it simple but she's learning the cause and effect behind caring for the plants and them in turn growing, and producing fruit. 

Emma's first time setting the table solo (napkins and forks) for only showing her this a few times she did pretty well with no instruction. 

Because we're saying goodbye to "1" next month I want to post a list of all the things Emma has accomplished this year or where she is at this month. It's been another big year for her with lots of learning and growth in many areas.

At 23 months Emma sings the ABCs,

Runs,

Jumps with two feet,

Jumps from ledges (or climbers two feet high!! Wow, daredevil!) 

Walks up and down stairs,

Plays make believe games, 

Knows names of and can point out basic shapes and recognizes some letters

Is completely out of diapers day and night, even outings and travel,

Gets herself on and off her potty regularly, has used the toilet independently,

Sleeps through most nights and takes a predictable nap every afternoon,

Talks often about her friends and their families; talks about games they play or things she associates them with, and their pets.

Uses words to describe things (red car driving. Black cat tail wagging)

Asks others for things she wants,

Listens to our requests but makes her own decisions!

Helps, identifies herself as a helper, and helping

Repeats different words to the tune of ABCs

Can kick a ball,

Throw overhand,

Summersault,

Is openly affectionate to her family,

Requests certain food, songs, and activities by name.

And so much more! It has been a busy year for all of us but the biggest changes have been to Emma's abilities and her shinning personality.

 We love you, Lovey!

Emma at 21 months

My girl. My, you have grown! We are walking and talking all over and about everything lately. Discovering new words, sounds, and new places right outside our door. Spring is here and we are always taking advantage of the pleasant weather. 

Walks on a secret drive behind our apartment, where we find new flowers sprouting, mysterious water spouts spouting, puddles for splashing and back alley garbage gleaming in the sun. Just keeping it real here, guys! Ain't all posies.

We had our first SHORTS appropriate weather day on Thursday and you bet this girl got the memo. After a play in our friends backyard we came home to use the climber and water table (which ended up becoming a pool) 

Besides the weather changing, Emma is growing into a big little girl. Her vocabulary has broadened so much in the past couple months that it sometimes catches me off guard. She's always understandable, at least to ME but if I'm not hearing her right she will repeat herself or give me more details until I've got the idea. She uses three and four word sentences regularly, five and six word sentences occasionally and even wows us with occasional seven and eight worders. She's always singing tunes, sometimes in a hum, using the actual lyric or making up her own. She will sometimes practice using her manners, saying " 'scooz me" when passing, and "thank you" and the right times. There's plenty of room to improve and gain understanding there though, which is especially apparent when she takes something she isn't supposed to have and says "thank you, Emma!" 

On a walk through downtown, she points out the barbershop where Daddy gets his hair cut, then the treat station where we play with trains, and the coffee house across the street where we meet with friends. She recognizes when we are in close proximity to the playground or park and let's me know that that is where she would like to be heading.... though that's not always how it pans out. We go often though because Emma is so active. Swiftly running, climbing ladders, small rock walls, sliding alone, hanging and double footed hopping are all new activities as of the past couple months. Still favorites are galloping and getting generally floppy/cuckoo.

She also loves pretending to be a bug, cat, truck or car, or sea lion. As Emmacar or truck she parks herself in a garage which is our closet and likes to pop out to surprise me. Emma Sea lion is a trouble maker and likes to belly slide into the kitchen counter during lunch- which is prohibited in this zoo! Emmacat usually comes around during meal times to lap up yogurt, soup and other Emmacat food, but I've seen her climbing our stairs outside. Emma Bugs are everywhere! 

Climbing: still in this season

Emma has been sleeping wonderfully also which I'm crediting to three things: fresh air and outdoor activity, consistency at home, and being almost two. Way to go, Emma!

Emma thisnthat

Emma loves to climb so I'm glad we have many spots around us where she can Up to her hearts content. We do some baby rock climbing in Depew park. We spend mornings at one of our local playgrounds. BIG play and gross motor skills are Emma's greatest interest, we can't keep her still sometimes so instead we get her out and moving. 

Emma at her friend Anna's 2nd birthday, jumping right into a soil patch to investigate. 

Driving Anna's car.

Laying in our own yard and looking up at the trees with me.

Emma's new tube for indoor play! She loves to bounce on it or make it a nest for her toys. 

Suited up and exploring puddles....

and making her own!

Polar bear and Hippo game in the mud.

Pizza picnic! Cheeeeese

Coloring a box. She is calling the box "home" for some reason, I swear we don't make her live there. 

Getting to know this rock while mommy bird watches. I was spotting yellow warblers, wrens, cardinals, woodpeckers... Emma was feeding the rock some of her cereal. She told me the rock has horns and coupled with its love of oat cereal it must be part Cervidae. I'm not surprised, deer are common in this area!

Emma's latest painting which she first wanted hung on her belly, then her back, then over an existing piece of art. I like looking for familiar shapes and figures in Emma's paintings. This one looks like a woman wearing a hat to me. Emma is slowly getting more respectful of our art materials and I'm excited for that to continue and for us to do some big projects! I've got a lot of inspiration saved up, I think we're going to have to arrange a little studio soon so we can really get to work. 

Maybe when we have a little more room..