From NC to PA...: Emilia Caroline: 2.5 year update

Time for another Emmy snapshot! She turned 2.5 August 3rd, so it's time to catch up on what she's up to these days. Every day I am blown away both with how much I love this girl and how much she drives me crazy. We are certainly in for a ride with this silly, sassy, smart, and determined little girl!

Here's an update for the past 6 months in no particular order:

Swimming Lessons. Emmy has now completed 2 rounds of swim lessons through the YMCA. I go in the water with her during the lessons, which consist of songs/getting the kids comfortable in the water, basic strokes, kicking, jumping in the water, and trying to get them to blow bubbles/stick their faces in the water. Emmy's favorite part is jumping in the water and is completely fearless. She's also made big strides in now blowing bubbles and not being scared to go under.

Emmy the swimmer

Friends. Over the past few months Emmy has been through both the "Discovery Preschool" rooms at her school (Ms Amanda and Ms Colleen). Emmy's BFF right now is Violette, who shares a February birthday so they both move classes at the same time, and also has a big brother (Mason) who is the same class as Nolan. We've been spending time with her family as well as another family who has the same age ranges of their two kids (Jaiden and Shane).

Emmy and Violette at the Science March in Doylestown

Emmy and Violette at Mason's 5th Birthday party at the Lower Makefield Pool

Nolan, Mason, Violette, and Emmy at the Ice House in Yardley

Emmy, Henry V, and Nolan reading a book at school

Marcus, Nolan, and Emmy at Jaiden's karate birthday party

Nolan. Emmy and Nolan's relationship just keeps getting better and better. They love each other so much and are starting to play together so well for longer periods of time. They now are making up their own games and jokes. There is no better feeling than walking into a room to see your two children smiling and laughing by themselves. I hope they always appreciate each other.

Favorite Foods:

Mac & Cheese. Every night I ask the kids what they want to eat and every day they say "MAC AND CHEESE" (they don't get it every night though! ;)
Meat! This girl is a carnivore and loves proteins (so different than Nolan!). Favorites include meatballs, chicken nuggets, deli meat, sausage, hot dogs
Fruit. Also different than Nolan who barely likes any fruit (just watermelon and apples). Emmy LOVES berries - she was easily eating a pint of blueberries or raspberries in a sitting this summer. Strawberries, blackberries, grapes are also favorites along with fruit cups for snacks (mandarin oranges and peaches).
Sweet tooth - she loves most candy she's tried, cupcakes (mostly the frosting), and lollipops
Snacks - good thing daddy works for the company that makes goldfish as both kids are obsessed. This girl is particularly obsessed with fruit snacks and would eat them non-stop if allowed. She also loves peanut butter crackers, apple sauce pouches, and yogurt.

A girl and her dog. This girl and Deaner have a very special relationship. It is already apparent she has a special kinship with animals (like her mama?) I can't stop taking pics of them together. She loves to let him in and out of the house, give him treats (making him sit before giving them to him), and of course, gives him lots and lots of hugs! It's the sweetest.

Goofy girl. It's still early, but it seems like Emmy will be our the goofball in our family. She's super silly and has the best sense of humor and infectious laugh.

Sleep (or lack thereof). I love this girl more than life itself, but for the love of God I wish she was a better sleeper! She is still in her crib since she's never tried to climb out, and it's a good thing because while we were on vacation in Oregon she fell out of the beds she was sleeping in at least 3 times (and two of those she was in a toddler bed with a rail!) She demands only mommy to put her to bed and that I rock her to sleep. She either wakes up in the middle of the night or gets up super early (like before 6am) or both (the worst!) When she wakes up I've started refusing to pick her up so I sit next to her crib holding her hand until she falls back asleep. Usually this is quick, but can be drawn out if she's really tossing and turning. I keep trying to be patient and that she'll just naturally start sleeping better, but it's been a long haul. Here's hoping we turn the corner soon! She does nap pretty consistently for 2hrs both at school and home so she's overall getting enough sleep per day (mommy on the other hand...)

Nature girl. This girl loves being outside in the backyard and exploring. I've really been enjoying our new big backyard and really nice weather this past spring and summer. We've had a lot of fun picking fruit/veggies, kicking around soccer balls, riding bikes, playing tag, and setting up our bouncy house outside this season.

Other Favorites at this age:

Toys: Play kitchen, play dough, coloring with markers, freeze dancing with her musical robot, duplo legos (although she REALLY wants to play with Nolan's big kid legos!), puzzles, cash register, riding her bike outside.
Books: Pout Pout Fish is still going strong (she got a new hide and seek one for Christmas), Robosauce, Mr Clumsy (and all Mr Men books)
Shows/Movies: Lately she's been requesting Nolan's favorite show: Ninjago because she likes whatever he likes. She also likes Paw Patrol, the Polar Express movie, the Grinch movie. She went through a big Moana, Trolls, Minions, and Life of Pets phase. She seems to only want to watch one thing ad nauseam at a time then move on to the next thing.
Paci: Emmy still loves her Paci. We are working on making sure she only really has it at nighttime, but if she sees one laying around she becomes pretty adamant to get it. She never has one at school so we're making progress.
All Mommy, All the Time: Emmy is still in a "only mommy" phase. She wants me to do literally everything - drive her to and from school (not daddy), pour her milk in the cup, sit next to her, HOLD HER (constantly), put her to bed, etc etc etc. While it's great to feel loved, it becomes very wearing too. Like she seems to always want to be held right when I'm making dinner or that she still wants to be carried everywhere (I did an entire 3mi hike with her being held on my hip in Oregon). I'm sure it won't last forever, but sometimes it's suffocating!
Tantrums: There's good news and bad news. The good news is that Emmy is typically pretty easy to calm down and recovers very quickly. The bad news is that she is extremely LOUD! I guess I'll take the tradeoff, but she has made my ears ring with her screaming.
Speech: Joe and I have no concerns about this girl's smarts and speech. She is blowing away our expectations actually. We have regular conversations with her now. She still could pronunciation words better (love that Toddler "accent") and sometimes messes up words, but it's adorable. We are sad when Nolan sometimes corrects her because she remembers and will never say the cute pronunciation again (RIP "Lello".. yellow is here to stay).
Health: It was nice to be out of cold/flu season this spring/summer. We had very few colds circulate the house. Also, we ended up canceling the ENT ear tube surgery we had scheduled after Emmy's ears cleared up and have stayed clear! We dodged a bullet there although the true test will be how we fair this fall/winter. The sad story is that Emmy contracted Lyme Disease this summer. In early summer I found two ticks attached to her. In one of the spots near her armpit a bullseye rash emerged and we were given an antibiotics regimen to follow. The rash faded very quickly and she happily took the bubble-gum flavored Amoxicillin and there were no further follow-ups necessary. Very easy fix and I feel fortunate.