Loooooooong Time, Lots of Updates

With all of the craziness that has been the last two months, I have been a little lax in updating (A LITTLE?!!) this blog. So I'll try and sum it up- though all of Emma's quirky new accomplishments would be too numerous to list as you can imagine. Here goes.....
Emma's party was a lot of fun, even though the little princess took the longest nap of her life and slept through most of it :) She loved her chocolate-frosted cake and couldn't be peeled from her new froggie sandbox.
She started doing this thing where she goes upside down and looks through her legs, which she still does. It doesn't matter if she's on some steep stairs or right next to a sharp corner, she'll all of a sudden decide it's a great idea to look at the world in a new way, put her head between her legs and just giggle away.
Aunt Lise gave us this really cute mirror in which Emma has found a friend. She could look at herself for hours, always taking a funny hat or a pair of sunglasses in with her. Every time she finds something new and interesting, she has to take it to the mirror to see herself playing with it.
The three of us took a trip up to Manistee, where we climbed dunes, played in the sand, and swam in Lake Michigan. Emma liked it sooo much that she decided NOT to sleep. That's right, seven hours total (that includes naps) a day is plenty for her. Her mama and dada needed a vacation after the vacation. She found two things that she absolutely adored and WOULD NOT stop asking for- "balls" (which were actually a line of colored bbq grills against a shed that I guess could be mistaken for balls from far away) and a "duck" which was actually a bird wind chime thing that she just couldn't get enough of. It's funny how we spend vacations now-- playing with wooden "ducks" for hours instead of checking out the local area.
Emma's schedule got a little busier. Grandma watches her once or twice a week while I go and work. If she's not sick (which is rare unfortunately), she gets to come with me and play with the babies her age. This baby program is a lot of fun and Emma can't get enough! The other day is a class with older kids, so she hangs out at Grandma's. On Fridays we pack the car and head out to visit with Clara and Caitlin while Nicole goes to law school. Emma loves it there. There are billions of toys and the girls are sweet. Best of all, they have some really cool steep stairs that Emma has mastered (and pregnant mom LOVES to retrieve her, let me tell you).
Since Emma has been sick, we've been more lax on letting her watch some t.v. But one night she woke up screaming, saying "Boo", code word for "Madame Blueberry". Thank you cousin Niki for getting that cute video that she loves so much she feels she NEEDS it at 3 a.m. or she really will die. :) Now, she's figured out that the remote turns it on, so when we leave it laying around, she'll bring it to one of us and say "that". Needless to say, even though the poor baby still has Shreks coming out of her nose and eyes and is obviously sick, we've cut down the video watching to once a day and one t.v. show. She was becoming quickly addicted :)
Animals are still a favorite of hers. She knows all the sounds. My personal favorite is the bumblebee which makes a lispy "buthz" sound :) And she also knows how to act like an ape (helpful, I know). She looooves her bathtime-- all you have to say is "bath" and she runs into the bathroom and turns on her own water and dances until we get there. "Where is Thumbkin" is the new favorite tune and she just loves to move her fingers. She also knows all the actions to "If you're Happy and You Know It" and "The Itsy Bitsy Spider". Her vocabulary is really picking up and she gets so proud of herself when she can say words.
Little Miss Attitude spends a good deal of time in time out these days as her favorite activities include pretty much anything she knows she's not supposed to do- put her finger where the t.v. power button once was (safe I know!), eating sand, drinking nasty puddles (clean ones are okay I guess), biting mama (my personal favorite), pulling the cat by the tail (Scout's personal favorite), and so much more..... I think she's slowly learning.....we hope.
Emma loves riding on dad's and grandpa's backs and even knows how to kick as if to say "giddy up". And taking a ride around the house on her rocking horse (yes, dad hooked up a belt to drag her around) is always good for going into hysterics. She still loves her bear Puddin' but has a new GIGANTIC monkey that she has fallen for, well really just likes to make monkey sounds at and drag around the house.
I'm sure I'll remember more and post later, for now I'll just try and keep this thing more updated :)