The GOOD Life

My Grandma Charbonneau is a very smart lady, and she reminds me all of the time to write down the silly little things Emma says and does on a daily basis because in 10 years (heck, ten minutes) I'll probably forget. Here are some of the things I'll miss most when she's twelve....

"t.b. YEAH!"-- it's her special way of requesting t.v. so that you can't say no (since she says "yes" for you)

the art masterpieces currently on display in the kitchen (crayon on the fridge, pencil on the wall)...the best part is that she shakes her finger at them when she passes, saying "crayon, no no"

the fact that she can count to twenty (but usually leaves 5 and 11 out) already- thank you timeout corner!

singing the bathtime song (set to the tune of the old batman t.v. theme song- just like the "bat turn" song-- remember that dad?!)

Emma putting herself in timeout (even when we forget to enforce rules, when she breaks them, she walks herself to timeout and starts counting)

the sounds of fire engine sirens that she makes when we put Balmex on her bottom to "put out the foo foo fires"

whenever she makes a big mess, we usually hear "oh my" or "oh no" followed by "kweeb up" (she likes the barney cleanup song, so sometimes she'll make this mess on purpose so that one of us will sing it)

the excitement she gets when "sachines" (Mighty Machines- a five minute blip on t.v. about real life construction equipment) comes on or the last 20 seconds of sesame street ("street")- the credits where the kids dance and the train comes around

when she shouts "OH DADDY!" whenever she hears the door (even if it's just the cat playing with the handle)

how every color is "YEWO!!" despite the fact that she knows blue, red, yellow, and green (she just likes the word yellow better than the others)

her infatuation with "Siwuhwuh" (Cinderella) and constant begging to watch the entire movie!

the way she slow dances with her monkey whenever the ball scene comes on during Cinderella (the version from Fairy Tale Theatre--thank you Aunt "Namie" (JAMIE)!!)

I'll add on as I think of them. These are just the ones I can think of for now.
Yesterday the girls and I took a trip to the mall to get their portraits taken. I had a stash of secret weapons just in case Emma got bored or decided to wander, but I only ended up needing one, so it was great! We got there early (an hour before the appointment) so that Emma could play at the play place and eat "pacakes" (pancakes, a special treat usually reserved for Saturdays) while I nursed Bela. She listened so well, and didn't even try to run and play, though she was itching to so badly. When it was time to leave, I only had to ask once and she stopped playing and held my hand. I put Bela in the stroller and Emma in my Mayan sling (which is WONDERFUL by the way for any mom who has to carry both a baby and a toddler at once!) and we made it, only five minutes late :) The pictures went as well as could be expected. Emma was soooooo good and so patient when I asked for a quick second session (because Bela had finally stopped crying in the waiting area and fell asleep). As a reward I gave her a pen and paper (way cooler than crayons) and let her go to town. The photographer looked at me like I was nuts and said "Uh, your daughter is drawing all over her face". "I know" was all I said. She likes to experiment what can I say, at least she was naming the body parts as she was coloring them (toes, "wips" (lips), hands....) As I ordered my prints, Emma found a very strange friend, but she seemed to like her. They had fun while Emma learned all about bodily functions (I'm hoping this little girl's fascination was coming from being potty trained). She was sooooo good and sat when I asked her to, held my hand when asked, and so much more...so I took her to Mrs. Fields and let her pick out a cookie. While I nursed Bela again, she kept shouting "TREAT!" and getting chocolate all over her face. Mom benefited from the treat too since I got to eat three quarters of it!!! (don't tell emma!)
Emma also got a little taste of the snow when the storm hit. Daddy took her out on a sled (a special St. Val's day present) and poor Emma was so bundled up she just couldn't stay seated on the sled...so she had fun laying down! What a riot! In the end, she was too cold for a ride on the "tracor" (tractor), something she looks forward to all the time.
Bela is waking up a lot more now, smiling and cooing....that is until about 5 o'clock. That's when the ear-piercing (just talk to daddy) symphony begins. When I was pregnant everyone used to say "Well at least this one won't be colicky, God doesn't give you two like that". Well, I say God has a sense of humor.....no, we love our girls. And really other than feeling terrible for little Bela when she is obviously uncomfortable, it's not so bad. Emma paved the way for the "spirited" temperment in this family, so it's just funny to watch Bela follow in her footsteps. I enjoy every precious moment with this little one, knowing they're all too short. As much as I know we should insist on ousting the family bed notion, I enjoy watching her sleep in my arms. There's nothing sweeter than watching her little chest go up and down in the middle of the night when everyone else is asleep. We are so blessed to have two absolutely beautiful, sweet, hilarious little girls. They make life so sweet!