Our Bigs

EMMY

47 months

Our Emmy is 3 1/2 going on thirteen, or at least that's what she thinks.  She is such a loving little thing, and couldn't be sweeter with her youngest siblings (Hannah's a different story.) Hearing her coo to them when she doesn't know I'm listening warms the cockles of my heart.  She has an intense maternal instinct, and is usually right on the money with determining the best way to soothe the babies.  Most of her imaginary play is based upon caring for babies, and, if left up to her, she would spend all of her time as my right hand girl.  She thrives when she is given a grown-up job to do; she'll wipe up spillage on the kitchen floor or check to see if Hannah has a dirty diaper without hesitation, but is none-to-thrilled to complete kid chores like cleaning up her toys.  She can be lured into completing such tasks when there is a reward on the other end, and, like her father, is notorious for negotiating a better reward.  It's hilarious to hear the two of them attempt to "make a deal" with one another. Just a few days ago, I told her that she could pick out 3 Halloween candies to keep and that she could trade the rest in for $2.  She countered that she give me three candies and get paid $5. Not a chance, little one. During the last visit, Pam confirmed that Nick and Emmy are alike in more ways than just their looks; Emmy's behavior is very similar to that of her father at three years old.  The apple doesn't fall far from the tree. :-P 

She tries to "mommy" Hannah, by bossing her around.  Of course, she has no threshold for Hannah's defiance (interesting, seeing as how she learned from the best) and they get into screaming matches multiple times a day.  I like to think it will serve them well in the future when it comes to working through conflict.

Lately, at bed time, she has insisted on saying our prayer.  I love listening to everything she thanks God for...Just tonight she thanked God for helping us sell Mommy's old car (finally!) and blessing us with a new car than we all can drive in together.  Some of her thoughts come way out of left field, but it sure is a wonderful clue as to what's on her mind.

Elephant Ears Emmy would prefer if I always talk to Auntie Kristi and Mimi on speaker, because it kills her that she doesn't know every detail of every topic of conversation that we are engaged in.  She is a truly empathetic little girl and loves to know other peoples' stories.  She loves to make things for friends, especially food.  Just a couple of days ago I was devouring my latest vice: crockpot peach applesauce, and she told me to stop eating so that I could share it with our friends.  She is well-meaning. We have a system when we're working in the kitchen together: I measure, she pours and stirs.  She can also crack eggs well, and is fairly proficient at fishing out any broken shell pieces.  

She also loves to practice writing her letters.  It's incredible to watch, really.  We have mounds of papers covered with letters.  She is becoming very interested in how to spell certain words (especially peoples' names) and is working on memorizing certain books (Brown Bear, Brown Bear) and nursery rhymes like Mary, Mary Quite Contrary and Hickory Dickory Dock, among others.

She loves playing with her babies and Barbies, coloring, play dough, reading books, dancing, and swinging (she knows how to pump her legs now!)  She is also into fantasy play; it's perfectly normal to hear her acting out some drama in the other room with her babies.  She loves to have tea parties and her favorite is Friday movie day, when, so long as she's earned it with good behavior, she gets to watch a movie and eat popcorn.  Her favorite movie is the classic "Seven Brides For Seven Brothers." Unfortunately, I had to put the kibosh on that for awhile after I found all of her barbies sitting in their convertible with doilies on their heads, as she acted out the kidnapping scene. A little disturbing, for sure. Her new favorite movie is "Pollyanna" and, strangely, her favorite scene is when she falls out of the tree.  I'm beginning to think I should be worried.

She's a part-time napper, and truth-be-told, I am totally ok with late bedtimes so long as I get a little peace and quiet during the day.  When she does sleep, she can sleep for up to 3 hours, and I cherish every moment of it!

Love that little girl.

HANNAH

22 months

Hannah carries a stepping stool around so that she can always be in the middle of the action!

Helping Daddy carry Jules' carseat.

Squishing up bananas for our banana bread recipe.  She is flanked my Molly and Darla whenever she has food in her hands.

Dancing to the music in her head.

Nudie patoodie.  This is what I get for "squeezing" in another pump and feed at the end of nap time.

Ooooooh, Sissy.  I think if there was one word to describe our Hannah these days it'd be "expressive."  She wears her heart on her sleeve and has the tendency to laugh and cry all in the same minute.  She is a goofball whose sense of humor seems well beyond her time.  She takes flak from no one and can and will throw down with the best of them.  I envy her decisiveness; she is just as quick to say "yeah" as she is to say "no." She is a cuddlebug and would be more than fine if her precious feet never touched the ground.

She is infatuated with animals and their sounds.  She closely inspects our "Brown Bear Brown Bear" book, and lingers on the final page with the drawings of all the animals to recite their noises.  She loves dogs, and calls each one she happens upon "puppy."  She follows them around well after she's worn out her welcome.

She's talking up a storm.  Each day, there's something new.  It's not always easy to decipher what she's saying, but when we have trouble understanding, Hannah is quick to grab our hand, command us to "walk," and then show us what she's talking about.  I adore how playful she is:  When I let out a big sigh and say "ooooooh, Sissy!" She responds with "oooooooh, Mommy!"

We're still working on voice control, but she does like to be a helper, which is definitely a step in the right direction.  Her very favorite way to help is to "wash."  If something should spill, she will march over to the kitchen drawer with the dish towels, retrieve one, and "clean" the floor all on her own.

She loves to transport things in things.  She loves to look at books, and carries whichever flavor of the week around with her until it's fateful arrival in her crib, where books go to die.

She's become very proficient at taking off her clothes.  There have been more than a handful of occasions where I've found her wearing nothing but her birthday suit bouncing in her crib after nap time.  She has a bit of a shoe fetish, and one of the first stops during her morning rounds is unloading a basket of shoes, selecting a pair, and modeling them for us.  The bigger, the better!

She loves to dance, and, can be found bouncing to any up-tempo song.  She especially loves Katie Perry's "Roar" and several of Nick's favorite Mumford and Sons songs.  We have fun turning up the song "I will wait" in the car and watching her head bob and all of her extremities flail in the review mirror.

Hannah loves James and Julia, and, like Emmy, is incredibly clued into their needs.  She alerts me with a concerned cry "Mommy, Baby!" when she hears them crying and offers to "help" offer them their bottles.  She regularly rests her head on them when she are laying in their infant seats in an attempt to hug them.

As for sleep, she wakes, on average, around 7 each day, still takes a phenomenal 3 hour+ nap at 1230, and goes to bed around 8 each night.  I am so grateful that our kids are great sleepers...It's my saving grace.

Their sleep habits almost makes up for their picky eating.  Hannah is still a carb fiend.  Pancakes are by far her very favorite meal.  She can out eat Nick when it comes to pancakes.  She loves strawberries and cheerios for breakfast as well.  For lunch, her faves are: peanut butter and jelly, bean and (a little) cheese quesadillas, ham, hummus and pita chips, and grapes.  For snack, graham crackers and applesauce and crepes with nutella top the list.  Dinner is her most pitiful meal of the day.  Anything with pasta is well-recieved.  Otherwise, her meals are largely fed to the dogs.  If I left it up to her, she would make a meal of condiments: ketchup, syrup and parmesan cheese.  As for beverages, both girls exclusively drink almond milk (and halve for the last year and a half or so) and love it.  Since making th switch both of their bellies are comfortable and we have kept excema at bay!  They don't drink much juice (I honestly don't buy it because I know we would spend an obscene amount of money on it to satisfy Nick's habit) and love drinking water.

Hannah makes life quite a bit more exciting, her every move is done with gusto!  We absolutely adore her and her spunky little self. :)