The months are flying by so quickly, and it's hard to believe all the new things Emily is up to these days!
She is really developing a sweet little personality, and seems to genuinely care about other people. Her teachers have said that she'll walk up to other kids who are upset and pat them on the back. She's done that to us when she thinks something's wrong, and it's the sweetest thing! Here's a note her teacher sent home on her daily sheet one day.
Emily also knows the names of all of her classmates, and is quick to point them out to me and tell me who they are when we see them.
I've read a lot about language exploding for kids around 18 months, and it certainly has for Emily. We're working on the alphabet, but she's only up to A-B-C so far--she loves to hear the alphabet song though, and sways every time we start to sing. Let's hope it will be a few more years before she cares about our singing voices! She also knows that two comes after one--she fills it in every time someone says "one." She'll repeat the other numbers, but doesn't yet go there on her own.
Emily is forming lots of two-word combinations, like "Dada's truck" when we see a pickup truck that looks like Mick's, or "Emmy's paci (or snack, or Elmo, or shoes)." I think her favorite word right now is "airplane," and she loves to see them flying--we're thinking of taking her over near the airport one day so she can watch them take off and land.
She recognizes her own reflection, which I've heard sometimes doesn't happen until several months older. She loves to look at herself in the mirror, and will now say "Emmy" and point to herself. One day when I picked her up, her teacher had put her hair up in little ponytails, and she just loved it!
Unfortunately, they weren't quite as fun to get out as to put in, and I ended up having to cut the rubber bands out of her hair. We'll probably wait a little while before we use them on a regular basis, but she sure thought she looked beautiful with little sprouts :).
That same afternoon, we played outside some--this was her reaction when I asked her to smile for a picture. She's such a silly goose.
I've mentioned how much she likes to dress up, and my plan is to really take advantage of the post-Halloween sales this year so she'll have some things to play with other than our clothes and shoes! This was one morning before we left for school when she was having a particularly tough time waking up. She also likes to put on and take off her own shoes and socks. She still needs some help with the socks, but can put on and take off her own shoes. She doesn't always get the velcro strap fastened, but it doesn't slow her down!
Brushing her teeth (or hair, for that matter) is certainly NOT one of her favorite things. I'm a little nervous about her upcoming dentist appointment because I don't want the dentist to get one of her powerful little kicks when she tries to look in her mouth. We're brushing her teeth twice a day without fail, but it's definitely a battle almost every time.
We don't think we're near potty training, although Emily knows "pee pee" and "poop" and understands when she has a dirty diaper. I think she'll probably let us know when she's ready, so we aren't going to start pushing it. She does like to come in the bathroom with me, but usually just ends up trying to unroll all the toilet paper while she's there!
We've had a great summer--a few road trips (and she's been a trooper!), visits with family, and some extracurricular activities. Still, we're looking forward to a terrific fall, and are excited about the nice cool weather we're starting to feel. It will give Emily an excuse to wear some new fall shoes!
