“While we try to teach our children all about life,
our children teach us what life is all about.”
- William Saroyan
Um, excuse me...but where did June go? I swear it was just Memorial Day weekend, and all of sudden next weekend is the 4th of July. (Check your calendars if you don't believe me!) We've been away almost every weekend at some sort of celebration or family event, but the weekdays haven't offered a lot of time to recoup either. Why, you may ask? Well, because Emma basically has two modes - play and sleep - both of which she attacks with full force.
So what kind of things keep us busy during the day?
We play with toys
We do puzzles and play games like peek-a-boo
She also has a few Fisher Price learning game apps on our iPhones and has become quite adept at knowing when to touch the screen and how to swipe things. They're good in a pinch when she's getting fussy or needs distracting!
And of course, her favorite game to play is still peek-a-boo! She's way more sneaky at it now. She's gotten to the point where she uses different things to hide in and knows how to slowly reveal herself or peek out just enough for you to make eye contact.
We play dress up (kind of)
We're definitely not at full princess super sparkle stage yet, but we do like to be silly and wear things around the house from time to time. Necklaces and crowns made from her snap beads are almost a daily thing, and sometimes she brings me her lots of links to make necklaces and bracelets too. She mostly enjoys just taking it off and putting it back on. Or putting it on mommy and daddy instead. It's fun to introduce her to new ways of playing with ordinary things, like making blankets into capes. Although she has no idea what a cape is or means, it is still introducing her to creative play.
We read - a lot
We play with Lizzy
Whether she likes it or not, Lizzy gets plenty of daily exercise with Emma in the house. Sometimes it's from playing ball with Emma, and sometimes it's from running away from Emma's continuous fascination with her. Emma loves to give Lizzy hugs and tries to chase her all over the house. Lizzy's a pretty good sport about it all. I mean, she does get paid daily by Emma in the form of Cheerios and other dropped food from the high chair, so it's not too bad of a gig!
We have play dates with big and little people
We hang out with family
Since we've had a lot of family events lately, Emma's gotten lots of time to hang out with all her grandmas and grandpas, uncles, and cousins. With birthday parties, baby showers, and weddings, our weekends have been full, but it's definitely a blessing to have such a close link to our families.
We took this video at Kevin cousin's wedding. Emma was having a fun time running around the dance floor with all the big kids, and she learned an important lesson too: The only boy who won't break your heart is Daddy.
We play outside
We try new things
So, Emma's not afraid to try new things, especially if it looks like it would be fun or interesting. Sometimes, she's stubbornly defiant about it too. Like she's trying to tell you, "I WILL do this." Some interesting new firsts for us: having your child run off with the cart in Staples, letting her help walk the grandparents' dog, trying to feed herself with a spoon, and even having her dip her chips in salsa and liking it.
And at the end of it all, we sleep. And we sleep hard.
I love these little people; and it is not a slight thing when they,
who are so fresh from God, love us.
- Charles Dickens, The Old Curiosity Shop
Click here to view more photos and videos from the past two months!
Click here to view more photos and videos from the past two months!