Draft written by Shannon, posted by her mom, Gretchen.

Here’s a little snapshot of Emmie right now. I want to capture this moment in time before it’s gone, like all the others before.

Emmie is in such an interesting place right now. I really feel like it’s a moment of transition, from toddler to preschooler (sob!). She is speaking in long, complex sentences, she is able to understand an insane amount of what we say (especially when it’s not directed to her), and she is understanding more and more about the wider world around her. At the same time, she likes to play “baby” a LOT. She likes to cuddle in my arms and pretend to nurse or drink from a bottle, and she definitely is not a “Miss Independent,” as some toddlers are.

Emmie loves to eat: chocolate, cookies, sweets, pasta with tomato sauce, toast with no crusts, apple chips, dried fruit of all kinds, and veggie straws.

Emmie loves to play: Babies, babies, babies (mama as baby, Emmie as baby, both of us as baby, playing with baby dolls); hide-and-seek; playing with her dollhouse, barn and animals; blocks; puzzles; board games (very simple ones); jumping and running around and around. She likes to read constantly and we read probably 10 books a day on average.

Favorites: the color black. Yep, just black. Anything with Monsters, Inc. Girl is CRAZY for Monsters!

She has just recently started singing songs. As usual, she never even tried to sing anything until she suddenly burst out with multiple songs with complete lyrics. She still a little fuzzy on some of the parts, but most of it is pretty good. My favorite error right now is “Yes, sir, yes, sir, three bags four” in Baa Baa Black Sheep.

Other cute language things: She uses “we’re” instead of “our,” which I think is a fabulous extension of “your.” She’s using -ness, -er, and -ing productively. She has said “happiness, sickness, darkness,” and even “hungry-ness” appropriately in sentences. She will run around saying “Zuzz! Zuzz! Zuzz!” Then turn to me and say, “I’m just zuzzing. I’m a zuzzer.” I think she is starting to get a good clear /s/ sometimes too! She has had the cutest little lisp, but every now and then, I hear some pretty clear /s/ action going on. Luckily, the crazy /r/ substitutions are still there, so she still says “boid” for bird and “woik” for work. My own little 1930s New Yoik gangster!

Less cute things (hey, gotta keep it real, right?): She is seriously into the “I don’t like you/love you” phase, although mostly used as a tool against others to try to get more time with Mama, unfortunately. It’s totally just a behavior, but it still is a sucky feeling for her to declare she doesn’t love her actually-beloved grandparents or daddy. She has also started to be “shy” when seeing people. I can’t tell if this is actual shyness or if this is yet another behavior to try to get attention. She also loves to speak in gibberish, which was kind of funny when she first started to do it, since she almost never actually babbled as a baby (causing me no end of worry, as a SLP mama). Now it is less funny, since she will just speak in gibberish to us constantly, which makes for very boring conversations.

Back to cute things: The separation anxiety is getting much, much better, thanks to the world’s most expensive lovey (my Patagonia jacket). Too bad I got it on a crazy sale at the outlet, otherwise I’d try to get another one so I could wear my jacket at night again.

***No photo right now because the child never stops moving***

Gretchen – I found some pix of Emmie at two and a half (Nov/Dec 2013)

p1150893p1150898p1150891-2-and-half

E at two and a half - Xmas w Santa