Emily at 19 Months Old

Emily Mae is a bright, shining light and is ever so smart.  It is amazing at how much she observes and then mimics what she has seen.  This new found love for watching people is great for learning but it can also be rather tumultuous at times when bad behavior is observed.  One "bad" learned behavior she picked up on at school is wrestling.  Emily loves to push people down and then jump on them.  Wrestling is fine with mommy and daddy but when it's done with smaller kids at school or with baby sister it can be a bad thing.  Avery does not like to be pushed down by her big sister. 

Another behavior we are trying to help rid of is biting.  At first we thought Emily was biting because of teething issues or trouble showing emotions.  Lately she has become increasingly unpredictable when it comes to biting.  Sometimes she will bite when another child takes a toy or when there is peace within the group.  Her teacher has to watch her closer now so she doesn't get sent home for another biting incident.  After three bites in a day mommy or daddy has to pick up their child.  I'm hoping it gets better as she is getting older and will eventually grow out of the habit.

Emily still loves to put things together and take them apart.  She will watch how someone closes a bottle or snap a conenctor and then will try it herself, most of the time with success.  Then she will ask to do it again and again.  Even at school she will strap herself in her seat.  Emily is a fast learner.  Speech is getting better and better.  Emily's vocabulary is still growing and she is still using her sign language.  Now she is using the vocabulary she has and pairing it with gibberish.  This is her way of starting sentence formation and trying to better communicate through words.  It sounds so funny and you can't help but laugh.  It's a little daunting at times trying to figure out what she wants or is trying to show us but with a little patience we eventually understand.

Tantrums are in our midst but I must say, compared to other children I've seen, Emily's tantrums are mild.  When she doesn't get what she wants she calmly lays on the floor and stares at you.  I let her have her tantrum and then try and redirect her to something else to take her focus off of what she isn't getting.  This tactic works really well right now and I'm hoping it keeps working for us in the future.  As far as mommy is concerned, Emily is a wonderful child and is such a joy to be around.  We lover her more and more each day and can't wait for her to show us all the new things she's learned.

Drinking from the water hose

Cool shades...ready for a day at the park.