The Emmy Update

The last month has been full of activity and adventure for 2-year-old Emmy. A few weeks ago, Mom and Stanton offered us the opportunity to attend a members-only showing of John Constable's six-foot landscapes at the Huntington Library, so Emmy and I (Peter had to study as usual) joined them and Joel for a rare (and quite chilly) nighttime visit. Emmy loved being outside, and while she did not seem to be impressed by the paintings, she fell in love with the string quartet playing just outside the gallery entrance. When they finished their first piece, she squealed and clapped delightedly, and immediately signed for "more!" She watched, enraptured for about 10 minutes. What can I say? The girl likes her music.

I've introduced her to the Tiny Tots Sabbath School the past couple of weeks, and she absolutely loves it. Unlike Cradle Roll, this class is well-organized (thanks to former classmate Stefani McFarland), with a sheet provided to parents that outlines the activities and songs (including the lyrics for those of us who don't have them memorized) for the morning's program, which makes it a cinch to successfully involve your child in the proceedings. Emmy clapped and squealed after every song (and there were a lot of songs!) and really enjoyed hammering on a two by four with all the other kids (ostensibly like Jesus did while helping out his dad in the carpenter shop) and doing songs with motions. When the teacher put out the "mommy sheep" in preparation for the kids to bring their "baby sheep" to her, Emmy ran up and grabbed it and was mid-getaway when I intercepted her and explained that the mommy sheep had to stay up front so her babies could find her. The felts used to illustrate the Bible story also proved to be an irresistible temptation. So the upshot is that although I got a little more "on stage" time than I wanted, Emmy had a ball. The poor teacher charitably stated that she "enjoyed her enthusiasm!"

My dear friend Gayle showed up unexpectedly a couple Fridays ago bearing Starbucks (God bless her!), and we had great time together playing and reading stories with Emmy. Emmy and I are hoping we'll continue to see a lot more of her. :)

With Peter studying and Ryan sleeping last Sabbath afternoon, Shari and I took advantage of the gorgeous weather and took Emmy to the park. It was interesting to see how cautious she was after just a few months' hiatus from the equipment. She loved climbing up the stairs and sliding down the slide, and even after the sun went behind the hill and it started getting really chilly, Shari nearly had to pry her out of the swing. While there, we serendipitously bumped into John & Katie Wical (John is Peter's 2nd cousin) and their daughter Emily. It was fun to see them again - Emily has grown so much since we last saw her! We've gotta figure out a way to see them more often.

Not much else new to report on the growth front. New teeth are constantly coming in, but it doesn't seem to bother her. Apparently speech has been deemed unnecessary (at least temporarily), despite all Mommy's and Daddy's encouragement. She plays with a large variety of toys, though her instruments definitely still rank among her favorites. Another endless source of entertainment is wearing Mommy or Daddy's shoes, and wearing her own clothes in unique ways (shoes on hands, pants on head, etc.). She's still very fond of her books, but occasionally resists storytime, as it usually precedes nap/bedtime. And (as you may have read in my previous post) she's strongly resisting going to bed at night - though for some reason pretending to sleep (putting a pillow on the floor and having one of us cover her with a blanket while she makes pretend snoring noises) is fun. Go figure!

Must play with Emmy now so Daddy can get some more schoolwork done. Hope your weekend is wonderful!