Turning Two

Emily celebrated her 2nd birthday recently so we invited some friends over for a pool party. The little ones splashed in the pool while we enjoyed hamburgers, hot dogs, all the normal side dishes and chocolate cupcakes (the birthday girl clearly stated her cake preference!). We were happy to be able to celebrate the occasion with friends and had to laugh when comparing our party to the group using the grill area next to ours. The Dean BBQ Pit Area -- kids running around like crazy, tackling each other after getting their fill of Cheetos and sweets. The local folks next to us were grilling vegetables while their quiet, well-behaved children waited patiently in their seats for their veggie dinner. Needless to say, we did nothing to challenge the stereotype of loud, obnoxious Americans who eat bad.

As if to emphasize that she is no longer a baby, Emily began climbing out of her crib last week. She was subtle about it -- we would enter her room to get her up from her nap to find her playing quietly on the floor with her toys. Once we realized this was becoming the habit, Brian removed the front of the crib to convert it to a toddler bed. At least this way she wouldn't hurt herself climbing out of bed. Unfortunately she didn't like the new style because for the first couple days, she kept saying, "I no like my bed!" at bedtime. Thankfully she is adjusting to the new configuration and now it is clear that her bedroom at home will be obsolete when we return. One can only hope that the changing table will be unnecessary by that point as well.

Words cannot adequately describe Emily's abundant personality. She continues to provide plenty of entertainment in our family and is definitely our social butterfly. At her first music class, she stayed close to me for the first 10 minutes while assessing the situation. At the end of the 45-minute class, she went around and hugged all the other kids and their moms before leaving. No one quite knew how to react to her friendliness! While vacationing in Thailand, Emily didn't have much desire to go down the water slide as she preferred to stand at the top of the slide and tell each child, "Sit down!" in her sweet little voice while motioning with her index finger. She tries to put Elizabeth in time out when she doesn't like her attitude. Her acting skills are developing nicely and her facial expressions cause laughter nightly at the dinner table. As Megan often observes, "Emily is a funny little girl." And while she thoroughly enjoys music and gym class, I suspect she may thrive in dance class when she gets a little older. She is certainly comfortable in the spotlight.

It's hard to feel sad about our baby turning two when we're having so much fun watching her grow. My only regret is that we are unable to share her with her grandparents. She becomes more precious and hilarious with each passing day so I will do my best to keep documenting our Emily tales until she can make a personal appearance back in the States.