Sweet Sisters

Emily and Lily sure love each other!!  They love to play, sing, and just be together.  I love watching them smile and talk to each other.  Emily is so protective of Lily.  She loves to pat her head, sing her songs, and hand her toys.  Lily enjoys watching Emily play and often doesn't want to go to sleep if she hears her playing without her.  I know they will be best of friends.

My Pretender Emily

Emily is quite the pretender!!!  She uses her imagination in all she plays with.  I am mesmerized by the way she mimics me as she is a mommy to her dolls!  It definitely makes me more aware of what I say, do, and sing as these are all things I see her do with her dolls.  The picture below captures a few instances where she is changing the princess's diapers, clothes, and putting lotion on.  I do that a lot with 2 girls in diapers!!!

This picture below shows Emily has put on her shoes all by herself - and on the right feet to boot!!!  Way to go!  She loves to pretend with shoes by putting them on herself, her monkey or dolls. All that pretending paid off.

I bought diapers at Costco but didn't put them away immediately.  This pictures shows Emily pretending it was her table.  Emily refused to eat with us, but liked her small table instead.  It was just her size!

This girl loves to pretend to read.  I find Emily often in the pantry or bathroom reading to herself.  She is so smart that she can recite a book after you read it once or twice to her.  Of coarse princess and Curious George books are the favorites.

Exploring Lily

Lily has become quite the investigator lately.  It seems overnight she has found the ability to grab things near her.  Lily loves to explore objects by sticking them in her mouth and shaking them.  She is especially good at pulling my hair and putting her binkie in her own mouth.  What a big girl!!  I love watching the intensity of her eyes as she discovers the world around her.

A Special Visit from Nana and Grandpa

Nana and Grandpa came for another visit!!!  Emily was thrilled to have some of her favorite playmates to share our days with.  Nana and Grandpa shared the fun of coloring, reading stories, going for walks, and playing dress up with the girls lots!!  We even had an afternoon getaway to Mesquite to see my nephew Kaleb play in a soccer tournament.  The girls were FABULOUS in the car with few tears!  Hooray!!!!  

Colds and Teething

Unfortunately our house was struck with a cold bug!!!  Stuffy noses, coughs, sneezing, and aches were not much fun for all of us.  For a girl who gave up on naps, Emily took many during her week she was struck with a cold.  It was hard to see my sweet girl stuffed up!  As she was on the mend I noticed she had some aches to be sad about for sure - two year old molars.  Ouch!  I am glad we are all on the mend.

Heartbeat

Today Emily woke up at 4 am crying.  I had just finished feeding Lily and set her down.  Much to my dismay, the two girls battled crying for my attention for the next hour.  After I would get one settled down, the other would begin to cry again.  Finally at 5:30 am, I took Emily downstairs to watch part of Frozen while I got Lily settled back to sleep.  After watching the last 15 minutes of Frozen, I laid by Emily on the couch.  She rested her head against my chest near my heart.  As we snuggled, her breathing slowed as she fell asleep.  It was such a sweet treat to snuggle with her as we don't get to as often with her "growing up."

As I laid by her I thought about how maybe my heartbeat was soothing to her.  When I was little I found it calming to lay by my mom and listen to her heartbeat.  It was a feeling of reassurance and coming "home."  There have been moments as I grown to be an adult that I have rested my head against my mom's heart and found myself in the same place - comforted, reassured, at home.  As Emily grows, I too hope she feels safe in my arms and returns often.

Nana Grandpa New Year's Visit

We were fortunate to end the holidays with a visit from family.  Nana, Grandpa, and Sissa came for a few days to ring in the New Year.  Of coarse we weren't too much of party people as our New Year's took place way before midnight. We enjoyed playing at the Children's Museum.  Emily loved the Frozen exhibit that was there for the holidays.  She also LOVED playing with Sissa!!!!  "Double GG" gave Emily and Lily a gift card to Barnes and Noble so we had an adventure there.  Emily loved the Curious George books best of all.  Whether at home playing, on a walk, or out on an adventure, a visit with family is always fun!