An update on Miss E!

I've had a few requests for an update as to what Miss E has been up to lately. I've only had time recently to just post some pics, so I'm taking this opportunity (while she naps) to write this! :)

Emercyn will be 2 & 1/2 in March! I can't believe how fast time flies! The next time we celebrate her birthday, it will be her 3rd birthday! Wow! That just amazes me! Where did my baby go??? She's now a little girl!

Right after Christmas (27 months), Jason and I decided it was time. The paci had to go! I was sooooo scared about taking it away. She LOVED her paci. And to be honest, I did too. I knew it would comfort her in any situation. But after 2 years, we decided it just had to be done. I cut the tip of it off and gave it back to her. She immediately hated it. She kept asking what was wrong. After about 10 minutes of her studying it, she decided it was broken. She asked Daddy if she could throw it in the trash. He explained to her that if she threw it in the trash, it was gone forever. He asked if she was for sure she wanted to throw it away. She said, "Daddy, paci broke. I throw in trash". So she did. She was very sad.....waving bye bye at the trash can and sobbing in Daddy's arms....but after about 10 minutes she was fine! And when bedtime came, it was no big deal! She slept all night without a peep! For the next few days, she'd ask nonchalantly about it. We'd just remind her it broke and that she threw it in the trash. "Oh yeah" was her response! I just can't believe how easy it was!! Yay for my big girl!

In January (28 months), we decided she was ready for potty-training. I decided not to mess with pull-ups. I went straight to panties. It was a mess, and after a few days I was about ready to give up. BUT then I came across something that is like gold! It's an e-book called "3 Day Potty-Training" by Lora Jensen. She guaranteed that if you followed her book perfectly, your child will be potty-trained in the 3 days. If not, you get a full refund. Couldn't hurt trying, right? It was A LOT of work, but soooooo worth it! It worked! It worked! So one week after I first began, Emercyn was in panties with no accidents! It's been almost 2 months since that first day, and she is still going strong! She is such a big girl! She tells me each and every time she has to potty, has no problems going on a "big" potty, and isn't scared at all to go in public restrooms. I bought one of those travel potties that fit in your diaper bag just in case she was scared of the big potty in public restrooms.....but so far haven't used it once! We do use pull-ups at nap and nightime though. We haven't figured that part out yet, but we'll get there! :)

She's starting to understand that a change is coming (Baby Harper). She sees Jason and me working on the nursery, sees all the baby stuff, and sees my growing belly. She's a very curious little girl! She calls the nursery "baby sister's room", and if you ask her who is in my belly she'll say "Baby Harper". Sometimes she forgets the name Harper, and she'll say "Baby Heart". Looks like she's nicknamed her little sister already!

She recently had her first bout with PINK EYE! Yuck! Giving eye drops to a 2 year old 4 times a day for 5 days is not fun! After the second day, we had a good system going though.....lay in my lap, hold bunny and piggy, take the drops, then get a popsicle! After a day of this, she was actually asking me to put the drops in her eyes! And then, during the midst of all of this, she broke out in a nasty rash all over her body! After talking to her pedi and lots of investigation, we determined she was allergic to those darn popsicles that she was getting so many times a day!!! Actually she was allergic to the "red dye" that is in the popsicles. Apparently that's a pretty common allergen. Who knew!

Jason and I think she's a pretty smart little girl.....but who doesn't think that about their kid! ;) She knows all of her colors, most of her shapes, can say the alphabet all the way through and can recognize several letters, can count to 5 in Spanish, and can count to 20 in English. She knows pretty much every animal there is and their sound, and loves to "pretend" she's one of them! She knows tons and tons of songs, and loves to dance! She also is a pretty darn good artist. She recently started drawing "faces". Of course, they look like circles with squiggles. But you can clearly tell it's a face! :) Of all the things she loves, her most favorite thing is to play outside. She would stay out there all day if I let her!! She loves to get dirty! She's also very girly....loves makeup and jewelry, high-heeled shoes, etc.

She's still enjoying her gymnastics class, and looks forward to it every week. The "Olympics" (aka her recital) is in May. Jason and I can't wait! She also loves going to church, and gets so excited every Sunday! We're also involved in a MOPS (Mothers of Preschoolers) group twice a month, and we are still very active in the stay-at-home-mom's group that we've been part of for 2 years. On top of all of that, we do playdates quite often. She loves her friends (Kinley, Hadley, and Avayah)!! Another favorite playmate is her cousin Mattie. Those two together are one HUGE ball of energy! So with all we have going on, we stay very busy!

That's about it! Miss E stays very busy and has an active social life! :) I'll be sure to update again soon!! :)