Emma Joy: Two Years Old

Our baby girl turned 2 at the end of July so I wanted to pop in here and document it before any more times goes by! We celebrated this birthday much like her first birthday, only inviting immediate family to our home for a small Trolls themed celebration. I'm so glad we've done her first 2 birthdays this way. Jonathan and I get to truly enjoy the party with Emma without feeling like we have a ton of guests to host and missing out on the whole reason for the party. We kept things super simple (this was also about 6 weeks after Jackson was born) with pizza, some of Emma's favorite snacks, a homemade Trolls cake and a ton of balloons. Emma woke up from her nap to a sea of balloons in the living room, her favorite songs from the Trolls soundtrack blaring and both sets of grandparents plus some of her aunts and uncles greeting her ready to party. It was a great day!

At 2 years old, Emma Joy:

- weighed in at 23 lbs. at her doctor appointment. After so many visits of her weight being on the low end, but not concerning, the doctor finally said she is too skinny. She gave us some suggestions on what we can give her to help a bit but also wasn't concerned enough to say there is anything wrong. We're just chalking it up to her being petite and not being overly worried about it. She's actually already gained a pound since then so I think adding some things into her diet and her generally being better about eating has helped!

- comes up to me, tilts her head and asks if I'm okay if she sees me upset or crying. The other day, she even brought a tissue and started patting my face to dry my tears. She also started patting our backs when we hug her, something she's picked up from us doing when we hold her. My heart can't handle this stuff!

- is getting more consistent with her taste in food. She loves bananas, cantaloupe, goldfish, fruit snacks, scrambled eggs, grapes, smoothies and literally anything mommy or daddy are eating/drinking

- Calls her blanket her "bop" and has become seriously attached to in the last several months. One of Jonathan's clients actually made this for Emma before she was born and it hung over the back of the rocker in her room until she was maybe 18-months-old when we finally felt comfortable putting it in her crib with her. It wasn't long before she absolutely needed it when she was upset. If she gets hurt or upset, she could be screaming hysterically but won't come to you for comfort until she has her "bop." That, and a lovey that my mom bought for Emma as soon as we found out she was a girl, go to bed with her every night and it's really sweet!

- holds hands to pray with us before dinner now. Once we moved Emma out of the high chair into a booster seat at the table, Jonathan would reach out for her hand and say "Pray?" before dinner every night and for a while, so always said no. Until one glorious day, when he did it and she grabbed his hand and held it as we prayed. It was and still is the sweetest thing. She just recently started repeating "amen" after us and it's pretty special!

- loudly and inquisitively says, "Daddy!?" when any of the following things happen: she sees/hears a loud truck or sees/hears lawn equipment

- loves to give hugs, kisses, high fives and 'knucks" and recently started patting us on the back when we pick her up because we always do that to her. It's so sweet!

- is copying everything I do to take care of her baby brother with her Moana doll or her baby doll. All day long, she "changes" diapers, tries to swaddle, puts my boppy pillow on her lap and pretends Moana needs to eat and puts them down for naps. Tonight she even gave Moana milk out of her sippy cup. It's really sweet (and so entertaining) to watch her mirror what she sees me do everyday!

- went through a stage of weird sleep that started just before her 2nd birthday and is really just now getting back to normal. She's always been a really good and predictable sleeper going down around 7:30 and waking up between 7-8 a.m., then all of a sudden she was waking up at 5 or 6 and screaming or waking up just after we put her down and crying for us to come back. It's been a week or so since she's done any of that and she's back to her 7:30ish wake up time, thankfully!

- started going to a Mom's Day Out program at church in August. She goes on Wednesdays from 9-1:30 and she loves it. I was nervous when I signed her up that I'd feel guilty dropping her off every week or that she'd be upset every time, but it's been great for both of us. She's been fine from day one at drop off and she is always excited when she realizes she's going to "cool," as she calls it. I'm able to spend some one-on-one time with Jackson, run errands or get work done at home and it's good to know she is getting interaction with other kids her age and learning, too!

- is not potty training yet. She showed some interest just after Jackson was born and her friend Asher came over and used the bathroom, so we bought a potty and have been keeping it in the bathroom ever since. She asks to sit on the "cotty" a lot but we don't think she really gets the point yet, so we're working on helping her understand what's what before we really try to potty train. I'm in no rush!

- absolutely adores her daddy, loves to roar like a lion, loves books and puzzles, will say "Hi" and "Bye" dozens of times to anyone that steps in our house, loves to help around the house with laundry and cleaning, still can't get enough Moana and Trolls, still loves to dance,  mostly loves having a baby brother and has been learning to count to 10 and it usually goes something like, "1, 2, 5, 9, 10!"

- is very two in the sense that temper tantrums are a thing now. These are super fun and it is crazy (and slightly funny) how asking Emma if she wants milk or juice, her saying she wants milk, me pouring milk and handing the cup to her can lead to a half hour of pure chaos. The craziest part to me is how after the screaming, throwing herself on the ground, flailing her arms in the air and basically going bananas, she'll look up at me and laugh or pick up a toy and move on like it never happened. I try to keep in mind that temper tantrums are basically her frustration at not being able to communicate her feelings at times and that sometimes, she doesn't even know what she wants. It helps me stay calm and not get all worked up when we are in the thick of a meltdown to remember that she is acting exactly how a two-year-old is expected to act. And for the days when these occur around the clock, there is always wine.

I could probably go on and on with little things I don't want to forget about Emma at this age, but then I'd never get this post up. I really can't believe she is 2! Bittersweet is the only way I can describe how it feels to watch her grow. It's joy and it's sadness for me! I love seeing her change, learn and evolve into her own little person, but it's just so painfully fast.

I'm so thankful for this sweet girl. She has such an easygoing, silly, fun-loving personality. I can't get over how much joy I get out of just watching her. I still close my eyes and thank God when we are out and about and she reaches up to hold my hand. I'm proud when I see her laughing at herself and dancing around the house like a total goofball. I feel humbled when I see her mirroring the things I do around the house - my reminder that she is watching everything we do and learning from us when we don't know we are teaching her. When I exercise in the living room and she thinks it's so much fun to hop around with me and jump on my back while I stretch on the floor, when I go in the kitchen to prep dinner and she wants to sit on the counter and "help" me, I see how in what I would normally consider ordinary moments, we are making memories and she is just as happy doing that as she'd be finger painting or playing with play-doh. She makes these "mundane" activities more fun for me, too and I'm thankful to have her as my sidekick.

I've already seen how she can spread immense joy to the world just by being who she is and I can't wait to see the awesome things she will do. Thank you God for making me her momma!