Adam Miller and Family

EMMA Emma typed that all by herself

December 08, 2006 by Adam in Emma

EMMA

Emma typed that all by herself. Here's what else she wanted to say:

"I love you dad."

Sam got some brain teasers for his birthday a...

November 25, 2006 by Adam in Emma

Sam got some brain teasers for his birthday and Jamie was quizzing him.

Jamie: What's the verb in this sentence? "Our babysitter often beats us."

Emma (interrupting): "Grandma Sue!"

Emma also wrote her name out completely tonight, something I'd never seen her do before. The A was a little tilted, but it was quite readable with a bit of squinting.

It's been interesting being the bedtime paren...

November 12, 2006 by Adam in Emma

It's been interesting being the bedtime parent these last couple nights. Usually Jamie handles getting the kids to sleep as well as any midde-of-the-night stuff that might happen. Now that we're at Jim and Judy's house without Emma, I get to play that role.

Sam's a cinch, happily reading until I remind him it's time to sleep. Emma, on the other hand, requires someone to be next to her until she conks out. The last two nights she's explained how she wants mom in a sing-song voice, that she's beautiful and nice and has great hair. Still, she's gone to bed pretty easily.

Sleeping through the night is another story. Friday night she was handed to me by Judy, after Emma woke her and Sam both up. In the morning I showed her how she could walk down a short hall to where I was sleeping, which she did just fine last night. Then it's a matter of defending myself against three year-old kicks throughout the night. A pillow sufficed just fine.

We had a little incident with Emma last night...

November 08, 2006 by Adam in Emma

We had a little incident with Emma last night, one that is telling of her character. She was playing in the play room with Sam last night, swinging around a purse full of coins. Sure enough, she accidentally wacked Sam in the nose, who immediately announced "My nose is going to bleed." I took the purse away with a firm "Emma!" and led Sam over the linoleum so he could drip blood in an easy-to-clean area.

Emma, meanwhile, had run to a corner to hide, crying uncontrollably. Eventually Jamie coaxed her out and Emma immediately said she was sorry to Sam. We had to lift up Sam's bloody shirt so she could give him a hug.

On another note, I couldn't find my pager this morning. A sleepy Emma wandered downstairs and I scooped her up for a good-morning hug. Eventually Jamie came down and I told her I couldn't find my pager. "Oh," Emma said, "it's behind the basket." Sure enough, she was fiddling with it earlier and had moved it there. Yet again, she apologized without prompting.

It made up for the countless "I hate you's" and general complaining when putting her to bed last night.

Emma's had a rough time of it lately

November 06, 2006 by Adam in Emma

Emma's had a rough time of it lately. She gets really tired at night and starts crying about bad dreams and asking repeatedly if tomorrow is a school day (she's rarely excited about school).

A couple nights ago, she started her crying routine and I started talking about dreamcatchers, made by native Americans to catch the bad dreams. Soon she was adamant that we had to go to find the native Americans and get one for herself. Jamie suggested a drawing, which I did my best to render and then tape to her wall.

Last night we made a real one out of a plastic lid and yarn. Despite the less than authentic material, it looked pretty good and Emma seemed quite happy about it. Ah, the things I do as a father.

Well, Jamie just called from the doctor

October 19, 2006 by Adam in Emma

Well, Jamie just called from the doctor. Emma has hand, foot, and mouth disease. It was going around at school and it looks like it worked its way to her. Poor girl. The only solution is to keep the Tylenol flowing, treating the symptoms until she's feeling better.

I'm not sure what this means about Jamie's trip to Portland. I guess we'll play it by ear.

Emma's been sick off and on the last few days

October 18, 2006 by Adam in Emma

Emma's been sick off and on the last few days. Yesterday I got called home early to watch a feverish Emma languishing in bed. A little Tylenol later she was perky again and playing like her normal self.

This morning was much of the same. She was acting miserable, got some Tylenol, and was fine once again. I hung around until Jamie arrived home right before noon.

Hopefully this is just a passing thing. Poor kid.

Emma had a rough night last night

October 04, 2006 by Adam in Emma

Emma had a rough night last night. Both our kids are tall, so they've had growing pain when young. Last night I woke up to her moaning and saying that her leg was broken. Jamie went to comfort her and I went to get Tylenol. Eventually I just rubbed her legs for fifteen minutes until she fell asleep.

Other than that, she seems in good spirits. Last night at dinner she started counting in French. Soon enough, we were all counting and teaching Sam how it goes.

Jamie emphasized that her pronunciation was better than mine, at which point I said something rather rude in French. She corrected it, and added to Emma not to ever say that in class. Soon enough Emma was swearing like a French sailor. I'm hopeful she forgets, but if she's sent home by her teacher, I've only myself to blame.

Emma's been going to her French immersion sch...

September 15, 2006 by Adam in Emma

Emma's been going to her French immersion school for a week now. She seems to really like it, and Jamie keeps gushing about how great all her instructors are. This picture is of Barbara, her main teacher. According to Jamie she's great with Emma.

It's mostly girls in her class, one of which is a neighbor of ours. I think she's had a fun time playing with other kids her age after spending the Summer with just Sam. To top it off, she's learning French too. Tonight she started singing a song that sounded like "Bonjour, mes amies." (hello my friends).

As for the rest of her ever-exciting life, it goes well. She's growing up tall and smart, loving to play pretend, play on the computer, and listen to stories. She's very fashion conscious and fond of pink. Lately she's been wanting to wear mismatched socks, just like her big brother.

It was a big day for Emma yesterday

August 09, 2006 by Adam in Emma

It was a big day for Emma yesterday. We've signed her up for school in the Fall. After looking around, we picked a French immersion school that Jamie and the kids really liked. They visited earlier in the day and Emma didn't want to leave. Emma's at the point where she really wants to go to school like Sam, she likes playing with other kids her age, and she's loves to learn. I think it'll work out really well. The current schedule is Monday to Thursday mornings, though Friday may be added as well.

The bigger change is with Jamie, as she'll be somewhat free to do what she wants most mornings of the week. After over seven years of constant child care, this is a pretty big change. She's still processing it all internally, as is her style, so I'm patiently waiting to hear what she comes up with.

Emma and Sam have been taking swimming lesson...

August 02, 2006 by Adam in Emma

Emma and Sam have been taking swimming lessons for a couple days now. It's two weeks of daily swimming, which I think they both really enjoy. It's also Emma's first time doing swimming lessons without Jamie, who watches from the sidelines.

Emma loves it, and often demonstrates her bobbing skills to me in the bath. This morning she announced that she was going to do the biggest bog ever.

Of course, her fearlessness of water only extends so far. Last night I was trying to get her to lay back and have me hold her head so that I could wash the soap out. She started making unhappy noises and I told her "Use your words, Emma. I can't understand you."

In a sad little voice she told me, "I'm afraid your going to drop me and I'll sink to my doom."

I had to laugh and reassure her that I wasn't going to let her sink to her doom.

Emma periodically speaks of a mysterious Gran...

July 20, 2006 by Adam in Emma

Emma periodically speaks of a mysterious Grandma Sprinkle from time to time. She'd say odd things like she died on the sand. When asked where she lived, it was "Massatunia." Funny girl.

Emma continues to grow and her vocabulary becomes increasingly amazing. I sometimes forget she's only three. Today she got a new sticker chart for going to the bathroom. I asked what happened when she filled up the chart. "She gets to flush it down the toilet," replied Jamie dryly.

Emma's latest answer to the question "What do...

June 25, 2006 by Adam in Emma

Emma's latest answer to the question "What do you want to be when you grow up?" has become "A doctor!" Funny how things shift around.

I spent yesterday morning with Emma, just the two of us. We went to the library to listen to music and pick up books, movies, and computer games for the week. Already we've played a game, watched a movie, and read over half the books. I think we're going to have to go more often.

Emma is amazingly good at making new friends. She hooked up with a slightly older girl, who ended up teaching her ballet moves. Her mom passed along a phone number in case we wanted further "lessons". Later Emma met and danced with another little girl. Emma was fascinated because she didn't have any toes on one foot, which they calmly discussed together.

After the library, we pulled out the wading pool and splashed around at home, then had lunch and worked on her Valentine's Day heart projects. That particular book is a favorite of hers, found in the "girl's section", as she calls it due to every book being pink. It's really just all the Valentine's Day books, but she loves the color of them all.

Jamie asked Emma this morning what she wanted...

June 01, 2006 by Adam in Emma

Jamie asked Emma this morning what she wanted to be when she grew up. "Normal," Emma replied.

Taking a shower in the morning has an element of danger. Often I'll be washing away, only to hear a little giggle outside the curtain. Sure enough, Emma greeted me this morning, helping me put on chapstick and pick out clothes. Such service.

It's Emma's birthday

May 28, 2006 by Adam in Emma

It's Emma's birthday. She turned three today and had a grand mermaid-themed party. All sorts of people came over, including Isabell and her friend Natalie. Emma had a wonderful time eating cake, opening presents, and hanging out with friends and family.

Uncle Dave and I got into the spirit of things. Dave performed tests on the temperature-sensitive mermaid, dunking her in cold and hot water to see the color changes. I put the "expands in water" mermaid into a glass jar, filled it up, and labeled it "Mermaid Experiment".

After all was said and done, Emma was pretty tuckered out. I drove her around in the car later in the afternoon until she fell fast asleep.

Emma's in this funny place between a toddler ...

May 19, 2006 by Adam in Emma

Emma's in this funny place between a toddler and a little kid. She still needs diapers. On occasion, she'll throw tantrums, like when the person putting her to bed was me and not Jamie. On the other hand, she's very articulate, sweet, and increasingly capable of doing basic things. She can take off her clothes, and often get dressed (except for the inside-out issue, like last weekend). She can put on most of her non-lace shoes. She'll happily brush her own teeth.

Of course, all these things usually require supervision or correction, though it's important to realize that it's time invested in Emma's eventual self-sufficiency. She's getting there.

In terms of play time, she's all over the board. She and Sam often play exciting "princess Emma" games. This usually involves orc attacks and the like. Last night Emma decided her doll had various broken limbs and we spent a half hour constructing casts of one sort or another.

Emma hit one of those big milestones yesterday

April 13, 2006 by Adam in Emma

Emma hit one of those big milestones yesterday. For the last week or so, she's been volunteering to go potty by herself, typically right before a bath. A few days ago, Jamie got her a little potty just for her and put it in our main floor bathroom.

Last night Emma announced she had to go to the bathroom. By the time I got to her, she'd already gone, put her pullups back on, and was busy emptying the little potty into the big one.

I can see that the days of changing diapers may soon be over.

Well, I was home with Sam last week, and toda...

February 06, 2006 by Jamie in Emma

Well, I was home with Sam last week, and today Emma has a fever and feels awful. The worst part was when I told her she could not go to school today. She said, "But teacher Carolyn will miss me!"

Emma was watching the Miss America pagent wit...

January 26, 2006 by Adam in Emma

Emma was watching the Miss America pagent with Jamie last night as our darling little girl refused to sleep at her normal time. Jamie was telling me later how the pagent contestants seemed like little clones, perfectly tanned with thin, muscular bodies. Emma on the other hand was amazed at the spectacle. "They're so beautiful! I want to do that when I grow up."

Where have we gone wrong?

Emma seems more and more grown up every day

January 13, 2006 by Adam in Emma

Emma seems more and more grown up every day.

Her latest phrase is "Whatever", which is comical coming from her lips. She also says "actually" a lot in her cute two-year-old voice. Emma is also the biggest ham of us all, quite dramatic and sociable.

We do get occasional flashes of the dark side of her personality. She's extremely into wearing particular clothes and throws a fit if they're not available. Often in the play room she's strip down to her diaper and put on one of her princess outfits. When it's bedtime, she'll have a favorite pair of PJs for the week. Woe to the parent who tells her that it's in the laundry.

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