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Emma's been a little sick the last few days, ...
December 15, 2007 by Adam in Emma
 Emma's been a little sick the last few days, cranky and coughy. Worst of all, she has these funny red spots on her face. Of course, at the moment she seems like a perfectly normal little girl. She and Sam are battling it out with inflatable animals in the play room.
Her ability to spell and recognize letters continues. Today she asked me how to spell "style", which she was writing in her Littlest Pet Shop diary. She's also inherited her mother's creativity. We got some Christmas cards in the mail. She removed the stamps, taped them to paper, cut them out, and attached strings to hold each of them. Funny girl.
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Emma has recently figured out the secret of t...
November 14, 2007 by Adam in Emma
Emma has recently figured out the secret of the alphabet. Last night she brought her journal to show Jamie, and she had written down "Horses" by copying it from the word on her pencil. She recognizes most letters and has been asking me how to spell certain words which she'll laboriously copy down.
It sounds like much of this is due to her school, as Madame Janna is having them practice their letters quite a bit. Last night Emma had homework for the first time, practicing her m's on a long piece of paper. It's pretty cool watching her learn.
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Last night I was giving Emma a bath and she i...
October 30, 2007 by Adam in Emma
Last night I was giving Emma a bath and she informed me that she'd always live with us. Even more, we should remind her when she's older that she said so, just in case she forgets. I'm sure her future teen self will heed these words of wisdom most carefully.
Emma also has a new funny behavior. When she's bored and by herself, she'll pretend she's in the middle of an advertisement, trying to sell something. After hearing about it from Jamie, I finally got to see it in action last night. She was brushing her teeth in front of a mirror when she started to pose and say things like, "It's electric!" (meaning an electric toothbrush).
Perhaps Jamie and my obsessive watching of Mad Men has somehow filtered into her brain and she'll turn into a 60's characture of an advertising actress. Oopsie.
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School is going much better for Emma these days
October 16, 2007 by Adam in Emma
School is going much better for Emma these days. It's fun seeing the things she learns sneaking into her brain. She'll often sing her ABC's, usually in French, and can recognize many letters and numbers. Last night she was playing Cooking Mama on her Nintendo DS when she suddenly stopped and grabbed a paper and pen. It turns out she wanted to copy the letters on the screen, which brought a proud smile to my face.
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Emma really, really doesn't want to go to school
September 20, 2007 by Adam in Emma
Emma really, really doesn't want to go to school. I gave the kids a snack and after Sam left the table, Emma pushed her chair over to the refrigerator. She climbed up, grabbed the eraser, and erased the upcoming school day from the calendar.
When I arrived and explained that erasing the days off the calendar doesn't make them stop being a school day, she replied in a sad voice, "It doesn't?"
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It's been a very hard week while Jamie's been...
September 20, 2007 by Adam in Emma
It's been a very hard week while Jamie's been away to Italy. Emma wakes up, starts crying and saying she doesn't want to go to school. According to her teacher, she's weepy most of the morning. When I pick her up, she's fine for awhile, only periodically crying. In the evening, things go downhill again and she says how much she'll miss me.
Strangely, she doesn't really talk about Jamie much, though I'm sure that's involved. Maybe she thinks she's down to one parent and I could go at any minute. Sam and I had a discussion about pirates (due to Talk Like a Pirate day) who had lost their eye. When they're down to one eye, they protect it even more. I was wondering why she did better when Grandma Sue was around and Sam pointed out that Emma had a second eye back.
Anyway, all the tears are pretty tough for me. I picked her up early yesterday and will likely do the same today. As for tomorrow, well, I may just keep her out of school. I'm torn between "staying tough" so that I can get work done and not disrupt her school routine, and being sensitive to the epic scope of her sadness.
Ah, parenthood. Such sweet sorrow.
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Jamie gathered up all the baby gear to give t...
September 14, 2007 by Adam in Emma
 Jamie gathered up all the baby gear to give to the latest baby in the extended family (Jamie's stepfather's son's daughter). Included in the mix was Emma's old Exersaucer, in which she spent many hours.
Soon enough she was making smiley faces at me, hoping to be put in again. At four, it was a tight fit, but she spent a huge amount of time twirling around and playing with the attached gizmos. I dug out this old photo of her when she was little and bald. It's a poignant reminder of just how big she's gotten.
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Emma's been leaving me these messages on my w...
September 07, 2007 by Adam in Emma
Emma's been leaving me these messages on my work phone that are incredibly effusive, declaring her undying love to me. It's a bit over-the-top, but always makes me smile.
The other day I went upstairs to find Emma going through her piggy bank. She paid me 11 cents because I loved her so much.
What a sweet girl.
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It's been cloudy and sprinkly the last few days
August 21, 2007 by Adam in Emma
It's been cloudy and sprinkly the last few days. I decided to brave the weather and take Emma to her swimming lessons last night, as usual. It was a bad sign when she was the only student and the instructor showed up in a wet suit.
Still, the pool wasn't too cold. She got individual attention for twenty minutes or so, and then I pulled her out to swim in the warmer play pool. We frolicked until we froze, then drove home with the heater on full blast. Good times.
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I've been taking Emma to swimming lessons the...
August 15, 2007 by Adam in Emma
 I've been taking Emma to swimming lessons the last couple days. It's fun sitting out on the edge of the pool, watching Emma learn various strokes and techniques with a half-dozen other little girls. After lessons we'll play for a half an hour or so, going down the slide or playing in the shallow pool.
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I can't believe it's been over a month since ...
August 09, 2007 by Adam in Emma
 I can't believe it's been over a month since I posted anything about Emma on her personal site. My only excuse is that it's been a crazy, busy Summer.
Emma continues to grow. She's much stronger willed than she was a year ago, which is occasionally trying. To some degree, that's what motivated Sam to get his own room. No longer was she the cute little sister. On the up side, she's very confident in her abilities, seeming more and more like a person in her own right.
Today she called me this morning to explain that she had "poison egg yolk". After some confusion and intervention of Jamie, I finally figured out that she got a little bit of poison oak on her. Normally her vocabulary is amazingly good. Last night I asked if the rock she'd found had crystals in it. "No," she replied firmly, "It's obsidian."
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Emma started her baking camp at the Little Fr...
June 26, 2007 by Adam in Emma
Emma started her baking camp at the Little French School yesterday. It's led by teacher Barbara, who taught her all last year. They make assorted goodies and return home with them.
When I came in yesterday from work, she excitedly showed me her chocolate brownies with rasberry frosting. She didn't like the frosting, so she said I could have some. After eating the entire thing in all it's gooey goodness, I informed Jamie that perhaps next year we could send her to gardening school.
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Emma continues to be her typical, quirky self
June 08, 2007 by Adam in Emma
 Emma continues to be her typical, quirky self. She loved getting her hair done at the Carnival last night, going for the "rainbow" look. When I wanted to take her picture, she gave me a variety of poses.
She continues to very much be a girly girl. She loves pink, stuffed animals, and playing games that emphasize interpersonal relationships. It did surprise me a bit when she wanted to enter the carnival's squirt gun ring along with her brother. She half heartedly squirted the other kids, but mostly wanted to run around and be part of the action.
She continues to do well in school, bringing home odd craft projects and more French words. It's hard to believe that there's only a couple more weeks of school and then she's off for the summer. This Fall she's returning for five days a week, with class going into early afternoon. She usually likes school, so we don't fret too much about it. I think the biggest change will be for Jamie, who will suddenly have a lot of free time.
Emma's slowly moving out of the toddler phase, though it happens in fits and starts. Last night I went to bed, only to find myself usurped by a four year-old. I carried Emma back to her bed and dumped her in there, where she stayed for the night.
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Emma turned four yesterday
May 28, 2007 by Adam in Emma
 Emma turned four yesterday. She was a wild girl all morning and finally settled down once guests arrived. The party itself was a bit of a blur, tearing into presents, basking in Hello Kitty paraphernalia, and watching small children gorge themselves on cupcakes and ice cream.
Afterwards she and I played with tiny animal dolls with massive heads and eyeballs. There was some beauty parlor thing going on, though I added a mad scientist twist. For bedtime, I read her Goodnight Moon in French. Her teacher came to the party and got that for her. It's fun relearning a language, as I haven't used French in over a decade.
She continues to do amazingly well with her school. Fortunately Jamie speaks French pretty well too, as otherwise Emma would be the one teaching me the language. Strange things come back to me, though. Last night she was being bad and I asked Jamie. "Is méchant the right word?" She laughed and agreed. It means "naughty".
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Barbara, Emma's teacher at the Little French ...
May 25, 2007 by Adam in Emma
Barbara, Emma's teacher at the Little French School, pulled Jamie aside as she picked up Emma yesterday. Barbara said that Emma was the best student she'd ever had, which was nice to hear.
Of course, it may have been that Emma was playing and exclaimed "Zut Alors!" Barbara started cracking up and asked Emma what she thought it meant. "Oh my gosh," she replied. I think that was the explanation I gave her when chatting in French a couple weeks ago. Of course, it's closer to "Damnit!" which probably makes it extra comical for a three year-old to say.
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Out of the blue, Emma decided she wanted to r...
May 15, 2007 by Adam in Emma
 Out of the blue, Emma decided she wanted to ride her bike. We got her all geared up and we went down to the park. Though she was tentative at first, Emma was quickly zipping around the basketball court and enjoying herself immensely.
Sam was strangely excited to watch her, so he rushed through his homework and asked that Jamie take him down to the park. They played "zombie" where Sam chased Emma around in slow-motion. At one point, Sam got on his old bike and rode it around, looking like a clown on a tiny bike.
Emma continues to excel at French, teaching me new words all the time. It's a treat to listen to her sing in French around the house, with me picking up every other word.
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Emma decided to paint her tongue with a water...
May 08, 2007 by Adam in Emma
 Emma decided to paint her tongue with a watercolor pencil yesterday. She feels pretty bad about it, and was appropriately scolded. Of course, having a bright blue tongue is pretty shocking. Just in case, I looked up the MSDS sheet for the brand of pencil and it said it probably wasn't horribly toxic. Lovely.
I have lots of fun talking French to Emma these days. Sam was doing homework yesterday, so Emma wanted to do some too. I asked her to draw her family. "Grande mama!" she cheerfully exclaimed as she drew Jamie with a massive head. "Oui, elle a une massif tête." I smirked.
Emma and I also had fun in the backyard yesterday, watching bugs and playing Frisbee. Good times.
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Emma and I seemed to spend a lot of time toge...
April 16, 2007 by Adam in Emma
 Emma and I seemed to spend a lot of time together over this last weekend. My favorite thing we did together was making whole wheat bread together. She's my little helper in the kitchen and is quite fond of pouring in ingredients and mixing them up. With bread, putting flour on your hands is a must, though perhaps she takes the instructions a little too seriously. Needless to say, flour was everywhere at the end of the process.
It's the other little things I remember. We got the mail and critiqued the catalog of kid stuff together. Emma ate a popsicle on the patio in the sun. She showed off her climbing skills at the park while Sam played soccer.
It's all good.
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Emma's been a little sick over the last two d...
March 20, 2007 by Adam in Emma
Emma's been a little sick over the last two days, though it's just a little cold. She called me up at work and explained how she might have a virus in her stomach. It's funny how she combines science and drama. Where could she have possibly got that from?
Last night Jamie was looking a little tired from watching Emma all day. I whisked my daughter away where we proceeded to do all manner of silly things. First it was tattoos on the arms (using washable pens), and later I painted her nails with sparkly and purple nail polish. I'm not sure what sort of profession I'm training her for, but Emma had a lot of fun.
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Well, the Potty Saga isn't quite over
March 19, 2007 by Adam in Emma
Well, the Potty Saga isn't quite over. We've had a few setbacks over the last few weeks, but during the day time, all is well.
In other areas, she's been growing like a weed and getting increasingly sophisticated. Last night and dinner, she was being stubborn in French. She wanted "du pain" (some bread) and we kept telling her to eat her apple sauce first ("maintenant le pomme"). It was pretty funny and Sam looked at us all a bit odd.
Emma and I made scones yesterday. She's often my baking helper, having been my assistant for the last few loaves of wheat bread I've made. It's fun listening to her explain how we need to knead the dough and let the yeast make bubbles.
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Emma's Potty Saga is finally coming to a close
February 22, 2007 by Adam in Emma
Emma's Potty Saga is finally coming to a close. After seven straight days of dry diapers at night, she switched to underwear all night long. The heavens parted and a host of angels flew down to join hands and do a potty dance around her.
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Emma has another funny potty story
February 20, 2007 by Adam in Emma
 Emma has another funny potty story. She was watching a movie and decided she had to go to the bathroom. Since she didn't know how to pause the show, she did the next best thing and hauled her little potty in front of the television. Fortunately I intervened in time.
Emma's friend Dharam Dev and her mom came over for a play date yesterday. This was her friend from school, though they recently moved to Portland. Emma doesn't really seem to have a best friend at this point (other than maybe Sam), which I suppose is pretty normal for a three year-old. She also seems to be a social butterfly, chatting with anyone who will talk to her.
Last night we had fun watching old movies of the kids. Sam was especially mesmerized at how cute Emma was. His first question was "When can we have a play date with Winnie?" Winnie is the only baby we know these days, and Jamie said she'd ask Angie if they could come over.
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Emma keeps hitting milestones
February 15, 2007 by Adam in Emma
Emma keeps hitting milestones. She moved her little potty into the closet as she now uses only big potties. I think it got brought back out to be used as a stool, as reaching the faucet is still a little tricky for her. Not for long, though, as she's growing like a weed.
Jamie threw out the last bag in the diaper pail, which was beginning to mutate and become sentient. It makes a great garbage can and has worked its way into the kitchen.
Still, Emma continues to find her way into our bed most nights. Last night I was woken by her not-so girlish snore, finding Jamie had taken refuge on the couch.
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Last night Jamie pulled me away and indicated...
February 07, 2007 by Adam in Emma
 Last night Jamie pulled me away and indicated I should quietly look in the bathroom.
There, in the darkness, was Emma sitting on the potty, her face glowing with the light from her Nintendo DS. She was playing Cooking Mamma and decided to test the portability of her new gaming system.
It was incredibly cute.
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Seemingly in the last week, Emma has become p...
February 05, 2007 by Adam in Emma
Seemingly in the last week, Emma has become potty-trained. She's quite proud of being able to wear underpants exclusively and go to the potty all by herself. She's also dressing herself and much easier to manage in many respects. I'm hopeful my days of changing dirty diapers are finally behind me.
Poor Emma does have some issues with growing pains. Last night she was groaning, complaining of her legs hurting. She climbed into bed and I massaged her legs until the Tylenol kicked in. I remember going through the same thing when I was a kid, and I'm trying to teach her how to stretch out her muscles as best she can. That's what helped me, finally. Warm baths only worked as long as I was in it, and I'm not too keen on giving her endless painkillers.
As usual, she's doing great at her French school. She's always singing little French songs around the house. Occasionally she'll say a phrase or two to us. So far I've been able to understand her mostly, though I bet she'll be vastly more fluent than I if she keeps in her French immersion school.
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Emma had her first ballet class today
January 28, 2007 by Adam in Emma
 Emma had her first ballet class today. I took Sam along, who seemed mesmerized by a dozen pink-leotarded little girls. Emma had a great time and would periodically dance over to me and give me a kiss. It was over pretty quickly, but she had a great time. I took lots of pictures and made a little movie about it.
Afterwards we all went to the swimming pool, where Emma seemed to have a better time playing with all the other parents except me.
Emma's been doing pretty well lately. Her French is improving and she's often saying "Merci" or counting to herself. This Fall she's going to be signed up full time to school, going about the same amount of time at school as Sam. Jamie's trying not to make a big deal out of it, but I think all that extra free time is going to make a big difference for her.
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Emma has a cold and she sounds incredibly gro...
January 22, 2007 by Adam in Emma
Emma has a cold and she sounds incredibly grown up. I had her do a recording session for my personal amusement.
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I asked Emma if she wanted a bednight kiss to...
January 18, 2007 by Adam in Emma
I asked Emma if she wanted a bednight kiss tonight. She gave me an impish smile and said, "I want a bednight kick." I sighed and dutifully poked her with my toes a couple times.
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Emma got a little kitchen set for Christmas t...
January 02, 2007 by Adam in Emma
Emma got a little kitchen set for Christmas that she really likes. Last night, I was busy making dinner for everyone and she really wanted to help. Soon enough, I had given her some mushrooms and baked tofu to chop up on her little cutting board with her plastic chopper. When dinner came, she was quite happy to much on the tiny tofu squares she'd made.
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Older Posts
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City of Emma
Emma's Stats
82 lbs
clothing: 10-12
Shoes: 8
Emma's Birth Announcement
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