Genius Child

This stage of "babyhood" is so fun for us to watch! It seems that at least once everyday Emma will do something completely new and fascinating to us and we'll look at each other and say, "Genius!" It seems like it anyway. Now that she's mastered most of the physical elements of development - all the way to walking anyway - she's now working hard on developing her language and social skills. I know it's been a long time since I've updated so I thought I'd write down some of Emma's amazing feats before they become the norm instead of the new.

Language:

Spoken words - Mama, Daddy, Jack (her own version), Peekaboo (her own version), no, yes, hi, bye bye, puppy, Ow, Wowowow, and she loves jabber talking all the time, too.

Animal sounds she can make on command - Puppy, Kitty, Monkey, Lion, Snake (working on this one)

New commands she can follow - "Go put your clothes away in the laundry basket" (in the other room even!), "Don't touch your hair" (after I put something in it), "Clean up!", "Don't touch, it's HOT!" (referring to the oven but so cute because then she starts blowing on it like I blow on her hot food), "Go find your (insert anything from paci to stuffed monkey to socks)"

Favorite actions - Shaking her head up and down in the "yes" manner. SO CUTE! She does this all day long, mostly when we look at her face to face and tell her something, but sometimes she even dances by shaking her head like this! She also enjoys dancing in general, too. She also loves pointing when you are holding her so you'll take her somewhere. Or, she'll point out animals (usually dogs) when she hears them bark. She barks back, too. When I'm holding her and patting her back, she sometimes starts patting mine back! And she loves mimicking our actions... everything from tickling to hiding her eyes for peekaboo to eating with a spoon or brushing her teeth.

New social skills - Holding hands and walking with a friend her age. Hugs for friends her age. Running around and getting very hyper with other kids. Waving at strangers as we walk by in the stroller. Wanting to be held all the time by anyone she is familiar with. (still doesn't like being passed to strangers)

Fun new activities - Having the freedom to wander around at the park. Going down the slide (with help). And don't even get me started on all the new foods she's been enjoying since turning 1. In addition to allowing some sugar in her diet and chocolate, apparently she ate a WHOLE burger at McDonald's the other day when she was with the Romsas! Don't worry, she doesn't eat like that all the time. But it just goes to show that this girl LOVES to eat just about anything we set before her. Not picky at all. (and she has the teeth to handle all of it - all 16 so far!) At least she loves veggies, too, like her Mama. :)

Cute story - The other day my phone went off in the other room with a text. She noticed it, went and got the phone and brought it to me and put it in my hand!

Ok, that's all the new things I can think of for the moment. I'm sure there's more but that's ok. Below is a picture of our "genius child" on Easter. We didn't have the opportunity to get any really good pictures. But just had to show this gorgeous dress that her Grandma sent. We had professional pictures taken in it awhile back too, so a better picture will be forthcoming as soon as we get those back.

Oh, and I'll leave you with two of the most common things people comment about Emma when they see her. Just thought you'd think this was interesting.

#1 - "She is SO expressive!"

#2 - "Is that... what color is that?" "Is her hair RED?!?" "I believe there's a little red in her hair." "Has her hair always been that color?" "That is such a unique hair color!" (Don't worry, it's not your normal red/orange color... just brown with red highlights. And yes, it's always been that color.)

All.The.Time.