-Emma has had leaps and bounds of progress in the verbal department!! She pretty much started to communicate everything she wants using words more or less overnight. She now says: off, pool, Lilly, Gideon, duck, hello, here, oh my (my newest favorite), glasses, outside, hand, walk, Poipu (sort of), bus, elevator, Cheerio (churr-o), Emma Boo (Ah-boo), trash, brush, teacup (thanks Disneyland!), bite, eat, nose, eye, Daddy (as opposed to Da-Da), Scott, John, Tash, Lani, down, wash, light, plane, potty, Piggy, I love you (which comes out as "I Emma You"), stroller, all done, red light, yes, banana, apple, Oliver, please, sorry, no (but usually no no no no no no NO!)
-She's totally and utterly obsessed with shoes (warn her future husband - this girl has a major fetish!!) and necklaces and is constantly "trying things on" (her sister's underwear, swim diapers, whatever she can find).
-She is terrified of dogs (responds with high-pitched screaming and running to me when one approaches) and also the garbage truck and revving motorcycles. She literally trembles in fear. -She's a water baby (in the pool at least - she's not a huge fan of the ocean waves!) She is mostly fearless and her favorite activity is "jumping" (or stepping) off the side to us: -Emma has started "baby talking" when playing with dolls or stuffed animals or when "reading" a book to herself. -She is super affectionate - often comes up unsolicited to give us snuggles and kisses (which she does in French fashion: always on both cheeks!)
-She rarely naps for longer that 30 minutes a day.
-She LOVES my phone (anything electronic really) and immediately holds it up and says "Cheese!" whenever she can get her hands on it (see cheese face below):
-Emma has a strange obsession with running her hand along the outside of parked cars as we pass (and sometimes attempting to open their doors). If you see her and her palms are black, you now know why. -She's discovering new tactics when she doesn't get her way: high-pitched screaming, hitting and throwing herself on the floor in a fit of tears. Time outs have become a new routine in her day.
-She can at times be ridiculously easy-going (like sitting happily next to be in her lounge chair at the pool for 30 minutes+ while I read) but also showing more of her wild and crazy side. She is strong-willed and is turning into a bit of a runner (God help when when baby #3 arrives!!!!!)
-She discovered her sweet tooth...there's no going back!!!
-As challenging as she can be at times, I want to bottle up this age and save it forever. She is ridiculously cute and her personality remains a complete mystery. I just adore my gone-curly, crazy-haired brunette!
-had an incredible time on our vacation (more on that later was Disneyland was definitely the highlight for her!)
-likes to abbreviate words such as “unders” for underwear and “zips” for zipper
-went to swim lessons for the first time! She had a total blast and at the end of every day always identified them as the best part of her day. She was quite hesitant to get her eyes wet at the beginning but finally began sticking her face in the water by the end. But she always left the pool with the top of her head dry (didn’t quite master the full bob…) On our vacation, she bravened up and was doing bobs like crazy and jumping into the pool with no fear!
-has been challenging us a bit in the obedience department. She has discovered a special enjoyment in telling us what to do…
-loves to be a helper and wants to go with me wherever I go (she sobs when I leave on an errand without her) and do whatever I do. She also really likes to tag along with her grandpas while they do their work (like make ice cream!)
-can’t stand wearing bottoms and would spend all day running around in a t-shirt and “unders” if allowed
-doesn’t have much of a personal bubble. She loves to play with others and especially likes it when she can organize how they play.
-has a very caring heart. When we have guests that are packing up to go, she always wants to send them off with a snack (usually chocolate chips) or a drink and tells me she is “being kind.” I love this!
-is absolutely obsessed with my new phone. I will only share a few but my phone is literally jammed full with silly self-portraits such as these:
We given way to many of our weekends to school and work and so we made up for it graduation weekend with one long, never-ending party. Uncle Scott and his girlfriend Kristin were able to fly up for the occasion so the Croziers treated us all to a Saturday morning Argosy Locks Cruise. We started out downtown on the piers where we first spent a few minutes exploring various photo ops.
Emma was NOT a fan of the elk but Isla thought it was pretty cool.
The brothers and Kristin!
Baby sunscreen fight - sadly, the sunscreen was hardly necessarily as Seattle weather was in its truest form.
Uncle John and the Canonator (along with the famous Sleepless in Seattle houseboat). The tour began first with a bus ride to Lake Union where we boarded our crafts and took off toward Fremont and the Canal.
Emma-Nems
I love this picture of Graham so much. The colors, the smirk. There are at least a thousand stories behind that face.
Isla and her snacks, waiting to go through the Locks.
After our "Three Hour Tour," we met back up at the senior Crozier residence for some Paseo sandwiches and naps for the kidlets. Graham and I BOTH received generous grad gifts from his parents - iPhones!!! Hallelujah and welcome aboard the smartphone bandwagon to us - we are slowly becoming Smart People.
Uncle Scott!! It was so good to see him for the weekend.
Three generations of Crozier boys
Canon was pretty enthralled by Grandpa and Grandma's new kids lawn chair!
That evening, Graham and I left the kids with their grandparents and went out to Rione XIII with the Welchs for a pre-Sounders game dinner. Like I said, we know how to cram it all in!!
Oh my word I'd forgotten how much I love listening to this man sing!!! And what could possibly be sexier than belting worship music in a cap and gown? Not much is what I say!
On Friday night of grad weekend, Graham participated in the School of Health Science's Masters Hooding Ceremony. It was a short little ceremony put on only for those receiving masters in the field of nursing. Graham volunteered to lead the audience in singing Come Thou Fount and I'm pretty sure he floored both his professors and his classmates who learned for the first time that he is both artsy AND sciencey. Apparently many of them had no clue that he'd been working full time and growing a family through this whole process either, not to mention he is also madly skilled on the keys. (I might just have overheard someone at the reception that followed say - and I quote - "one of the two dudes who graduated can sing and play the piano too!")
The hooding ceremony itself was nice and ceremonious. Graham jumped up and got all the graduates to give a standing ovation when one of the professors mentioned that none of the graduates would be here without the support of their friends and family. I might have teared up. Just a little. And then I was close to bursting with pride as that hood was put over his head. This guy is incredible!
The graduates were all given a sprig of ivy and an apricot-colored rose (which Graham promptly gifted to me). Both sets of our parents were in attendance at the ceremony which meant a lot.
Introducing the 2013 nurse practitioner graduates! Graham was the only male with this particular focus-story of his life!!! :)
SPU has a neat tradition of kicking off graduation weekend with a special ceremony called Ivy Cutting. Isla was really confused why Daddy was already dressed up for graduation because there were still 2 links on her graduation countdown chain. :) All those who were receiving their Master's got to process in to the ceremony with the faculty. I think I nearly burst with pride watching Graham in his cap, gown and hood.
The onlookers: Isla singing "Great is Thy Faithfulness" and Emma, a bit under the weather, monopolizing on some snuggles.
Our attempt at a family picture (how will we ever get FIVE people to all look at the camera AND smile??!)
Sometimes it's better just to crop out the kids...
