Happy Easter! Christ is Risen!
We can’t believe April has already come and gone! At the beginning of this month we took a trip to Naples, Florida to visit Dt and Opa. It was the perfect getaway before spring. Both girls loved the water and Emma even paddled off the pool steps to Daddy who was waiting a couple of feet away! One grey day while we were playing on the beach in front of Dt and Opa’s, Emma saw a man walking by with a fishing pole and a big white bucket. She walked up to him and asked him what he had in the bucket. He was very nice and took the time to show and explain to Emma that he caught sand fleas for bait. He took a couple out and let them walk on her hand. When I heard sand flea I was thinking little flea. They were huge slimy sea bugs! Emma loved them, however and decided that the next time we go to Florida we too will have to hunt for sand fleas! Dt and Opa were such gracious hosts. We only wish we were able to visit longer.
We had a wonderful Easter in Cleveland with Sittoo and Giddoo and lots of other family and friends. Auntie Roula and Uncle Eddie came from Houston and brought Auntie Roula’s father, Popi William, who was visiting from Lebanon! We enjoyed meeting him. Emma and Popi made a special friendship. Cousin Roula was also visiting the United States for the first time. She is so much fun. It is difficult to live so far away from these wonderful people. We hope you had a terrific visit to the US, Roula, and we look forward to seeing you again!
Well, the girls have been busy this month learning new skills and saying hilarious things. Ruthie is right on the verge of crawling, but has found a quicker way to get around. While she is sitting and wants to move across the room, she pushes up to her hands and feet and swivels her body around and sits down again—a couple of feet closer to her target. She then repeats and repeats until she has swiveled all the way across the room! It is the funniest thing. She has discovered that it is way more fun to feed herself then to be fed, so rather then that boring old mashed up baby food, she prefers the big girl food. She still does not have any teeth yet, so we have to be careful what we give her. Emma has enjoyed teaching Ruthie new things. Ruthie now does the “SO BIG!” with her arms way up above her head. She is also waving. One of the things Ruthie discovered that is a little less attractive is growling! She even growls in church! Hopefully she will find new sounds to replace the growl! Ruthie LOVES ice cream! She begs for it when we are at an ice cream shop. When we give her a little lick of our cones, she really digs in and doesn’t ever seem to get a brain freeze. Now when we go, the ice cream store gives her her own tiny little baby cone with about a mini-portion of vanilla. She annihilates it, including the cone!
Emma is growing more independent every day. She now puts on her own jacket and even zips it up. She likes also to put on her shoes by herself. I think she is soon to begin the “choosing her own outfit” phase of her toddler life. She is in her cabinet every day picking out a different article of clothing to change into.
She has been working on potty training, but I’ll spare you the details. While she is very good, she is still not ready to fully commit! One funny story on this subject is that when she is “going” and one of us approaches her to talk to her she will say, “I’m going potty in my diaper so don’t bother me!” One day I said, “Em, rather then say, don’t bother me, you can say, ‘Excuse me, Mommy, I just need some privacy.’” So, that same evening I walked up to her and she said, “No, don’t bother me, I’m going potty right now!” Then she caught herself and said, “I mean, excuse me, Mom, I just really need some (LONG THINKING PAUSE) energy right now.”
Emma has also realized that when Dad and Mom leave (for an errand or such) that we will come home and that if she goes out with Dt or Uncle Matty or someone else that she will return to us. That is a BIG step for our family. The only thing she requests from you before you leave is a hug and a kiss.
Steve and I gave up Starbucks for Lent so it didn’t help when we would pass one in the car that Emma would say, “Oh look! Starbucks! May I please have a chocolate milk?”
A couple of funny Emma-isms: One day Steve was going to take Emma out on an errand so he started walking around to her side of the van and asked if he could open the door for her. She said, “No thanks, Daddy, it opens by itself.” Steve smiled and walked around to the driver’s side. He then pushed the button on the remote to open Emma’s door to the minivan. When her door opened, Emma looked at her dad, shrugged her shoulder and said, “See, Dad?” He, of course, burst into laughter.
Our little neighbor friend showed me her trick with her magic spoon that makes money fall out of your ears. I didn’t think to make money fall out of my ear when she waved her spoon over it, so she said, “Mrs. Abdalla, sometimes it takes a while for the money to come out, so if money falls out of your ear later today will you call me because it is mine.” I then decided I could try it on Emma. So later that day I waved my hand over Emma’s ear and said, “Wishy wishy woooo,” and pulled a nickel out of her ear. She said, “Wow, Mom! Do that again!” I then repeated the same thing and after I was finished I put the nickel down behind Emma. Emma said, “Now it is my turn.” So she proceeded to wave her hand over my ear and say “Wishy wishy woooo,” and she looked all around her, found the nickel on the floor and put it up to my ear and pulled it out! She wasn’t fooled for a minute!!!
While in the playroom one day, Emma was thinking of a name for her stuffed pony. I said, “How about Joni the pony!” She said, “No, not Joni the pony.” So I pretended to cry and I said, “Not Joni the pony?” She said quickly with her hands out, “Alright. Alright. Settle down, Mom. Ok, it will be Joni the pony, besides, Joni and pony rhyme!” I laughed and we thought of a better name for the pony!
With two kids my hands are often full of laundry, a baby, coffee, etc., so I tend to pick up dropped objects with my toes and don’t think much of it. The other evening Emma dropped her beloved doll Pnine on the floor, effortlessly picked it up with her toes, and placed it in her hand!! Steve and I couldn’t believe it!
Since spring is here so are the bugs! Emma saw a bumblebee in a tree in our back yard and said, “Look, Mom, that bumble bee is copulating.” I said, “WHAT? HE’S WHAT? WHERE DID YOU HEAR THAT?” and she said, “I can’t remember, Mom.” Steve and I finally concluded that she was probably trying to say that the bumblebee was POLLENATING! Steve had talked to her a couple of days before about flowers and bees (not birds and bees!).
Blessings to you all!