Second's Best

I fear I neglect Emmet in this space. He's not talking, much, so it's hard to relate tales of his antics compared to go-go mouth Silas. And being a second born myself, I try to be a little extra sensitive and make sure to take pictures and record milestones for Emmet as I did for Silas. But I'll admit, I'm not doing a very good job of it. But here's a few stories just about Emmet.

• He went through a terrible terrible sleeping phase (in that he didn't sleep) right before and during my parents visit. Of course, 20/20 hindsight, he was on a verge of a developmental breakthrough. His language has really exploded. I think his first words were probably "gud grrl' said to Sophie. Which seems kind of odd to me, because I feel like I'm always saying 'No Sophie! Lie down, Go away, Outside! or Scoot!" So he's picked up only on the positive. That's good at least. Other approximations of words: cookie, milk please, thank you, juice, water, book
  
• The other day at dinner Sophie was sniffing the table and Emmet kept telling her no, no, no, no. Finally I said "Sophie lie down." Which she did, and Emmet says "gud grrl!"
• He's feeding himself with spoon and fork. He insists on having his own dish and utensils. I tried giving him bits of quiche just on the table and he won't touch it. put it on a plate, suddenly it's like everybody else, and it's delicious.
• Similarly, anything Silas feeds him is devoured instantly. Anything Orrin or I offer him is eyed suspiciously, tasted, and possibly spit out. Apparently we are sneaky and not to be trusted. Not so with his much admired big brother. Silas hasn't discovered pawning off items on his plate to his unsuspecting brother.
  
• I know it probably has more to do with hunger and activity level, but Emmet does seem to be a meat and potatoes kid. We had meatloaf, mashed potatoes, and mixed veggies for dinner tonight and Emmet must have eaten an adult sized portion. Same story last week when I made pot roast.
  
• That said, he also enjoyed the shrimp, snow peas, pepper, and quinoa salad the night before. So maybe it's just a growth spurt.
  
• And if you're thinking, "She fed shellfish to a child under two?" Here's my theory on that: Holy crap! Shrimp makes a diaper from hell. Forget allergies, dont' feed shellfish to any child that isn't potty trained.
  
• He loves his Dad. When he hears the back door opening. He drops whatever he is doing and runs/walks/waddles/toddles to Orrin with his arms flung open ready to be scooped up.
• He gives kisses and hugs like crazy. Accompanied by the cutest "mwah!" He also blows kisses and eats pretend food served up by Silas. To be honest, he pretty much mimics everything Silas does, including the "calming" yoga "balloon breath," complete with arm motions and dramatic exhale.
  
• The other day I asked Emmet to take the dog food scoop upstairs as it had made it's way downstairs somehow. I didn't really think he understood me, but about 3 minutes later I found him upstairs by the dog food container happily scooping dog food out into Sophie's waiting jaws.
  
• Finally, the learning tower has proved to be a nice elevated playpen for Emmet for the past 6 month or so. Those days are over. I'll have to get a video of this, but his exit strategy for the learning tower is akin to Indiana Jones. He doesn't turn around and back down out of it like he does when climbing down the stairs or off the bed. He faces forward, hangs onto the bar over his head, and swings himself out and down. I don't really know how he figured out how to do this, but it works for him, so it works for me.