Emmalyn kicks her binky habit

Since Emmalyn has turned two, Peter and I decided it was time to get her off the binky.  I was tempted to keep pushing it off but Peter stayed strong.  She mainly only has it for nap/bedtime.  Our game plan was to have her give her binkies to one of the babies in the neighborhood since she is a "big girl" now and doesn't need a binky.

Emmalyn was really upset when I took the binkies that were at Brittany's house and put them in a bag.  She cried.  :(  It was sad but I wanted to make sure she saw exactly what I was doing so that she could understand that they weren't going to be there anymore.  Then at our house we got the binkies there and put all of them in a cue little bag.  She grabbed one and didn't want to take it out of her mouth but eventually did.

She walked around holding the bag and refusing to put that one her mouth in there.  I had been prepping her for this and talking about what we were going to do and she wasn't happy about it.

Emmalyn held the bag as we walked to one of our neighbor's houses.  She then held the bag and handed it to the baby.  Emmalyn watched as baby Grayson's mom opened the bag and gave one of them to him.  He held them and stuck them in his mouth while she watched and then gave me a hug.  She was okay.

That night when she laid down, it hit her and she kept saying "please" and begging for her binky.  It was so sad as she say there with her hand on her cheek just saying "please".  I walked out and she called after me.  I thought she was okay but then for like 20 minutes she kept calling out "Momma" but not really crying.  I eventually went in and comforted and left and she was OK.  It killed me to see her so sad even though we've been talking about this for a week.

The next day it was rough with Brittany during nap time.  Britt said she cried for 40 minutes.

The second night there were more "please"s and she called for me for 10 minutes then I went in and told her to go to bed and nothing else. 

The third night still more "please"s and she called for me for 15 minutes before she was quiet.

On night four she still asked for them and said "please" and then called for me and sort of cried for awhile before I went in and told to go to bed.

Those were the worst nights.  After that she didn't totally forget but her pleas were not as intense.

A normal spring week with a couple regular checkups

It was time for Emmalyn's 2 year checkup!  I always look forward to seeing how the kids are growing at each checkup.

There's this little off-the-beaten-path road close to her Dr's.  I love how the trees arch over the road and create this beautiful path to drive down.  I think it's my favorite street in Dallas.  I sure hope that all the development in the area doesn't eventually lead to a need to disrupt this little gem.

Emmalyn was so excited to see the doctor and have him check her eyes. (Not sure why her eyes were such a big deal...maybe because Maxwell has had his eyes checked?)

video - Emmalyn talking about how she is ready for her checkup

Waiting for the doctor

Smiles

Cheese

The results of her 2 year old questionnaire:

She cried when she got her shot.  She knew it was coming once the girl walked in with the tray.  She hugged me and said she was scared.  She didn't cry until she got the shot though and then recovered within 20 seconds.  So it wasn't as bad as I figured it would be.

She wanted both a sticker and a sucker but they had done a fluoride treatment on her so she couldn't eat or drink for 20.  I didn't want to tempt/torture her by letting her get a sucker.  (I've never heard of a dental procedure being done at a pediatrician but since we haven't been to the dentist yet, I went with it.)

Checking out her bandaid

Emmalyn's 2 year stats!

Weight: 24 lbs, 40th percentile

Height: 32.8 inches, 17th percentile

 (a great jump from 8th on her last visit!)

Head: 18.5 cm, 44th percentile

silly girl wearing her hat in the car

It's nice enough that Maxwell went and "swam" in the neighbors hot tub while I entertained Emmalyn

They spoil the kids...cupcakes in the hot tub!

Maxwell and I had our bi-annual visit to the dentist.  He did a great job!

trying out "mr slurpee"

Sitting pretty comfy

Again, so laid back!

At this point he was a little nervous.  He didn't like doing Mr. Slurpee in his mouth.  It was a great visit though and he's an awesome patient!

"Sitting" fully clothed on the potty... whatever it takes to get her excited about it? right?

She's so demanding!  Emmalyn knows the difference between "fast and "slow" and asks for both, for example when she's brushing her teeth, she will dictate how quickly we can brush.  Or, when we are doing a lap bounce at Kindermusik she will ask her teacher to go faster and then slower. 

Sweet girl is ready for bed with her puppy and turtle snuggled by her head, 2 blankets laid out on top of her, and her hand tucked into her pajamas.

cousin picnic on the trampoline

I was having a rough day so my friend at work, Josh, brought some fresh blackberries and canned whipped cream he grabbed from the cafe to our meeting.  It was a nice surprise.

I got this super cute dress and overcoat for Easter for Emmalyn this year but because it was freezing in Seattle, she didn't end up wearing it.  

Grumpy face

Happy face

Maxwell came with me to Emmalyn's kindermusik class.  I let him hang out in the hallway and play his ipad.  He was super well behaved (and I kept checking on him every couple minutes).

Love this swimsuit, that curly hair and those chubby cheeks!

Maxwell playing war with his dad

crazy post-nap hair...

...and rosy cheeks

She wanted to take her scooter to the park but got overridden by Momma because I knew she wouldn't be able to ride it that far.

Instead we took the trike I can push.

Trying out the big girl swing

Emmalyn's 2 Year Old Birthday Party

We threw a fun little birthday party for Emmalyn's second birthday.

Tida and Jason came over the night before and we enjoyed spending time with them!

Tida made Emmalyn's birthday cake and had a few finishing touches to put on the cake.  It was fun to see her work her magic.  I am so lucky to have such a talented friend who shares her talents with us!

Tida and I went shopping, to dinner, and then got a reflexology massage.  We tried a new place that had a private room just for the two of us.  Our "couples" massage was great.  :)  (and romantic - hah!)

These kids love Tida and Jason!

Maxwell helped me get Emmalyn's presents ready

The gorgeous cake - our theme for the party was ladybugs

side view

All set up and ready to go!

The spread... complete with fruit and veggie trays, snack cups, and buffalo chicken dip/chips

Emmalyn's party dress (goes perfect with the theme, right?!)

I could not love this dress more - - I'm sort of obsessed with it

Sweet face

She is just so cute and fun to be around

Emmalyn with one of her friends, Michael

Happy birthday! Britt's family, Sadie/Andrea, Michael/Jessica, my friend Katherine, and our next door neighbors all came to celebrate.  It wasn't a huge party but still felt like a full house.

Emmalyn LOVED having everyone sing Happy Birthday to her.

She got one candle blown out!

She tried and tried on the second one but ended up needing help.

We basically did food and cake with party favors.  No games or other things this time.

Emmalyn had a lot of presents and was all about opening them this year!

She was so excited about her new shoes that she stopped everything and wanted to put them on.

Maxwell picked out a frozen themed bowling set for his sister

Emmalyn LOVED the dress up stuff she got - glasses, shoes, jewelry... she's all about the accessories

Happy birthday to our sweet and spunky girl!!