Emma!

A couple of weeks ago we put Jake through a trial-by-fire. For some time we've been wondering how Jake would act around children, since we have about 800 nieces and nephews, and we're lucky enough to be friends with the coolest almost-four-year-old ever.

We're happy to report that Jake was a perfect gentleman. Now if he could just behave himself around my BFF Katie. Katie's a small lady, and Jake thinks she's his princess. Seriously. He loves her.

Here is an example of how awesome Jake acted around Emma:

Plus, how cute is this kid? Honestly...

Backlog of Stuff

I keep thinking, "Hey I need to blog about this" about stuff and then I don't. I know it's certainly not breaking anyone's heart and nobody is checking every day to see if I've dropped any more pearls of wisdom on this website. I shall continue nonetheless.

What's been new lately? Still slowing losing my job. I love the lady I'm working for now - she's brilliant and hilarious and I respect the crap out of her, so that's really nice. It's interesting and horribly depressing watching a company go through everything this company has been through. It's also pretty weird to be the person who helps the CEO get ready to leave the company forever. I will remember this time forever - the sad parts and how much I'm learning about how bankruptcies work and how the morale is dipping into the very pits of despair. I try to stay cheerful through it all and make myself as useful as possible.

I'm going to start a blog documenting the progress of the Enbrel (the psoriasis medicine I'm starting this week). It will prove helpful to me in keeping me aware of how the medicine is actually performing, and maybe it will be helpful to other people out there (since there are, after all, 125 million people int he world with psoriasis) who are considering this expensive and kind of risky therapy. I'll provide a link for it here (after it's up) in case you're interested in reading it.

I promised an Emma update a while ago, but wanted to double check that it was OK to post video. Turns out I have carte blanche, so submitted for your enjoyment, here is Emma singing her favorite song from The Little Mermaid:

Hands down, the cutest kid ever. We had a really nice time hanging out with her and her parents - we don't get to see her mamma as often (she works a LOT and just finished college) so it was nice to just have some dinner and watch a movie. We watched Sleeping Beauty, which is probably my favorite pre-Disney Renaissance flick. And, best Disney villian ever. I enjoyed the heck out of it. I also made a kick-ass pork tenderloin. I will post the recipe soon.

Emma Time!

Emma and Jeff came over last night so that Jeff could burn himself a couple CDs from our amazing Yacht Rock collection. By the way, I've been meaning to blog a little about that, because it has taken my husbad and all his friends by storm and now they all quote the videos (click here to view the first one on YouTube) and actually listen to Kenny Loggins and Michael McDonald all day long. Anyway..

Emma was in rare form. She wanted her Daddy to "kickle" her and ran around laughing hysterically when he did. The picture at the very top was snapped when she tumbled onto the floor and Jeff asks her, "Did you get a boo-boo or something?" and she responded, "Or something...kickle me!!!" Here we see her as she appeared right after we told her to hike up her pants (droopy drawers). You can tell she's all, "Is my wardrobe acceptable to you people now? Is it time to get back to the kickling and the playing?"

At one point she sought refuge with D, but she was ready to go kickle Daddy after only a second.

This was all before the concert in the den, wherein Emma sang to us every song she knew (in some cases several times each) Here is the setlist:

Twinkle Twinkle Little Star
Jesus Loves the Little Children
ABC's
Jesus Loves Me
Daddy Loves You (to the tune of Frere Jacques, and honestly a tearjerker every time - Jeff is a softie big time even though he puts up that convincing sardonic exterior)
Itsy Bitsy Spider
Happy Birthday

and then she freestyled with a song of her own composition. It included words from each of the songs listed above, but was sung to the tune of Canon in D. A musical genius, that kid.

Another fun time with the coolest almost-three-year-old kid I know. Another moment of the night? If you think about Michael McDonald and you've ever seen The 40-Year-Old Virgin, the first song that should pop into your mind should be "Yah Mo B There". If it's not, watch The 40-Year-Old Virgin again and pay special attention to every Paul Rudd speech to see if you catch it. Anyway. There is an epsiode of Yacht Rock that makes fun of "Yah Mo B There" wherein they use "Yah Mo" before ordinary statements. "Yah mo OK to drive", etc. Jeff taught Emma, so we got a round of "Yah mo want some juice". Smooth.

More Emma Time

Emma's been back to visit, and I'm happy to report that she just keeps getting smarter and cuter. She got here, looked up at Dwight, and said "Wite, I gotta go crazy!" Apparently her daddy told her that when she got here she could go out in the backyard and go crazy. She took it to heart. She was busy looking at birdies, and talking about birdies. There was an old bird's nest in the yard, and Dwight told her about what it was for.

Emma ran around a lot. She'd start at the deck and run all the way to the fence, and then turn around to look at us, almost like for further "going crazy" instructions or suggestions.

All that talking about nature reminded Dwight of a turtle he saw at work, so he showed Emma the picture he took on his phone.

Emma's a keen listener. Even when she'd rather be hunting lightning bugs.
Dwight and Jeff got some exercise. I'm happy to tell you that Emma's arms are still in their sockets, and the giggles abounded during this segment of the evening.

Then it was creative time. This was pretty funny. Jeff said, "Emma can you draw a one?" Emma did. Then Jeff said, "Can you draw a two?" So she made two tick marks. Dwight jumped to her defense. "That's a Roman numeral two! Good job!" So Jeff tries again. "Emma, can you draw a three?" Emma utters a cherry, "Yep!" and proceeds to scribble furiously. A long, straight line. Now, keep in mind that this child is almost three. She knows her ABC's, she can count to very high numbers. She knows lots of stuff. In fact, she is the brightest almost-three-year-old that I've ever met. That's saying something, since I used to work with kids her age professionally. So I'm not making fun of her. Just to clarify.

Plus, that's a heck of a good sun...

The goodbye ritual was as cute as ever. After a chorus of "see ya", "toodleoo" and "see ya later alligators", Emma put her little hand to her head and said "Peace Out". Jeff told us later that she was sitting in her car seat on the ride home and she kept saying "Daddy, I gotta peace out...I gotta peace out." Cuteness.
Next blog up: more movie reviews and an earwig update (that's not about earwigs)

Another Sunday With Emma

Jeff, Emma, and Jason came to visit for a little while tonight. Two Sundays in a row with Emma Dear, who is the coolest kid on the planet.

Laugh riots of conversations took place, but it's hard to remember them. Emma's at the age where she comes up with her own things to say, but will parrot you as well. One of Jason's favorite stories about her is from New Year's Eve, where he was left alone with her for just a minute. Here is a rundown of the conversation:

Emma: I'm thirsty

Jason: Um....(looks around) Do you want some juice or something?

Emma: Juice!

Jason: (thinks to self--I'm a grown-ass man. The kid wants some juice? I can get her some juice) OK! Let's go get some juice!

Emma: Juice!

Jason and Emma walk to the fridge. Jason opens the door. He looks around. The only juice he sees is a big bottle of V8. He looks at Emma.

Jason: Is this the juice?

Emma: Is this the juice?

Jason: (to self - Oh Shit)

Emma: Daddy!

Jason: Aha! I know where your Daddy is!

Emma and Jason walking together: Daddy! Daaaaaddddyyyy!

So tonight was all about us trying to get Emma to say stuff like "Peace Out" and "Adios" (which she does readily and with enthusiasm) and getting her to "dap", which is where you make a fist and punch fists like you're "bros". She's adept at that. Also, she was in a big time mood to climb all over her Daddy.

And fix his hair

We all bought tickets to the gun show, and Emma showed off her new ink:

Then she hopped around, sang us several songs, and generally brightened the house, the street, the town with the sheer brilliance of her existence.

I hate to think how poetic I'll wax once I have my own kids...

Emma

Our dear friends Jeff and Emma came for a visit, and we had a little photo shoot:

Emma likes to play an extreme version of peek-a-boo:

She also models haute couture, from time to time:

She likes to dress like a mini-hobo too:

She is a total supermodel:

I hope that when Dwight and I make babies they are as cool and cute. This kid sets the bar pretty high.