Monday, October 21, 2013

Happy Birthday Emily!


Today was Emily's special day, she has been waiting for this since we celebrated Arvesito's birthday back in August. She had a wonderful day and loved it when people sang happy birthday to her. 

We brought a pink Care Bear cake (a request that hasn't change since early August) and cupcakes for school and we got to hang out with her at school for a bit as we all sang happy birthday and ate cake. She got super shy when they were all singing to her, you could tell she was so excited.

Milestones and Stuff
  • She can communicate fluently in English. Rarely does she have any tantrums 
  • Her Spanish is getting stronger. She understands everything but doesn't know how to say it all. Having my parents around this summer made a big difference. I cannot wait to take her to the DR and immerse her into the language and culture
  • No more diapers! She was potty trained a little after turning 2 and at about 2.5 she started to wake up from naps and in the middle of the night to go potty. She's had very few accidents since.
  • No more bobo (pacifier)! Emily fell off the couch in July and almost lost a tooth. This was the encouragement we needed to get rid of it. She was very sad for about a week and stopped talking about it after a month or so. Her teeth were starting to get pushed forward and after these few months you can barely tell she had a bobo. 
  • Emily is the most amazing sister we could ever hoped for. She is patient, loving, caring, and of course a bit protective of her things. Whenever Arvesito is crying she runs to get his blanket (ra-ra as he calls it) to calm him down. She is happy to give him all her food but even shares her candy with him. Loves to feed him herself and take care of him. Rarely fights back when he hits her, yes, he is a hitter and a bitter. Yikes!
  • We still have to feed her if we want her to eat unless it is pizza or ice cream. She eats those herself without having to ask her a million times to eat
  • She runs, every where she runs, and she's really fast. Loves to be chased around and play "catch me if you can" especially when it is time for bath
  • Emily loves the pool and is very comfortable in her vest going every where. She is started to feel comfortable jumping in and putting her face under water
  • She is definitely in the "I want to do it" stage and is getting better at doing a lot of things 
  • Can dress herself for the most part. Especially for bedtime and can do it on her own most of the time  
  • Loves doing puzzles, she can do up to 24 pieces with very little help
  • Loves reading stories at night and have started "reading" to us a few of her favorites. One of our favorites is Funny Things are Everywhere by Dr. Seus. I can't believe she can tell us almost the whole book!
  • Letters. She knows the whole alphabet and at least one word that start with every letter. When you ask her for a letter she says "a for apple". She has started learning how to spell and is still working on the sounds of the letter as she forgets them sometimes
  • Finally friendly Emily has come out. Emily has changed so much since getting to Malaysia. She used to be pretty cranky, especially with strangers and is finally working her way out of it. She is welcoming of visitors and even thought it takes a bit to warm up some times, she often doesn't want them to leave
  • She knows what she wants and how she wants it. She is a very determined and stubborn little girl. I wonder where she gets that from...
  • Loves music and likes quite a broad selection. When she gets addicted to a song she asks to hear it ALL the time. Her latest song was Royals by Lorde. She's also liking Katy Perry - Roar, Paramode - Still into you, All my exs live in Texas, Boots and a few others.

Things that will never change: Emily is still crazy about her Daddy and so is he. She definitely knows his weak points and how to use them to her advantage. Mami has been able to gain some solid ground but she will always be a Daddy's girl.

We are completely in love with our little girl and wish her many more years of happiness next to us.