Update of bike tricks, fashion, and rock puking...

My posts lately have been all about Mandy, so here is an Emma update with a Mandy update at the end.

Emma continues to amaze and baffle me with her fashion creations. I am able to manipulate her somewhat if she is wearing something completely inappropriate, but for the most part, it is all Emma. Like it has been since the day she was born.

We received a large sack of clothes from a friend with an older daughter and Emma really loves the new stuff. She doesn't care that they are not new from the store. I put the bag in the back near Emma on the way home from MOPS last week and I could hear Emma discover it because she was overcome with glee, saying, "Oh, I just love it!" "OOh, so cute!" The yellow outfit above is one of her new favorites and she calls it her dancing shorts.

She still rides her bike everywhere and makes the 2 mile trip to the park and back easily now. She is prone to frequent stops for anything and everything. If she spots a pop can in the ditch, she is off her bike in an instant. If she see blackberries, she skids to a halt and runs to pick some. She also stops for wheat, to hold in her mouth while biking. The other day she just stopped her bike, got off, tipped it over and said, "Ah, the bike is tired. It needs a rest."  I am not sure what kind of workout I am getting when we stop for a break every 100 yards, but we manage to have a good time.

She is silly and doing tricks all the time. She is a fun girl to be around.

Now, on to Mandy and her curious ailments.

I've blogged before about her love for eating dirt. She eats a lot of things that most would deem nasty. My opinion thus far has been that she couldn't possibly eat enough organic material to hurt her. On Saturday, she tested my theory when she ate rocks in the morning and then puked them up while being watched at Kelly's in the afternoon. She apparently had quite the belly ache from the pebbles and threw-up on Kelly's bed while she was trying to sooth Mandy to sleep. Poor Kelly, to not only be vomited on, but to then find rocks in the puke! She is a good aunt and sister-in-law and I hope she watches my children again someday.... when they are 15 and 12. ... And not eating rocks.

So, besides rock eating, Mandy is generally grumpy these days, but I think I have determined the cause. Teeth. I can now see a swollen bottom gum and she constantly has her hand in her mouth. She is cranky and sleepy and waking up at night frequently to wail and carry on. It is not a fun time had by all, but this too shall pass.

PS No more rocks have evidenced themselves either out the top or the bottom.

I took Mandy's height and weight on her birthday. She is 29 inches tall and 19.9 pounds. That is the 75th percentile in height and 25th percentile in weight. She's really thinned out in the last few weeks and stands tall, although not walking. Her first steps were 3 weeks ago, but she doesn't take more than two steps before reverting to her fast crawl. She is more toddler and less baby every day. It is pleasing to see her grow and change, yet I love her sweet babyness so much.

She is also very verbals these days. Here is a list of words she can say:

Dad

Mom

More

All done

Wastha? (what's that?)

This (while pointing)

Em (Emma)

Ccc (Kitty)

Ddd (Dog)

Animal sounds for:

cat (low scream, very strange, but it is her sound for a meow)

cow (prefect mooo)

bird (a high chi, chi sound)