Happy Birthday- 28 Months Izabel and 6 Months Emily

(Izabel Grace and Emily Rose)

This post should have been days ago but I've just recently had the girls photos taken and time to sit and write. For lack of preparation (and time) I am, for the first and last time, combining Izabel and Emily's monthly birthday letter. *Sorry girls, but you I am sure you will understand.

So let's begin with the youngest, Princess Emily. Dearest Emmy, this last month you have grown beyond your days and you wow your Daddy and I daily. Your personality has begun to develop itself, making you so happy and excited. You smile at any face smiling at you and you shriek with joy. You have yet to meet a stranger you didn't like.

Along with a happy face, you have become more determined at so many things. You cry at the drop of a hat and produce tears in a matter of nanoseconds if you are not being tended to accordingly. It's so funny to see you scream with disappointment and then a moment (literally) later you are smiling and cooing as if nothing happened. I never wonder far from you so your "almost fake" outbursts do not last long. You are also more adamant about playing and wanting things out of your reach. You pick up, play and eat pretty much anything visable to your heavenly blue eyes. You play well though and now that you are getting around, it's even better.

Getting around is your goal right now. You have been trying so very hard to crawl for the last two weeks. You can get up on all fours and sway, but the actual moving forward has you stumped. Yo are almost there though and I can't wait for the day when you can come to me from across the room with a smile on your face! Just because you are not crawling yet, doesn't mean you aren't cruising the house. You roll and scoot wherever you please. You are happy to play on the floor with your toys and do so for a good length of time if need be. You are also dancing these days, which is fabulous. Music to your ears puts a sway in you. A giant smile appears on your face and then you stuff your little fingers in your mouth and rock back and forth.

Eating was our major goal this last month. For someone who fought so hard in the beginging, you have gotten so.much.better! You still cringe at everything except the Rice Cereal and Prunes, but you eat whatever I offer up and sometimes I can get you to eat 5-6 tablespoons. Yeah! You love Apple Wheels and Rice Num Nums. Things are looking up for you and therapy doesn't look like it will be necessary.

Emmy, you are still sleeping well with a few exceptions here and there. You do well in your crib and have even liked playing in it as well. You like to be in your room with Izabel as she is your bright and shining star. She is everything to you and no one ever mistakes the smile you have just for your Izzy.

You are growing beautifully and you are more adorable than I ever imagined. Your chubby little cheeks are great for kisses and your legs are great for tickling. Your Daddy and I love you very much and look forward to a roaming baby girl in the coming weeks!

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Dearest Miss Izabel, the timing couldn't have been more perfect for me to write a letter to you. These past weeks have been tougher than most but there have been lots of great moments as well. Trying as you may be at times, you are still one bright Princess.

You sing All.The.Time! You can sing all kinds of songs and have recently began singing with the the radio or your favorite YouTube videos. Currently, you are obessessed with Numa Numa. This song isn't even in English and you request it by name! You watch the video at least once a day and you love to dance to it. It's such a catchy song and I find myself singing right along with you. You are such a musical child and I know that your future will hold many options for your love of music.

As for trying times, you have developed a few habits that we were quick to resolve. Nothing too severe, but enough so that it brought days of tears for you and headaches for me. You have developed a slight need for things on YOUR command and you demand them instantly. You have very little patience sometimes and that makes for a long day. You are getting better and your Daddy and I do hope that it's just a phase and that you will quickly (and quietly) move on to another .

Izzy, you have been a superstar at eating your meals for a couple of weeks now. You still won't eat everything on your plate or even TRY everything on your plate but you have made great progress. You have recently suggested favorite items and request them above anything else. For example, you love bread and butter or toast. You eat this at every meal, regardless of the main course. You have also developed a liking for pickles, macaroni salad, and black olives. It's not the best of things, but I am happy to see you eat anything besides chocolate, which you also request everyday. Among the changes in your eating habits has been a change in drinking habits. I am not sure if it's the heat or what but you go through lots of lots of fluids throughout your waking hours. This past week you've developed a love for Orange Juice. I thought this was great. Something other than milk and juice! Now as a personal reminder to yourself, I never give you full strength juices. Even when you were teeny tiny you always had your juices diluted by at least half with water. So when you decided OJ was your new found drink we continued to dilute it with almost 3/4 of water. It didn't matter, you were in love! Needless to say after two days of more OJ than milk, you developed a very acidic pee that caused a little redness. We backed off for a few days and things are great again. We just have to watch your intake of OJ.

You are a outdoorsy little girl. Since the summer days have arrived we spend them outside playing in the yard, digging in the sandbox or swimming in the pool. You have been practicing your tricycle and pushing your peddle cars around. You would spend all day outside if we let you. It's great to see the energy you have outside. You run and play and scream and jump! Your love for the outdoors has brought on a slight fear of bugs, but mostly Ants. We've been teaching you that they are better than most but you have taken to squishing them with your shoes. I try to not encourage you but sometimes I understand just how creepy bugs can be.

You are sleeping so much better than I can ever remember, although you still move from your bed to the couch at some point late in the night. You go down fairly easily within 15 minutes of bedtime. The only new thing you have requested lately is a leg rub. You started having some leg cramps after your cast was removed and now every night you request that Daddy or I rub your legs until you fall asleep. It's sweet but I do hope it's from habit and that you are not still having leg cramps. We've added Tums to your daily intake of vitamins in hopes of reducing them. You (and your sister) both sleep from about 930pm to 830am. It's wonderful! Your naps on the other hand have gotten drastically shorter. You went from a three hour nap once a day to a one hour nap once a day. I am still thankful for your naps but I sometimes wish they were slightly longer.

You have finally gotten in 2 of the 4 remaining molars. Your bottom molars broke through your gums last week. I did notice a shift in your mood but it wasn't too bad. Your top molars are almost through the surface and you will have a complete set of 20 teeth! Yeah!

Finally, the things we have been working on to keep your mind sharp. We've started spelling lessons this last week. You have been consistently recognizing your name, Emily, Mom, and Dad. Although you know the ABC's we are still in the process of learning what the letters look like when spelling. You great with pronouns except for the occasional switch of him/her and he/she. I hope to start a reading lesson of some time before Summer's end.

Our first intense Potty Training lesson will begin this week. You have been doing great on the potty but I think it's time we stepped it up a little. For 14 days straight you and I will be living next to your pretty pink potty. I do hope that it will inspire you to use the potty more often and that you will find it as rewarding as I will.

Keep up the great work sweetheart. You are such a smart little Princess with more potential than there are stars. Daddy and I will be there every step of the way. We love you so very much!

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