Emma is a very good toddler. However, there was a period of time where she started acting out a lot and it became too much. Just "normal" toddler things....acting out or doing things she's not supposed to do. In a conversation with Sarah, one of my good friends, she asked me, "remember the parenting class we went to at Education Week? We learned that each of our kids feel loved in different ways and need attention and love in different ways." We discussed the 5 love languages (physical touch, words of affirmation, quality time, gifts, and acts of kindness) and she asked me which one Emma is. She is a little of most but the main way she feels loved is through quality time. Sarah said, "are you giving her the QUALITY time she needs?" I knew I wasn't and was getting caught up in cleaning the house, doing laundry, crafts, other things I needed/wanted to get done, etc. while Emma followed me around the house and helped me sometimes do those things.
After that conversation I knew I needed to change things and make sure Emma is feeling completely loved. Ever since then (about a month and half ago) I have been trying my hardest to give her lots of attention and make sure she feels loved. And guess what?? She does not act out anymore. Amazing how that works ;). Really it's not science, but I just had that ah-ha! moment and I'm grateful for the time we get to spend together!
We have lots of fun creating things, baking food, playing games. Here are some pictures of some things we enjoy together:
We went swimming together at an indoor pool and she had a BLAST!
We like making snowflakes or hearts to decorate the house with depending on the holiday :).
Emma has discovered her love for cooking and baking. The first thing she made were coconut, white chocolate cookies. We delivered them to Daddy's work and they were a big hit! She also liked cooking them as you can see :)...
She also has made muffins a few times and sugar cookies twice. She LOVES being in the kitchen and making things with me! Even though when we made sugar cookies, she dropped a whole egg into the mixer as it was going and dropped a couple others on the floor. It's funny now that I think about it. I have to remember not to get frustrated in the moment and remember she's a toddler :). She's just enjoying it all!
Emma also LOVES being an artist and making crafts. We learned about autumn by making jello jigglers in leaf shapes and coloring pictures of fall time. We also had fun making cotton ball snowmen (even though she hated having glue on her fingers!) and painting hearts for Valentine's Day.
We like to visit Grandma Hope next door. Emma dresses up and shows her sassy side :). She also LOVES playing with friends. We don't have too many girls our age except for Berkley. They're becoming good friends.
Emma is really good at games. Some of her favorites are "Spot it", "Break the Ice", and Candy Land. She is really good at Spot it and loves finding the spiders and spider webs first.
