Tonight was the third time in a week that Emmylou's had bar-b-que, but only the first time she's ever eaten ribs!





Her platter came with a scoop of ice cream for dessert and when I told her she could ask the waitress for it herself, she started screaming in a sing-song voice "Waaaiii--tttttress! Where aaaaarrrrre you?!" I'm happy to report that when the waitress finally came back, Emmylou asked for her ice cream perfectly, even using "please."

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Yesterday we picked up a bunch of baby gear I had lent to my friend Allison when she had her son Graham a year ago. I had forgotten that there was so much stuff! Not sure where it's all going to go now, but at least Emmylou's enjoying it. Today she kept bringing me each individual thing saying "I love this!" Here she is climbing into her disassembled swing (which she truly did love long ago) but I don't think she actually remembers being in it...



And earlier today we went to Emmylou's Monday morning playdate. Here is Lulu with Sofia and Ellie eating a snack. When I showed the photo to Gary he said it looked like "Pampers and the City."

Last night as we were driving home from the Salt Lick...

Emmylou: My tummy hurts.

Me: Did you eat too much? Why does it hurt?

Emmylou: I have a baby in my tummy.

Me: Hmmm. I think maybe you just ate too much sausage.

This past weekend we got to use Paw Paw and Nana's condo in Port Aransas. I think it was the very first family vacation we've ever taken with just the three of us! We had a great time and Emmylou loved the beach. Unfortunately, the pool didn't open until 10 am, so on Saturday morning we were out on the beach around 8 am by ourselves (Daddy was still sleeping). We spent the rest of the weekend in the pool and grilling outside.







Emmylou really liked the s'mores we had after grilling dinner...



On our way out, we stopped for a photo with the giant shark...



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In other news, I've changed the baby countdown to reflect my new due date-- I'm scheduled to have a c-section on Sept. 2nd now. He'll only be earlier if I go into labor before then, but I guess that might be a possibility seeing as how he is already huge. I had an ultrasound last week and he's 3 1/2 pounds. Most babies at this stage are only 2 1/4 pounds! Emmylou may be getting a toddler for a brother right away.

Dear Emmylou,

I'm late yet again with your monthly update (really late if you count the fact that I never even wrote you one last month) but I figure these days we're so busy that I'll just squeeze them in when I can.

Lately my main jobs have been to act as your translator, to get you in swimming pools as much as possible, and to hide while you count to 10 and then 'seek.'

It's not that you're that hard to understand when you talk, but that you have a lot more to say and since your k's and g's are t's and d's, it takes a bit of a trained ear to catch it all. But I love to hear you talk and I love that I am the one who knows the most of what you're saying and gets to share it with everyone around you. You're already getting better than you were a couple months back so I'll have to try to back off a little and let you do it yourself since that is what is driving your entire being right now.

You are getting so good at swimming! You've really figured out how to motor through the water by kicking with your floaties on and you love to get out and jump in off the side over and over. You are a daredevil which makes me nervous but I'm glad you have the confidence to try new things and experiences without hesitating.



Hide and Seek is your favorite game, followed by Ring Around the Rosey. You saw Hide and Seek on Max and Ruby and since you're also really into counting, it's no wonder you want to play it constantly. At least you're not picky- since I'm always the one hiding, you don't care if I go to the same place over and over or if half of me is peeking out from my hiding place. Each time you squeal just as loudly and say "Again! Again!"

Here are a few funny things you've done lately:

-Grammie was here today visiting before her 2 week trip to Turkey and when she told you she had to "hit the road" you replied right back, "hit the road, Jack!"

-Also today we told you to "bend your knees" when you were jumping off the ottoman because you were landing flat-footed on the floor. You followed our directions perfectly: you got back up on the ottoman, bent your knees and then slid right off and fell flat on the floor on your knees. Ouch! I guess I can't ever say you don't listen to me. Um, sorry we were cracking up so hard we could barely help lift you off the floor...

-You love to tell me if the outfit you're wearing has polka dots or stripes ("fipes") and today you put on your pink shoes with a black dress and threw open your arms, proclaiming, "I match!"

-You use "please" and "thank you" almost all the time, but the best is when I'll give you something and you look me in the eye, tilt your head a little and say so sincerely, "thank you, Mommy."

After 27 months with you, Emmylou, I can honestly say that I've never been happier nor had so much fun with anyone in my life. You make me laugh more and more each day. And although we are all so excited about your new brother's arrival (you still talk to him every day through my belly button), I'm really enjoying these last few months on our own together.

I'll close with a video Grammie got of you today singing the ABC's and the Itsy Bitsy Spider. Both are a bit more abbreviated and cyclical than how you usually sing them, but you've been shy about letting us capture you on camera so we'll take what we can get.



I love you, Emmylou!

Mommy

Happy Father's Day, Daddy!

This morning Emmylou brought Daddy breakfast in bed:




(That's one of his favorites, chili and eggs, in case you're wondering.)





Looks like she could get used to this...

Okay, I have lots to post tonight...

First, this past weekend was officially POTTY TRAINING WEEKEND. We went through Saturday with what I might call moderate success. I'll spare you the details but will mention that I'm pretty sure Emmylou went through six pairs of panties by noon. Here she is Saturday morning, basically wasting time watching The Wonder Pets in her undies until nature called:



And here she is showing off her Elmo potty chart which she filled with stickers:



Even though Emmylou used the potty 95% of the time she got on it, apparently she didn't get everything out and then had a hard time telling me before she needed to go again, which led to several accidents.

And because I am a total wimp and have a hard time staying put in my house for longer than 24 hours at a time, on Sunday morning after she started saying she didn't want to use the potty at all, I happily threw a pull-up on her and called it a day. But I'm kind of glad I did, because Em saw this on the Today Show this morning and I think it is really great information.



Too bad the Potty Whisperer doesn't live in Austin! We will definitely be using some of her techniques when we give it another try in the next couple of weeks.

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Now that Emmylou's getting bigger, several people have been asking us if Emmylou's been trying to ride Lola like a horse. Although most people would assume that one's parents would try to deter that kind of a thing, Gary's more than happy to facilitate a ride every now and then. In fact, Daddy always tries to get Emmylou to stay on for 8 seconds, as preparation for a future career in the rodeo (ah, such good thinking).







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And in baby news, I have to mention that the little guy is kicking up a storm, no more so than last week when I saw the Sex and the City movie. I thought it was great but apparently he was desperately trying to get the hell out of me and out of that theater. I guess the aversion to chick flicks begins in the womb...

Emmylou's Aunt Lizzie just got a shout-out from the Domino Magazine website! For the link to a slideshow that features a Spruce chair, click here.

Sorry to those of you tired of looking at the squirrel/sweater picture for so long.

We've been busy getting back to our normal routine, which means I haven't been toting my camera around too much. But I have managed to snap a couple of photos around the house to share.

Lately Emmylou is really into throwing and catching balls. This ball is sold as "the world's most catchable ball." That means I must have the world's least coordinated daughter.






Here's another recent passion of hers: her Shamu "lunchbox" that her overpriced kid's meal came with during our last trip to Sea World. Today she packed it with pretzel goldfish to share with her friends during a playdate.