Together Again in Heaven: No Small Talk

Because I haven't had a chance to get a word in edgewise this past month, I have come up with two words to describe Emma at 32 months: Nonstop Chatter. From the moment she wakes up, until the moment she finally falls asleep, this girl is talking. Will says she has found her voice. If we are eating a meal, driving in the car, or accomplishing any mundane daily task, Emma is filling the air with sound waves. She barely pauses for a breath or to hear a response and so usually she is repeating the same thing over and over again until we find a way to break through the chatter.

"Mom, when can I play with the iPad? Is it time for me to play with the iPad? I only played with the iPad yesterday. Today is today and I need to play with the iPad. When can I play with the iPad?" And after I get a chance to answer she runs off and comes back a minute later asking, "Is it time to play with the iPad? Lucy got to play with the iPad but I didn't. I never get to play with the iPad. How about I play with the iPad while you make lunch? Dad let's me play with the iPad when he makes lunch. I promise I will share with Lucy. Can I play with the iPad? I want to play with the iPad!"

Emma is definitely persistent. Her favorite things to hound me about are time with the iPad, watching a movie, eating a treat, and having her vitamins. Of course this doesn't limit anything else she may have decided she can't live without at the moment, but they do seem to be her favorite topics of begging. After I tell her in so many words "not right now" she most usually responds with, "But Mama! Blah blitty blah blah blah..." At which point I have tuned her out. I have to say that I am able to tune a lot of things out. It drives Will crazy sometimes as I really don't know what triggers the switch in my mind to shut down my "listening ears" and as a result I will occasionally tune Will out. I've been trying to ease Will's hurt feelings by telling him it is simply an over active survival tactic my brain has employed so that his wife doesn't go to Crazy Town in a Hand Basket.

Just because Emma is talking all of the time doesn't necessarily mean we understand it, even if I am paying attention. After our Christmas tree was up it took about an hour to realize that she wasn't saying "Trick or Treat" but in fact, "Christmas Tree." Every week on our way to dance class, a portion of the trip is on a bumpy dirt road. When the tires hit the bumps I always say the line, "Hold on to your britches!" without giving it much thought. We were on a different bumpy road the other day and she kept saying, "Hole to your bitches!" which I knew must mean something else but couldn't for the life of me figure out what. That is until I glanced back at her and saw her holding onto her pant legs. What a relief cracking that code was!

She is quite good natured when she isn't hungry or tired and so usually is a very accommodating little girl. Here she is below taking pictures with her play camera of Lucy hosting a doll birthday party. She is generally willing to go along with any play scheme Lucy cooks up and if asked nicely (emphasis on asked nicely!), will fork over any toy that Lucy requests. Emma is known about our house as answering any request with, "Sure!"

She is still into accessorizing and tries to make sure her outfit for the day includes three things: something purple, a tutu and rings. The other day we had a Christmas party with my side of the family at a restaurant. Emma had a ton of fun playing with her cousins and in the hustle and bustle of packing up to go, we forgot her rings at the restaurant. Emma realized her rings were missing after we had left and cried broken heartedly all the way home. Under normal circumstances we would have turned the car around and gone back, however it was the first big snow storm of the year and the roads were horrible. My heart was breaking for her as it was one of those times in parenting where as much as you want to make everything all better, my hands were tied and I had to watch real life consequences unfold. That really affected me, and so when we got home I gave her a bracelet that I had been holding onto since my childhood. A band aid, but definitely no replacement for what she had lost.

Here she is below showing off her rings and her self-given manicure polished with purple, permanent marker.