Colds, colds, and more colds

Poor little Emily has had constant colds ever since she started attending pre-school last month. One managed to turn into her first ear infection which we are still in process of treating - the first batch of antibiotics didn't do the trick, so now we are on to a second batch. We are starting to wonder whether there will ever be an end to the bugs that she can pick up at school.

Last Friday, we had our first parent-teacher conference with the head teacher in her room. The consensus from all three teachers in the room is that Emily is a very loving, sweet, gentle little girl who follows directions well, is respectful, and likes to help. Their hope for her is that she will learn to play with the other kids more and that she will join them in singing songs. In short, she is just hanging back and observing things, but is not the outgoing girl that we see at home. Time will tell whether she is an introvert who is shy in a crowd or whether she is just in the process of adapting to this new environment. Either way, I know that she likes school. She is always very excited to go and comes home talking about things that happen during her day.

Speaking of an excited, outgoing Emily, above is the photo that Chad snapped of Emily at Abbie's homecoming a couple weeks ago. As you can see, Emily just had a blast. The cheerleaders all doted on her - painting her face, and walking around with her, just thrilled to have a little "doll" to play with.

Around the house, Emily is as goofy as ever. The other day, she was spinning in circles, making herself dizzy. When she stopped spinning, she declared, "The house is falling over, I think." Of course, all these colds have also made her a bit edgy, which means that she isn't always in the mood to deal with Abbie. One night she declared, "Abbie tried to talk to me!" she was very upset that Abbie would try talking to her. I asked her what was so wrong with Abbie talking to her. She replied, "It's bad for my brain!" Alrighty then! She definitely has her own way of coping, though, and is apparently willing to share her wisdom with others. In response to a jazz singer on the radio, who must have sounded angry to her, she said, "He should go cuddle in his bed until he feels better." :)

As you can see above, Emily definitely likes to take her own advice. This is the cozy little nook that she made for herself yesterday - she gathered all her stuffed animals and blankets up in her little play house and then wiggled right into the middle of it. Once settled, she instructed me to turn off the light and close the door on my way out. She does this from time to time and then within a few minutes will call for me to come back and play with her some more. Funny girl!