Lots of Updates

There are lots of updates to give you since the last post. First, in early October, Emily had her 4 year old check up with the pediatrician. She now weighs 33.8 pounds (28th percentile) and is 40.5 inches tall (47th percentile), so she is growing well and her percentages are holding steady. We are all amazed about this because she is such a picky eater and her diet is so limited, but apparently it is all working. This was a particularly un-fun visit, however, because she got her big round of vaccinations - four shots in total. She knew they were coming and she knew it would probably hurt, but I don't think she was even remotely prepared for it. As soon as she felt the first poke she looked all shocked, and when it was followed by three more pokes, she was downright furious. After it was over she just laid on the table and cried and howled for quite awhile to let everyone know how darn mad she was.

Also since the last post, we had Halloween. Emily ended up wearing the Elsa costume for trick-or-treating (along with about 70% of the other girls in the country), but it was a rather cold night, so she needed to wear something under her costume to stay warm. I tried to get her into a nice white shirt that would have actually matched the dress, but she wanted none of it. She chose her own clothing to go under the dress and was somewhat oblivious to how it looked, but she was warm, so that was good.

Of course the dark creature standing next to her is Abbie in her grim reaper costume - talk about polar opposites this year! Emily got lots of candy and had fun running up and down the street. She met another little girl that was her age and the two of them became fast friends, which was fun for both of them, I think.

Emily also continues to have a great imagination and always comes up with interesting things to think about. One night before bed she was silent for a long time. Then she said, "If dinosaurs came back, firefighters wouldn't need ladders anymore." This was the beginning of a long brainstorming session about how life would change if dinosaurs were back in the picture. Just in case you are not aware of the changes that would likely take place, here are a few:

If dinosaurs came back . . .

 . . . they could fly kites really high.
 . . . they could make the clouds come down.
 . . . they could help pirates dig for treasure.
 . . . dentists would have more teeth to clean.
 . . . on and on it went.

Emily has also taken a more pronounced interest in learning lately. She has started asking for a definition every time she hears a word that she doesn't know. She is also really interested in writing her numbers and in doing math, so we often work on her addition facts with her (at her request) and she is actually doing pretty well with it. She will be leaving her preschool and moving to Abbie's Montessori school next year, and she is already really excited about that change. :)