Emma at 21 Months

I have been neglecting my parental duties in blogging about my brilliant offspring. As I have not made the effort to search for the cord that connects the camera to the computer, and as I have not taken any pictures lately anyway, I will instead make a list showcasing Emma's sparkling personality.
1. Emma will put herself to bed, as long as she has her two "gankies" (blankies), her hippo, and her two Shadows (one, a black stuffed poodle that looks like the actual Shadow, and another one, a small stuffed polar bear, who somehow resembles a black poodle). Upon waking, she insists on taking all of these items out of the crib and brings them with her to the couch, where we drink milk and watch the news.
2. She has taken to giving me commands. Most often she'll say "Come?" and gesture in the direction she wants me to go. Hmmm, wonder where she picked that up?
3. She loves to "gee gook", or read books. Probably 50 times a day she will come to me with that request. I fulfill it about half the time.
4. She is obsessed with all things outside, but most especially the slide and swings. Another popular request is "Side? Wing? Slide?" I've taught her a new expression in my responses to her lately: "Hot" (as in, it's too hot to go outside, you'll burn your tush on the slide). Emma will often request to go on the swings in some of the most random places, like the pool or the middle of Target. She is becoming quite good at navigating a new playground by herself without me showing her how to do it.
5. Emma loves the pool, but only if she can do it by herself. This has led to the retirement of her boat, Toddler Speed Racer II, in favor of one of those tank tops with the built in inner tube. It only took her one day to figure out how to stay upright in it. She doesn't seem to mind getting dunked in water at all.
6. In a bizarre twist, lately she has eschewed the bath in a fit of rage, kicking, and crying. I can't understand how she can love the pool so much and hate the bath so much at the same time. But alas, playgrounds and pools necessitate baths.
7. I am constantly surprised by how much Emma remembers. New words and expressions only need to be taught once, and whenever I mention my brother Tyler, she makes a face like he made with her when we visited in June. Hooray for long-term memories!
8. She is very affectionate and will often pause in her busyness to give hugs and kisses. If she finds me sitting cross-legged on the floor, she will hug my back. She makes out with any stuffed animal, and even has a penchant for kissing random, real dogs around our apartment complex. (I never let her get close enough for lip-to-fur contact). She will gladly oblige if you ask for a kiss.
9. Emma loves music and will dance at anything from 90s pop to MoTab (the Mormon Tabernacle Choir, for those of you uninitiated). She will sing with help and her favorite songs are "Itsy Bitsy Spider" (gotta love songs with hand motions) and "Old McDonald."
10. Like her father, she is a picky eater and mostly sticks to her 4 personal food groups: gogurt (yogurt), dried cranberries/raisins, bananas, and carbs in any form, but particularly those that are the most processed. Occasionally I can get her to eat what I'm eating if I eat at the same time (which doesn't happen often, because I'm usually not hungry at 5 pm), and make loud exclamations of "Yummmmmm."

While she can throw a tantrum with the best of them, she continutes to be unfailingly pleasant. Sometimes it worries me what the next one will be like (no, that is not an announcement in any way, shape, or form). We love her to pieces!