Emmett Alexander «

Boys-1; Plasma Screen TV-0

by admin

Turns out, when you throw a sippy cup-even an empty sippy cup-at a plasma screen TV from roughly 3 feet away, you can break the glass. Did you know that? Well, now we all know that. And we can tell you, Mom and Dad were not very happy to learn that fun fact. Worse yet, it could have been more of a mystery. Not the actual breaking. Just the implement inflicting the damage. But a sippy cup leaves a mark. A small spot of milk from said sippy cup was left behind at the scene of the crime. And so, Mom and Dad had found the blunt object, so to speak.

But that was just the start to a great (said with some level of sarcasm) week. The video baby monitor made its way into the pond, too. By this time, Dad mentioned something to Mom about keeping a tab so that they could be paid back for all of the unnecessary out-of-pocket expenses once we were all old enough to get jobs. We are assuming this was said tongue-in-cheek. At least, we hope so.

The icing on the cake was, well, not really icing at all. Emmett woke up Saturday morning, in a fairly good mood we have to admit, with puke all over his crib. When Mom came into the room, Riley pointed at Emmett and said “Poop.” Two mornings later, after Mom had gotten sick, Dad walked into find Riley pointing at the corner of his crib making a funny face. When he looked closer, he saw that Riley had also gotten sick sometime during the night and was indicating that it was a bad scene. A short time later, Tessa threw up all over herself in her car seat. She was almost literally swimming in it. Riley, who sits next to her in the car, leaned over, pointed at her, and said “Poop.” A little more than 24 hours after that, Dad, himself, was the last to get sick. Although, when he did, everyone else was asleep so there was no one there to point and enlighten him.

On a lighter note, Emmett had learned almost all of the letters of the alphabet, which we are told is a feat for someone so young; Tessa is army crawling all over; and Riley is repeating everything that he hears, and his favorite word is-wait for it-Poop.

I Am (as always) Fantastic

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I was at a party a few weeks ago, and I really wanted a slice of water melon. Not a piece. And not a plate full of pieces. I wanted to eat an entire slice, just the way that my daddy was eating it. So, I got my own slice. And I held it just the way that Dad was holding his slice, and I ate it. I took bite after bite. The watermelon juice was running down my face and staining the front of my shirt a very light pink. And when I was done with my first piece, I had a second one. It was great.

I ended up washing myself off, in a manner of speaking, in the pool that was in the backyard. It was just deep enough to come above my waist, and it was freezing so there weren’t too many other kids playing in it. But I didn’t care how cold it was, I kept splashing and laughing. There was a water gun attached to the side of the pool, with a hose attached to it. After seeing how the older kids aimed the spray at the other children playing in the pool and climbing up the slide on the side of the pool, I waited until the gun was un-manned and I aimed and sprayed the other kids with it. It was so much fun.

Mom and Dad think that I am going to love school because one of my favorite things is to play with other kids regardless of where I am-the park, the neighbors house, anywhere. I tried to follow them when we were at the Aquarium. I ran after them when we were at the Butterfly Pavilion. Even at the supermarket, I watch them run down the aisles and squirm and yell until Mom and Dad let me out of the cart.

I start school in November. Soon, I’ll have to go shopping for a backpack and school supplies. Maybe even some new clothes. I heard Mom and Dad talking the other day saying how they can’t wait for me to carry my backpack into class. They said that I would look so cute. But I want to go to school so that I can paint and color and play. I guess, either way, we are all looking forward to my first day. It’s really not that far off…

Check back in soon,
Emmett

Emmett Alexander Riley James

American Graffiti, Monkey-See-Monkey-Do, and Other Interesting Tales

by admin

Just in case you haven’t seen the most recent pictures posted, I’m here to tell you that Emmett and I love to paint. And color with chalk. And we also love to taste the paint and the chalk. But-here’s the kicker-we only love to color and to paint on the side of the house. It’s a good thing that Mom and Dad really trust the “washable” claims of the Crayola color people. Because we have graffitied the side of the house in really, really bright pink paint. And, so far, the rains haven’t washed it off. The chalk, yes. The paint, not so much. But stay tuned. Anything can happen.

We both love to copy one another. So, in a bad example, when Emmett is mad-he hits me. And so I learned that when I am mad, I hit Tessa. But, in a good example, I learned that when I am going to get something for myself-for example, my cup of milk-I should bring one back for Emmett, first. And he has learned that asking things with his voice-and not sign language-sometimes pays off a bit faster. We mimic one another, too. If Emmett turns around in a circle, I try it. And if I get a graham cracker from Mom or Dad and sit on the floor with it, Emmett does the same thing. Mom and Dad think that when we are doing something good, it is very cute. When we are doing something not-so-good, they think that maybe spacing us farther apart would have been a good idea.

As for me, I do this thing where, when Mom and Dad come into our room in the morning, I stand up in my crib, I take my cup of milk, and I watch Emmett getting dressed. But as soon as they turn to me to get me out of my crib, I dive onto the sheets, turn over onto my side with my bunny, and pretend to be asleep. It’s pretty funny.

Emmett, on the other hand, has turned into a real helper. He gets me my pacifiers, he likes to pick out my clothes in the morning, and he dresses me for walks. He makes sure that I have my hat, my shoes, and regardless of the weather he makes sure that I am wearing my coat. He isn’t really helping Tessa with stuff yet. He’s still getting used to her. He likes her but isn’t sure she’s really playground material yet.

We both love songs: The Wheels on the Bus, The Itsy Bitsy Spider, and Twinkle Twinkle are our favorites. We like to spin around in circles or wave our hands and jump around when we sing. When it comes to modern music, Emmett prefers Deep Forest (he laughs super hard to the first song on the CD we have, although no one is sure exactly why) and I like-for better or for worse-80s hair bands. Cheap Trick came on the radio and I started clapping and dancing in my car seat. Mom and Dad are trying to steer me in another direction but I don’t like to be told what to do, so it isn’t really working so much.

Anyway, that’s it for today.

See you soon,
R

Emmett is a Riot!

by admin

Check out the new video of Emmett that Mom uploaded… It’s called Emmett with the Bag.

It’s hilarious!

Riley and Tessa

Emmett Alexander Riley James

We Went to the Aquarium!

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So, for the first time, Mom and Dad took us to the Aquarium and it was really great. First off, there is a HUGE bubble machine in front of the building and Emmett couldn’t get enough of it. He ran around, chasing one of the older boys, squealing and laughing. Second, did you know that fish live in water? Water that you can splash? Riley tried, every single time Mom took him close to one of the open tanks, to reach in and splash the water. He didn’t love it when the fish swam close to him, but he loved that they were in water.

But the best part was seeing all of the fish that we’ve only seen in Finding Nemo and in our books. Emmett liked the shark tank and thought that it was fantastic that there was a diver in the tank with them. The diver even came over to the glass and gave Emmett and Riley high-fives. Emmett kept following the diver along the glass, putting his hand up to the glass for the diver to mirror on the other side, all the time Emmett was jabbering away in Emmett-speak. (For those of you that don’t know, Emmett-speak is a combination of known and unknown words. The inflection, however, and the gesticulations convey the general meaning.)

There were HUGE fish in that tank. Riley was initially interested in a puffer fish that was slightly bigger than he was. He would reach out and touch the glass, pointing and saying “oh!” Then when the puffer turned around and began to swim up to him, he backed into Mom’s arms shaking his head. Finally, when the puffer-with his great big eyes-was right up against the glass, Riley would make the sign for “all done! all done!” Once the puffer turned around and started to swim away, he would begin again.

Emmett was very interested in the other kids at the Aquarium. Mom and Dad think that he is going to love starting preschool in January. He would follow the kids around, or just watch as they interacted with each other. He would copy them when they climbed up, over and through displays meant for this sort of interaction. He was quite curious. Maybe more curious to see what the older kids would do than to see what the fish were doing.

The morning at the Aquarium was finished off by sharing a breakfast burrito with Daddy. All said, it was a wonderful day. And it came in a string of very tiring, active days. Memorial Day at Grandpa’s, playing for hours in the backyard; going to the garden store and planting a garden; and, of course, the visit to the Aquarium. Busy, busy.

Next week we are going to the zoo! Stay tuned to see how we like that…

We’re out,
Emmett and Riley

PS If you are wondering why there are no posted pictures of our trip to the Aquarium, it’s because the flash wasn’t working and nothing came out. But Mom posted some video recently of us doing crazy stuff, so there is that.

We Say Goodbye to a Great Friend

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We are all very sad to report that we lost one of our doggies on Wednesday. Arlo died, probably of a heart attack or a vascular tumor in his heart. He was a fantastic cuddler, kisser, and all-around playmate. He also loved to help us clean up after meals, to play with us in the yard, and to be generally goofy and fun. The house is quite a bit more quiet without his rambunctious energy and it will be some time before we get used to it. Arlo, wherever you are, we will miss you and love you, always.

We posted some pictures of Arlo, as a final goodbye.

I Got a Roommate!

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Mom and Dad decided that Riley and I weren’t close enough, being across the hall from each other, so they moved Riley into my room. At first, I wasn’t sure what was going on. But when Mom and Dad put us to bed and Riley went into his crib in my bedroom, I thought that it was fabulous. I started laughing and I just couldn’t stop. I ran from one side of my crib to the other for quite a while. Then I started throwing my bunny up and catching it. And after that, I just started talking a ton. To Riley. Who was in my room too!

Riley, of course, loved being in there with me. Why wouldn’t he? Everyone loves me. They love to hang out with me. And I have a lot to offer, so its not so much of a surprise. I am funny. I am smart. And I am very handsome. We chatted for a few hours until we both finally fell asleep. Mom and Dad didn’t seem so happy come morning, though, when both Riley and I were a bit tired from going to bed so late.

What I like to do is keep Riley up late and then wake him up early. Mom and Dad are hoping that this will wear off soon, but we’ll see. I have a ton of energy and I think that I can keep it up for longer than they expect. Sometimes when I don’t sleep really well, though, I am kind of cranky. I’m not sure why no one likes it when I am cranky, but they don’t. They keep telling me that I need to sleep more. Why sleep? That’s not when all the fun happens!

Well, check in next time to see if I get on Riley’s sleeping pattern or if he gets on mine.

Emmett

Mom’s Plan Seems to be Working…

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I’m not sure if I’ve told you about this yet, but I am kind of addicted to the television. I throw huge temper tantrums when the TV is off and I can’t get someone to turn it on. This went on for a good while before I heard Mom tell Dad that she was going to give in. At first, Dad told me that he wouldn’t negotiate with terrorists. I kind of think that he was referring to the fact that when I didn’t get my way I would push Riley over or hit him on the head or steal his pacifier. But after a while of that, Mom said that this was not a fight that anyone was going to win, so she started turning on the television whenever I wanted her to. And I mean whenever…

First thing in the morning, I would run over the TV, tap the screen, and say ‘this! this!’ And she’d turn it on. After one movie was over, I’d go downstairs and throw a tantrum because the TV down there was off. And guess what? She’d turn that one on too! This went on for almost a month. I only had a few things that I watched-Monsters vs Aliens (an oldie but goodie), Finding Nemo, and Cars. But I loved them all and since I felt that I had really outgrown Dora and Diego, it was movies for me.

But once I’d seen each movie about a gazillion times, something happened. I didn’t ask to have the TV turned on so much. And when it was on, I would no longer stare at it like a thirsty man seeing water for the first time. I’d wander away and play with something in my room or in the library. When I realized that the movie was still on, I’d run into the TV room and the movie would be over. And that was just OK with me. So now, I have a more limited amount of television each day and it’s working well for everyone.

I heard Mom say that she was hoping that if I was able to watch my movies all the time then I would get sick of them. I guess it worked. Don’t tell her that, though.

Although maybe she should feel good about it, as this is one hurdle down and only a gazillion more to go.

Emmett out.

A list of stuff I like…

by admin

* I love to gallop. I gallop everywhere. I don’t run. I gallop.
* Since I’m not too keen on talking, I like to make up sign language signs for stuff. I made up my own sign for “toothbrush” and for “bubbles.” You know, important stuff.
* I LOVE bubbles. Can’t get enough. I ask for bubbles with breakfast, in the tub at night, and all hours in between.
* I can’t get enough of the television. More specifically, the movie Finding Nemo. Mom and Dad decided that keeping me away from the television was not a battle that they were going to fight. And since if I don’t get to watch Nemo when I ask for it, I throw tantrum of historic proportions, I watch it a lot…
* I’ve become a shy-guy. I don’t like for people to watch me do stuff. So when we are supposed to demonstrate something at the Little Gym, I wait until everyone else has gone. That way if I’m the last person then not as many people are watching.
* I have a few, new favorite books. I really like Cinderella and The Three Little Pigs. I don’t always want the entire book to be read to me, and sometimes I thumb through the pages and read the book to myself.
* I like to be wrapped up in a super soft blanket and snuggled before bed.
* I still love to be outside. I am totally in my element in our backyard. Going outside can even pacify me if Mom or Dad won’t turn on Nemo. And that’s saying something…
* I like to chase Riley around the house. He’s not walking yet, but he can cruise with the help of his walker. So I will chase him around, and then he’ll chase me. It’s great.
* I like to have my bunny give people kisses.

Life is good.

Emmett