16 months and st. patty's day.

i feel like this blog is benjamin button...i am going in reverse order of how things happened, but that is just the way it is today.  back in early march, emme turned 16 months old.  16 months is a funny milestone for me because that is how old i was when my parents had my little brother.  it's so crazy to try to imagine what our lives would be like if we were bringing home a sibling right now.  clearly, that was not in the plan for our lives at this current juncture, but it's fun imagining nonetheless.
what can i say about emme at 16 months?  everything really just keeps getting better and better, if that's even possible.  other than the chronic ear infection(s), ek is a healthy, happy toddler.  she is busy and extremely curious all the time.  her language is taking off which makes life easier for all of us.  i have lost count of all the words she says - writing this after the fact, i can say that her speech is even better after the tubes.  she loves to make animal sounds.  she loves books.  she wants to be outside as much as possible.  she adores her swing.  she loves bath time with dada (mostly because he encourages as much splashing as possible).  her daily reports at school frequently touch on her great sense of rhythm and her infatuation with anything in the sky.  e's relationship with our pets is a great source of happiness for me...she is so gentle with them and calls them each by name.  she gets so excited to see the dogs when we get home from school in the afternoon.  as the intense animal lover i am, i am so glad that she delights in our furry family members as much as i do.  and they seem to love her too, with the possible exception of pippa the cat, who can only sometimes be bothered to tolerate any of our affections.  she is a great sleeper and a great eater, when i can admit it to myself.  i am such an obnoxious worrier that i will occasionally convince myself that she's finicky, even though i know she is far from it.  she weighs about 22 pounds and is getting tall.  her head is still ginormous.  she is still missing her two outer front teeth, but is getting her lower canines, bringing total teeth up to 12!  her hair is wispy and curly and getting blonder...i am not sure where the blondness or the curls come from, but her hair texture is definitely that of kk and her daddy.  emmeline can be a total ham and is happiest when she can dictate the agenda, but everyone is paying attention to her.  she loves the park and i have a feeling we will be spending a great number of hours on slides.  not surprisingly, her stubborn streak continues to make an appearance and, as one of her teachers so eloquently put it, "she's got a little sass in her".  she is not the most graceful child - sadly for her, she may take after her mother in this arena, although i'm optimistic that the tubes will help in this department too.  she is still rather cautious, but that is just fine with me.  i am STILL nursing her...once a day, in the mornings.  i keep trying to break it off, but i just can't say no.  sigh.  eventually, i will wean this baby.  i never thought i would be an extended breastfeeder - one year seemed like a very reasonable goal to me....anyway...i can't say that i mind it, honestly.  it's been a wonderful thing and i feel so lucky to have had such an easy time with it.  i imagine it won't be long before it's over - too brief in the grand scheme of things.
i could go on and on.  i love this little mosquito so much.  she is a hoot, and clearly the best thing that's ever happened to us.  below are lots of pictures we took over the course of st. patty's day weekend.  that was a little later than her official 16 months, but i had been saving this dress (an adorable gift from kerry anne) and we loved taking all these pictures of her on our new deck and in the bluebonnets.  we also had a delicious traditional irish lunch on st. patty's day that mike prepared - corned beef, cabbage, soda bread, etc.  it was delicious, and i don't like any of those dishes.
and now for the embarrassing onslaught of pictures...