Important milestones (Anna)

1) Possession is extremely important to Emma at the moment. Everything is "Emma's". She will entertain the possibility that some things belong to other people e.g. "Mumma's shoes" or "Mummy's jacket" but belonging to her is definitely the default, and if nobody lays claim to something first, it's declared to be hers.

This morning, looking at the construction site opposite her day care, she pointed up high in the sky and said, "Emma's crane!"

We're so proud of her. She's not even two and she already owns a crane. *sniff* That's our girl.


2) She's getting interested in counting. At bedtime, counting ducks in one of her books, she said: "Two, nine, 'even (seven), fee (three), one, ten, yellow."


3) It's funny how her idea of what's real and imaginery is completely different from ours. I was playing with her tonight on the floor. We started rocking back and forth together, which could have ended up with Rock-a-bye-baby, or "My Grandfather's Clock" or waltzing, or gymnastics, or penguins or any number of other things, depending on what came out of my mouth. Tonight, it became us in a boat together, with a storm coming. We rocked back and forth, and battened down the hatches and secured the sail, and pulled on some ropes. And we made loud thunder noises, and the noise of the waves crashing against the boat, and lightening noises (yes - lightening makes a noice. It sounds kind of like "Kachoom") and kept rocking back and forth. The rain (our fingers) beat down on our heads. She thought it was great.

The storm got bigger and bigger and we got scared that maybe we were going to capsize and end up in the water. We clung to each other and tried to keep our balance but the waves were getting bigger and the boat was tipping from side to side. We kept making the thunder and wave noises and the rain kept beating down on our head. We made "whoa" sounds and shrieked. And then, sure enough, the boat did capsize and Emma and Mumma fell overboard into the water. Splash! We gasped because the water was cold. The waves were crashing on our heads now. "The boat's going under! Aaaaagh!!"

Once we got our bearings, we started swimming. Arms windmilling over our heads, we swam as hard as we could, getting faster and faster and more and more puffed as we exerted ourselves. The thunder kept growling (yes, thunder growls. It sounds like a sleepy lion). All good.

And then I said something like, "Let's head for land. Look there's an island." And I pointed behind Emma's head. And sudddenly it wasn't a game any more. She looked behind her, saw the rocking chair and got a terrified look on her face. "Island!" she screamed and started crying. She ran over to Caroline, yelling, "Mummy, Mummy." She hid in her legs, giving furtive glances back at the rocking chair as if it was a fire-breathing dragon.

That was the end of the game. I don't know what she thinks an island is, but I'm fascinated that being on a tipping boat in the middle of a thunderstorm, being washed overboard and having to swim for your life are just lots of fun and cause for giggles, while an island is cause for terror. And why was the island suddenly real for her when all the rest of it was just being silly with Mumma?