Emma, the Sandwich Thief: It's Her Life

Emma has been a real riot lately. (We're still waiting to get one of those mythical "chill" babies with the phlegmatic temperament. Ha.) She's incredibly cute, but also vaguely terrifying. She's a mix of Cody's open temperament and affection and Cordelia's cunning and willfulness. Like her brother and sister, she's just extremely … verbose. The things she says are just hilarious, and unexpected, and crazy clear. Sometimes, really objectionable: "Today I am going to take my diaper off during my naps and PEE IN MY BED." Me: "Well, I guess that's your choice, but it will mean you don't get to have stuffies or blankets in your bed. Her: "Fine. I don't WANT THEM! Take them AWAY!"

But also sometimes weird. Yesterday she told me, "I will NOT eat that egg!" "Okay," I said agreeably. "Why not?" Her response? "Because I am SO ANGRY at you!" A moment later she wanted to spin upside down and was all giggles. And today, for example, she said from her carseat, "I am not Emma!" "You're not?" I replied. "No! I'm Fiona! I'm Fiona the Sandwich Thief! And I am WANTED, dead or alive!" Then she broke into Bon Jovi, singing all the verses through, and then moving on to "It's My Life." Really, that's Cordelia's anthem, but there's nothing that makes you almost drive off the road laughing than a two-year-old belting out "It's my liiiiiiife, it's now or never….I ain't gonna live forever….I just wanna live while I'm alive…" From there, she reverted to "Let it go, let it go!" (But she pronounces it, still, "let it toe, let it toe…"

She has such an expressive little face — happy, mischievous, mad. She is easy to soothe, but usually has a clear preference for who is worthy of soothing her — and if Cordelia is around, that's the only person she wants. And Cordelia is magnificent at it, and oddly suited for it. She likes to figure out how to tick everyone else off, but if you mess with Emma, she'll mess with you. She can calm E in an instant. It's kind of beautiful.

Anyway. Back to Emma, who is, as she often tells me, "so adorable." Indeed.  Even when she's dirty, which she almost always is.

And even when she's supposed to be napping … but isn't. Because there are so many things to talk about instead: kids, and "Jesuses," and "tomic" books, and tlocks and birds and trains.