Iconography at 14 Months

Whoops! Yesterday I forgot that Emmeline turned 14 months so this post is a day late.  Right now Emmeline is exhausted from a long day at White Clay Creek State Park.  Her friend Estella turned two on Friday and her birthday party was today.  Emmeline had a great time on the playground, running through the grass, playing with the other kids, and squatting in the dirt. She ate a bit of cake and a hefty amount of watermelon.  I would share some pictures but our digital camera no longer works as I spilled water on it on Thursday. As you could probably tell from pictures on our blog, it was not the highest quality camera anyway.  So, we are now accepting donations for a new camera. We've got our eye on a beauty!

This past month Emmeline has been a regular monkey.  She climbs up and onto whatever she can. She has even learned how to pile things and stand on top of them.  My mom likes to tell stories about how I used to push kitchen chairs up to the counters so I could climb up to steal treats from the cupboards.  I used to do this when she was busy nursing my little sister Kelsey (we are about 21 months apart).  I wonder if Emmeline has a little bit of her mamma in her?!

Emmeline has also recently discovered Elmo.  It sounds like she is saying "Oh no" when she calls him by name.  She also sings "La la la la" (for the Elmo's World song) when she sees him. This is her first recognizable icon.  And she absolutely adores him.  What is it about him that kids love so much?  That he is easily recognizable?  He is cute and funny?  He is repetitive?  I don't know but Sesame Street sure did stumble upon something with that little red monster.

The most significant thing that has happened in our household is that we have decided to send Emmeline to part-time daycare.  This fall I will be teaching during the day at UD three times a week.  We have been trying to decide what is best for Emmeline and mesh that with what we could afford.  So we found a day school that we like that will take her part time (about 12-15 hours a week).  It is really close to our house and the school is very flexible with hours.  I am not thrilled about leaving her but I know that she and I will eventually adjust. Everybody keeps telling me that school "will be good" for her and for me and that it will be harder on me than on her.  I know cognitively that this is probably true but I am still having a hard time feeling like I am definitely doing the right thing.  I am comforted, however, in the fact that Emmeline is a very brave, adventurous and interactive toddler.  She genuinely enjoys playing and interacting with other kids and gets excited to explore new environments.  I can only hope that she will flourish there and that her teachers/care providers will treat her with tenderness, compassion and understanding.  I will keep you all posted...