Em-Skinny Bop!

Dear Emma,

You are still the sweetest little thing in the world. You are so petite and pretty. However, the "Skinny" in your nick name does not refer to your cute little physique. We still call you Em-Lynny sometimes, but that nick name inspired your new nick name, "Em-Skinny." Your dad and I are silly. You see, sweetie, Mom and Dad were children of the 1980's, and there were these wild and crazy music bands back then with men who had long hair. They called them all "Hair Bands." Anyway, one of these bands was called Poison and they wrote a song called "Unskinny Bop" which has nothing to do with you. Actually, as I read a little about the song, it has nothing to do with anything. It's nonsense. It just had a catchy tune that stuck with your dad for some reason and he sings it to you all the time like this: "Em-skinny bop, bop, bop!" and you sing it back to him, too. It's so cute.

You and your dad have a special bond. Between Daddy and Mimi, Mommy sometimes feels a little slighted, but I know you love me, too. You hug me tight and rub my back so sweetly. You love playing with my hair and calling out, "Hair," and then touching my ears: "Ears!" But, you are a daddy's girl for sure. You two love to play. In fact, sometimes when he means to get on to you or correct you, you don't take him seriously. You point your finger at him and smile your sweet smile, trying to inspire his playful nature. Or you say, "Hi, Dad," and play on his soft spot for you. But when you really know he means it, it almost breaks your heart.

One of the things you've been doing that disappoints us both is biting your brother. You have been waiting until bed time to make your move in the dark. I laid you both in bed and 10 minutes later, I heard Ethan scream out in pain and he cried. Ethan told on you when I came into the room. I comforted him, and I got on to you in a harsh voice. I told you to say you're sorry: "I sowwy, Athan." You looked very sincere. But, the next night, you did it again, and this time I could hear you laughing through the monitor! You were laughing at your brother's pain, Emma. And you made a big bruise on poor Ethan's chest. Your Daddy and I got on to you strongly and you cried. We reminded you several times throughout the next day that you hurt your brother, showed you the mark on his chest and told you, "No biting, Emma, or next time you're getting a spanking." That night, sure enough, I heard that familiar cry from Ethan. I went in and took you out of the crib and spanked your diapered and clothed bottom, five good whops that couldn't have hurt anything but your feelings. I gave you another scolding before I put you back in the crib and this time you were sobbing. It was heart breaking for me. I hated having to spank you.  Your daddy sat silently in the rocking chair in the dark and supervised you until you fell asleep. You cried for a while and your breath had an uneven hiccup from crying for quite a while longer. It was the saddest night. But you haven't done it again yet. I'm keeping my fingers crossed.

One of your favorite things to do outside is sliding. We bought you your own slide for the back yard because when we go to the park, that's your favorite thing. You climb up the ladder and slide on down. You say, "Wee!" every single time. Then you run right around and climb up again and again.

You're learning to put clothes on by yourself, too. Lately, you've been working so hard to get your head through the right hole of my shirts from the laundry pile. You get a little frustrated sometimes but once you get it, you clap for yourself and say one of your most frequent sentences: "Good job, sister!" I'm proud of that sentence because it means that you get a lot of praise and you're developing confidence in yourself. Mommy loves you so much and you are so amazingly smart. You made Mommy and Daddy's year when you finally said, "I love you, too."

You can count all the way up to twelve! You recognize most of your numbers and letters by sight. You can even sing the whole alphabet song. I recorded you on video and I have been watching it every day because it's the cutest thing ever. I watch it at work because I miss you so much, and it helps me get through the day until I can see you and Brother again.