Emme

I have such a tender spot in my heart for my little home buddy Emme. I can totally see why the baby of a family gets spoiled. She's been our baby for four years next month, and my other girls will tell you she sometimes gets away with murder around here. But I can also see her growing up and learning more patience and starting to show some heartfelt thoughtfulness toward her sisters and friends.

Emme tells me twenty times a day, "I just really love you, Mommy." It works wonders on my self-esteem. She is a fantastic shopping companion-we've grabbed at least a million Jr. Frosty's at Wendy's after running errands together. She loves to cuddle up on the couch with me and read book after book after book. She loves baths with Olivia, helping with the cooking, wearing boots without socks, and a good potty word now and again.

Her shopping destination of choice is the dollar store where she unfailingly spends her allowance on one of those spiky rubber animals with light up globes inside that always break the same day. She loves working trades with her sisters and can be counted on to give up prized toys for a few shiny pennies to add to her money jar. Perhaps her most favorite pastime is lying across my lap and asking me to tickle her back, arms, legs, and face while she goes semi-comatose and soaks in the wonderfulness.

(Those are not cat scratches on her arms and legs, just her annual winter eczema last year before we discovered Eucerin.)

Emme has an almost 4-year-olds' healthy fondness for fluffy friends and can frequently be found in this state:

She also has a healthy love of dressy things, but she's not too fancy to take her turn on bathroom duty.

What makes or breaks a good day for Emme is if she gets to see her cousins that day. She and Lucy are in preschool together this year and most weeks they get to play together almost daily. It's a huge blessing for me that they play well together, because I can be pretty boring to hang out with after so long.

Emme is not a picky eater and loves smoothies dearly. Her go to snack request is usually a bowl of frozen corn or peas to munch.

So far, she's a south paw. I know that can switch when kids are this young, but I haven't had one go so consistently to their left hand. We'll see. I am thoroughly enjoying Emme's budding artistic efforts.

Emme is hilarious, and enjoys that about herself. So do we, so very much. I love this girl and her wonderful squishy hugs, and her cheery companionship, the tender moments when she asks me to put her to bed early and tuck her in with her star blanket and make her all cozy, and the early mornings when she climbs into bed with me and tells me her dreams and then asks for "bee cereal" (honey nut cheerios). I love that she has her own mind and knows what she likes. I love that she loves me so much, even though I am far from a perfect mommy.

She only lets Caleb and me call her Emme-boo, and that makes us feel pretty special. We love you, Emme-boo.