little, big girl.

I keep thinking about things I need to write about. Like, when Clay came home from work one night last week to find the girls & I playing in the basement. Emme was directing a game of "pretend I'm the princess talking on my cell phone to the prince I'm gonna marry and you (mom) are the wicked pretend mother (Tangled inspired) who needs to go the grocery store". This is always a fun game until I make a wrong move, like talking to the pretend prince on my cell phone, not a good idea. Emme has a mini breakdown and I am no longer permitted to play.

On this particular night, I was recently fired from my pretend play position when I heard Clay walk in the house and head down stairs to check out the scene. I thought Barbie herself had walked down the stairs with how excited Emme got to see her dad. She gives Clay a big hug and says in her sweet talker voice, "Do you want to play, Dad?" I remind her that Dad might want to get changed first and she shoots me a look that could catch fire, I swear. Then she says to me, "Can I just borrow him for a little bit?" Seriously? Borrow him? I remind Emme, again, that Daddy just got home. Let the man change and grab a beer, will ya? Another sparky glare from the 40 inch tall queen of the house. Her hands land on her hips and she says to me, "I'm gonna borrow him for a minute, alright? We have a wedding!" As you wish.

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Another Emme moment was inspired by her recent fascination with being a mommy. Emme has baby dolls scattered all through our house. Truly, in every room you can find a baby. Even tonight, as I was making my last rounds before punching out for the day, I found two babies on the fireplace hearth, a baby sitting in a dining  room chair, three baby dolls on my bedroom dresser, and a baby chillin' in Delaney's highchair. Heaven knows what they are doing in these places, even more what Emme was imagining when she put them there.

What I do know is Emme handles these babies dolls like they are real living babies. She changes diapers, gives bottles, rocks them, bounces them, shushes them, kisses them and even lugs a baby in a doll-sized infant car seat when we run errands. Last Friday afternoon, Emme was playing with her babies when I had to excuse myself to go feed Delaney (D is an extremely distracted nurser and Emme can be a pretty big distraction). Just as Delaney & I were settled in the glider Emme rounds the corner with three babies in tow. I quietly remind her that Delaney needs to eat and she needs to play quietly until D is done. Emme quickly nods her head  and shrugs her little shoulders then holds up one little finger- wait a minute. She grabs a baby doll, lifts up her shirt and presses the baby against her while making a "slurping" sound. She tosses that baby to the ground and grabs another. Slurp. Second baby is on the ground and grabs the third. Slurp. Emme smiles at me and says, "I'm already done." Show-off.