New & Improved

Miss Emmerson is doing much better! Her blistered mosquito bites are healing with bacitracin and the awful swelling around her left eye has nearly completely gone away thanks to the steroids and benadryl. (BTW, I guess I'm fortunate that the benadryl has the sedating effect on her, and not the hyperactive effect!)

She is having a blast with her grandparents and loves being the center of attention. And of course, she's not being spoiled at all.

Emme's vocabulary has continued to expand like crazy the last several days. I guess she's at the point where, sadly, I'll no longer be keeping track of all her new words. I remember how exciting those first few words were, and while each new word is still fun and exciting, I can't keep up, and she also says new words to others, so I'm not even aware of them all. If she starts speaking Spanish or Russian, though, I'll make a note of it and start looking into early admissions. A few more of her recent words:

Sarah (Cousin Sarah, that's YOU from your pictures!)

Mask (my dad has some African masks in his office that she loves looking at)

Good girl

Pizza (or, pizza pizza pizza!)

Doggie

Meow

Growl (she "growls" at Sophie Dog)

Yes (usually it's "no, no, no," though)

B*tch (yes, that's really what it sounded like, although hopefully not what she meant!)

Emme has also become an escape artist. She knows how to open the (unlockable) screen door to the deck and backyard at my parents house, so off she and Sophie go! Those two are going to be trouble together! I'm hoping that she doesn't become one of those toddlers you read about on CNN who are rescued by a motorist on a highway two miles from home! Uh-oh!

Here are a couple pictures from the neighborhood picnic my parents hosted yesterday: