Emmett said "Cheese"

today at a BBQ we had with my parents. It was very clear and distinct as far as the "s" sound goes. He was also very into me today. At one point my mom wanted to take him to her house and he shook his head no and hugged me, indicating he wanted to stay with me. I played with him outside for a long time (mostly ball) and then I took him in and read to him for awhile.

Emmett thinks I'm funny. I play this game (today and many days) where I put his hat on my head and pretend like I'm dancing to the music and "accidentally" shake it off. He CRACKS up. He also shuts his eyes when he knows he's going to get his face wiped and thinks it's really funny when instead of wiping his face, I brush his face lightly with a napkin.

Tonight, he didn'twant to go to sleep, so I brought him in our bed and laid down with him for about a half an hour. Our bed is right against the window and I had the window open, and he put his face in front of it (right where mine was) and was just breathing in the fresh air. He loved it. And then he stared playing with me, putting his fingers in my face and making little grunt noises.

Other Emmett events:

• I gave him a cupcake which he promptly put frosting up into his face. It got all over everything and I just laughed and let him do it.

• Emmett understands almost everything and can respond to full sentences.

• Emmett "lets us know" when he just pooped and wants his diaper changed. Other times, he cries when I try to change him.

• The other day I felt like he got upset with me when I left him in his crib for awhile. I felt like he felt rejected. I asked him if he wanted to play and he said no, and kept playing...but barely, like he was sad. Finally, I took him out and started playing with him and he was still fussy and in a bad mood. But when I got really into it, he was happy again.

• I'm realizing Emmett does have feelings and needs me to want to be around him. I need to remember this. He understands more than I realize.

I am enjoying Emmett more than I ever thought I could. Today in church he was playing wiht the kids...running around and laughing. He totally fits in. One girl came up to me and said "He's so cute" and there's this boy every week (he's about 6) that follows him around and "blocks" him from going anywhere. Emmett loves it.