Ways we show love

E has gotten a lot more emotive lately.  She has a few ways that she shows that she likes something. 

The first is the pat. 

she tried to pat the bubbles...

 When she is content and there is an object or person who is making her happy she pats it.  pat, pat, pat.  As if she were saying "hi, I like you, you make me happy" pat, pat pat.
She quite frequently gives the pat, pat, pat to things like her bottle, or mommy when she's eating.  sometimes it's a particular toy.  She even gave the pat, pat, pat to another baby this past weekend when we went blueberry picking.  pat, pat, pat.  "you are my friend.  I like your little feet"  (E was fascinated by the other baby's feet....possibly because that was all we would let her reach)

pat, pat, pat "hello friend"

She tried a blueberry, sadly it did not get the pat, pat, pat.  Though she did enjoy ripping the leaves off the plants and trying to eat them.  One of our family friends had their kids with us and the 5 year old was picking with me and she piped up at some point and said "hey, E has something in her mouth!"  I turned around to find a quarter sized blueberry leaf tucked into her cheek.  She repeatedly tried to resume eating the blueberry bushes during the day.

The next is the penguin flap

flap!

When E is excited she flaps her arms up and down like a penguin and sometimes slaps her belly audibly.  It is as if she is saying "oh my goodness, I love you so much I just can't contain it!"  Mommy and Daddy pretty much always get the flap when we enter a room if we've been gone for more than a few minutes.  She also flaps for her musical monkey and for her daycare friend V. 

And of course there is the pinch

When E really, really, really likes something she grabs on and pinches down hard as if she is saying "I love you so much, I don't ever want to let you go!"  the most notable thing she does this to is faces.  Mommy, Daddy and Miss Zena (her AM daycare teacher) all get the pinchy treatment.  And little girl is STRONG, her pinches HURT.  But at the same time, I love them because she only does it to things that she really loves.

Bath time = happy girl

 Mommy and daddy continue to show her love by spoiling her rotten and taking good care of her.  lately she becomes a fussing mess in the evenings.  We think it's because she is teething.  She starts is a cry that we haven't heard before and just becomes inconsolable.  We run through the check list: snuggles, give her a binky, change the diaper, try to feed, try to burp, give gas medicine, give an iced teething ring and sometimes she still fusses. 

mommy loves you, so she'll flip you over

When push comes to shove we throw her in the bath because that's one thing that gets the pat, the flap and the pinch is her bathtub.  She LOVES taking baths.

And of course we still do the "crazy parent check".  Lately E has taken to turning over onto her stomach to sleep.  This drives mommy nuts because of SIDS risk being so much higher when they are on their tummies.  So mommy shows her love of E by very gently turning her back onto her back.  Hopefully there will come a day when all mommy will need to do to re-assure herself E is okay is give a gentle pat, pat, pat.

E and her newest book and toy!  So loved! So Spoiled!