Only Emmett

About 6 months ago I remember wondering if Emmett would EVER make it out of his terrible three stage.  I felt like he gave me a run for my money every day of my life, and I just didn't know how to handle him.  The doctor summed it up at his 3 year visit, "Feelings get hurt VERY easily at this age," she said.  You didn't have to even be mean to hurt his feelings--LITTLE changes in the day would shatter his tranquility.  I am so happy that we're finally past that...tantrums and bawl-fests don't happen every hour anymore...maybe once a day.  And he's finally able to understand the rationality of consequences and can make agreements.  With the maturity that comes with this stage, his hilarious personality is shinning through more, too.  Here are some favorite recent quotes:

D-Jo:  You're so cute.
Emmett: I'm not cute, I'm awesome.
Mitch:  You're cute in an awesome way.
Emmett:  NO.  Cute is cute, and awesome is awesome.

Whenever something doesn't go his way, or when he doesn't want to do chores anymore, you can find him saying, "I have no energy.  Carry me."

I love to kiss his cute little face, but he tells me, "I'm allergic to kisses!"

Mitch got a laugh out of this one first:  Emmett was heartbroken about something that Mitch wouldn't let him do (it was probably something a good parent would say, like, "No, you can't eat the entire bag of butterscotch chips and skip out on dinner" or it could have been over sharing a toy or something), and Emmett had a MELTDOWN.  Now imagine Luke Skywalker's facial expression in Star Wars when he gets his arm sliced off and finds out that Darth Vader is his father.  Emmett will make a face like that in his melt down and point with all fervency, "See my face?  THIS IS A SAAAAD FACE!"  It's so funny!

When the kids are not quite asleep, but pretend to still be asleep, Mitch calls them "Faker Bakers".  The other day, Emmett was being a faker baker as I was bringing him in from the van.  I could tell he was tired and wanted to fall asleep.  I took it as an opportunity to tell him things I want him to know at a moment I knew he would hear me & not talk back.

D-Jo:  Oh, I'm so lucky!  This is such a special boy.  I love EVERYTHING about this little Emmett.  I'm so lucky to be his mom.  There's no other Emmett in the world that could ever make me happier.  I know his daddy feels the same way about him, too. (Kept saying mushy things like that.)
Emmett (eyes still closed--methodically moves his thumb from his mouth):  LAME.
D-Jo: What?  You're awake?  Did you just call me lame?
Emmett:  Yes!  Haha!
D-Jo: Do you even know what lame means?
Emmett:  Lame is stuff you want to throw away.
D-Jo: Take it back!

He's such a tease!  He was calling me lame, because I was being mushy.  In this family, it's seriously something only Emmett would do.  He's one of a kind, and he makes me laugh. I'm so glad he keeps it real for me--I don't know what I'd do if I had boring cookie-cutter kids.  It's a good thing they all come with their very own ideas and personalities.  It keeps my life interesting, that's for sure.