NEWS ALERT: My hubsters suggested that I put the caption or picture description below the picture instead of above the picture so that the blog flows a little bit better, so we are going to try that for this post.
Emmanuel has discovered many new things in the last week or so. He is becoming more and more verbal (evidence: when he sees a dog or hears one bark...he says, "dog, dog, dog, dog!"), he is moving faster than I ever imagined he would with his short, bow-legged frame (evidence: people often come up to me and asking how old he is...then they say, "he gets around well for 13 months!"), and he is showing us that he understands more of what we ask him to do (evidence: picking up his toys and putting them in the bag...mommy REALLY likes that he is learning this) His growth is truly amazing.
We attended our first "Mother Goose on the Loose" in Baltimore. Emmanuel loved being around all of the big kids...and of course, the little girls kept trying to play with his hair. Here is a picture of Lil' E "getting loose" during the song and dance portion. 
Most of the other kids were sitting down at first...not Emmanuel...he was up on his feet with his maracas as soon as she gave it to him! 
The building block exercise was a milestone for me. Eli made these homemade wooden blocks for Emmanuel with some leftover wood that we had from renovating our house. For the last few weeks, Eli has spent time stacking the blocks with Emmanuel, and Emmanuel just knocks the blocks down. Well, a few days ago, Emmanuel stacked the blocks by himself for the very first time. 
When Emmanuel stacked his block, he looked up, smiled REALLY big, and clapped. It was awesome! I loved that he finally understood how to stack a block. I loved being able to witness him achieve a milestone. I loved that he understood that he accomplished something and wanted to applaud his efforts. I cried. Yes, I know, how sappy....but true. I sort of pride myself on not being one of those "over-the-top, super sentimental moms," but the reality is that I am just as "over-the-top" if not more so than the rest of them! 
When we were in Nashville, my mom had a whole list of house projects for Eli to complete. One of them included installing her ceiling fan. Emmanuel couldn't take his eyes of his daddy when he was putting together the fan. He even tried to climb up the ladder. He started grabbing tools so that he could "help." It was really special. I guess now we'll have to find some pretend tools so that he can "help" daddy on all of his fix-it projects.
The "classic" Emmanuel thing to do is to find a bucket or a bag or a box and throw whatever he can find inside of the bucket or the bag or the box. 
Emmanuel discovered the guitar with Allegra Stiles (who, by the way, is a great babysitting age and very responsible!) He really liked the pick, but we weren't so sure it still be around if he played with it, so she hid it so that he could focus on the strings. Maybe he'll be a rockstar someday?
Emmanuel had his very first fudgesicle at the Stiles' house. He loved it. He kept sticking his tongue out and licking his lips. This kid is hilarious! 
Antonio Stiles is going to be a great babysitter when he's ready for that responsibility (I know that people usually don't think of teenage boys for babysitters, but Antonio is a great choice) He kept Emmanuel occupied when we went over for a visit. He helped him discover the fish (to which Emmanuel said, "dog, dog, dog," and played games with him most of the night (until, of course, Eli challenged Antonio to a game of basketball on the Wii...)
And, here he is...hanging out in front of one of the Towson library. He is a really loud, happy, silly kid. He LOVES attention. He LOVES food. He LOVES people...and dogs (I'm still coping with this one). I'll be sure to keep you updated on his other discoveries! 
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