What I learned about Emerald Mans

Hola world! My name is Joy.  I am friends with Keri and Rob, and a coworker with Keri.  I have the great privilege of being the first guest blogger here on “The Circus Elephant Has Lost His Way.” I get this honor because I have kept another human alive for the last eight years. 

As some of you may know Keri and Rob went to a conference together in Philadelphia.  Taking Emerald with them was really not an option. When we found this out my husband and I jumped at the opportunity to watch Emerald.  We haven’t had a baby in the house for seven years, and as I stated above we have successfully kept our son alive for eight years so I guess that qualifies us to watch someone else’s child. 

At first having Em, what I like to call her, took a bit to adjust to, but within a very short period of time we fell into the old routine of bottles, diapers, play time, and early bedtimes.  We really enjoyed having a little one in the house, especially one as pleasant as Em. 

So here is my list of the top ten things I now know about Emerald Joyce Mans:

1.     Emerald has an infectious smile.

Emerald smiles constantly.  Even when she is tired or a little fussy, if you give her a smile you are going to get a huge smile back.

2.     Emerald loves junk food.

Snack time at the Roche house means Doritos, after texting Keri for permission we scraped some of the cheese off the Doritos and let her have a taste.  She loved it.  So Keri and Rob sorry they aren’t organic but she loved them.

3.     Emerald’s favorite word is “Baa!”

Randomly Emerald will slap something and say, “Baa!”  I am not sure what this means, but when she says it, she means it.

4.     Emerald loves animals.

It is a good thing that Em loves animals because at our house we have four dogs, one cat, and four birds.  She loved watching the birds in my bedroom in the morning.  Luckily for me they kept her occupied while I showered and got dressed.  She also loved watching my dogs, and they loved all the crumbs of food she dropped.

5.     Emerald has a thing for earrings.

My husband has both of his ears pierced, and in them he has thick hoops.  Apparently those hoops are perfect Em sized because she never missed an opportunity to wrap her fingers around them and pull.  Often I would hear him scream from across the house for some help.

6.     Emerald can be a big faker.

So let me get this straight Em, you can easily and successfully get out of your car seat harness by yourself, but armholes in shirts elude you. I am not buying it.

7.     Emerald thinks my son is the bee’s knees.

When the dogs were busy, there was always my son, Aidan, to watch.  And when Aidan alone got boring there was Aidan and his friends playing army to amuse her.

8.     Emerald is a big hit at her day care.

Even though I was a bit sad when I had to drop Em off at day care, I quickly realized that everyone loves Em at day care.  How could you not?

9.     Emerald is very ticklish.

Her belly, legs, and feet are all prime locations.  If you ever get the chance to tickle Em, I highly recommend it.

10.  Emerald has stolen our hearts.

Even though Em was only with us for a few days she stole our hearts.  After just two days I told Keri that we were not giving her back.  Of course we had to give her back, but we were promised another chance to have her.

So Emerald, it was great to have you for a short time.  I hope you enjoyed us as much as we enjoyed you. 

BONUS!!!!!!!!! As a thank you for taking care of Em, Keri made us some of her delicious gumbo and some chocolate cookies.  She and Em brought them over last Sunday and we had it for dinner.  Charlie ate three bowls and passed out. Thanks again Keri and Rob!!!