Subject: hello: my latest!
January 20, 1999

Hello to my family and friends,

Mommy set up this note so I could tell you all about the latest things I am doing. I don't want you to miss out on anything.

I am crawling now. Mom and Dad have childproofed the livingroom, nursery, and bathroom and put up a childgate at the kitchen.I am busy finding out what they missed. It takes me about 2 or 3 minutes to crawl from one end of the living room to the other, where I like to empty out the wastebaskets.

I am pulling myself up to a stand on chairs and the sofa. I will be walking soon, I am sure becasue I can already stand with only one hand on things.

I have been playing my keyboard and can turn it on and off. I love to dance with any music that I hear and sometimes I sing along in a sort of cute monotone.

Mom and Dad and I all had the stomach flu last week. It was no fun. I drank a lot of water and got to stay up all night, but we made it through and finally got all the clothes and bedding washed.

My Grandfather Horton is coming to meet me tomorrow. Mom and I are going to breakfast with him and then we'll go to the arboretum to feed the ducks. I have been helping mom play the quitar ( I really like the crawdad song) and I am looking forward to playing quitar with my grandfather because he likes to play too. If it rains we may go bowling.

Yesterday I learned to clap. I have been practicing a lot. Even though I can't quite get my hands flat, I am busy hitting them together. I really want to make that neat noise mom and dad make.

I still only say dadadadadad, but I am working hard on other things. I wave goodbye with both hands and crawl over to sit on people's laps when I am glad to see them. I yell at the cats and sometimes it even sounds like I am saying hello.

I just really started to read books. Mom turns the pages and reads and I like to look. After a little while I get bored and try and eat the pages, but I really like 'goodnight moon 'and 'the big red barn'.

Mom and Dad got all the paperwork done to file for a court date and on Friday mom is going to go to the courthouse and get the date. Soon the adoption legal work will be finished.

Hello and love to all of you, my family. If you were here I would smile at you and do my Emily dance.

love.

Emily