"Good job, Gemma!" 22 months old

Another new, frequent saying for Gemma (referring to herself): "Good job, Gemma!" 

And upon what occasions? Here are a few - 

• helping put the clothes in the laundry
• "make-a porridge" - stirring her bowl of porridge every day for breakfast  
• cleaning up toys (not always a given)
• "Good job _____, Gemma"; as in, "Good job licking" [ice cream cone on 4th of July] and "Good job waving" [flag at the parade]
• drinking successfully out of her tea cup without spilling
• watering the plants or shutting the door or throwing away trash...I mean, really, every small act of learning deserves congratulations!! That certainly is a good reminder for parents, to provide encouragement to their child.

This saying can be accompanied by one of her other favorite sentences: "Gemma take a turn now." Referring to doing any of those helpful actions, or when she wants to buckle her own seat belt or ride on a certain toy at the park.

Gemma and her best bud Emma (we tried to photograph them "high 5-ing" but it was tricky)

Look, Auntie Rachel, I like it! (her first experience with grenadilla/passion fruit)

cheering on Euro Cup (after asking to be half-swaddled up in a blanket)

doing a numbers puzzle from Nonna

learning to throw!

And naturally Gemma's most frequent site of helpfulness is in the kitchen - she asks for her apron and stool and wants to be involved with whatever cutting or stirring is going on. Usually that means she gets to have taster bites of whatever is being prepared. Thus she has ended up tasting and liking a lot of foods! And mom and dad are learning to be patient as we let her participate. Now to get her to wash the dishes...