First Movie in a Theater

It rained most of the day on Saturday, so we decided to take Em to see her first real movie in a theater--the Disney movie "Planes."  We should have known it was a bad idea to go at naptime, because she sat in my lap and fell asleep! When I looked over to tell Mick she was asleep, he was too!

So I watched the movie by myself...sad!  We'll have to try again soon :).

Second Time a Charm!

I mentioned that we didn't want Em to give up on dance class after one time, so Wednesday was try #2.  There were a couple of reasons we thought the first time went wrong--one, we left her as soon as we got to the class.  She was in a new place with new people and no familiar faces, which causes some anxiety.  On the way home that night when I mentioned going back, she said "but Mommy, am I gonna have to live there?"  Oh, the things that go through her head!  Two, I left as soon as we got home that night to go to a concert with some friends--that made her sad and made our night seem rushed.  I decided if we could make some minor changes, things might go more smoothly.

We were headed to school Wednesday morning and talking about dance, and she said again that she didn't want to go back.  I asked why, and she said "I don't like the things we did."  I asked her what she didn't like, and she said "we had to hold animals, and I held a pretend baby pig."  I managed not to laugh and then told her she would not have to hold a pig this time--that seemed to be enough to convince her to give it another shot.

We got to class, and she was as excited as ever to put on her dance outfit and tap shoes--Mick and I stood outside of a big observation window so we could see her in class, and that seemed to help a lot.  About halfway through, the instructor took out a bag and started handing out small stuffed animals that the girls danced with--all of a sudden, I connected the baby pig!  Em got a mouse this time though, and she was fine with it.

She did a great job and was much happier when it was over--plus, we let her choose dinner afterwards, and Chick-fil-A is always a winner :).

Superhero Party

Em has kind of had a thing for superheroes lately--we found this Spider-Man mask at a consignment sale a couple of weeks ago, and she's wanted everyone,

 including Bella, to try it on :).

So when she got the invitation to Brady's superhero birthday party, she thought about all of her choices, but pretty quickly decided on Batman.  I found this little shirt at Target and made the cape and mask the morning of the party--she was so excited :).

The party was at Plaza Fiesta, which is a huge shopping/dining/playing location close to us.  There's an enormous structure in the middle with stairs, ladders, slides, and everything you can think of that would be fun for a kid.

Em had a great time with all of the kids (most were from our neighborhood).

The play structure is so huge that it's tough to keep track of your child if you lose sight of them--I ended up climbing in with Em a couple of times.

I quickly realized that she was perfectly capable of handling herself!

Lunch was pizza, and then birthday cupcakes.

Em and Brady usually play like brother and sister--since they're right next door to us, it makes it easy to see him often.

As if there was more action needed, there's an arcade too, so after eating, all the kids played games for another 45 minutes or so.

Em had a great time shooting at the giant spiders in this game.

And she never quite figured out the gun in this one.

She picked up air hockey really quickly, but I still beat her :).

And she and Brady had a good time dancing before we decided it was time to head home for a nap.

Sweet Little Dancer

We signed Em up for dance several months ago, and the day finally arrived!  She started on Wednesday--tap and ballet--and the age group is 3 1/2 to 4 1/2 years old.



The "uniform" she has is light pink leotard, tights and skirt with light pink ballet slippers and black tap shoes.  No bias here--she was most certainly the cutest little tapper there!

She was so extremely excited to finally get there and get started, but we were a little disappointed that we didn't get to stay in the class to watch her.  She had been really looking forward to us watching her dance, so she was a little sad when we left.

There was a lounge where we could watch her class on a TV monitor, but it wasn't quite the same as being there.  The class is only 45 minutes long, but when it was over, she said she didn't like it and didn't want to go back!

We're not going to let her give up after one class, especially after how much she has looked forward to this.  Later this week, we started talking about it again and I asked her to show me some of the things she learned.  She excitedly showed me some of the moves she picked up, so I'm optimistic about getting her to try it again.

Summer must be ending!

We've had our first few nights of cooler, lower humidity weather, which has made us excited for fall!  We built a fire Saturday night and had hot dogs

and marshmallows :).  Unfortunately, the mosquitoes are still out, so we headed inside for a movie after we ate.

Big Girl Room

Em has been wanting her room updated to a "big girl room," and finally decided on an under the sea scene.  It's taken me long enough to actually get it done, but we're there!

I'm not as crazy about this side as the corner, so I still might make some changes, but she's happy with it for now.

I of course had a great little helper.  It was tricky letting her help enough for her to feel involved, but not so much that I had a disaster on my hands :).

Visit from Grandma

On Labor Day weekend, we made arrangements for my mom to come visit for a couple of days--she needed to be back home mid-week, and we had to work, so we knew it would be a short trip.  Em was super excited and it was certainly better than no trip at all!

 

Grandma hadn't seen Em in about four months, so I can imagine what a surprise it is to see how much she's grown when you haven't been with her every day.  Em had a great time showing off all of her new skills (she's great at drawing shapes now, even though puzzles and books are still her favorites).

We did go to the Matthews Alive festival--we've been to this several times (always Labor Day weekend), and it seems to always be hot!  This year was no exception, but Em seemed to enjoy it more this year.  First stop was to get her face painted--this silly expression is her trying to get a look at her butterfly cheek :).

It's always a fun time--there are tons of arts and crafts vendors set up.

Em makes us a pretty easy target for things we don't need, like this alligator.

 There's a great kids' section set up under a tent where she stopped to make some crafts.

 But hands down, the rides are her favorite!

All weekend, she wanted to make cupcakes with Grandma, but we never got around to it, so she and I made them together.

Em is a terrific helper in the kitchen!