Labor Day Weekend

Labor Day weekend always brings the Matthews Alive Festival--it benefits local non-profit organizations and is always a lot of fun.  The problem is that it seems like every year, it's still so hot outside on Labor Day!  We went anyway, on Saturday afternoon--Emily had a great time, of course. 

There was live music, so she danced every chance she got.

She and Daddy went down the Super Slide, and I got the helicopters and carousel.

After only a couple of hours, it was really too hot to stay much longer, so we headed out--we had dinner, and Emily had her first ice cream in a cone for dessert.  She was a fan immediately, and did really well with it considering the lack of practice.

After dinner, we went to hear some more live music, and Emily cleaned out my pennies when we got to the fountain.  She has a pretty good arm!

On Sunday, it was still really hot outside, so we spent the morning at the pool.  I uploaded some videos, but didn't take any pictures.  I did, however, catch this one during our water gun fight in the backyard Sunday afternoon!  Emily was hilarious, and we all had fun (and were soaked by the end).

We got into dry clothes and decided to go back to the Matthews Alive Festival, since the weather was cooling off some.  It was much nicer Sunday evening, so we had festival food for dinner (yum!) and rode some more rides.  We headed home with a very sleepy little girl.

We didn't do much on Monday, except a few things around the house and yard.  It rained some, so Em took advantage of the weather and played with her umbrella--she gets so excited about using an umbrella!

Overall, it wasn't a tremendously busy weekend, but we had a good time and enjoyed the extra day for sure.

Friday Night Fun

 

Every weekend should be three days long! We originally planned to go camping this weekend, but it turned out to be much hotter than we expected, so we stayed around home.

 

Friday night, we decided to go to Barnes and Noble at the mall--they have a kids' story time at 7pm, and we thought Emily would enjoy it.  We had a rare junk food dinner at Chick-fil-A, which she was so excited about she could hardly finish her chicken nuggets!

We got there a few minutes early, and Em found her seat and waited anxiously!



Once the story actually started, her attention span shortened a little.  I guess it's like asking someone to go to a candy store and only have a piece of gum with all the other great stuff around--she was distracted by all the other great books.  Emily and I could both stay in the bookstore all day!

We stayed a while, picked out some books to buy, and headed home after doing a little more shopping.





Reunion Weekend

 

This weekend, Mick's family was having a reunion down in Jekyll Island, GA.  We took Friday off and left that morning to drive down.  Em was so excited to go to the beach and see Grandma and Papa, her uncles and cousins.

I've just never seen a more beautiful little face than this :).



Em was happy all afternoon and besides a 30-minute power nap on the drive down, she refused to rest all day.  We were a little surprised at how well she did without sleeping.

She got in plenty of hugs and kisses with everyone--we had a dinner and birthday celebration for several people on Friday night, so she was up way past bedtime.

 Here's Grandma with all three grandchildren and their celery/carrot cigars.

On Saturday morning, we decided to take Em to the Georgia Sea Turtle Museum--it wasn't quite what we expected, but she still liked seeing the turtles (sea turtles are her "favorite friends" right now, she says), and the man working there brought a tiny little baby turtle over so she could see it up close.

We had some time for a round of mini golf, where Em took Daddy's club and said "Daddy, let me teach you."  Hilarious!

 

We got back together with everyone that afternoon for some time on the beach.

She started to get wet, so when Grandma pulled up her pants legs, 

 Em pulled up her dress to show off her Dora underpants :).

Sunday came quickly, and we had to head home, but not before Grandma and Papa gave Emily presents!

As always, the books were her favorites.

But she was pretty excited about her princess set too--glittery shoes, jewelry, a tiara and a "magic wand!"

 

 

Monkeying Around

We don't let Em watch much TV, but when she does, it's still usually Dora the Explorer.  One morning, the episode she was watching was all about a special day for Boots the Monkey, and he had a banana crown to wear.  Our silly monkey decided she needed a banana crown too, so we broke out the construction paper and made this one. 

Em loves cutting and gluing, so she was excited to get to do it first thing in the morning! 

Fun Saturday Afternoon

We wanted to get out this afternoon and do something different, and Em said she wanted to paint, so we headed to Dish it Out, a paint your own pottery studio.  She walked through and looked at everything, and then decided on these doggie-shaped salt and pepper shakers.  She had a great time painting them, but seemed to enjoy the project I was working on a little more, since it involved me painting her hands and feet for prints :).

We'll pick up our masterpieces in about a week after they've been glazed and fired.

When we were done, we headed out for cheeseburgers for dinner (another request from Miss Emily), and stayed out long enough to hear some music, dance a little, and throw some pennies in a wishing well.

More Potty Updates

Em has been about a week and a half now with no pee accidents--she has quickly become a potty master in that department!  We haven't gone back to diapers at all except for naps and nighttime, and she's usually dry when she wakes up from naps.
The poop has been a different story--she'll choose to go in her underwear instead of the potty, and although I've heard this is pretty common, I just can't understand it.

Last night, she started acting like she needed to go, and I got her to sit on the potty long enough to go--we made such a big deal out of it, and gave her a new book from the top secret prize closet.  She was really proud of herself, and has kept the trend going today with the exception of one accident.

Hope we don't run out of prizes before she gets this down :).

Summer of Sick

This has been a strange month for us--I took Em back to the doctor on Sunday because she was still coughing, and told me her ear hurt and had goop in it.  She just finished a round of Amoxicillin for an ear infection about a month ago, and we were disappointed to hear that she had another one!  The doctor said her lungs sounded great, but gave her a stronger antibiotic and said she'd show improvement over the coming week.

Speaking of a relentless cough, this was the start of my seventh week of a cough that just wouldn't quit.  I had gotten the bronchitis diagnosis about two weeks ago, and the doctor gave me some stuff to control the coughing, but said it would typically go away on its own.  She said my lungs were fine at the time, but wanted me to go back in for a chest x-ray if I wasn't better in a week.  So over the past couple of weeks, I could tell the cough had moved into my chest and had gotten worse, so I went to the doctor on Monday.

The chest x-ray showed I had clinical pneumonia!  It's so weird, because I haven't felt sick at all--just the cough that's getting really old.  So now Em and I are both on the mend...we hope!

Yummy

We normally cook breakfast at home in the mornings, but Saturday, Mick had found a few garage sales he wanted to check out, so we decided to make a quick stop at Krispy Kreme for doughnuts.  This new KK opened several months ago and is only a couple of miles from us, but I'm proud to say this was the first time we gave in to it!

Em loved watching the doughnuts, but wasn't that crazy about eating them (luckily).  She had a few bites, but didn't finish one.

Day 3 - Potty Power

I guess today was really day 5, but since it was Em's third day away from home with no diapers, I'm counting 3.  She has done such a great job!

Each day since Monday, she's had two accidents (so yes, I'm washing more clothes at night!), and we were prepared--we took five changes of shorts and underwear for her.  She'll pee on the potty when she gets up in the morning usually, but there have been a couple of surprises.  Yesterday, she sat down and peed about a teaspoon and told me she was done.  I knew better, but she got dressed and then wet her pants on our way out the door!  Today, she sat on the potty and did the same thing--I was sure she'd have an accident in the car, but we got to school and she made it to the potty (impressive holding!).

We decided to skip using pull ups--I've heard such mixed reviews by people who have used them, and feel like it might be more confusing than anything for her.  While it would certainly not be as messy as changing her clothes with every accident, it also doesn't make her completely aware of every accident, immediately.  She's a pro at taking a diaper off, so I don't think one that she could pull down would make a difference in helping her go.  She really seems to get excited every time she uses the potty, and we're continuing to celebrate every success (we've gone through a lot of stickers!).

Potty Progress

We haven't really rushed the potty training, but lately, Em has become more aware of when she's going--she'd tell us (wearing a diaper) when she was "going pee pee" or would get in the bathtub at night and want to stand up and pee in the tub (I wasn't a big fan of this).

I've noticed that she's going more and more at school though--some days, she'll use the potty 4 or 5 times in a day!  Friday when I picked her up from school, Ms. Cathy told me that she was catching on so quickly, and she wanted to know if we were ready to try big girl underpants.  That's a little bit what I've been waiting on--she's there for so many hours of the day that I knew it needed to click at school and at home for her.

So on Saturday, we decided to give up the diapers and put on Minnie Mouse panties!  She went all day with only two accidents, and we even went out shopping and to get a haircut.  The biggest thing for us is keeping track of time and telling her when it's time to sit on the potty instead of asking her if she needs to go (because of course she never does).  Whenever we got to a new place, we'd make a pit stop, and then again before we got back in the car.  I made sure one of our stops was to stock up on cool new panties for her--including (of course) some with Dora on them.

She's done a great job all weekend!  We'll still stick to diapers at nap time and bed time for now, but she's definitely more ready now than she was in the past, which is making it much easier.

Monday, we'll be taking several extra changes of clothes to school and keeping our fingers crossed!

Rhymes

I've posted some new videos of Em "reading" some of her favorite nursery rhymes--click on the link in the upper right corner!

So Silly

Em loves to play with stamps--she was playing at the kitchen table tonight while I was cooking dinner, and I could tell by her giggle that she was up to no good.  I went over to check on her, and she had ink everywhere, including her lips!

I went to get the camera, and she thought she was in trouble--she said "no, Mommy!  Don't wipe it off!"  She thought she was really hilarious when I took pictures instead of cleaning her off.

Fun Stuff Around the Neighborhood

Last weekend, our neighborhood hosted a pool party, and it was a perfect HOT day for it.  We went down after Em's nap--they provided food on the grill and everyone was asked to bring a side dish and drinks.  There was music, tons of food, and lots of people (and kids).

We stayed for several hours, and Em was tired enough when we headed home that she actually wanted to ride in the wagon (she normally refuses to ride).  We hadn't brought her sunglasses, so she needed to wear mine.

I told her she was a diva, and she said "no, I'm Emily the diva!"  Definitely can't argue with that.

Lately, Em is really into games and organized activity.  I keep a bunch of pictures that I've cut out of magazines and she'll sometimes ask to make an art project.  She likes to cut on her own too, but prefers when I've cut out pictures of things she likes, and then I give her clues to find a certain picture to glue on her paper (for instance, I might ask her what she would like for breakfast in the morning, and she'd find a picture of pancakes or eggs).  She loves matching, so I bought some Dr. Seuss matching cards, and she'll hear a song or nursery rhyme in the car sometimes and say that it matches one of her books.

I've found some very cool animal and phonics flash cards at Target on the $1 rack that have proven very effective to get her to sit still long enough to go to the potty.  She loves the cards, so I try to set them aside just for that purpose :).  Puzzles are another favorite right now, but obviously, not potty appropriate.

Mick found this game at a garage sale--it's a Dora the Explorer version of Candyland, so we took it out this afternoon.  Em loved it!  She doesn't quite get the object of the game yet, but she loves drawing the cards and moving the pieces--just not necessarily in the right direction.



Our neighborhood also hosts a monthly movie night in the park--there's a grassy area behind the clubhouse and pool, so they set up a screen and people bring out blankets and chairs.  Tonight was July's movie, and was the first time we've gone (of course, we pick the hottest day!), but we'll definitely go again.



I have to admit, we were so hot that we really didn't mind heading home when we felt like it was time to get Em to bed.  She does usually stay up later on the weekends, but is still at least close to bathtime and bed by 9:00 PM.

One of the closeby grocery stores sponsored tonight's movie night and provided snacks and drinks--Em enjoyed some cheese puffs and apple juice.  She doesn't have either of those often, so she loved it!

Night at the Ballgame

ARAMARK hosted a night at the ballgame with the Charlotte Knights for our employees and families a couple of weeks ago.  It's a minor league team, and the game was on a Thursday night, so it wasn't too crowded and the stadium is only about 10 minutes from our house.

Our dinner was served about an hour before the game started, so we got there early and had some extra time.  Em spotted a play area with bounce houses and a carousel all the way across the field, so we made our way over.

We had about 150 people show up, and had rented out the Party Deck (which you can see here).  We were worried all day about the weather, but the sky cleared up and a nice cool breeze started at the last minute, so it turned out to really be a perfect night to be out.

Em didn't watch much of the game, except when Homer the Dragon got out on the field!

She did get to see the Chick-fil-A cows, who gave her this little stuffed cow and the mask, which she loved.

We left a little after 8:00 since it was a school/work night, but it was a good time.

Battles

Emily is such a little firecracker--literally everybody who spends time with her comments on what a wonderful personality she has, and we completely agree.  She is a pure joy about 80% of the time, and the other 20% is probably typical for a two-year old, but it can sure try our patience.

By far, our biggest battle right now is brushing teeth.  Emily has gone from feeling okay about brushing her teeth to absolutely despising it.  We have tried every gimmick we can find--toothbrushes with every favorite character, and at least six kinds of toothpaste.  Bribes, rewards, threats, punishment.  Nothing works.  Since this isn't something I'm willing to negotiate, I literally end up putting her on the floor and straddling her to hold down her arms and legs while I force the toothbrush in her mouth and brush.  Twice a day.  Every day.  It gets really old--Em kicks and cries the whole time.

We're sure hoping this is just a passing phase.

Matching and Similes

I haven't done any reading to see if this is typical at 27 months, but Emily has gotten really good at matching games and puzzles over the past few weeks.  She'll make comparisons on her own--she commented on a big truck we saw on the way home the other day, and I asked her what color it was.  She replied "green, like the leaves on a tree!"  She compares shapes (a pizza is round like a ball, for instance) and likes games where she has to match colors, shapes or pictures.  Grandma and Papa had given her some simple puzzles, and those are some of her favorite things right now.

She also has become a pro at identifying songs just by the music, which has made her new recorder lots of fun.  I still remember a few of the simple songs I knew back in the day, so she'll sing while I play.  I'm sure it's a pretty funny show to watch :).

Musical Girl

Emily loves music, and loves to make music--she has several play instruments, but Target had recorders on a clearance rack today and I had to pick one up for her.  I cannot even tell you the hours Julie and I spent playing recorders growing up.  We both had one for school and learned some basic songs, but we took them pretty seriously :).

I showed Em how to use it when we got home--I had to tell her to put it in her mouth and blow like she was blowing bubbles, because at first, she just held it up and made her own noises to sing the notes.

Mick was cleaning out the garage this afternoon, and Em went out to entertain him.  I have another, longer video I'll post soon.

Please excuse my singing.  The second video is a little long--and maybe it's me, but I think it's hilarious.

Baking Suit

Emily had water play day at school on Friday, and gets so excited about wearing her "baking suit" to school in the morning.  She can make the "th" sound sometimes, but still refers to her bathing suit as the baking suit.  So funny :).

Surprise!

Sunday, July 8 was my mom's birthday, so we decided we'd go to Brevard for the weekend to surprise her.  We drove up Saturday afternoon and Em was so excited to see Grandma and Papa--this has been the most fun yet because she really got into the surprise.  I found a recordable book called I Love You, Grandma that we recorded together, and Em couldn't wait to tell Grandma that she made her a present.

They wasted no time finding some books to read--this is one of my favorites!

They live right across the road from the river, so we went down that afternoon to let Em throw some rocks in,

 

and ended up seeing an otter swimming against the current.  We watched him for a while, hoping he'd get out of the water, but he never did.  Too bad I couldn't get a better picture!



 Emily was still excited about seeing him,

and as always, she loves being outside, no matter what we're doing.



The next morning, Papa showed her a squirrel nest up in a tree, and she was fascinated.  There are definitely some scenic benefits to living on the side of a mountain.

Later Sunday morning, we went to Sycamore Flats so we could play in the water.  The weather seems to stay about 10 degrees cooler there than in Charlotte, but it was still hot.  Even with 90 degree temperatures though, the water was chilly!

 She loved throwing all the river rocks in and seeing how big a splash she could make.

Even after she leaned in a little too far and her shirt was soaked, she didn't slow down.  We took her shirt off and she splashed water on herself, saying she was taking a bath.

We went into Hendersonville and ate lunch before leaving that afternoon--they had a reunion to go to, and we needed to get home since it was a school night.  We knew it would be a short trip, but it was a fun weekend.  Em cried when we got in the truck and said she needed Grandma and Papa--that's the only downside of how attached she is!  We'll need to do a better job of visiting a little more often.