Early Easter

I don't think I've mentioned in any of my posts that we've found a church we like and have been going for about three weeks now. The church was having an Easter egg hunt today at 10:00, and our neighborhood was having one at 9:00, so we had decided to try to make it to both.

Then our plans changed when we woke up and it was raining. We found out the church was moving theirs inside, so Em and I got ready and headed over.

There was an Easter egg hunt

and several different craft stations, including this one where the kids made Get Well cards for children in the hospital.

There were also plenty of other kids for Em to play with, so she had a good time, even though it didn't turn out quite like we'd planned.

There was an ice cream social at the end, so Em's dress didn't last for the rest of the day since it had ice cream and chocolate on it!

I found these bunny ears on the $1 rack at Target, and Em says she looks like Peter Rabbit with them on :).

What's Happening These Days

I'm so far behind with updates that I thought I'd just combine everything. Em turned two and seemed to blossom overnight into a little girl rather than a toddler. She's speaking in almost complete sentences and even starting to use "I" instead of "Emmy" when she wants to express herself.

One afternoon on the way home, she told me "I saw bumblebee on Emmy's playground!" and then once she said "Essence break Emmy's yo-yo!" I asked Ms. Essence the next day if they had been playing with yo-yos and she said no--so I'm not sure where that one even came from :). Just this week, she told me "I saw Benny's sister Lily," and it was the first time she had ever pronounced L. Normally, she'll pronounce an L to sound like a W, but she was very proud that she used her tongue to make an L (and so was I!).

Her new favorite thing is Dora the Explorer--Dora's best friend (hence, Em's best friend) is Boots the Monkey, and there's a sneaky fox on the cartoon named Swiper the Fox. Em loves the part on every episode where Swiper tries to take something and Dora and Boots say "Swiper, no swiping!" She says it with them, and helps them when they count and solve different problems during each expedition. We really only have the TV on for about 30 minutes in the mornings while she's getting ready for school, but this is the first cartoon she's ever really wanted to watch, and she'll sit through almost an entire episode.

Now that her birthday has passed, she's transitioning into the next classroom at school--Pre-1, meaning she's officially in preschool now. Unbelievable, but she sure seems ready. Plus, she'll be back in her element with all of her friends (including Benny!), so we're excited for her to move up. She's spent some time in the class this week and was having such a good time when I picked her up--I think she's ready for the change of pace.

Em has so much spirit--she has an amazing little personality and lights up our world every day. She also has very strong emotions though, and we never have to guess how she's feeling--she is so loving, and will show such empathy for her friends or often ask us for "kiss please," but will just as quickly make her grunting squealing sound when something doesn't go her way. One thing's for sure...we are not raising a wallflower!

2 Years Old!

We wanted to have a birthday celebration for Em, but also wanted to keep it small, so I made her a cupcake caterpillar when we got home Saturday night.

I went out and got some balloons for her while she was taking a nap on Sunday afternoon,

and she saw them as soon as she woke up and came downstairs, so there was no chance we were going to wait on the cupcakes!

She liked all the different colors because she got to choose which one we each ate!

She's more of an icing girl than a cupcake girl :).
I decorated this cookie cake for her to take to school on Monday, and she had another fun party with all of her friends!

Turning Two at the Zoo!

We planned for a while to take Em back to the Riverbanks Zoo for her birthday instead of having a big party for her again this year. Mick and I both took Friday off to get some things done around the house and pack everything up--then we picked Em up when she woke up from her nap at school.

We headed down to Columbia and checked into the hotel, where Em was delighted to discover a huge lake with lots of ducks and turtles.

It was nice to have somewhere outside to get out and walk around since Mick's parents were meeting us there, but got stuck in traffic and we had almost an hour and a half to fill before they got there.

We had dinner that night and headed to bed so we could get an early start on Saturday.

Before we left for the zoo, Em had some birthday presents to open! Probably her favorite was a Bitty Baby, who she affectionately named "Chicken." Chicken has several changes of clothes, a bottle, a blanket and all of her stuff fits nicely in a little backpack that Em can wear.

We got to the zoo shortly after it opened, and had a fantastic time! Em loved the animals even more than she did last time, which was no surprise--she got excited over everything, from the statues to the birds and snakes to the lions, tiger and bear!

One of the things we love about this zoo is all the interactive exhibits, and how close you can get to some of the animals.

This goat took her whole hand in its mouth, so she told him "not nice, goat!"

These little lorakeets will fly right up and sit on your hand or arm to drink the nectar in these cups--Em said she wanted to hold a birdy, but when one landed on my arm, she squealed and changed her mind :).

The carousel is always a favorite!

Em liked feeding lettuce to the giraffe,

at least until he got a little too close with his tongue!

The weather was perfect for the day, and we took a tram ride over to the botanical gardens, where there were kids' activities set up. Em got a monkey tattoo on her hand and made a maraca with seeds.

There were some cute play areas that she enjoyed too.

She had a great day with Grandma and Papa and cousin Landon, but it was a long day with no stopping for a nap! We took her stroller, but she wouldn't stay in it long enough to rest.

She slept all the way home, and then woke up long enough to eat dinner and take a bath, but then was asleep for the night.

Turning two must be exhausting!

Driving Miss Emmy

Em loves to play in the car, and after she's unbuckled from her carseat, sometimes she'll climb over the console to get in the driver's seat. She likes to push all the buttons and turn the wheel, and will usually say "I want Mommy's keys!"

She's quite the silly little thing.

Weekend Catch-Up

Saturday, there were a couple of things we needed at the mall, so we headed over and had lunch. There was a table tent advertising the Easter Bunny and we decided to give it a try. Em was very excited because we kept saying we were going to see Peter Rabbit--we got up close, and she would not get near him. Honestly, I still don't think I blame her, because those eyes are huge and a little freaky looking--you can even see them in these pictures from far away!

She loved him from a distance though, and wanted to go back after we walked away.

She kept waving and saying "hey Peter Rabbit," even when we went upstairs!

There was a lot going on in the mall for kids--she got to make a paper lantern and color on this huge Sesame Street poster on the floor.

Pretty soon, she had forgotten all about the run in with Peter Rabbit.

IKEA!

We discovered the overwhelming, chaotic wonder of IKEA a few weeks ago. I'm sure we're among the few people on earth who have never been there, but it's on the north side of Charlotte and not exactly a quick trip for us.

We found some really cute things, especially for Em (including the step stool in the St. Patty's Day post), and an overhead light for her room. Unfortunately, the light was out of stock when we went the first time, so we went back today to get it. I also found this adorable train set that she really enjoyed this afternoon.



I'll have to post pictures of her new light as soon as Daddy puts it up!

St. Patty's Day

Em had two birthday parties at school on Friday, and they were celebrating St. Patrick's Day a little early, so she was decked out in green! Both Declan and Ella in her class were turning two and brought in yummy treats--she told us she had cookies and cupcakes for lunch (and it looks like some of it came home on her clothes).

She is such a cheeser!

After all the sugar at school, she wanted some fruit for a snack when we got home--we bought this little step stool a couple of weekends ago, and she's decided she likes using it as a table instead.

Hair Styling

I've been frustrated with Em's hair lately--she loves her bows, but her hair is so thick and long in the front that it won't stay back out of her eyes, and it looks like a mop by the end of the day when I pick her up from school.

Yesterday, I decided I needed to try something different, so I put little ponytails in her hair while Mick was reading a story and she was eating oatmeal.

She loved them, and was very proud to show them off at school according to her teachers, so we did ponytails again today. She patted them and said "thank you Mommy!" She was glad to smile for me when I asked her for a picture.

Love this girl!

Yard Work

We had a gorgeous weekend and took advantage of the nice weather to get outside. Mick had been wanting to do some yardwork, and Em was so excited to help him! We went to Lowe's and she even got her own spade and trowel that thrilled her. She moved dirt and mulch back and forth with her "shovel" and got completely filthy--it was great :).

I'm not sure why I didn't take any pictures over the weekend, but Mick had a few more things to do tonight when we got home, so Em put her sandals on, grabbed her shovel and started helping.

She's such an outside lover, so it's fun to see how much she gets into things like this. She gets so proud of herself, and loves spending time with Daddy getting dirty.

Stress Reliever

Monday night when we finished dinner, Em seemed to have a lot of energy and was in a silly mood, so we decided to try something different before her bath. We had some old magazines ready for the recycle bin, so we got on the floor and started tearing. Somewhere in the middle, Em dedided to get loud, so we took turns screaming as loud as we could, and she had a ball!

We got out a little trash can and used balled up magazine pages to shoot baskets, and then she danced in the middle of our huge mess. It was a nice change of pace, and let's face it--we all have Mondays when we want to rip things and scream at the top of our lungs, so I think it did all of us some good :).

Of course she was okay with helping clean it up though.

Go Fly a Kite

Mick was hitting some golf balls in the back yard this afternoon and Em wanted to try--we needed to get out for a little while, so we ran over to the toy store to get her a play set of golf clubs. It was such a cold, windy afternoon, we also decided to get a kite!

The wind was strong, but pretty inconsistent, so it was tough to get it to stay up long, but it was fun for all of us to try it.

Every time it crashed, Em ran over and beat on it with her golf clubs :).

Cooking and Cleaning

Em has become quite the little helper around the house. She always wants to stir when we're cooking anything, and she now knows which button on the oven to push to turn the light on, so she'll get down and anxiously announce whatever we have in the oven--"biscuits!" or "pizza!" or (this morning) "cimanon rolls!"

Notice the lovely artwork on her feet.

This afternoon, I asked her if she wanted to clean the windows with me so we could draw pictures with her window crayons--of course, she did. So when Mick walked in the door, she jumped up and excitedly told him "I'm cleaning!" It was so funny--she actually did a great job on the window, and had so much fun that we never got around to drawing pictures. We've realized that now she likes to make messes in order to clean them up. She thinks it's particularly fun to pour milk on the floor from her cup, and then clean it up. We are not amused.

Consignment!

When Em was a newborn, I really didn't want hand-me-downs. She was so little and new, so I wanted everything new--plus,the clothes are so much fun to buy! I'm still picky about second hand clothes, but there are several consignment shops near us that have some great deals and really cute stuff. There's a church that we pass on our way to day care that has been advertising a kids' consignment sale this weekend, and it started last night. I worked from home today, so I had a chance to go by the sale this morning. I found some really adorable spring and summer clothes for Em at terrific prices--I didn't pay more than $4.50 for anything!

All of this, plus a few little presents for Em, for less than $100!

Her favorite was this little pocketbook with Elmo, Big Bird and Cookie Monster on it. Inside was a bag of plastic jewelry--beads, bracelets and rings--and she has had SO much fun with it this afternoon!

Mr. Moon

Emily loves the sun, moon and stars (or Mr. Sun, Mr. Moon, and Twinkles, to her). Most nights, before her bath, we'll either take her outside to see Mr. Moon, or we'll turn off the lights and she'll go to a window with a great view.

This window in our bedroom closet has been the best place to spot Mr. Moon and Twinkles lately--we'll lift her up so she can stand on the window sill, and she tells them all goodnight!

New Friends

Mick's mom sent Emily a Valentine goody box, and these two little friends were in it--I asked her what she wanted to name them, and she's named the frog "Broccoli" and the monkey is "Craisin."

Easy to tell what two of her favorites are!

23 Months Old: What's Happening

Only one month away from her second birthday, and Emily is growing so, so quickly. She is talking nonstop (still), and is really putting sentences together like crazy! Her teacher told me today that she said "Emmy tickled Mommy Daddy...in the afternoon!" When I picked her up from school and we were walking to the car, she told me "I saw Benny today;" when I asked where, she told me "outside!" I knew that meant they had a little rendezvous on the playground :). I'm working on refinishing a cabinet in our kitchen that holds all of Em's art supplies and had it in the garage tonight--she pointed to the empty wall and said "want colors back!" I asked her what she wanted to play with, and she asked for her crayons. It's so fun to see what she's going to say next.

She's even more into reading books than she has been (and it was already a lot), but now she'll ask for the ones she wants specifically, and remembers details about each one. Her favorite right now is Peter Rabbit, so I bought some more Beatrix Potter books for her Easter basket. And speaking of Easter, Em has developed quite a sweet tooth--she doesn't often have a lot of sugar--even at school--but her eyes light up when she thinks she's going to have a cookie or anything chocolate. I shared my Reese's cups with her yesterday, and she'd take a bite and say "Emmy got chocolate!" and then come back and ask for "mort!" Yes, she always puts a T at the end of more--not sure why.

I finally did get the video of her singing her ABCs all the way through, but won't be posting it because of the brief nudity (it was after her bath). She continues to love music and singing and dancing, and knows the words to a lot of her favorite songs. We've decided to look for something a little different for her weekend activity--she seemed to be losing interest a little in the Gymboree play classes. She recently moved up to the next class and we decided to cancel her enrollment--so she's enrolled through the end of March, and then we're considering a few other ideas.

Her teachers at school give us lots of compliments on everything from Em's empathy to her terrific manners, which is wonderful to hear, since we don't always get the best behavior from her all the time! She's such a wonderful, sweet-spirited little girl, but she's becoming so much more independent and opinionated, so she feels very strongly about what she does (and doesn't) want to do.

We also still feel really lucky in the eating department. Em will sometimes go on a several-day stretch where she really doesn't want to eat much of anything, but she still drinks a lot and will eat enough to keep us from worrying. Then she'll come out of it and eat like herself again. We're thinking it might have to do with her molars coming in, because she'll also usually tell us her teeth hurt around those same times. The doctor had warned me that she'd go through some eating strikes, so I haven't worried much about it--I know she'll eat when she's hungry. Mick and I both stick to our guns about junk food (no snacks if she didn't eat dinner, for instance), and I feel like that has helped.

I know it's disappointing to have no pictures in this post--I will get busy and take some more and get them uploaded!

Bows!

Emily is finally getting into the bows and barrettes, and my new favorite hobby is making cute bows for her hair. I'm starting small because I don't want the bow to overpower her hair--these are the first few I made.

And they really look sweet in her hair--when I clip one in, she'll sometimes reach up, touch it, and say "thank you Mommy!" So adorable.

They started out more functional--her bangs were so long that they'd hang in her eyes if I didn't clip them back. She got a haircut today though, so now the bows will just be decoration!