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.

4th of July

I've decided that every Wednesday should be a holiday--we didn't do much of anything, but it was really nice to have a break in the middle of the week, and not so bad to go back to work knowing it was already Thursday!

I found this dress at the church consignment sale I went to several months ago, and had it in mind for 4th of July--it turned out not to  be in Em's plan for the day--so she wore it long enough to do some twirling,

 and cheese for a few pictures.  Then we had a wardrobe change.

We told Em that we would give her a big girl surprise for giving up the paci, and we decided on this little pool.

It's a jungle theme (the jungle is one of her favorite things right now) with a giraffe canopy that sprays water down.  She had a great time spraying the water, and Gracie even decided to join her!

She had a great time playing with Bella too.

As much as we enjoy going over to the pool, it was nice to have somewhere for Em to cool off and play without us having to pack up all of our stuff and stroll down the street.

We had a nice, relaxing day.  Em was in bed well before the fireworks started--she's still not a fan of loud noises, so it was an easy decision to skip them.  Maybe next year!

Two Random Cool Things

Sometimes there are random things I think about and don't seem to go with any particular post, so I thought I'd include two here.

I mentioned that Emily is in Tumblebugs at school, which she likes to talk about...but more than that, she likes to show us all the things they do.  She's really good at flips now, and thinks they're about the most fun thing on the planet.  She's also decided the horsey gallop is now her preferred method of transportation around the house.

We learned just last night that Em has an imaginary friend named Daisy.  I knew Daisy wasn't in her class, but thought maybe she'd heard the name somewhere--I asked if it was Daisy Duck, but she said no.  She told me Daisy has black hair and blue eyes "like Mommy and me" and that she was wearing a blue dress to her blue party, which apparently took place last night after bedtime.  She said Daisy is little like her, and that she only plays with her at home--she's not at school.  I asked Em about her again this morning, and she described her the same way.  I asked her if anybody else could see Daisy, and she said "no, just me."

On one hand, it makes me want Em to have a little sister to play with so badly--I don't remember ever having an imaginary friend growing up, because I always had a brother and sister.  On the other hand, it makes me so proud of her wonderful imagination, and I'm glad she has Daisy.

Bye Bye Paci!

We knew Em would give up her pacifier when she was ready, and even though the dentist told us at her two year checkup that we should work on getting rid of it, we honestly haven't rushed it at all.  She only has it when she's going to sleep, and I was talking to her teacher the other day and learned that she doesn't even use it for naps at school anymore!

Tuesday morning, Em woke up early with a bad cough and a low fever, so I decided around 4AM that I'd keep her out of school.  I'd had cold symptoms since Friday, and had started coughing too, so I thought I could use a day without going into the office too. 

Since we were at home on Tuesday, I decided to give nap time a try with no paci, and it went very smoothly--Em didn't even ask for it, and she slept about 2 1/2 hours.

Bedtime came around on Tuesday, and she asked for her paci once when we were reading a story, but I asked her if she would give it one try with no paci like a big girl, and she agreed.  She wanted me to stay in her room with her until she went to sleep, so I did.  She slept all night and never asked for her paci!

As I write this, she's upstairs napping with no pacifier, so we've made it a day and a half.  I'm sure there will be a few tearful times where she wants it, but we're doing okay so far.  Fingers crossed!

Pool Time!

Mick and I said the other day that it's funny to think that a pool wasn't really a deciding feature when we were choosing a neighborhood in which to buy a house, because we're so glad to have it now!  Emily loves it, and we spent some time at the pool on Saturday and Sunday this past weekend.  The only time she sat down was when it was snack time! 

We usually bring her wagon to carry our cooler and towels and stuff--sometimes she'll ride in it, but more often, she has to prove how strong she is and pull it all by herself.

Summer Fun

Em's day care has what they call "summer camp," even for the kids who are there full time.  It's extra stuff they do during June, July and August, and we get a calendar to bring home to keep up with everything.

This month, they brought in a big inflatable water slide, so Em got to wear her bathing suit to school one morning, which was very exciting for her.  She came home telling me she went down the slide three times, and her teachers said she loved it.

They also have different activities for science--one day, they brought earthworms in and let the kids put gloves on and hold them--Em apparently jumped right in, but told me on the way home "they were very yucky!"  She's fascinated by bugs and worms, but usually decides they're yucky.

They have ice cream day once a week with different vendors--one week was an ice cream truck and one was dippin dots--on those days, they ask for the kids to bring in a dollar or two, and Em feels so important when she carries in her "monies" and gives them to the teacher.  She usually reminds the teacher exactly what she plans to spend her monies on, and of course I get to hear the cute stories on the way home.

We've signed Em up for Traveling Tumblebugs, which is every Tuesday.  It's a tumbling class with a company that travels to different day cares in Charlotte--she participated as a trial a couple of times and we always heard how much fun she had, so we signed her up.  Several of her friends go too--she tells us about it every Tuesday afternoon now, so I'm glad we decided to do it.  With the really hot weather, it's nice to know she's still physically active, even when they don't spend as much time outside.

Pretending

The way Emily plays is so much fun to watch--she's such a good little caregiver to all of her "friends" as she calls them, and has a very creative imagination.  She's very into pretend play right now--she'll climb up the stairs on her hands and knees, telling us she's a puppy doggie, or bring us a handful of leaves and sticks outside and offer us chocolate chip cookies and ice cream.  I acted like I was going to eat the leaves the other day, and she laughed and said "Mommy, it's just for pretend."

So all of a sudden the other night, all of her friends needed clean diapers--I have some diapers and wipes that we received as samples and aren't the kind we like, so I gave her some to play with, and she had the best time.

She talked to everyone while she was changing them: "there you go Chicken, I get all the yucky poopy for you." (yes, her baby's name is still Chicken--I was a little surprised it stuck, but there's no turning back now!)

She's big on saying "what's next?" and asked "who's next" a couple of times during this process.

Tweetsie Railroad

We had talked about taking Em to Tweetsie Railroad for a while because choo-choo trains are one of her favorite things right now. It's in Blowing Rock, which is less than a two-hour drive from us. A couple of weeks ago, I heard a radio commercial that Dora the Explorer and her cousin Diego would be visiting Tweetsie Railroad the weekend of June 23, so the decision was made.

We went up Friday night and stayed in Boone, about 5 minutes away, so we could be at the park pretty early.  We arrived at the park around 9:30 Saturday morning, and except for making a stop to sit on the horsey, we headed straight for the tent where Dora was making her first appearance at 10:00 AM.

We got there early enough for Em to have Boots the Monkey painted on her face--when she saw him in the mirror afterwards, she was so excited.

There wasn't much to the show in our opinion, but it was perfect for Em--only about 15 minutes long, and plenty of singing and dancing.

We were sitting about mid-way under the tent on the bleachers, and Em decided that wasn't close enough--she climbed right down and went straight to the front so she could have an unobstructed view!

After the show, a line formed for pictures, so we waited the 15 minutes so Em could meet her favorite character.  I wasn't sure how she'd react because she's unpredictable with big costumes (remembering the Easter Bunny), but she was thrilled!  She gave both of them high fives, and then said she needed to give them big hugs!

Although she didn't want to leave the Dora tent, there was so much to do in the park that we were able to distract her pretty easily.  The chair lift was one of her favorite things (she loves to go up SO high!).

The chair lift took us up to Miner's Mountain, where there were lots of kids' rides, a place to pan for gold, a miniature train ride, and a petting zoo.

The rides were perfect, because they were for kids only, and Em really loved being able to ride all by herself like a big girl.

The animals were a big hit too!

The mini train ride was great--it took us through a cheese mine tunnel where they had cartoonish mice set up mining for cheese with lots of bright colors and music, which fascinated Emily.

There were several shows she enjoyed too--they all lasted about 15-20 minutes, which is perfect for her attention span.

She joined right in with the cloggers, and then wanted to take a picture with "the princesses" when they were done.

Same with the can-can dancers--she had to be right up front,

and needed her picture taken with them too!

There was a section like a county fair with more rides and games--Em and Daddy drove a car together.

She was steering and Mick was controlling the gas/brakes, but I think he gave up on the bumpers about halfway through and helped her steer.

There were a couple of rides where she got to go up high, and she liked those the most (helicopters and airplanes).

Had to try her hand at a couple of fair games, and with a little help from Daddy, she won a little blue alligator.

The ride on the big train was fun at the end of the day, but there were a couple of stops where cowboys got out and staged gunfights, and Em was not a fan.  She got pretty scared and kept telling us she wanted to go home.  The gunshots were enough for her to decide she didn't like the cowboys!

We stayed until about 5:00 that afternoon, so it was a full day.  We went back to the hotel and took a quick dip in the pool before heading out for dinner.

We had dinner and all went to bed pretty early--it was a long day, but so much fun!  We headed home before lunch on Sunday and still had a little weekend left when we got here.

Fun Weekend with Aunts, Uncle and Cousins

I've gotten a little out of order here, but the weekend of June 8, we had visits from some of our favorite people!  Aunt Julie came down from Boston and got here around 10:00 Friday morning.  I had taken Em to school that morning just to spare her from the airport ride, so Julie and I stopped by to pick her up.  She was so excited, and had been telling everyone that Aunt Julie was coming to pick her up.

Uncle Jason, Aunt Jenn, Cody and Chase got here a little after noon, so Cody and Emily went straight to the kitchen to fix lunch :).

They had a great time playing together!  The weather was great, so we spent the afternoon outside--even baby Chase enjoyed some outside time while Cody and Em entertained him with bubbles.

They had a great time in the bathtub together,

and drying off afterwards!

The next morning, they started the day with story time, courtesy of Aunt Julie.

Jason and Jenn were starting out a vacation week and heading to the mountains, so they left pretty early Saturday morning.  We knew it would be a quick trip, but it was still worth it.

Em said her good-byes and gave everybody kisses (and then asked for Cody and Chase the rest of the day!).

Mick was on call and ended up having to work most of Saturday, so Julie and Em and I headed to uptown Charlotte for the Taste of Charlotte festival.  It was the perfect day for it--we were in the shade of the buildings most of the time and there was a nice breeze outside, so we made lunch out of tasting a bunch of different foods.  Em had pizza,

and then decided she'd relax for the rest of the sampling.  We've definitely gotten our money's worth out of this stroller!

Em read The Very Hungry Caterpillar to Aunt Julie when we got home.  She won't pass up an opportunity to sit in somebody's lap for a story.

Saturday night, we went to dinner and then out to Blakeney for the live music. Em wasted no time kicking off her shoes and dancing (notice her fingers in the air).

This time, we took a cooler and some chairs so we were comfortable while she danced--she liked coming over every few minutes for kisses and hugs.

She's such a silly little thing,

and loves getting out with all the little girls to twirl around!

It was a nice night for all of us.

Aunt Julie's flight was before lunch on Sunday, so we headed to the airport pretty early.  It was a fun weekend that went by way too quickly.