More Thoughts

Here are a few other cute things Em is saying these days:

• When she's upset with us for something, she'll say "I'm very angry of you!"
• We're really working on manners (at home and school) so when she needs help, she'll ask "may you please help me?"
• She wore jeans to school yesterday for the first time this season (the high was 62 degrees!), and she said she wanted to change because they wiggled on her legs :).  She normally wears comfy knit shorts/leggings to school, so I'm sure the jeans felt pretty different!

Soccer

We signed Em up for Soccer Shots at school again this fall, and she is loving it.  In true redneck fashion, Mick set up this trash can in the backyard for her to practice her kick.  Grandma gave her this kick ball and she's loving it!  We did eventually get a foldable goal for her, which is a little easier to aim for, but she was quite proud of her trash can goal :).  Check out this little cheerleading pose!

Snapshots of Em's Inner Thoughts

Em has the most amazing little mind, and she says the cutest things sometimes.  I have often considered jotting her little thoughts down and collecting them in a jar or a book or something so I won't forget them.  I've tried to remember a couple of cute ones lately:

• I usually feel like a drill sergeant in the mornings when we're getting ready to leave.  Mick has started leaving super early in the mornings so he can pick Em up most afternoons, so it's just the two of us when she wakes up.  She'll often be sitting on her potty in the living room watching cartoons while I fix her hair for school or get her dressed.  We have to get up so early since I have about an hour commute in the mornings, so she's up at 5:45 and we're leaving the house by 6:50.  One morning, I was trying to rush her along (she can be quite the slowpoke and will ask "can I take my time?") and she said "Mommy, I'm taking my fastest time."  She's a great reminder for me that I need to slow down a little to enjoy those moments :).
• I've been traveling on and off again for work, and I caught an earlier flight home a few weeks ago, which got me back in just enough time to walk in as she was in bed and ready to fall asleep.  Mick came downstairs and told me she was still awake, so I went in her room and she asked me to get in her bed with her--I did, and she wanted to cuddle and talk.  She was so sweet, and I hadn't seen her in two days, but knew we needed to get up in the morning, so I told her she needed to close her eyes.  She smiled and said "but Mommy, I'm excited!"
• She loves movies, and loves the songs from her Disney movies--The Aristocats and The Little Mermaid (which we just got this week) are two of her favorites--her songs are "Thomas O'Malley Cat," "Everybody Wants to be a Cat," and "Part of Your World."  She knows every word to the songs, and can even sing them when the music isn't on :).  Before she ever saw "The Little Mermaid," she knew the songs and the story--now that we got the movie, she's totally obsessed :).  Sometimes she even swims in the bathtub like Ariel!

There are tons of other funny little things she does, but of course I can't think of them now that I'm writing.

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!



Mini Vacation

Em’s school transitions classrooms based on the school year, so it’s closed for two days of teacher training every August.  She started in September last year, so this is the first time we’ve had to think about those two days.  I knew I’d take the days off to spend with her, but a few weeks ago, Mick said he’d take them off too, so we decided to spend a four-day weekend in Hilton Head.  We really hadn’t been to the beach all summer, and Em has talked about it nonstop, so we thought we owed her at least one good sand castle.

We left Thursday morning and arrived around noon—the hotel had our room ready, so we checked in early and headed down to the restaurant by the pool for lunch.  She got to meet the Omni dolphin right away, and wasn't shy about giving him a hug!

Em's attitude was going downhill pretty quickly at lunch, so we knew she needed a nap since we had plans for that night and she would be up late. 

She slept for a couple of hours, and when she woke up, we headed to Harbour Town for our Pirates of Hilton Head cruise.  We arrived a few minutes early so she could have her mustache painted and her tattoo applied.  She got her sword, bandana and vest and decided on Evil Eye Emily for her pirate name. 

The cruise was about an hour and a half long, and she stayed in character the whole time!  At one point, she got a turn on the water cannon to shoot at Stinky Pete, who had stolen the key to the treasure chest.  He was defeated and handed over the key, which the pirates then used to open up the sunken treasure chest that we pulled up onto the boat.  All the pirates had a turn to get a big handful of treasure—Em asked “can I take my treasure home?” and was really excited to hear that she could!

Here's a picture of all the pirates on our ship, The Black Dagger.

We had dinner on the water that night, watched a juggling act, and stayed around for a show with Greg Russell, who is apparently a Hilton Head legend. 

 He’s been playing in the same spot for over 30 years, so people come with their kids especially to see him.  Part of his show is bringing kids up on stage to sing, and after several kids got a turn and Em was passed over, she was determined to be the closing act.  He said he was looking for one more singer, and instead of raising her hand, Em got up and walked right over to him. 

After the show was over, she was so proud of herself, and told us she was the star of the show!  She has so much confidence, it’s unbelievable. 

Friday morning, we got up and had breakfast at the café in the hotel before heading down to the beach.  We stayed about half the day and built sand castles, and then went to the pool (tough life on vacation!).  We had lunch and stayed at the pool for a while before going up for a nap.  Mick went and played golf that afternoon while Em rested for a few hours.

There were butterflies everywhere, and this one liked our beach umbrella.

I think Em would have built sandcastles all day every day.

The hotel was really nice, and had two family pools--we didn't visit the adult pool, of course, but these were all we needed.

That night, we went down to the Salty Dog Café—there are several restaurants and shops right on the marina with live music and kids’ entertainment.  Em met Jake the Dog (pretty cool legend about him if you click the link above), got her face painted, and had a great time picking out costumes and dancing before we had dinner.  It was nice that she took such a late nap, because it allowed us to stay out way past her bedtime.

This was her first costume choice--there was a kids' DJ playing music outside, and she had drawers full of different costumes.

Jake stopped by to see Em again while she was having him painted on her face!

She LOVED all the music and dancing!

Em and Daddy acting silly at dinner.

We couldn't leave without souvenirs!

Saturday, we went back to the beach in the morning and then to the pool for a little while. 

That afternoon, we tried to go for a trolley ride in Harbour Town, but when the trolley never showed up, we decided to climb the lighthouse, eat a late lunch, and take Em for a pony ride instead. 

At the top of the lighthouse!

 We also found a playground that Em had to try.

The weather got a little cloudy, but never rained on us the whole time.

She loved the see-saw!

We found Lawton Stables since we missed the trolley, and stopped to see the horses and let Em ride a pony.  She loved Dusty, the white pony, and talked to him the whole way around the farm.  

When the ride was over, she gave him a big hug and thanked him for letting her ride.

Saturday night, we spent some time downstairs on the patio at the hotel listening to live music, and went back out to the beach at low tide so she could pick up seashells.  Since Em skipped a nap that day, we knew it would be a pretty early night—she slept great the whole weekend, but played so hard that she seemed to stay tired.

Especially tired after all this running around chasing seagulls!

She got out of the bathtub and played for a little while in her baker's hat (shower cap), making cakes and goodies before bed.

Em is fascinated by taking pictures with my phone, and here's one she took of us.

These are a couple of my favorites from the night at The Salty Dog.

I think this is the only one we got of all three of us--Mick isn't much for pictures!

Sunday morning, we were sad to get up and leave, but knew we still had two girls at home that probably missed us pretty badly, so we got on the road by about 10am.  It was a great long weekend