HAPPY BIRTHDAY EMMA!

Wow, Emma is already five years old! Birthdays are a high-light of the year for Emma. She spends a lot of time planning her birthdays well in advance. This year was no different. She started talking about birthday number five at least four months ago. Because her birthday is on a Sunday we had a small family party today and will have a friend birthday party for Emma on Tuesday. Emma wanted pink cake today which she got. She also got the one gift she consistently asked for - a Hannah Montana guitar. Emma was delighted when her primary teacher showed up with Strawberry Shortcake video and lotions for Emma. A couple friends from the neighborhood also brought Emma some gifts. It's really no surprise that Emma thinks birthdays are all about gifts.

Emma's party on Tuesday is going to be Dora the Explorer themed complete with a "Dora" pinata. Emma can't wait.

I sure love our Emma. She is a delight. Even when she tries to use her birthday girl status as a reason to not be reverent in church I still love her to pieces. Earlier today Emma told me that I can't laugh at her. It is pretty hard to not laugh when Emma is singing along to the Hannah Montana guitar "The Best of Both Worlds" at the top of her lungs. She is just so cute with an endearing and fun-loving spirit. She is a light in our lives. I love you, Emma!

Just a Normal Day

It is easy to write about big events in our lives, but we spend most of our time having "normal" days. Last Tuesday on one of these "normal days" I looked around and realized how special these days are. Dave and Emma were sitting on the couch reading a book from the library and Nathan had tipped this kitchen chair over and was using it as a climbing toy. What more could I ask for? My whole family was together and everyone was enjoying each other.

Emma's First Day of Preschool

Emma's first day of preschool was actually three weeks ago. Emma couldn't wait to start preschool this year. She thrives on learning and being with other people. This year Emma is going three days a week, two hours each day. She comes home so excited. She loves to talk about the "question of the day" and free time.


These pictures are from the first day of preschool. I meant to have her pose with her backpack, but we were running a tad bit late and wanted to make sure we were there on time. We didn't get the backpack pictures, but we did get this cute one of what we did together before preschool. Emma and I built these Lego people together. She named them Nathan and Emma.

Mommy's Big Helper

Every day before bed is clean up time at our house. This is the time of day that Emma disappears into her room and Nathan follows me around being my Big Helper. He used to be happy pushing around his little toy vacuum, but lately he wants to use the big vacuum. His favorite toy is the broom that Grandpa Martin gave to him. It is the perfect size and Nathan squeals every time he sees it. Nathan likes to sweep, vaccum and even pick up his own garbage. What a big helper! I love this age.

Emma, however, handles cleaning completely differently. The other day I asked Emma to unload the silverware basket from the dishwasher. The only other "job" she had done all day was to make her own bed. Emma grumbled, but she did start to unload the silverware. Then she said the funniest thing. "Mom, you're making me feel like a maid." I told her I'd be happy to switch her jobs and she could do all the cooking and cleaning that I do every day. At that Emma burst into tears and exclaimed "I'm not ready to be a mom. I don't even know how to cook." I held back a giggle and gave my maid a hug.

Finger-painting

This morning Nathan and Emma both woke up cranky. They didn't want to eat what I fixed for breakfast, they didn't want to get ready for the day, and they didn't want to go back to bed. So, I decided we needed to make a big mess and play.

I made homemade fingerpaint and pulled out two old canvas window shades from the garage. The kids went crazy creating their masterpices. At first Nathan wasn't so sure about the paints, but he started he loved it. Emma had fun mixing the colors. My favorite part was skating around in the goo with my feet.