Saturday, April 28, 2012

Thoughts of a Toddler

I saw this adorable photo idea on Pinterest and I've been dying to try it out.  

It was pretty easy to figure out what would be in my girls' thought bubbles. 

All day, every day.

And for Emma? Her buddy, Matthew, of course!

Monday, April 23, 2012

Budding Artist

Emma would like to thank the nice folks at Crayola for making her art supplies washable.

  Yes, that would be my kitchen wall. 

I was already at work when this happened and Andy was the lucky recipient of this masterpiece. This is from the e-mail that accompanied the picture he sent:

I made her help me, and she was very quiet while she was cleaning.  Of course when I caught her and asked her why she drew on the walls, she said she did it by accident.  It was actually kind of funny when I came down and caught her, because she was having the best time and had a huge smile on her face.  She looked up at me smiling, and then realized I wasn't happy, and she immediately stopped smiling, got really quiet, and just stood frozen.  
  
This is exactly why nothing with the words "permanent" are allowed in this house!

Monday, April 16, 2012

Emma's 3rd Birthday Party

Yesterday was Emma's third birthday party. We postponed the party date since Emma's birthday landed on Easter weekend, but it was definitely worth the wait.

We had the party at The Little Gym and it was wonderful. They do such a great job and the kids have a ball. Plus, no clean up for me and I don't have to find room where a bunch of toddlers can run around! We had the party there last year as well and it was so fun to see how much she's grown.

Emma said wanted a "rainbow birthday" so I tried to grant her wish and stay in the theme.

Isn't this shirt cute? I got it here.

Each guest took home a "Rainbow to Go:" crayons and rainbow Goldfish.
I found the idea for these rainbow cupcakes on Pinterest. They didn't come out quite as cute as I had hoped, but I chose to do just white frosting so the kids didn't make as huge of a mess!

Chocolate covered pretzel sticks with rainbow sprinkles.
Rainbow fruit tray.
Rainbow Goldfish, of course!


The kids had a great time playing in the gym and running around. They were into everything and were everywhere!



Sophia had been waiting for The Little Gym her whole life. A place she could run, jump, climb, and yell as loud as she wanted? She was sold!


This game was hilarious! A kiddo would run up to the wedge, push it down, and the kids at the end would get a big poof of air in their face. They loved it!


Will we ever outgrow the crazy smile stage?!?
We had so much fun celebrating our sweet girl's big day!

Tuesday, April 10, 2012

Emma McStuffins

Have you seen the kids' show, Doc McStuffins? It's on heavy rotation at our house. Emma has been giving us checkups with her new doctor kit and fixing up her toys and dolls.

Today she had her three year wellness check and she went armed with her doctor's kit so she could help the doctors out. When her doctor walked in, she immediately asked him the name of a particular item in her kit (the otoscope). He thought she was hilarious and was tickled by their conversation.


Her appointment went really well and she got to experience a few firsts at this visit. She had her first eye exam and had her blood pressure checked for the first time.  She chatted up the doctor, but was weary of each nurse that came in. She knows who administers the shots! Luckily she only had one shot and she took it like a champ!

She's very healthy, but still teeny tiny. She weighs 27.8 pounds, which is the 23rd%, and is 35 3/4 inches tall (15th %).  She is still so small compared to other kids her age, but according to her chart, she has made a tremendous jump in weight. Luckily she's healthy as can be and is doing great! She'll always be a little peanut.


She's doing great developmentally and has a great vocabulary, according to the doctor. As if we didn't know! Andy got a kick out of one of the questions on the developmental questionnaire, which asked if she was able to say a two word phrase. Ha! Try nonstop phrases!

I'm so thankful my baby girl is so healthy!

Monday, April 9, 2012

Emma Turns Three!

My sweet girl turns three today! I can't believe how grown up she has become. She has such a big heart and is the most fabulous big sister.  I could not be more proud of her.

We had the best day celebrating Emma's special day. We started the day with a special breakfast of chocolate chip waffles and yogurt topped with sprinkles. She even got a candle to blow out.
 She wanted to play outside and she was in luck because it was the perfect day. The girls had a blast playing and blowing bubbles.

 The day was full of surprises for the birthday girl. She got a special lunch from Chick-fil-A, courtesy of Daddy, a balloon delivery from Aunt Nicole, and lots of phone calls, emails, and birthday wishes.

Her dinner of choice was pancakes, bacon, and fruit followed by a request for chocolate cupcakes with rainbow chip frosting and vanilla ice cream. The girl knows what she wants!

 After dinner, she opened up her presents from Andy, Sophia, and I and cards that she had received. She cracked us up reading her cards and reading what she thought they said. She was ecstatic to get a card and oohed and ahhed over each and every one.

Our gift to her was dance lessons and all the gear that goes along with it.

 In an effort to burn off some sugar, we headed to the park to enjoy the last bit of sunshine. Emma got a kite for Easter so we took it along since it was pretty windy and she ended up flying it all by herself. She was thrilled!





 Emma,

Daddy and I are so proud of you and we love you more than words can say.  Your sweet spirit and kind heart bless everyone who knows you.  You are the only person we know that can push our buttons and make us laugh at the same time.  I have loved watching you grow and can't wait to see what else your life has in store. I just know you are destined for something wonderful. I love you, Peanut!

Love,
Mommy

Sunday, April 8, 2012

Easter, Part Two

After yesterday's busy day, the girls slept in a little this morning.  As soon as they woke up, we went downstairs to see where the Easter Bunny hid their baskets. They were so excited!  Both girls are old enough to have fun doing things like this, even though Sophia doesn't really understand. She just has a great time following her sister around.
Sophia got a bath drum, a tea set for the bath, crayons, chalk, a flashy ball, a book, and a new towel.
Emma got a watering can, a book, a hat, Reese's Pieces, a chocolate bunny, a doctor's kit, and a new towel. She also got new underwear in her eggs. ;)
I was so nervous about the church service today because it was going to be longer than usual and ran through snack time and into lunch time, but luckily Sophia fell asleep and slept through most of the service. Emma was antsy and wanted to be held too, but all in all, they both did great.

After church we headed over to my in-laws' house for Easter dinner and an egg hunt. They girls were pretty hungry and loved the yummy dinner Mimi had made.
They both got more treats from Mimi and Papa. They got the cutest boxes of animal crackers! Lilly Pulitzer designed the box and they were so pretty.

After lunch, the girls had an egg hunt and we tried to take a few pictures.  A family picture of the four of us was a no go, but we did manage to get one of the girls and their grandparents.



We all came home and took naps and had a quiet dinner. Now the girls are in bed and Andy and I are going to watch The Amazing Race to wrap up our busy weekend!

I hope you all had a blessed Easter!

Saturday, April 7, 2012

Easter, Part One

We kicked off our busy Easter weekend with a quiet morning at home.  After breakfast, we let the girls (well, Emma) dye their eggs.  We only did a few because no one really eats them. Emma loved mixing the colors and dropping her eggs in.  She is so neat that we don't really worry about her making a mess. That's a great thing because dying Easter eggs makes me nervous! I'm sure that when it's Sophia's turn we will be doing this outside!

After lunch we headed out to my parents' house for a pre-Easter dinner and celebration. The girls got tons of goodies and were thrilled with their baskets.



The girls also had an Easter egg hunt and they both loved looking for eggs.  This was Sophia's first year participating in an egg hunt and although she liked the search, she didn't understand why she had to put the egg she just worked so hard to find in a basket, just to look for another. Ha!

Emma is an old pro at egg hunts and didn't waste any time getting right to work.  Occasionally, she needed some help, and Papa was happy to oblige.
Once all the eggs were found, the girls had a blast with a new tradition...a pinata! The girls' aunties filled the pinata to the brim with Goldfish, graham crackers, bracelets, and other goodies. Watching them have such a great time hacking into that thing was the best part of the night!

After all the festivities, we all stuffed ourselves with this adorable (and delicious) cake made by Aunt Kimi. Isn't it cute?
These sweet babies make me so happy and we are so incredibly blessed to have so many people love them!