A Beautiful Afternoon

The weather around here has been gorgeous. Warm, sunny, a slight breeze...it definitely doesn't seem like November 11th! We took the girls to the park to burn off some energy and to enjoy the great weather.

 

Emma is all business when we play and refuses to sit still or look at the camera for pictures. This is the only way I could get a shot of the two girls together!

Parks, Preschool, and Wagon Rides

We've had a great Spring Break this week. We haven't been overly busy but we've kept ourselves entertained. On Wednesday we took the girls out to the park. One of our favorite parks recently went though a complete renovation. It was fun, but Sophia was pretty upset that there weren't any swings. She's obviously still getting used to the slide. 

Emma loved that she was able to do most everything on her own. She climbed to the top of one of the structures but was a little unsure of when she got to the very top. Luckily, Daddy was there to help.

This afternoon we took Emma on a tour of her preschool. It was great and Emma was excited, even though she was a little shy with the teacher that showed us around. I can't believe that we're at this point of our lives already. How in the world is my baby two and a half weeks shy of being three and ready to go to preschool in a couple of months?

Since she's been lucky enough to be at home and taken care of by my mom, she hasn't had many opportunities to leave home and certainly never on her own. We try to put her in activities to help her socialize with other kids her age and she always does great. I'm not worried about her ability to adapt at all. I'm worried about MY ability to let my little bird leave the nest.

The school is beautiful and so well run.  We were able to see one class in session and view several other classrooms and they were all wonderful. It was sprinkling so we couldn't tour the playground but we managed to sneak a quick peek. Boy was Emma excited about that playground!

My big girl!

 After dinner, the rain stopped and the sun came out. The rain had cooled things off and it was the perfect time for a wagon ride. The girls love riding around together looking at everything. It was nice to get outside and enjoy the fresh air.

Blurry, but I love this smile!

Spring Fever!

We had such beautiful weather this weekend and couldn't get enough of playing outside.  We spent Saturday and Sunday at the park and the kids couldn't have been happier!

On Sunday, we headed out and met up with my in-laws so the girls could get in a little time with their Mimi and Papa. 

Sophia made a friend while we were there and Emma ran around so quickly, I could barely get a picture of her. 

Someone tuckered out and was ready for a nap by the end of our trip.

I keep hearing that this year's weather patterns are similar to a year where our city had a big blizzard in March.  While snow would be fun, I think these girls are ready for the sunshine!

Batter Up!

Emma and my mom made a deal several months ago that if Emma started using the potty, my mom would take her to the store to buy any toy she wanted.  Emma wasn't buying it and there was no bribe big enough to make her do something she was adamant against doing. 

Fast forward a couple of months when Emma finally decided to stop dragging her feet.  She's day and night trained now and today she was ready to cash in on her deal. 

My mom took her to Target to pick out her toy and this is what she chose: a bat and a ball.  She was so excited to show us her prize when we got home so we braved the cold temperatures and headed out to play some ball. 

Check out my little lefty! ;)

She was very serious about her game and insisted that we all wear our "baseball hats." Well, of course.  She got the hang of it pretty quickly and actually managed to hit the ball a few times.  We may have a softball star on our hands!

Here Comes the Sun

Well, the groundhog may have predicted six more weeks of winter weather, but it sure didn't rear its ugly head today.

With sickness making its way through every member of our household and not-so-great weather most of the time, the poor girls have been cooped up in the house for far too long.  Today was beautiful, with blue skies and warm temperatures.  As soon as Andy got home, we took advantage and headed straight to the park.

Emma was thrilled when we told her of our plans and she had such a great time.  She's so independent and I'm really trying my best to let her do as much as she can on her own, but I still worry about her.  She sees the big kids at the park doing things and she wants to try it all without any help.  She doesn't realize that's she's not big enough for certain things, and momma needs to realize that she is big enough for so much more.

Sweet Sophia kept herself occupied by picking up every stray leaf, rock, piece of mulch, etc. on the playground.  When she wasn't cleaning up, she was having a blast on the swings and following her big sister around. 

Before we left, we let the girls run in the soccer field to get good and tired.  Poor Sophia tried so hard to keep up with Emma, but she's got a while until she can.  So she settled for her favorite pastime: pointing at everything.

Wait for me!

I'm looking forward to more days like this that let us get out and get some fresh air. Dare I say that I'm ready for Spring?

Playing at the Park

It has been a long week full of sickness, cleaning, and organizing.  What kind of vacation is that?!? So I woke up this morning ready to bust out of this house.  Andy had to stop off at work for a minute so we decided to make a trip of it and we all went along.  Emma loves going to Andy's office because it's a maze of cubicles and she gets to see Daddy's friends.  Sophia likes the swivel chairs. :)

After we made the rounds, we stopped at Moe's and had lunch.  Restaurants with two little ones can be tricky at times, but they were both so good.  Luckily, it's one of those places that's nice and loud, so we don't have to worry about the kids' noise level.  Super important with my kiddos.  You won't catch us at a quiet restaurant!

After lunch, we headed over to the park.  It was a little cold and windy, but one of the great things about little kids is that they have the attention span of a gnat and move from one activity to the next so quickly, we were able to do everything and were back in the car within 45 minutes. Ha!

Emma is so excited that she can help Sophia walk.  She's such an awesome big sister!

Emma picked some of the dandelions so we decided to leave them for the tree since it didn't have any leaves or flowers. :)

It was great to get outside for a bit and let the kids run around. I love seeing my girls play together and spending time with my family!