Halloween 2011

 Halloween was very busy for Emma and I this year.  We started our day dressing Emma up as a very warm Lady Bug and met Kristen, Grandma Kim and Uncle KJ at the Zoo. It was a cool day, so I had put several layers on Emma.  She was very stylish with her blac velvet bolero and leopard print hat with pink flower.  She made a very sweet lady bug.

 Emma loves spending time with her Uncle KJ.  They had great fun at the statue garden, climbing and posing.  We saw lots of animals, and ended with lunch in the restaurant on top.

 Emma and I picked up Glenn at work in the late afternoon.  We had arranged to have dinner at my Brother Joe's house and let Emma go Trick or Treating with Pirate Cousin and Army Man. Emma had made a costume change and was now a princess.

 Uncle Joe and Glenn took the kids out to trick or treat.  It wasn't long before Emma was tired and cold, so they came back in.  After a few minutes Pirate Cousin and Army Man headed back out for more candy.

Emma had a great first Halloween, and loved spending it with her cousins!

Emma Progress Report

I am sitting here watching Emma play, and it is one of my favorite things. She is currently sitting on the floor playing with her music train and xylophone. She pushes a button to play a song, then plays her xylophone alone with the song. So cute.

Emma is growing like crazy lately, in all ways. She is now wearing a 3T, which seems so big. And her shoes are a size 7, but I think she is growing out of her church shoes again. She loves to wear hats and play dress-up with her tutu and princess dress. She is also talking up a storm. Some days I cannot get her to be quiet. It seems like she is adding new words every day, and loves to mimic the words we say. I am busy trying to teach her to ask using her words instead of her loud, panicked noise she makes. Really can't describe it.

Some of her favorite things lately include dancing to any and all music, coloring, play doh, swinging and playing with Lego's (believe me when I say Glenn is thrilled!). She loves Nursery on Sundays. They recently moved her up the the older nursery, so we are currently adjusting. Rigght now she is mostly standing back and watching all the older kids. There is now only one who is younger then her in there. She is uuse tto being tthe oldest, and having many friends just a few motths younger. This is a big change, and most of them are talking a lot better then she is. Hopefully she will learn some better language skills from these kids. She tends to watch and learn a lot from her play groups (things like crawling, climbing and walking).

The Simple Pleasures in Life

Some days just remind us that it is all worth it. It is usually just the simple things. We had one of these days recently. Glenn has been working from home a lot lately, and he was this past week. Each night last week, we did simple things together as a family.

One night after we ate dinner, we took Emma to the park to swing. She now calls swinging "Whee!" So cute. We then came home, put Emma in her PJ's and had cuddle time until bed.

After Glenn was done working the next night, we ran errands and ate dinner out. This was the best, most relaxing evening, even if we had to go to three pet stores to get what we needed. It was the first time we had been in a pet store since Emma started noticing her surroundings. She was so facinated. It was a joy to watch her run to the fish tanks, point and say "fishy!" And my heart melted a little when she put her arms up to me and said "Up! Up!" to look in the same tank I was (note that until this moment, she would say "I Stuck!" We traveled all three pet stores to look at all the birds, fish, cats, lizards, Frogs, Turtles, Ferrets, Mice, Rats... (you get the idea). I don't know that I have enjoyed a visit to a pet store quite this much.

Other moments this past week that have been wonderful were watching "A Bugs Life" and "Peter Pan" for the first time with Emma. Also, playing on the bed, playing Lego's, reading stories and just being together as a family.

To end our week, on Saturday we visited the important women in our lives to say Happy Mothers Day and We Love You! We started with Kristen, as it was Birth Mother's Day. Kristen cut Emma's hair, and gave her a super cute Tutu with head band. Emma started scared of being in the chair, but as soon as Kristen started combing her hair, she calmed (girl love to have her hair played with - Just like me :). Then it was on to Sharen's place. We had a good visit with her, and her care takers were good enough to hold her lunch for her so that we did not have to rush. As everyone else had already eaten by the time we left, Sharen got the royal treatment while being served. Then it was on to my parents house to visit. Emma had a blast playing with Grandma and Uncle Chris, and fell asleep in the car on the way home.

Throughout all these experiences this past week, I have remembered how wonderful it is to just be "domestic" as Glenn would say. To just take joy in the simple things of life, and enjoy the moment. Too often I am busy doing everything that has to be done, and forget to stop and enjoy life. I am learning how important and special it is to just stop and enjoy my husband and daughters smiles and laughter. I really love being a Mom!