July 31, 2008
*****Should have been published July 27, 2008*****
Dear Emma,
You are still loving the bubbles.
You came out of your bedroom the other day with your Elmo blanket clutched around your shoulders and went running down the hall yelling "I a super hero! I A SUPER HEROOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!" I've since tried to set you up with a sweet cape, but you prefer your ghetto Elmo blanket cape to anything I've been able to come up with.
A few weeks ago we spent a week in Canada with your cousins and grandparents. I'm not sure you've ever been happier. We let you stay up until midnight most nights (unheard of at our house), you had cousins to play with all the time, Lola fed you any time of the day or night, and you got to take bubble baths in Lola's huge tub.
Your cousin Andrew was your favorite playmate and we frequently heard you yell "ASHREW! ASHREW!" at the top of your lungs.
We celebrated Independence day while we were in Canada… which was very odd since they don't really celebrate that holiday. We lit some sparklers in the backyard, and you got to hold one for the first time. God bless America, these fireworks are fun!
You are fiesty and like to give people a little thing we like to call "the business". We have a little song from the "Yo Gabba Gabba" show that we like to sing called "Don't Bite Your Friends" and it goes like this…
Don't, Don't, Don't bite your friends
We don't bite our friends. NO WAY!
We don't pull their hair. Uh uh!
Friends are our friends. Uh huh!
So we treat them with care!
Don't, Don't, Don't bite your friends
Here you are giving your cousin Gabriella the business…
Here you are giving Tessa the business…
There are no pictures of you trying to give Daddy and me the business. This war is over. Daddy and I win. We don't negotiate with terrorists, even two year old ones.
At Daddy's company picnic you rode a pony for the first time. You weren't scared at all and had a blast.
We've been enjoying the hot summer weather. Swimming in Auntie Pam's pool, running through the sprinkler, playing at the splash parks, going to camp meeting, eating Otter Pops.
Speaking of otters, we went to the zoo for the first time with Auntie Shanell and Cedric. You enjoyed seeing all the animals, but if you and Tessa had to pick a favorite I'm sure you'd both say the otters.
Your nicknames this month are…
- Crabby Patty
- Sweet Baby
- Lovely Bear
- Emmy Bear
- Emma Yemma Ding Dong
- Little Moon Pie
- Sweet Face
- Pungent One
When we were in Canada Tessa would run off with Rianna and you'd be left behind. When Tessa gets out of the car for school or more recently for Vacation Bible School you get left behind. When Tessa took ballet you had to wait in the waiting room even though I know you wanted to participate. I'm a youngest child too, so I know what you are going through. My heart aches when I see you get left out so many times because you aren't old enough or are too little to keep up. I hope you know that there is no "second best" with a Mommy. You are my second child, my second daughter… but my only Emma.
I love you,
Mommy
July 30, 2008
Emma picking the grass…
Emma thinking about eating the grass…
Emma eating the grass…
Emma regretting eating the grass…
(Hurrah for camera's with a sport mode setting!)
I think Golden Shellback electronics waterproofer maybe have been designed especially for me. (Exhibit A and Exhibit B.)
The Children's Place has cute children's clothes! And, if you get them on summer clearance with an additional 15% off you can get shirts and shorts for about $3-4 each.
Tessa got this shirt from her Auntie (Thanks Lhevinne!) for her birthday in pink (they only had a photo of the green one on the website) and it is SO CUTE!
BUT… placing an order on July 18 and having it delivered (hopefully) by August 4 is NOT FAST SHIPPING! SLOWEST SHIPPING EVER! NOT ACCEPTABLE! Oh, and if you get cranky and decide to cancel your order because you are mad the shipping is taking so long, you can forget it. They don't cancel orders. At all. Swistle had a few words for The Children's Place too. AMEN SISTER!
I found this kitty picture here at I Can Has Cheezburger. Cutest kitty picture ever! Can you tell I've been thinking about camping lately?
We checked the book Hello, Lulu by Caroline Uff out from the library and as we were reading it to Emma, Rogene said, "Hey! That is you and me!"…
Emma is teething today. A big molar. She woke up no less than 6 times last night. Her nickname today shall be "Crabby Patty".
Swimming lessons are SO AWESOME! I think we may do them all year long!
July 28, 2008
*****Should have been published June 27, 2008*****
Dear Emma,
Several months ago we were shopping at Target and I found some Elmo socks in the $1 Spot. I handed them to you and you threw them out of the cart onto the floor because you were in a bit of a tizzy at that particular time. Well, I knew you would actually want them someday, even though right at that moment you despised them, so I snuck them back into the card and hid them by my purse since the sight of them was so offensive to you at that time. You must have seen me because when I turned around again you had stood up in the cart and threw them onto the floor again with much weeping and gnashing of teeth. You had such a hilarious look on your face and if you'd had the vocabulary I think you might have said "I HATE THESE SOCKS! AND HERE IS WHAT I'M DOING WITH THEM!" (while hurling them onto the floor). Today, months later, when I pulled out these brand new Elmo socks for you to wear you cried "ELMO SOCKS!" and practically swooned and hugged them. So, let this be a lesson to you that will serve you well for the rest of your life… MOMMY IS ALWAYS RIGHT.
We took you bowling for the first time ever and you got a record! Rolling the bowling ball the slowest without it actually stopping. I think your bowling ball's mph was 0.36. (This picture shows the fastest mph her bowling ball reached.)
You learned to give kisses recently and are very, very enthusiastic about it. Sometimes I have to tell you and your sister to stop smooching so much. I'm sure you will cringe when you are older and read that, but I'll take the smooching any day over the incessant fighting over toys.
The Sharing…
The Fighting…
Like your sister, you want to decide how your hair is done each day. Lately you want a Cookie Monster and an Oscar rubber band on your ponytail every day. If I forget one you say, "Where Trash? Where Cookie?" (Trash is what you call Oscar.) (See photo.)
Nicknames this month
- Pungent One
- Crabby Patty
- Emma Yemma Ding Dong
- Little Moon Pie
- Em-muh
- Sweet Baby
- Sweet Face
- Lovely
I love the sound of your voice. When you sing Jesus Loves Me or Itsy Bitsy Spider it is like music to my ears. I love that you wake up singing in the morning. It is amazing that that same soft baby voice can also be scream louder than a Vitamix turned up to the highest setting and completely bring our family to a screeching halt.
Reading books has become one of your most favorite things to do. You sit on my lap and as I'm reading you repeat the last word of the page with this serious look on your face as if you were the one actually reading the book.
We got a kitty this month. We named her Lollyanna. I wanted to call her Lollyanna Lavinia Chandelier (the name of Nancy's doll in the Fancy Nancy book series is Marabelle Lavinia Chandelier) but Daddy did not like that name. When we brought her home she was really timid and hid under the couch and I explained to you that the kitty was scared. You got a very serious look on your face and said, "Tessa, Lollyanna scary. Lollyanna scary." You shook your head sadly and seemed very upset about it. You love the kitty so much… maybe a little too much since I'm pretty sure the kitty is hiding from you most of the time. We are working on the concept of gentleness. (Since allergy problems have become an issue, Auntie Pam has graciously agreed to let Lollyanna live at her house but still be our kitty.)
We put a new cover on the trampoline and this has enabled you to get on and off the trampoline by yourself. Now it is possible for you to run out in the backyard to gleefully enjoy having the entire jumping surface to yourself, and not be knocked over by your big sister's enthusiastic jumping. The other day I looked out in the back yard and you were blowing bubbles as you jumped.
You learned the fine art of complimenting others this month. We frequently hear you exclaim, "I like your shirt! I like your hair!" After you run out of obvious things to compliment you get creative, "I like your nose! I like your ears!" Sometimes I hear you clomp, clomp, clomping down the hallway in my new red espadrille wedges shouting, "I like your shoes! I like your shoes!" A few days ago I had on the heart shaped necklace Daddy gave me for my birthday and you whispered to me, "I like your Care bear!" Care bear is what you call anything heart shaped. Maybe because your Care bear has a heart on it's tummy.
You know what, Emma? I like your Care bear.
I love you,
Mommy
July 25, 2008
Tessa went to Vacation Bible School a few weeks ago and loved every minute of it! The theme this year was…
Here are a few photos…
… and some video of Tessa singing and dancing the theme song.
VBS is one of the highlights of our summer. We can't wait until next year!
We have a couple of kneeling pads we keep in the back yard for the kids to use if they are doing sidewalk chalk or bubbles. I'd like to tell you we use them for "gardening" or "weed pulling" or "yard maintenance" but… umm… no.
They look like this…
A couple of days ago Rogene went out in the backyard to turn on the sprinklers, and this is what he found…
Now, I'm not sure what type of animal did this but my guesses are…
- Cat
- Dog
- Raccoon
- Opossum
- Refuse to consider other options so don't leave any in the comments… la-la-la-can't-hear-you (ears plugged/loud singing)
July 24, 2008
For Tessa's birthday we took her to Build-a-Bear Workshop for the first time. I don't know why we waited so long to take the girls there… it was AWESOME!
Tessa picked a white and pink bear that she named "Anna". She picked out pink leggings, a pink skirt, pink flip flops, a pink tank top, a pink hat, and pink sunglasses for Anna to wear.
Emma picked a brown dog that she named "Goggy" (like Doggy) and picked out a yellow princess-butterfly outfit with silver flip flops for her to wear.
I think our favorite part was watching the animals get stuffed, and making a wish on the little heart they put inside. SO CUTE!
Look at those smiles. Totally worth it!
P.S. Did you know that they have a fluffing station so you can bring your bear into the store and fluff him up? It looks like a shower head but has just air coming out of it, and they even have brushes you can use to fluff your bear up.
July 17, 2008
Emma's kitty Lillyanna is the 2nd one.
Tessa kitty Lollyanna is the 3rd one.
The other two are their brothers Pax and Jax who have gone on to new homes.
July 16, 2008
July 14 was my two year blogoversary.
Last year for my first blogoversary I wrote a really boring post about my blogging history (yawn!). That was WAY too much work, so this year I'm going to give you a few of my favorite blog tag lines, some favorite photos I've found on blogs, and some funny (at least to me) blog quotes.
Top 3 Favorite Blog Tag Lines…
- Miss Zoot - "If You're Looking for Wisdom, Move Along"
- Cheeky Lotus - "Does This Blog Make My Butt Look Big?"
- Dooce - "All About My Stupid, Boring Life"
- Miss Zoot - "Pretend I Said Something Funny"
(Apparently I can't count to 3.)
Top 3 Favorite Blog Kid Pictures (These photos are worth the extra click!)
- Mandagirl's "Rock Mustache" photo of her son Isaac.
- Kickyboot's "Runneth Over" photo of her daughter Avelyn. (Be sure to check out the waistband of Avelyn's pants.)
- Adventures in the 100 Acre Wood's "You Can Never Be Too Prepared… For Dinner?" photo of her son Nolan. (Don't you wonder what goes on at their house at dinner time?)
Top 3 Random Funny Blog Quotes
- "Many of the surprises that come with motherhood smell bad and are hard to remove from your upholstery." - Daring Young Mom
- (After finding a snake in the yard and asking husband to take care of it…) "Unless loud shrill screeching and hand wringing will lead to the demise of a snake, my presence will be of no use." - Fiddledeedee
- "Note from the first trimester: I can taste my teeth." - Mighty Girl (Ah, first trimester of pregnancy… good times, at least for those of us with morning sickness.)
Top 3 Favorite Photos of My Kids Taken in the Last Month (all were taken either by Rogene or his brother Riccoh).
1.
2.
3.
And last of all three funny photos from the Fail Blog. (Worth the click, I promise!)
- Air Conditioning Fail
- Strawberry Milkshake Fail (Photo only, video is long and not very funny)
- Christmas Fail (Um, I'll pass on the presents this year Santa. Thanks anyway.)
It has been a great two years. 
July 11, 2008
JMom over at Lots of Scotts wrote a post today that really explains how I feel a lot of the time. It is called "Barren" and here is a quote…
I rarely talk about my infertility because I am not a wallower. I don't advocate living in the past. I like to move on. I do, however, think it is necessary to periodically revisit the places where God has delivered you from, if for no other reason than to fully appreciate the gifts we have been given. God eventually answered my prayer for offspring–and He answered it abundantly. This family that exhausts me and pushes me to my limits is nothing short of a God-given miracle.
But what if He hadn't answered me the way I wanted? God does not answer every prayer specifically as requested like some sort of Divine short order cook. I must be careful to not equate His goodness with how large my bank account of blessings is (or isn't). He is who He is. He does what He does and He is the same God in times of plenty and in times of want.
If you've ever been infertile, known someone infertile or just are curious go read the post here.
