"Emma"isms

Emma is almost three and before she starts speaking like a little girl instead of a toddler, I thought I might document some of the fun things she says......

When she is happy..."Shake my booty, shake my booty"

What she calls her brother....."Buuuuudddyyyy" or "Baby Brother" rarely ever Johnny.

When she thinks eating dinner deserves an award "I got a good idea......probly I done with dinner......I get a jelly bean?!?!"

"Sometimes I the baby, Sometimes you the baby"

"I'm not a baby, I a big girl"

"I got a good idea.....proby when I wake up from my nap I go to the yibrary or museum"

"Mommy, what we dooding today?"

"I just wan to hang out together"

"I yuv you too much"

"I be so happy"

"I wanna snuggle with you"

"I wanna wear a petty dress....I yook so petty!!"

"I no yike that....that not a good idea"

When she gets mad at us....."Mommy or Daddy....I no yike that.....you go to work!"

"I be so angy"....."I be so gumpy"

Sick, Sick, Sick

I hate being sick. I hated being sick prior to having kids and I now hate it more since having kids. All of you out there without young children .....enjoy your days of calling in sick, throwing the covers over your head and sleeping it off. The days when being sick was annoying but.........well lets be honest, a day in bed watching movies even when your head is pounding isn't all that bad. Those days when you are kind of sick but you stay home anyway and get a free day to just lay in bed.....ahhhh. But once there are kids involved there are no more free sick days. The kids still get up in the morning and need you, and most of the time they are sick too. This week I felt awful along with the rest of my family but the prospect of staying home with the kids on Monday and Wednesday was harder to swallow than going to work so I sat at my desk with a pounding headache blowing my nose and got through the day (sorry work friends, hope you didn't catch anything :)

Today, I got to spend my morning hauling two kids to a doctor appointment for me where I was told I had a sinus infection (you think? Here is $200 for you to tell me what I already knew) and then to an appointment for Johnny for them to tell me there was nothing wrong with him (are you sure??? why does he cry all the time??? he is a baby??? What???). The kids were actually better than expected with the help of an entire bag of jelly beans that Emma carried around and asked if she was good enough to have another one (reward not bribe right?).

It is during these times that I hate living so far away from family. This is what grandma's are for. Well they are for a lot of things but this is the perk that mom's that live near family have. Never having to haul your kids to your own doctors appointment.

I am already feeling much better and I am sure tomorrow will be a better day but for today I will say it again....I HATE BEING SICK!!!

Two Peas in a Pod

Johnny and Emma; Emma and Johnny......I feel so lucky to have two kids that love each other so much. Emma LOVES being a big sister and she is good at it. She loves helping with anything I will let her help with. Getting me diapers, putting on lotion, feeding him, giving him toys, ect. She even watches out for him and asks me if something is safe to give him or not prior to letting him play with it. When I need to give some extra attention to Johnny she waits patiently or plays by herself until I am able to get him to sleep or calmed down. Normally, her running in and giving him a kiss does the trick when he is upset. She will even lay in bed while I rock him and just wait for me to get him to sleep then ask for her turn. I couldn't ask for a better big sister. Johnny adores her. He follows her around the house and wants to play with anything she is playing with. They have started a game during dinner when one of them will scream and the other copies. If Emma laughs at something Johnny does, he tries to do it again and again, looking to Emma to laugh again. I know a lot of children struggle to find their way when a new child comes into the home and I feel so blessed that they have had an instant connection and love for one another.....

Planting Flowers

Strawberries and Baby Birds..I Love Spring!!!

I love Spring. The weather warms up and new life emerges. Strawberry picking in North Carolina is a great way to usher in the spring. There is a farm near Kristen's house where you can pick your own strawberries. There is nothing that tastes better than a warm strawberry picked fresh. Emma did manage to get more into her basket then into her mouth this year and Johnny enjoyed observing this tradition. Next year, he will be able to pick his own like his big sister.

Last weekend I was walking through our backyard and heard the chirp of baby birds. It just took a couple of minutes to find them. A cardinal had laid her eggs in a nest at eye level in our backyard. Close enough to our deck that we could watch the nest without scaring away the mom and dad birds. Here is a picture of that baby birds when we found them.....

Each day we would spend some time sitting on our deck and watching the nest. We watched the mom and dad fly in and out and feed the baby birds.

If we walked over to the next to get a closer look we were normally yelled at by daddy bird. He would squauk at us from up in the trees warning us not to hurt his little ones. The mom kept a farther distance from us if we were in the yard.....

Here are the baby birds five days later, ready to leave the nest. They grew so fast! We watched the mama bird come to the nest and show the baby birds how to flap their wings and one by one they flew out of the nest. One flew onto the ground until mom and dad came down to help their little one fly...

What a great lesson for Emma (and me) about new life and how amazing God's creatures are!

Finding her Own Style

We have decided as parents that the battle that comes with choosing Emma's outfits instead of her picking them herself is just not worth it. The other day she decided that in 80 degree weather she needed to wear her mittens to go to the park.

I look forward to seeing what she will pick out each day. It is almost always a "petty dress" paired with something that doesn't quite fit. She also has taken to screaming if we try to brush or pull up her hair so she has a fancy dress on, wild hair, and several accessories. I love it!!!