zoo crew

Emma Jane, Vivi, and I spent the morning at the zoo with the Sadler girls earlier this week. Since Vivi has taken over the stroller, Emma Jane was free to walk the zoo. Freedom usually leads Emma Jane into trouble, but she was a pretty good listener on this trip. She still shows little interest in the animals, but she had fun climbing rocks, fences, and animal statues. I'm pretty sure that galloping ahead of the group was her favorite part, but she would stop and wait for us to catch up. Of course, the merry-go-round is always a highlight. The big girls also took a ride on the train, but both were sobbing by the time it was over. This was Emma Jane's first train ride without mom or dad, and I think after two laps around she thought she might be stuck on it all day! Vivian enjoyed checking everything out from the carrier, but I'm not sure how much she was able to see under the great big sunhat she was wearing. All four girls were tuckered out when it was time to go home. Emma Jane even caught a ride with Lily in the stroller as we made our exit!

what's for dinner?

Vivian tried her first solid food a few days ago after getting the green light from her pediatrician. We got her all set up in her bouncy seat and gave her a very soupy mixture of rice cereal and formula. She wasn't sure what to think about that scary spoon and the texture of the cereal seemed a little much for her. We'll keep working on it!

We are always amused at Emma Jane's imagination at the dinner table. She does anything she can to postpone the actual consumption of the food on her plate. She has just recently discovered the tiny seeds inside her green beans and tries to open every single green bean to find them. The other night she said, "I'm looking for the treasures!" and took every seed out of each bean and lined them up on the rim of her plate. She then proceeded to count her seeds. Although we try not to encourage procrastination during meal time, it's hard to discourage behavior that broadens her imagination and often leads to a teachable moment.

sitting pretty

Emma Jane is so happy that Vivian is starting to interact with her. She asks to hold Vivi several times throughout the day and she thought it was really cool that her baby sister could sit up next to her in her chair today. She even offered to share her special blankies with Vivi and THAT is a BIG deal! I'm pretty sure Vivian is enjoying all the extra attention from her big sis, too!

homerun!

Emma Jane woke up screaming a few nights ago. When Paul went to check on her, he said she shouted over and over again that her baseball hat was missing. Well, she doesn't own a baseball hat! We could only guess that this nightmare originated from the fact that she's seen some of her buddies wearing baseball hats recently. We didn't want our little girl to continue having such terrible dreams (ha!), so I took Emma Jane baseball cap shopping the very next day. We checked several children's stores with no luck. Emma Jane would tell the employees, "We can't find a baseball hat ANYWHERE!" Finally, I found a USC hat just her size that is adjustable so that it can grow with her. She was so excited! She wore it out of the store and sweetly stated, "My daddy is going to LOVE it!"

4 months and growing!

Our sweet Vivian turned 4 months old yesterday. She had her well-check appointment today. We are happy to report that she now weighs 14 pounds and is 25 inches long. Our girl is growing! Her smiles brighten our days and we are crazy about her. She truly is a little miracle.

quack quack

Late Saturday afternoon we went to Gibson Pond to enjoy the beautiful weather. We met the Zabrocki family there. Emma Jane was thrilled at the prospect of feeding the ducks. When we arrived, the ducks were way across the pond and we thought her first duck feeding might have to wait for another day. Luckily, the ducks decided to check out the other side of the pond and they swam right to us! Emma Jane and Kaitlyn thought it was pretty cool to see the ducks poke their heads in the water searching for bread. Vivian had fun being strapped to her daddy in the carrier and she didn't miss a thing. While at the park, there was a waterfall sighting, some swinging, and a game of redlight/greenlight with Kaitlyn. Lots of fun for us all!

copycat

I love reading other blogs, especially those that inspire me to be productive! I haven't had time to do anything creative lately since my kid-free moments are spent doing dishes or laundry. That's why I was so excited to see quick, inexpensive DIY projects on a friend's blog. (Thanks, Andrea!) I made a yarn wreath to hang as a mobile over Vivi's changing table in the nursery. It turned out pretty cute, I think. For a unique mantle decoration, I also wrapped a wooden letter S with yarn and added some felt and fabric flowers. Check out this fun kitchen table centerpiece, too. Hot glue a few coordinating plates and mugs together and there ya go! Quick, easy, and useful!

lucky day

We went downtown to Five Points for some belated St. Patrick's Day festivities on Saturday. Lily, Charlotte, and Miss Sara met us there for the fun. We caught the tail end of the parade which was a first for both Emma Jane and Vivi. Emma Jane thought it was pretty exciting, but, as you can see in the yawning picture, Vivi was not impressed. She did get into the spirit of St. Patty's Day by sporting a green trimmed bib with the initial S on it. Okay, so the S stands for Street, but it could be St. Patrick too! After the parade, we ate lunch and then wandered the streets taking in all the action. The highlight for the big girls was probably the green fountain. Although Paul spent most of the time corralling Emma Jane and Lily through the crowds, at one point Lily helped me push Vivi in the stroller and Emma Jane took a ride on Paul's shoulders. When the crowds started getting a little too thick (and rowdy!) we decided to call it a day. On the walk back to our cars, we passed right by TCBY where we stopped for a quick ice cream treat. Now THAT's luck!