tutu cute!

Emma Jane's Aunt Cindy made her a tutu when she was just a few months old. We tried it on her then, but she couldn't do anything but lay there in it! Now that she's mobile, and I MEAN MOBILE, I thought I'd put it on her again for fun. There's nothing cuter than a little girl in a tutu! At first, she swished around in it and thought it was great fun. After awhile, it started to bug her when it poked her everytime she bent over or sat down. In the last picture, you can tell that she has had enough tutu! Thanks again, Aunt Cindy! These pics are priceless!

busy day

Today was a busy day for us! We met the usual crew for lunch and the girls had fun jabbering about who knows what across the table. We were also invited to an early Fourth of July neighborhood party by one of our friends. Emma Jane had fun waddling around checking out the scene. She especially enjoyed listening to the guitarist and even showed off some of her dancing moves!

museum stampede

I took Emma Jane to Edventure for the first time today. It's a great children's museum with lots to see and do. She is still too young to do many of the hands-on activities, but she was in awe as we walked through the exhibits. When I finally took her out of the stroller, she went hog wild and squealed in delight. She couldn't believe that her mama would actually let her explore in such an interesting place. Let's hope that she is just as enthusiastic when she can actually understand what the exhibits are trying to teach!

crayon lips

Emma Jane had her first crayon experience yesterday. I bought special crayons for her since I knew she was a little too young for this. The crayons are set in rounded plastic toys that are easier for little hands to grasp. Each crayon sticks out of a different farm animal. I laid out a large piece of drawing paper for her and tried to show her how to use the crayon by guiding her hand while she held the crayon. She then scribbled on her own for a second or two, but she quickly decided that it would be much more fun to take these "toys" across the room. I coaxed her back to the drawing a few more times before giving up. Since the crayons look like toys, she thought that was exactly what they were. I thought it would do no harm to let her carry them around the room since she was enjoying banging them together, one in each hand. Of course, it wasn't long before a crayon found its way into her mouth and they had to be confiscated. She also managed to get red crayon on her rear end somehow! As you can see in the last photo, she was not happy when mama took her new "toys" away. You can even see a bit of yellow crayon on the corner of her frowning lips. Good thing I didn't get the paints out, too! I guess the artist in Emma Jane will have to wait a little bit longer.

groovin' girl

In the past few weeks, Emma Jane has really started to "dance" when she hears music that she likes. Lately she has even added an upper body twist to her bouncy knee bend. I finally caught her dancing on video today, although it isn't quite as enthusiastic as some of her dancing has been. Sometimes it's so hilarious that I am doubled over laughing at (I mean "with") her. This morning I put some twelve month shorts on her that were way too short for her long legs. I started singing that old rap song "Look at that girl with the daisy dukes on..." and she started jamming out... hands in the air, knees bouncing, and a look of pure concentration on her face. It was too funny. I really wished I had caught THAT on video!

peek-a-boo

Just had to share this photo from our afternoon outing to the gardens. Emma Jane loves to play on the benches there.

first popsicle

We gave Emma Jane her first popsicle yesterday. I bought a popsicle tray and poured in apple juice. To keep it less messy for our first try, we put her in the highchair. She wasn't sure what to think at first, but then she decided she liked it! The only problem is that she tries to bite off huge chunks of ice! I had to fish out a few pieces before she choked on them! With seven SHARP teeth, she just can't resist using them! For now, we may have to stick to shaved ice.

great find

Our neighbors had a garage sale yesterday morning. They have a little boy who is about 7-8 years old, so I didn't think there would be any toys for Emma Jane. After the garage sale was over, they put a lot of things on the curb for garbage pick-up, so I thought I would go down the hill and look through some of it just in case. Afterall, it was technically in our yard at the bottom of the hill! One of the things in the pile was a brand new Thomas the Train backpack on wheels with the tags still on it! I promptly picked it up for Marlene's little boy, Garrison, who will be three next week. I noticed that the backpack felt heavy when I picked it up, but I just brought it up the hill and into the garage. When I opened it, I was surprised to find a bunch of handmade wooden toys inside...a truck, a train, and a pull cart. They were in perfect condition except for some Clifford the Dog stickers that had probably been lovingly stuck to each piece by the neighbor boy when he was much younger. I took all the toys out of the backpack, pulled the stickers off, wiped them clean, and presto! Perfect new toys for Emma Jane! The pictures say it all....she LOVED them! So, the lesson to this story is...don't be afraid to dig through your neighbors' trash...one man's junk is...well, you get the idea!

a little puzzled

I am thrilled to announce that Emma Jane is finally doing more than just chewing on her wooden puzzle pieces! The teacher in me has been trying to show her how to put the puzzle pieces in place for a few months now, but for some reason Emma Jane just wasn't into it!?! She would look at me like I was crazy, grab a puzzle piece, stick it in her mouth, and quickly stomp away to look for something more exciting to do. I recently bought her a wooden puzzle that has larger pieces in simple shapes that make up a house. Without any guidance from me, I watched her pick up the pieces and actually try to put them back in place! The circle is the easiest for her to manipulate, so she picks that piece up most often. Of course, she only lifts the pieces a half inch or so off the puzzle before putting them back in their place, but it's a start! Here's a short video of her "ingenious" puzzling!

havin' a ball!

We finally got out the giant pool of balls for Emma Jane this week. Aunt Stacy and Uncle Paul got this for her for Christmas and we've been waiting to get it out. We weren't sure just how much space it would take up! Now that we have the playroom, we thought we'd put it together for her. She loved it and thought it was great fun to be surrounded by colorful balls (48 to be exact!). She has discovered many different ways to play with it. She drags the whole pool around the room watching the balls swirling around inside. She jumps into it when daddy is chasing her thinking that it is a "safe" place to hide. She has even started putting some of her plastic farm animals in it to let them play too! Thanks, Aunt Stacy and Uncle Paul! This was a winner for sure!