park picnic

Emma Jane rarely eats lunch at home. Some days we meet our friends for lunch. Other days we are out running errands so we stop at Starbucks for my coffee and I feed her there. Most days I take her to one of the walking parks. That's what we did today and I took a few cute pictures during our "picnic" walk. It's nice to sit on a bench and watch the river while she slowly eats her lunch. Today she dropped a cracker and before I had a chance to pick it up, the ants came marching in. She thought that was pretty cool and she kept pointing excitedly at her ant-covered cracker from her stroller. I let her walk along the bridge today and she was thrilled to have this rare freedom, but I am worried sick that she's going to run too far ahead of me and get into trouble. She's getting pretty fast and keeping me on my toes!

spinning & tooting

I finally caught Emma Jane "spinning" on video today. She's been doing this for a few months now, but I don't have the camera handy when she does it spontaneously and she isn't usually one to perform on command! She also learned how to "play" a recorder yesterday. It came in a musical instrument kit given to her by Marlene at Christmas and I have slowly taken out the instruments that I feel are now safe for her to play. I only gave her the top section of the recorder because I was afraid she could hurt herself with the longer piece. Yesterday I showed her how to blow in it to make "music" and when I handed it to her, she would just stuff it back in my mouth. After I'd given up with the lesson, she surprised me a few hours later when she picked it up and started tooting up a storm. I caught that on video today, too. I think she is quite a musician...well, maybe not, but she sure is proud of her new found talent!

mardi gras party

Emma Jane partied New Orleans style today at Maggie's Mardi Gras birthday party. Maggie turned four, so most of the kids at the party were a few years older than Emma Jane. That didn't slow her down! She had a ball chasing balloons, twirling beads, exploring the house and yard, and making friends with a neighborhood dog! As you can see from most of the pictues, I have a hard time getting any shots of her face these days! I will add that she attended the party with only 45 minutes of naptime today, but that didn't keep her from having loads of fun! She even humored us by wearing a Mardi Gras mask most of the party. It seems that our girl is quite the party animal!

another adventure at edventure

Emma Jane went to Edventure today, but this was a whole new "adventure" since it was the first time we met a few of her little friends there. It was a totally different ballgame to have Kaitlyn, Lily and Emma Jane to keep up with! One highlight for Emma Jane was the "Little Pig" grocery store where she walked up and down the aisles collecting pretend food in a tiny shopping cart. It was so funny to watch her because she seemed to know just what to do. We also put miniature firemen jackets on the girls and tried to get a photo of them together, but keeping all three in place at one time was impossible! I managed to get one picture of Emma Jane at the fire hydrant. Our girls explored their little hearts out and wore their mamas out in the process!

rocks, rocks, and more rocks

What is Emma Jane's favorite thing to do at the park? Pick up rocks, of course! She finds a rock for each hand and walks around with them until she finds some that are even better. Today I sat her on a large rock to take a quick picture of her proudly holding her newest rock find. Just as I snapped the photo, she decided to stick one of the rocks in her mouth! I am starting to agree with the motto "a little dirt won't hurt!" since NOTHING stays out of her mouth.

work out

Paul is preparing for a Mud Run that he and some friends have signed up for next month. When we go to the walking parks he usually takes Emma Jane for a run in her jogging stroller and I take Walker for a walk in the opposite direction. Yesterday Paul decided to run up and down the concrete steps in the park and Emma Jane was VERY intrigued. Here are some pictures of her trying to do what daddy was doing. In the last picture she seems to be saying, "I give up!"

fun and firsts

As usual, I took loads of pictures of Emma Jane today. She rode forward facing in her carseat for the first time in my car today, so I HAD to take a picture of that. We met friends for a walk, so pictures were, again, NECESSARY. Of course, watching her play in the playroom is always picture worthy too! In the last picture she is kissing herself in a mirror that's in the book. We are proud to share with you that she said "bye" for the first time today too! Another day of fun and firsts...

are you walking the dog, or is the dog walking you?

I can't tell you how many times I have been asked this question when taking our gigantic Weimaraner on walks. Well, today Emma Jane WAS walked by the dog! We let her hold Walker's leash while she sat in the stroller. She was so excited she could hardly contain herself! Walker just kept walking and pulled her along with him! It was really funny. Don't worry, we only let go of the stroller for a quick pic! Oh! Did you notice Emma Jane holding a Target bag in the second picture? She LOVES that bag! She looks for it in the basket where we keep our shopping bags and then carries it all around the house. Today she carried it right out to the car, held it the entire ride to the park, and couldn't even part with it when we put her in the stroller. Yes, she's an avid Target shopper just like her mama!

sassy in the swing

Emma Jane really likes to swing....for a few minutes. She squeals in delight for the first minute or two and then the confinement gets to her and she fusses to get down. Here are a few pics BEFORE the complaints began.

exploring the museum

Emma Jane is on the GO! We went to the children's museum again today and she loves to take off and explore on her own. It was pretty crowded today, so, to her dismay, I had to limit the independent roaming. She tried so hard to "make friends" with the big kids running around, but most of them only saw her as an obstacle in their way. Today she explored the farm section of the museum and the butterfly garden. This museum is HUGE and there are many different exhibits to see. We bought a year pass today so that we can visit on a regular basis. With so many new things to see, we may be making biweekly visits to this air conditioned playground!