two peas in a pod

Okay, so the title may be a bit of an exaggeration since Emma Jane still refuses to play with her baby dolls. I made matching pillowcase dresses for Emma Jane and one of her dolls hoping that would spark some interest, but no luck! I promise not to force her to play with those dolls, but it doesn't hurt to try a little encouragement, does it!?! I did get some great pictures of Emma Jane and her doll in their dresses though. I confess, the ONLY reason she is posing so nicely for these pictures is because I had the portable DVD player playing Blues Clues right behind me! Hey, a mom's gotta do, what a mom's gotta do!

little gymnast

Most of you know that our Emma Jane is quite agile and full of energy. This is why her weekly Little Gym class is a great place for her. In the past few weeks she has learned how to grasp the bars and swing from them! She is very strong and can hang on for ages! What a monkey! She also loves to jump on the mats throughout the gym. She has even braved the balance beam all by herself (to her mama's horror!). I looked away for a second today and before I knew it, she had climbed up on the beam using the bars on either side and had LET GO of the bars! She was proudly grinning at me as she stood there balancing on that narrow beam! I quickly took her hand so she could continue her walk down the beam. The girl has NO FEAR!

hello sunshine!

We said hello to the sun today. We haven't seen him in awhile, and I think he's leaving us again tomorrow. It was a great day with Mr. Sunshine!






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fancy nancy

Grandma Jane gave Emma Jane an adorable Fancy Nancy doll last Christmas. Today we received a Valentine's Day package filled with Fancy Nancy accessories. Jane made Emma Jane a fuzzy Fancy Nancy blanket. I spread the blanket out in the playroom and Emma Jane happily rolled all over it. She LOVES soft blankets! Jane also made matching pajamas and robes for Emma Jane and her doll (all made out of Fancy Nancy fabric!). This is Emma Jane's first robe so she was very excited to wear it during book time after bath. I tried to get her to hold Fancy Nancy, but as you can see from the pictures, Fancy Nancy had to be strategically placed in the photos because Emma Jane had NO time for her tonight! Poor Fancy Nancy!

i'll huff and i'll puff...

One of Emma Jane's favorite toys is a plastic birthday cake with candles. It was a hand-me-down from her cousins and BOY does she love it! As soon as she sees it she shouts, "dee day! dee day!" which we can only think means "birthday". Putting the candles in and out of the cake entertains her for several minutes (which is a record for her short attention span). Now she even "blows" the candles out when she has placed all four candles in the cake. Here is a short video I took today. I only wish I had gotten a better view of her face as she blows out the candles. She really pokes those lips out!

the secret to keeping a toddler happy

Keep her busy! Today we had a full day. We finally had a morning that was warm enough for some outside playtime. After that, we met our buds for bagels and a trip to Target. Emma Jane also had fun with bubbles, painted (with water!), clowned around in her playroom tent, and enjoyed her time with daddy when he took study breaks. Whew! What a day!

pigtail princesses

Emma Jane wore her cute curls in pigtails for the first time today! She looked adorable, but wasn't thrilled to have those rubberbands in her hair. She kept tugging at them and saying, "Oh no!"

Today we had a playdate with Emma Jane's friend, Lily. Lily also had her hair in pigtails so these two cuties made quite a pair! It was fun to see them laugh and giggle together. Emma Jane is lucky to have such good friends!

picture perfect day

With so much rain this winter, we haven't been able to enjoy the botanical gardens as much. The sun came out yesterday so I took the opportunity to finally take Emma Jane for a walk. Here are a few cute pictures from our little excursion.

escape artist

Emma Jane can now open most of the doors in our house. Thank goodness for the baby gates in her room and playroom. Without those, who knows where this little explorer might go! In this video you can clearly see that her plan of escape was thwarted by the baby gate outside her bedroom door. With blankie in tow and shouts of "bye!" she obviously had big plans!

shoe showdown

Ever since I got her a pair of Croc knockoffs, Emma Jane has recently become obsessed with putting on her own shoes. For some reason, she refuses to sit down while putting her shoes on, so the whole process can be a little tricky, especially since she gets mad if you try to help her! Here is the video I took of Miss Independent trying her darnedest to get those shoes on today.