a visit from grandma & grandpa

Emma Jane had a ton of fun with her Grandma Jane and Grandpa Bill this past weekend. During their visit, we took them to the zoo and to the Riverfront Park. We also spent time in the yard playing in the sprinkler and with Emma Jane's new rides! Grandma and Grandpa brought her a Disney princess bike and a used Barbie Jeep that Grandpa fixed up just for her. You can imagine Emma Jane's surprise when she realized that just a touch of the gas pedal makes the Jeep GO GO! We had lots of fun with our special guests and hated to see them go.

graduation day

We are happy to announce that Paul has officially graduated! It was a big day for all of us. Of course, Bill and Jane came in town to attend the big event. The ceremony was held at the Koger Center in downtown Columbia. We sat in the upper balcony at the end of an aisle since we knew Emma Jane would probably get restless. We were right! She actually did pretty well in her seat for the first hour since we had plenty of snacks for her to enjoy. After the snacks ran out, we took turns taking her out of the auditorium to climb the steps and run around. She did manage to stay put until her daddy walked across the stage. She got really excited when she heard her mama's name called out. Several students had Renee as their middle name and at one point she shouted out, "Weenaa!!" over and over. Paul told us later that he could hear her all the way across the auditorium!

Later that night we went out to dinner to celebrate. We don't go out to dinner much these days, so this was a real treat for us! We are so proud of Paul and all that he has accomplished. As Emma Jane has learned to say, "Congwats, Daddy!"

happy gra-da-day-tion

On Friday, Paul graduates with a Masters in nurse anesthesia from USC! We are also proud to announce that he received the award for the most outstanding nurse anesthesia student in his class. We are so proud of him! Emma Jane has been practicing saying "Happy Graduation!" but that's a tough one. It comes out "Happy Gra-da-day-tion!"

tire swings and soccer balls

We enjoyed more park time today. Sara and Lily invited us to picnic in their neighborhood park. After a quick lunch (the girls were much more interested in playing), Emma Jane and Lily were off to explore. Emma Jane had lots of fun throwing rocks, climbing the wooden fort, and swinging in her first tire swing with Lily. She also chased a couple of older boys who were kicking around a soccer ball. They were very careful around her and she even got the ball from them a few times! It's always so much fun to see what our little munchkin is going to do next!

daddy make mess!

Emma Jane has been putting her words together to make her own sentences these past few weeks. It's fun to hear what she has to say. Today Paul was in the playroom with her when I heard her shout, "Oh no! Daddy make mess!" Of course, I had to go see what Paul had done to cause such a protest. He had dumped out the puzzle pieces on one of her puzzles and she did not like that at all! We got her to say it again in the video I have posted here, but there's nothing like the first time your child says something cute.

bye bye schoooool

Paul's graduation party is tonight and since it's an adult-affair, I am staying home with Emma Jane. He did invite us to come to the lake house where the party is being held while he and some of his classmates set up earlier today. Emma Jane definitely thought she was at a party! She enjoyed watching the fish in the table centerpieces and tried to add more "wocks" to the fishbowl. We changed her into her bathing suit and she had a ball "spwashing" in the lake and in the plastic pool they had set up for the kids. When it was time to get out of the pool (the water was freezing and her lips were blue), she had quite a hissy fit!

We are so proud of all that Paul has accomplished and we hope he has a great time at the party tonight. He deserves some fun! For several months now, Emma Jane has known that when daddy leaves the house he is going to "school" (which is actually the library) to study for a "big test!" Today I told her that daddy is going to soon say "bye bye" to school and so this was what she said countless times on the way home from the lake house...."bye bye schoooool!"

lunch money

Emma Jane attended her first rock concert today where she quickly became a front row groupie and even got to have her picture taken with the lead singer! Okay, this may be slightly misleading, so here's the real story. Our very cool neighbors play in a kids' rock band called Lunch Money and they play at all kinds of children's events around Columbia. They even have 2 Cd's out and were kind enough to give us copies a few months ago. Their music is very upbeat with fun, silly lyrics. Today we attended one of their free concerts downtown in the lobby of an old theater that is soon to be renovated. We weren't sure how Emma Jane would react to the loud music, and she seemed a little overwhelmed at first (it was VERY LOUD!), but she was soon ready to jump out of daddy's arms and hit the dance floor. We were a little worried about letting her go out into the middle of all those big kids, not to mention the fact that it was very likely she might walk right up to the drummer and grab his drumsticks (which, thank goodness, she did not). To keep her from running right into trouble, Paul held onto her belt loop at first, but then we decided to just let her go and see what she would do. To our surprise, she knew just what to do! She danced and jumped and squealed right up to the front row. Since she recognized our neighbor Molly, the lead singer, she kept trying to wave to her and shouted, "Hiiiii!" over and over. Paul and I had so much fun watching our girl groove to the music. She even had her first experience with sidewalk chalk outside the theater. We spent the rest of the afternoon walking around downtown Columbia enjoying the beautiful weather. We are so lucky to have a girl who keeps us on the go!

verbal explosion

Emma Jane surprises us everyday with new words and phrases. At this point, she can pretty much repeat any 1-2 syllable word she hears and she works really hard to get those 3-4 syllable words out! Although not everyone may understand her, WE do and it is so nice to be able to communicate with her. There are a few downsides to this new found verbal ability....this girl is BOSSY and a little too honest! Here are a few of her favorite phrases:

"It smells good!" (referring to Paul's cooking, of course!)

"Sit here, mom." (she loves to take you by the hand and lead you someplace)

"Snack, please!" (her idea of a snack isn't always the same as mine!)

"Wheee sky, fly...fly..." (her plea for Paul to throw her up in the air)

"I see you!" (she loves to hide and peek out at you)

"Hey you guys!" (not sure where she got this one)

"Off radio!" or "Off fan!" or "Off light!" (EVERYTHING has to be off when we leave the room...she's a conservationist!)

"I carry you!" (which means, "please carry me")

"Walker....where are you?" (she calls to him in the yard)

"Pee-uuu, stinky!" (referring to her diaper pail)

"I scared, mom!" (says this anytime I leave her alone for two seconds!)

"1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 10!!" (she loves to count, but she skips nine!)

"All by myself!" (she says this A LOT!)

"Poor flower! Boo Hoo!" (she demolished a flower at the gardens and this is what I said to her, but now this is what she says when she sees any flower that has been picked, including the one Paul picked in the front yard and put in a vase!)