kitty cat muffins

Most everyone knows that cooking and baking are not my forte, but I am blessed to have a husband who enjoys doing both. Of course, I do attempt the occasional meal, but always with detailed instructions in hand or ready-made ingredients. Emma Jane loves muffins, so I make the instant muffins once a week for breakfast. You know, the kind where you just add milk to the mix! This morning as I was getting little missy out of bed, I asked her what she wanted for breakfast and she happily replied, "Muffins! Kitty cat muffins!" Okay, what in the world are kitty cat muffins?!? I have no idea how this request popped into her head, but I decided I would try to to honor it!

I used the usual strawberry muffin mix and let Emma Jane help me stir in the milk. As you will see from the picture below, Emma Jane impatiently waited for the muffins to bake in the oven. Then the creative mom in me decided to see what we had in the pantry to magically transform these ordinary muffins into "kitty cat" muffins. I decided to use mini chocolate chips for the eyes, a dried cranberry for the nose and a fruit bar cut into small strips for the whiskers! Emma Jane was thrilled! Of course, after looking more closely, I probably could have come up with something for pointy kitty cat ears, but Emma Jane was ready to eat her muffin!

labor day fun

Emma Jane had a very busy Labor Day. Since Paul had to work, I decided to take her to the zoo by myself. Big mistake! The crowd there was terrible with all the kiddos out of school. I almost turned around to go home, but I couldn't disappoint my girl! She had her mind set on going to the zoo. The highlights of our visit were her first "all myself" Icee and a ride on the merry-go-round. Notice from the carousel picture that I actually trusted her to hold on by herself (just for a few pics, of course!) I'm sure she has been capable of doing this for quite some time, but mama wasn't ready to trust her. On the tram ride back to the parking lot, she laid down on the seat and said, "Nap time, Mom!" I guess our quick zoo trip wore her out!

Later that afternoon Paul and I took Emma Jane for a swim at the neighborhood pool. Paul has been taking her most afternoons when he gets home from work, but this was the first time I went with them. She is becoming quite a little swimmer with the newest floating device and has no qualms about jumping in the water to Paul. I had to add a bathing suit picture of me with a 26 week pregnant belly. Just two months ago that swimsuit top completely covered my belly, but not anymore!

this is my friend george

Emma Jane has been saying the funniest things lately and if I don't document them, I just know I will forget. Here are a few of my favorites...


"This is my friend George!" (said while introducing me to Curious George...she went through all of her favorite stuffed animals with this introduction)

"Mommy, I not screaming, I squealing!" (said in earnest after I chastised her for screaming in the backseat of the car)

"Daddy, sometimes it's hard to leave." (first thing she said to Paul after returning from a friend's birthday party)

"Mommy, I not sleepy!" (trying to postpone bedtime)

"Mommy, I wuv cupcakes! They taste so yummy!" (imagine this statement shouted at the top of her lungs with seriously overenthusiastic gusto)

"Just a lil' bit" or "Just a few mo minutes" (when she's trying to talk me into something I've already said no to)

"Sometimes balloons pop!" (spoken every time she sees a balloon as she remembers the tragic day her balloon popped)

"Daddy, I don't like it. It too spicy!" (said frequently at dinnertime when she doesn't want to eat something)

"Mommy, not supposed to throw toys!" (after she witnessed me taking the lazy approach to cleaning up as I threw a toy across the room into a basket)

"Ms. Bonnie says, not time to touch toys", "Ms. Bonnie says, no touch dolls now", and "Ms. Bonnie says, only teachers touch doors." (these rules are recited anytime I ask her about her new preschool class...she's obviously listening to the rules, but does she follow them!?!)

There are so many more, but it's hard to remember them all. What I really love is how she addresses who she is speaking to before she says something. I can't wait to hear what she has to say tomorrow!

chalk talk

Yesterday afternoon Emma Jane drew with her sidewalk chalk in the front driveway of our new house. This is something we couldn't easily do at the old house, so it was a fun new activity. Of course, she wanted to draw on the front door, porch steps, and anywhere else that seemed interesting. She also made a new friend...a teeny little bug! While sitting on the sidewalk, she suddenly put her face down close to the concrete and shouted, "Hi bug! Hi tiny bug! I drawing!" You can see her buggy conversation in the last photo.

school bells

Emma Jane had her first official day of preschool today. She was thrilled to hear the chiming of the church bells as we walked into the school at 9:00. She kept shouting, "ding dong!" as we walked down the sidewalk. According to one of her teachers, she had a great day! I am so proud of our big girl. As I was putting her in her carseat I told her how much I missed her and she said, "I missed you, too, Mom." I'm glad she is so independent, but I'm also happy to hear she missed her mama!

sail away to school

I took Emma Jane to her preschool open house today. She will be attending St. Stephen's Preschool on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 9-12. Of course, I think mama is a little more nervous than she will ever be. She is in Mrs. Bonnie's class. There are a total of 6 kids with 3 girls and 3 boys. Today the children got acquainted with their teacher, classrooom, and the other kids in the class. We also took a quick tour of the school's chapel and playground. When we arrived, the teacher politely asked the parents to skedaddle! I stood outside the door peeking in from time to time to see how things were going. Emma Jane never even knew I was gone! Mrs. Bonnie encouraged the kids to decorate paper fish, they sat together at the table to eat a small snack, and they listened to a short story. Of course, during all this planned activity, Emma Jane made lots of attempts to sneak off to play with the toys in the room. All in all, she did pretty well and I was very proud of our little student. We will see how things go next week when I have to actually leave her there!

As soon as we arrived, she ran down the sidewalk to the first door she saw...



Anybody home? Of course, it was the wrong door!



The children were given special sailor hats to wear.



A few minutes on the playground....her first time in a sandbox!





She wanted to hang her artwork on the sign!



Ooops...she picked a flower! She's smelling it in this picture and saying, "Mmmmmmm, it smells good!"

packing, painting, and peek-a-boo!

Since we are staying here in Columbia for at least another two years, we decided we needed to find a house that will better fit our growing family. So, we are moving into a new rental house in just a few days! Paul has been painting the ENTIRE interior for the past two weeks and I have been packing up all of our belongings little by little. Of course, Emma Jane has been very helpful....ha! She loves to climb in the empty boxes and shout, "I hiding! Where's Emma Jane?!?!" and then she pops out to say, "Peek-a-boo!"

Emma Jane has enjoyed taking trips to our new house to "help" daddy paint and to see her new pink room. Since Paul was planning to paint all the rooms, we asked her what color she would like her room to be. She immediately shouted, "Pink!" Luckily, one of the bedrooms had been freshly painted pink for the two-year-old of the house owners. This is the only room in the house that is being left untouched and, let me tell you, this girl is thrilled to have a pink room! When we visited today she was a wild woman rolling around on the carpet of her room (we've never had carpeted floors before) and bouncing from wall to wall, corner to corner, shouting, "I wuv my new woom!" Strangely enough, she also tried to hide from me by standing in the corners!?! From the pictures, it looks like she's been put in time-out, but I assure you, she is just marveling at the pinkness of her new room!

3 peas in a pod

We had a playdate at Lily's house last week. Kaitlyn was there, too. Emma Jane wore the red, white, and blue sundress I bought her for the 4th of July. I laughed when we walked into the playroom to see that Kaitlyn was wearing the exact same dress. So, not to be left out, Sara changed Lily into her dress. Funny that we had all bought our girls the same dress, but not surprising! Here are a few pics of the girls in their matching outfits. As usual, they had a blast playing together. It's so much fun to watch their personalities blossom.

Another funny story about this playdate...
Lily has a new baby sister. Sweet little Charlotte is just one month old. When we arrived at Lily's house, Emma Jane was wearing her sunglasses. She loves to wear them in the car. After hanging out in the playroom for a few minutes, we looked over to see that baby Charlotte (innocently sleeping in her bouncy seat) was wearing Emma Jane's sunglasses! I guess Emma Jane decided Charlotte would like to wear them so she put them on her when nobody was looking! Hopefully that's a sign of willingness to share with the baby brother or sister she will have in just a few months!

tantrum twos

Okay, so we've all heard of the "terrible twos", but I refuse to say that our child is going through a phase that is "terrible" so I will call Emma Jane's newest stage the "tantrum twos". Of course, Emma Jane just entered the wonderful world of two less than a month ago, but the tantrums began right away (if not sooner). I thought I would share some of her more laughable tantrums because some of her fits are just, well, funny.

Today I showed her a thank you letter that I was about to put in the mailbox. I explained to her that we don't always get mail out of our mailbox, but that sometimes we put mail in the box for the mailman to take and send to others. She seemed to understand this new bit of information. Since our mailbox is at the bottom of our very steep driveway, I usually take the lazy way out and put mail in the box as we are leaving to go somewhere in the car. That is just what I did today. As soon as we drove away from the mailbox, Emma Jane had a major meltdown! "Go back, mama! Go get mail!" accompanied by real tears and fist pounding. I tried to explain to her again how this whole mailing system works, but that didn't seem to register. Needless to say, this tantrum lasted for at least 5-10minutes, which is a long one for Emma Jane.

Other routine tantrum phrases:

"I want a snack! I want snack! I want a snack!" (even if she's just eaten a meal)

"Go outside! Go outside ride bike! Go outside now!" (unfortunately it is too hot to spend a lot of time outside right now...but tell that to a two-year-old!)

"Watch Little Mermaid again!!" (her favorite movie)

"Listen Beauty and Beast song again!" (her favorite song, which until just recently she called "Market Beef"...don't ask my why!?!)

Me: Do you need a diaper change?
EJ: No, I still dry.
Me: Are you sure? (since I'm pretty sure she is NOT dry)
EJ: Noooooo diaper change!!!! Nooooo!

Whenever Emma Jane is about to do something she isn't supposed to do, I follow suit with what most moms do by giving her a warning of what will happen if she doesn't listen. Ex: "Don't sit on the edge of that chair. If you do, you might fall." When she disobeys and does something regardless of my warnings, I respond with the typical, "See, I told you." Now Emma Jane uses this same phrase pretty regularly on herself. She tries something that she knows she isn't supposed to do, and when the inevitable consequence occurs, she tells herself, "See, I told you!"


"Emma Jane, please don't roll on top of your ball. You will fall!"
Her look says it all..."Please, mother, I know what I am doing!"



"Wheee! This is fun!" Of course, she then rolls right into something and cries.



This is when she says, "See! I told you!"

hop to bed!

We converted Emma Jane's crib to a toddler bed today. Naptime was the first trial run and it was a great success! She only got out of bed one time just as I left the room. Luckily, we have the video monitor, so I just went right back into her room and told her to get back in bed. She didn't get out again and peacefully took her usual two hour nap. Tonight she was happy to climb back in her "big girl bed" and snuggle up with all her blankies and pillows. She hasn't gotten out of bed at all this time...so far! We are so proud of our big girl!