mommy's five!

I couldn't have asked for a better birthday! Paul cooked a yummy dinner for us and made homemade cupcakes, too. Emma Jane helped me blow out the candle on my cupcake and thoroughly enjoyed eating hers. When we'd ask Emma Jane whose birthday it was she would say, "Mommy's birthday coming soon!" When asked how old her mama is she replied, "Five!" Uh...add 31 years to that for this year's grand total!

afternoon stroll

We took a late afternoon walk around the capitol grounds this afternoon. Paul had planned to have a picnic there earlier today, but I wasn't feeling well so we had to postpone. Emma Jane loves going to the capitol. We haven't been since May, but she remembers the "gi-rant steps" and chasing the "squwurels". On the way there she kept saying, "We're almost to the captain's building!" We enjoyed the sunset while there and Emma Jane said, "Uh oh...it's getting kinda, very dark!" For some reason everything is "kinda, very" or "maybe, probably" which we think is sort of, really cute!

pumpkins galore...and much more!

We met some friends at the Pumpkin Patch today. Emma Jane didn't know where to start with so many cool things to touch and climb up on! As usual, she was on the go and so were we!

backyard fun

As most of you know, Emma Jane LOVES to climb, jump, and swing. We were lucky that the owners of this house decided to leave their wooden playset in the backyard. It's pretty intricate as far as playsets go with 3 regular swings, a 2-seater glider, trapeze rings, a good-sized slide, 2 rock climbing sections, monkey bars, a covered platform, and a little wood-slat bridge. Most of this is pretty challenging for a 2-year-old, but that hasn't stopped our little monkey! She loves to swing and shouts, "High-rer! High-rer! Look, Mommy, I can reach the sky!" She has even mastered the rock climbing and has no trouble boosting herself up (with either me or Paul spotting her the whole way!). Unfortunately, our crazy climber is fearless, but not quite capable of doing all of things she thinks she can do, so today Paul worked on making this playset a little safer for Emma Jane. He replaced the rock climbing section so that it is easier for her to climb independently. He also replaced the bridge boards to ensure that they would stay in place. Emma Jane enjoyed watching her daddy fix the playset and was thrilled to use some of the things that have been "off limits" for the past few weeks. In the last picture you can see her hugging Paul as she says, "Kank you fo fissing my playset, Dad!"

first lollipop

Emma Jane enjoyed her first lollipop today. I'm not sure if that means we are thoroughly conscientious parents or obnoxiously paranoid ones! She loved it and savored every lick. Of course, at the rate she was going, it would've taken her all day to finish, so we snuck the lollipop away from her after awhile. She has informed us several times tonight, "Mmmmmm...I wuv wowwypops! They are so tasty!"

again daddy!

Our little fish loves her afternoon swim with daddy, especially when he throws her up in the air! I caught a quick video the other day. Who knows how many times Paul actually tossed her in the air. He can't resist Emma Jane's plea of "Again!" no matter how many times she asks! As you can see in the video, he did start making her work for it by asking her to swim to him first!

pink for a princess

We've finally finished decorating and organizing Emma Jane's room in the new house. I thought I'd share some photos of her VERY PINK room. The extra bedrooms are smaller in this house, but we made the most of the space and mangaged to fit almost everything in her room. Believe it or not, Emma Jane likes to keep things in their place, so hopefully her room will stay this way! Now for our next project....the nursery for Baby Street!

28 weeks

Just wanted to share a picture of the baby bump at 28 weeks. I went to get a much-needed pedicure with some friends this weekend. It was a nice treat for all of us mamas!

bouncing ballerina

Notice the title does not describe our ballerina as "graceful" or "elegant". There is a reason for that! For the past two weeks Emma Jane has been attending ballet class with some of her friends. I have to be honest and say that I'm pretty sure she's not a natural! I see our girl as a future track or soccer star, or maybe even a gymnast, but while I can still call the shots, we are going to try ballet! During class our wild child had a little trouble focusing, but her teacher, Ms. Mimi, is very good at trying to keep her on track. Emma Jane has a mind of her own and only wants to do what SHE wants to do, so I think the structure of this class will be good for her. Regardless, I think she makes a pretty cute ballerina!