telescope or stethoscope?

I took Emma Jane to her well-check with our pediatrician today.  I was so proud of our big girl!  She was thrilled to stand on the scale (34 pounds!) and stayed somewhat still for her height measurement (38.5").  Since there were no vaccinations at this appointment, there were no tears or complaints.  She did request that Vivi sit on the table with her, and Vivi was quite happy to oblige! 

When Dr. Guyton used his stethoscope to listen to Emma Jane's heartbeat, she proudly stated, "I have a telescope just like that at home!"    Although this was an awfully cute word mix-up, the teacher in me started to correct her when she piped up, "Oh yeah, that's a stethoscope!" 

I liked the way the nurse involved Emma Jane in some of the questioning this visit.  She asked her if she loved her baby sister and she immediately said, "Mmm-hmm" which is her newest version of yes.  The nurse then asked her if she went to school or stayed home with mommy.  Emma Jane replied, "My mommy drops me off at school sometimes and leaves me there!"

stick figures

This summer Emma Jane has been drawing stick people and animals.  It all started with a porcupine.  She drew a circle with lines coming out all around it and called it a porcupine.  Whether or not she intentionally drew the porcupine or just decided that's what her artwork resembled, we will never know!  She's been drawing stick figures ever since.  I like the way she narrates as she draws..."this is an awm, this is a weg, here's the mouf, this is the bewwybutton" and so on. 

The other day she drew her first picture of Paul.  The drawing below is, in her words, "the perfect picture of daddy".  She insisted I draw a shirt for him, so the green "shirt" is my only feeble contribution.  If you look closely, you can see that she drew all the usual body parts:  head, arms, legs, eyes, mouth, and hair (even though Paul doesn't have much!).  I asked her if the line she drew above daddy's eyes was supposed to be eyebrows and she quickly replied, "No, those are his winkles!"  This, of course, cracked me up because Paul does, indeed, have deep wrinkles in his forehead when he laughs or gives his "stern" look. 

This second drawing is one from earlier this summer.   It will be fun to see how Emma Jane's artistic abilities evolve over the next year.  For now, I will appreciate every last detail of these sweet stick figure drawings.

popcorn and pooh bear

   Emma Jane and I enjoyed a date night at the movies this weekend.  This was her first movie theater experience and she loved every minute.  We went to see Winnie the Pooh, the perfect movie choice for a first-timer...short and sweet.  Lily and Sara joined us to make it a girls' night out.  It was fun to watch the girls slowly eat their popcorn as they stared at the giant screen with wide eyes.  Throughout the movie Emma Jane would occasionally shout, "Ms. Sara, what do you fink?"  We were lucky to only have one other family in the theater with us, so when the credits rolled the girls danced to the  music right in front of the big screen.  In the parking lot on the way to the car Emma Jane asked all of us, "What was your favorite part?"  Mine?  "Watching YOU watch your first movie, sweet pea!"

chair makeover

Last year my dad gave me my great grandmother's sewing machine and my grandmother's sewing chair.  The sewing machine is one of those that folds down into a small wooden table.  The table needs some TLC, but is very special nonetheless.  One day in the distant future, the sewing machine table may have its very own makeover blog post, but today it's all about the chair.

The sewing chair has a simple wooden frame with a vinyl covered seat.  As a child I remember thinking this was the coolest chair because the seat came up to reveal my grandmother's sewing treasures...thread, needles, thimbles, and buttons galore.  To me, this was like a top secret hiding place!  Since I have such fond memories of this chair, I decided to give it a makeover.  Believe me, it needed some love!  This chair had been painted day glow yellow and the paint was peeling in many places.  The white vinyl seat cover wasn't too pretty either.  I did take before pictures of the chair before I started this project (2 months ago!) but now I can't find them.  So your imagination will have to help you out here. 

Step one:  used an electric sander to sand away all of the day glow yellow paint

Step two:  painted the chair with two coats of black semi-gloss interior paint

Step three:  recovered the seat with a cute black and white print (okay, so Paul helped with this part since I don't trust myself with a staple gun!)

This project could have been completed in one weekend, but I stretched it out a little longer.  Life happens, you know?  I'm very happy with the end result and have found a perfect home for grandma's chair in Vivi's nursery.  I hope she and Emma Jane will also use it to secretly store their prized possessions one day.

making waves and wearing lipstick

   Vivian loves bath time!  As an infant she screamed throughout her bath, but now she thoroughly enjoys every moment.  Chewing on bath toys is always fun, but she really loves to make waves!  She churns her little (okay, chunky) legs as fast as she can and loves to feel the water swirling around her.  After bath we sometimes have a little play time.  Last night I kept her in the hoodie towel for a few pics after bath since she looks so cute in it.

Emma Jane was caught red-handed in my closet today.  She had taken a shirt off the hanger and was rummaging through my make-up drawer.  When I asked her what she was doing, she said she wanted to dress up like mommy.  Well, that's a first!  I helped her put the shirt on (which was long enough to be a dress) and let her put on some lipstick (which I rarely wear myself).  I'm still not sure where she came up with the idea to dress up like mommy, but she definitely looked much cuter than mommy!

search and rescue

   I guess I haven't made the official announcement that Vivian is crawling.  She's been doing the slow dinosaur crawl for a few weeks, but this past week she has become a professional.  She crawls across rooms and all around the house.  This morning Vivi was playing with some balls when they escaped her grasp and rolled under the desk and chair.  She quickly found them and, after several unsuccessful reaches accompanied by frustrated grunts, she rescued them!  As you can see in the last two photos, she was very proud of herself!

and one more makes eight!

Little Viv is working on tooth number eight!  This poor child has been slobbering and chewing and biting for months on end.  Gratefully, she rarely fusses about it and finds creative ways to soothe her aching gums.

cha...ching!

Emma Jane has had a ball unwrapping birthday presents this year.  Rather than opening all her gifts at one sitting (which can be a bit overwhelming), we have given her one or two to open per day starting the day before her birthday.  She has been lucky to receive so many FUN toys (thanks to sweet family and friends) and we have had a blast playing with them this week. 

Of course, mom and dad had to give her the gift that has been number one on her list for months....the long-anticipated cash register!  I was suckered into getting the Barbie cash register (gasp!) because it had all the bells and whistles that others did not AND it was on sale.  Yes, this cash register has a working microphone ("Clean-up on aisle 4!") and a scanner that beeps!  It also has paper money and plastic coins that are NOT realistic.  I plan to find some toy money that actually looks like the real thing to replace these.  All in all, it was just what our birthday girl wanted and she has thoroughly enjoyed playing with it, along with all of her other wonderful birthday gifts.

loads of laundry

While Emma Jane was at summer camp this morning, Vivian and I tackled a few loads of laundry...literally!  I set a basket of clean towels on the floor next to Viv.  She immediately grabbed it, spilling all of the towels around her.  She thought this was pretty funny!  I gladly stopped folding the laundry to play with her and snapped a few cute pictures, too!

evening at the zoo

Members' Night at the Riverbanks Zoo means $1 hotdogs and Icees, free rides, and lots of animal sightings!