mail time!

In our new neighborhood we have a mail kiosk where we go to check our mail.  I've told Emma Jane that this is our very own post office.  The "post office" is located right next to the Village Green, so our daily trip to check the mail has become quite an adventure for the Street girls!  Emma Jane likes to take her pink soccer ball with her and Vivi enjoys a ride in the stroller.  Even in this heat, it's not a bad walk and makes checking the mail all the more exciting!

open wide!

   Emma Jane had her first dental appointment yesterday.  I have to admit, I was a little (okay, very!) nervous about this experience.  Although we have been "practicing" at home, I expected a lot of fussing and tears, but I was pleasantly surprised.  Emma Jane was an excellent patient!  Everyone at the office was so sweet to her and that made all the difference.  Her pediatric dentist has actually become a biking buddy of Paul's, so Emma Jane had met Dr. Nieders prior to our visit.  While having her teeth cleaned she was very still (gasp!) and even asked to do it again when it was all over!  She requested her own gloves and mask, which they happily provided. In the last picture, you might notice a bright orange lizard in Emma Jane's gloved hand.  This was her prize for doing so well during the teeth cleaning.  When Dr. Nieders arrived, she immediately asked him to clean her lizard's teeth!  Vivi watched wide-eyed from the stroller throughout the process.  Most importantly, Emma Jane has no cavities!

Open wide!  She practiced while we waited.

Vivi chewed on the coozie in our goody bag!

Our superstar patient!

standing tall

Vivi has finally started pulling up to standing!  She is so proud of her new-found talent.  Look out world, here she comes!

pink and blue

   The girls' bedrooms and playroom are painted and the moving has begun!  We chose "chalk pink" for Emma Jane's room and "stormy cove" for Vivi's room.  The playroom is a lighter shade of blue called "ocean kisses".  Paul did a wonderful job, as usual.  We are drowning in boxes, but we're lucky to have extra time to get it all done.  Paul opted to skip movers and do it all himself.  We may look a little Beverly Hillbilly-ish as we pull up to the new house unloading furniture from the back of an uncovered trailer, but at least we're saving some money (not to mention our furniture since Paul will undoubtedly be more careful with it than movers).  Getting things unpacked has proven to be quite a challenge with two wee ones running (and crawling) around.  We decided to organize the playroom first, so that has helped.  Emma Jane and Vivi are really starting to play together and it is so much fun to watch.  Emma Jane wanted to dress Vivi up in her fairy costume the other day.  Viv looked so cute and seemed to love the attention.  The fairy wings and tutu did not slow this girl down!  With so many of our things still packed up, Emma Jane has gotten very creative.  She loves imaginary play and even has a few imaginary friends these days!  In one of the pictures, you can see Emma Jane pretending to be "Sweeping Booty" asleep on a table!  Although I'm not getting much done during the day while Paul is at work, I'm having loads of fun playing with my girls in their near empty rooms.  More furniture is getting moved in this weekend, so life will be back to normal soon.

up, up, up she goes!

Vivian hasn't pulled up to standing yet, but she is working those knees!  She's learning how to get into EVERYTHING just in time for the move.  As you can see in the photos, she is pretty proud of herself, too!

happy to be me

Emma Jane is definitely comfortable in her own skin.  Here are some recent conversations and quotes:

Me: Emma Jane, do you know what you want to be when you grow up?

EJ: No.

Me: Do you want to be a dancer?
EJ: No.
Me: Do you want to be a firefighter?
EJ: No.
Me: Do you want to be a doctor?
EJ: No! I just want to be an Emma!!!

At the pool...
EJ:  Mama, what's THAT?!?
Me:  It's a wasp.
EJ:  What's a wasp?
Me:  Well, it's a type of bug that stings.
EJ:  Oh.  Am I a type of Emma?
Me:  Well, yes, I guess you could say that.  You're a type of kid.
EJ:  Except I don't sting!

After putting on Paul's sunglasses...
"I wook FANTASTIC!"

When she's finished getting dressed she asks, "How do I wook!?!"

And my favorite...
"Me, and I, and Vivi are going to eat wunch!" or "Me, and I, and Daddy are going to the pool!"
I love the way she includes herself TWICE just to be sure! :)

closing day

   It's official!  Today we closed on our new house.  Paul didn't waste any time and started painting Emma Jane's room this afternoon.  For the past few weeks we've asked Emma Jane what color she would like her new room to be painted.  She insists that she wants another pink room because, in her words, "Pink matches my blankies!"  I brought the girls over to the house after their naps.  Emma Jane loved climbing daddy's ladder and "painting" her walls with a paintless brush.  Vivian liked chewing on any paintbrush she could get her hands on.  Then the girls had a picnic dinner on the floor of the dining room.  Of course, they thought this was very cool and will probably be pretty disappointed when we get the furniture moved in.  We can't wait to get settled in our new home, but I have a feeling it's going to be a very long process....



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!"