new heights

 Vivian has surprised us with her strength and stability this past week.  She is constantly pulling herself up to standing and challenges herself to get things that are out of reach.  She has been climbing the bottom two steps in the house, so the baby gate is about to reappear!  She's not quite "cruising" just yet, but I have a feeling that is coming any day now.  What has encouraged this sudden obsession to reach new heights?  Keeping up with big sis, of course!

faster feet

Emma Jane is convinced that her new tennis shoes have magically produced faster feet!  She was so proud to run and play in her new kicks yesterday.  This summer she has mostly worn sandals or Crocs, but she would still occasionally wear her size 7 1/2 tennis shoes.  Well, her new shoes are size 9!  Whoops!  I guess we were scrunching her poor little toes up, but that never seemed to slow her down!   



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.