crying, kicking, and kissing

Emma Jane's first soccer game...the pictures tell the story!

This is how the game started...

Lily got pushed down on the first play and Emma Jane decided she was NOT going to play AT ALL.

Instead of playing with her team, Emma Jane opted to kick the ball around with daddy.

No pressure when you're just hanging out with dad!

She finally decided to give it a try in the second half...

and pretty much thought she was a soccer star!

Ooops!  Hat malfunction!

Not sure about the conversation taking place here, but it was pretty serious and it was right in the middle of the game.  We're pretty sure she even gave Sawyer a kiss on the cheek!

All smiles when the game was over!

She thought running through the parent tunnel was super cool!

Vivian had a little fun, too!

The best part...frozen yogurt after the game!

The next game will be REALLY interesting. 

Paul is working and I'll be solo. 

Wish me luck...I'm pretty sure I'm gonna need it!

the ball wasn't wistening

Emma Jane had her first soccer practice last Wednesday.  She was very excited about this new adventure.  At the practice, she obviously had no idea there was any kind of instruction going on.  She ran around and kicked her ball all over the field.  She is a fast runner and a pretty good kicker, but she definitely needs to work on her listening skills.  On the way home from practice, we talked to her about being a better listener and doing what her coach asks her to do.  She promptly replied, "I was wistening!  My ball wasn't wistening!  It just kept wolling all over the pwace and I had to catch it!"  I think she really believed this was true.   

Ready for some soccer!

Greeting her buds, Lily and Savannah

Getting tangled up in the net

 Ready to kick!

Going after the ball

Not happy that practice is over

What did Vivi do to entertain herself?  Eat, of course!

the saggy baggy elephant

I'm pretty sure my love of reading began with Little Golden Books.  A few of my favorites include The Poky Little Puppy, Tootle, and The Saggy Baggy Elephant.  Emma Jane has just recently become interested in these classics and I have thoroughly enjoyed reading them to her.  While reading The Saggy Baggy Elephant last week, I told Paul how much I loved the illustrations and then the idea hit me!  Frame them!  We actually have two copies of Saggy Baggy (both brand new) so I didn't feel guilty about taking apart one of the books.  I already had one of those $1 paint-it-yourself wooden frames you can get at Michael's (you know, the ones without glass) and lots of paint to choose from.  It took me all of 5 minutes to paint the 4x6 frame a nice shade of sage green.  I then found an illustration in the book that would fit the frame, placed the frame on top of the picture, traced, and cut.  I mod-podged the illustration to a piece of cardboard I had also cut to fit the frame.  I then applied a coat of mod-podge to the top of the illustration so no protective glass would be needed.  I LOVE the way it turned out!  For the first time in a long time, this was not a Pinterest-inspired project, but an idea I had all on my own...gasp!   I plan to buy a few more of the $1 frames and paint them in other fun colors so that I can frame a few more of my favorite illustrations from The Saggy Baggy Elephant.  I think they will look super cute in the playroom or one of the girls' bedrooms.  The first picture below is my favorite illustration in the book.  Poor little Sooki is happily swimming in the pond before a great big crocodile sneaks up and ruins all of his fun!  This one is begging to be framed next!
 

we heart teachers!

We love Emma Jane's preschool teachers...all FOUR of them!  She has Mrs. Elizabeth and Mrs. Dorothy on Tuesdays and Thursdays and Mrs. Clarice and Mrs. Teri for Friday Friends.  Most importantly, Emma Jane adores her teachers, too!  For Valentine's Day I found a cool project on Pinterest that I thought would make the perfect teacher gift...a fun, personalized mount for post-its.  It was simple and inexpensive to make, and I thought they turned out pretty cute.  I even added my own spin on the idea and included different backgrounds that the teachers can change out with the seasons.  If you're interested in making this for a special teacher, here's what you need:

(1)  coordinating scrapbook paper

      (I used solid colors with embossed designs)

(2)  plastic 4 X 6 vertical frame

(3)  coordinating ribbon

(4)  package of post-its

(5)  package of alphabet stickers

(6)  foam stickys

(7)  paper lunch bags

I already had most everything on this list, so I only had to purchase the frames and post-its.

Cut the scrapbook paper to fit the frame.  Tie the ribbon around the top (I laced it through the middle of the frame so it wouldn't slip off and to make it easy to trade out the extra paper choices inside the frame.  I added the first initial of the teacher's name with a coordinating sticker.  Although the post-its will stick if you just remove the backing from the bottom, I added a foam sticky to be make sure the stack didn't slip.  I also used brown paper lunch bags to wrap the gifts.  I put the mount, extra stacks of post-its, and a handmade valentine from Emma Jane inside.  I punched holes at the top of the bag and laced cute ribbon through to tie up the bag.  Done!

sisters in the gardens

The girls and I took a walk through the botanical gardens last week.  It was a beautiful spring day smack dab in the middle (well, beginning!) of February.  It's turned colder again this week, but it gave us a nice glimpse of what's coming soon! 

one-on-one

Vivian and I took a mommy-and-me walk to the park about a week ago.  She had a blast kicking around the soccer ball, but she didn't let go of her blankie.  She also found a few treasures (weeds, leaves, and sticks) and gave me many melt-your-heart smiles.  A little one-on-one time is hard to come by with either of my girls these days, but that just makes it all the more special. 

you color my world

Yep, it's not even February yet, and we have started making valentines!  I want Emma Jane to "personalize" each of the 24 valentines for her classmates, so we had to start early! 

I've been saving broken crayons for awhile since I'd seen the idea of melting them into new shapes on Pinterest.  When I saw the silicone heart molds at Target, I knew this was the time to use those broken crayons.  While Vivian napped today, Emma Jane helped me take the remaining paper off the crayons.  I then cut them into small pieces and distributed the pieces into the molds.  We put them in the oven to bake at 250 degrees for around 15-20 minutes.  It takes about half an hour for the wax to cool and then they POP right out of the mold! 

Today we "practiced" the personalization and decoration of just one valentine.  I bought a package of adorable doilies to mount the crayons on, but I'm not sure if that was the right choice.  They are very delicate and not the best backing for a heavy crayon.  Emma Jane decorated a separate doily and I glued it to the back of the doily that supported the crayon.  (I mounted the crayon with a foam sticky.)  Emma Jane was so excited to "sign" the valentine and add foam stickers.  When she started tearing apart the hollow heart stickers before sticking them to the doily, I asked her why she would want to tear them up.  She quickly replied, "It wooks just wike the wetter J, just wike in my name!"  Can't argue with that logic!

I put the finished valentine in a clear cellophane bag and added a label that I printed up.  Now, just 23 more to go!  Wish us luck....I'm pretty sure this will take the 15 days left until Valentine's Day!

favorite hat

Vivian is in LOVE...with her striped winter hat.  She takes it off her dresser every morning and brings it to me to put it on her.  She would wear this hat all day if we let her.  I took a few pics of our cutie playing while wearing her favorite hat yesterday morning.  Oh how we love this silly girl!