puppies get all the attention

We took Loula Rose for her first Riverwalk visit earlier this week.  Paul and I have so many great memories of taking Emma Jane and Walker here when we first moved to Columbia.  I used to get slightly offended when people would stop to ooh and aah over Walker, never saying anything about my adorable baby girl!  This walk with our new pup was no different.  Everyone wanted to stop and pet little Loula.  Emma Jane made sure she still got some of the attention by immediately giving out Loula Rose facts.  For example, she loves to tell people that Loula pees in the house sometimes! As for Vivian, she was happy to pick some weeds (um, flowers) with her big sis and she tried her best to keep up with Emma Jane and Lou.

giddy up!

Emma Jane's 3K class took their first field trip this week.  Of course, this former teacher mama was NOT going to miss out!  We took a short walk to the Lexington County Museum.  The kids learned all about the toys used by children in this area over 100 years ago.  I was so proud of Emma Jane when she correctly answered one of the questions the guide asked.  The children even got to "race" stick ponies around the grounds of the museum!  Since there was no crying and no injuries in a group of 3-year-olds, I'd say it was a VERY successful field trip!  

puppy love

Yes, the girls are totally in LOVE with our Loula Rose!

 

Loula Rose

We have welcomed yet another baby girl into the Street family!  Meet Loula Rose, our adorable 8-week-old yellow lab.  Last Friday we took a short road trip to pick her up.  The ride home was unexpectedly easy.  The girls were smitten with this cutie right away and both wanted to hold her in their car seats.  Loula was happy to oblige!

A quick break at a rest stop...

Paul is over the moon!

 

Welcome home, Loula!

Emma Jane is definitely in L..O..V..E!

She covered up Loula with her favorite

blankie and sang her lullabies!

I am a proud new puppy mom, too!

How did we choose the name Loula Rose?  We've been talking about getting a new puppy for awhile now.  Paul recently finished building a fence around our backyard for that very purpose.  To prepare Emma Jane for this BIG change, we have been discussing possible names.  Emma Jane and Vivian love the British cartoon, Pocoyo, about a 3-year-old boy who has a dog named Loula.  Paul and I thought this was a cute and unique name.  Emma Jane wanted to name the new puppy Flower.  We told her this was a nice idea, but that maybe she should think of a specific flower, so she decided Rose sounded nice.  She then INSISTED upon naming the puppy Rose until we came up with the compromise to combine the two names...Loula Rose.  So, depending on who you ask, this puppy has a variety of names and nicknames already...

I call her Loula.

Emma Jane calls her Woo-wa Rose.

Paul calls her just plain Lou.

Vivian calls her La La (Yes!  She can make the L sound!)

Come meet her yourself and you can call her whatever you'd like!

bullseye!

Emma Jane and I had a very special date last week.  We went to see Toy Story on Ice with some of her best buds.  Since she is not a big fan of the Toy Story movies, I wasn't sure what her reaction would be to this 2-hour show.  The first half hour went well since she was preoccupied with the gigantic bag of cotton candy she chose before the show began.  This bag of cotton candy was almost as big as she is AND it came with an alien hat!  She was beyond thrilled!  After the cotton candy was gone, her interest in the show was gone, too.  She asked me several times, "Is it almost over, Mommy?"  I, on the other hand, thought the show was extremely entertaining and exciting, but my girl just doesn't consider sitting still (for any amount of time) much fun. 

During intermission, I let Emma Jane choose a souvenir.  She picked a small stuffed horse named Bullseye (Woody's faithful companion).  Playing with Bullseye and sitting between Lily and Savannah made the second half slightly more exciting.  After the show was over, I asked her to tell me about her favorite part.  She exclaimed without hesitation, "When I got Bullseye!"

 

All in all, it was a memorable experience for us both. I love spending special one-on-one time with my girls every once in awhile. What did little Viv do while we were gone?  She stayed home with our sweet babysitter, Delaney.  Apparently they had so much fun playing together that Vivian was down for a nap before lunch and was still sleeping when we got home.  She loves playing with Emma Jane's alien hat, too!