Halloween 2010!

We had such a great Halloween!  Emily and Audrey were a bumblebee and a ladybug (Emily picked the costumes).  We went Trick or Treating at the mall first and then came home to our neighborhood. It was a blast!

Sadly yes, this is the best shot we got...Audrey was NOT feeling the ladybug suit!

The mall was slightly extremely confusing for Emily.  Is this typical Halloween decor? I think not.  They reeeeeally couldn't have waited ONE DAY longer to put up the Christmas stuff?!  Emmy kept yelling, "It's almost Christmas!!  HAPPY HALLOWEEN!" It was hilarious but I felt kind of bad for her and the other kids...how weird is our mall?!

 

Then we came home and T-or-T'ed in our neighborhood:

Emily carved her pumpkin too! 

Emily is 3 Years Old!

Time for a monthly update...but this time it's a birthday month! :)  Emily is doing so well and we are so happy for our sweet girl growing up.

- She has moved to a new classroom at school and is LOVING it!  I love her new room too!  Ms Linda and Ms Brenna are incredible- they work together so nicely and I have already seen growth from Emily.  One thing I really like is the neat projects they do in this room- like this (forgive the misspelling...nobody's perfect:) )

Also in this room she gets to go to a different part of their playground, which I know she is loving!  They had a precious Halloween party last week and the kids performed a story and a song/fingerplay for the parents which was so cute!  Here's Emily in her favorite center (more pictures in the Picasa albums):

- Language-wise, Emily continues to grow.  She now answers us back when we ask her things (like if we say, "Come on, sweet girl" she responds, "I'm coming, I'm coming!").  She says "OK" when I end a sentence with "OK?".  She makes ALL kinds of connections now too- when she's watching a show or reading a story she'll realize something is the same for a character and herself and will point it out.

- She can get herself dressed completely without any assistance...I love this!  She is always SO PROUD when she is finished.

- She is trying to speak using correct grammar and you can really see the wheels turning with this- the other day she was asking me for help carrying her "plateses" instead of plates...so cute but you can tell she's really trying to work it out in her head before she says what she's thinking.

- She throws a ball underhand and overhand and actually does a pretty great job catching too.  She and Paul play catch a lot!

- She is finally starting to expand on what she will watch on TV/DVD....for SO LONG we have been stuck with Barney but she really likes Dora and SuperWhy too.  Thank goodness!

- She went Trick or Treating for the first time this year and LOVED it...she had a blast!  One funny part, though, was that we stopped at our neighbor's house first (Mr Gene and Ms Marie) and they let her come into their house to get her candy.....so then at every other house she was saying, "Trick or Treat" and then trying to edge past the person and walk into their houses!  It was hilarious!

- She continues to be a great big sister to Audrey. Audrey loves for Emily to come close and she focuses on her so well.  Emily is so sweet with her, it really melts our hearts to watch them interact!

That's about all our news for now.  I am so looking forward to the holidays- it is going to be so nice to have our sweet girls and to see Thanksgiving and Christmas through Emily's eyes...something tells me there will never be a dull moment! :)

Wordless Wednesday!

Birthday Party Recap!

Emily had the best birthday weekend anyone, young or old, could ask for!  We have nearly 150 pictures of the occasion(s) so I have added them all here and I'm only going to show some of my favorites in the post...otherwise, I would crash everyone's computers!!

So- it all started on Friday afternoon.  Granny, Grandaddy, and Grandma Frances all drove down during the day and Daddy got off early from work- so we sent the grandparents to pick Emmy up from school.  When she got home we opened present from the family since we figured Saturday would be pretty hectic.  

This box from Uncle Bill is as big as me!

Seeing all the packages in the living room.

Her very own umbrella...a huge hit!

Opening the horse from Uncle Bill.

 

 

 

 

We had a nice dinner at home, played a while, and then went to bed.  On Saturday morning we ALL headed to Dancenastics so Emily could have her own cheering section there!  She did such a great job:

Then it was time to get down to business.  While Paul and I ran around town like crazy people collecting food, balloons, cake, etc., Emily went home and played with her new toys.  SOMEHOW my in-laws got her to take a nap...to say I was amazed would be the biggest understatement!  I was completely stunned when Paul and I arrived at home and it was quiet inside!  We quickly got things ready- the party was getting closer!

         

Only SOME of the food- the kitchen was full too- BBQ, baked beans, pasta salad...you name it, we probably had it!

Right as we finished up the party guests started arriving and Emily woke up from nap.  We quickly put on our farmer shirts (you have to dress the part!) and went out to greet everyone!  Watching Emily greet her friends was SO precious- she ran to every one and gave them a huge hug.  It was so sweet!

Then the entertainment arrived- the horses!  We had a horse named Makayla, a donkey named George, and a miniature horse named Charlie.  The kids went CRAZY riding them and had so much fun.  Even some Mommies rode the horses (DeeDee and I did...the things we do for our kids!)  The horse owners were SO great and even painted the manes and tails for the party.  It was fabulous!

The kids had a great time playing with sidewalk chalk, riding Emily's cars around the circle, and playing in the "Needle in a Haystack" game- we filled her baby pool with hay and put small toys and candy inside.  The kids could dig through the hay and find prizes to keep!

Soon everyone had to leave...but not before getting their great treat bucket:

Emily had so much fun that day and has continued talking about it non-stop.  We had such a great time hosting everyone and I have to say I was a little sad on Sunday when I didn't have her birthday party to be thinking about!  It's been so much fun getting ready for it!  I also MUST thank my in-laws- we truly couldn't have pulled this off without your help and we really appreciate the babysitting, food prep, setup/ cleanup/ etc. that you did.  You're the best! :)

I'll leave you with 2 pictures that melt my heart- Emily with her friends Eva (from preschool) and Derrick (Miss Jamey's son).  She was THRILLED to see them both:

Thank you thank you thank you to everyone who came, who helped, and who gave me ideas for the party.  We had a blast!!  

Make sure you check out the pictures!  Again, click here to see all the pics of Emily's special day!  

1, 2, 3!!

Today Emily is THREE!!

ONE year old 10-21-2008

TWO tears old 10-21-2009

THREE years old TODAY!!

Happy Fall, Ya'll!!

We took our girls to the pumpkin patch yesterday and met up with some friends.  It was so much fun! Here are a few of my favorite pics-- they are ALL in the Picasa album though- link on the left side!

One- Word Wednesday

When you look at this picture, what ONE word comes to mind first?  For me, it's JOY.  Paul's joy at having his two sweet girls cuddling in his arms.  Audrey's joy that she is getting to snuggle up and sleep on someone's chest (if you've been lucky enough to meet that little princess you know that is her FAVORITE place to be!).  And Emmy's joy is written all over her face-- she loves her Daddy so much! This picture is my joy too because these 3 are my whole world.  There's a Brooks and Dunn song that goes, "I'll never beat the view/ of my front porch looking in" and it's SO TRUE.  I am so lucky to have these 3 as my view, from my front porch looking in.