YIPPEEE! Emmie Turned 3!

Kim and I took Emmie and Elle (Emmie's bff) to Gardner Village where they have a petting Zoo and a little horse merry-go-round on Friday, the day before her birthday. It was the most beautiful fall weather ever. Thank goodness, because we were outside all day.

Emmie picked which horse she wanted to ride and I think, oddly enough, this horse's name was Brownie.

The whole time we were at the petting zoo, the animals were just really mellow. They looked like they were tranquilized or something. So when this goat gave a little yelp, it took the girls by surprise.

This has to be my favorite shot. Between the huge lazy pig and the almost shot of Emmie's hind quarters. . . it's priceless.

Nice goat, good tranquilized goat!

Of course, we had to take a few posed pictures by the pumpkins. And it took several shots because one of the girls always had a hand or a finger on their face. Then Emmie had a huge wad of bubble gum in her mouth that she couldn't tame. Finally Kim said, " Okay Emmie, the gum's gotta go." She obliged, only because she knew their was more in her goody bag.

The next morning. . .

Our three princesses in their jammies. . . all excited for the cake and opening presents portion of the day. Little did they know it would be a loooong wait.

This is what I get for making a 3 year old wait to eat her own birthday cake! She chose pink (strawberry) cake with our homemade ( grandma Johnson's recipe) yummy, fluffy chocolate frosting. . . which is apparently irresistible!

Finally, she got to open presents! Morgan was more excited about the presents and has played with the new toys more than Emmie. Mckay and I decided when Emmie tells you she just wants a pink ball for her birthday, than that's all she should get. Why waste money?

Although, if their was one present that she has showed the most interest in, it's her new Dora backpack. . .with sweet wheels. Mckay picked that out and he wants to be sure I give him credit for that.




We have video, which is uber cute. Now if we can just find the right hook-up for our computer! Hopefully, it will be on here soon with Mckay's help.




I can't believe our "Cutes," "Emmers," "Emminem" is 3! Then again, she does so many things that Morgan does, it makes her seem like she's 5. She is sooo much fun and one of my favorite qualities about her is that she loves cuddling. If she is hurt in any way, all we have to is kiss her boo-boo or give her a hug and she magically stops crying. It's great! In fact, when I asked her what she wanted to do for her birthday, she said, "I just want to hug Elle." "We can definitely make that happen!" She is just such a friendly, lovable (wuvable as she used to say) girl, and she brings Mckay and I such delight. Every day she makes us smile.

Emmie's favorite things:

*Cuddling with mom and dad, but especially dad

*Chocolate milk, in big girl cups now. . .no more bottles

*Rubbing her blankie under nose, or if it is the one with little tassles, those go straight up her nose, it's disgusting.

*Playing with neighbors, mostly she has grown attached to Isabelle. A little girl with Down Syndrome who lives across the street. She happens to be Joshua's little sister (the womanizer that kissed Morgan).

*Of course, playing with Elle is her "very most fravorite" she told me.

*She loves playing with baby dolls and playing doctor

*Eager to help me with baby Rhyan. . . a little too much

*Watching Jon & Kate Plus 8 with mommy (She has almost all their names memorized, I can't even do that!)

*Buying bubble gum at the store when she's good!

She's getting so big, it really makes me appreciate every little new thing that she does, and every new step for Rhyan. Too bad it took me a kid and a half to catch on to what every older parent has told me. . ."Cherish every moment because it passes by too quickly!"

IT STARTS!

So I'm sitting on the couch catching up on some shows I recorded, and in comes Morgan from outside. She looks at me then giggles as she scurries upstairs. So automatically I KNOW something's up. Well, the excitement or guilt must have gotten to her, because before I could ask, she said, "Guess what mom." "What." "Joshua and I kissed." pause. . . (in my head "WHAT THE HECK!") out loud, "Why did you do that?" " I don't know." "Did Katie tell you guys to do that?" (Katie is an older neighbor friend-who we love. . .usually) "No, well kinda. She said she thought we wouldn't do it. . . so we did!" "Well, where did you kiss?" "Umm, on the trampoline" "No, I mean, did you kiss on the cheek (I was hoping) or what?" "No! (like I'm stupid) On the lips mom." "O.K...(frustrated sigh) come here because we need to talk." So I start by considering what was really going on in her little not-quite-six-year-old head and how I don't want to under or over react. Then I say " Let's get something straight. You don't do everything that other kids tell you to do . . . we've already talked about that." "I know, I can't have a boyfriend until I'm sixteen." "Right! So next time Katie or anyone else wants you to do something you know you shouldn't or don't want to do, what are you going to tell them?" "I can't have a boyfriend to kiss until I'm sixteen." In my head I thought well at least she got part of it, maybe the whole general idea of peer pressure isn't getting through to her, but we'll get it . . .baby steps. She said, "Can I go play now?" "Sure, but no more kissing!!!" she giggles, "O.K. See ya mom!" I know this is not as big of a deal as I think it is right now, but I also know, it's the beginning of sooo many talks of even more important things to come. Man, I wish I had boys! All I would have to say is keep your hands to yourself. . . for every situation, it works. Girls are way too complicated. What's a mom to do?!

Camera Schmamera

I'm not that great about taking pictures in the first place, but now I totally want to and we don't have a camera! The one we bought a few months ago from Cosco turned out to be not so great, so we returned it and haven't figured out whether we want to spend a good portion of money to buy a really good camera or if we want to just get a good every day, still fits in my purse sort of a camera! Is it really worth spending 6-8 hundred dollars for a good camera, even though I am in no way, shape or form a professional? Sometimes I think yes. . . then I think about all the rockin clothes and shoes I could buy instead and it wins over my ego every time. Dang it! What would you all do? I have to admit, the last two cameras we had, we always thought the pictures just were not up to par. So we think , you always get what you pay for. It's a lesson we have learned over and over again. . . mostly because Mckay is a tight-wad. So we buy the cheaper slightly less worthy item and we are almost always disappointed. But is such an expensive camera really worth the money?

Thanks

I just needed to tell all of you thanks for the kind thoughts and comments on my post yesterday about "Remembering Hayley." All of my friends and family are such a source of strength for me and I truly appreciate the chance to know and learn from all of you. Anyway, before this gets to be another heart warmer, thanks for the thoughts. . . I love you all!

Remembering Hayley

I can't believe it. Today it has been nine years since my little sister "Hayley-Bop" passed away. I can't even think about how my mom feels every year on this day. Hopefully, it has gotten a little easier with each passing year. She would be fifteen years old , (an annoying Mia Maid). It's hard for me to think that I have forgotten the way her voice sounds, the way she used to laugh, or the funny faces she would pull. Sometimes, I can recall her entire death experience matter- of -factly to others, but today I have a hard time saying her name out loud without crying. I miss her. How grateful I am that I know she is in good hands and that I have a chance to see her again. What would I do without that faith?! I remember shortly after she died, my mom would spend lots of time at her grave , (we happened to live across the street from the cemetery). She would tell me how, on cold nights, she would go there and lay on Hayley's grave because she just knew that Hayley would be cold. It breaks my heart to picture it, and yet I KNOW that I would be doing the same thing if my baby girl was in the cold ground. I remember the agony that was clearly on my mom's face as if her heart was actually being torn apart. It is a sight I will never forget. We all like to think that our parents are strong and invincible to an almost hero status. . .then a child dies, and you see how human your parents really are. I thought, in the moment, that I knew something of what she felt, but if one of my girls passed away before I agreed with God that it was o.k.. . . what a wreck I would be. Sometimes, I'll talk about her with Mckay, and then I realize that he has never met her. How weird. I feel like he has been a part of my life forever, and he has for longer than Hayley, and yet Hayley was a huge part of my life growing up. It's like having two separate lives. That was then, this is now. Nothing has stayed the same in my family since she passed away. Nothing. I always wonder if some things would have changed anyway had she lived, or if everything would still be the same. Maybe that's my reason for liking change, even though it was forced on me, I grew so much from that experience, and I honestly wouldn't change the person I have become from it. Wouldn't it be nice if we could gain character and strength without having such trials. Hayley, no doubt, was such a spirit that she was here just a short time before it was time to go home to Heavenly Father. She was something else. . . I love that kid. I will forever be grateful to have had the opportunity to be her big sister Ayea.

WOO-HOO

So, I just had to put this down in writing for it to seem real. Are you ready?
Wait for it. . .
Wait for it. . .
Rhyan slept through the night! WOO-HOO! I felt like I was about to burst by 5 a.m. when I got up for my exercise class. I almost thought about waking her up to feed her and relieve the pressure, but I couldn't ruin this momentous occasion. Hopefully this wasn't a fluke!

Happy Birthday ELLE!

It was Elle's third birthday party yesterday. She is Emmie's best friend! Her mom, Kim is one of my good friends too, so it's fun. Elle is just two weeks older than Emmie and she used to call her, "my Emmie."


Elle decided she wanted a froggy birthday party. But on short notice and short on time, like usual (sorry Kim, you know it's true), she got these cute green visors and put eyes on them to look like froggies and the kids got to decorate them with markers. It was a good idea, Kim always pulls through. Wal-mart made this really cute design of a frog made out of cupcakes. I should've taken a picture of it. It seems simple enough to maybe even do at home.

These are all the kids that came. most of them live on the same street! Yah, when we moved here, Mckay said, "Maybe we should've moved to that street, it's where most of your friends are!" It would have been fun, but I also enjoy a little separation-I'm just sayin'!

KEEP Scrolling down! I'm not sure what happened to this post!

Bad Habits!

So, lets just get this out in the open and say my girls are addicted to Ovaltine! There I said it. Both Morgan and Emmie have to have their chocolate milk every morning when they wake up and every night before they sleep. I'll tell you how it started. when Morgan turned one, she didn't want anything to do with normal milk (she would've nursed forever if I would've let her, but it was a year and I was done), so I got a good idea from my sister-in-law, Maurny, to try putting Ovaltine in her milk because it worked for Grace (her daughter). So I try it and Morgan loves it almost instantly! I thought, "well as long as she is getting her milk I'm o.k. with it also being chocolate." It got to the point that she wouldn't drink normal milk ever. Then I got pregnant with Emmie and I thought we need to stop this habit before she gets to be any older (HA HA!) It never died and mostly because Mckay and I didn't feel like it was worth the fight. So Then Emmie turns one, and I know for sure I don't want to start the same bad habit for her. She does fabulously with normal milk, but she will only drink it out of a bottle, (sippies were apparantly only for water and juices). then Emmie is getting closer to her second birthday and starts to realize that Morgan gets chocolate in her milk and she wants to try it. She doesn't like it-WHEW! I thought I dodged a bullet. Nope! She wanted to try it again a few months later and that was it. I officially had two girls hooked on Ovaltine. Not only that but Morgan is almost six and still wants it, and Emmie still doesn't like to drink it out of anything but a bottle! . . . Sigh. . . the only defense I have for Mckay and I as parents is that at least Ovaltine has some good vitamins and minerals that other chocolate additives don't. DARN you Ovaltine for being so tasty to my children!!!

Cute Pictures-Cute Girls

So, I have a dear friend (Marrya, or Mar-Mar) who had free points for Kiddie Kandids and it was definitely time to get the girl's pictures taken. Morgan and Emmie look so old to me, it's crazy! If you look close, you can see the effects of real life and a hurried mom because Morgan's fingernails need some major up-keep! i.e. new polish.

This happens to be the only picture of Rhyan that we got because she apparently does not like her picture taken. I had to hold her off to the side while the big girls got ready, then throw her in at the last minute. I swear she's a happy baby-Really!

Me? Do a blog?

"That's a great idea" I said sarcastically to all the many others who charted the blog waters way before I and told me I needed to start one as well. That was well over a year ago! I really did think it was a good idea, but I also thought, "Great! something else to maintain!" So, it's taken me a while to get here, kicking and screaming no less, but here I am World! Hopefully, after a seven year hiatus from writing in my journal EVERY night, I can use this as such. While I'm at it, my kids' pictures will have a place for all our family and friends to see, instead of the dark, deep abyss that is my picture drawer!



Pictures to come soon!