Mother's Day 2012



Happy Mother's Day!

I felt very lucky today to be celebrating my fourth Mother's Day.   Emma and Glenn really made it a special day for me with an outing to Coranodo Island for a Mother's Day breakfast and a surrey ride along the waterfront. Emma had a prime spot on the surrey and cheerfully greeted everyone we passed with a wave and a loud "Hi!".   

Emma and Glenn on the surrey

Testing out the water

 One of Emma's favorite places is the park. She loves climbing, running, swinging (really having mommy pushing her on the baby swing, requesting a "big high") petting the dogs and meeting new friends. She is not shy and will run up to any child or group of children to join in on their play. 

 Emma loves doing what she calls "projects". It may be painting, making collages, play dough or working in one of her many princess notebooks.

 Daycare was recently closed unexpectedly so Emma joined me at work for half  the day. She did really well. On the way there she told me she wanted to stay all day.... but around 11:00 a.m., after sitting through a meeting, touring the office to see all of her old friends and exhausting all the toys and books she brought she told me, "Mommy ready to go".  Guess Mommy's work isn't so fun after all.

 Emma made a mobile at daycare and was very proud of it. She walked around the house trying to find a place to hang it and we eventually settled on a hook that was left in the wall by the previous owners. (Yes, we have been in our house 2 years and haven't removed the old hooks and nails from the walls) Emma loved the spot and asked me to get the camera and take her picture. That was a first.


Being silly

 This past Saturday Emma had a play date with Kamryn (Emma pronouces her name as Camera.)  at the Children's Museum.  There was so many fun things to do, including painting a car, blowing bubbles, a maze and wall climbing.

 On Sunday, Glenn ran his 49th half marathon at the San Diego Safari Park.  Emma and I met up with him at the park for breakfast and a little fun. Even though it was a bit chilly, Emma didn't hesitate to play in the water in the children's play area and of course no trip to the Safari Park is complete without a ride on the carousel. We did see some animals too.

Open Wide

Getting xrays

All ready for her cleaning and exam

Emma had her second ever dentist appointment on Thursday and she did awesome.Such a different visit from her first dentist appointment where the hygienist and dentist had to pry her mouth open.    We had been talking about the dentist in preparation for her appointment and how she needed to open her mouth wide to allow him to clean and check her teeth. On the day of the appointment she was excited and told me how he was going to look in her mouth. She cooperated with getting xrays and when it was time for her cleaning she  eagerly climbed on to the table, laid down and opened her mouth.  The dentist said her teeth looked great (Whew! Mommy worries about if we are doing a good job brushing) and we were good for another 6 months.

Easter Weekend 2012

Mommy and Emma had a girls only visit to the San Diego Safari Park so we could see the Butterfly exhibit. We have gone the past 2 years and Emma has enjoyed it. This year Emma enjoyed seeing the butterflies but was also a little afraid of them. She wanted one to land on her as she saw them doing on other people. She walked around with her arm sticking straight out but as soon as a butterfly would get close to her she would get frighten and want to be close to me, clinging to my legs.  One finally landed on my arm and she cautiously allowed her picture to be taken next to me while she pointed it out to the nice lady who offered to take our picture. She did think it was pretty cool to see the butterflies eating nectar with their very long tongues and kept asking "why" when I tried to explain how they eat. I love how curious she is!  After visiting the butterflies we headed over to the petting zoo which is always a favorite of Emma's. This time there were brushes out for grooming the goats and Emma was in heaven. She had to go around and brush every single goat at least 3 times. The only way I could get her to leave the petting zoo was a promise to ride the carousel.

Beautiful Day at the Safari Park

See the butterfly on Mommy's arm?

Peek A Boo!

Grooming the goats

Easter Sunday Emma was thrilled that the Easter Bunny had visited and left her a basket full of goodies and had hidden the eggs she had decorated the day before in the backyard. She really got the concept this year and easily found every egg. After a little candy treat we headed to Del Mar where we met up with Cousin Sophia for Easter brunch and a little toe dip in the ocean. Great day with Emma and family.

Busy already for the next egg

See Mommy!

Loving on Cousin Sophia

Playing in the waves

Pre-Easter fun with Kamryn

Ready to go Mommy

On your mark, get set, go!

Collecting eggs

And more eggs....

Check out our booty

Fearless Emma

Whoo Hoo!

Emma and the Easter Bunny

Checking out Kamryn's face paint

No face for me... just my arm

The local Parks and Recreation puts on an egg hunt each year as a fund raiser. We thought it would be fun to invite Kamryn to join us this year. Emma was so excited and even before breakfast told me she was ready to go. She ran into her room and picked out her very frilly fairy dress and insisted that was what she was going to wear for the egg hunt. Thankfully after breakfast she decided she would rather wear something more practical and picked out shorts (mommy vetoed those) and a pink princess shirt. Kamryn and her mommy showed up and we loaded up Kamryn's car seat in our car. Emma was pretty excited to have Kamryn sitting next to her for the short drive to the park. The weather was a little cool, so it wasn't very crowded and the girls got a good spot for the egg hunt (which is really a zillion eggs tossed on an open field).  When they announced the start of the egg hunt Emma made a dash for the eggs, but kept looking back and smiling at me as if to question if it was okay.  She quickly understood that the goal was to collect as many eggs as possible. After turning in their eggs for a prize the girls ran off to play in  the jump houses, get their faces  painted (Emma chose to have her arm painted) and meet the Easter Bunny.  Lunch and playtime at our house followed. The girls got along so well and really enjoyed playing with each other. When nap time rolled around and Kamryn had to leave Emma requested for Kamryn to sleep in her room. When I finally did get her down for nap, she kept asking about her Kamryn and why couldn't she sleep in her room.  I promised we would have a play date with Kamryn really soon.

Kindernights at the zoo

Emma loves the zoo... the monkeys, lions, snakes, etc. So we thought it would be fun to sign up for one of the special programs the zoo offers on weekend evenings for preschoolers. What a fun experience. We got to get close up to animals we normally wouldn't and spent time at the zoo after closing, which allowed us to see some of the animals that are sleeping during the day.  Emma had great fun making her own little name tag, getting up close to an arctic  wolf and "howling" with him. She was delighted when we visited the kookaburra and he "laughed" very loudly, sounding just like a monkey. She also convinced one of the giraffes she had a treat and he came right over to the fence, stretched his neck over the barrier and she almost gave his nose a little pat. It was very cool.  We had such a good time we are going back next month.

Big Girl

Emma is fighting for her independence more and more each day. She is constantly saying "No, Emma do it" and refuses help.   She no longer accepts eating her meals on her plastic "baby" plates and wants a "big girl" plate and cup for her breakfast, lunch and dinner.  She is potty trained ( and has been since she was about 35 months but it took a LONG time) and frequently insists on going to the potty alone, slamming the door in the face of anyone who tries.  She likes to pick out her own clothes in the morning, with her favorite choices always being  one of her purple princess shirts.  She can dress herself too, but getting dressed in the morning often becomes a major battle.  She continues to be very curious and we have seriously hit the "why?" stage. One explanation is never enough and she will continue to ask "why" until Mommy really has no idea what the answer is and sometimes ends up saying, "because, that is the way it is."  Not the best response for inquiring minds!  We recently decided it was time to get her enrolled in preschool so she can be around more kids (daycare sometimes only has her and one other child, which was great when she was a baby but we think she needs more now) and have new, enriching experiences so her brain will grow! We of course think she is one smart cookie and we want her to have the best start possible.  So we did a little research, found her a good school and she will start officially the last week of August.  The school runs a half day summer camp  program starting in June so we are going to have her attend  so she can get her feet wet in a more structured environment and get to know the teachers before she starts full time in the fall.

Out for a little bike ride

Helping Mommy pick lemons in the backyard

Blowing bubbles with Grandma

Lake Mead - site of the 1/2 marathon

Catching a movie with Ruthie

Taking a stroll with Daddy and Grandpa

See my Smiley Face Mommy?

We made our annual trip to Vegas so Daddy could run in the Six Tunnels half marathon. Grandpa and Grandma Herwick treated us to a night in a hotel the night before the race and to our utter amazement Emma chose to spend the night in Grandpa and Grandma's room.  It was her very first "sleep over", away from both mommy and daddy (our room was right across the hall but still!) and we never thought she would make it through the whole night. She has been so insistent over the last year not to be left with anyone or have a babysitter so we were pleasantly surprised.  When it was time for bed she announced she had to have her bee blanket, her baby and her (mommy's) ipad and off she marched to Grandpa and Grandma's room.  The next morning, the report from Grandma was she did fine, watched her ipad for a little and fell asleep. No asking where Mommy and Daddy were.  Another indication our baby is fast becoming our little girl.