National Princess Week

In honor of National Princess Week (yeah, I did not know there was such a thing either, until a few days ago), I thought it would be fitting to post a few pics of Emily (and Lauren) in their best princess attire.  There's no question that all of Emily's favorite toys are either princesses, fairies or dress-ups.  Not a day goes by that she does not have her princesses, mermiads, fairies or dress-up clothes out to play.  She loves her wands, tiaras and costume jewelry too.  She definitely is our little princess!

Emily Quotes

Tonight I told Emily I wanted her to be 4 forever.  Her response:

       "Don't be sad Mommy.  Even when I get 20 I will still love you. 
        I will always love you."

Last Friday we had really warm weather so I got out a black summer knit dress, put on a silver belt and bright pink cardigan.  When I came downstairs to make her breakfast she said:

       "Oh Mommy.  Where are you going in such a beautiful dress?  I love your
        silver belt. Stand back and let me see.  Do a twirl.  Oh Mommy, you look
        so beautiful."

And, in fact, I felt beautiful all day.  I made a mental note to wear that outfit again...soon. 

How can I bottle all this stuff up and save it?  I might need it to keep from strangling her when she is 14...  Gosh I love 4.  It is my favorite age so far.

Daddy's Birthday!

We celebrated Daddy's 39th birthday this week.  He was on call on his big day, April 19, but that morning before he went in, I brought him his favorite Panera cinnamon roll (complete with lit candle) for breakfast.  He worked all day and into the evening, but luckily he got home about midnight and did not get called back in!  So, sleep was a darn good birthday gift too!  On Friday we had a nice family dinner and then opened presents.  Daddy got a new bag for his flight/airplane gear, a cover for his snowblower, a new alarm clock that also charges his iPad or iPhone, some brownies, a book about Kauai'i and a photo book walking through the construction of our house (which was a big hit)!

Then on Saturday evening we had a nice dinner at Las Trancas with Bonnie, Nathan, Ben and Lauren and then they came back to our house for cake (Emily blew out the candle, see below) and play time.  Nathan even got to stay a little later for a Guys' Game Night!  I would say he had a pretty nice birthday...BUT next year is the big one.  So stay tuned...

Coonskin Park Duck Pond



Too early for an arranged marriage??

 

This morning, Melissa and I took Jeff and Emily to Coonskin Park to feed the ducks, play on the playground and have a picnic lunch.  The weather was just beautiful and the kids had a great time.  We took a big bag of bread to feed the ducks.  Unfortunately, this early in the season there were not a lot of ducks...and there was no shortage of people there feeding them.  So, let's just say they did not appear to be that hungry.  But, we did get a few takers.



Why are they running away?

Here duckie, duckie, duckie...

 

All the feeding of ducks and playing on the playground made two toddlers (and their mommies) very hungry.  We found a nice shady spot, spread out our blanket and dug in!  Emily had a cheese sandwich, mixed fruit and oreos...oh and a bunch of Jeff's mini marshmallows!  Luckily he is a little better at sharing than she is!  Even after playing, feeding and eating, there was still a little more fun to be had.  We stopped at Yogurt Mountain on the way home for a little ice cream treat...and a few new books too.  Emily reports:  "Mommy, this was a really great day.  Thanks."  Love that.  Love her.  Love our adventures.

 

Easter Morning!

Easter morning at our house was quite a treat!  The Easter Bunny ate all the grass Emily left out last night and this morning, he left her a trail of jelly beans all the way down the steps, through the kitchen and dining room right into the living room where she found her Easter Basket hiding behind the couch!  She was very excited!

After digging through her Easter Basket we had a big breakfast, complete with Easter pancakes, fruit and bacon (especially for Daddy).  Then we hunted for tons of plastic Easter eggs that the Easter Bunny had hidden all over the house!  We had a wonderful Easter morning.

Emily loves Peeps!

She was thrilled to get a new fairy book!

A little bunny love.

Easter breakfast! YUM!!

Budding Artist

Emily is becoming quite an artist.  She is getting really good at drawing pictures of things that she sees.  I drew her a picture of an Easter basket on Good Friday and this was her version of the same basket.  Pretty darn good for a 4 year old.

Her writing skills are also improving.  She can really write her name very well (when she wants to).  And she can write every letter of the alphabet too.  Pretty soon we will start working on writing some new words - like mommy, daddy and Zoey.  She is even expressing some interest in learning to read and sounding things out.  Pretty exciting!

 

In these last pictures, Emily was drawing on Brody's driveway with sidewalk chalk.  The kids were getting restless so Stacey (Brody's mom) suggested that the kids have a contest to see who could draw the best Easter Bunny.  They seemed reluctant to try so I drew the first one and then this was the version Emily drew.  She won, at least in my book.

Fun with Neighborhood Kids

There is no question that one of the best things about our neighborhood are all the familes...and all the kids!  There are a bunch of kids just Emily's age right on the end of our street.  Reagan and Owen live right next door.  Reagan is 4 (same birthday as Emily) and her brother Owen is 2.  Across the street and 2 houses down is Jeff, who is also two.  Two more houses down is Brody.  He just turned 4.  In the spring, summer and fall on almost any given night (weather permitting) the kids all gather and play.  Generally they all play together very well and have a good time.  The weather has been so nice this spring that we have really taken advantage of the outdoor time.  One night, I got out Emily's dolls and plastic cookware and thee kids made a tea party for the babies.  Another night after work, I brought all the kids McDonald's Happy Meals and we had a picnic for dinner.  It is wonderful having such good kids and such nice families as neighbors.

Coloring Eggs

 

We colored Easter eggs with our neighbors, Jason and Melissa Moody and their son, Jeff.  He is two and loves Emily.  Aren't they so cute together? Emily's favorite colors for eggs were pink and purple, but I was able to persuade her to do some other colors too.  The dye we got this year was particularly good and the colors were beautiful. We got a Disney Fairies set so I guess fairies do know a thing or two about color.

Easter Party at The Ridges

Our neighborhood had a wonderful Easter party for all the kids up at the clubhouse.  There were crafts for the kids, tons of food for everyone, games and an easter egg hunt too.  The Easter Bunny himself even made an appearance for pictures. 

Everyone seemed to have a great time.  We almost got rained out, but by the afternoon, the sun was out and the hunt was on!  Emily only "found" pink and purple eggs.  Imagine that.  I hope they do another party next year.  I love our neighborhood.

Emily & Reagan color eggs.

Her second visit with the Easter Bunny this year.

Hot potato game. Emily pouted through most of it.  We missed nap.

Snowblower!

 

At the beginning of the winter, Dan bought a snowblower.  Not just any snowblower, a giant snowblower!  In his defense, he is the one that would otherwise have to shovel the driveway and because we have a very large, side entry garage, the driveway is pretty big. 

Well, much to Dan's dismay, we had a very mild winter with almost no snow.  But finally, in early March, we got one good snowfall.  About 4 inches, I think.  Of course, by noon the day it fell, it had all melted, but that did not stop Dan.  He busted out the snowblower first thing in the morning and cleared the way!  I'm sure next year, the snowblower will see a lot more use...I hope.

Disney on Ice

We took Emily to see Disney on Ice when it came to Charleston.  We were not sure if she would get it and were definitely not sure if she would sit still for 2 hours, but she loved it and did a great job sitting still to watch.  She got to wear her favorite princess dress-up and choose one souvenir.  She chose an Ariel wand that lit up and played music.  She loves wands (I think we have about 20) and she loves Ariel too. 

The music was fun, the costumes were wonderful and I think Mommy and Daddy had just about as much fun as Emily.  The skating was not exactly Olympic caliber, but what can you expect from people wearing giant Disney costumes - like the Genie, Beast and Simba.  The only sad part was that Emily wore her favorite Rapunzel dress and Rapunzel was not in the show.  At the end Emily was really sad that she did not get to see her.  Luckily we reminded her that she was able to see Ariel, Snow White, Aurora, Mulan, Minnie Mouse, Mickey Mouse, Jasmine and Pocahontas (and many more of her favorite characters).  We definitely plan to go again next year.

Brunch with the Easter Bunny!

I chaired, planned and organized Brunch with the Easter Bunny for the Ronald McDonald House of Charleston for several years before Emily was born and even while I was on maternity leave with Emily. It is a really fun event and benefits a great cause. Now that we are back in Charleston, I jumped right back into planning Brunch with the Bunny again. The biggest benefit was getting to take Emily to the party! She went in 2008 when she was about 3 months old, but this year was a real treat for me...and I think her too. We filled three tables with families from The Ridges, including Ashley, Jeremy, Reagan and Owen Stapleton, Jason and Jeff Moody (Melissa was out of town), Danielle, Aex and Jonathan Wade and many more.  We had a great time and raised some money for a great cause in the process.  Looking forward to next year already!

Emily & Reagan

Emily, Ava, Owen & Reagan

Emily & Reagan both won baskets in the raffle!

Happy Valentine's Day!

This year for our Valentine's Day card, Emily wanted to be the Valentine Fairy.  I am not sure if there is such a creature, but if there is, I imagine she would look much like this in pink (or red) with a heart wand.  On Valentine's Day for her school party, Emily wanted to wear her read Christmas dress and I thought. why not?  She was so excited.  She told me "I feel beautiful in this dress."  Every girl should have a dress that just makes her feel beautiful.  Of course, I think Emily is adorable in her pj's too.