Sails or Sales

Dear Em,
Remember last week when I wrote about the plaguelike sicknesses that have filled our house? I was exhausted but happy that we were all on the road to recovery. Little did I know, my exhaustion hadn't even started. Daddy & I woke up to the sound of your cries again that night. You had thrown up again. At that point I was convinced your stomach bug was never going away & I would be forced to do four loads of laundry everyday for the rest of my life.

So, it was back into bed for you, my bed to be exact. Daddy got kicked out into the guest room again. Your next few days were filled with more TV, a lot of movies, the Frozen soundtrack, American Girl dolls, & barbies. There was a lot of Barbies. I quickly learned that playing Barbies with you means that you will dictate the clothing choices & activities of a large group of Barbies & I was mostly there to help you change their clothes. Shortly after I finally finished dressing the Barbies in the options you chose, it was time for the next activity-which really meant it was time for me to dress them all in new outfits. Sigh.

In your Barbie World, it is essential to be wearing exactly the right outfit for each occasion. Even when sleeping.

There are a lot of balls, fancy gowns, & dancing.

When the Barbies get bored of all the ballroom dancing, they decide they need a change of scenery & travel to North Carolina. They never travel anywhere other than North Carolina, & they travel by car, carriage, & horse.

Everyone has great jobs.

Top Row (from left to right): Nonnie "the sailor," Emma the Sofia the First, & Grandma the ninja.

Bottom Row (from left to right): Miss Julie the astronaut, Savanna the princess, Mommy the "people doctor," Aunt Jayme the "puppy doctor" holding her baby & your cousin Trey (who is naked because we don't have any little boy clothes), & Aunt Jayme's puppy.

As tedious as it can sometimes be to spend hours & hours changing Barbie clothes, it made me smile to listen to your imagination at work. First you announced that your best friend Savanna lives with us in your Barbie World. When I asked about her family, you told me that we were her only family. You had kind of a weird look on your face that suggested that given the chance, you would deviously kidnap the real-life Savanna so that she could live with us forever. After much discussion, I finally convinced you to include Miss Julie, Savanna's mom, but you would only do so on the condition that Savanna still lived with us (perhaps we need to schedule sleepover soon?).

When it came time for everyone to take a break from ballroom dancing & go to work, I listed possible careers based on the Barbie clothing options you have. You wanted to dress Nonnie first. I told you we had outfits for doctors, vets, Mommy's, sales people (like me), astronauts, ninjas...it's a pretty long list. You have a lot of Barbie clothes. "I want Nonnie to be a sailor." A sailor? I looked around at the clothes spread all over the bed & explained to you that we don't have any sailor suits. "Yes, we do. I want her to sail boats like you, Mommy." 

So, we dressed Nonnie in a top, skirt, suit jacket, & she went sailing. I had to laugh to myself. Apparently you think my job involves SAILS instead of SALES. What an exciting work-life you must imagine I have. Maybe I could get used to your Barbie World.

I love you so,

Mommy

Our Fourth Year Favorites

Dear Em,
I can't believe how quickly this year is coming to an end. Our year ends with such a bang: holiday celebrations, a trip to visit my family, & your birthday. You remind us that you are turning four almost every day. We've had such an amazing year so far, & I thought now would be a good time to highlight your fourth year favorites.

I like to highlight each year's favorites so that the two people who read this blog have holiday gift ideas for any little loves around your age. But mostly, with how quickly the world & everything in it is changing, I think it will be fun for you to know when you are older what your favorite things were when you were three years old.

We're trying (& possibly failing) to instill in you that things are not what is important in life. We talk to you about family, friends, & love being most important. We've been talking to you about how holidays should be more about giving than receiving. One of the things I love about you & this age is that a day at the park or a trip to the library or a game of hide & seek are almost as exciting to you as a day at Disney. I say this, & yet, your room & our home are filled with things, & these things have brought smiles to your face & joy to our home. Finding a balance is something I struggle with sometimes & sometimes wonder if I'll always struggle with. Nonetheless, these are a few of our favorite things...

We've covered things in previous lists that still rank among your favorites. This makes me happy. I love things that last (which is why I get your clothes a little big so you can wear them for more than one year). From your second year favorites (Part 1 & Part 2), the trampoline, little red wagon, roller coaster, & kitchen set still put smiles on your face (& ours). Your book shelves are filled with lovely books, some of which you are beginning to read. You're starting to master bigger puzzles, & coloring books keep you busy for hours. We've added stickers & stamps to your coloring bin, & you make us the sweetest pictures. It makes me smile to see how much you still love babies. We don't plan to give you a little brother or sister, but you have your dolls to keep you company.

From your third year favorites, your little lamby is still your very best friend. We have multiple lambies in multiple houses & at school. You've begun to dress her up. Right now, she's in a fancy blue, princess dress "for Christmas." We still love to pull out magnatiles & play dough. Your towers have gotten taller, & your play dough figures are created more independently. You have surprised even yourself at how well you can maneuver your scooter. You're really starting to zoom on that thing, to the point where I think you're almost ready for the next step scooter. When we're at home & I need to get things done, one of the easiest things we can do is pull out your easel. You enjoy creating art while I have some moments of quiet. If we go to lazier route, movies will also keep you occupied. You typically have a favorite for a few months, begging to watch the same movie every time until then a new favorite takes over (your favorites have changed from Tangeled to Despicable Me to Wreck It Ralph to Lilo & Stitch). Your love for movies saves us during long car rides. You ask us how long it's going to take to get to North Carolina, & I tell you six movies.

Castle (& Camping Lantern)
There are also new things that you've grown to treasure this year. Santa brought you a cardboard castle last year (I think I bought it for $25 from Zulilly), & it seems to be the first spot your friends & our family have gone to since you've gotten it. You have colored & stickered the walls with our hand prints & sweet pictures. You store our camping lantern in it (honestly, we could probably list our camping lantern as one of your favorite things too) & play in it with your stuffed animals & baby dolls. When you're not pretending in it, it doubles as a terrific hide & seek hiding spot. It's larger than I thought it would be, & we're lucky that you have a large enough room to store it in. Otherwise, I don't think we would have been able to keep it out all year to watch it become one of your favorite things.

Savanna Dollhouse & Barbies
My sisters & I loved playing Barbies when we were younger. We would play all day long, but I don't remember ever having a dollhouse. I was thrilled when Nonnie & Papi gifted you your dollhouse last Christmas, along with the tons of Barbies that mostly came from Aunt Jennie & Uncle Nick. You also have horses & bikes & cars for your Barbies to ride. It seems like a lot...mostly because it is a lot. But your dollhouse & Barbies are probably your very favorite at this age (well probably tied for favorite with baby dolls). We've given up naps in favor of quiet time this year, & you'll sit your whole quiet time playing Barbies (sometimes creating our whole extended family).

iPod
It's kind of funny that you have your own iPod, because I was truly against you owning anything like that. I want you to experience playing real games & use your imagination rather than looking at a screen. But when Daddy & I upgraded our iPhones last year, Santa decided to give you my old phone in your Christmas stocking. Technically it's an iPhone but without any service so it acts as an iPod. It has music & cartoons you like, a few apps that you play with, a camera you love to take photos with, & you can watch Netflix using wifi. You don't use it all that often, but it is a real treat when you do. And since you like to wake up at 5am when you have a sleepover, we pack your iPod in your overnight bag in hopes you will watch cartoons in the morning instead of waking up the whole house.

Merry-Okee
Your Uncle Greg got you a funny little elf microphone for Christmas last year. You can sing on your own or it plays a few Christmas songs that you can sing along to. You have the option of projecting your regular voice or the microphone changes your voice to sound high like an elf's. You love to put on "performances." We announce "presenting Emma!" You run out with your microphone & put on a show. I have to say, Daddy & I have had some really good laughs watching you perform. I was at a work function when I received a video text from Daddy. It was you, standing in only your undies, singing your ABCs with your microphone. I could hear Daddy laughing in the background. I've saved the video & will pull it out & watch it if I need a smile.

Dress-up Clothes
Some of your dress-up clothes have been passed down from my sisters or my cousin. Some of them we've collected at events (we still have a ton of hula items from your luau birthday party). Some of  the costumes were from Nonnie who finds super sales after Halloween has passed. You've pretty much dressed-up in all of them, although the Princess gowns are, of course, your favorite. We have hung the outfits on a rack in your room, & the shelves of the rack hold purses & hats & headbands & a ton of other accessories. Your dress-up rack almost always seems to be the first place you & your little friends go to play with when we have friends over. Sometimes I find you combining your favorites. Dress-up & babies & barbies, oh my!

Radio Flyer Steer & Stroll Trike
We bought this for you for Easter when you were one. You probably weren't quite ready for it yet, but I was excited to get outside & do things with you. The nice thing about this tricycle is that there is an attachment that made it so that we could push you & steer from behind. We spent a few years pushing & steering. You didn't like that much. You like to have control over where you go. It's just that you had a hard time getting the whole pedaling & steering thing down. After your daddy gave up & claimed you would never learn to ride a bike, you figured it out this year. Now, you love your little trike, but you're starting to get a little big for it. You might just see a big-girl bike under Grandma & Papa's Christmas tree this year, but I'll always fondly think of your very first tricycle that you learned to pedal & steer on.

Kiwi Crates
We subscribed to once a month kiwi crates at our house, & they've quickly become a family favorite. We've made jelly fish, tied died paper, glow worms, puppets, rocket ships, and more. You love to color & build & create while spending time with Daddy & I. I love that we're doing something creative, you're learning while having fun, & it involves no shopping or creative thinking on my part. Daddy loves that it's an activity other than playing barbies. It's a win-win-win! I think you would rather do a Kiwi Crate than watch TV. This is a big thing, because while you don't watch a whole lot of TV (except maybe on football Sundays), it sometimes seems like it's your very favorite thing in the world (you can sing every line of the Doc McStuffins & Sofia the First theme songs). I see kiwi crates being something we continue to enjoy for a long time.

Adjustable Back Float
We've had you in pools since before you were one. Tears formed in my eyes the first time I saw you swimming on your own with arm swimmies. As time went on though, we noticed that the swimmies weren't really encouraging you to learn to swim. You could basically just float along. Even when you wanted to get somewhere, you didn't really need to paddle with your arms at all. Your cousin had an adjustable back float, & we loved it so much I ordered you one right away. With this float, you have to paddle your arms & kick your legs to get where you want to go. I feel like you're really learning to swim rather than just floating around. As you get stronger with your swimming, we can remove layers of the float until you're swimming all on your own.

Board Games
We love having our friends over for game nights, but playing board games with you is something that Daddy & I just started this past year. You love it. Our favorites so far are the Lady Bug Game (which encourages counting & number recognition), Candy Land, Thin Ice, & Hello Kitty Bingo (which encourages matching patterns, counting, & letter recognition). We also bring Old Maid with us in the car & take it out to play when we're at restaurants & waiting for food. The only issue we've run into is your aversion to not winning. There have been a few meltdowns. We're working on the whole being a good sport & not being a sore loser thing, because you are super competitive. I'm hoping that will come in time.

Power Wheels Mustang Convertible
I can't tell you how much I wanted Power Wheels when I was younger. I kind of missed the boat. By the time my family got one, I was too big & had to sadly watch my siblings ride around. We were so excited to put a huge bow on your shiny, red convertible for your third birthday. Our excitement fizzled as we watched you immediately crash into a wall. We live on a cul de sac & figured it would be easy for you to drive around in a circle. We were wrong. Nothing was safe from your driving, not even my parked car. It actually took the patience of Nonnie & Papi to teach you how to turn, slow down, & watch where you're going. You've gotten a lot better (although, still nothing is safe), & we even made it so you can drive at the faster speed. One of my favorite spring/summer workouts is jogging next to your mustang while you drive.

Buckets & Shovels
Some of these things seem expensive & an awful lot...& some of them are. We're truly fortunate to have generous friends & family (& also to find really good deals...we purchased your Mustang Convertible using reward points). I'm a little worried that we've kid of spoiled you, but when it comes down to it, the littlest things make you really happy. I think one of your favorite things to do this year is play with a few buckets & shovels at the beach. Most of your beach toys could be found at the dollar store, but you treasure them. You could spend a whole day making sand castles, digging holes, bringing water back & forth, & collecting shells & rocks. You take after your Mommy that way.

So, I hoped you enjoyed some the highlight of some of your favorite things. I'm excited to see what you do with your favorites in the next year & what new favorites emerge.

I love you so,
Mommy

Manners & Stickers & American Girl Dolls

Dear Em,
Reading and writing weren't the only things we worked on this summer. We also worked on manners. It would seem, my sweet little child, that sometimes you can be quite demanding. Oftentimes you have a little bit of an attitude, like a teenage attitude. Only, you're three.

It got to a point this summer where I was absolutely exasperated. Where did this rude little child come from? How do I get my child back (one with the manners of a southerner & the feistiness of a northerner)? For sure, responding back to your demands in aggravation wasn't helping. Constant reminders of using your "manner words" wasn't helping either.

In an act of desperation, I thought of stickers. Actually first I thought of ice cream, but then I thought of all the studies that say it's not good for your child to relate food to happiness & accomplishments...Bla Bla Bla... In my gut I thought the studies were all crap, but in my heart I worried about messing you up even further. So to be on the safe side, we'll go with stickers. I haven't seen any studies about stickers. Through gifts & activity books, & the tons of rolls that we got from Oriental Trading Company last spring, we had an endless supply. They would work perfect for my great idea.

I told you that for every time you used your manners words without prompting, you could have a sticker. You could use the stickers to decorate your cardboard castle. Once you had fifty stickers, we would take you out for a surprise.

I was correct in my prediction about how excited you would be about our little manners & stickers project. All of a sudden, your manners flowed from your mouth like a beautiful never ending song. You even said things like, "please, can I give you a hug," & then thanked me for giving you a hug. It shouldn't have surprised me that it didn't take long for you to collect 50 stickers. Perhaps I should have made it a goal of 100 or 1000 stickers, but this was an act of desperation on a Wednesday morning. I admit it wasn't the most thought out plan. So, we were off to Target to pick out a surprise. You picked out a little Barbie sized Princess Sofia doll.

Since that first surprise, we haven't really continued with the whole manners-stickers system. For one thing, you were kind of over the sticker part. It became too labor intensive for you to stop playing or whatever you were doing, go get a sticker, & put it on your castle. But I think you were still more mindful of your manners.

Then the American Girl Doll catalog came in the mail, & you fell in love with all things American Girl. You told me you wanted your very own American Girl Doll more than you wanted anything else in the whole world. I told you that they were very expensive, & that you were going to have to show us that you were big-girl enough to take care of one. If you could be a big girl who is helpful & kind & uses her manners, we could ask Santa (or Nonnie) about possibly getting you one for Christmas.

I didn't immediately equate your more exceptional than your normal three-year-oldness behavior with American girl. We had noticed that you were actually doing the things we asked you to, going out of your way to be helpful, cleaning up after yourself, & using the sweetest little manners. I just thought maybe you were growing up. Maybe we were making our way out of the tantrum threes & into the sweet-spot fours.

Then you had a little bit of a challenging day. There were a few timeouts, & at the end of the day you & I talked about using better listening ears. You looked up at me solemnly & whimpered, "Now I'm not going to get my American Girl?" I then realized that the American Girl Doll was basically one great big sticker, one that I hope we can milk all the way to Christmas.

Hey, I'll take what I can get.

I love you so,
Mommy

Family Barbie Photo Shoot

Dear Em,
As much as many things have changed since I was your age, it's fun to see you enjoying some of the things I enjoyed when I was young. I remember playing Barbies for hours with my sister, & you love playing Barbies now too. It makes my heart so happy watching you play & seeing your imagination at work.

A couple weeks ago, I walked in to find that you & Nonnie had created our whole family to play with. The girls were all dressed in in the favorite colors of our family members, & the boys...well, you mostly had Disney Prince clothing for the boys so they were interesting looking. It was fun to see our family together as Barbies, & we decided to have a little family Barbie photo shoot to commemorate it all.

On my side of the family we have...
Front Row: (left to right) Nonnie, Papi, Uncle Nick, Aunt Jennie, Daddy, Mommy & Emma
Back Row: (left to right) Uncle Greg, Aunt Gina, & Uncle Jared

On Daddy's side of the family...

(left to right) Papa, Grandma, Mommy, Emma, Daddy, (soon to be Uncle) Lowell, & Aunt Andrea

You had so much fun with it, you wanted to do a photo shoot with your three best girlfriends too.

While wardrobe was a bit of a challenge (Daddy said he especially loved his flowered shirt & pink tie, because that's totally him), the photo shoot went a lot easier than most of our family photo shoots (like this one, these, & especially this one). Maybe we can send out Christmas cards with our Barbie-selves this year? I feel like we're on to something.

I love you so,

Mommy

our third year favorites

Dear Em,
I'm pretty much done with all of my holiday shopping. Between Christmas & your birthday, you are going to be...well, SPOILED. A friend of ours is starting a tradition where Santa brings three gifts (just like the three kings brought for baby Jesus) & Mommy & Daddy give a couple gifts for her children. I love that idea & think that's what we're going to go with next year, because this year got a little out of control. With that said, there are such special things waiting for you to open them up, things that I think will be your favorites for a long time to come.

The anticipation of watching you open up your gifts, always makes me think about all the gifts we've come to love & cherish this past year. I wrote about Our First Year Favorites here & here, & Our Second Year Favorites here & here. From those lists, there are a lot of things that will be our forever favorites. A great camera for pictures & video will always be a MUST for me, & this year we even stepped it up a little with a Canon EOS (love love love!). Music has always filled our home, but this year has been so fun because we get to sing it together. Top 40s sung in your little 2-year-old voice will always be my favorite. Books! Oh-Em-Gee, I hope reading together is always our favorite. We built bookshelves for your room this year just to fit all of your books, & they have even started to overfill. I kind of have a book buying addiction, but there are so many great ones out there. Perhaps, we need to start going to the library. Some of our other oldies but goodies are the trampoline, your puzzles, a bin we have full of coloring books & markers & crayons, & your kitchen set & table.

There were also some new favorites that have emerged:

Magna-Tiles
I wrote about your Magna-Tile set (here) less than a month after you were gifted the set, because they are that amazing. We first learned about them at the children's museum, & it was one of my favorite parts of the museum. The colors, the endless structures you can create...this has always been fun for both adults & kids. In fact, my whole family sat down together to play. It was such a fun sight. We store them in a basket, & almost always dump them out when friends come to play. It's such an easy, no mess activity...& it's tons & tons of fun. My favorite Magna-Tile moment this year was when we built three house shaped structures & enacted The Three Little Pigs. It was one of your first days of potty training, & you were only wearing a sweatshirt & undies. I just remember you as you huffed & you puffed & you knocked down the houses. It will always be such a precious moment to me.

Radio Flyer My 1st Scooter
I put this on your amazon wish list thinking it could be fun, & was so surprised when your uncle Greg gave you your first scooter as a gift. My mom typically does his shopping, but he had picked it out for you on his own. We didn't use it for a little while, not knowing if you were ready. A few months ago we were going on a walk & pulled it out. I know I'm biased, but you are the most adorable scooter-girl ever. It took you a little while to get the hang of it. I laugh to myself thinking of the awkward position you would stand in during our first scooter outing, but now you zoom. You giggle & smile as we chase you down our quiet street. Sometimes your Daddy & I take a turn, but we've recently realized we're going to break it with our weight & will leave the scootering to you. This has become one of our favorite outdoor toys. It's so much fun, & it's something you can do on your own. We love it!

Lamby

I'm not sure how Lamby hasn't been mentioned in any of our past favorite posts. I'm not sure who gave us Lamby (maybe my mom?), but she was a gift when I was pregnant. I filled your crib with stuffed animals. I think a lot of people wondered where you would sleep in a crib that was so filled with "friends," but I wanted you to always feel comfortable in your bed. I never wanted you to feel lonely. Somehow, Lamby emerged above the rest. She became your lovey, the one you snuggled with & loved above everything else. She still is. She's been by your side through your first day of school, getting tubes in your ears, overnight trips, & has really traveled with us on all of our adventures. We've had to enact a Lamby rule: she must stay in your room. This keeps us from having to go on a Lamby hunt every night before bedtime (you can't sleep without Lamby), & keeps you from being too dependant. I love watching you talk to her & the sweet way your snuggle her tight as you sleep. We had gotten a second Lamby for school. You needed one for nap time, & we didn't want to be constantly taking Lamby back & forth. Even still, Lamby started to look awfully dull. I started to wonder how long Lamby would hold up & pictured your heartbroken little face if Lamby were to fall apart. So, I went on amazon & found more Lamby's. Now I think we have a total of 6 Lamby's (one at Nonnie & Papi's house) that we rotate through, & everyone is happy.

Baby-Dolls

I talked about babies before in our second year favorites, but they are worth mentioning again. You are baby obsessed. You have a ton of them, & you love every single one. Watching you play pretend with your baby dolls is one of the most precious things ever. You rock them & put them in your booster seat at the table to feed them. You "take them to the store" in your carriage & ask Daddy & I to babysit while you "go to work." Recently, they've all been "pooping in their pants." I'm not sure why, but you are always upset with your babes for pooping in their pants. Daddy & I can't help but giggle as we listen to your mothering techniques. You are one tough momma. Your babies spend a whole lot of time in time-out, but you scold them with love. 

Easel
I think I bought your easel before you were one. I always knew I wanted you to have one, & there was an amazing deal. I bought it, & we stored it in the basement until your second birthday. There has been so much chalk drawing, painting, & coloring with markers since then. You've created wrapping paper masterpieces. You were coloring with markers on your easel when you drew your very first person (your adorable people seriously melt my heart). It's a thing you can use to let your creativity flow, & it's also a thing we can pull out to occupy you when we're busy with something else. Of course, when we're not occupied in other things, it's great to join in on the art fun too. Win...win...win!

Play-Doh
You beg us to pull out your play-doh on a weekly basis, & I have to admit we've said no more often than not. While it's great fun, for the longest time you just weren't able to play with it on your own. It had to be a time when we knew we could sit with you & create with you & clean up the play-doh mess at the end. Recently, it's been a little different. You play with your play-doh independently & so sweetly, occasionally running to us to show us your newest creation. Your favorite part is using the Play-Doh: Fun Factory Deluxe Set to create "gingermans" & make little faces on your little gingerbread men & women shapes. You create whole families. It's kinda cute. I have a feeling that play-doh will also be a fourth year favorite.

iPad
So, you don't actually have your own iPad. I have been very hesitant about introducing you to a lot of technology. I know that it's going to be a big part of your life, but I didn't want it to be the ONLY thing in your life. I would rather have you run around outside, read a book, & use your imagination than sit down all day with electronics. You'd never really seen an iPad until Nonnie brought hers this summer. It amazed me how quickly you picked it up. In no time, you were opening up apps & playing learning games on the iPad. When I got one for work, I downloaded a few free children's apps. You don't use it a whole lot, but it's your favorite thing to do when we're all feeling lazy. It's also really great for travel. I think there's going to be a constant struggle for me with you & technology, but I at least feel better knowing that you are having fun learning with it. If we get you any type of tablet in the future, the iPad will be it...but that will likely be far into the future.

Plasma Car
My parents have two of these, & your Daddy & I had a blast riding around on them before you were born. It's a children's car, but it holds up to 250 pounds. So, really it;s fun for the whole family. We couldn't wait for you to have one, & were excited when Santa brought you one for Christmas last year. We keep it inside, because it rides so well on the pergo floors. You use it to "go to the grocery store" & "go to work." You have a blast pushing Daddy & I down the hall in it. Our adult friends have even had the pleasure of going for a ride.

Movies
While you watched a lot of TV shows last year, movies were a little too long for you to get into for the most part. You also scared easy at the slightest hint of a darker theme. This year has definitely been your first year where you've developed a love for movies. We have a bunch of Disney & Pixar classics & a few other goodies. Your favorite coming into the year was Rapunzel, but now you're more of a Despicable Me fan. We keep them in your daddy's old CD case. This way they're together in one place & easy to grab when we go on a trip. Your movies have been clutch during long car & plane trips, sick days, & days when we just feel like being lazy. Most of your movies are ones that your daddy & I can also appreciate, which makes for fun, popcorn filled movie nights.

Sigh, so those are our third year favorites in a nutshell. I'm kind of seeing a fun for the parents & kids theme when it comes to our very favs. Weird. I hope playing for all of us never gets old.

I love you so,

Mommy

sounds like a typical morning

Dear Em,
This is what a typical morning can sound like in our house.

* Crash *

Me: (Upstairs getting dressed, calling downstairs to where the crash came from) "Em, what are you doing?"

Em: (In a very matter of fact, very loud yell) "She needs to take a bath!"

Me: (Knowing that the only two "she's" in our house are Em & I) "Who needs a bath?"

Em: (Exasperated) "Baby!"

Me: "Oh, Ok. Why don't you give baby a bath in the upstairs bathroom."

Em: (Sigh) "Ok, Mommy. Can you turn the water on?"

Me: "Why don't you give her a bath without any water?"

Em: (Sigh) "Ok."

* Moments pass. There is more crashing going on in the tub & then the sound of dresser drawers opening & shutting. *

Em: "Mommy, can you help me put her jammies on?"

Me: "Em, these are your jammies. They're big girl jammies. They're way too big for your baby. Why don't you put baby jammies on her?"

* Thumping down the stairs. More thumping & crashing. *

Em: (Calling loudly from downstairs) "I don't even have any baby jammies!"

* Moments pass. *

Em: "Baby, you're not even listening to me. You're making me very sad. You need to sit in timeout."

Sigh, I'm too young to be a grandma already. Where do you learn your mothering skills? Is that what I sound like? You may be little, but you sure do make getting dressed in the morning entertaining.

I love you so,

Mommy

Buildings

Dear Em,
So, I've been in Denver for 24 hours now & have really only seen the airport, the taxi that took me from the airport to my hotel, & the hotel I'm staying in.  I've always wanted to visit Denver, & would love to sight-see a little, but it was a long day. I decided to pass up a night on the town in exchange for a night of room service & reading (I love room service after a long day). Do I sound wicked lame to you?

On the ride in, we passed the capital building. It was lit up like a gorgeous Christmas tree. I would love to see it in the daylight as well. I'm hoping to venture outside for sight-seeing tomorrow night. Any night-time suggestions?

Speaking of buildings, we've been having such a fun time building at home. Your Aunt J & Uncle N got you a set of Magna-Tiles for Christmas, & they have been fun for the whole family. These for sure will be one of our third year favorites. I love watching you build & use your imagination. You like to build towers, just like the one Rapunzel lived in. The Magna-Tiles are also fun for Daddy & I. The magnetic blocks make it easier for your little hands to build & make it possible to build such fun 3-D structures. I highly recommend them for any 2 year+ child (or adult).

Last week, you & I built a tower that was taller than you.

And then you "accidentally" knocked it down (knocking the towers down is your favorite).

Maybe when I get home we can try to build a replica of the Denver Capital building or some of the other buildings from the Mile High City. Or maybe we'll just stick with tall towers.

I love you so,

Mommy