Imperfectly Charming

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Happy Easter! (yes, I know it's late-- but when you think about what Easter means, I think we should be saying Happy Easter all year-- so Happy Easter!) As you can see, taking pictures was very interesting this year. Emma definitely believes in the action shot, or should I say catching things in their natural state! At least that's the reason we like to give when she won't stand still for longer than a second for you to snap a pic. She'll stand there and smile and say cheese, but that's it. As soon as she finishes the last s sound in cheese, she's running to the camera to take a look. Oh, the joys of digital cameras! It's actually pretty cute, unless you're the one trying to snap the picture! Here are some of our attempts!







If you've seen these pictures you've seen my latest project. The bunnies! Please take note of the sequence of pictures trying to capture the girls with their bunnies-- I think my favorite is Emma's face when she dropped hers! Let me give you a little background on the bunnies:
About 2 months ago I sat in my den and looked around at all of the clutter- meaning- toys! toys! oh, and did I mention, toys?!? Just a few weeks before that day I had bagged up 3 large bags FULL of toys and taken them to the local drop-off site. Yet, still, there I was surrounded by toys. So, I decided that we weren't buying anymore toys. (we'll see how long that lasts) So far, we've stuck to it. Now, they still received Easter toys and presents, their grandparents and aunts & uncles gave them lots of "cool stuff"! However, the Easter bunny at our house brought them bathing suits, a Bible for Chloe and books for Emma. And I made them these bunnies. I know they are technically toys- but I figure these were handmade and will hopefully mean something to them later in life. Especially when they realize just how uncrafty their mother is, and that this was a HUGE deal for her to even attempt to make these! I saw Kata Golda's book on a website I like to visit, and it claimed to be a easy, fun "first" project for the beginner sewer. It is made of felt and stuffed with poly-fil fiber. Thank goodness my mother, a Master Seamstress!, was available for me to ask, "What on earth is a whipple stitch, a blanket stitch, and why would you do a double-run stitch?!?" While the book is great at giving templates and cute ideas, it lacks a little in the explanation of the stitching department. The main reason I chose this project (other than the crazy cute animals) was because it stated that part of the charm of these animals (you could do a dog or mouse too) was that they were imperfect- and their imperfection gave them character and charm! Well, if imperfection makes you charming, then these bunnies are the most charming creatures around! Seriously, though, they weren't too hard to make. Probably the hardest part (other than stitching the eyes and threading the darn needle!) was having to wait to work on them until the kids were in bed. So, that made for some long nights the days before Easter, but it was totally worth it when I saw their reaction to them. They both love their bunny, and so far have taken extra special care of them. I think I'll try a mouse next time- probably next Easter! My fingers need a break from all the pricking! :)

RIP baby mullet

Today mom and I took Emma for her first professional haircut (meaning, not me & mom trying to trim it up while she sat on the kitchen counter). I think the pictures pretty much speak for themselves, but I will say that it went better than I thought it would. I envisioned her catapulting herself from the chair, ceiling tiles raining down due to the powerful stomping, and perhaps even windows shattering from the high pitch screaming. So, when all she did was cry a little when we sat her in the chair- and stopped when she was allowed to stand with me holding her- I was ready to do a cartwheel right in the middle of Hair Doodles!
If you measure the hair in relation to the yellow of the flower on the back of her shirt, it looks like about 1 1/2 to 2 inches got taken away from the back middle, effectively ridding her of the mullet. I think I'm gonna miss it.
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Before





























After

11 years!

Happy Anniversary to my best friend!
If it hadn't been for that magical day 11 years ago, we wouldn't have days like this one now!


















I don't see how I can love you more than I already do, but I look forward to trying :)

Thing 1

It's Dr.Seuss week at Chloe's school. Yesterday was crazy hat day (pic to follow) and today was dress as your favorite character day. Her Grammy sewed a Velcro strip to her blue hair wig (Chloe can't just call it a wig!) so that she could easily take it on and off in hopes that it wouldn't be a distraction-- probably failed on that part- it's a blue wig. It's bound to be a distraction! But, hey, it's days like today that make her love school even more!

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catch up with Emma!

Not sure why it's saying Monday, but I posted this Saturday, Feb. 27 :)

I'm BACK!!- Hope the Poltergeist (not Schwarzenegger) reference didn't scare anyone. I know, I know- I've said it before, but this time I promise to try to keep up! I won't even go in to how crazy things have been around here (crazy in a good way!), but I promised my Mom, Ms. Becky, and a few others that I would do my best to keep this blog updated. They finally got me back on here by saying I was short-changing Emma by not chronicling her cuteness as much as I have Chloe's-- lesson here is that GUILT works!!
So, Emma. Let's see. She turned 2 last month (I'll post about that soon with some awesome pics), but have no doubt, she thinks she's at least 17! She's a lot like her big sister, in that she almost always has a beautiful smile on her face, great attitude, and a loving heart. But it still amazes us how in some ways they can be so different! Most of it has to do with her being the second child (we think). Emma wants to do everything Chloe does, and she wants to do it by HERSELF! Miss Independent really doesn't do it justice- she is hardcore about trying things on her own. In some ways that makes me so excited, but in others it makes me sad. With her being our last, I want her to slow down a bit- and let me baby her a little more. But she'll have none of that! This is why I cherish naptime so! Not because I'm finally going to have a few minutes to myself (although that's nice!), but that's the only time that she sits still long enough for me to rock and hold her-- and get that baby smell that you know I love so much! It's like a drug to me! I fear the day that smell goes away- I may have some serious withdrawal!! Emma is also our resident daredevil. We just recently had to retire the Winnie the Pooh push behind walking toy (you know the one you can scoot around on or stand behind and push) because we found Emma on it at the top of the stairs ready to bobsled down! (we've also had to limit their Olympic watching after we caught both girls trying to do aerial stunts while jumping off of our bed!) Yeah, so I'm kinda fearing the day that she shows up with a Sean White at our door- because he can do the coolest stunts, oh and they have the same color hair!
Emma is doing great! She is a little chatterbox- and everyday we are able to understand more of what she says. One of my favorite sounds (& I'll have to record it and put it on here so you can hear) is Emma calling for Chloe- or Clo-oh as she says it. It is precious- and if you were at Bed, Bath, & Beyond today- or in a 5 mile radius- you may have heard her trying to find Clo-oh. Micky and I just smiled, because we know the day may come when she doesn't care that she hasn't seen her sister in the last 10 seconds! But right now, Clo-oh is her "happy place"- she loves her big sister so much that it can make me cry just watching them together. Also, Emma is a GREAT hugger! She still hugs with wild abandonment- like full body, I just might tackle you if you don't brace yourself kinda hugging! She doesn't care if she messes her hairbow up, or if she has chocolate pudding all over her face! And trust me, I don't mind getting that pudding all over me- because when you get a hug like that from Emma, it's just a soft sighing, melt your heart kind of moment. And besides, I usually have other food all over me anyway, so what's a little pudding?!? And Emma loves Poptarts! In her world a Poptart or PopPop as she calls it is one of two things-- an actual strawberry frosted Poptart or a Nutrigrain bar. The only way to know which one she wants is to show her the wrapper and let her pick! Every morning she picks one of those and promptly sits down at the table (in Chloe's big seat, not her booster! because Chloe's already gone to school and I guess Emma feels like the big kid on campus when she sits in Chloe's seat!) and waits patiently to eat her PopPop and she actually lets me feed her oatmeal. I love breakfast time!!
I don't think I can fully update you on everything new with Emma- but one thing you should be aware of is her HAIR!! I believe some Miracle-Gro must have gotten sprinkled on it, because it has taken off in the past 2 months! We do try to trim it when she's rocking the baby mullet, but I hesitate to cut it short. It's just too cute- and besides, Emma seems the type that might like a baby mullet! She's the most care-free, let's just have a good time in our diaper and boots kind of girl! She seems to like it :) Although it has given us some fits with trying to keep it out of her eyes!!!- you know I can't stand to see a babies hair in her face! Here are a few pics of Emma from the last few months- and you can try to guess which ones I did her hair in, and which ones she and Chloe did it in- have fun!!

More Firsts!!

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Packing the essentials for school-- a tea set!!






Today was Emma's first day of preschool. I guess at this age it's really more of a Mom's Morning Out, but to make it sound smarter- we're calling it preschool :) To be honest, it didn't seem to phase her too much. My mom came over before I took her to school and we tried our best to get some good pics. But I guess without Chloe standing at the door with her, it just wasn't that exciting for her. None the less, we still got some cute pics (of course they're cute, they're Emma!)


A little bored with this :)








Now she's feeling it!











Emma just loves playing with other kids. She does great in the church nursery. But she did cry when I left her today- and it pulled at my heart for the few minutes it took her to stop. As soon as her cousin got there she was good to go! Except for the fact that she then saw me (through the window) standing outside talking to Carla and Rebekah. Note to self-- do not stand in front of 1 year old's classroom window when said 1 year old is crying over your departure. She could totally see me, and I'm sure was thinking, "Are you just trying to torture me with the wondering if you're coming back now or later?!?" So sorry Emma! I promise to take my conversation down the sidewalk well out of your view :) She had a great time, and the leader of the program called me around 10 to assure me that she was doing great and had stopped crying- as soon as she couldn't see me! That is one of the reasons I love this school-- she knew I needed that call. It brought me great comfort! Apparently Emma has a knack for painting with apples. They said she dove right in-- I think they meant that literally!-- I told the teacher to be careful, and she said, "oh we had her paint shirt on." I told her I wasn't worried about Emma. I'm more worried about anyone standing within a 10 foot radius. Have you seen this kids arm? As light as paint is, I'm sure she could sling it pretty far!!

5 yr worries

Chloe's school year has started off great! She's doing a great job with her work, and doesn't complain too much about getting up early! She's made some new friends, and is very excited whenever she sees someone she knows in the halls. (several older kids from our church go to her school) On the way to school one morning (I think it was her third or fourth day) she asked about Nina. I was waiting for Nina to come up in conversation. Chloe and Nina have been best friends since they were like 2. One of my favorite pictures is of the two of them at Chloe's second birthday party sitting on a Nemo lounge chair Chloe got as a gift and laughing hysterically. I have no idea what they were laughing at, but they both look amazingly cute. Anyway, Chloe asked me (for probably the 6th time) what school Nina was going to. I told her and she asked why Nina couldn't come to her school. I told her. Then she said this:
C: "Mom, do you think she'll find a new best friend?"

I was a bit taken aback by that question. It seemed entirely too grown up for a 5 year old to be asking. But I thought about it for a few seconds and replied,
S: "Don't you want Nina to make new friends?"

C: "Well, yeah. She can make new friends just like I am. I just don't want her to make a new BEST friend."

We pulled up to school at that point so I ended the conversation with something like, oh you don't need to worry about that now. You guys will always be friends.

I thought this was too cute! I didn't have the heart to tell her that Nina (& she) would probably find some new best friends. I think it's inevitable being at different schools. But they can always be great friends. I told her they were going to get to see each other quite a bit in Girl Scouts (Daisies to be precise!), and that it would be cool to have a friend at another school. When she's older she can meet Nina's new friends too. I'm 32 and I don't have just 1 best friend. I'm lucky enough to have several. Hopefully she will be too :)