Fun at COSI

Last weekend we had a good time. Friday I got to play with my friend Miss Meagan (and eat PIZZA!) while Mommy went to a girl's night out with other moms. Then on Saturday we did errands and more Christmas decorating.

Yesterday we went to COSI, a children's science museum in Columbus. It was SO FUN. Mom took pictures, she'll have to post them later. We met our friends Ms. Carol and Sarah (age 2) to play, and play, and play. I totally wore myself out "driving" the ambulance, petting a turtle, throwing purple foam balls, playing kitchen and drinking out of the water fountain. What a busy day!

On the way home I passed out in my carseat. It gets dark so early and it's pretty boring to ride in the car when I can't see out the windows.

Daddy should be home in just over a week. We can't wait to have him home. I have so many new words to share with him. Last night mom taught me where my "el-bow" is and me wrist. I also learned to say "Meow" and a few other animal sounds. It so fun to make all these new words, but it kind of makes my tongue tickle! It's hard work to learn new sounds. One of my teachers is very excited because now I can say "Erica" (er-ka). The other teacher (Melissa) is jealous. Hehee.

Mom is going to buy bread and milk because we're expecting a winter storm tonight. Hopefully it's not a bad one. Last time we only had a few inches and she still dressed me up like a character from "The Christmas Story" and I fell face first into a snow pile. Couldn't even walk. Geesh.

Have a good week!

Hi Friends!

Look at my parents, aren't they big dorks. Mom put my barrette in Dad's hair when we were at Grandma's house. They are such big kids and I am happy they love each other so much. :)
Here's a picture of me playing with aunt dorothy and uncle jim. We had a blast over the Thanksgiving weekend.

What a busy few weeks. It seems like it was just Thanksgiving, and now everyone keeps talking about Christmas. This week at school we're learning about Kwanzaa and Hanukkah, too. There are so many celebrations this time of year, it's great. The sugar cookies and gingerbread men aren't bad, either!

Mom keeps telling everyone I've had a verbal explosion. I don't know what that means. But, I do like to talk, sing and dance. Mom and I really like to sing the Itsy Bitsy Spider song, as well as twinkle twinkle. She sings it in all kinds of funny voices and makes me giggle a lot. It's highly entertaining.

Really, not much is new. I'm wearing size five shoes, size 18 month clothes, and am definitely getting used to wearing my winter coat now that it's cold out.

Mom and I have Sirius "Holly" on the TV all the time. It's nonstop Christmas music and we sing and dance and look at our lovely tree. We just can't wait for daddy to come home and admire the tree with us. We miss him like crazy.

Our Christmas pictures came this week and I got so excited when I saw Daddy's picture...I just started saying "dada dada" over and over and mom said he will be home in just a few more weeks!! It will be a perfect Christmas!

Well, I should get some sleep. I'm sure they have a lot of activities planned for me at school tomorrow and I should get some rest.

NighNigh.

Happy Trails!

I had a VERY happy Thanksgiving vacation in Wisconsin. After a few plane rides, we enjoyed lots of fun and games with Brannstrom and Leverich relatives. We played in Madison and Sparta and got to mingle with all generations of the family tree, which was a pleasure.

The picture above is from the airport. I stole mom's water bottle because that was more fun than my sippy cup!

The only sad part of the trip is that my doggy got an ouchie at doggy daycare and she is very sad now. I was so excited to see her and give her hugs when we picked her up today, but mommy said she isn't feeling very good. A very bad doggy bit Greta's foot and ear and she has cuts and is limping. Hopefully she will get better soon, because she is my best friend. I talked about her the whole time we were at Grandma's, and I even said her name every time I saw another dog walk by on the bike path.

I'll get to see more family soon. We're going to see daddy's family for Christmas, and then aunt DeeDee is coming to see me in January! I can't wait to show her my room!

Have to catch up on my beauty sleep. I've been a busy little girl!

Pictures for the Visual Readers

Oh Daddy...look what you're missing...right across the street from our house....silly hunter!

This was the view at breakfast the other morning. It was so beautiful. For a while the flakes were as big as 50-cent pieces...at least that is how mom describes them, but I have never seen a half dollar coin. If she says "as big as an OREO," then I get it.

Having a snack after school on picture day -- in my snuggly boots!

Would you like a tour of the pantry? I'll give you one next time mom leaves it unlocked.

What is that "stuff?"

This morning, mom came in my room full of excitement. "Look outside!" She frantically opened my blinds and I rolled over and scaled the side of my crib to look out at the fluffy white coat of snow that laced my windowsill, the bushes and the lawn. Lovely. It looked just like a gingerbread landscape with perfect frosting.

Then, we had breakfast and she got me all dressed up for picture day. I am wearing a little ivory sweater dress, ivory tights, and the coolest little brown leather and knit boots from our favorite store: Target. They even have pompoms on them!!

Mom says I look like a 'Weigan today and she was very happy to drop me at school with by big blue eyes and Nordic attire.

I'll share pictures with you as soon as I can!

Hugs,
Emmy

Important Public Service Announcement from my Parents

My mom and dad said that I needed to use my public forum here to share an important public service announcement.

Today is November 4, 2008. It's an important day in American history. Make sure you get your bootie out there and VOTE!

They said it would be a very smart idea for you to vote. Especially for John McCain. But if you have a reason to vote for someone else, they said we can still be friends, okay?

Alright, now back to normal business. Like eating macaroni and drinking out of my sippy.

Toodles.

Just another Weekend with My Momma!

Don't tell dad....we were eating ice cream out of the carton tonight!!!

I found my belly button.

BUSTED! In the pantry w/ my teddy grahams.

SUPER COOL new kid's meal glasses. They make the world look sunny!

Franklin Park Conservatory

On Saturday we went to the Franklin Park Conservatory with our friends. It was so peaceful and relaxing there. Mom said she wants to move there and start her own Zen writing center in the Zen garden.

If you come visit, we can go visit. It's very fun and there is a lot of Chihule glass. Sorry some of the pictures are foggy, mom's camera lens steamed up.

My favorite part? Feeding the fish!

First pumpkin carving

I had pinkeye and had to stay home with Mom on Thursday. We made a few masterpieces. Thursday night was Trick-or-Treat in our neighborhood. We went to one house next door. I got some yummy candy and it got all over my face.

On Friday I had a party at Goddard. I enjoyed my cupcake and icing, but mostly I enjoyed coming home early with Mommy to play! She cut my hair and we played and played and played. I like my new house so much, I have a lot of fun here.

My life at home.

Playing @ my new table -- it's an antique made of solid oak. Too heavy to tip over, go mom!

My ponytail, before mom chopped it off.

Like my hat? It keeps my head warm at "recess" at school.

Running shoes are awesome coasters -- didn't you know that?
Mom's always harping on me because I hide my sippy cups. All. Over. The. House...

Silent Treatment and Blowing Kisses

My grandparents in Michigan sent me some awesome shoes for my birthday. I now fit in my size five "Squeaker Sneakers" and they are quite squeaky! Every step I take they emit a "squeak" and by 5:00 it is enough to give me a headache! Yesterday I had a meltdown at daycare in the afternoon after the teacher put my shoes back on.

This morning, I decided to protest when mom put them on me. She told me that she took the squeakers out, but I didn't believe her. So, as soon as she put them on I decided to crawl. I refused to stand up! By the end of the day I figured out that they weren't so loud today, but mom thought it was really cool that I was smart enough to realize that she put on my squeaks today!

In other news, when mom comes to pick me up from daycare, I wave to all my friends and head out the door to freedom. Sometimes I even blow kisses to my teacher. Tonight mom took me out for our (weekly) Mexican dinner. I had a cheese quesadilla and some cilantro rice and black beans. Mmmm. The staff is so nice to me. I walked to the door after dinner and blew them kisses when we left, too! The owner said she can't wait until her grandson is 17 months, just like me!

So, besides being hilarious and imitating mommy's laughs (high, low, quiet, loud, etc) and words, not much is new. I have been using sippy cups ONLY for several weeks now...no more bottles. And, over the weekend mom played a trick on me! Since I kept unloading my dresser, she put all my clothes on hangers and loaded my drawers with books and toys. Not nearly as much fun to mess up, but I'm sure it's just a matter of time before I find a way to get her back.

She did buy me an antique oak table and a little black chair at the Lithopolis antique store today. She said we get to do play-dough this weekend!! I'm excited!

Well...another busy day ahead....

Words I (attempt to) say

Mom
Momma
Dada
Dude (thanks to Dada) (Duuud)
Gigi (for Greta)
Good Girl
Yeah
NO!
Pizza
Shoes
Zoo
More
Thank You
Nigh(t) Nigh(t)

And then, I say a lot of stuff in secret code that mom and dad cannot understand. It's like they need to get the annie oakley decoder from the Ovaltine box! Plus, mom taught me to laugh like cruella deville, I throw my head back and go Haa Haaa Ha!

I talk on my cell phone a lot, push my plane and stroller around, regularly reorganize mom's tupperware, and I like to read a lot of books. I also enjoy unloading my dresser drawers and pulling toilet paper off the roll if I have the opportunity.

At bedtime I go find mom and say "Nigh Nigh" and that's her sign that it's time to start the bath ritual.

In terms of food, I like to eat almost anything. This morning I ate half of mom's cranberry walnut bran muffin. Mmmmm. And, every now and then she gives me some CHOCOLATE milk. Dad told me it comes from chocolate cows. Is that true?

Tonight I'm going on my first hayride. It's going to be so special. I'll be with my new daycare friends and their families. We also get hotdogs and other fun food, and a pumpkin. Don't worry -- I'll tell mom to bring the camera!

Boo @ The Zoo

Yesterday we went to Boo at the Zoo, at the Columbus Zoo and Aquarium. It was a very nice facility, about 45 minutes from our house. Mom dressed me as snow white, but it was cold out so I had to cover up. I pretended to be sleeping beauty on the way to the zoo... It was fun to see the animals with my new friend Sarah.

Saying goodbye to my old neighbors

I said goodbye to my friends Lindsay and Sarah before I left Harrisburg. It didn't really phase me until now. I'm not sure when I"ll see them again! I miss our walks and playtime. They were fun neighbors. There are lots of kids in my new neighborhood though, and some are old enough to babysit me! Okay, mom says time for bed. More posts and pictures later.

Stuff

In my new house, there are lots of places to hide and play.

I'm really happy here. My dad picked a nice place for our family to live.

I have even contemplated taking my lunch break in the shower, but mom convinced me otherwise.

Last week mom gave me my first taste of pure sin. It's spelled O-R-E-O and it tastes great with milk.

I also got to visit my first pumpkin patch with Dad when he was home last weekend.

More updates soon...probably out of order, but we have been busy playing and exploring our new town.

By the way, I'm going to be Snow White for Halloween. Mom says she is cool, but I have never heard or her before. I'm just too busy for TV and movies!!

Starting a new routine

Things have been very busy. Mom and Dad have enrolled me in a new school less than 10 minutes from our house. It's called the Goddard School and it's really fun. I get to sit at a big girl table to eat lunch with the kids. We do a lot of projects and read books and sing songs. Mom packs me a lunch and I get something different every day!

The first day -- yesterday -- I was so excited. Mom was really proud of me because I didn't cry all day! I got tons of kisses, everybody loves me and tells me how cute I am (how annoying!). :) When mom picked me up, we ran an errand and I fell asleep on the way home. I continued to sleep on the living room floor when we got home. I was all tuckered out after meeting so many new friends!

Today, on the other hand, I was kind of sad when mom left. (Side note, mom wasn't sad because she found a Starbucks drivethru across the street!!!) But, I know it will become a routine soon and it will be awesome. The kids in my room (called the Brilliant Butterfly room) are 16 months to 24 months. That means I can learn a lot from the big kids!

Last week I had a total blast with Grandma Poppins and crew. I got to spend time with Uncle Jimmy and a little time with Aunt Dorothy. I gave her a lot of hugs even though she has mono. She's worth the germs! I miss them all!

On the way home we got to see Grandma Diane at the airport for lunch. It was such fun to see her and visit for a little while before our short plane ride home to Columbus. The rest of the day we just played and unpacked.

Sunday we picked up Greta from doggy daycare. She had so much fun with her friends! She got a good report card and we played with her more when we got home. She's so funny.

I'm working on some new words. Of course, my favorite word is "No!" Mom says I should actually write it like this: "NO!!!" because I say it with such determination. I also say "Nigh Nigh" for bedtime, Mom, Dada, Gigi, Good Girrrrl, and a few other random words. And, I point at things that I want.

One of my favorite things to do is tease Greta. We chase each other around and play games. I think she loves me even though I tease her. That is why they call dogs man's best friend, right? They are so loving! I'm lucky to have my Gigi, she is a good example of a loyal friend.

Well, I better get some rest. Another busy day of school tomorrow.

Daddy is coming home this weekend. I am really excited!

PS, mom says to make note that I am good at blowing kisses, and I am an especially affectionate little girl. I give hugs to everyone!

Good TIdings from Ohio and Wisconsin

My family moved to Ohio last week. It was a busy week...and a long drive filled with goldfish, juice, animal crackers and singing. We love our new house. It has lots of room for me to run around and play, and no brick fireplace hearths to crash into anymore!

While unpacking, I got to play with Grandma and Grandpa Poppins, Grandma Diane and mom and dad. It was a busy house and Greta and I tried to help as much as we could.

Yesterday I packed up a bag and drove to Wisconsin with Grandma and Grandpa. I get to spend a week there while mom attends some business meetings. I'm excited to spend some time with my aunt and uncle, too.

Photos soon...

In the Fast Lane with my Stroller

Mom insisted that you would like more proof that I can really maneuver the stroller as good as I claim......so here's a little footage from a few weeks ago. People, I just keep getting more and more efficient with the curves and corners. I'm almost ready for a bike! (Okay, not really).

Clownin' Around at Autumn Fest

(No, I didn't get electrocuted by the clown, my hair naturally spikey!)

I met my first clown today. He gave me a smiley heart sticker and made me laugh. We were at a picnic with the Campbell family at the Masonic Homes in Elizabethtown, PA. It was a free festival, open to the public, and it included games, music, and lots of good food. Even ice cream!
There were also crafts for sale. My friend Dee bought me a little tiny bracelet. She is Amelia's Grandma, and Amelia got a bracelet, too! Here we are with our new bling.
Mom says she wants the car in the back, especially for mid-life crisis. What is mid-life crisis?
We had a great time and it was such a beautiful day. It was bittersweet because we said goodbye to our Epler and Campbell friends. We might not see them again for a while because we're moving so daddy can fly a new plane. But, they should know that they will always be part of our family and we will keep in touch.

Mom and Dad always tell me that you can never have too many friends. So, even though we're excited to meet new friends and explore our new city, we will never forget all of the wonderful people who have made us feel so welcome here in my hometown. It will forever be my birthplace so I know we will come back and visit! Mom thinks I won't remember this place very well...little does she know I'm as sly as a fox and as sharp as a tack... hehee!

Daddy's visit!

A few weeks ago daddy was home. We went to a Children's Museum and played at the water table for a long time. It was fun.

We also bought a minivan. It's white with tinted windows. I feel like a superstar celebrity now. Mom and Dad are good chauffeurs.

Next week daddy will be home to help us move into our new house and I just cannot wait to see him. He's really fun and I know he loves me more than sliced bread. Mom says that is a good thing.

PS - I think cell phones are awwwwwesome. Mom and Dad are going to need a lot of minutes when I start placing real calls!

Labor Day Picnic

What? What's that you say? Green eggs and ham -- no way!

I'll take some CORN, please!

Evidently, I am a big girl now.

I can chow down corn-on-the-cob, just like my blood relatives on the farm. Mmmm yeah!

Picnics are so fun. I'm going to miss the Campbell family picnics when we move.

Every kid needs a bubble beard and 'stache

I think mom added too many bubbles, but I thought it was a root tootin' good time!