Family
Oh Nooooooo, Santa! More Parties! Choo Choo Train
When something goes wrong, even something very minor, Emma has recently been saying, “Ohhhh Nooooooo…..” It is funny how she says it. She says it in an exaggerated manner as if she is overly concerned–too funny! We went to 3 Christmas parties over the weekend, all on Saturday. The first party was a company family Christmas event that featured many attractions such as elves that painted faces and made cool candy cane balloons, crafts, karaoke, a train ride, and, of course, Santa Claus! Now, last year Emma was deathly afraid of Santa and cried when Melissa brought her by him. This year Emma …Read more […..]
Happy Thanksgiving! Snow!! “I Don’t Need You Daddy and I Don’t Need Momma, I’m a Big Girl”, Abonabo, The Bodeepot
Thanksgiving was busy, busy, busy! Emma got to go to Grandma & grandpa’s and played with her cousins Lauren & Nicole. She really loves Lauren since she is younger than Nicole. I think Lauren is about 8 or 9 and Nicole is 13. Emma kept Nicole busy that is for sure! Emma also got to “play” with her 95(I think) year old Bucia. Funny how she has always been attracted to her…Maybe because she sees her as somewhat of a child? Bucia loved it too! Watching her, she looks at Emma with a wonderment that rivals my own! Even at that age, she seems to be reliving her own childhood. After Grandma …Read more […..]
Kaylen, I Like to Move It Move It, Patti-Cake, Nice & Snuggly Warm
Emma recently got to know her cousin Kaylen better. For awhile now we have been notified that Kaylen wanted to babysit for Emma. We finally set it up and it went very well. Kaylen slept overnight here and the next day she had her first crack at watching the little stinker! Of course during the morning hours I was here but I pretty much stayed in the office. In the afternoon I went to the health club. How nice it is to be able to do the thing that i love and have been used to doing for the last 20 years at that time of day! I came home refreshed and Emma didn’t even care that I was gone. Of …Read more […..]
Brushing Teeth/Washing Hands, “Loved Ones†Too Busy for Emma?! Halloween & Leaves!
Emma has been brushing her teeth by herself for quite a while now. It started out with her just eating the toothpaste because it tastes so good. It has evolved to where she really scrubs the bottom teeth–hasn’t perfected the top teeth yet. She has been encouraged by me stating that she needs to “get the germs off her teeth.” It seems that even though she doesn’t really know what germs are and hasn’t seen them she doesn’t want them on her. This works for her letting us wash her face and hands too. During the last month or so–after observing her cousins Chrissy & Megan– she has been standing …Read more […..]
TV Commercial Filming Trip, You’re Not Going Away, Emma’s 1st Sleepover
A week after getting back from Disney World we went to Los Angeles. It was something we could not pass up–at least I couldn’t. Since my days as a child model for Spiegel, Sears, and others, I have had an itch to do something like that again. Last year, both Melissa and I were in a Sleep Number Bed commercial. A few weeks ago they contacted us and said that everyone remembers us and that they would like to fly us to California to shoot an infomercial. Well, we jumped at the chance… Emma & Walter (Foo-Foo) To be treated like a celebrity for a day was quite the experience. When we …Read more […..]
Megan & Chrissy! The Witch! Tigger & Pooh! My Name!
So, we just returned from our 2nd trip to Orlando and Disney World. We got to stay with Emma’s uncle Mark, aunt Tina, and her cousins Chrissy and Megan. It was a very fun time watching Emma with her 2 cousins. They played well together, in general. There were some pushing incidents throughout the trip with a sort of power struggle going on. Nothing serious but we got to see a “bully” side of Emma that I have never seen before. When we got home, Emma kept talking about them and how she wants to go back to “Mark’s house.” We had lots of fun at Disney World…again. Emma got to see “The Witch” …Read more […..]
Birthday Party, Lion Returns, Thoughts on Sitters & Lack Thereof
Yesterday we went to Taylor’s birthday party. It was great because Emma got to not only see her cousin but was able to touch and attempt to hold some bunnies(bundies). I’ve added several pics of her feeding the bunnies hay. She has always loved bunnies, especially the Easter Bunny who she gets to see in person every year! The last week has been a definite challenge for me as I have felt antsy and anxious. I call it the lion in a cage feeling. I am not sure that anyone can relate to this but I have a feeling that Dads that stay at home definitely could. I believe that men are not naturally …Read more […..]
Late Night Dancing Queen! PooPeeDoo!! Party, Party!
Last night we were at a wedding reception and Emma was a dancing machine! She was with all the familiar relatives and was passed around among all the women and girls…. She also picked out some women that she never met to dance with her. She sat with Italian women that spoke very little English and saw her favorite, Jella. We didn’t leave until 12. Since she didn’t eat much–she never eats much at parties– she requested chicken while we were driving. Since McD’s was closed we went to BK and they have chicken fries, Emma’s favorite! She ate on the way home and didn’t get to sleep until 1am. …Read more […..]
Just another 1/2 hour, To nap or not to nap?
Sleep…. Essential for us all. There are many guidelines and recommendations for the amount of sleep that we need. Everybody is different so variations are subjective. This applies to children also. I have read many articles on this issue and we have talked to many people regarding how much sleep our 2 year old should get and whether she should still take naps. Just like the current political landscape, everyone has their opinion. Just like today, I often find myself thinking that I hope she sleeps another 1/2 hour so I can finish what I am doing. Although this sometimes makes me feel guilty …Read more […..]
Lala, Hook, No Water!, New Phrases
The cutie pie has started to like the riding cars at the mall. She has graduated from the merry go round to the big kid toys. Emma’s cousin Lauren (Lala) is here from Florida and has been staying with us for a week. Emma has gotten used to waking Lala up in the morning and now requests to do so. When Lala goes home it will be a change for Emma. We went to Navy Pier and Emma enjoyed people watching and the water. She liked looking at the buildings, boats, and was especially interested in the pirate statues. There is a pirate in the movie Shrek that Emma is interested in. The pirate at …Read more […..]