1st movie

Yesterday I took Em to see her first movie in a theater, The Princess and the Frog. She was so excited. As soon as we pulled into the parking lot she couldn't stop smiling. Then once I got her our of the car she was practically running to the door while pulling me along. It was a great movie and she LOVED it! When we got home John asked her what her favorite part was and she said, "spending time with mommy." How sweet!

Tree trimming

The tree is up and finally decorated. Em and I had a good time doing it together this morning. There were some issues with our prelit this year and I had to decide what we were going to do (after spending 3 hours trying to replace bulbs and fuses and still not being able to fix the sections that weren't lighting up). I really love our tree and just can't justify buying a new one. John and I went to look at Menards yesterday and I really didn't see anything that was "just right". And not sure what happened in the last 6 years, but man, have they gone up in price! I don't remember what we paid but there is NO WAY I paid nearly $200 for one, or even $100 if it was 50% off! That's just CRAZY!!!!

So with that I decided to buy two boxes of 100 lights that were less than $2 a box! And our tree looks just fine. Actually, beautiful now that it's full of ornaments and bows. Unless you look super close you can't even notice all the unlit bulbs. Honestly, I'm not even sure I will buy a new one after the holiday even with the sales.

The Feeling of Giving

So this year I decided that instead of picking a name off of a tree for a needy child we would donate some to the homeless shelter, HALO, which isn't too far from our house. HALO sets up a little shopping village where the moms can go and pick out a gift for their child and wrap it so that they have something to give their little ones for Christmas. Then the part I love so much is that on a different day the "village" becomes a place where the children can come and pick something out for their moms and do the same. Teaching kindergarten, I know how much it means for the kids to have a present for their mommas. My student's are always full of smiles when they have a gift to give to someone they love.

So we did a little shopping and picked up a few things for some little girls (a baby doll, Snow White Barbie, and another Barbie w/extra clothes). And for the moms we got a few bath sets (lotions, bath gel etc.) and slippers.

The joy of giving it was when Em and I sat down and talked about how there are children who do not have any homes and their mommies don't have the money to buy presents and food. I told her that we were going to the shelter (which then led to a conversation about what the shelter was) to bring these gifts there so that the mommies could pick a toy for their little girls. The smile that lit up her face is one that will always be embedded in my head. (as I'm recapping this tears are flowing thinking about how she responded to the whole thing) She had become so excited that we were giving these things. Once we arrived at HALO, we went in to drop off the bags and she told the lady at the desk that we were bringing these toys so that the little girls would have a special present for Christmas from their mommy.

The experience was priceless. For Em only being 3 1/2, I really do believe she understands it to a degree. May the reason for the holiday season be in your heart as we have it in ours. ~Tammy

Our Lil' Ballerina

So last Saturday was parent observation at Em's dance class. It's special because we actually get to go in the room and see and hear about what they've been working on instead of just watching through the two way mirror from out in the hall. I am so amazed at everything she's learned since she started this past summer. She knows the terms along with each position and does the moves with such ease and grace. She listens to her teacher and is really gaining so much at just 3 years of age. One thing that I continue to see each week is her passive attitude when it comes to others in the class who are not as friendly as she is. Unlike most children her age, Em does not care if she's first in line. There's one girl in particular who will go right in front of her and Em will just scoot back a bit. In a way I'm glad she's not throwing a fit but on the other hand I wish she'd tell the girl to get to the end! Now don't get me wrong, Em can hold her own and will usually voice her opinion if she doesn't like something, so I know she's not a pushover. This just must not matter to her, so why does it bug me so much?!

1 month

So Garret has reached the one month mark. I can't believe the time has flown by so quickly. The sleepless nights are here and there but we're trying to establish a schedule. Hopefully we'll be on our way to one shortly seeing as I only a few more weeks until I head back to work.

Em has been amazing with Garret. She LOVES her little brother so much and goes out of her way to show it. She is so overprotective of him. We were at a relative's birthday party and she got very upset that others were holding him. She actually told my mom in a very loud and demanding voice, "Nana, go get me my brother now!" She has been my little helper, getting diapers and bottles, giving him his nuk when he spits it out. It's especially cute when she tells me she's going to babysit him while I let the dog out or am running downstairs for something.

At one month, he loves his nuk, however can't seem to keep it in his mouth. He is constantly loosing it. Last week he started to smile. But it's when HE wants to. We try so hard to get him to but it's like trying to crack one of those guards in England. (I hope that's not showing me what's to come, a I do what I want when I want kind of thing.) My poor boy has a terrible case of baby acne. His entire face is covered. They come and go daily and is drying out his face :( I really wanted to take him and Em to get a Christmas picture taken, but I guess we'll just have to see how he looks each day.

Happy Halloween

Happy Halloween!

Here's our little princess. This year Em decided she wanted to be Snow White, even though she's never made it past the first 2 minutes because she claims "it's too scary..." She's already decided what her and Garret are going to be next year but you'll have to wait to see :)

John and I took turns taking her around the neighborhood since it was too cold to bring Garret with. John did the first round so when it was my turn she was on a mission and was telling me where we needed to go. She was so well mannered. Much better than the majority of the kids who came to our house. She would walk up to the doors by herself, say hi, trick or treat and then thank you every time without hardly any prompting from me. I was so proud of her. One of the houses we stopped at had an older man who asked her if she knew the trick or treat poem, you know the "...smell my feet, give me something good to eat..." Em just stared at him. Well 5 minutes later she's singing her version as we were walking down the block, "yummy in my tummy, smell my foot." It was just too cute in her sweet signing voice.

Pumpkin Fun

Tonight we carved our pumpkins. Em wanted a Minnie Mouse pumpkin this year so I found a template online and got to work once John and Em finally got the pumpkins all cleaned out. Here she is freaking out about not wanting to touch the pumpkin slime and then after she gave it a try her comment was “that’s not so bad.” And the last picture are our masterpieces; Em’s Minnie Mouse, John’s Packer pumpkin (that he had no faith in me that I’d be able to do it J ) and my happy face.