Our Girls

Katie loves her Papa. I mean REALLY loves her Papa. 1. When we are playing in the playroom we have to set aside game pieces that are Papa's and only Papa's. Don't even think of trying to play with those game pieces. She will scream "Papa!" 2. When serving tea or milk, Katie will often say, "Mommy? Daddy? Emmy?" (meaning do you want tea or milk?). We reply "Yes please!" Yesterday, she took my cup back and said "No, Papa!" and then set it aside for Papa. I could not have my imaginary tea because she was saving it for Papa (who lives 2 hours away!) You better be thirsty the next time you come Papa! 3. At the library Katie and I were working on a puzzle along with this little boy named Jack (whom we had never met before). Jack's grandma was sitting in a nearby chair looking at a magazine. She stood up and said, "Jack it's time to go find Papa." Katie popped out of her chair and said "Papa?" and went right to th...

Awhile back we posted about Emily getting an allowance. I am happy to say that we have successfully had an allowance for quite awhile and she is starting to learn the value of money. For example, when we are shopping she will often say "Can I get that Mommy?" And I will say, "Sure, but you have to use your own money." We talk about how much money she has and how much she would have left if she bought said item. Then she ALWAYS decides "no thanks, I'll save my money". The only items she has bought to date are: Fairies and a jump rope. The fairies are what started this whole thing. Below she is pictured with her treasured fairies. There was quite some drama when we tried to get these fairies. Emily had seen them at Toys R Us but didn't have enough money to buy them way back when. So she saved and she saved. She saved all her allowance and extra job money for 12 weeks (that is a LONG time for a 4 year old). I happened to be at Toys R Us the week b...

Right before Halloween we surprised Grandma Betty and Grandpa Dick with a visit to Quincy! It was a beautiful day and we had tons of fun playing. Katie got a kick out of Grandma Betty trying on her duck hat. "Mine!" she would shout at Great Grandma:) Grandpa was having a wonderful day tracking everything we were talking about. "The kids are sure getting big!" and "Don't they look cute!" Emily talked to Grandpa about her dance lessons and about her friends at daycare. Kate stood by him and held his hand. She stared at him for quite some time...I'm not sure he even noticed:) We took Grandpa outside to play ball. The girls get a kick out of that activity. Grandpa can really throw the ball! And they just laugh:) Print Page

What do you do when you are home sick? You make Peanut Butter bird feeders! (and watch a lot of movies!) Here is Em spreading PB and bird seed all over the pine cone. She was very focused on her work. Below is Kate trying her best to get the peanut butter distributed too. I think she ate most of hers:) The last picture is of Emily reading a book to Katie. It was such a cute and quiet moment. (It didn't last long - but it did happen!) Print Page

Emily and I before the show began. She was such a good little girl waiting for the show to begin. When the show started she just sat very still and watched and watched. She got really excited when they sang a song she knew. Her smile stretched from ear to ear:) I watched her for about the 1/2 the musical instead of the actual show. It was so neat to see this through her eyes. During intermission she told me that this wasn't the real Belle or the real Beast. They were just pretending like when she puts on a show at our house. It is all just pretend here. I told her she was right...and then wondered, "does she think that there is a REAL Beauty and a REAL Beast" somewhere?" I think that she does. I know that kids confuse reality and fiction and can't really tell the 2 apart until around age 4 or 5...but I can't imagine thinking that everything you saw or heard was real. Emily is trying to sort that all out. I guess it just takes time. At the end of the perform...

Here she is with Luminaire (sp?), Mrs. Potts, Chip, Cogsworth, the chest of drawers, Gaston, and his side kick. Print Page

Emily and Mommy went to Rock Bridge High School's Fall Musical. They performed Beauty and the Beast. To say that Emily enjoyed herself is an understatement. She LOVED LOVED LOVED it. "Mommy when I get big, can I pretend I'm Belle and sing like her on the stage?" Before the show we went to a character Meet and Greet. Here she is waiting in line, looking at the characters getting all ready. She went straight for Belle (surprise). She was shy, but did say "Mommy! Make sure you get my picture!" She told Babette that her Aunt Jen used to be Babette but now she is Sleeping Beauty. Babette just smiled. I think she thought she was kinda crazy:) More pics to come - it will only let me post 4 at a time! Augh.

Emily and Gramps walking into the stadium. Pre-game All Smiles for MIZZOU! Daddy and Em Print Page

Examining a kitty cat (which she refers to as Meeew) Katie: mouth! eyes! nose! hairbow! Mommy: Hairbow? On the cat? Where? Katie: (pointing to the ears) Hairbow!

Emily has been to a few tailgates when she was younger...but not since she has been 4:) Here she is chilling with her soda. (Any event that lets people drink soda is pretty cool in her world) Playing catch with Daddy. And ready to go to the game! Em stayed for the entire game and was a GREAT girl! We had a parking pass that was right outside the main gate. Emily's game went something like this... Pre-game: She watched the Golden Girls, Cheerleaders, Truman, and Marching Mizzou intently! 1st Quarter: Gave us Truman updates (Mom he's over there now!, Now look he's by the field!) 2nd Quarter: Out to the car for a snack and more soda. Then back in to watch the cheerleaders and Golden Girls. I don't even know if she knew there were football players on the field. Half-Time: Watched Marching Mizzou and LOVED the show. 3rd Quarter: Out to the car for another snack. Then back inside to go to the bathroom and take a walk around the stadium. 4th Quarter: Out to the car to get ...

Grammy and Gramps took the whole family to Grand Bear Lodge. It was TONS of fun. They had a merry-go-round and a few other kid rides. Emily and her cousins wanted nothing to do with the "baby" rides. They wanted to go on the BIG rides. Emily and her cousin (who is older by just 2 weeks) rode their very first roller coaster! For the first ride, both kids went with an adult. When the adults figured out that they were not needed, the two 4-year-old's rode this roller coaster over and over again. Look! No Hands! This was not a slow coaster. It had dips. It had turns. And it went fairly fast. We learned that these 2 children are thrill seekers! Have you ever been on a tilt-a-world? It goes round and round and round until you feel like you are going to vomit. (Or at least that is what Jessica feels like.) Emily rode this ride 3 times in a row! Mommy and Daddy could only handle it once each. I get nauseous just thinking about it! And if you thought the tilt-a-world was a bad ...

Here the girls are going to their first house. Katie wasn't quite sure what all was going on, but she will follow her sister anywhere. Emily was very sick the night of Halloween (surprise surprise) and she didn't even want to trick or treat. Until she saw her sister all dressed and ready. Then she thought she could make it for just a few houses. They went around the block and that was just about all she could take. Kate could have continued all night. "reat?" (treat) "tay-oo" (thank you!)

Print Page Emily and Katelyn had a great time carving pumpkins. Well, actually, Emily had quite a lot of fun. Katie did not want to touch the pumpkin or the pumpkin guts at all. Kate had a wonderful evening playing in the playroom:) while we carved pumpkins.

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