Emma's 1st Restriction...

After we got back from the Holiday Kick Off party, Emma & TJ decided that they were a prince and a princess and, apparently, that involves adding paint to one's face. Unfortunately for them (or fortunately, depending on your outlook) they didn't have access to any paint. Only markers. And luckily they were water based. So, the kids were not allowed to draw with markers for the rest of the day. And maybe tomorrow. We'll see how it goes. And they promised "never to do it again!" We'll see...

Holiday Kick-Off Party!

Today Emma, Mikayla, TJ, and I spent the morning at the Redlands Holiday Kick-off party. We met up with a bunch of our friends and everyone had a great time. There was tons of snow for the kids to play in, rides, a bouncer, ferris wheel, pony rides, and Santa was there too! The rides were only a dollar a piece, as compared to the $6 pony ride last month at the pumpkin patch, so that was nice. Plus Erin & Chris bought a bunch of tickets for all the kids, which was also very nice of them. All in all, we are very blessed to have such great friends and such a fun way to spend a morning!

Oatman!

After much begging and pleading on Scott's part, I finally agreed to spend my first day of vacation making a turn around trip out to Bullhead City in order to pick up Matthew so he could spend Thanksgiving with us. That was a long day of driving! And, of course, Emma did NOT want to stay home with Grandma. She wanted to "come with Mommy for a long long long long long LONG drive to get Matt-hew!" So off we went... Emma, Scott, myself, and even an extra lil stowaway, since TJ wanted to tag along too. The 2 little ones were actually surprisingly well behaved, especially since it was over 3 1/2 hours each way. We stopped once at a rest stop on the way out and drove straight through on the way home. They just read, played with toys, listened to music, ate snacks, and Scott even brought his portable dvd player, which turned out to be a godsend on the way home as it was already dark outside and it kept them entertained. We decided to take a little detour on the way home and checked out Oatman, which is a little old town out in the middle of the desert where donkeys wander as free as could be through the streets. Emma was a bit unsure of the donkeys as they came right up INTO out car as we were getting out, but she got used to them after a bit. She was more of a fan of petting than feeding though. Can't say I blame her... those are some big chompers coming towards her little hand! It was neat to see this place and the kids seemed to really enjoy Oatman!

Beauty and the Beast!

Today we went out to Orange County to see the Broadway tour of Beauty and the Beast. This is one of Emma's favorite movies - and mine too - so I was so excited to find tickets locally. We brought Karen & her kids and Grandma with us too. Then two of my friends and their little girls (Emma's bffs :)) decided to join us as well. The show was great, although just a tad too long for the little ones. I think Emma is still more of a fan of a movie over live theater, but I'm glad we went. It was a good show.

Are you ready for some football???

We had a great time going to Katie's football game Thursday night! Yes, that's right... KATIE'S game. She was playing in a powderpuff football game as a competition between the junior and senior class. We were rooting for her juniors and they dominated the whole game... right up until the last minute and a half. Then the seniors scored a touchdown and ended up winning the game (amidst many a call of foul play and poor sportsmanship from both sides). Boo. :( It was still exciting to watch however and we had a great time out in the crisp fall night, cheering and enjoying goodies from the snack bar.

Turkey Playdate!

We went over to Stephanie's house to make candy turkeys this week. Mikayla & TJ came with us too. Turns out Mikayla was more into it than the little ones were. They were more interested in just playing in the backyard and eating the candy than building anything with it. It was still fun though. And Gavin's Radio Flyer tricycle was a hit with both Emma & TJ who enjoyed taking turns pedaling and riding while standing up on the back platform.

Emma's 3 year checkup!

We went to the doctor Wednesday for Emma's three year check up. She is doing well, perfectly healthy, and growing like a weed! 40 pounds (geesh!) and39+ inches tall. That means that, with the correct shoes, Emma is big enough to ride most of the roller coasters at Disneyland! Woo-hoo! I can't wait to take her on Tower of Terror and Soaring over California most of all. She may never set foot in another elevator again after that, but it'll still be fun. :) Emma had to have a flu shot on Wednesday and she didn't cry a bit. The next day I took her in for a blood draw and lead screen, which I expected to be a lot more traumatic, but she did surprisingly well for that one too. Not a single tear shed. I am so proud of my tough little girl...

Christmas Photos of Emma & I together...

These turned out pretty nice. I was really happy with them. Especially the ones on the black background.

Christmas Pictures, black background...

How cute are these? I love the ones of her reading and trying to get the ornament from Santa the best. Wanna know a secret? That Santa arm is actually ME in a red sleeve. Shhhh....

More Christmas Pictures!

... and these are the ones with the snowy backdrop. I love the first one the best. I know there is a slight chance I might be just a smidgen biased, but my little girl is just gorgeous!