UCR Botanical Gardens

Today Emma & I met up with one of the playgroups we belong to (the Inland Empire Kids Outdoors) and, along with Grandma, Aunt Ann, and a bunch of Emma's cousins, we checked out the botanical gardens at UCR. The kids had a great time, despite the heat. There was a lot of shade and neat things to see. We saw 13 turtles and tons of giant goldfish in the ponds. We also saw a snake, a rabbit, tarantulas, squirrels, and LOTS of lizards scurrying about. After that, we stopped in a gorgeous shady patch of grass and enjoyed a snack while the kids ran about with their new friends.

Mommy & Emma on the pathway.

Heading off on the trail...

Checking out the local flora...

Pretty Emma & the gardens.

Emma & TJ at the pond.

Turtles!

I got a stick!


Snack time!

Emma & her walking stick.

Quads & Farm Animals

This is one of my new favorite pictures of Emma. She finally is "getting" it on how to ride her quad. I think she finally has the thumb strength to hold down the button long enough to keep going.

Also, Emma actually let me get some video footage of her this week. Usually she hides or grabs at the camera when I start trying to tape her. I have been wanting to record her doing her animal sounds, singing, and counting. Well, we finally got the sounds and a bit of "The Wheels On The Bus," but that's about it. Oh well, its not like her counting is entirely sequential yet anyway. She knows 1,2, 3, & 4... 5 & 6 are iffy though. And, for some reason, Emma loves "7." As soon as 3 passes, she thinks its time for "tevviiiinnnnn...!" Too cute. Must be her lucky number. Blogspot sucks on my computer however, so I couldn't upload the video clip. So here is the link to the video on One True Media..


My Montage 6/28/09

Summertime is here!

Playing at the water table with a friend. Look! Emma finally has enough hair for ponytails!

Milkshakes with our friends...

I got my OWN Icee!

I'll take care of filling up the pool!

Cheese!


We went off track yesterday and Emma & I are looking forward to some much needed time off this month! We have lots of day trips and playdates planned and even a week camping with the family. We kicked off our vacation with a milkshake playdate yesterday afternoon where the kids enjoyed homemade shakes and playing at the watertable. Today, we set up the swimming pool in the backyard and Emma couldn't wait for it to fill up before she ventured in. We also had our first Icees of the season. Ahhhh... summer time is here!

Aquarium of the Pacific

I took Emma to the Long Beach Aquarium of the Pacific yesterday. It started out being scheduled as a playdate for our mom's group, but it turned out no one else from the group was able to make it. I had gotten a really good coupon for the admission price, so we decided to turn it into a family day instead. So Emma & I brought Grandma, Karen & Todd, Mikayla, T.J., Katie, Lucy, & Tim. The kids had a lot of fun seeing all the marine life, climbing around on the play structures, and touching the sharks & sting rays. Then we walked across the street and had dinner at Bubba Gump Shrimp Co. All in all, it was a great day!


Here's a group photo taken as we entered.

Cousins at the sea lion exhibit.

Tim, Emma, & Grandma at the touch tanks.

Checking out the sea life...

Emma pensively meditating on the fish...

I can't believe I got to spend the WHOLE day at the aquarium!!

Emma's New Pictures

I took Emma into Kiddie Kandids today to do some new pictures. I had been negligent and hadn't done any new ones since Christmas so I thought I'd get some Spring/ Summer ones done. They turned out pretty cute even though the woman working there was pretty snotty! She got on my nerves and I do NOT think I will be returning there anytime soon. But my Emma Grace still looked pretty though! I was trying to upload them as a video montage, but was having issues, so here is the link to the montage if anyone wants to see it...

http://www.onetruemedia.com/shared?p=8f188c2f99c014fa7718b4&skin_id=601&utm_source=otm&utm_medium=text_url

Lucy's Birthday Party Continues...

Since we were at Disneyland all day yesterday, Lucy had her actual birthday party today. We went over to Tim & Jenny's and had a great time visiting with everyone and barbequing! Lucy had a giant oreo cake and Emma made sure to creep in close when it was time to sing and cut it! She also reappeared when Lucy was opening her presents, including one of her favorites... cash!

Disneyland Video

I've already posted a ton of pictures from our day at Disneyland but, for those of you who haven't seen the girls (that means you, Auntie Natalie) in a while, I thought I'd post a little video of the carousel ride. It doesn't do much to show Emma's personality, but she does wave and blow kisses, so that's something! She is talking all the time, singing real words to songs, and actually starting to count, but she won't do any of it when there is a camera pointed at her face! So stubborn... wonder where she gets it! :)

More Disneyland Pictures...

In additon to running from end to end of the park multiple times yesterday, we actually made it to Toon Town as well. This was Emma's 2nd trip to Disneyland, but her first visit to Toon Town and Lucy hadn't been there in years. The girls really had a good time playing in this area. It was surprisingly uncrowded considering how packed the rest of the park was, so the girls were free to run about and Emma was able to burn off some pent up energy from being in the stroller. The best part? She got to do it all with Lucy by here side!

The scariest combination of drivers I've ever seen! :) Talk about a potential for road rage. Or road tantrums...
Emma loved the oversized furniture in Mickey's house, especially playing the piano...

Lucy pretending to be Pluto...

The big cousin coaxing the little cousin to continue crawling through a hollowed out giant watermellon...

Girls just wanna have fun! Doing crazy dances and climbing on boxes in the playground...

Emma LOVED when Lucy and I spun the teacup super fast. She had this blissful expression and a maniacal giggle going the whole time!

Grandma and Lucy at the end of "Its a Small World." Check out Lucy's birthday present. She got a collector's lanyard & starter trading pin set from Grandma.

We stayed late enough to see the new laser/ water/ firework show "Fantasmic." You can see that Emma was just enthralled with it!

Lucy's 12th Birthday & Disneyland

Yesterday was Lucy's 12th birthday, so Grandma, Emma, Lucy, & I decided to spend the day at Disneyland. We had a great time! The girls enjoyed the rides and being together all day. There may be a 10 year age difference between them but Lucy & Emma are the best of friends! They are cut from the same cloth and already get each other's humor. Here's Lucy coming in for another kiss from Emma...


Emma trying to decide if she REALLY wants to get on the Astro Orbiters...

The carousel is always a big hit! Emma must have ridden it 15 times yesterday! Everytime Lucy I wanted to run to a roller coaster, Grandma took Emma to ride the carousel over and over. She loved it each & every time. I got some more pictures of her where she is smiling on the horse, but I just love the golden tones and serious expression in this shot...

The girls with Grandma after Mr. Toad's Wild Ride...

Peering down into Snow White's Wishing Well and listening to the echoes turned out to be fascinating!

Water Baby

Emma is beginning to get more acclimated to the water again and enjoying swimming more. We had a get together a couple of weeks ago at Uncle Kino's house and she thoroughly enjoyed the hot tub. The big (unheated) pool - not so much. Definitely a creature of comfort! She was enthralled with her Little Mermaid floaties and swim ring though... insisted on wearing them, even though she could stand on the seat all around the edge of the hot tub.

Emma also loves just relaxing in the sun. She thought it was great to be able to sit on the edge and dangle her feet in the water like Mommy. I love this picture of her... If only I could figure out how to get the date stamp off her face!

By the time this picture was taken on Friday, Emma (& her friends) had decided that any and all water is a good idea. We were at a playdate at our friend Erin's house and, even though it was probably only 70 degrees out, the little ones insisted on "simmin." So they stripped down to diapers and went to town. We had a great time!