Kids Say the Darndest Things!

In my ongoing attempt to record all the funny/ cute/ infuriating things Little Miss Emma ( & TJ) say for later laughs, and possible blackmail, here are some excerpts from the past few days' conversations...

#1. A Wry Sense of Humor...
So Emma has been in the same daycare center since I had to go back to work when she was 3 months old. She has always loved it and I appreciate all the staff there and think they are great. We have never had a problem and, as a general rule, Emma is always happy to go to school. Of course there were a few teary mornings every so often, especially when she would be hitting cognitive milestones and realizing things like object permanence and stranger anxiety etc. But for the most part, it has been a very positive experience for us.

There have been some changes to the center lately. They have, like many child care centers, lost some staff who have moved on to bigger and better things and, while we were off track in July, her main teacher (Miss Martha) got transferred to another site. We've only had Miss Jennifer there for a few weeks but Emma says she is nice and that she likes her. So all this has been going through my head this week as I drop a crying, screaming, flailing Emma Grace off at school each morning. Have things changed? Is the new teacher really mean? What's wrong with my normally sunny baby??? Yet I call a few minutes after leaving and they say she is fine and, usually, reading a book with Miss Beverly. I talk to one of the aides who has been there for a long time and she says Emma is great all day as soon as I leave. I pick her up and she is giggly and happy and tells me all about reading and playing with blocks and painting etc. So whats the deal???

On Thursday afternoon, after picking her up, I started chatting with Emma as we were out driving around and running errands. Here was our conversation...

Me: "Did you have a good day at school today Emma?"
Emma: "Oh yes! It was fun! I read stories with Miss Beberlee (Beverly)"
Me: "What did you have for lunch?"
E: "Chicken and carrots. It was good. I eated it all gone."
M: "So it was a happy day?"
E: "Yes. I like school."
M: "Well, if you like school so much, then why are you crying and throwing a fit when I drop you off in the morning?"
E: (with an impish little smirk on her face that I spy from the rearview mirror)... "Cause its funny."
M: "WHAT?!?!"
E: giggles...
M: "Mommy feels very bad when I have to leave you and you are crying! Its not funny. Why would you do that?"
E: "It is funny! You say 'Oh Emma' and pick me up and my teachers say 'Oh Emma'."
M: "That is NOT funny Emma and I don't like it."
E: "Well its funny to me!"

We got to the bank about that time, so the conversation ended. But the next morning I figured maybe we should revisit the topic on the way to school...

Me: "Yay we are going to school! You like school, right Emma?"
Emma: "Yep."
M: "So no more crying right?"
E: "No, I'm gonna cry." (said with a smile, mind you)
M: "But I don't like that. No crying Emma. There's no reason for it." (By now I can't believe my voice has taken on that cajoling, pleading voice I despise in parents who should NOT be negotiating with offspring so small)
E: "I don't know Mom... I think its coming... yep, I'm gonna cry."
M: *sigh*

What am I going to do with this child? I'm afraid she is going to grow up to be either a sociopath or an actress... and I'm not sure which is worse!
P.S.... I left her sprawled across the floor of her classroom, howling away in feigned despair, as I walked out to go to work...

#2. Not Destined to be an Ass-Man (A.K.A. The Importance of Pronunciation)

As the kids are getting bigger, so are their vocabularies. I am constantly amazed at the new things they think about and share with us. However, some of their pronunciations aren't quite as developed as others. Emma, for example, still has no "L's" in her vocabulary. She likes to go to the "Yie-bary" (library) to read books, loves her cousins, "Yenay"(Lenay) and "You-see" (Lucy), and is in heaven when she gets to have a "yah-yee-pop" (lollipop) as a treat.

TJ, on the other hand, has some issues with "K" sounds. If the K comes at the end of the word, he overexaggerates it... He likes to go to the parK and eat caKe and drinK milK. Its really cute actually because he puts so much stress on the K that it makes a little click noise at the end of his words. The funny part though is that, if the K is at the beginning, he pronounces it like a T. So he loves his sister "Tayla" (Kayla) and going outside to play "Tatch" (catch).

So yesterday morning the 2 little ones were sitting on my bed watching a video when I came in to get Emma dressed so we could leave. I sat down and had her standing in front of me on the bed while helped her get her dress on. She looked out the window and spied one of the neighborhood felines that always seem to be crossing through our yard and exclaimed, "Oh! I see a kitty cat! There's a kitty in the backyard!" Immediately TJ jumped up as he called out, "I want to see too!" He got to the window, looked out, and, in a voice of pure joy exclaimed, "OH! I JUST LOVE TITTIES!!!"

Hehehe. This will be a good one to remind him of when he becomes a teenager...

Chili Roasting!

Chilling by the pool with Bubs...
Some of us cousins... (I'm in the back with sunglasses)
Mom & her brothers & sister...
Tim & Patches...
Swimming with Santa...
Swimming with Grandma...
Tons and tons of chili...

This Saturday was the annual chili roasting, bbq-ing, swimming, family get together at Uncle Kino & Aunt Pauline's house. Tim & Bubby came with Emma & I this year. We had a lot of fun. There must have been hundreds of pounds of chili being roasted & peeled & bagged for hours. Thats the part I don't actually participate in... no way my hands are burning for days as I wipe my kid's nose or something. So I don't buy chili, but we still come to visit every year. Plus Emma loves Uncle Kino's pool. It really is a wonderful yard for a party. We had a great time swimming and everyone loved the dessert Emma helped me to concoct. It was a strawberry-raspberry-blueberry mash mixed with sweetened condensed milk, lemon juice, and coolwhip, frozen in a loaf pan with an oreo cookie crust. Then we "frosted" it with more whipped cream and fresh berries. Yum! Emma got a kick out of swimming with my cousin Kathie's husband John... who introduced himself to Emma as Santa Claus. She thought that was awesome! So did I until I heard him telling her that she was just "too cute and could have ANYTHING she wanted for Christmas this year." Wha?!?! Santa & Mommy need to have a little talk...

If Mnnie Mouse and Handy Manny had a child...

We went to Lowes yesterday morning for their craft clinic again. It made me laugh to watch her build away since she was so frou frou in her fancy dress. Emma had decided she wanted to be Minnie Mouse again that morning, so I pulled her hair up into "ears" and attached the big Minnie bow and then you hand her a hammer and she gets all serious and hard working. This is always a hit with Emma. Literally, as it seems she loves pounding the nails to build her project. Its just such a stress reliever! Yesterday's project was a little wooden school bus. It was especially cute since the lid was a chalkboard and it slid on and off to reveal a little compartment to hold the chalk. So neat. We met up with Emma's friends Zach & Ava and their parents, Sarah and Andy. The kids all seemed to have a good time and Emma played with her new school bus all evening.

Oh Giselle!

Emma has a new best friend named Giselle. Giselle is the main character in one of Emma's current favorite movies, Enchanted. She loves watching this movie and singing along to all the songs. I had been chatting with one of her teachers, Miss Beverly, about how much Emma loves Enchanted and how I was having a hard time finding anything with this theme since Disney seems to have stopped making them. The next day she showed up with a 3 foot tall Giselle doll for Emma. It belonged to her now grown daughter who, after hearing about Emma, wanted to pass it along. Emma was in 7th heaven with her new Giselle. She wants to carry it everywhere during the day and sleeps with it at night. I keep finding her dancing around the house with Giselle singing, "I've been dreaming of a true love's kiss... and a prince I'm hoping comes with this..." She's so cute.

Fun with TJ!

Karen & I went to the mall with Emma & TJ this afternoon to pick up a couple things. The kids had fun in the RTE 66 play area and making silly faces in the photo booth. Then we stopped for dinner at The Old Spaghetti Factory. Yum! Turns out Emma LOVES spaghetti squash more than regular spaghetti noodles. I think I will be making that for dinner one night soon. We finished the evening off with a stop at the park. These little monkeys are getting so big! They rarely need help navigating the play structure anymore (except for wanting to be pushed on the swings!) and they just run and climb with the best of them. It was a good day. :)

Happy Birthday Madison!

We went to Madison's 5th Birthday Party yesterday and had a great time! The theme was Hello Kitty and it was adorable. Emma loved all the pink and purple decorations and she was so excited to give Madison the sparkly pink sequined hat & shirt she had picked out for her. The kids each got a giant pixie stick with their goodie bag so Emma made sure to bring the remainder of hers home to share with TJ. Unfortunately, I "accidentally" spilled most of it down the sink when they weren't looking. :) That thing was a huge amount of pure sugar! The other big hit from the goodie bag was the whoopie cushion. It has provided hours of giggles and "ewww!"s from the little ones this morning! There was also a bounce house at the party and, for the first time, Emma really enjoyed it. She bounced quite a bit and loved the slide as well. Now she wants one of these at her birthday too. We'll see...

Victoria Gardens!

Karen & I spent yesterday afternoon at Victoria Gardens with the kids. She was shopping for work clothes, so I took the kids walking to explore. This is one of the first times we have ventured out sans strollers with both kids to a place that requires a lot of walking. They did great! We stopped at the Coffee Bean for an iced tea and then wandered around till we found the courtyard with the sprinkler play area. That was a big hit! As was the small staircase we found, perfect for climbing up and leaping from. Then it was time for a ride on the "Choo Choo Monga Express!" We finished off the day with dinner at Joe's Crab Shack. The owners of that place are geniuses... they have the requisite good food and good drinks but they also have shaded patio seating available right next to a fenced in playground for the kids. Emma & TJ got to run around, climb and slide to their little heart's content while Karen and I BOTH got to eat a leisurely meal at the same time for once! We will definitely be back soon!

Another Auntie Natalie Outfit!

Emma (& I) love her other new outfit from Auntie Natalie! She looks so cute in these bright colors and this outfit is just adorable. Thanks Natalie! Emma is also in love with the giant flower in the hair trend, and she was so excited to get all her new bows and ribbons and flowers in the mail last week. Today she matched a new pink flower with the pink trim on her shirt, since we didn't get any orange bows. Oh well, it still looked cute. Emma has also been getting more into purses and bags lately. She insists on carrying in her Tinkerbell bag to church everyday, regardless of the fact that she has not needed an outfit change while at church in months! Such a little personality!

Sophia's 3rd Birthday!

We had a wonderful time celebrating Sophia's 3rd birthday with her yesterday! Karen, TJ, & Mikayla came with us too and they had fun as well. Mikayla made sure that Erin & Chris got their money's worth out of the waterslide they had rented! TJ and Emma enjoyed the smaller wading pools with the rest of the little kids, although TJ decided he was ready for a nap halfway through! Sophia had a princess theme for her birthday and Emma especially loved the cake, of course. Or, more specifically, the frosting! I am continually amazed at how well Emma listens and follows directions, when she wants to. This is the 3rd birthday party we have been to in the last few weeks and, while most of the little ones either run around or try to open the presents for the birthday child, she does not. Emma does sometimes try to scoot a bit closer for a better view, but our friend Jen solved that problem by putting a rolled up towel on the floor & telling all the kids to stay behind it. They mostly followed directions. Samantha & Emma, in particular, sat very well and were extremely interested in watching Sophia open all her new goodies. We had a great time! Happy Birthday Miss Sophia!

Mermaid Ballet!

We went to the Ballet for the first time last night. Emma's friend Sophia turned 3 years old yesterday and her Mommy, Erin, found out that The Little Mermaid was being performed as a ballet at the Redlands Bowl. So we took the girls along with our friend Jen and her daughter Hayden. This was Emma's (and I think the other girls') first experience seeing a ballet performance and I was a little worried that they would not be that into it, considering that there is no script or dialogue and it is all just dancing to classical music. But they all did really well! Emma was a bit perturbed that Flounder, the fish from Disney's Little Mermaid, was not in the show but other than that she seemed to enjoy it. Luckily, this was an outdoor performance with tons of other little ones, so silence was not expected. These little girls just kept up a running commentary the entire time telling us what was happening based on the dancing they saw and how it reconciled with what they knew from the movie. Thinking back about it, that kind of generalization has got to be some sort of higher order, bloom's taxonomy type thinking... Our daughters are geniuses!!!

Playdate at Hayden's!

Emma & I went to a playdate at Jen's house yesterday. We had a great time swimming and visiting with our friends. This was a nice, low-key kind of playdate with only 3 Moms, 3 little ones, and 1 Grandma so it was nice to get a chance to chat and relax. Emma, Hayden, and Ava all played really well together with no major malfunctions and Emma & Hayden especially loved chasing each other around the patio!

Mini-Me!

We found matching "Mommy and Emma" tattoos at the dollar store. How freaking cute are these?! I figure I'll start her young and hopefully she'll be appeased with just the stick-on type for quite some time!

Swimming with Grandma!

We went swimming earlier this week over at the trailer with Grandma. I had brought my leftover lunch with me too and Emma was tearing up the hot wings! Emma still likes the water, but sure won't let go of my neck or the wall when she's in deep! Not even while wearing her vest. She just doesn't feel comfortable enough yet, I guess. Oh well, the time will come. I guess some caution can be a good thing.

Weekend Fun!

We had a fun, and surprisingly relaxing, weekend. Saturday morning I got a package in the mail full of bows, flowers, and headbands I had ordered for Emma. Everything was so cute, but her favorite item was the new pink tutu! She spun and twirled for quite a while and wore it most of the day. Then I spent the afternoon in the pool with the little ones. It was so funny to watch Emma & TJ attempt to play "Marco Polo" with each other. One would call out "marco..." and the other would answer "polo..." but they both had their eyes wide open! Didn't seem to defeat the purpose of their game though. :)

This morning we went to church and Emma wore her new dress from Auntie Natalie and she was so excited to choose a headband and a flower to go with it. One of her little friends has some of these big flowers too and Emma kept telling me how she now had hair "like Sophia." That's apparently the stamp of approval around here! After church we headed over to Tim and Jen's for some BBQ, board games, and friendly family rivalry! Emma & TJ are a bit too little to play the games but they had fun just "hanging around" thanks to some help from Karen! The first football game of the season was also on this evening and TJ watched some of it with Uncle Tim.