I'm a Barbie girl, in a Barbie world!

Emma LOVES her Barbie dolls. Especially the Disney Princess ones. Anyone who knows me knows that this is SO not a part of my repertoire. Even as a child, I was not a Barbie fan. Books, games, yes. Dolls? Not a chance. But that just goes to show you how tightly this little girl has got me wound around her finger. What did I spend OVER AN HOUR doing with her last week? Yep, playing with and grooming Barbies. And what did I break down and buy her for her birthday? Yep, 4 new barbie dolls. At least a couple were princes so they now have some male counterparts. And one was an "Ursula, the sea witch" from the little mermaid. I think that may be a fave so far. :) Lends itself to a lot of plot foils and villain hijinks! Plus she has (and I quote) "really big purple boobies Mom! Heeheehee!" Lol. My little dork. Love her. :)

Emma's 4th Birthday Party!

I held a party for Emma's 4th birthday this weekend and it was a wonderful success! We had it at Redlands Gymnastics Club, which is where she takes her weekly lessons and she LOVES that place! So many of our friends and family came out to celebrate with us and we just had a wonderful day. The theme this year was "Pinkalicious" and I found an awesome personalized shirt and match cake topper for Emma. She was tickled pink! :) The kids all enjoyed all the bouncing and tumbling but the game of limbo did not go exactly as planned. I don't think the kids really "got it" yet, but they still had fun. Once the party was over we headed home for Emma to open her gifts. This little girl got so much stuff! Clothes, slippers, books, puzzles, a light bright, a HUGE pillow pet ladybug, barbie dolls, princesses, movie tickets, money, gift cards... Whew! I think I may stash some and slowly dole them out for the next while. :) It was an awesome day and she thanked me multiple times for the "awesome party mommy." She is too cute. And I know it must have been a successful day because (1) NO tantrums or meltdowns all day! and (2) she was knocked out cold by 7:45pm. :)

The BIG gift!

Emma turned 4 years old this weekend! Her big gift was actually from Auntie Karen and family... she got a new bicycle!!! It is purple and pink with princesses, streamers, and a mini carriage on the handlebars (perfect for toting around a baby doll!). It's the perfect bike for Emma and she LOVES it. No fear at all, just took off peddling. I can't believe how quickly my baby is growing...

Emma turns 4!!!

4 years ago today, I had no idea how much my life was about to change. It has been an amazing few years and I can't wait to see what we do next. I love you more than you could ever know my sweet Emma Grace. You have a wonderful heart and are growing into an amazing little girl. Your giggle can always make me smile and your stubbornness and wit, as frustrating as they can be now, will serve you well as you grow older... Happy 4th birthday to my joy, my motivation, my heart, my Emma.

St. Adelaide's Carnival

Every year there is a carnival at mom's church on the first weekend in October. In fact, 4 years ago this weekend, I walked down there and spent over 2 hours walking around trying to jump start my labor. It didn't work. Even in utero, there was no moving this girl if she was not ready! Anyway, today we went to the early service at IBC so we could have time to check out this carnival and have lunch before Karen had to get Mikayla back over to her dad's. Every other year the carnival has been rather small... a few game booths, a rummage sale, some food stands. This year they went all out though and brought in a dozen or so carnival rides and the kids were VERY excited! I think the height guidelines might have been askew however as it showed both the babies as being too small for the big rides. I think that shot with them looking through the bars at Katie, Lucy, Mikayla, & Karen is just hilarious though! After just a couple of rides (ridiculously overpriced) we had lunch and let the little ones play a couple games. It was a fun change of pace from the usual Sunday lunch!

Los Angeles Zoo!

I had a vacation day on Friday and I decided to spend it visiting the zoo rather than working in one! I bought a Groupon deal a while back with my friends Jen & Erin for the LA Zoo. For pretty much the cost of a one day admission we got a year long pass for all 3 of us, all our kids, some guest passes, carousel tickets, safari shuttle tickets, etc. It was a great deal for the price and I THINK the girls had fun. It was just kind of a weird day though. All 3 little ones were more interested in riding in their strollers than walking and in having unending snacks rather than seeing the animals. We kept getting a lot of "yeah... I saw it already"s from them. So we headed to the playground area in the zoo and THAT they loved! Kind of irritating that we drove an hour to take them to the park but, if that's what makes them happy and ends up being a good day, then so be it. I think it was just because it was pretty warm and humid out, dusty, there were millions of bees flying around, and a lot of sections we would have liked to see (the carousel ride, the reptile house, the children's petting zoo) were all closed for repairs. So tempers were short, for adults and kids. But we worked through all the tumbles and tears, the "me firsts" and "not fairs", the snippy comments and grumblings about everything being uphill (how is that geographically even possible, by the way?!?!) and I think that is a testament to the quality of our friendships. Emma & I are part of a good group. We take each other, faults and all, and still laugh together at the end of the day. On another note, a stop at Carl's Junior for lunch, sodas, and air conditioning did wonders for everyone at the end of the day! We will definitely be back again (gotta make use of these passes!) but we may plan our day a bit more carefully next time and factor in more play and less observation.

Talent runs in the family!

Lucy is awesome! She has been taking an after school, ROP type, sewing class at school and has taken a real shine to it. These are a couple of her newest creations. Emma loves her leopard purse an polka dot bow. So awesome. Tim has even built Lucy a sewing table in her room and they were able to find her a sewing machine at a second hand store. She is just creating up a storm and I for one am majorly impressed!