Emma's 3rd Birthday Pictures

These are some of my favorite pictures from Emma's Birthday shoot. She was SOOOO much more cooperative this time around as compared to the last time we went in for pictures... but that was almost a year ago. I guess she's grown up quite a bit. She's definitely more cooperative, but she has also hit the pre-school, forced-smile, CHEESE face stage. So some of the shots are a bit... forced, I guess. But she is still pretty darn cute!

Chuck E Cheese!

Scott and Matthew are here visiting again and they wanted to go out for dinner last night. So, after a busy day of work, errands, and a trip to the pumpkin patch, we got talked into visiting Chuck E Cheese with them too! It was a surprisingly pleasant trip since the restaurant was pretty uncrowded due to being a weeknight. I hoard coupons like nobody's business so we had lots of free token and free ticket coupons to take with us. The kids got to play tons of games and had a great evening earning tickets and choosing prizes.

Live Oak Pumpkin Patch!

So I had a mental lapse yesterday and showed up at the pumpkin patch a WEEK earlier than my friends and I had planned to meet. Since we were there already I figured we might as well walk around and check out some of the different varieties of pumpkins and gourds. We found a bumpy reddish one that I thought looked gross but Emma told me, "Look again Mommy. Its like a strawberry pumpkin. Its pretty." I love seeing things again through her eyes... We also took some time out for a pony ride and Emma tried out the super bouncer thingy for the first time. She loved it!

Nickelodeon Storytime Live!

We went to see Nickelodeon Storytime Live this past Tuesday evening. It was cuter than I anticipated and the little ones loved it! They were so excited and making such goofy faces as I tried to take their pictures. So silly. The show had segments from Backyardigans, Dora the Explorer, Kai Lan, and Wonderpets. Broadway, it was not. But we had a great afternoon with the family regardless.

Tie-eye-ee-ime is NOT on our side, no its not!!!

Inside the "Innoventions of Tomorrow" exhibit at Disneyland, they have an unusual little machine. Its an age progression simulator. Below are now and 50 years in the future side-by-sides of myself, Karen, and (hysterically) Emma. Turns out I am going to resemble my mother, which I never would have thought. I always pictured myself as more Marquiss, and Karen as more Baca. Speaking of Karen... well, let's just say it doesn't look like the future is going to be kind to her. Emma's face wasn't even big enough to accurately map, but she wanted to try it none the less.

Disney Evening...

Karen had a rare Monday off work for Columbus Day and she wanted us to go to Disneyland with her. So, as soon as I got off work, she, Emma, TJ, & I headed out to Anaheim. We only stayed a few hours and the park was more crowded than I like due to the holiday, but we still had fun. We parked in the Downtown Disney district and took the monorail into the park, which the kids enjoyed, and then just had dinner and spent the evening in Tomorrow Land. The house of innoventions was fun and Emma got to drive an Autopia car for the first time. I controlled the gas and she got to steer. I kept calling out, "Where are you taking me little girl?!" as we careened around track and Emma found this hilarious. It was a fun evening.

Big-Kid School!!!

Emma started at "the big-kid school" on Monday and she was so excited!!! She woke up with no argument, got dressed, and was begging to leave the house by 6:45 am... when we are usually rushing out the door at 7! This was a big deal for Miss Grace (and her Mama) so we had been talking about it for a couple weeks and she had already gone on her "field trip" to visit the new school last week. So when we got to her class, Emma already knew where her cubby and desk were. Her new teacher, Miss Johanna, had even taken pictures of Emma already so her desk could be labeled and she could have her photo up with all her classmates on the bulletin board... Emma is the second leaf from the right (in the dark orange leaf on top of a yellow one). This week's theme was "sharing" and Emma was so excited to bring her favorite book on Monday and her favorite doll on Tuesday. She chose a Disney early reader book and her new singing Belle doll I got her for her birthday. She is such a big girl...