Toddlers and Tiaras

Last weekend, in the car, I received my first compliment from Emilia. We were on our way to Dana's baby shower and my hair was down...this is very unusual as it's pretty much ALWAYS in a pony tail. Well, Emilia noticed this and said ever so sweetly from the backseat, "Pretty hair, Mommy." I replied with a, "Thank you, Honey!" and smiled to myself for about the next mile or two.

Tonight, on our stop at Target to pick up some milk, I also picked up a fun little Barbie Glamour Girl Set for Emilia...some things you just can't resist... The set came with a cell phone, sunglasses, a flashy ring, bracelets and a BLONDE WIG complete with little hair clips! I wanted Emilia to be able to feel what it's like to have some long, locks of her own. It took a little convincing to get her to let us put the wig on, but once it was on...she couldn't get enough of her BEAUTY PAGEANT reflection in the mirror! She was a perfect little beauty queen, waving when asked and "loving the camera". She had us laughing so hard our stomachs hurt!

Not sure exactly WHAT is on her head...

Giving us some great smiles!

Ponies and Ice Cream

Tonight, we headed down the block to the Down On The Farm petting zoo that was visiting our neighborhood church. I have always been a little nervous about the animals at these things...some look pretty sketchy with missing patches of fur and crazy looks in their eyes...but the animals we saw tonight were an exception :) They had nice, fluffy coats of fur and cute eyes (well...except for the mama goat).

Syndee was there with her camera to capture some GREAT pictures!

The animals were happy with all the weeds we were feeding them and with a little coaxing, Emilia was standing right up at the gate letting them eat from her hands!

With a little more coaxing, we convinced her to take a ride on the pony, "Nugget." She was delighted on her ride around the parking lot, holding Mom and Dad's hands :)

She was even more delighted when we got to make our own sundaes! Mmmmm! It doesn't get any better than ponies and ice cream! Thanks, Bickett's, for inviting us to the petting zoo!!

Colors!

Only a couple months ago, when we would Emilia ask what color something was, she would most often reply without giving it much thought, "Pink!" It took us figuring out that she needed little motivation, usually n the form of an M&M or her daily vitamin, to actually THINK about what color she was looking at. When we told her she couldn't have the M&M until she got the color right, she really studied it and thought hard before responding!

Over the last month, Emilia has REALLY gotten good at her colors. Without prompting, she'll point out cars that are yellow or flags that are green and say, "That's YELLOW!" or "That's PINK!" It's so fun to see her recognize different colors and watch as she thinks about what color something is. I mentioned at daycare how good she has gotten with her colors and the agreed, saying, "Yes - she is REALLY ahead of the game with her colors!" Yep - proud mom moment!

Here's a little video clip of her showing off her new knowledge with a colorful little pinwheel.

Dana's Baby Shower

This weekend was Dana's Baby Shower! We went to Beth's house for the party planned by Heather, Beth and Brenda which involved lots of delicious food, fun games and good friends. Dana's baby is due on Labor Day - how appropriate, right!??!...I'm sure she's heard that about a million times... But anyway - we are so happy for her and excited for the new babe that will be joining the group!

Cute group pic

(thanks to propping the camera on the diaper cake and setting the timer!)

Emilia and me - isn't she a cute little accessory!?!

Emilia cuddling with Bogart :)

This is Beth's baby until HER baby arrives!!!

Kisses for Bogart...xoxo

Such a good pup :) But we're still never getting one...

We SCREAM for ICE CREAM!

Addie and Emilia are so cute together. They are night and day, just like Erin and I but, somehow, it works!

Addie is a risk taker...Emilia would rather play it safe.

Addie digs right in...Emilia cannot stand to be dirty.

Addie loves to be outside...Emilia "wants to go inside."

Here the are enjoying their ice cream cones after dinner. Their love for sweet treats is one thing they do have in common :)

Addie - 20 months

Emilia - 25 months

Before we left the girls gave each other the sweetest little hug you have ever seen. Then I gave my friend a hug and home we went. Thank goodness for friends!

Nana's Garden

We're hoping Emilia takes after her Nana and her green thumb because, honestly, we're doing good if we even remember to water at our house. There's no excuse either...we have a great helper, eager to get her little yellow duck watering can filled up whenever the hose is on.


When we got to Nana and Papa's on Saturday night, Nana took Emilia for a little stroll through the garden to check out the pond and waterfall and the little hiding frog; the birds eating and taking a bath and the colorful flowers sprinkled throughout. Ahhh...such a great retreat :)

Smiles

Emilia was feeling especially smiley tonight after her bath, in her new night gown and with her tiny feet in Daddy's shoes. So I snapped away, capturing as many of those sassy little faces as possible :) I just can't get enough of this girl.

Emilia HEARTS Grandma

Here are some cute pics of Emilia and Grandma from over the weekend :) As you can easily see - Emilia LOVES her Grandma! And as you can just as easily see...the feeling is mutual!

Beach Fun! (for some...)

On Friday afternoon, I picked up Emilia from daycare, treated us to a Jamba Juice and headed to the beach to enjoy some sun, sand, water and fun :) We called Kristy on the way to see if she wanted to join us...who DOESN'T want to spend a sunny afternoon with a bunch of 2 year olds and their moms!!?!? Lucky for us - she was up for the challenge!

We parked, gathered our gear and walked the short path to the beach. It was perfect! Sand and sunshine, shallow water and rocks...there's just one thing... Emilia was NOT having it! I thought the Charleston experience of Emilia not wanting to touch the sand may had just been due to her getting over a bad cold and not feeling quite like herself. This time, we were close to home and among friends her size, all of which were having a great time... But NO WAY. She curled those little legs up and stuck to my hip for most of the time there... Kristy was able to entice her with rocks for her bucket a couple times, but as soon as she realized her feet were touching the sand, she freaked. It was still fun to watch the other kids splash and play and it felt great to stand around in the water and soak up some sun...but a little more adventurous beach baby would have made it perfect for everyone!

Stayed tuned on this one...we're not giving up. She has way to many cute swimsuits and fun sand toys to throw in the towel this early in the summer...

4th of July Weekend

We spent our 4th of July weekend the way that we love...up on the Range with my family, enjoying traditional festivities and togetherness :) Shortly after getting to the cabin on Friday morning, Jeff and my Dad headed out to scuba dive by the golf course on a mission to come back with golf balls. Growing up, one of my FAVORITE things to do was head out in the canoe and go across the lake to scoop up those little gems. We never did anything with the balls - it was just so exciting to spot them on the bottom of the lake and scoop them up - like a mini treasure hunt. Well - let's just say, underwater is the place to BE when it comes to finding golf balls...check out this load!!

We thought this was going to be Emilia's year to really get into everything that is the "Fourth"...the fireworks, the parade, the candy...but it looks like "3" may be her year...not "2". She had a suit case full of red, white and blue, ready to look the part of a real 4th of July enthusiast. We decided to let her stay up late on Friday so we could watch the Eveleth fireworks. A quick family pic before we headed out to watch the fireworks. After the first firework went off, we realized, Emilia did NOT love the loud, bright "colors" and instead laid on Jeff's shoulder with her eyes tightly closed until it was over.

The next morning was the parade! We fueled her up with breakfast, handed her a little flag to wave and a bucket to collect candy, then took our spots for the parade. Once the parade started and the loud sirens starting blaring, she wanted "up-ie" and resorted back to her "Charleston legs" that would curl up when we attempted to stand her up on the ground. It was our job to collect "yummy's" for her tin as there was NO WAY she was going to participate.

After the parade, we headed up to the Elk's to cool off after the parade. Emilia enjoyed a blue raspberry sucker while the rest of us enjoyed a refreshment or two :) We got a 4 generation picture before heading back to the cabin for the BBQ and Bocce Ball Tournament. Emilia got a nap in and spent the rest of the day convincing anyone who would listen to give her a "yummy" and push her in the swing.

Sunday, we had a low key day with a birthday breakfast in the morning for my Grandpa and some sandbox and bubble time with Emilia, my Grandma and Auntie Amy :) I live for these moments.

We had a great time and are reminded how blessed we are that Emilia is able to know and love all 4 of my grandparents. It's so amazing to see the love they have for each other and nothing is sweeter then seeing her recognize just who they all are...Nonna, Nonno, Great Grampa and Great Gramma!