E & ME

Saturday, June 11, 2011

Play time at the pool

Emma and I invited a few friends to come play at the pool. When our pool first opened in May, Emma was not a fan of going under the water or jumping in and after only 3 weeks of playing at the pool, she now LOVES swimming, jumping, blowing bubbles and even going under the water. I am amazed to see how quickly she changes. Swim lessons will begin June 20 and I'll be interested to see what all our wonderful, swim teacher can get Emma to do. The pool has a concession stand this year with all kinds of snacks, but of course the popsicles are by far Emma's favorite. We can't enter the pool area without her first asking for a popsicle. It's a nice treat and at 25 cents a piece, why not! Here are a few pictures of our fun play time with friends at the pool....

The girls enjoying a popsicle break

When asked what color she wanted, she hesitated first to see what color her swim suit was and then asked for purple!

"1,2,3,8,9,10...GO"

Summer Sisters

We are blessed to have Taylor and Anna spend every summer with us. They get about 6 weeks here in South Carolina before they have to head back to Iowa for the next school year. Emma loves when they come to visit and we always hate to see them go. Of course, it's a huge blessing to me because they are live in babysitters and love to spend time with Emma (while I cook, fold laundry, vacuum etc). After only being here for one week, we have already had so much fun. Here are a few pictures of the trip so far.....

The Big Sisters came bearing gifts...

So happy to get her Pretty, Pretty Princess game

Big thank you hugs

Slip Slidin' in the backyard

Headed to the beach

Lunch time!

Emma was so close to napping on the beach after 3 hours - we were not so lucky and she got her second wind as we loaded the car up and drove an hour back to Summerville.

Tuesday, June 7, 2011

Mother's Morning Out...WITH KIDS!

Emma and I have made some wonderful friends through our church here in Summerville. Our group tries to get together as often as possible, so the kids can play and the mothers can catch up. Of course our talks always involve what our kids are up too and the latest and greatest "trends" for ourselves and our children. I always enjoy our time together and it's a joy to watch Emma play with her friends and develop such great friendships at such a young age. Even though Emma was having an off day and seemed to enjoy the word "NO" and shed many tears. Especially after a major fall in the park which scrapped her knee up and she managed to limp around the rest of the day (I am still not sure if it was because the injury was so terrible or if it's just because she's a drama loving 2 year old). After an hour in the sprinklers, we enjoyed a picnic lunch in the park and a little play time. Thanks to my wonderful friends for making it a great Monday morning out!

The perfect ballerina!

Sweet girls!

How precious!

"Bow Heads"...as Grandma would say!

Friday, June 3, 2011

"Dreams really do come true..."

Since we moved to our new home in Arbor Oaks, Emma has peeked through the fence at our neighbors swing set. She often would ask if it was her turn to go swing, but when you don't own the swing set yourself it's not like you can just walk over to your neighbors and have a little swing. It become our "dream" to get Emma her very own big, girl swing set. Thanks to Grandma, that dream came true for us and Emma. Dan and Arron worked very hard one Saturday afternoon to get it all set up for her and by 3:00 that afternoon, Emma's swing set was ready. It took her a few days to get comfortable playing on it, but it has quickly become the hottest item in the yard. To see her laughing and smiling while running up and down the slide was so much fun and we look forward to many years on this wonderful gift from Grandma. As they say in Disney...Dreams really do come true!!!

Goodbye Again!

After a wonderful month of visiting with TeTe (Lauren) and Uncle Spence (Arron), it was time to say goodbye again to them this morning. As a very close family, our goodbyes are always hard and now that Emma is old enough and aware of people being here it was specifically hard to watch her say goodbye to 2 people she loves so dearly. All the great memories from their trip are what kept me from breaking down on the drive home from Charleston Airport. I did have my moment after reading a sweet letter TeTe left for Emma on her table. We read the letter together tonight while doing our bedtime routine. I couldn't help but feel a huge empty spot in my heart knowing they would not be watching TV when i walked out of the room. As the tears come flooding down, sweet Emma looked at me and said "Don't cry Mommy, I'll keep you safe. I'll keep you Mommy". Well I am most certain she will keep me...and keep me safe, she's not far from doing that either. I know I am blessed when my little 2 year old understands and then consoles me. It doesn't get much sweeter than that! Enjoy a few pictures of the last month with TeTe and Uncle Spence....