Cookies and Milk

Emma and Daddio set out cookies and milk for Santa on Christmas Eve. One cookie, two cookies, three cookies, . . . and a glass milk . . . dumped all over the plate of cookies. Oops! We think Emma was trying to move the large mug when it tipped over. She was a little upset and asked Scott to get it off. I jumped to clean it up, but Scott said, "No, get a picture!" Emma also left some carrots for the reindeer. Santa and Rudolph must have liked them a lot, because there were only crumbs left! (Emma was willing to nibble on buttered toast in the late morning on Christmas Day. It was all she ate that day.)

Christmas Eve

It was on Christmas Eve that Emma began running a fever, refusing to eat, and would only drink milk. We opened some presents from each other, took a bath, and set out cookies for Santa. Emma was not enjoying our traditions much. She was generally uncomfortable. At times she had energy, but then would lay down and want to rest. We thought that she was battling a virus or maybe getting a cold. After a trip to the doctor and over a week of numerous symptoms (not eating was the most disturbing) we caught a glimpse of her two-year molars popping through! Well, two of her molars are visible. I guess this means we'll have to experience it all over when the other two decide to emerge! I think her new Mickey Mouse drum and all of her other wonderful presents brought her some comfort.

Christmas Card

Emma rarely pauses long enough for pictures. She'd much rather take the photos. Here are a few fun pictures we took in an attempt to create our Christmas card this year.

First Snow

When we got our first snow in early December, Emma was eager to get out and play. We were all bundled up, but I still thought it was mighty cold. We jumped in the deep snow, scooped with little shovels, and rode around in the sled . . . once. Emma preferred to be IN the snow. She was so upset when we decided to come in after 25 minutes. Yes, we are wimps, well, I am. I thought her two pairs of mittens and coat sleeves were not staying overlapped. It was also spitting an icy snow. I think I'll make a pair of wrist warmers to bridge the gap before our next snowy adventure.

The Elf on the Shelf

Grandma Connie and Papa Ross gave Emma "The Elf on the Shelf" over Thanksgiving weekend. Our North Pole elf, Bobby, will visit us from December 1 until December 24 every year and let Santa know if Emma's been naughty or nice on a daily basis. Bobby moves to different places throughout our house to observe from on high. Children can talk to the elf, but are not allowed to touch him. Each day Emma searched for Bobby saying, "Bobby, where arrrrrrre yoooooou?"

Christmas at Thanksgiving

We celebrated Christmas one month early with Scott's brother, sister-in-law, and niece while they are visiting from North Carolina over Thanksgiving weekend. It's a joy to watch the girls together. They had so much fun opening gifts from each other as well as presents from Great-Grandma Charlotte, Aunt Cindy, Uncle Ralph, and Aunt Melody. The Handy Manny toolbox was a huge hit! Grandma and Grandpa Foley had the house trimmed with Christmas decor to set the mood for our early celebration. It was a special time for everyone.

Oh, Christmas Tree

This year Scott, Emma, and I bought a new pre-lit Christmas tree. As we unpacked it from the box, our little assistant helped us put it together. We took a few pictures in the beginning because she was so excited and right in the mix with Scott as he worked on the base. Since we began this project the week before Thanksgiving, we waited until the following week to add the decorations.

Spirit of Giving

Supporting a charity is one of our holiday traditions. Each November we select an organization in need and take Emma out to buy the items. The first year we created a gift package for "Operation Christmas Child" through our church. Last year we donated several games to "Toys for Tots." This year we purchased a girl's winter coat, hat, and mittens for "Coats for Kids." As Emma gets older, she'll be able to help us select the charity and have a greater voice in choosing the items. We feel it is important to instill the spirit of giving, particularly during the season when kids think so much about getting gifts. Even though Emma really liked the coat, she was happy to give it away to a little girl in need.

Impromptu Art Time

Emma wanted to do some impromptu art one Saturday afternoon. So I threw together a tissue paper tree project and a rainbow shape project. But don't get too impressed with our little Picasso. I guided her with each step. Emma is excellent a naming all of her colors and shapes. I tried to toss in little lessons on parts of a tree (trunk, branches, leaves), color variations (light green, dark green, light red, dark red), and counting.

Trick-or-Treat

This Halloween we had a warm outdoor monkey outfit for Emma and a lighter indoor firefighter costume to wear to her babysitter's house. She loved the firefighter gear, though only kept the coat and hat on for a few minutes at a time. The walkie talkie, hose, ax, and fire extinguisher were enough to please Emma. Getting her to put on the toasty monkey outfit was more of a challenge. Halloween evening was very cold, so there was no way we were going to consider the firefighter costume. But it really didn't matter, because Emma refused to get dressed and insisted she did not want to go trick-or-treating. We decided to hand out candy on our front porch and see if she was interested in the other little kids going door to door asking for treats in their Halloween costumes. No, this did not convince her that dressing up in her monkey costume was going to be fun. She was content giving out candy. After almost an hour, she finally relented and put it on for . . . well we made it to three houses before she wanted it off. We already know many of our new neighbors well, so we rushed to some of their homes first. I'm glad we did. Since she wasn't fond of dressing up, I only have a these few pictures to share. The first was taken by Grandma Connie at her house. Again, Emma had the full firefighter gear on for 30 seconds, so I'm glad she had a camera handy.

Fall is in the Air

After purchasing hay bales, pumpkins, mums, Indian corn, and gourds at a local home improvement store and Rader Farm, we decorated our front porch. We also picked up some Halloween yard decorations, which Emma helped me stick into the landscaping. She had a great time lining up the gourds on the bales and playing in the mulch while I finalized the arrangement.

Pumpkin Patch

One Sunday afternoon we ventured to a local family farm to search for more pumpkins and enjoy some traditional fall activities. We ran into several different friends who were also visiting the farm, which were nice surprises. Emma's favorite activities were playing in the corn crib, seeing the animals, and selecting mini-pumpkins in the patch. We also took a hayride, sat on a tractor, "rode" a wooden horse, and listened to folksingers perform. There were several other attractions aimed at older kids. It gives her something to look forward to when we go back next year. By the end of our trip, Emma was tuckered out. You can see in one of the final wagon pictures that she had her fill of fun for the day.

Pumpkins Creations

It's pumpkin time! Scott did the official carving, but Emma was a great assistant scooper. She liked the texture of the slimy seeds and stringy innards. We also used plastic "Mr. Potato Head" type jack-o-lantern pieces to create funny faces on three other pumpkins.

ISU Homecoming Parade

We took Emma to the ISU Homecoming parade in mid-October. It was a bit chilly, but warmed up considerably during the 2 hour event! Emma loved collecting the candy and seeing the different marchers.

Terrific Trees

We've added four more trees to our yard! The nursery was having a fall sale--50%! We paid to have them delivered and planted. It was a damp, cold September morning when the guys came, but they made short work of it. There are now three October glory maple trees in the backyard along the sidewalk and a flowering pear outside the kitchen window. We have done quite a bit of additional landscaping ourselves this fall. The sales were good, so we popped on the deals. Our landscape plan includes a lot of beds, which means many plants. We'll work on adding more in the spring and again next fall.

B-town Parade 2010

We had a great time watching the bands, floats, and performers at the B-town Fall Fun Festival parade a few weekends ago. Emma collected a lot of candy in her Winnie the Pooh bag. A nice little boy kept bringing her pieces because he wanted to share. He also sat near us last year and gave Emma a lot then as well. He was such a sweetie! We don't even let Emma eat candy, but she had fun dropping the pieces into her bag. We'll see how long we can get away with that! The American flag and political balloon may have been her favorite goodies. They kept her entertained during the hour long parade.

Summer Art with Dee

Emma's babysitter, Dee, often does art projects with the kids. During the first few weeks the school year, the kids made a blue bird, camp-out door dec, and firefly glowstick necklace. Emma just loves sharing her artwork with us when she brings them home.

Daddy's First Day

After two years at home raising Emma, Scott ventured back to work this school year. On his first day with students, Emma helped Daddio get ready by bringing him his shoes and showing him exactly how to put them on. She also wanted to give him some words of advice and a big hug. Emma is usually eating breakfast when he leaves now, but she still reminds him about a few things before he walks out the door. "Daddio, don't forget your lunch and coffee!"

More Water Fun

Since Emma had so much fun with the water features at the park, we took her back for one last summer hurrah! She was particularly interested in the fire hydrants, which rotated 360 degrees. She could really whip them around and catch us. Check out the picture with Scott.

Merry Ride

Emma loves merry-go-rounds. So when we met Grandma and Grandpa Foley in Springfield for lunch one day this summer, we stopped at the mall to ride the colossal carousel. She handed the attendant her ticket before entering, expertly selected her horse, smiled ear to ear as we went round and round, and got a pony stamp on her hand while exiting.