Emma participated in the public library's summer reading program and earned prizes for her reading endeavors. One of her selections was a free pass to a local gymnasium for a one-hour open gym. She took to the floor like a fish to water! The trampolines and balance beams were her favs. She was very thirsty and tired as the time came to a close, but excited to have had the opportunity.
Emma made a few art projects for Father's Day with her babysitter, but I forgot to get a picture of them until now. Scott displayed them in his office right away. He is so proud of his generous little artist.
Have you noticed that there are an excessive number of blog posts for the month of July? Well, I still have several more to share. July is turning out to be a very busy month for us. We have a lot of things going on, including an upcoming trip to North Carolina to visit family. In my rush to do laundry before leaving, I unknowingly knocked an entire roll of toilet paper into the washing machine. I was trying to get the last little dribble out of the laundry soap bottle, so I turned it upside down and propped it up on the shelf above the washer and dryer as I loaded the basin. (By the way, we store our extra paper towels, tissues, and toilet paper in our laundry room.) When I stepped out to grab a few more items, I heard the bottle fall. I didn't realize it had bumped a TP roll directly into the sudsy water. When the wash cycle ended, I was completely perplexed. It took me almost 3 minutes to figure out what had happened and many, many hours to clean it all by hand in the tub. Unless you have experienced this yourself, you have no idea!
One day while Emma was at the babysitter's, Scott and I swapped her crib for one of the guest room queen beds. We have a plan to look for a headboard, nightstand, dresser, and bedding in the coming weeks. For now, Emma is overjoyed with her big girl bed! Can you see the excitement in her flailing legs? (She does not sleep with all of those stuffed animals. We just threw them on her bed for a bit of fun.)
Scott treated the neighborhood kids to the classic volcano demonstration. After hyping it up for two weeks, he finally constructed it and invited everyone over to watch. Even the adults ventured over to see the explosion!
I put together a Handy Manny party for Emma to celebrate her birthday at Dee's house with all of her friends. There were mini cupcakes, fruit snacks, center pieces with balloons, games, songs, stickers and favor bags for the kids to take home . . . and it was ALL Handy Manny! Dee had a few presents for Emma. I got a picture of her wearing the fairy costume when she got home that afternoon.
You'll only need a balloon and a carbonated beverage in a bottle for this experiment. Place the balloon over the neck of the bottle. Gently shake it. Watch the carbonation fizz and create air that fills the balloon.
For this experiment, we used a raw potato and drinking straws. First, the neighborhood kids each tried to jam a straw into the potato and discovered that the straw bent. Then Scott told them to hold their thumbs over the top of a new straw and try it again. This time the straw easily penetrated the potato. Why? When the thumb covered the end of the straw, it trapped in air, which made the straw a stronger structure. The trapped air prevented the straw from bending. Cool science!
Our local library hosts great events and we were lucky enough to attend yet another. The ventriloquist, Lisa Laird, presented her "Stories are Magic" program. Her company is called Pockets Full of Fun, and the audience certainly enjoyed all of her puppets and voices. After the performance, the children were able to make their own TP tube hand puppets. Emma chose the red paper, curling ribbon, googly eyes, a foam star, and buttons. Her friend, Natalia, was also there, so the girls had a nice time crafting together.
After lunch we enjoyed the shade over the pool. Emma has a special bond with Donnie the dolphin. He isn't a ride-on toy, but Emma sure tries her best to balance on him. Scott and I have to hold the float and Emma as we move around the pool, and it's quite a show. I didn't include any of those pictures for good reason. Relaxing on the real rafts and tubes was a lot of fun. As you can see, swimming can really make a girl hungry.
We spent the 4th of July in Decatur with Grammy Jill and Papa Mike. Emma had a box of red, white, and blue things (necklaces, bracelets, leis, glasses, balls, slinkies, flags, etc.) that she brought to enhance our celebration. It was a great day for hanging out on the three-seasons porch and in the pool.
