Father's Day Art

The girls made unique Father's Day gifts at school.  Lauren's teachers took a picture of her wearing a daddy tie and had a photo card printed with a sweet quote.  Emma's teacher took a series of pictures.  The chalkboard says, "I love you because . . . you draw me pictures of Batman and Batgirl . . . you help me color in pictures . . . Happy Father's Day 2013!  Emma also made an "iDad" with words that describe Scott (funny, joker, nice, sweet, silly, fun).

Cuddle Buddies

Lauren was willing to sit still momentarily with her sister because she wanted Emma's drink.  Luckily, it was just water and Emma had not had a sip, yet.  Whatever the reason for the brief embrace, these little cuddle buddies are adorable!

Playin' My Way

Kids love to get into boxes, right?  Well, Lauren insists on sitting in the small tubs from her toy organizer.  No matter how many times we tell and show her that the bigger tubs are a more comfortable fit, she stuffs herself into the little ones.  It's no obstacle for Lauren.  She can play with her toys all the while.

Jack-o-lanterns

Construction paper + scissors + glue = FUN! Mommy and Daddy cut out the facial features for a family of jack-o-lanterns. Emma helped arrange the pieces and rearrange the pieces. Tearing off the eyes and mouths before they were completely dry was entertaining as well.

BPL Halloween Story Hour

When Grandma and Grandpa Foley found out Scott was taking Emma to the morning Bloomington Public Library Halloween Story Hour, they just had to see little Emma dressed up as a ladybug, so they drove all the way up that very morning! Emma the ladybug and Scott the entomologist started out on the top floor of the BPL to take part in the children's parade. There they both met their hero, Curious George! After the parade, all the children worked their way down to the story room on the main floor, where the kids delighted in a Halloween-themed story. Emma loved checking out all the other kids and putting on a cute show for Grandma Connie and Papa Ross!

NPL Halloween Story Night

The Normal Public Library always puts on spectacular events for children, but they outdid themselves with the Halloween Story Night. All of the employees were dressed up and, along with the stories they read and songs they sang, had a room full of games, activities, and treats for all the little ones. Emma loved seeing all the fun costumes and fluttered about from station to station, just like a real ladybug! We dressed up as entomologists and wore lab coats with bugs hanging out of the pockets. Emma was our prize specimen!

Art Time

We were looking for an art activitiy appropriate for a 15-month-old, so I tore up pieces of construction paper like leaves for Emma to manipulate on a torn paper tree. Then we showed her how to use the glue, but sealed it up before letting her "glue" her own pieces. She LOVED it!

P.S. This is our 250th post!

Borders Spooktacular

Borders' Bookstore held a Halloween Spooktacular for little ones on the Saturday before All Hallows' Eve. They read aloud books, held a mummy wrap competition, gave away candy, offered coloring pages, and paraded around the store for customers. Ladybug Emma preferred to flitter around and explore the books and toys. Corny, the B-N baseball team mascot, posed with us for a picture as well.

If You Give A Mouse A Cookie

The Normal Public Library had a family story hour on Saturday morning with a special guest. The mouse from If You Give A Mouse A Cookie by Laura Numeroff came to reenact his most popular story. There were coloring pages, a matching game, snacks, and a photo op, too. Emma wasn't too sure about her new furry friend. Can you see how she is clinging to Scott?

Pumpkin Decorating

Scott had a good time decorating two small pumpkins with funny face pieces that Grandma and Grandpa Schultz bought for Emma. She was quite active as we attempted to do this family project: climbing the stairs, playing with CDs and DVDs, taking comic books off of the shelves, typing on the antique typewriter, running around with the TV remote, reading books, etc. We managed to get a few pictures of the times she joined the fun!

Curtis Orchard

On a 60+ degree Sunday, we took Emma to Curtis Orchard in Champaign. My parents met us over there for an afternoon of fall fun. We took a wagon ride, walked through a maze, met ducks and goats, ate in the cafe, explored the pumpkins, and played on the kiddie equipment. Our favorite activity was the pony ride!

Waking Up Is Hard To Do

When I arrived home from work one day, I found Scott in the kitchen washing dishes and Emma asleep on her Super Girl pillow in the family room. This tired tike had decided to skip her nap and was too tuckered out to keep her eyes open at 5:00 P.M. Since it was time for dinner and we wanted her to go to bed and sleep through the night, we decided to end her cat nap.

Emma's Purse and Chair

Grandpa Mike bought Emma a little purse, and she had such fun carrying it on her arm during a visit in early October. Grandma Jill's decorations soon became Emma's toys as well. Here she found a teddy bear in a small wicker chair on the sun porch, but it wasn't the bear she was interested in!

River Otter Snuggle

On our way to Decatur, we turned around to find a little girl snuggled up with her river otter about to doze off. It was a gift from Grandma and Grandpa Foley during their recent trip to the zoo.