Making a Stepping Stone

Emily and I recently made a stepping stone for our good friend Aunt Amy for her birthday. She and Uncle Lane have a gorgeous backyard and we thought it would be fun to give them some Emily-inspired decor as a birthday gift. Emily had a great time and worked so hard to pick all of the glass pieces for the stone. She was very careful to point out to anyone who looked at it just which piece was her favorite - the purple one, of course!

Neat picture

I took this sweet picture of Abby and Emily at Nanny's this weekend. I love how the big barn looks in the background. We spent the afternoon sitting in rocking chairs under the carport while the girls played with Buddy, Uncle Larry's new dog, and begged for rides on the golf cart. They made me think of me, Shea, Amy, and Angie playing when we were little - alternately loving on each other and fighting with each other. In this picture, they are digging in the dirt, which was a major occupation for us when we were little. Nanny mentioned that she couldn't believe the things they let us do when we were little - we played in the creek and down at her lake without any adults, rode the four wheeler all over the woods with no helmet, and operated on nearly every citizen of Palmetto with our doctor's office. Shea and I spent long afternoons boiling water on the wood stove in my playhouse (it's a wonder we didn't set our hair on fire!) and knocking over ant hills. I wonder what our girls will get into as they get older?

Making Cupcakes

Emily and I had fun this weekend making cupcakes using a very cute kit that Linda and Angie gave her for her birthday. It has everything you need - from pan to mix - all in one set. We've established that I'm no pro at cooking real food but I am quite fond of baking. If it ever falls to me to have to provide meals for my family, we'll be living on cupcakes and cookies. Come to think of it, that doesn't sound like such a bad idea...

The shortening was a little difficult to dig out of the measuring spoon, but she tried REALLY hard! She also really wanted to crack the eggs but finally agreed to let me do it. She doesn't really like to get her hands sticky, anyway. Mommy's girl!

So proud that I finally agreed to do this with her. She has asked practically every day since Linda brought her gift over. Emily loves to get in the kitchen and mess around. When we cook dinner, she is usually standing by on her step stool and checking everything out. We usually cook pizza on Fridays (although we've gone to Partner's the last few weeks - her favorite) and she has a great time preparing the pizzas with us.

Gotta be really careful with this stuff! We've had some unfortunate incidents where most of the ingredients end up in the sink or on the floor. She did a great job this time! I love the way she has her tongue stuck out because she's concentrating so hard.

This is such a neat photo. You can see her reflection in the oven door glass. I think this is the first time that we've cooked together since we got the new stove and she kind of wanted to stand by and watch the cupcakes cook the whole time. We had to distract her with some Wow Wow Wubbzy while they baked.

Notice there are no pictures of us using the mixer? Donald had to take her in the bedroom at first because she hates the loud noise it makes. Then she decided that it wasn't so bad and agreed to stand by on her step stool so that she could watch- as long as he kept his hands over her ears! I convinced her that the mixer was a good thing - after all, baking just isn't the same unless you get to lick the beaters!

Just Showing Off

Emily has learned all kinds of great things at school these last few weeks. She knows that Johnny Appleseed went around planting seeds with a pot on his head, that an "ant feeder" is an animal that starts with the letter A, and that you can do some pretty great drawings using only a purple crayon. She has also learned to shout, "Hands off!" when little boys try to pinch her on the playground. Mommy had to give her a short self-defense lesson after several days of crying at recess. Turns out she was afraid to go play because a little boy pinched her and pulled on her shirt last week. I could think of other responses, but all of them were guaranteed to elicit a letter home from the teacher. The "hands off" technique seemed the least offensive! But back to my original purpose... Emily has learned lots of things at school and cooperated long enough for me to make a video of a song learned during music class with Miss Virginia. I love this! Hope you enjoy it, too.

Playing with Baby Jace

Emily had great fun playing with Baby Jace recently at Uncle Myrle's birthday party. She started off a little cranky but warmed up as soon as she realized that Baby Jace was a captive audience for all of her tricks. We caught her jumping on one foot for him - her favorite trick - and singing songs she's learned at school. It's amazing how much Jace looks like Shea's baby pictures. I have a terrible urge to dress him up in something frilly and then compare the pictures but I don't think that Shea and Wes would agree to that! At any rate, we snapped some cute pictures of all the kiddos playing with him and wanted to share them with you.

We kind of matched!

Checking to see if Zack did a good job on the grass

Taking a good look at the little guy

Snuggling with Nanny
She liked to rock Jace but needed a reminder to slow down the rocking!
Up close and personal
Group shot

Picnic in the Park

Donald and I took the girls for a picnic in our neighborhood park today after church. While Abby changed out of her church dress at her house, Donald and I drove all the way to Fairburn to find some gas - and then they only had premium! Yikes! Anyway, we swung back by, picked up Abby, and drove to our house to change. Following a minor dispute over what constituted good picnic clothes with Emily (she has recently gotten very picky about what she'll wear), we ran through the KFC drive-thru and picked up my version of a picnic lunch. Having both KFC and Taco Bell at the end of our street has done nothing for my waistline! We spread everything out on a blanket and had lunch and then had some fun playing. Emily and Abby had a great time with a "crispy" (Frisbee) that Abby got at the Tyrone Founder's Day parade yesterday. Abby worked on her monkey bar skills and Emily perfected the art of going down a slide face-first. Except for an unfortunate incident with some ants on Emily's feet, we had a great afternoon. Enjoy this lovely weather!

Showing off her new Frisbee

Hanging out on the tire swing

They like to play "ring around the Rosie" on the swing and then see how far they can walk without falling down

She almost made it all the way across!

Emily could swing for hours

So could Abby!
The camera wasn't fast enough to catch her throwing the "crispy" but she has a great arm!
Taking a break
Practicing some sweet skills with Daddy

Saturday Adventures

Donald, Emily, and I had a Saturday filled with adventures today. I woke up and spent the morning at Plumyumi Spa, courtesy of my Mother's Day gift (I took my time about using this one and really shouldn't have - I had a wonderful time!). While I was gone, Donald and Emily played with the doll house and even unearthed a doughnut in the playroom left over from her birthday party. A major archeological find! Once I got home, we all took a big nap and then headed out for some fun. First stop was the Farmer's Market to pick up some veggies for supper. Emily got to practice her Spanish - she can say "Thank you" and "I love beans" (Dora the Explorer and Mommy are helping her with her language skills.) Then we headed to Krispy Kreme in Riverdale for a snack. Emily was fascinated by the doughnut machine - especially when the doughnuts "take a shower in frosting." After a trip to Publix, we headed home for some much-needed rest. Gotta run - supper's almost ready!

Does Paula Deen have a recipe for cactus leaves?

Hitching a ride with Daddy

Choosing some peanuts - her favorites. She can't say "cacahuate" yet, though.

She loves the football doughnuts.

Yum!

An enormous bite!

Miracles DO happen!

I made meatloaf this week - and it was good! Meatloaf is a family joke at our house. I've attempted it several times and it has been a stunning failure each time. Don't tell me that this is an easy recipe to master. Meatloaf is a mystery that ranks right up there with the riddle of the Sphinx for me. Once my meatloaf even precipitated an argument that resulted in a broken refrigerator door at the Ellen Court house. Donald and I have agreed to disagree about the nature of that argument. Suffice it to say that sometimes even the most innocent comments can be miscontrued. I tried meatloaf again this week (thanks to a Paula Deen recipe) and produced a lovely meal, complete with green beans and mashed potatoes. Donald was responsible for the potatoes, with a big helping hand from Emily. These pictures were so cute that I wanted to share them with you. Plus, I felt I needed t0 document my culinary success. Most of you know that it doesn't happen all that often! And if you're wondering about the chenille jacket she's wearing...she wore it to school that morning because it was chilly and basically refused to take it off the rest of the day!

What'l Ya Have?

After church last week, the Farr House and the White House (along with Aunt Liz from the Steed House) caravaned to the Varsity for some lunch. Emily had her very first Frosted Orange and downed an entire hotdog (minus the bun - a true naked dog!), plus piles of fries and onion rings. Then she asked for ice cream. She surprises me sometimes - she can go for days without eating anything and then suddenly she turns into a bottomless pit. Perhaps she's part termite? We call it "filling up her tank." The girls had fun cruising the dining room and modeling their sassy paper hats. Emily had a great time blowing her straw papers (a mealtime tradition) at other nearby diners. You can't eat like that for every meal but it sure is good once in a while!

First Day of School

I can't believe our girl is big enough for this, but Emily started school last week and is having such a great time. The first day was really fairly drama-free. Donald and I took the day off work so that we could take her and pick her up for the first time. We thought we were off to a rough start because Emily didn't like any of the outfits I had picked out and refused to eat anything until I fixed her a plate of pancakes and let her eat them in the truck on the way to the church. Things sort of smoothed out from there - maybe her blood sugar was low! At any rate, when we got to the church, I was amazed at the savvy of the teachers - they whisked her into the room and us back up to the sanctuary for a parents' meeting, virtually eliminating any "lurking parents" - which I probably would have been. I almost had to sit on my hands during the meeting to keep from going downstairs and snatching her back up! I didn't even get a picture of her before school - I had to wait until we picked her up. Fortunately, her teacher was also Abby's teacher, so we know how wonderful she is. Also, we know several of the children in her class already and two friends of ours are teaching in classrooms nearby. All in all, a great situation. She comes home each day with something she's painted or colored, singing a new song, talking about who her friend was today, and with shoes full of sand from the playground. I'm so glad that she's having a good time and making friends. Maybe I'll have pictures of a play date sometime soon!

Smiling a funny smile at her desk. She sits with Henry and Helena.

Posing at her peg with a treat bag from Ms. Tonya. She was so proud of this!

Future Tiger Woods!

The Farr House and the White House got together recently to take the girls to play laser putt-putt in Newnan. I think we've discovered a new favorite past time for the girls. They had a great time playing, athough they were more interested in climbing all over the huge zoo animals than actually playing golf. I pity the poor couple who was playing behind us. They were obviously on a date and Emily kept running back to snatch their balls and throw them in the mouths and between the legs of various animal friends. We finally had to let them play through so they could get on with their game. We had lots of fun posing the girls for pictures - you know my camera is never far away - and have promised to bring them back for laser bowling some time soon. Anyone want to go with us? It looks like lots of fun!

Happy Third Birthday!

We had a big weekend - Emily turned three! It is crazy to think that it's been three years already. She's such a big girl - and SO opinionated all of a sudden! She has loads of personality and is so much fun to play with every day. We had a fiesta at the White House with friends and family to celebrate her big day. She specifically asked for green beans, also, so that's now a new staple of mexican fare. She had a blast and has thoroughly enjoyed all of her gifts. Because her birthday was actually on Sunday, I baked her a cake (strawberry cake with strawberry icing at her request) and she shared it with Abby before opening up her gift from Mommy and Daddy - a Dora scooter. She reminded us (negligent parents) that we did not purchase a helmet and kneepads like the girl on the package, so we had to make another trip to Target the next day to make the necessary purchases so that she can scoot around the house in well-cushioned safety. Thanks to everyone who joined us at the fiesta and helped us to celebrate our big girl's birthday. Sorry about all of the pictures - how's a mommy to choose?

Picture from her party invitation-very cha cha cha!

Doughnuts are our birthday tradition. The cake tower is a gift from Papa.

Hitching a ride on Nanny's scooter

Some love for Amy
Abby plays glamazon with the new dress-up trunk

Happy birthday!
She loved all of her shoes and insisted on trying them all on.
A doll house!
I love this picture of Em and Jackson - their expressions are so cute!

T.C. enjoys a good game of Candyland as much as anybody.

Super snazzy letters from Vickie, Shea, Wes, and Jace
Making jewelry with Rhonda - Her purse of activities kept Emily occupied all during church the next day!
Playing dress-up with her new accessories. Notice that she's changed clothes? She insisted on trying on her new outfit from Amy and Abby.
What could be in this big box? Love her outfit? She picked it out herself.
It's a scooter! Check out all the carnage in the background. Someone should make environmentally friendly toy packaging!

Time for cake. It's a really cute giant cupcake but let's be honest - I don't frost well. Good thing she's not judgmental.Yum! Crazy hair - she's lost her barrette.
Abby helps make a wish. Em insisted on purple party hats and then wouldn't wear hers - she doesn't like the elastic.
Playing house together. Notice llama's on the couch - never far away!