End of Year Party and Latest Obsession

Today is Emmy Cate’s last day in her class at school that she has been in for the past year!  She has learned so much there as a 1 year old … to talk, run, jump, climb, colors, numbers, letters, and the list goes on!!  She has a great group of friends and we are happy that they will all be joining her in the two year old room down the hall! 

I met her new teachers and they seem so wonderful!!  They are going to have a great time in their new room where they have their own cubbies, access to a much larger playground, and even a computer in their room!!  Potty training will be in full force from Day1, they aren’t allowed to drink out of sippy cups, no “crutches” during naptime, they eat meals family style and serve themselves (heaven help those poor teachers), and my two favorite things – they start Spanish lessons and ballet!  Can you tell I’m slightly excited?

Last week was the End of Year party where the kids bounced, decorated cookies, ate plenty of goodies, danced, and played with 3 bubble machines!  (Bad picture alert: I forgot the real camera so these are from my phone with poor lighting)         

                                

The attempt at a group picture and trying to round up all of the munchkins:

Until Emmy Cate had had enough ….

So I thought this day would never, ever come, but Emmy Cate has actually started sitting still for the first time in 26 months!!  She finally decided that watching tv was worth it and I bet I have heard “Wanna watch ______ (insert one of 3 shows: Mickey, Dora, or Curious George) on the TV” a million times already.  Here is the proof …. three separate days I caught her entranced …. Can you believe it??!!!

               

No idea why she has that paci in her mouth or where she got that!

Visit with Cousins

Mandy, Gary, Macy and Makayla were in town this weekend and Emmy Cate was through the roof excited to visit with them!  Emmy Cate also got to play with Haley and baby Noah, and Reagan and Riley, big girls who were sooooo cool because they were much older and wiser.  Of course when they first see each other, it takes a minute for them to warm up, but before long they were running around!  We tried to get an outdoor photo op, but they were quickly distracted by the play kitchen.

After that wore off, we were able to get 2 of the 3 of them to sit for the picture …

But even after EC’s urging “Macy sit here”, we just couldn’t get full cooperation, Macy wasn’t having it …

But we were able to coax some smiles with a few tickles!

After that, dinner, mainly consisting of corn on the cob for EC (the only vegetable she will eat), was a big hit, but not as good as the popsicles!!

Splash Park: A Friend’s Birthday

EC and I hit a friend from school’s birthday party at a Splash Park near the house.  We had a blast!!  After going to the pool last weekend, and then having splash day at school on Friday, the whole “play in the water” concept has really gained popularity around here!!

On the left is the kind of picture you get when EC runs at full speed toward the camera!  Cozy Coupes are always a big hit, even with a splash park and massive playground nearby.  Especially if you can fit 2 kids in there.  

Cupcake time!  All of the kids were ready.  The blue icing was inhaled by each kid, 1/2 in their mouth, and 1/2 on cheeks, chin, noses, arms, legs, tummys, fingers ….

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Happy Memorial Day!

The club kicked off the summer swim season with a pool party today.  We made the good decision to let EC nap and then head up there.  It was the first time for us to hit the pool this season and we wanted everything to go perfectly so Emmy Cate would have a good experience with the water. 

She took all of 0.3 seconds to warm up and was totally fearless of the water.  We bought her a swim float thing similar to a life jacket, but realized it wasn’t enough to keep her afloat.  She wants to do everything herself, including swimming and running to the edge of the pool and jumping in without us!!  She definitely got face fulls of water by being a little too independent in the water, but it never phased her.  Next up is a pair of arm swimmies.  Hopefully with enough floats she can gain independence and not drown!!

 

 

Emmy Cate’s Sweet Shoppe

Our little girl is already 2!  We had quite the party to celebrate!!  Emmy Cate had such a blast, I don’t think we could have planned it any better for her.  She loved every second of it.  We had a great crowd, about 50 people.  After a few beers (adults), a petting zoo (kids), we grilled out hamburgers and hot dogs to feed the crowd.  The party started at 3 and the last guests didn’t leave until 8:30.  It was a lot of fun!

The theme was Emmy Cate’s Sweet Shoppe and we had plenty of cakes, cupcakes and candy!

             

 

 

 

Unfortunately, this was the first day of 90+ degree temps so it was a little steamy outside!

 

 

 

The biggest hit was the petting zoo!  There were baby bunnies, a sheep, baby goats, a pony, baby chickens and big chickens.  Emmy Cate stayed with the animals the whole time they were here and petted and held lots of bunnies and fed the goats.  She LOVES animals.

  

       

    

   

  All of the kiddos enjoyed their cupcakes, but the bigger hit was the Smarties that were in the centerpieces.  

 

   

   

  

           

Happy Birthday Sweet Girl!!  We love you!!