Thankful for a kids' table--especially the kids part

Finally! A thanksgiving dinner with a kids’ table and I am not sitting there! Aha! So, this is what it feels like! The Jacksons (sans Linda who was out of town but we missed her!) came over yesterday for Thanksgiving and we had a great time. Emmy and Solomon sat at a little table that was Momma’s when she was a little girl. I say that they sat there, more like they  came to the table to pick up food so that they could ‘graze’ while they continued to play. As seen in the pictures, Emmy really likes ketchup.

 

The kids had great fun playing outside afterwards—riding Emmy’s fourwheeler, getting pushed in the Beetle, getting pulled in the wagon and playing at the sandtable.

 

I am so, so thankful for these beautiful children. And for all of the people that love them so very much.

 

Worth the fight

Well, she fought it and we stood our ground and she is napping in her bed!!

Big girl bed

Not sure how tonight will go but for now she loves her big girl bed.

I want that!!

Every commercial that comes on Emmy says "I want that!" I was afraid it was going to be a really expensive Christmas. Then, a Bare Minerals makeup commercial and said she wanted it too.

Me to Emmy: "are you supposed to be in that?"
Emmy: "NO"
Me: "No what?"
Emmy: "NO MA'AM!"

It's a beautiful, chilly morning!

Last night, we got home really late because I got stuck in traffic heading to get Emmy Ruth. She was having so much fun when I got there that we played the whole way home. She had worn a sweat suit to the sitter so we didn’t have a coat to deal with before getting in the car. We were singing to her Sunday School CD and the song “I’ve got Joy” was playing and she would sing out “WHERE?” and I would sing back “Down in my heart!” and she thought that was the funniest thing ever.

 

This morning she woke up on her own about 15 minutes before her normal time so we got to hang out and cuddle on the couch for a while before we left home. It seemed to make a big difference. That and I let her wear her hot pink hard hat that she got in Gulf Shores to hunt for crabs. Apparently, it’s all in the little things.

Fighting a battle--and losing

I very vividly remember a conversation with a coworker when he first started working with us. He was telling me about his two year old son and how the night before he was having trouble getting him to brush his teeth. Of course, I didn’t say this, but all I could think was, “What do you mean? He’s two! Make him do it”. Apparently, even thoughts can come back and bite you. 

 

Now, Emmy’s favorite new word is “NO!” I am trying not to act like it bothers me, because I don’t want to encourage it so I simply say, “No what?” and get her to say “No, ma’am”. I feel it’s a fair trade. She can be a little snot but, by God, she better be a polite little snot.  Last night, Tara and Lucas came over to play. Emmy refused to even converse with me, going so far as to tell ME to stop dancing during Yo Gabba Gabba! and sitting in Tara’s lap and calling her “mommy”. I know that she doesn’t see Tara as much as she sees boring old Mama but I can’t help that it did sting a little. Lucas of course, was the little genius the entire time reciting the states for us, so he couldn’t have cared less. After they left and Emmy was properly bathed, she wouldn’t let me put a diaper on her. I debated the theory of just holding her down and doing it but decided for the sake of everyone’s sanity, I would just let John do it, that she was happy to oblige.

 

I know that she is just becoming independent and testing her boundaries, and of course she loves me.

I know that she is just becoming independent and testing her boundaries, and of course she loves me.

I know that she is just becoming independent and testing her boundaries, and of course she loves me.

I know that she is just becoming independent and testing her boundaries, and of course she loves me.

I know that she is just becoming independent and testing her boundaries, and of course she loves me.

I know that she is just becoming independent and testing her boundaries, and of course she loves me.

I know that she is just becoming independent and testing her boundaries, and of course she loves me.

I know that she is just becoming independent and testing her boundaries, and of course she loves me.

I know that she is just becoming independent and testing her boundaries, and of course she loves me.

I know that she is just becoming independent and testing her boundaries, and of course she loves me.

I know that she is just becoming independent and testing her boundaries, and of course she loves me.

I know that she is just becoming independent and testing her boundaries, and of course she loves me.

I know that she is just becoming independent and testing her boundaries, and of course she loves me.

 

(… I am just going to keep repeating it so that I don’t get too perturbed!)

 

 

 

We kissed and made up

After Emmy spending all night enamored with her daddy, she finally woke up this morning and was okay with me again. She told me she loved me and we bought snacks for her to take to MeeMee’s today. All must be well in her little world again.

 

Every day when we get home, I ask “who lives here” as we pull into the driveway and every day she says “Daddy”. I ask “and Mama? And Emmy?” All I get in return is “no, Daddy”. What is it with little girls and their daddies? It’s pretty darn sweet.

 

Hiding

I am in the bathroom right now hiding from an Emmy tantrum. If she has snapped "no!" once she has a thousand times. She brought me a stackful of books and when I asked if she wanted me to read them she screamed "NO!". Alrighty.... Only sixteen and a half years to go.

Twenty one months

I love love love that when I whisper “I love you” to Emmy, she whispers it back to me and then we give each other Eskimo kisses. It’s quite possibly my favorite thing these days. Sometimes I think that I just don’t realize how many words and phrases that she does say until I sit down and try think of them. She has certainly got “come on, daddy” down pretty close to perfect. She says it all the time and she wants him with her everywhere she goes and for all she does. The other night, John was installing pedestals under the washer and dryer in the basement for me so Emmy and I were hanging out down there, just in case he got trapped under a massive pile of laundry. There is an old chest that was actually my mother’s grandmother’s that I just couldn’t get rid of when we cleaned the house in Wynne. It is in the basement as Emmy’s dress up chest now, with all of Grandma Jackson’s costume jewelry in it. I turned around and Emmy was standing in the middle of her play area wearing about twenty necklaces and needing help getting more of them untangled. She is definitely a little girl—thank goodness, I don’t know what I would do with a tomboy!

 

There is a new Barbie commercial out for the holidays that makes me cry every time I see it. There are several women my age talking about having Barbies when they were kids and one even described the Barbie mansion that I had as a kid! At the end, a little voice says “Mommy, will you play Barbie with me?” and I immediately jump up to grab and kiss Emmy—knowing that all too soon, that little voice of hers is going to be a memory since she is growing up so quickly already.

 

We are still in Yo Gabba Gabba! heaven around here. We watch it daily and still get the same excitement from it.  She wore a shirt with Brodee on it the other day and when I held it up to put on her, she exclaimed “BABBA!” The best part is that when John or I dance to it, she gets mad and tells us to stop. I suppose that is the terrible twos coming a little early.

 

Last night, she wouldn’t let me get into my own bed. Yes, I know, yes, she needs to get out of our bed but she is still sleeping with us. Last night, she patted her pillow and said, “Night, night Daddy” but when I got in bed, she said “NO!” I ended up having to put her in time out because she continued at it for a while. I can’t help but giggle at her in time out, she’s so dramatic! I wonder where she gets that from… her Yia Yia, of course.

Just a normal Saturday

We are getting hardwood floors in our dining and living rooms and hallway today. Emmy, John and I are hiding out in the basement while the work is taking place. Of course, Emmy has all of her costume jewelry on at the same time. And then Daddy had to wear them as well and I am getting bejeweled as I type this.

Socks

Emmy's birthday post will be coming soon for her 21st month. I didn't feel like I could do it right now. I have been sick for two weeks now and found out yesterday I have pneumonia. Argh! I put on momma's red hat socks this morning to see if that made me feel better and it has worked well, I am sure that is why anyway.

Weekend plans are to stay in the house and keep Emmy and John well.
Q

Weekends at AunTees

Emmy stayed with the Salinas family Saturday night. They had a wonderful time!

The Purse again

MeMaw took a nap today holding her purse in her sleep. Pre nap photo-this is how she dresses on Mama's vacation day.

The Purse

Emmy just emptied her purse on to my bed. There were several crayons, a bracelet, a toy phone and fried rice. I can't tell you the last time we had Chinese food so I am little frightened. That silly pink purse goes every where she goes. Right now, she is sitting on my lap with it while I try to type. Because I am off tomorrow for Veteran's Day, I went ahead and took a vacation day today as well. Since I am home, I thought we could work on wearing big girl panties. She sits on her little potty with her purse right beside her on the floor.

Aunt Pat, you did a great job picking out this purse!!!

Happy Birthday, Momma

I can't believe that it has been three years since you got the floors and windows replaced in your house--because you had just turned sixty and got your first retirement check. I can't believe that it's been three years since you started acting strange. Oh, the things that I wish you had been here to see. I miss you every day and today I told Emmy Ruth that it was your birthday and we sang the birthday song just for you. I love you....

Catching up...

Have I mentioned how busy we have been lazy? I can't tell you what we have been doing but it seems like we are short on time always. I think that Emmy is not quite adjusting to the fall weather--she is so hard to wake up in the mornings these days. But, we have managed to make time to have a little fun here and there.

On Halloween, Emmy dressed up as a pink poodle to go to MeeMee's for the day. She was stinking adorable. Then on Friday night, we went to a party at Neall and Becca's. It was so much fun to see everyone. Of course, I don't know what was wrong with me but I took few to no pictures. But, I did get this one. We tried to get one of them all together and they were having nothing of it but I love it that Emmy is holding sweet Julia's toe in this picture. I can see Emmy's YiaYia holding Julia's JeeJee's hand thinking, "surely we can get through this!"

The rest of the weekend, we managed to hang out at home, or at least close to it. We took a big walk around our neighborhood and decided to let Emmy walk for a little instead of riding in the stroller. She decided to go into the street so that was the end of it. Then, of course, she screamed and screamed to get out again. Which lead to John and I 'screaming' about what to do about her screaming! My theory: she'll quit eventually! His theory: my sweet girl is crying--I must hold and comfort her! So, he walked, carrying Emmy, about six feet ahead of me and the empty stroller the rest of the way home. We are going to try again this weekend if the weather permits... wish us luck!

It's Fall, Ya'll!

Oh we have been so busy that I haven't even had time to write. Once I got home from SF, Emmy has kept me on my toes. We went to the pumpkin patch and she and Lucas had a fabulous times. They had a petting zoo and pig races and corn mazes but also a little hay maze for the kiddos. All kinds of fun.

This was as close as we got to the pony ride. She almost lost her mind when I put her on that pony!! She was all about it until we got there and then, well, things didn't go so well. We even called Dadoo in for reinforcement but no luck.It is hard to get a good measurement on how tall they are with the hugging and all, but it's safe to say that they are edging up on 3 feet tall!

And then of course, you have to carve the pumpkin. Here Emmy is helping Dadoo. "Emmy, how do the pumpkin insides feel?" "Blah!""Emmy, what do you think of Mama's carving?" "Ohhh! Amazing!"Be careful! Pumpkin inards are slimy!!!!But, the best part of this week is our sweet Lucas's second birthday. That boy is part genius, part prankster and all around lovable. I remember the day that sweet boy arrived as if it were yesterday--Tara the whole time trying to convince me that it really wasn't that painful (I was 5 months pregnant!) I couldn't believe how perfect and tiny he was and here he is, just as perfect but not so tiny. And a darn good little golfer! He got a hole in one at his party!

And this picture is so sweet to me... Teri Ann is Jorge's little sister and I remember when I was hanging out with all those Cross County boys, going to BearKat (her mom worked there at the time) and TA would come running up to give me a huge hug everytime I came in the store. And now, here she is, a beautiful, independant young lady. I like to think I have a part in that--:).

More San Fran Stuff...

I have a pair of black shoes that are really cute. If anyone would like them, they are going to be left on the window of the sixth floor of the Mark Hopkins International. I will never put them on again in my life. Today, I thought I would jump on the cablecar and hop on over to Lombard (the crookedest street in the world) to take a few pictures and then just hop back to the hotel. Since I was so sure that this was going to be an easy trip, I didn't even bother changing clothes or shoes after my conference today.

At the first misstep, I should have known. The cablecar was out but they said that there was a bus that would be a substitute so there was no problem. I did get to Lombard, but I got dropped off two miles downhill from the crooked area, but the cablecar goes directly by the tourist spot. Off I took walking, from a spot somewhere in the midst of where the trees are. I am really glad I did so that I could get some pictures but wow. My feet!!!!!

So, I get back on the cablecar to go back to the hotel and of course, went the wrong way and ended up back down at Fisherman's Wharf. ARGH! I ate down there again and then got in line to get on the cablecar coming back to the hotel. Finally! I get on the car and I am in the middle of about twenty fifty-ish year old French people. Of course, being the Southern girl, I offered a lady my seat... and she took it! "Merci!" she said. Not sure of how to reply in French, I just smiled, and tried not to step on her as I got thrown around the cablecar. Then, the car says it's last stop... what???????? I asked the conducter what was going on and he said that I was a lovely healthy woman and I could certainly make it three more blocks. So, here I go again, trucking it... but this time I took off my shoes.

Someone told me that there was a grocery store about three blocks down so I thought as long as my feet were bleeding, I would head down there to get a beer and a coke for the morning (there are no vending machines in the hotel). I walked and walked and walked. I befriended some residents on the way and we discussed the rental rates of the really cool apartments. I found out that the one bedrooms were about $3k a month. I told them about MY house with the full basement that was around $150k to own. They were not amused.

Finally getting to the grocery store was a treat since I got to see the first real parking lot I have seen since my arrival!

On the walk back, I heard a doorman ask a valet to get his SUV (one of the very few SUVs I have seen this week by the way) and told him that it was a tight squeeze but he knew he could do it.

Yep, that is pretty tight! As I rounded the corner to the hotel, in my sockfeet, I heard a car alarm and I am almost positive it was the valet hitting either the car in front or behind him.

As I was looking for a restaurant last night, I saw this stand. The idea of clam chowder from a temporary stand kind of freaks me out.

I ended up eating at Tarantinos' last night because, well, it was calling my name.
Tonight, I ate at Cioppino's. As wonderful as both meals were, and as much as a I have enjoyed this trip, I can say that any of this would have only been better with a buddy.

Rice-a-Roni, the San Francisco Treat

I am sure that Rice-a-Roni is a treat for some San Franciscans. Mainly, a treat when you open the pantry and see that box and think excitedly, "I don't have to walk up and down those hills tonight! I get to eat Rice-a-Roni for dinner!" I had no Rice-a-Roni in my super snazzy room at the Mark Hopkins Intercontinental and I wanted to get some sightseeing in so I took off walking. Finding a great sushi place, I decided to stop in, even though I bet this place has sangrias that are just as good as those at Cafe Ole :). Okay, maybe better.

Walking back up the hills to the hotel, I absolutely had to stop and take a little break so I called to check in with Daddy. I called to check in on Emmy Ruth and Neall and Becca claim that she is being just an angel, so as Becca said her mom said about her, I am afraid of her hanging up her halo when she gets home. I miss her so much already; I can't imagine how ready I will be to get her by Friday night when I get home.

I like this sign about preventing runaways.

And here is the most romantic restaurant (see! it says it right there on the awning!) and I am without John. I tried to make him feel really guilty about not being here with me and he pretended to feel badly but I am pretty sure he will be over that guilt when he enjoys all of his faux bachelorhood.My conference starts tomorrow morning at 7am so I have to be up bright and early but I hope to go see some more fun stuff tomorrow evening. I really want to get down to the Golden Gate Bridge and take some photos and maybe even Fisherman's Wharf. For now, I am going to go to sleep listening to the trolley right outside my window. It's quite neat.

I really, really miss my girl. I can't wait to get back to her soon!!

Twenty months

I say it again, "how did we get here so quickly?" Today marks my sweet girl's 20th month with us. And we all have made it!! That in itself is amazing. Emmy is doing the sweetest and funniest things lately. If you ask her something she doesn't know, she will throw her arms up and say "Idunnnnoooo". She absolutely loves her Daddy more than ever and is really getting good at sitting in the shopping cart at stores and in the highchair at restaurants. There is nothing she won't eat but she certainly loves tatertots from Sonic, just like her Daddy.

Emmy has this best dance moves ever! She loves Devo. Literally loves Devo. It's so funny. Yo Gabba Gabba! is this cartoon that has some help from the singer from Devo on it and she loves the show. When I say she loves it, I mean that the commercials alone will make her jump with joy and squeal with delight. Victor's phone has a ring tone with Devo playing and she will immediately stop whatever she is doing and dance when it rings. Yo Gabba Gabba! is the first thing that she really has "picked" on her own and I love to see her getting so excited.

Another fun thing is that she is starting to enjoy reading books and will pick out her favorite to read over and over. Something unusual to us is that we think she is left handed. In this picture, she is coloring a birthday card for Aunt Becca and she is using her right hand but she alternated back and forth between the two. No, that isn't her bottle beside her, well, it's hers, but she uses it now to feed "Baby".

I leave bright and early tomorrow for San Francisco so I took Emmy to Wynne to spend the week with Neall, Becca and Solomon. They are going to have so much fun but I am going to miss her terribly. John, on the other hand, might lose his mind. He went to Nashville for a few days for work when Emmy was about six weeks old but since then, he has never been away from her for more than one night. They got lots of good snuggle time in last night though so hopefully he will be able to make it. Now, Solomon and Emmy on the other hand... if the two of them were any cuter, I couldn't stand it. They are so precious and the love each other so much. When we got to the house, Solomon shared his crackers with Emmy and then Emmy chased him around to give him kisses. She even shared her monster from Yo Gabba Gabba! with him. That was something. Daddy met us for lunch and he and Emmy got some good bonding time today and he always love to see the tiny munchkins.

We are so lucky!

Fun weekend!

On Friday night, Emmy stayed with Nana (Mrs. Alice). I would love to say that John and I had a romantic evening out but instead, I took a nap after work and John woke me up at 830 when he came to bed for the night! Whew! We really are party animals!

After a lovely night's rest, we got up on Saturday and meet everyone at Overton Park and then went to the zoo. It was us, the Salinases, Nana and Claudia (Jorge's niece). We had so much fun and of course, we got a picture of Emmy with the Buddha! She is tickling his foot in this picture.Emmy absolutley loves the polar bears. Her AunTee was so sweet and let her sit in her lap to watch them eat their fish popsicles.As usual, Emmy is all about Daddy.Panda bears are always a big hit as well.She was a little tired when we left. I don't think we even got out of the parking lot before she feel asleep.

Fiesta!

I got Momma this Mexican hat chip and dip bowl one year and she loved to torture people with it! Of course, I had to make sure that it came home with us when we cleaned out her kitchen. Emmy found it the other day and played with it for hours. I know that her Yia Yia was smiling and doing a little dance as she continued to play it over and over!

The Secret

Apparently, the secret to a happy bath is to leave out the water.

More bathroom drama...

I have had it! Nineteen months of screaming for baths. I am at my wit's end. I don't know what else to do. I give her baths with one toy, with no toys, with so many rubber ducks that there is barely room in the tub for her. I have tried taking a bath with her (and there really wasn't much room for her then!). My friend Rebecca gave her a bath with her daughter Grace and had her wash the duck's face and then washed her face and that worked for a little while but she is against that now too. Emmy was doing okay with taking baths for a while as long as I let her stand up in the tub, as opposed to sitting down, and that was fine with me! No screaming--well, until we started bathing. She would get all her ducks out and line them up on the side of the tub and then I would quickly wash her off before she had time to fuss too much. But, now that isn't good for her either.

The other night, we gave her and Lucas a bath together. Lucas was doing belly flops and trying to drink the water and Emmy stood at the foot of the tub and screamed.

I will admit that it helps her go to sleep at night. After all that screaming and crying, she is exhausted and goes right to sleep when I get her back in my arms.

I really don't like to clean house

I don’t like to clean but more importantly, I just really don’t know how to clean, I am just not good at it. But, on Sunday, I decided to clean the bathroom. It took me over three hours!

Emmy continued to run in the bathroom to see what was going on that she wasn’t invited. Of course, trying to corral her in the living room with John didn’t work out well. The next thing I know, she has the Scrubbing Bubbles can nozzle in her mouth! After a call to the pediatrician and the Poison Control Center, all was fine and I could get back to work. Then, I noticed how dirty the caulk looked in the bathroom so I went ahead and ripped all of that out and put new caulk in. By this time, I had gotten Emmy down for a nap and I had John down in the basement working on super cleaning the dryer vent. I was trying to help my tile grout look a little better by letting bleach sit on it for a while when John calls out asking why there is bleach dripping on to him. Oops. (He later tried to tell me that before he went to the basement, he was a dark luxurious tan and I had bleached him to this color he is now.)

Tuesday morning just after midnight, I woke up vomiting everywhere. As I was all up close and personal with my toilet and John was putting a wet rag on my neck, I cried out, “and I just cleaned the bathroom!”