The zoo!!

The weather was so wonderful this weekend that we went to the zoo--along with everyone in the midsouth. It was ridiculously crowded but we had a blast. Emmy wanted to see the elephants. We are so glad that we got to go with the Jacksons and Evan Huff.

Bed time story

Last night, Emmy told me a bed time story.

 

“Once upon a time there was a beautiful princess named Tara.

A dragon took her!

 

A handsome prince named John came to save her.

 

They kissed and got married and had a beautiful daughter named Emmy.

 

She wore a dress and it was PINK!

When they kissed her, a crown came onto her head.

 

Everyone was so excited, they threw their socks and panties into the air.”

 

Oh my! That is pretty darn excited!

 

Busy Saturday!!

Poor Daddy had to work on Saturday morning so Emmy Ruth and I planned an all girls' day. We started out at her ballet class. I read online about a princess party at the Disney Store so we rushed out to Wolfchase after her class. We arrived just in time!!! There were lots of people there so I couldn't get too close but there were lots of princesses. All the girls got crowns and they had princess games and even made their own jeweled tea cups. I wasn't sure how many people would be there since it was limited to 50 kids, so I didn't tell Emmy we were going. I had her Snow White dress in a bag so she threw it on over her clothes. She spent a lot of time studying all the toys there and not paying attention to the games but eventually got into it.

After a little shopping, Emmy spotted the Build A Bear workshop. Nana took her in October and she got her first Build a Bear (named "Emmyruthburton"). Since then, any time we see a store, she goes nuts. Today we got a new bear, in blue, named Alex, after a little boy in her class. She is obviously a pro at building bears--I have never actually been there for the creation process. She knew to step on the peddle so the stuffing would go in the bear. When the seamstress told her to put the heart in with a kiss and a wish, Emmy kissed her bear instead of the heart. Pretty sweet.
Then I thought I would just swing by the Lasting Impressions photo studio since her birthday is coming up and I haven't had her portraits done in a while. Of course we got some cute pictures and spent way too much money.

Fun times!

This weekend, we discovered that a lot of the activities in Memphis were free on Saturday in honor of the inauguration of Tennessee’s new governor. We were lucky enough to have family and friends with whom to enjoy the good times!

We kicked things off Friday night by visiting Sol and Rose and Julia (oh yeah, and Neall, Becca and Joy) downtown at the condo. They kids had fun pretending to be monster under a big blanket and scaring us all. I swear, we are going to have to cut back on the Scooby Doo she’s watching!! Saturday morning while we were at ballet class, the rest of the group went to the Civil Rights Museum. We all met back up again (with Mrs. Debbie and Laura Ruth) and went to the Brooks Museum, to lunch at the India Palace, and then to the Botanical Gardens to see “My Big Backyard”. We had so much fun and the kids are just absolutely adorable and play so well together. It was so cold and the girls kept sticking their hands in the water!

Rose Ryan looks so much like Neall and Momma in this picture. She is such a delight and I just adore her.

After a quick round of shopping, Emmy Ruth rode to Arkansas with the Jacksons to spend Saturday night with nana and Sunday night with Sol and Rose. I did have some concern that Aunt Becca wouldn’t let me have her back but late Monday afternoon, they came to eat in Memphis and I got to hang with the three munchkins at the house. They are a hoot! Between the dancing, Rose trying on everyone’s shoes and the chocolate milk, we had a big time. Becca kept telling me that Emmy was being ‘perfect’; I was slightly afraid of what child they were going to return to me!!!

We are so very lucky to have so many precious friends and family. I can’t think of anyone that I would have rather spent this past weekend with and I know Momma was smiling seeing them all together.

A heart full of thanks

Every night Emmy Ruth and I talk about one thing we are thankful for and one thing that needs prayer. When I asked last night what she was thankful for, she said she was thankful for her beautiful hair. Well…. That’s not exactly what I had in mind when we started this routine. But, she quickly redeemed herself. Because AunTee and Emmy both have blond hair, Emmy said she gets it from Tara. So, she said she was thankful for her AunTee for her beautiful hair, Nana for her pretty singing {no offense to Nana but I didn’t know about this singing she does!}, Mama for her best kisses and Daddy for his best hugs.

 

In keeping with her thankful heart, here we are on the eve of the fifth anniversary of Momma’s death and I am thankful that she gave me her compassion and zest for life, hopeful that she gave me her wit and strength and encouraged that she gave me her love and family.

Tangled

We have only seen Tangled twice so far, but we can’t wait for it to come out on DVD. Any time I refer to it as “Tangled”, Emmy Ruth corrects me that it is Rapunzel. I don’t have the heart or the energy to argue with her. J I bought the soundtrack on iTunes last week and she has loved it.

 

I think that is one of my most favorite things about our time right now—her love of music. She loves to dance all the time (she loves to show us her booty dance). Last weekend, Lucas and AunTee came to visit and the kids and I had a massive dance party while AunTee went to run a few errands. She was a little perplexed with the noise when she pulled up in the drive way but was not totally surprised to see me, Lucas and Emmy dancing in the living room to Elvis tunes. I think that counts as my work out for that day. Another funny story about their visit… there is a picture of Emmy and her friend, Alex, from school in her bedroom. Lucas picked it up and asked her who he was and kind of looked at her funny. Then he asked her if Alex was nice to her. I hope he always is such a good “big brother” to her.

 

One of the best songs on the Tangled soundtrack is “Mother Knows Best”. It’s really not very nice, in regards to the movie; the witch is trying to keep Rapunzel trapped in the tower and she tells her that she knows what’s best for her, but it’s a cute song. The chorus is “Mother knows best, listen to your momma” and I sing it to Emmy every now and then. Emmy has turned it back on me and sings “Kids know best, listen to your kiddos” now. How can I even compete with that?

 

And in other princess related news…. Emmy Ruth wants a princess party for her birthday this year. We are having so much fun planning it. I know that I am going overboard (which is really no surprise) but I feel like I have waited my whole life to plan a princess party like this!  While I don’t want to ruin any of the fun for the festivities, I can say that there are lots of fun things planned, like a scavenger hunt and crown and shield decorating. We want to make sure that all the boys in Emmy’s life enjoy the party too, so we are doing it as princess and knights.  So, while the girls are decorating their crowns, the boys can decorate their knight shields of armor.  Emmy and I are having a lot of fun working on decorations at night together; this week we are making a piñata.  She is certainly a handful sometimes but I can’t even begin to say how much I love this little princess.

Broccoli

I don't get it but I am so very thankful for Emmy's latest craze. She is all about broccoli. It is all she will eat! For dinner every night, we have had broccoli!!!

Snow Day 2011

John and Emmy Ruth got to enjoy a snow day yesterday. I am so thankful that not only is John able to stay home on snow days with Emmy, but that he wants to stay home with her. They had so much fun and I think our little Snow Diva is adorable! However, I am not sure the snow angel turned out as an angel or more of a snow slug.

 

That's One Mouthy Kid

Emmy’s new favorite word is ridiculous. Last night, I had her helping me clean her room and she told me I was being “ridiculous”. After church on Sunday, I had her change from her dress she wore to church into some scrubby sweats to go play in the backyard. The little princess was not amused. “Look at me” she said, “I look ridiculous!”

We spent New Year’s Eve in Jonesboro and had the best time. We rented a suite at a hotel with an indoor pool and spent some good quality time with some of John’s family. We all went to see Tangled again and then Emmy got to swim and I got to shop. I think that was a win for everyone! Emmy kept telling John’s sister that “daddy beats us up every morning”. It took me forever to realize she was telling her that he wakes up before we do each morning, not that he physically beats us up. I was worried how in the world I was going to explain this one.

I tell Emmy Ruth all the time that she is my favorite water buffalo. It absolutely infuriates her, so of course I continue doing it. She says “I am not a water buffalo! I am a princess! A Princess Superhero!” She is really into the superheroes, for sure. In fact, during Christmastime, she named her Elf on the Shelf “WonderWoman Baby”.

And last but not least, every night, Emmy Ruth has us all do a Burton Family Hug—me, John and her. It’s pretty precious.

Grandma and Grandpa

We got to spend the night with Solomon and Rose a few weeks ago. The kids have so much fun together and John and I love getting to be around. Emmy Ruth has an adorable habit of calling me Grandma when she is playing with her baby dolls... of course, she is the mommy and I am the grandma. Now, she has Solomon calling me "Grandma!" What in the world is wrong with these kids???????

Skates

Emmy Ruth got some new houseshoes and they are great for sliding all over our floors. She calls them her "roller skates".

I also call her "sista" sometimes and she tells me she is not a sister. But, the other night when we were walking into Peter Pan, Tara said something, I can't even remember what and Emmy turned around and said, "Now, Sister, that was funny!"

She cracks me up!!!!

An Amazing Christmas!

As a great friend said, "what did we do before our girls?" I am not sure. This was such a fun Christmas season! Emmy Ruth was old enough to ask for things and really get into it, so we had a blast.

First we celebrated with John's family. They came to visit us and brought lots of Rapunzel gifts. Emmy has been into Rapunzel since watching Tangled so they were a really big hit. Gandad also brought a Rapunzel puppet and an awesome music set. Emmy also got a new suitcase. I asked her where we could take her new suitcase--we are planning a trip to Disney World in May and I have been talking it up but I am pretty sure she doesn't "get it". So, when I asked where we could take her new suitcase, she answered, "camping!". We could totally go camping at a fraction of the price.

Aunt Cathy was really good at attaching the Rapunzel hair.

Daddy looked fabulous in the hair too! All she has asked for from Santa was a pink dress and a purple Barbie. She did see a specific pink dress she wanted but Santa brought this one to a Christmas party with AunTee's family. She was so excited that she wore it immediately after Santa gave it to her and then all of the time at home afterwards. She and Lucas had a big time.

She even wore it with her Rapunzel hair!

On Christmas Eve, the Jacksons came over to celebrate with a big brunch. We had a blast. Emmy insisted on putting her own bow in so it was a little lopsided and this was how she fixed her plate---lots of powdered donuts and some oranges and a piece of bread. It is Christmas time and there are no rules for eating then!

Sol and Emmy patiently waited on Daddy to get the toys opened....

Rose really enjoyed the markers and coloring book that Papa Richie and LynnLynn got Emmy.

Tara and Lucas came over so that we could go see Peter Pan at the Studio on the Square. It was great. Before hand, we got to open presents and Lucas loved his Star Wars helmet.

The kiddos were super cute dressed up for the show. We got to sit on the front row and felt super special.

And then there was Christmas morning. Santa was just fabulous to us!!! She immediately jumped on the couch to see what all he left her! The thing she was most excited about was the piggy bank.

Emmy got a super duper roller coaster just like Sol has. She was thrilled!

And she got a Paper Jams guitar and amp. Well, she kinda did... really it was for John.

I am so glad she liked her abacus. I knew that with all the music she and John do together that there had to be a little mathematician in there.

And she got the very dress she wanted. She saw it when I was looking online for her some church dresses and it popped up. Obviously... not a church dress. But, she loved it. And we printed out a picture of it and included it with her letter to Santa so that he woud know exactly what she wanted. And Santa nailed it!

Nana and Papaw Ricky came by to wish us a Merry Christmas. Nana and Emmy had a quick cookie at her new table while they were here.
What an amazing, amazing Christmas!!! We are so lucky and thankful for a wonderful year. One of my favorite gifts that Emmy Ruth got this year were some books from our family in Akron. We don't see them very often and we keep in touch online, but it is certainly not the same as being together. But, Cathy sent the kids some books for a Christmas gift. I was so happy when we sat down to read them before bed. One was the Christmas Story and the other was the Night Before Christmas. I had planned to look them both up online and get a good version instead of trying to rehash from memory. It was very special to my heart that she sent these and I loved reading them to her. Again, a great touch to an amazing Christmas.

Happy Birthday Julia!!!

Our brilliant Julia had a great birthday party--even Santa came to tell her happy birthday! Here she is blowing out her candles.Rose loved the cupcakes. :)Sweet Sol wanted to make sure Santa knew exactly what he wanted.

First Haircut

At almost 4 years old, I finally got The Girl her first hair cut. We tried once before and she got scared but when she saw Lucas getting his hair cut, she was all over it. I think she likes being pampered.

Emmy-tude

Oh she’s a hoot! Here are a couple of her latest and greatest sayings…

--Last night I asked if she wanted to watch Scooby Doo before bed and she said “no, I think a quick game of Candyland should do the trick”.

--This morning, I was trying to put her shoes on and she wasn’t being very helpful and she finally just said “ok, now watch and learn”.

--We were shopping at TJ Maxx and came upon this picture of the Last Supper. Emmy said, “Mom, are these pilgrims?”. Lucas said, “no, Emmy, I think they are superheroes”.

--We put up the nativity scene and I was talking about Mary and Joseph, Baby Jesus, and the shepherds and angel. Later on, Emmy found a snapshot that was in some of Grandma Jackson’s photo albums; it was a baby in a bathtub on the porch of a house, I am sure it was Daddy. She came running in and asked if that was a picture of Baby Jesus. John told her that yes, we had the only snapshot of Jesus.

I am loving that we have Santa Claus to hold over her head to get her to act correctly. She thinks I have Santa Claus’s phone number on speed-dial on my phone. Works like a charm!

Over the Thanksgiving weekend, I worked on cleaning out her closet and trying to rearrange her room to give her more play space. When we were lying in bed the other night saying our prayers, she said she was thankful for her new “castle room”. Ahhh…be still my beating heart!!!!!!! And yes, she is sleeping in her own room! All it took was a unicorn Pillow Pet!