I knew it was a good school.

"My teacher said we don't eat grass or pretend apples. Or lamps."

Little Nothings

To start the week off, I was mortified at what Emmy said/did. At Rose's party, she greeted a well wisher with a big 'pfffffffffffft'. It was one of those moments that I wish I could have seen my face. And what exactly do I do when she does that? Spank her or put her in time out in the middle of the party???? I could have just melted into the pavement.

Thankfully, some other quips she had this week were somewhat amusing.

I have been looking for a church and finally found one I really like. I plan to take her this Sunday for the first time so I have really been talking it up to her. We did (attempt to) go to church last weekend with the Jacksons so when I mentioned it to her, Emmy said, "But we went to church last week!"

We went to Walmart this evening to get a few things and Emmy Ruth exclaimed no fewer than a dozen times, "OH MY GOSH! Back up! That is adorable!!!!!!!!!"

We were checking out the bikes and found this really awesome Barbie bike, complete with a mini bike for Barbie. Emmy really liked it, until she saw the motorized car. Then she told me she wanted the car, Barbie could have the bike and she would drive the car over and pick up Lucas at his house.

As we were checking out at Walmart, I saw a mom and dad and a little boy who was obviously a patient at St. Jude's. This is something I see a lot in Memphis, especially in Midtown (or West Memphis as it were today). It always makes me stop and want to slap my forehead as I say to myself "MY GOD, WOMAN! SLOW DOWN! How amazingly lucky you are to have a healthy child!" As I was getting her out of the shopping cart, I kissed her and told her I was so thankful to be her mommy and she wrapped her little sticky arms around me and kissed me and said she was thankful to be my daughter. It doesn't get much better than that.

Happy Birthday, Baby Rose!

I think she will be 30 and will still be Baby Rose to us. Papa Richie and LynnLynn did a wonderful job with her birthday gift—a playhouse. I am not sure who loved it most, Emmy Ruth, Solomon or Rose, but it was a hit. Baby Rose especially loved the door bell!

 

I love the pictures of Emmy Ruth and Baby Rose in the playhouse with the toy birthday cake; Emmy would sing to Rose and Rose would clap and laugh. She is such a precious baby and we are so thankful for her.

 

And one day… one day… she’s going to let me hold her without crying! I just know it!

 

 

 

Tomato!

Giggy shared lots of tomatoes with us and Emmy loves them. It's pretty
funny that I ate tomatoes directly from daddy's garden when I was her
age.

A Morning in the Life

635         Wake up with Ze Fronk and the Little Einsteins.

637         “Emmy put on your clothes.”

640         “Emmy put on your clothes” followed by “Mama, you have to be patient”.

645         “Emmy put on your clothes.”

647         “Emmy I am turning the TV off if you don’t put on your clothes.”

650         “Emmy put on your clothes.”

655         Emmy has on no underwear. “Emmy put on your clothes.”

656         “I don’t want to wear panties” to which I reply “you have to wear panties” and we have an argument discussion on why panties are required for school and work.

657         I turn the TV off and tears follow. Sobbing tears.

700         “Carry me!!!!!!!!” while sobbing. I hold her hand and we go to the bathroom and I hold her on my lap while I brush her teeth. “Hold me, Mama!”,“I am holding you, Emmy”,“NO! Hold me like this” and she jumps up and imitates me holding her on my hip.

703         “WHY IS THIS BACKPACK IN MY CLOSET??????????” “I am not sure, Emmy, but you can put it in your room” so she throws it on the floor in her room. “Emmy, pick that up and hang it on the hook”, “NO!”, “Okay, I will give it to some other little girl…1…2…” ,“baaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!!!!!!” but the backpack goes on the hook.

705         Sitting on the floor to put on shoes and she doesn’t want to wear socks. “I wanna put them on myself”, “Fabulous! you do it!”

708         Still telling me how she wants to put her shoes on herself. “Fine! Put your damn shoes on!”

708.5     “They aren’t damn shoes! They are shoes!” I feel horrible.

709         “You are right, Emmy, I am sorry.”

710         “I want to take my crayons for show and tell {you know, because no other kid at daycare has crayons}, are they still in the refrigerator?” Yesterday, she took them in the car but not to school and I forgot to take them in the office with me and when I picked her up, there were some slightly molten crayons in the carseat so we put them in the fridge. “Nope! I got them out and ready for you!”, “BUT I WANTED TO GET THEM OUT OF THE FRIDGE!!!!!!”, “I am sorry, would you like me to put them back”, “NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!”

711         “Put the crayons in the backpack and let’s get in the car.”

713         Walking out to the car, she goes all the way down the sidewalk to the sidewalk near the street then decides she would rather use the sidewalk near the house so she comes back up. Then, gets to the car and sees that the Velcro on her shoes isn’t fully engaged. Trying to fix it. “Emmy can you do that in the car?” Silence “Emmy, please get in the car” Silence “Honey, we really need to go” Silence “GET IN THE CAR!!!!!!” I like to think this was my good deed of the day—waking anyone in the neighborhood whose alarm didn’t work properly this morning.

713.25   Tears.

715         I crank up the CD of Revival Hymns and sing “On Christ the Solid Rock I Stand” as loud as I can.

716         Apologize to Emmy for getting upset and yelling. I tell her that was not very nice of me and I am sorry and I will work to do better. “Emmy, can you help me some in the mornings too?” I get a big “no”.

718         Arrive at school. Walking down the hall, the whining starts “Carry me, mama”. I remind Emmy that she is a big girl and doesn’t need me to carry her but if she will walk to her room, put her backpack in her cubby and ask me nicely, I will carry her back to the room where all the kids gather.

719         Tears and crying and general fit. Refuses to put her backpack in the cubby and says she is going to wear it all day.

720         Of course I am wearing a knee length dress today as I am squatting on the floor to try to reason with a hysterical 3 year old.

722         Emmy has to potty, still wearing a backpack, and I am on the floor and asking if she remembers the Llama Llama book we read last night about Llama getting mad at mama and how she sure is making a lot of llama drama this morning. Recite as much of the book from memory as I can.

724         “I don’t want to wash my hands!!!!!!!!!!!”

725         “I’m gonna put my backpack in my cubby” so we go back down the hall to the classroom and then back to the gathering room.

727         “I’m not hungry, I want to go to sleep”. I usually set up her breakfast for her at the table but sometimes she is tired and would rather lie down on the little beanbag and getting a little more rest.

728         “I’m not sleepy, I am hungry.”

730         I go home to go back to sleep stop at Circle K for a Thirst Buster coke since I am already late for work.

 

 

 

Mud Island

Sunday afternoon, we had brunch at the Arcade Restaurant and then hopped on the trolley for the Riverfront Loop. We ended up at Mud Island and did the Riverwalk (the miniature replica of the Mississippi River). I didn’t realize that she would get soaking wet, apparently all the other parents did as they all had their kids in swimsuits! This poor little brown dress has been nothing but wet when she has worn it… into this exhibit, into Lake Catherine.

 

A little girl named Sophie was there too and she took an interest in Emmy Ruth. She kept calling her “little one” and telling her to be careful. It was adorable. When we were walking off, I called out to Emmy, “come on, Turtle, let’s go”. I am not sure why I call her that sometimes, but I have for a while now, maybe because she’s so slow when I am in a hurry. Sophie said, “Turtle! Your momma wants you!”

 

Then we did the peddle boats and Emmy was not nearly as amused as I had hoped. We rented them for 30 minutes but were out there for about 5.5 minutes. Emmy was done and wanted out, so John and I peddled our little hearts out to get us back to the starting point, me with an Emmy on my lap. She was so tired that she fell asleep on the trolley ride back to the car!

 

Bathroom humor

I don't know why but Emmy is really concerned with what everyone is doing right now. At school last week, she asked her friend Omaida's dad what he was "doing in there" when he came out of the bathroom. Then at lunch yesterday, she asked this elderly lady what she was going to do when she walked in the bathroom stall!

This can fall under bathroom humor too, I think... each morning, I let Bill out in the backyard to go potty while we are getting ready for school. Emmy likes to help out so she gets to go call Bill back in the house. I usually do something along the lines of "Bill! Come on! Hurry, we're late!!!" Emmy prefers to speak to Bill in her native language and says "Ruff! Ruff, Ruff!!" And Bill always comes running.

Our little fish

I really wanted Emmy Ruth to take swimming lessons this year. It wasn't so much that I wanted her to be swimming as just not as skiddish around the water. Thinking this would be a great idea and she was so excited about lessons, I was shocked when she cried and cried. I eventually left class on Tuesday and sat in the driveway but Emmy jumped out of the pool and came running down the driveway to me. So, on Wednesday, I left and ran to Home Depot and when I returned, again, she jumped out of the pool and came running down the driveway in tears.

Thursday when I picked her up, she was excited and Miss Allison said she had done wonderfully and didn't cry at all!!! Her Friday class was postponed due to rain and she literally cried because she was so excited. When we went on Saturday, John and I were amazed to see her loving the class and putting her face in the water with no problems. She even SWAM a few feet. I couldn't believe it!!!! She was so proud of herself--especially since her daddy was there this time.

I am so proud of her. And a little, tiny bit proud of me for not caving and taking her out when she was so upset.

Hot Springs Trip

Because of all the oil in Gulf Shores, we decided to wait on our usual beach trip this year and went to Hot Springs instead over the Independence Day weekend. We had so much fun!


We visited Mid America Science Museum. This was super special for me since I remember doing this as a kid. I had to get a picture of the kids in front of the astronaut's ice cream. Lucas was cheering Emmy on in the rocket blastoff!I love this picture of her running, obviously in a walk zone. They loved this exhibit where they tried to land the spaceshuttle. The Energy Ball.

We stayed at a cabin at Lake Catherine State Park. It was wonderful, right on the lake. The kids had so much fun playing in the water and we got some great pictures of them.

This one is my favorite.

I think she was really trying to keep her dress dry.

Realizing it was futile to do that when standing in the lake...

Ah to heck with it and just loving the water.

We spent all day Saturday at Magic Springs and had so much. The water park was wonderful and we spent most of the day there. Lucas and Emmy Ruth loved, loved the water, especially the slides. Tara and I snuck off for a bit and did the giant water slides. Emmy saw this giant Scooby Doo and had to have it. John set out to win it for her. I don't know how he summoned the power within him to win it in only two attempts but we are so glad that he did!!! She carried it the rest of the trip and is sleeping with it every night now.

They loved throwing rocks in the lake. JORGE! tried so hard to catch a fish. It was hysterical. We laughed that he used everything in the cabin for bait--even Scooby Doo gummy snacks!

We visited the downtown area of Hot Springs. The kids were amazed that the springs were really hot!

We also went on a hike. The book said there was an amazing waterfall so we walked and walked and walked but the waterfall was all dry. The kids loved the hike but we were a little nervous as it was pretty rocky and steep in places. We must have a different standard of "kid friendly".

This is the Burton Family Photo for 2010. It's not the beach but it was a fabulous trip! We can't wait to go back!

Swimming

Emmy is so excited about starting swimming lessons this week that she
wore her goggles when we ate lunch downtown yesterday.

Sweet, sweet family

Saturday night, we were lucky enough to have Baby Rose and Solly Bear spend the night with us. There is absolutely nothing in the world that makes me think of Momma more than being with these three together. I can’t even imagine how much she would love these kids. I remember her saying once that she didn’t like to “play” and be on the floor doing kiddy stuff… I have a suspicion that would be completely different now and we wouldn’t be able to keep her from being on the floor playing with these kids.

 

Rose is just as cute as she can be and Emmy Ruth is just in love with her. She was a little sad when Becca and Neall left her, so Emmy tried to cheer her up. I love this picture of her putting her little hand on rose’s shoulder, she was trying to be so delicate and gentle with her. She is showing Rose her Cinderella doll and some of Barbie’s things. Sol and Emmy and I had a talk about keeping the little things away from Rose so that she didn’t swallow them and they did a great job of taking care of her. I got a little scared when she pulled out her baby doll’s stroller… I thought she might try to put Rose in it!!!

 

Saturday night we made pizza. This was so sweet since I can’t tell you how many pizzas Neall and I made with Daddy when we were kids. I can remember him being silly and throwing the pizza dough in the air. Always one to follow the instructions, he would put the dough in a Tupperware bowl, cover it with a dishtowel and then put it in the cabinet above the microwave for the allotted amount of time. I tried to get pictures of Emmy and Sol putting the ingredients on the pizza but my pictures are blurry.

 

When Emmy would ask Sol something and he didn’t answer immediately, she would say “Sol, I am talking to you!”. Oops, there is something else I must say way too much.

 

Sunday morning, Rose was ready for her momma and I was afraid she might starve since she wouldn’t eat anything I had for her, so Becca came to pick her up while the rest of the crew was still asleep. When they woke up and Emmy realized Rose was gone, I told her that she went home. She thought for a second and then said, “did she crawl home?”. After a big breakfast, we got in Emmy’s above ground pool in the backyard. I asked them to stand against the wall so I could get a photo of them side by side and this was the best I was able to get from the wiggleworms. Some of the funnier things in the pool were:

                -When John was lying under water with his head out, Emmy said, “look! That’s what the hippos at the zoo do!”

                -I am so used to the planes flying overhead that I really don’t even notice them. Sol was amazed at each and every one. Now I have him (like I have Emmy and Lucas doing) saying “Thank you, FedEx!” whenever one flies over.

                -John was crawling in the water with Solomon on his back and of course Sol was Spiderman. Emmy of course wanted to do the same thing but she told me that she wasn’t red and blue like Solomon but she was a pink and yellow Spiderman.

 

 

 

Father's Day

Earlier this week, I asked Emmy Ruth what she wanted to get Daddy for Father's Day. Without a bit of hesitation, she said, "soap". I am not sure why she wanted to get him soap, but she did. I brought it up again later and she said again that she wanted to get him soap. So she did. Aunt Becca called Friday afternoon and seemed to be a little concerned when I told her we were at the Family Dollar getting John's Father's Day gift...

There really is no way for me to describe what a good father John has become. He has learned to sit patiently as Emmy picks out his princess outfit, he's helped her makeup pizza at home just like my dad did with me, he spends hours with her doing whatever she wants, he has introduced her to Scooby Doo instead of these new fangled cartoons, he is the one she wants when she is sick (sometimes she picks me but it is usually her daddy), he is absolutely the daddy every little girl deserves. I could not be more proud of him.

Saturday we went to Wynne to celebrate Father's Day with Daddy, LynnLynn and the Jacksons. I love seeing what a great dad Neall is. How lucky the two of us are to have had such a wonderful father. There aren't many kids that can brag about a dad the way that we can. Emmy isn't the only daddy's girl around this joint, you know...

Roll with the punches...

We are having a few issues with a very whiney and tattling girl. I think it might drive me crazy!! This morning she was whining about WHO EVEN KNOWS WHAT and after a few minutes in the corner, she was darn near hysterical. I tried to tell her about "rolling with the punches" and we even came up with our own little dance for it. I said, "See? It wasn't exactly what you wanted but we rolled with the punches and we're still cool, right?" And the tears started again... "I am not cool! I am cute!" I forgot that boys are cool and girls are cute.

And now she is crying because she can't wear her fireman's jacket with nothing under it to the grocery store.

Just this morning...

This morning as I was getting ready, I had Emmy work on a birthday card for her Aunt Cathy. I knew I had misjudged the amount of personal freedom to give her when she walked in the bathroom holding the inside of a blue marker in her tiny blue hands. She told me she didn’t want to go to school with blue hands and I told her to just tell her friends she was turning into a Smurf. “What’s a smuf?”

 

Today is Show and Tell day so Emmy took her Caboodle that Aunt Becca gave her for her birthday. (I know her teachers are thrilled that she has a box with makeup, nailpolish and fifty tiny Dora rings.) When we were leaving, I asked her to carry it and she said “My daddy is a good carrier; he can carry anything”. I told her that he was a good carrier and she was lucky to have such a good daddy. Then, she said, “He’s a good cooker too”. I agreed. She proceeded to tell me all the wonderful things about her daddy the whole way out of the house and into the car. She must know Father’s Day is next weekend.

 

Ahhh summer....

We have big plans this weekend of being outside the whole time! Emmy's sandbox should get lots of action and we hope to lay down a new patio. Fingers crossed!!!

Emmy's funny for today is that any time she sees Snoopy or any of the Peanuts gang, she always says "Look, Charlie Brown Christmas!" She thinks that is their name!

She's my girl

As I try to go through so very many things and get rid of them, I really want to instill in Emmy Ruth the importance of not keeping all this stuff. So, I told her the other night that she needed to go through her toys and find some things we could give to some kids that might not have as many toys as she does.

So far, there are three things in this pile. And I am pretty sure that one of them is a Transformer that Lucas left over here.

Fun Times

It's not often I brag about Momma's culinary skills, but this is one thing I remember her cooking for me and Neall. Mickey Mouse pancakes. :) Emmy loves pancakes and wants them all the time. I thought I would try it and she immediately knew it was Mickey Mouse and was delighted!!!

This morning, I was getting dressed in my closet and Emmy Ruth was hanging out with me. (I have a lot of boxes because I am going through things to get rid of!) She found a pair of pink heels and had to put them on immediately, then she saw the pink boa that I had on my mirror and grabbed it. She is going to be a great model. Then she found a picture we took the week she came home and ski hat.

Our sweet friend Ian had his fifth birthday party today at My Big Backyard. It was so much fun! Before we left, we wanted to go to see the koi fish pond and on the walk there, Emmy and Lucas wore themselves out. They had run and run and run so on the way there, Emmy laid down on a bench and I didn't think she was going to make it much further. She said her legs were almost tired but her feet were really tired.

What an amazing girl she is. I can't believe how lucky we are to have her in our lives. She keeps us laughing and thinking and imagining. It's absolutely amazing.

Mother's Day

Mother's Day... here it is again. It is such a strange day in that I am so grateful to have Emmy Ruth in my life and to have had such an amazing mother but so bittersweet to remember that she is not here to see this. I can't say that I miss Momma any more today than I do any other day. There are still times now that I will move my arm a certain way and my bracelet catches just so that I remember how she gestured while wearing her sterling jewelry. Or that I will say something and think, Wow... that was so... MOM. Or, that last night, Betty White was on Saturday Night Live and I remember how that twenty years ago, Momma and I talked about how she reminded us of Grandma Ruth; back then, they were both here. Never, ever, ever will it be fair that they aren't now. But, never, ever, ever will it be fair that I am lucky enough to have the people in my life that love us so much, even if they don't have to--they want to love us.


Just today we had these little gems:

--I was putting on my makeup and told Emmy that was my mascara. There were two tubes and she said "This is myscara and this yourscara".

--I heard her telling John that they needed to hide from me and, oh so witty he is, John said, "oh let's go in the backyard, she'll never find us there". A few seconds later, I called out 'searching' for them and she exclaimed, "oh the dragon! She talks!". Cute kid.
--There was a spider statue at the zoo and Emmy said again that Princesses didn't like spiders. I told her when she was a baby, she loved spiders. She looked at me, with hands on hips, and said she was not a baby anymore and that she didn't like spiders!
--She told me she wanted holes in her ears so that she could wear my earrings. Whoa... kid... slow it down a bit!


This morning, John let me sleep in (we decided that me going to church wasn't a good idea since I get so emotional at church anyway and today's sermon was sure to be about mothers) and then we headed to the zoo. Emmy had some money in her piggy bank so she got to buy something at the gift shop and chose a pink panda bear. "Pink is my favorite color."
Carrying Pandy "up top" (on her shoulders).I love this picture that John got of us. She might say she got her blonde hair from AunTee but maybe she'll think she got her curls from me after seeing this. Pandy was safely secured in the boat as well.










The Buddha picture, of course...She has taken so many pictures in her life, that she started posing Pandy....