The big girl

Emma has had a pretty exciting few days lately!

Thursday -"We were Fishing for Kindergarteners!" YEA! It was the Kindergarten open house and Emma was beyond excited. She bounded into our bedroom at about 6:15 in the morning wondering when the bus was coming. She was pretty disappointed when I told her that the bus wasn't coming to pick her up, but felt a bit better when she discovered that Evan was going to daycare that day and she was not.

So, at 9:45 that morning, Tim, Emma, me, Kaylee, and Nana got in the truck and headed to kindergarten. The kids went to the kindergarten rooms, met the teachers, and did some projects and listened to stories. The parents went to the other room to hear from some teachers, the school nurse, a lunch lady, and the principal. Very exciting (well, somewhat exciting) but informational. After that was the most exciting part - the actual bus ride. Kaylee and Emma skipped to the bus and found a spot about mid-way on the bus. Nana and I were right behind them and it was fun to poke our heads over the seats to see them eagerly chatting, looking out the window, and giggling to each other. The bus did a quick 5 mile circle and then parked back at the school. When we got there, Emma looked at me and quietly said, "Mama, this isn't our stop." I smiled and told her that the bus wasn't going to drop us off at our house. She tried to explain that obviously the bus knows where we live because it drops Kyra off and we should just tell the driver that we live by Kyra. So, I had to explain that we were just going on a quick bus ride and that was it. Once again, she was a little disappointed.

Here are some pics of the kids on the bus.

Now, I know that I have been constantly thinking this (and occasionally saying this) but how can she be getting this big? How can this little girl, who I swear was just a 7# bundle, be ready for school? The best part is that she is so excited, but it was a little emotional being there. The first day of school is going to be a hard one.

After the kindergarten experience, we had a quick lunch and then Emma spent the afternoon playing with Kaylee. Fun for her and good for me as I had some work to do that day. Then, Emma went back to the school with the neighbors to celebrate the birthday of Dr. Seuss! They listened to stories, did some crafts, and then had cake, ice cream & punch. For Emma, the day could not have ended any better. . . and . . . because of the lack of nap, she fell asleep right away.

Here are the girls at the restaurant after the school experiences:

** side note, Emma has informed me lately that she loves Justin Bieber. Sigh.. seriously...! Her best friend at daycare, Breezy, has older sisters that must follow Justin Bieber as now Emma and Breezy love Justin Bieber. Emma even informed me that it was just Justin Bieber's birthday and that Breezy is going to marry Justin Bieber. Emma can sing one of his songs as I guess they listen to his CD or something like that too. Apparently I need to pick some up from iTunes.

The next day was just as exciting for the little girl, but this time Evan was able to partake in some of it. I took Nana, Kaylee, Evan, and Evan to Underwater World at the Mall of America. My children have never been there before and were so excited. Evan kept repeating "Sharks! Sharks scary!" And Emma was just as excited. The kids did have a great time. It had been awhile since I was there too and it was fun seeing it through the kids eyes. They kept reaching out for the fish, shrieking if they swam "over" them, and running from tunnel to tunnel. After that was Nickelodeon world and rides. I tend to forget that the Mall of America can be a fun little jaunt at times for the kids. Expensive, yes, but really, for a day of fun it is not too bad. We rode many rides, walked around the park, and then had lunch in the food court.

The last big event for Emma was Princesses on Ice. We had never taken her to anything like that before and I really wasn't sure what to expect out of her. I knew she would like it, but wasn't sure if she would get antsy, whiny or what. She did great! Once again, she was very excited and it was fun to do another grown up thing with her. I let her wear one of her princess dresses and she happily chose her Sleeping Beauty gown and fairy wings. We got there early so we could take it all in and enjoy the city. She likes being downtown and driving around the buildings. Princesses on Ice had displays of Princess dresses and different scenes for the kids to see. At the end was Cinderella, a real person Cinderella. Emma's eyes got so big and round and she yanked on my hand, pulled me close and whispered, "Mama, she IS the real Cinderella! She really is!" So, that was very precious.

She did awesome for the show; sat on the edge of her seat the entire time actually. We both enjoyed cotton candy, popcorn, and a Princess Icee ( for roughly $40 - ugh) . So all was good in the world. She fell asleep on the way home, with I am sure Princesses skating in her head. :-)

The rest of the weekend we were at home, lounging, cleaning, and playing. I went for a nice long run with Sage, had Sunday School with Emma, and did homework. Both kids enjoyed a trip to Home Depot for their Saturday morning project. Evan built a piggy bank and Emma built a little kids shelf. It was so cute and the kids really had a great, great time. Evan was so proud of his piggy bank and carried it around the rest of the day. One time, Emma tried to step on it or move it or something and Evan got so upset proclaiming "Emma! I built dat! Emma! No, I built dat!" So, that has churned some thoughts on Tim's head and he is now thinking of little projects to do with the kids at home.

Emma is signed up for T-ball this summer. Tim may be an assistant coach and I think he is pretty excited to get Emma outside to practice. The nice thing is that she will be on a league with kids from her own school & age. So, she will be meeting some of the kids in her future kindergarten class!

Evan has been doing awesome with potty training. He is usually dry during the day, but has not mastered nap time or overnight yet. But, I don't care about that, that will come with time. The daytime is a great start!

Here are a few pics of him saying goodbye to his crib at the cabin and helping Tim take it down. He loved that part and really enjoys being a "big helper! I big helper Mommy!"