Emily

Two year olds have a lot to say and for the first time in their lives, we understand most of it.

Yesterday I'm folding socks.  For those of you that know me well, you know I totally despise folding socks and would much rather do anything, including clean the toilet, but there comes that time when there are NO socks left in the drawers and socks must be folded, which was where I was at yesterday.  Emily was supposed to be napping.  She wasn't.  She was "helping".  Anyway, as I'm sorting through the sock mountain she exclaims (rather excited too) "My Tara Sock"  then quickly follows that up with "Where my other Tara sock?"  A few minutes later I unearthed the other one "My 'nother Tara sock"  She then sits down and proceded to put them on....for just a few minutes, was a little warm to be wearing fuzzy purple socks.

I told Emily that Grandma had the Toy Story movies on dvd for her.  She starts getting her socks and shoes ready.  I ask where she's going "G-ma's toy tory" 

She's recently decided on a new favorite snack.  She goes to the kitchen counter and asks for a raw potato! Of course, after I went to the farmers market last week (just realized its farmers market night...oops maybe next week) and got a pound of tomatoes she consumed the entire pound in less than 24 hours!

I know there was more I was going to write but I can't remember it right now. 

Happy Father's Day!

Happy Father's Day to all you Daddy's out there!  Father's Day, a time to reflect on memories with our dads and the advice they've given us through the years.  I remember taking a break hiking back up the hill from te Piney Creek bottom, sometime during high school.  We got to talking about what I wanted to do when I grew up, and this was the best advice I've ever gotten.  Find something you love to do and then figure out how to get paid to do it.  So for 7 years I worked in state parks/conservation areas, after 3 summers of workign out west, and then the last 2 1/2 years I've got to stay home and be mom, which is the most exhausting, entertaining and enjoyable job I've ever had....lets just say boredom is not something that happens to me anymore!  And for some reason the daddy memories often leave me laughing.  I remember one time, I think it was in the Bighorn Mountains of Wyoming, anyway, it was a mountain in Wyoming.  We wanted to see a moose.  Then low and behold, in a swampy area just off the road, there stood Bullwinkle himself.  Of course, we needed pictures....and pictures we got!  We all trucked off across the field, Dad leading the way, camera in tow.  Have you ever heard of moose mud?  That would be the term from the day regarding the mud that Dad was basically stuck in.  The big bull moose shook his antlers (he also wasn't alone...there was one maybe 2 more moose) and gave Dad a clear message he was getting too close.  So he went back to the car.....but he couldnt get in  because he was covered in moose mud.  After a slight wardrobe change while hiding behind the rented minivan, we were once again on our way to check out the wilds of Wyoming, but we will never forget the moose mud.

Or how about the time we went camping and Daddy had just gotten a brand new thermarest.  After hiking for a few miles we found the perfect camping spot.  We put up our tents.  And he unrolled his brand new thermarest.  The look on his face was priceless....unknowingly he had bought a 3/4 length one and when he unrolled it he couldnt figure out where the rest of it was.  Same trip a little later we were collecting wood and found an even better camping spot back in the woods.  Since our tents were already set up we just carried them, without taking them down or anything out of them, to the new camping spot.

Or the backpacking trip where daddy goes to set up his tent and gets it up and then goes to pull his sleeping bag out and pulls out another tent.  He did have a sleepign bag (good thing, it was somewhere around 16 degrees!) but I'm not sure why he had 2 tents....

I remember the first time we ever went to Yellowstone and we checked in to our cabin at Canyon.  I told Daddy that someday I wanted a nametag like that, you know the ones that have your name and then your state.  I still have the nametag from 1999....

And speaking of Yellowstone, you've got to remember Clyde and Cleo (for some reason this is what the elk at canyon were named by my father)

Or maybe you prefer closer to home, things like the infamous snake video where Daddy starts singing "the hills are alive" to a rather lengthy blacksnake that had decided to visit inside the house.

And also on Father's Day, I look at my husband with our little girl.  If it storms (which evidently it did in quite a storm the other night...forgive me, I was tired and slept!) she comes running from her bedroom...."Daddy, Daddy, Daddy, Lalightning scare me." and crawls in bed with him and they "hide".   Or the tickle monster games that last for hours.  Its fun watching them play!

So to my father, husband, and grandfather,

HAPPY FATHER'S DAY!  and this post will be done in 10 more minutes....

But first, we have to cover yesterday.  Emily went FISHING!  There was a fish derby at the little pond in our city park, so I assumed (correctly too) that they would have stocked it the day before and that she might actually have a chance at catching a fish.

 When we bought worms Friday night she was so excited to have worms.  But I didnt get a picture of her with the worms.  And yes, she dressed herself:)

 Deep in concentration.  Mommy says you have to watch that ball and yank if it goes under to catch a fish.

 It didn't take long and she was sitting on my lap on the bank fishing away.  She helped me cast for her and then she would reel it in until mommy said let is sit there for a minute, then she'd reel some more whenever I told her to....proved she actually can do exactly what is asked of her:)  Anyway, after about 15-20 minutes....wouldn't you know it, the bobber went under, we yanked, and yep, she caught her very first fish!

 No, that isn't the bait, that is her catch.  And it wasn't even a bluegill, it was a largemouth bass!

 I was trying to get her to touch it but she told me it was "yucky".  I was glad it was a largemouth bass...much easier to get off the hook.  She wouldnt kiss it before throwing it back, even though I told her it was good luck:)

 And after about 15 minutes more, she was done, so we tried out the slides for a few minutes before getting groceries, stopping at a garage sale (hey, that was a great stop...she'd fallen in love with these light up flip flops one of her friends had a couple weeks ago but I didnt want to pay $15 for a pair of flip flops she wouldnt wear that long, but guess what this garage sale had?  Yep light up flip flops.  And $0.75 was much more to my liking!  And so what if they are a little big, they'll still fit her next year this way:), and then we went home.

 Showing off for the camera last night.

Not to be outdone by Emily!

A few pics

 Little miss attitude....funny story...on a walk with Grandpa she got to see cows, donkey, bullfrogs (which made her stop and laugh when they talked to her) and even pet a horse.  She petted it and then, "Grandpa I ride that yee haw"  Grandpa replies ,"really?"  Mommy says, "No Emily you can't ride that yeehaw"  Grandpa occassionally needs a translater.  Later on in the walk, "Grandpa, I wanna see elephant now"  Hmm...Grandpa, do you have elephants are farms in stone county?

 Ok, I have a few cute pics...this one would have been better if they had both still been looking at me:)

 Suprisingly she went down like this, not telling him "I do" she just sat on his lap and went.

 I think something must've scared this one, his hair was sticking straight up:)

 This was a very high slide, but she loved it.

 See, very high...good for almost 7 year old....scary for 2 year olds mommmy when she wanted no help.

 And yep, she followed him all the way up this thing.

And she enjoyed swinging...noticed she'd taken her socks and shoes off.  Everyone had to see "My Becky make my toes blue"  She loves her Becky and her blue toes!

I think I know why they call it terrible 2s

I love my daughter, but there are days that I'm sure I'll have no hair left by bedtime (literally when she decides to climb on my head...her new favorite thing to do to mommy).  And lately she's been on a roll. 

She pee pees in her pants.  I ask, "Why didn't you go to the potty?"  Her reply, "I decided not to" Later I give her some cereal for a snack.  Kendall is in the bedroom cause there are other kids here.  Look over to the bedroom door (it was naptime, Emily was the only one NOT napping) and Emily is laying on her tummy shoving cereal under the door.  I ask, "What are you doing?'  Her reply, "feeding kendall"  I am attempting to grow a few vegetables and herbs in pots in the backyard...and some in a spot where grass really wasnt growing anyway:)  She helps me water them.  Then she turns the pot of cilantro upside down and goes and gets a shovel full of sand and dumps on it.  No cilantro for us now (was not rescuable....for that matter, dont really think there was any cilantro growing anyway....was a stray leaf of lettuce, but that might have been it).  Kendall sits on the couch beside me.  Emily walks up.  She gets ahold of Kendalls beard.  I say, "what are you doing? Be careful with Kendall"  Emily says, "I looking at her teeth"  A second later she is trying to open Kendalls mouth and looks at her "say AAAHHH"  (by the way, Kendall didnt say ahh...but she didnt get up and leave either which you would think she would do)  and to top off my day, remember that she didnt nap?  She was GROUCHY!  and threw a fit every time she didnt get her way and she has a total meltdown whenever I turn the barbie movie off.  today!

And that was just today.  Oh my little angel had her halo held up by horns for sure! Wonder what tomorrow will be like?

Summertime, Summertime....

There are a few things that you just have to do during a summer, and since Emily is now 2 and big enough to do some of them, we've been busy! 

Saturday we went to Walmart (ok so that's really not much fun:)  but we purchased this cute little pink and purple sparkly fishing pole. 

 And then we practiced casting it in the backyard.  She wasnt bad for a two year old:)

 And would you believe she actually caught something???  Yep, Kendall loved chasing the practice plug as it was getting reeled in.  Very funny although I didnt have the camera out and the neighbors were getting a new roof and it was hot out so we left Kendall inside the next time.

 Last year, remember how scared they all were of the sprinkler?  Well, for all but one of them, they aren't scared this year!

 Look how tired she is....Friday we played and played in the sprinkler and ran around outside all morning, then we ate a picnic lunch....and then they all laid down for a nice long nap! 

Not sure why we had to wear the rainboots!  Silly girl.

Benefit/Shower next weekend

Greetings everyone!  I know many of my readers are not geographically able to attend, but I wanted to invite everyone to a benefit/shower on June 11 to help my cousin Janet and her husband James get back on their feet after losing their house and a large portion of their belongings in the Joplin tornado.  It will be from 4-7 pm at Oak Park in Aurora (business 60 and Oak Street).  We will be having a potluck dinner as well, so bring a lawn chair and covered dish.  They are in need of things like potholders, kitchen towels, tools, throw rugs, paring knifes, etc and if you would prefer to give gift cards, there is a Walmart in Webb City, Neosho or Carthage, all relatively close and there is still a JC Penney's in Joplin.  Of course, cash would be welcome as well to help replenish what they lost.  If you want more information or details, just let me know and I probably won't know but could definitely find out for you!