Those Magic Words!

Madison just said:

DA-DA!

Pre-School

Today was Emily's 1st day of pre-school. She wouldn't say much aside from telling us about the science experiment (yes, in pre-school at age 3). The kids had bowls of water and a bunch of objects and had to predict if the items would float. Emily continued the experiment tonight in the tub :)

Flugs and Flisses

"Do you want hugs and kisses?" I always say to Emily when leaving. If you've ever read this blog you know the answer by now. One day I fired back with, "what about flugs and flisses?" I had her curiosity peaked so she agreed. A flug is a goofy hug I give with the outsides of my arms and a fliss is an off-centered kiss with a funny noise.

Yet another creative way I to get Emily to give me hugs and kisses when I leave. :)

Mad Update

Madison continues to charm. She sleeps in most days and regardless of how long it takes one of us to get her, she greets us with a toothy grin (both of them). She is very ticklish and giggles at the drop of a hat. Madison is one of the most patient people I know. As a parent this is great because when she cries, you know she really means it.

Sitting up and rolling over and becoming very easy. She is only 7.5 months old but is fitting into some 12 month clothes (some of those are a little tight). Her favorite food appears to be bananas. Her favorite toy is a small stuffed duck that quacks when you squeeze its belly.

She gets a big laugh out of having her hair dried.

Postcard From Pre-school

Today Emily received a post card from her pre-school teacher telling her how excited they were to have Emily joining the class.

Then this...

E- "THANK YOU"

*pause, then very serious*

E- "I want to take it to school."

S- "Oh, to say thank you?"

E- "No, cuz I really don't need it."

Knotts Berry Farm

This past Monday, Emily and I went with the Evans family to Knotts Berry Farm. This was Emily's first trip to an amusement park and she had a BLAST! So much so that for the past 2 days, every time she crawls into my lap she wants me to talk about our "Special Day."

I have posted the story using picutes (Picasa Rocks!). They are in order of events as they happened. Enjoy.

Arriving at the Hotel

No sooner than we arrive at the hotel and Snoopy walks into the lobby. I had the wrong lens on my camera at the time so it's not hard to imagine that I immediately threw my suitcase down while in the check-in line and dug through it until I found the right one.

Emily was excited but shy at first. Snoopy was very excited to see Emily. Lucky for us she was one of very few kids in the lobby so I got to take a lot of pictures. :)

  

  

A kiss goodbye from Snoopy.

  

The Room Keys Didn't Work

Our first set of keys didn't work and the kids were none too happy. We stayed in rooms with an adjoining door so the kids could play etc. After our arrival, we went to Carls Jr. for a chicken stars dinner. Then we hit the pool. Emily was excited because we were "swimming after bed time." Yes, we had promised the kids could swim so a few rules would be broken on this special trip. :)

It was cold and breezy outside but the pool was heated. Emily and I swam around for less than 10 min before looking up to me and saying "I'm tired, I want to get out and dry off." You know she's tired when...

In the rooms, all of the kids got into 1 bed to hear stories. I offered to let Emily fall asleep with Matthew and Christina but she said that she wanted to be with me. AWW. So we went to our room and she was soon off to sleep/

  

Posers!

So excited about going to the park, Emily awoke bright and early excited to GO! Wrong. Emily slept in. I got up, showered, turned on a light, blew my hair dry and still she was out cold. Finally, I had to wake her. We had room service pancakes for breakfast then it was off to the park.

We arrived as the park opened and the first thing we did was pose the kids for pictures. Poor Cary had the tough job here.


  

  

  

The Sign Says It All

  

Hey, Here's Snoopy Again!

  

  

As you can see, she warmed up to Snoopy. She saw Snoopy several times throughout the day. At one point she gave him a hug so long, I had to go get her. :)

  

The Red Baron

The first ride of the day! Emily went alone on this one. The kids had to ride alone and there was fear that Matthew wouldn't sit still (he is very good at unbuckling his car seat). I decided to put Emily on anyway. I buckled her in tight, showed her where to hold on and told her not to try to stand up etc. This ride was a real test to see how Emily would like rides in general. She held on just as I told her and laughed the entire time!


  

  

  

Snoopy's Railroad

Anyone want to guess what we rode the most? Hint: Never a line and it's a train. Between all of us, we rode this 4-5 times.

  

  

The Floating Rope Bridge

In the background you can see a rope bridge (click on the photo). It floats in the river and is quite wobbly. Emily, holding my hand just charged right across it into the dark cave on the other side. The kid has no fear.

  

The School Bus

Here we are on the down swing. The big kid in front of us is holding tight to the rail. No fear Emily is waiving to the camera. :)

  

The Roller Coaster!

This was the big test. If not for the thick heel on her sandals, Emily would not have met the height requirement.

As the chain took us to the top, I was worried Emily might get scared to I started laughing to get her to laugh with me. We laughed the entire ride and yelled WWEEEEE! every time we dropped. :)

  

The Snoopy Balloon Race

Lesson for me: When I ride moves up and down while spinning in a circle, do not ride the entire ride looking through a camera lens. This I did and was very dizzy afterwards.

Of course the first thing Emily says to me when the ride is over is, "Did we win?" - Yep.

  

Flying high in a balloon, Emily is, of course, worried about her hair.

  

  

Waiting in Lines

Among all of the new experiences, waiting in line was one of them. Here we are waiting to ride in the race cars. Earlier in the day, there were no lines at all but after lunch Emily learned a lesson in patience. The funny part was when we'd be waiting and almost at the front, she'd look up at me and say I want to go ride _____(fill in name of another ride).


  

The Snoopy Raceway

Yikes. This ride looks unassuming but it really whipped you around the turns. We rode this twice and while most kids gripped the hand rail tight, Emily threw her hands into the air.

  

No Fear!