Ethan rode his bike all the way to the park!

Ethan discovered Noah's old training wheel bike at Poppy's house over the summer.  He's been riding it up and down the driveway at our house most afternoons.  But today, he was brave and decided he was ready to go further...

Aunt Jill came over to help us.  Emmalee rode on the back of my bike and we set off down the street heading for the elementary school.  Just about a block from the house, Ethan got too close to the edge of the road and fell over into the grass.  He cried... I think it scared him more than anything.  But he eventually got up, dusted himself off and decided to try again!  So our adventure continued.  

It took us about 20 minutes, but we finally made it to the school playground.  As you can tell by the picture, Ethan was VERY proud of himself!!!  He is getting so big and accomplishing new things every day!  I'm pretty proud of him, too!

Sent via BlackBerry by AT&T

Sweet Dreams

Emmalee is such a busy girl! She wakes up talking to all of her friends. "Good morning, Bunny! What should we do today? Do you think Mommy is up yet?" She climbs up into our bed and jumps on Daddy. "Can I have some Day Day milk?" And from that moment on, she doesn't stop. She dances and sings and reads and jumps and climbs and laughs and RUNS! She's a busy girl! At the end of the day, I tuck her in tight and close the door. I can still hear her singing... "Only a boy named David... When will my reflection show... Look at this stuffn isn't it neat, wouldn't you think my collection's complete..." She'll even ask for a cup of water. "Hey! Can somebody cover me up? My foot got out!". And finally, it gets quiet. That's when I sneak back in to her room and watch silently. She is always hugging a friend; Bunny, Bear Bear, Pablo... And she's quiet... And still. And I wonder how she can be so still... And I smile as I think of how many times she made me laugh that day... Without her, my life could be boring! But it's never a dull moment with Emmalee.
Sent via BlackBerry by AT&T

Gotta Love a Bubble Bath

Ethan LOVES to take bubble baths in our large bath tub. He loves to make a bubble beard and bury his boats in mountains of bubbles. But his favorite thing to do is "wash" my tub. He scrubs every inch of it with his rag. In other words, I love to give him a bubble bath!
Sent via BlackBerry by AT&T

Pony Rides

Ethan opted out of the hamster ball. He chose the pony ride instead. He waited patiently for his turn. Then he climbed onto the pony and beamed! He's quite the little cowboy!
Sent via BlackBerry by AT&T

My Little Hamster

We had a fun family day today! We drove out to Oak Alley for the Arts and Crafts Fair. Emmalee spotted this ball from the parking lot and couldn't wait to get in it. She pushed past all of the big kids who weren't sure they wanted to try it. She climbed right in and RAN! She loved it. She is such an adventurer!
Sent via BlackBerry by AT&T

Pul-eeeeze, Daddy

It was our first Friday night at home in a very long time - no football games, no weddings, no birthday parties. Emmalee looked at her Daddy and said, "I want pink cupcakes." That was all he needed to hear. In a matter of minutes, Daddy had all of his baking stuff out and the kids were proudly pretending to run a cupcake shop. They had an assembly line going: ice the cupcake, sprinkles and a cherry on top.
Peter - you are such a sweet Daddy! I hope the kids realize what a blessing you are in their lives.
Sent via BlackBerry by AT&T

I'm Glad I'm a Boy

When Ethan was in Pre-School, he pouted and said, "I wish I was a GIRL!" When we asked him why, he said it was because all of the good costumes in the play center were for girls. Poor baby. This year in PK, Ms. Newton has SO many fun boy costumes. This is his "Daddy" costume.
Sent via BlackBerry by AT&T

Always Reading

My sweet baby girl loves to read. When the house is too quiet, I go looking for Emmalee. I usually find her sitting at a bookshelf in a pile of books reading to herself.  She "reads" with such expression - acting out every part - with different voices for different characters.  She truly is amusing herself.  I'm so glad she loves books... and theater!  Maybe I'll get to be a backstage mom just like my mommy was for me...
Sent via BlackBerry by AT&T

Just Another Day at "The Office"

Peter and I met on the stage at Christian Life Fellowship in 1999.  We sang together on the worship team for years!  But once Ethan was born, it was difficult to sing and watch him at the same time.  So I stepped down from the platform and joined the nursery staff instead.  Then Emmalee was born, so I continued to work in the nursery.  Now that Emmalee is THREE, I've wandered back to the worship team on my free mornings.  Ethan has been joining Peter at worship practice for over a year now.  But Emmalee has just begun to join us and is trying to find her place.
Today, the kids found "their place."  They crawled into Doc's pulpit and read their books while we practiced.  They told the other worshipers that it was their "office."  Too funny!  I'm glad they have such an imagination... and that they're comfortable in God's House!
Sent via BlackBerry by AT&T

Ethan's Fish Tank

Ethan has been helping Mrs. Karen feed the fish at work for about a year now. This week, he came home and created his own fish tank.  He pushed two stools together.  There are people fish in his tank (dolls from Emmalee's doll house).  He feeds them block food with a green cup.  He has to take the yellow lid off of the tank so that he can reach in to feed the fish.  But he has to be fast so that his fish don't bite him the way Little Nemo bites Mrs. Karen!
Sent via BlackBerry by AT&T