Classic kid stuff! One of Emily’s classic phrases we are hearing now days – “I do it, myself”. It is really cute and a good description of her current state of mind. The longer I hear it, the more she means it. Today, she literally ran me out of the bathroom, so that, she could potty and ‘do it, myself’. In the end, she did do it herself. I guess this is just the first step of my letting her go.

After church on Sunday, we and the grandparents caught a yummy lunch and then spend some time by a fountain for Emily to play in. The day was a little cooler than our normal hot August days and made for a beautiful day to be out in. Emily, like usual, was a little skittish about getting wet. She enjoyed playing ‘Hokey Pokey’ and sticking hands and feet in the water with her Mommy. The game she loved most was getting her feet wet and then running out to visit with a grandparent and then returning to the water.

A cousin of mine sent some dress-up clothes for the girls. We got them out and played with them en masse one day. Emily was in heaven! Julia seemed to really enjoy herself, too. Emily’s favorite costume was a Cinderella dress, “glass” slippers, jewels and purse. To that she enjoyed adding cheerleading pompoms and a Blues Clues hat. Julia spent most of the time in a little pink tutu chewing on purse handles or pompom madness.

We finally talked Emily into trying other costumes on like a Snow White and Sleeping Beauty dress. But in the end she was most interested in the oversized blue Cinderella dress. She wore it to dinner after we talked her into leaving the shoes off. The shoes had become a slipping hazzard. For bedtime, we were able to revert back to a nightgown.

For Halloween, Julia is going to be a lion and with the addition of these dress-up clothes she is going to be a tutu wearing lion. I think it will be adorable. The jury is still out on Emily for Halloween. I was thinking originally about a pirate, but maybe it will be Cinderella.

Emily discovered that she liked to play with a cold pack. This is somewhat problematic because it warms up pretty quickly, takes a while to re-cool, and we only have one. In a moment of inspiration I discovered some frozen colored ice treats in the freezer.

We didn’t open them, but each girl got a colored frozen stick to play with and chew on. I’m going to keep them handy for days filled with teething pain. The girls seemed to really enjoy playing the same game together and swapped them at one point.

How sweet is this? The girls were playing with their bears and posing for a photo together.

Things have been changing this week at our house. Emily moved into her big girl bed, which at this point is her crib transitioned to a day bed. Emily helped Robby to transfer it over and enjoyed some playtime under the bed. Her first nap was not much of a nap, but it did give Robby an hour and half break from her being under foot. Her first night had the drama of her rolling out of the bed once. We were ready for that possibilty with a bank of pillows to pad her fall. She was upset from the fall, but wasn’t hurt. She managed to stay in her bed the second night just fine. I will miss the freedom of knowing she is in a safe place while I am doing chores, but she can’t stay in the crib forever.

Julia is changing every day. She intereacts with the world so much more. You can read such delight and desire on her face. If you are holding something that she wants she tries her hardest to get it. Things in Emily’s hands are really intersting. She will move across the floor to get to what she wants or just to be near Emily. Today, I was watching her floor movement and can report that she is officially crawling. She had been rolling and pulling herself places with her forarms, but today I saw the knee bend and foot kick that propells her forward. She is so delighted with herself. When I was watching her, she crawled about a foot then turned on her side to me and waved at me. It was like she was saying, “Hi Mommy, see my new trick.”