Emily had gone to bed with a cough and I wondered if she would be able to go to Thursday school the next morning. Sure enough she was up in the night with a fever. So, this morning, I asked Julia if she wanted to go to school by herself or stay with Mommy. Using her usual method of communicating–head nodding–she choose to go to school alone. The theme of the day was Teddy bears and they were to bring one in with them. Julia selected Minnie Mouse. There was no changing her mind either. Minnie went with her to school. I thought it would be fun to remember her day of independence with a photo of herself with Minnie. She was very brave about going alone up to the point when we went down the hall to her class. I left her in tears to find out later that she quit them quickly.

Emily and I had a fun couple of hours of just hanging out together alone. While it wasn’t the most fun list of activities, we enjoyed just being with each other. Emily visited the doctor to have her cough checked on. She asked to take her doll with her to the doctor’s office, so that she could be like her sister and take a stuffed friend with her. Emily was a big brave girl at the appointment. She had a breathing treatment administered while we were there and I thought she would like to see what she looked like with the fish mask on. She didn’t like the noise of the machine, but didn’t seem to mind the mask. Hopefully with a little rest she will be feeling back to normal very soon.

Emily measured at this appointment 41-1/2 inches tall and 32.8 lbs weight

I love photos of swinging! It is such a fun activity, kids love it, and when the weather is pretty there is nothing better.

By far, “Mary Poppins” is the girls favorite movie right now. Emily asks for it by name and they both get excited when they hear the music. The movie is pretty long, but the amount of the movie that holds their attention is amazing.

Several things from the movie have been big influences on the girls. Emily has added “cheeky” to her vocabulary. I asked her where she heard that word and she informed me that, “Mary Poppins said it”. Emily likes to dance like a penguin and has been known to try to ‘adjust’ her pants so that she looks like Dick Van Dyke when he dances like a penguin. Julia runs to get shoes on so that she can dance properly with the chimney sweeps. Both girls dance during the movie, but mostly with the chimney sweeps and trying to imitate the kicks. Today, Emily’s favorite song was “Spoonful of Sugar”. Julia managed the whole word “movie” tonight. For Julia, that is a big deal.

(23 Months) Julia loves blankets. I have tried several times without success to get a photo of her carring her blanket around like Linus from the Peanuts carton. She knew I had the camera out. Today, she humored me with photos of her on her new Mommy made blanket. She loves to touch the fabric and it makes for a fun blanket to sit on and play.

Julia’s blanket is the same pattern as Emily’s blanket with a color shift so that they wouldn’t be identical. I also bound the edge of Julia’s quilt which was a successful first for me. It is a soft and cozy blanket and will be nice for winter to bundle under or just soft to play on like we are today.

We had a double baby shower in Orlando for Sabah & Doug and Jennifer & Gary over the Labor Day holiday. It was a short visit, but a good time just to catch up. We don’t all get together that often, so it is great when it does happen. The new parents got lots of fun and useful things. So, for the next two months this is the official photo of the Edward’s family. After the new baby comes we will have to find another excuse to get together for an updated one.

The girls enjoyed a princess cupcake party. We celebrated the joy of eating cupcakes and dressing up as princesses. The girls were really excited to play and eat their cupcakes. What could be better than cupcakes with pink icing. Our current lesson is that playing princess is fun, but what makes a princess is someone who is kind and good.

Thanks Ashley for the idea!