Each visit to Dollywood we find new things to try out. We still did all the old favorites and then squeezed a few more in. It was interesting to watch Emily with the rides. She has been pretty courageous, but this visit she was more apprehensive to try rides. The rides that raised her into the air seemed to leave her unsettled. Julia on the other hand was willing to try all sorts of things without fear. The only thing that really scared Julia for the day was the bear mascot. She watched Emily from a distance interact with the big guy.

Emily backed out of the flying elephant ride, but was willing to ride the Veggie Tales roller coaster with me. She consented to ride in the flying bumble bee ride with Julia, but could not be convinced to try the River Rampage with Granddaddy and Mommy. I don’t think she liked the idea of getting wet.

The new things we rode were the flying elephant (Mommy and Julia rode), a bug themed playground, and the 60’s car ride. For the car ride, Emily rode with Grammy and Julia rode with Mommy. Both girls got to be the drivers of their cars. Emily gave Grammy a smooth ride, but Julia’s ride was a little bumpy. Every time we bumped into the guide bar Julia would let go of the handle bar and quit steering generally making us bump a little more. In the photo of Julia driving the car in the background is Emily’s car.

Emily loved the rope course and didn’t want to move on from it. She was responsive to try different techiques to cross each element. It was a lot of fun to watch her learn and love it.

We look forward to our next trip. Emily kept announcing that “next time she was going to go by herself. I will go with Mommy, Daddy, and sister.” I like how that is by herself.

Grammy and Granddaddy joined us this week when we visited Dollywood. The girls were so excited to go with them and show them the things they like. As usual they requested the carousel first. Emily asked Grammy to ride in an elephant ride together, but backed out when it came time to get on. The two of them rode in the old 60’s car ride together. Grandaddy, Grammy, and Julia rode in the lemon twist/teacup ride together. Grammy took Julia through the kids’ rope course several times and enjoyed watching her increasing courage to try the different elements. It was a nice treat to have additional adults so we could ride things that required the girls to be split up.

How does play and naptime mix? Well on this day, it was a princess nap. After she fell asleep in the carseat her crown fell over her eyes. I couldn’t let this one pass me up.

Julia enjoys her snack time. Since she discovered the Cheerios book is read with a Cheerios snack, I find the book laying on the high chair tray a lot. It is her non-verbal request for a snack. Generally, she puts one Cheerios “O” down on the book and then picks it up and puts it in her mouth. She gets this from Emily’s rule that you have to complete the page and then get to eat the snack. Just one more thing to learn from your big sister.

I loved this smile and the simple joy on Emily’s face. It is not easy most days to get smiles for the camera, but this particular day, we were eating snacks and reading books, and I guess willing to smile. She is glowing with happiness. I love you, sweetheart!

Emily met me this morning and informed me that she wanted Julia to be in her bed with her and that it would be safe for her. I told her that I could put Julia in her bed, but Julia might not stay. Emily had a little pillow set up in her bed so that she could share the space. It was all very sweet and I was hoping that Julia would want to stay with Emily for a few minutes. I gave them their morning milk together in the bed and both were very content to lay very still.

After the milk was finished they stayed for a few minutes more, each with a book. Actually, Emily’s was a toy catalog that she has been holding on to for over a week. Julia’s book was “Blue Hat, Green Hat” by Sandra Boynton. Emily kept telling Julia that she should read the book and say “Oops”. Too cute! Julia will giggle when I read the “Oops” pages, but hasn’t mastered that word yet.

All good things come to and end and Julia climbed down and went off to play. Emily followed so that she wouldn’t be left out of any fun. What a sweet moment to remember.