We had a wonderful snow storm come and leave us approximately six inches of snow this past weekend. The snow arrived mid-day Friday and snowed through the night and then off and on Saturday. Because it came on the weekend and it was a forecasted snow we were prepared and didn’t need to go anywhere. We had several opportunities to play outside together in the snow and enjoy the wonderful white.
 
Emily knows a lot about snow from books, TV shows, and movies but hasn’t had much opportunity to experience it first hand. She told us that she wanted to throw snowballs at Daddy before we even went out to play. Neither girl was impressed with the number of layers that Mommy put on them to go out and play. Over the consecutive trips back out the number of layers was moderated to maximize warmth, but allow for more movement in play. I think Julia was most appreciative.

Emily never tired of playing in the snow, but did get pretty wet every trip out. Julia was frustrated with not being able to move well. She couldn’t figure out how to get up once she had fallen down because she didn’t like putting her hands in the snow. She did enjoy the sled and it’s freedom.

Beautiful snowy days!

A Silly Pool Face!

Emily celebrated her birthday with her friends at a pool playdate. We had to move the playdate twice because of sickness, but finally everyone was well and we got to go. Julia, Elena, Maeve, Aiden, and New Fish all came for the play time. The pool water seemed a little colder this week, but Emily had a good time anyway. She played a funny game – she will swim to the middle of the pool with her floaties on and cry, “help, help me Mommy”. I would walk out to her and pull her back to the shallow section. She never was in trouble and in need of help, she just wanted her Mommy to play with her and figured this way would work.

After swimming, we all went to Chick-fil-a for lunch and a cookie cake. Emily loves her chicken and fries (with catsup of course). The kids all had a good time. To cap off the good playtime, Emily played in the playarea and successfully climbed up to the top of the playground toy by herself.

Emily just finished her first semester of class at Little Gym. We all joined her for her last ‘showcase’ class. She was pretty shy to preform her skills in front of everyone and was very excited for us to be with her. From the beginning to the end of the semester, we saw Emily grow in confidence to try new things and just enjoy spending time with the parent that took her. Emily loved her teacher – Ms Asha. Her favorite station was the rings and seemed to enjoy the low balance beam a lot when accompanied by a parent.

We have enrolled Emily in another sememster of class and because she just had a birthday she is moving up to a new and more independant class. This new class does not have direct parent involment. It will be a lot of fun to watch her interact with older children and in a circumstance where she is required to listen and respond to instruction from the instructor.

Funny and slightly related to gym story – We tried to eat dinner together after class each week and one week we ate at the restaurant next to the gym. We ordered her a kids meal of mac & cheese and mandarin oranges. After that visit she decided that she loved to eat there and requested it every week going into class and leaving class. She is definitely her Mommy’s daughter.

Emily made her annual visit to the doctor for her well checkup. It is amazing to think about how old she is now!

At this visit she had her first eye chart test. The nurse quizzed her about the shapes so that they could eliminate the confusion over shapes from the ability to see. When she saw the cup shape she announced that it was a ‘coffee cup’. The nurse almost lost it laughing – I guess Daddy’s drink choices have influenced Emily a little. The eye test went really well along with all the other tests. She didn’t quite have the communication skills for the hearing test at this visit, but it is pretty unusual for three year olds to get that one. I’m pretty sure her hearing is fine though – she has me turn the volume down on her TV shows because they are too loud.

Her weight at this visit was 28-1/4 lbs (an increase of 2-1/4 lbs) and height of 37-3/4 (an increase of 3-1/4 inches). She has remained around the 50th percentile for height. The doctor was pleased to hear that Emily had recently given up her pacifier and was working on potty training. Big steps for a big girl. She is off the hook for another visit for a year and no more shots until it is time for school.

It is so sweet to see the girls just hanging out with their Daddy. I remembered this time to grab the camera and take a photo. Julia is very aware of what Emily is doing, and if it looks fun she is trying to join in her own way.

Other than celebrating a birthday, we have had a very quiet three weeks with sickness moving through the house. I thought that we were getting out from under the sick gloom and Emily got sick again. The girls and I are ready to get out and mix with other people and maybe tomorrow . . . but that is a thought I have had many times in the last three weeks. When we are officially well, we will have Emily’s birthday party with her friends at a local pool. It is good that she is only three and doesn’t realize that we have moved her party twice already. Being homebound has given us a lot of time to play with our new Christmas and birthday toys. This mommy is very grateful for the new things to hold our interest!