Saturday

Just another Saturday...Emma is splashing around in our wading pool and Thomas finally lost his other front tooth!

Future Model?lol

Here's Emma modelling her new dress!lol

Fun at the park!

Look Mama, can I go get it... why Emma, what do you want - umm... a squirrel?? Who needs toys and play equipment when you can just chase a squirrel all around the park!!lol

Just for Mark - not a baby anywhere in this post!!

Mark is one of the dads from our China travel group. Poor Mark, all these blogs ever contain are baby pictures... he's tried to post car stuff, but we girls don't get very excited about that! So Mark, this one's for you - after 8 long years, we are no longer a minivan family - we got rid of the minivan this week and replaced it with this - okay, a Honda Pilot isn't exactly exciting, but at least it's not a minivan!! Hopefully we're working our way, ever so slowly, to that cool convertible sports car - a SUV with a sunroof is a start, right!lol

Hanging some more!

Well, Rebecca might be little, but she sure is mighty!!lol Actually, they were just getting into a really cute cuddling pose, but that of course I didn't get a picture of!!

Well, that whole resting together didn't work, let's take separate breaks!lol

Just hanging out!

Carolyn and Rebecca popped by for a quick visit today. Here are the girls taking a little break and then, back up and looking for trouble!lol

Summer in the city!

Here's Emma, testing out the pool water before hopping in...she LOVES water!! It's been sizzling hot here for the last few days so this is a lovely way to cool down. Sure wish our yard was big enough for a "real" pool!lol

Tippy toe girl!

Here's Emma showing off her pretty summer dress - it was a HOT day here today. Then she's showing off her ballet moves...she loves to walk on her tip toes and twirl around!lol

Karate Kid!

Thomas got his blue belt in karate this week, we're so proud of him!

I love shoes!

Last week Carolyn posted a picture of Rebecca wearing her high heels - Emma apparently also likes larger shoes but you'd think she'd find a better match for her outfit than daddy's old worn out slippers!!lol BTW, she does have a love for shoes like her mommy...she says the word "shoes" very clearly and excitedly and likes to pull out various shoes from her closet to just play with and admire them!lol

And we wonder why there's always a mountain of laundry!!

I think we'll be drowning in a mountain of laundry this summer!!! As I've mentioned before, Emma is definitely not afraid of getting into the thick of things and getting her hands dirty (not to mention the rest of her too!!lol)... here are a few changes of outfit from today and this doesn't include her PJs or the pants and t-shirt she wore this morning when it was still nippy out! Maybe it's a good thing her mommy is a good shopper!!lol

Here is Miss Emma waiting for her friends Rebecca, Keira and Kate.

After a little wet play at the sand and water table, it was time for a change of clothing.

After even more play at the water table, time for another change!!lol

Cutie girl!

Just a couple of cute Emma pics. She's very proud of her new pink sandals...in the first pic, I asked her to sit and smile so I could take her picture - waddaya know, she did!lol

Make a mess - not us!!

Today, Mark Shelley, Meg and Kate, Kevin, Dana and Keira and Carolyn, Gino and Rebecca came for a visit. As you can see, the sand and water table was a big hit with the girls... get dirty, not our precious little girls - never!!llol

WARNING: Janice, the pictures shown below could cause you severe distress!!lol

Kate and Emma - all clean again!!

See, we didn't get dirty at all... we dare you to find a speck of dirt on either of us!!

Big and Small!

Thomas and Emma

Meg and Kate

What kind of creature??

Emma, what kind of creature did you just find?? This is what happens when you ask your 7 year old to dress himself for bed after his bath!!lol

Not too prissy!

I know some little girls are quite prissy and don't much like any kind of mess...that's not our Emma!! Here she is playing outside after I was watering the sod that was just layed in our back yard... she seems quite proud of the mess she's made. Janice, you'd be proud of me, I don't mind any kind of mess she gets into outside, unlike the messes she tries to get into in her high chair which you know I'm not fond of!lol Anyhow, she went straight from the back yard to the tub!

Emma, are you SURE that's a hat and not a toy???lol

Outdoors...finally!!

I swear it feels like it's been raining every day for about a month... okay, an exaggeration, but only slightly!!! Here's Emma finally enjoying some back yard fun! We pulled Thomas' old house out from under the deck and my father built it up again...needs a washing, but Emma is loving it. She also loves the sandbox although she doesn't quite seem to get the concept of leaving the sand IN the box...I think I'm going to have to buy stock in a sand company to keep up with demand!lol

Keira, Rebecca, Emma and Thomas

We headed up to Kevin and Dana's for a wonderful lunch - Kevin sure makes a delicious home made pizza! Here's a pic of the girls...beautiful aren't they! And then there's one of Thomas with a dragon on his head... ah boys!!lol
The girls look so small next to him, don't they...and he's only 7 years old and 60 lbs soaking wet!lol

Chicago

While my sister and parents were here, Gary and I headed out overnight - to Chicago. It's one of our fave cities. I love Frank Lloyd Wright and included is a pic of his Robie house - too big for a full pic, but you get the idea... great space. Also, one of my fave parks in Chicago - just next door to the Art Institute - it looks so different every time we drop in. Anyhow, Emma did great with my family and it was wonderful to have an adult getaway, even just for one night. We took some great architectural tours, both on bus and on foot and did some fine dining...nice and relaxing. :-)

Out of the way doll!!

My parents and sister are visiting. My father made this lovely doll cradle for Emma's dolls. Well, no sooner had my parents given her the cradle that she'd thrown the doll out and gotten in herself... tight squeeze, but that doesn't seem to bother her!lol And of course Emma being Emma, now she likes to stand in the crib and make it rock...she looks like she's surfing or something!lol This kid is such a hoot and she's giving me so many gray hairs - she's just full speed ahead!

It's a dog's life!

We went up to Carolyn's today for a visit. Carolyn has a huge family room with a ton of toys - what do the girls decide to do - take up the dog's bed and play with the dog toys!!lol On the way home, I stopped at Toys R Us and bought a sand and water table...much to our relief, it was much easier to put together than that other plaything I bought!lol

Mothers Day

Gary got original with my Mothers Day flowers today... isn't this cool... it's a fruit flower bouquet!lol We had a lovely day - we all went to the zoo and had a fun relaxing day. Then I got dinner in bed and a movie while Gary hung with the kidlets. I watched Match Point - it was good...so was the pizza. :-)

Just when we thought...

We were just saying Emma was eating so neatly these days...and then we turned our backs on her for a minute... oh well...I hear yogurt is good for the skin!lol

Girls, you want to know how to get this great look??

Well, just dip your hands in yogurt and them clap them together really hard... and remember to close your eyes because it spreads everywhere!!
Oops, I think I just got busted!