Christmas books

I know I still need to write about Thanksgiving and some other things here and there but I really want to mention some lovely Christmas books I bought this year for Emma. Last year E was really into snowmen. She would pronounce it, "noman". She loved everything about them, so we got her books, coloring and reading, stuffed snowmen and we constantly were drawing them. This year, she is really into Rudolph, the 1960's claymation Rudolph. So she is watching the movie and singing the songs and she has amassed a nice little toy collection. She is also into pirates and when I saw the book, Gingerbread Pirates written by Kristin Kladstrup and illustrated by Matt Tavares, I had to look at it. I am not a fan of how the humans are illustrated but the story is really sweet. It even brought a little tear to my eye. Needless to say E loves this book! So if you have a pirate fan out there, this is a great gift.

The second book I want to mention is The Twelve Day of Christmas, illustrated by Jade Fang. It is an animotion book so each page comes alive as you see ladies dancing and lords a leaping and the best thing is they hide the previous day in each page, so it is fun to ask your child, where the doves and the hens are? E enjoys this book, especially me hitting those high notes. I really only sing for her.

Finally, I just never tire of mentioning this book. It is one of my all time favorites and I don't mean just at Christmas. Mr Willowby's Christmas Tree by Robert Barry is such a classic, lovely tale that teaches the joy of enjoying what we have and seeing the beauty in something that someone else might disregard. I love the illustrations of all the furry little animals.

He's up in the sky

It has been a month since I last wrote and the ninj has done some really cute things and improved on several levels, alas, I am so tired that I am drawing a blank. I do want to quickly write this cute little blurb on something she told me while we were in Tampa. I always try and remind Emma of my dad, I will show her pictures and ask her where he is. She always pauses and looks around. I have avoided telling her that he is physically not here anymore, but I finally found the courage to say it out loud. I started telling her that he is up in the sky. I really only told her two times, both of which I thought she wasn't paying attention or that the idea was too abstract for her to understand. I had forgotten how wonderful a child's mind is and how open they are to accepting everything you tell them at face value. On a side note, Emma really does have this incredible use of her imagination. I mean she is over the top. So when I asked her where grandpa was and she responded "up in the sky". I was a little taken aback that she actually remembered. Then she really floored me as she proceeded to tell this lovely story of how grandpa is way up in the sky and he is jumping from cloud to cloud and he goes all the way up and then comes down. She was smiling and so into her story telling. It made me smile and get a little teary eyed. Then I couldn't help to laugh because I could imagine what she was seeing in her little head, my dad actually bouncing around from cloud to cloud, like Pooh bear. It really is a sweet image.

ouch my ear!

E went to the doctors today. Last night she started complaining of an ear ache, and for once she seemed to be in so much pain. I have never seen Emma in pain. In fact when she gets hurt she usually just shrugs it off or asks me to rub it. But I knew something wasn't right. An hour into her sleep she woke up whimpering and crying. She tossed and turned all night so I took her in today. She was so good at the doctors. We entered the office and she walked up to the receptionist and told her that her ear hurt. Then when the nurse looked at her, E was so still. She even lifted up her shirt before the doc asked her to. E has the routine down pat, as she loves to play doctor at home! Here's hoping that it sticks in her mind all the way into college!

imagination

little girl in a big forest. E was looking for clues at this point and took out her pretend magnifying glass and started walking around like those inspectors in old cartoons, all hunched over.

E is now fishing. She just sat down by the creek and started "fishing". She was too cute. She even did the full casting and reeling motions.

"it is time"

E as Rafiki

E has a very good imagination and I love watching it play out. She will just start doing something and when she explains what she is doing, it just melts my heart. This past Sunday as I mentioned we went to Stone Hill Farms and took a nice hike in the National Park. While we are walking E finds a large stick that looks like a staff. She then proceeds to tell me that she is a monkey, but not just any monkey, she is Rafiki from The Lion King. She then starts shaking the staff as if it had the little charms at the end, and doing the chant the monkey does when he mixes some dirt and another stuff. Then we walked a little bit more and pass a babbling brook. E decided to sit down and start fishing. She even did the little reeling motion and everything. The walk concluded with Emma finding a large log and sitting on it and proceeding to say "think think think" as she tapped her hand over her forehead like Pooh does. She is so full of life and sweetness, ugh, I just cant imagine a life without her.

Stone Barn

This Sunday we went to Stone Barn and had an amazing time. It is such a lovely place. The grounds are so well kept and the animals look so happy. Apparently they have this super chi- chi restaurant which maybe one day I will eat at, but we did have some lunch at their cafe and the food and treats were delish. We had the BEST cranberry brioche and yummy black bean soup. Emma ate like a champ. She of course had THE best time. She really is an outdoorsy girl who just loves being outside, exploring her surroundings and being one with nature. The "kitchens" were her favorites and she had a stare down with one. She also loved just walking around in the forest. The setting is so serene, a truly perfect autumn day! She even did potty three times in their bathroom and only had a slight accident when we yelled at her for running out into the street. We really need to work on that.

I cant no like

Emma still hasn't figured out how to say "I don't" so she says "I can't no like" . It is really cute to hear her say, "I cant no like the light", or "I cant no like you"...aw...heart breaker.

More Halloween pics

Halloween Tradition

2011

2009

E had a good time trick or treating this past Halloween. She wasn't as into it as I thought she would be. She got tired after only 30mns, and wanted to be carried the rest of the way. She understands the whole procedure and what to say, but she just didn't seem like herself. She was lacking pep. I think she was also a little scared by the decorations and really scared by that mask from the movie Scream. I had a little Bodyguard moment when E was put in a corner by a large group of kids and so scared by a kid in that mask, that I had to pluck her up from the crowd and carry her away. The best part was at the end of it all when we inspect her candy. Gato has to be front and center making sure he doesnt miss out on a thing.

The ECHO

While we were in Burlington, VT my mom and I went shopping along Church Street while Ant and da ninj went to a children's museum. She really can get so involved in nerdy stuff like her dad. She enjoyed fishing and learning about sea creatures.

Happy Early Halloween

Emma had her first school party ever yesterday. Her teacher had a Halloween party and I, being the crafty nerd that I am, made cute little treat bags for the kids. Since her school is a nut free school, I am not allowed to bake anything at home. Everything has to be store bought and clearly labeled. This was a crushing blow to me, someone who loves to bake! Anyway, I figured I could jazz up some non-treat items for the kids. I had found these really cute iron-ons last year on this great blog called Oscar and Emma, but never got around to doing them. Since I have so many of the canvas bags left over from E's party I decided to finally make them and fill them up with leftover pinata toys. I also bought some Vermont Nut free chocolates during out trip and printed some cute bag toppers at Hostessblog.com and handed them out.