Grrrrrrandma!

 The title is supposed to be said in a wailing Emerson voice.  That's what's been happening anyway for the last week since my mom left after visiting us for a week.  This is the first time that he's gotten really really sad when someone has left us after visiting.  We've had a lot a visitors and it seems like we're always visiting Utah, but he's just catching onto the fact that grandmas and grandpas and aunts and uncles can't just pop in to say hello all the time when we're living in Ohio and they are in Utah.  So even though I wasn't the one who started all the crying when it was time to say goodbye, I was crying when E had to say goodbye because he was sadly clutching Pooh Bear while begging Grandma to stay.  And now every time I tell him "no" or talk in a stern voice, he'll start bawling and say "Grandma!  I want Grandma to come back and play trains with me."  The funny thing is, it's not like my mom undermines my disciplining efforts or anything, so why he thinks she's a big softie is beyond me (and her!).

We had a great time while she was here even though it rained anytime we tried to go out to do something.  It was still fun though.

 Sammi with her polar bear friend.  She actually cared about the animals while E just kept asking about the train.

 ...Illustrated perfectly here.

 Luckily it stopped raining long enough for the train to start running again and THAT crisis was averted.  Phew!

 Documentation that I am a bad mother and let my kids watch TV.

We went apple picking in the pouring rain even though you can't tell in the pictures.  We were dang quick, and at least it wasn't crowded.

Isn't Grandma cute in her little hoodie?

Here's the woman of the week...or month in Emerson's mind.

Thanks for coming, Grandma!  Thanks for the hours of train play, book reading, snuggles, and yummy food!  You are sincerely missed by all, but most vocally by E.

P.S. Can I just point out how appropriate Sammi's animal print leggings are for the zoo?  They are.

First Day of Preschool

E started preschool.  Holy crap.  All of a sudden I feel like he is so big and that I am so old.  I had very mixed feelings about this, because I was sad he wouldn't be home with me all the time now but on the other hand I knew he would love it. 

The little guy woke up and couldn't wait to get dressed so he could go to school.  He was a little disappointed that he had to wait until after lunch to go.  But when it was time he was very cooperative about getting his school shoes on and going potty.  (Something that can be a battle sometimes...)

Here is his first of many traditional pictures in years to come of the first day of school. :)

 Sammi wanted in on the action.

  So big with an even bigger backpack.

 Smiling so big and so genuinely. (Not.)

This was him right outside his classroom.  There was a big line of kids and parents waiting to get their nametags, and he was so antsy to just go in there and get started because there were TOYS.  He was hoping there would be toys.

And all was right in the world when his BFF Tucker walked in.  What a great thing to have your best friend in your class.

The little buddies.

E's teacher asked him to pick out his nametag from the two left on the table and he very confidently pointed to the wrong one. It was awesome.

It came time to leave him and he wasn't bothered at all that I was leaving.  I was glad about that, but I couldn't help but get a little teary when I hugged him goodbye.  Yes, I'm one of THOSE moms.  I couldn't wait to go pick him up again in 2 1/2 hours and I wished I could be a fly on the wall! 

When we went back to get E, I couldn't spot his little navy blue shirt anywhere and finally my mom pointed him out to me (she's here visiting us!) and he was wearing his white undershirt while sitting alone at his little table kind of spacing off and looking a little solemn.  His teacher came over and explained that he had a little mishap.  The poor guy had been standing on a stool going to the bathroom when the stool slipped out from under him and he caught himself with his hands and totally fell into the urinal.  He started bawling because his hands and arms were soaked but he settled down once they got his shirt off and washed his hands.  The story is so funny and makes me laugh but makes me feel so bad for him too!  What a horrible first day.  He didn't seem too fazed by it though because he was excited to go back the next time.  So no permanent damage done.  (He told me after his second day that he sat down to go wet...so no falling in the big scary urinal again for him!)  I think the solemnity when picking him up was more due to the fact that he was tired and that afternoon preschool interferes with his nap.  But at least it's only 2 days a week.

My mom warned me that I would hear about preschool not all at once, but in little random snippets that would just come spilling out here and there and she was right.  E told me at different times that his teacher told him to keep his hands to himself, that he held onto his friend's shirt, and that his teacher told him "shhh".  In fact, walking out of preschool he wouldn't hold my hand because he had to keep them to himself.  And apparently what his teacher says is the law.

May I Present...

Noah and Mrs. Noah.  Don't worry, all the animals have been gathered...all the half-animal/half-rattles will be able to repopulate the earth once the rest of their kind has been wiped out by the flood.  And the multi-colored stuffed bears.  Those'll be fine too.

Why yes, the ark was handcrafted with Emerson's plastic tools.  Thank you for asking.

Goings On

Here's what we've been up to lately.

E got to go to the big Buckeye game with Daddy on Saturday.  Apparently he was a very good boy and even fell asleep on Ben in the midst of all the cheering and missed the entire fourth quarter and didn't wake up until they were almost back to the car. :)  He thought it was pretty neat to go with Dad.

Sammi learned how to pull herself onto the little white chairs at the kid table in our kitchen.  She's mighty pleased with herself.

I know she's my daughter because she loves shoes.  She periodically brings me one shoe throughout the day and it's usually because she wants to go outside.  Here was the outfit she wore most of the day:

What can I say?  The girl knows what she wants.

Labor Day

 Labor Day weekend was pretty dang cold this year.  Considering that only a few days earlier it was 90+ degrees, we really felt the difference.  We trekked up to Yellow Springs again this year and went on a nice little nature walk followed by lunch at Young's Dairy.  It was a nice, low-key afternoon.

After Yellow Springs, we all came home and crashed for naps and then went to our ward's annual Pig Roast.  E and Sammi had a blast with their little friends on the playground.  Everything made for a great day until a few hours later Ben got really sick.  I'm thinking it was food poisoning from the ward party and not the stomach flu because none of the rest of us got sick.  You never know who brings what to a potluck like that, so I guess I should just count myself and the kids lucky!

Here are some pictures from the day:

 Studying the fuzzy white caterpillars that were everywhere

 This picture illustrates the differences in our two kids perfectly.  E is just like me--cautious and nervous about things.  Sammi is just like Ben--adventurous and reckless.

 I do exist!

 E with his new friend "Leafy".  Quite an appropriate name I thought.

 Sammi in nature

Sweet little smile

This is our Sammi girl's personality lately.

She won't sit still for a minute.

Camping at Alum Creek

 Prior to Ben's banishment to Springfield (1 hour away) for this month's ambulatory family med rotation, we took a little family camping trip to Alum Creek.  Was I a little worried we were crazy?  Yes.

E remembered camping with Daddy a few short months ago for our ward's Fathers and Sons activity, so he was super stoked.  We started out the camping with a bang because E really had to go potty and couldn't make it to the bathroom station...so what's a boy to do?  Why, give the nearest tree an extra drink, of course!  He thought that was hilarious and consequently had to go potty many times after that.  We made him go to the bathroom station after that though, so that sort of squelched his enthusiasm.

 (There was a large cement parking pad at our campsite, so E got to ride in circles on his little bike during slower moments.)

 In time-out for some infraction...

 Sammi and Dada

He thoroughly enjoyed helping me set up the tent and couldn't wait to go to sleep in it.  He was practically begging to go to bed.  He was so intrigued with the idea of roasting a hot dog in the fire for dinner and was so pleased with himself that he ate the whole thing, bun and all.

We all piled into the tent, read a few chapters of The Mouse and the Motorcycle, and then Ben and I stayed up and chatted around the campfire while warding off raccoons.  Those things are creepy.  It was really nice to just sit and talk to Ben.  E faithfully waited up for us in the tent with his flashlight, and kept poking his head out saying, "Mommy!  Look at those pretty stars!" while Sammi was zonked in her princess-sized pack n' play.  Surprisingly, we all slept really well.  I was expecting much worse.

The next morning we packed up and headed to the Alum Creek beach.  Sammi has never experienced sand before, but she really liked it.  She liked it so much that she kept shoveling handfuls in her mouth and chewing.  I know, it makes me cringe too.  She was so dang fast, it was hard to keep her from doing it.

When it was time to go, E started bawling that he wanted to sleep in the tent for another night and asked if he could bring this sad little wet leaf home.  I think he just wanted something to remember his fun camping trip by. :(  Poor little guy.

Rollercoaster

Emerson has started to get really creative with his toys.  I love eavesdropping on his little scenarios when he doesn't think anyone is paying attention.  I was trying to tidy up a bit when he angrily came over to me and said "Mommy, don't!  It's my rollercoaster!"  Apparently Cedar Point made a big impression on him.  He used the trains to prop up pieces of the train track to be bumpy like a real rollercoaster.  Obviously he's very pleased with himself...and obviously we need to buy some longer jammies for our homeless child in the background.  (When's the flood coming?)

I'm glad the trains are ok.  I was worried when they were all tipped over being crushed by the heavy track. :)

13 Months

 I don't know where the time has gone.  She's getting so dang huge.  I love every single stage with my kids for different reasons.  Her stage right now is pure busy-ness coupled with pure adorableness.  

What Sammi girl has been up to:

 She thoroughly enjoys putting raspberries on her fingers.  This is right before she launches them onto the ground but only after she's announced, "Uh uh-oh" to me.  She plans these things out, I tell you.  And she doesn't feel bad in the least when she sees me picking things up from under the highchair.  She just looks sort of satisfied that she came up with a plan and then successfully carried it out. 

E copied Sammi and insisted I take a picture.  I can't complain...he's cute, AND he's actually looking at the camera!

And back to Sammi.

-She's learned the signs for "more" and "all done" and even surprised us by saying the words, "All done" while shaking her little hands for the sign.  

-She walks around the house greeting everything with "hi, hi, hi, hi" and likes to pretend everything is a phone by placing it on her shoulder and saying "hi".

-She insists on being my extra appendage which is usually ok until I have to cook dinner.  That's her whiniest time so it's kind of hard.

-She likes to snuggle with blankies and stuffed animals and says "Ohhhhh" to them while she lays her head on them.

-She loves everyone's shoes on the shoe tray by our back door, only she likes to suck on them rather than wear them so I strongly discourage her from doing that.

-She loves to brush her teeth and knows to wander into the bathroom after I get her jammies on and then reaches as high as she can until I get her toothbrush down for her.

-She decided she does not like when I tell her no.  She shook her finger back at me while saying "N! N! N!"  (Hasn't quite figured out the whole word "no" yet thankfully.)

-She has learned a few animal sounds like woof, roar, baa, peep, meow, moo.

-She barks at all the doggies she sees and reaches for them.  I insist on keeping her a safe distance away though since I'm a dog hater.  There, I said it.  I only allow her to pet our neighbor's dog because he's small and has no teeth.  Then I promptly wash her afterward.

-Her favorite food is gogurt.  Not yogurt, just gogurt.  She thinks she's eating it all by herself.

-She gives great hugs, sometimes while saying "oooh!"

-She loves books.

-She is still adored and loved by all in our family.

Just To Brighten Your Day...

 In case you were feeling sad, here's something to cheer you up.

We found this ring-pop sucker at World Market that has Mater teeth attached.  Worth the 50 cents, definitely.  And yes, yes it is the same sucker in both of their mouths.  E insisted that he share with Sammi before I could stop him.  So I gave in and grabbed the camera instead.

To Utah for B's Farewell

 After Grandpa and Brad's visit to Columbus, the kids and I got to visit the rest of the fam in Utah while poor Ben had to stay home to start his fourth year.  That's right, FOURTH YEAR!  It has flown by.  But that is a post for another time.

Sammi discovered that she likes DVDs.  And what we call "pretties".  She pulled some ribbons off her birthday boxes (which were fastened together in big loops) and she instinctively knew they were supposed to be decorative.  It was the cutest thing to see her toddling around, finding her pretties, and meticulously draping all 3 on herself and then deciding she was beautiful enough to continue on with whatever 1-year-olds have to get to.  I loved the little pleased look on her face as she showed them off to anyone that would look.

 She's very good at playing Angry Birds with Aunt Nat. (While wearing pretties)

 What would a trip to Utah be without a ride on the train at Hogle Zoo?  A complete and utter failure, I tell you.

 Sammi likes trains too, but I think mostly because E does, and she yearns for his approval.

 Nat was mistaken for Sammi's mom a couple of times.  I can see the resemblance, can't you? 

 E and part of Grandma in front of the train.

 Mmmm...those cheeks, that double chin, that NECK!  I want to kiss them all.

 Little monkies

 One of my proudest moments as a mother so far occurred in Utah.  Sammi discovered purses!  So stinkin' cute.

 Sammi and her good buddy Grandpa.

 Grandpa is always up for playing outside.

 E discovered that he fits in the little narrow window by the front door.  How useful!

 Grandma J surprised Emerson with a special trip on the Heber Creeper...or Heber Valley Railroad if you want to get technical.  You should hear E say "Heber Creeper".  It's funny.

 Nat and E with the engine

E even gets cuted out by Sammi and can't help but maul her.

Grandma, E, and Uncle Brad on the train.  He discovered that he's very terrified of train whistles when they are close.  Emerson, that is.  Not Brad.  He dove into somebody's arms every time the train whistled.  Well, not just anybody's...they were always arms belonging to someone in our family.

E's proud little face with the conductor INSIDE the engine.  The conductor was so nice to give E a little tour of the engine and to show him how everything worked.  E didn't say much, but you could tell he was thinking about it all and filing it away for later use.  He thought he was the luckiest boy in the world when he got to see the engine couple up to the train cars.  He described it like this "The engine bashed us just a wittle bit (with fingers demonstrating a small amount) until it coupled up!"

The reason for our visit was to attend Uncle Brad's farewell and to see him one last time before he left on his mission.  We had a great ten days with the whole family and Brad did a wonderful job on his talk.  We're going to miss seeing him for the next two years, but are so proud of him.  We're glad we got to spend so much time together as a family before he left.  Thanks for flying us out yet again, parents!