Gotta love Nursery

Emily and Ethan came out of nursery last Sunday, marching. They were marching behind their teacher all the way to the front of the chapel where my mom and I were standing. They were wearing hats that said, "I will be a good example," and carrying a sign that said, "I will walk in Jesus' footsteps." It was so cute. I meant to take pictures as soon as we got home but well we ate lunch first ..... so here is one of Ethan and then well Emily had dumped soup down her pretty dress so hers is well, at least I took one. :) She still loves to march around with her sign.

Dancing with Aunt "Mimi"

I came home from school, almost a month ago, to find Emily and Naomi doing interpretive dance to Josh Groban. It was very serious! :) Here are a couple of videos. They are lower resolution but still cute. Enjoy! (Emily's dancing was much better before the camera came on but oh well....)

And ............

The Curse of Wall-E

We have not seen the movie "Wall-E" yet. (Can't remember how to spell it.....) Landon did download the preview onto his PS3 so he could see how it looked. Emily is now obsessed with "Wall-Gee." Its the first thing she asks for in the morning and constantly throughout the day. As we were shopping on Saturday in Nanaimo, I realized how many different things have Wall-E on them. Emily could spot a video game or poster, or whatever from 15 feet away. Suddenly it was "Wall-Gee, Wall-Gee" over and over again. She tried to convince her dad that the video game would go on the "t-t" (t.v.) when he told her it wasn't a show. Wall-E even overshadowed her excitement of spotting "Tata" on dvd. (Viva Pinata, which we used to only have on Landon's 360.) She spotted it and started calling out loudly in the store "It's Tata, it's Tata." We thought she was crazy because we've been looking for it for over a year. We are now the proud owner of eight episodes and she loves watching it. (And so does her grandpa, don't let him tell you otherwise.) I don't know if she will even like the movie when she finally gets to see it in a couple of weeks. But I know that if I have to be greeted at the door with (Landon) "Emily, look who is home." (Emily) "It's Wall-Gee" I might have to go insane. But for now I laugh and swing her in a circle. Gotta love merchandising!

The little things that make up Emily!

Lately, I have started to "file" memories into my mind that, to me, spell out my daughter. I want to share just a few.....

1) Shortly I will post a video of her doing interpretive dance with her Aunt Naomi to a Josh Groban Song. My daughter loves to dance! She has memorized all the "dance moves" on the Wiggles and even Uncle Steve's Robert Munsch video. She loves to act/dance to everything! She sings along as she dances. It is such a serious thing to her. She puts everything into it. :) Yesterday, at our stake conference, we were sitting on the front row. (No other seats were available and we thought the extra room to move would be good. Yeah, never again.) During the opening hymn, she started to sing and dance. She was holding her Elmo stuffie and singing. They twirlled, dipped, jumped and just all around got into the music. I realized that the mission president and his wife were grinning at her and half the stake choir was watching too. But nothing would deter her until the music was done. I had to laugh. Even in stores she has to stop at every speaker that is playing music to dance. I've learned to stop and just watch. I realize that soon I will not get to enjoy these moments.

2) Which leads me to her second passion, singing. :) I'm sure I've mentioned before that, in church, she sings with all her heart. Sometimes getting so carried away that she forgets to stop with the music. At the adult session of stake conference, before it started, she walked up to the front stand. She saw a travelling microphone laying next to the pulpit. She gave me her sly grin, crinkled her nose and grabbed it. It wasn't plugged in and so I let her. She put it up to her mouth and started to sing. Emily would put the microphone up to my mouth to have me start a song. And then she would take it back to finish it. People soon came up to watch. Here are a few examples:
Tamara - "I am a child of God, and he has sent me here..." Emily - "Here, here, Jesus, baby, here, here, mommy, daddy, Papa ..."

Tamara - "I love you Emily, oh yes I do, I love you Emily, and I'll be true...." Emily - "love Emmy, love mommy, love papa, yes, love daddy, yes love mama (grandma), love Elmo..."

Tamara - "If you're happy and you know it jump around (or clap)....." Emily - "happy, happy, clap, happy, happy, bounce, happy, happy, happy...."

And all the while she is dancing at the same time......... (She wasn't so happy that she had to stop when everyone started coming up to the stand.)

3) The new expressions everyday. Yesterday, I was coming up the stairs and she was standing at the top. Emily said, "Comin' 'ere, comin' 'ere, mommy. Comin' comin'." (Also picture her bent at the waist gesturing to me to come.) When I got to the top, she clapped and said, "Good girl, mommy. Comin' 'ere." Or this morning she found my bag of Kernals popcorn which was next to my bed. She starts marching (and I mean marching) around the room saying, "Emmy need popk (which sounds like /pop/ /k/), Emmy need popk."

Needless to say, as much aggrevation that she gives me, I love her dearly. She loves me and lets me know daily with hugs and kisses. How could life be any better?!

Little important moments aka Dancing with my daughter .....

I just had the sweetest experience with my daughter. Landon rented Barbie "The Island Princess" a few days ago for Emily. She loves the music and characters. She watches it all the time. She even got my dad to snuggle with her last night to watch it with her. She even knows some of the words now and tries to sing along. Its really cute. I was sitting at the computer and I could hear the song finishing that is about her getting ready for the ball. Emily comes skipping into the computer room singing, "Apple" over and over again. I asked her if she was hungry. She smiled, grabbed my arm and said it again. I realized she was singing, "at ball." Which is what they repeat at the end of the song. ("I'm going to have a great time at the ball.") She pulled on my arm and said, "Mom, up" I followed her to the next room where she started saying, "Dance, Mom, Dance." I realized that the scene was now in the ballroom and she wanted to dance. (The other thing you need to know is when I don't know the words or its at an instrumental part I sing, "Do, Do, Do") We started dancing around in a circle holding hands. Suddenly she wanted up. I picked her up, she put one hand on my shoulder and held the other hand in front of her so we were in the same "walz" position. It was so cute. Suddenly I hear her, singing "To, to, to" (in tune) to the instrumental part of the song. She "sang" the song to me and was content to dance in my arms. I was so happy that I had taken this small little moment to see what my daughter wanted. It will be a memory I will cherish.

Pigtails?!

Emily's hair is long enough for pigtails now! This picture was taken this morning while she was "playing" dominoes. Her grandma and Aunt Naomi showed her how. Basically she hides them and then says, "There they are" when she picks up her pillow. (Aunt "Mimi" showed her how to hide them down your shirt so no one can find them. She loves it!) Or you line them up and then push them across to the next person. A much more active version of dominoes. She likes to act like a little grown up! Emily and Ethan were having fun on the trampoline the other day. It was very cute so I took a video. Enjoy!

The Bear Story

The conservation officers keep telling Wildwood residents that the reason we have a bear problem is because no one picks the fruit from the trees. So our friend Danny Behan picked his plums a little early this year and put them in his kitchen. He went into his bedroom and as he came out he heard a noise in his living room. A large bear had walked through his door and was heading for the kitchen and the plums. He said he didn't know what to do so he just yelled at the bear. The bear looked at him, turned around and walked back out the door. :)

As it is Emily is not allowed in the yard at 9:30, 3:30 or 5:30. Those are popular times for the bear to visit my parents backyard. Emily still thinks they are dogs!

Baby #2

I finally remembered to bring the picture and scan it in at work. I hope that you can see the baby! Enjoy! Emily likes to take the picture and say, "Baby." :)
Here is Emily's ultrasound picture when she was one week younger than her sibling. You can compare. I think we are having another girl ....... What do you think?

Our Life

Things are starting to settle down into a routine again. Work is keeping me very busy but I love it! I miss Emily but I love coming home to her running and yelling, "Mommy!" The best sound in the world. She then gives me a big hug and chatters on about her day. I can't belive how quickly they grow up. Its fun to be able to have a "conversation." We are still at my parents house but I discovered a great little place today at just the right price so hopefully that will change soon. Keep your fingers crossed for us! The pregnancy is going fantastic. I am sure its a girl because its the same pregnancy I had with Emily. The Lord definately blesses me. I am very tired by the end of the school day. But seeing Emily usually re-energizes me.

Emily has entered the "No" phase. 90% of the time its a polite no and smile. She thinks its funny. But the other 10% is not so much fun. She enjoys walking up to me, trying to take something from my hand and telling me no when I won't let her. The temper tantrums are more colourful everyday. When they happen in the middle of the store, I have actually learned to just smile and wait for it to end. Most people look understandingly at me. Since winter is on its way, my sister's cat Bertuzzi has started appearing nightly for food and shelter. His appearance always lets us know when cooler weather is on its way. Emily is in love with him. She goes out daily, picks up his food dish, shakes it, and calls "Kitty, kitty." Sad part is that the cat is rather scared of her. And he should be. When he tries to eat, she pets him and then moves his food dish, and then pets him again. Her new trick for the last week has been to chase him around the house saying, "Out, kitty, out." She does this until he disappers somewhere she can't crawl or he escapes outside. Nothing deters her from this new game. Poor Bertuzzi. The fickle love of a 19 month old. :) She learns a new word everyday. We love her dearly!

Landon is doing well. He turns 30 this week and is having mixed feelings. His misses his family dreadfully. Today he told me he doesn't want holiday scents in the house because it makes him trunky. He is enjoying work and stills enjoys his alone time. Kids are still flocking to him and Emily thinks he is funniest person alive. He is such a great dad. I love watching him with Emily and the other kids. He definately has more patience for them than for me. :) He has a loving heart, though he tries to hide it. His church calling is keeping him very busy, but he enjoys it.

Emily is now up so I am off outside with her. We are helping my parents pick apples tonight. The estimated 15 to 22 bears in Wildwood are making short work of the apples. We hope to pick them all tonight. Maybe next time I will post the story of the bear our friend Danny Behan found in his living room last week (an adult bear) .............

This is a fun video I took of Emily dancing before we left for the Philippines. It is guarenteed to make your day!