Landon's Daughter

Here are a few clues that Emily is her father's daughter.

(And yes, that is a Nintendo DS she thinks she is playing. She likes Lego Batman and Mario. Mostly she dies but she loves the noises.)

My new projects

Just over a month ago, my husband let me know that I seemed to be unhappy and stressed all the time. And he was right. At first I wanted to blame work, etc. But then I realized that I was spending all my spare time reading books. Those who know me well, know that when I start a book I read it cover to cover, not often putting it down. Its kind of an addiction to me. At the end of every book I would feel guilty for not spending my time doing something useful but at the same time justifying my use of time thinking it made me feel better. I decided to try an experiment. Instead of picking up a book when I had some spare time, I wrote a list of projects I would like to complete instead. The first one on the list was a new quilt for the twin bed Emily will get when we move. I had purchased the material months ago but hadn't cut it out or sewn it together. What I thought was going to be a quick project ended up lasting me a good three weeks. I had it cut, pieced and sewn together within two days. It was beautiful, but because of the animal pictures on it, I would have to hand sew the details to keep the quilt together. I was going to post a picture but I still have a couple of hours of sewing to do on it. :) But Emily loves it, I am happy to have completed something and it will look great in Emily's room. I will post a picture as soon as I am finished. Its my first quilt. I have made a couple of wall hangings but nothing ever this size. It won't win prizes but I have something to give my daughter and a memory. But the project that I really enthusiastic about it the entertainment center I built on the weekend and finished last night. I designed it in June but kept putting off building it. I built our last one but it is too big for our current tv and it will be my future bookcase/reading alcove. Everyone who looked at my design thought I was biting off more than I could chew. They just couldn't see the simplicity. My dad helped me refine the design after I found a similar one in the Sears catalogue and liked how they finished it off. So Friday night, at Rona, my dad helped me cut out all the pieces. And my angelic mother helped me put it together on Saturday. (Forsaking her garden for my sake. Thanks mom!) There are some down sides of being pregnant and not being as flexible and not carrying heavy things is are two of them. Last night my dad helped me with some mitered edges and all the small details. He then sanded it for me because he didn't want me breathing in sawdust. He did a fantastic job. I stayed up to 10pm conditioning the pine, and staining it. I couldn't belive the final product. I won't be able to put the final varnish coats on until tomorrow. Plus two small shelves have to go in with brackets but I wanted to post a couple of pictures. The glass doors won't be ready for a couple of weeks but we move this weekend so I wanted the basic part done. Enjoy!

Emily's First Haunted House

One of the local elementary schools, Henderson Elementary, hosted a haunted house (in their gym) this last Thursday and Friday. Ashley called and invited us to go with their family (Matt, Ashley and Ethan) and our friend Lisa and her daughter Rachel. Landon came saying that he couldn't believe he was going to an elementary haunted house. I figured it would be fun for Emily. She dressed up as a winter fairy, that way I just added her wings over her vest and she could stay warm. :) Rachel was a beautiful ladybug and Ethan was an adorable dinosaur. We had to stand in a line up (inside the school) for almost 45 minutes. They had music playing so the kids took turns dancing and then running through the hallways. (With four of the five adults being teachers you would think we wouldn't allow that!) As we came up to the door Emily spotted a popcorn machine and so I went over and bought a bag for the kids to share. Ethan and Emily were enthralled with watching the popcorn pop! They allowed us to all go in together. Let me tell you, it was an excellent haunted house. Thankfully, in the first room they noticed we had toddlers so they didn't jump out and yell. But just from the creepy decorations and the music, both Emily and Rachel were a little unsure of what was going on. Ethan didn't make a peep the whole time. He just stared, what a man! (Matt was holding Ethan, Landon held Emily, and Lisa held Rachel.) As we left the stage and went down the stairs, loud banging came from the other side of the wall. Emily started clinging to her dad but didn't get upset till someone grabbed my foot as I took the last step and I yelled out. (I wasn't expecting it, and let's face it I'm a wimp who doesn't like to be in the dark!) She wasn't happy but soon quieted down. The noise got louder until Ashley yelled out, "We've got babies, take it easy." (The first part is definately what she said, the second part I'm a bit hazy on....) I started to giggle, then we all started giggling. Then a deep voice called out, "Babies, we LIKE babies." Then I started to laugh! It was hilarious. As we turned the corner I couldn't belive the decorations! It was awesome. Matt and Landon were being cynics until they realized it wasn't a hanging branch that was touching their hair and cheeks. One of the parents was laying across some boards above us and was touching them. They both thought that was cool. The rest of the walk through was uneventful thanks to Ashley reminding them every so often that small children were with us. By the end, Rachel was asking to go to "mommy's house" and Emily was saying "home" and "out" while pointing to the door. But no tears. Some older children (grades3-5) left crying so I'm glad they were good to us. Emily loved being with her friends but I think she will think twice about going to a haunted house again. I guess she is her mother's daughter!

My Birthday

Thank-you to all the many well wishes I received on my birthday. I had a great night. I had planned a surprise birthday party for my sister in law Ashley. (I hate planning my own birthday party so it helps sharing my birthday with so many wonderful people.) But everyone either knew or found out it was my birthday so it ended up a surprise for both Ashley and I. We were spoiled. I wasn't able to invite everyone so I'm sorry if you are local and I didn't invite you. We had to fit in her living room. :) My friend Lisa and her daughter brought party hats for the kids which just made it so much more festive!

Ethan, Emily, Rachel (Plus Landon and Lisa)

The birthday party people. (I'm taking the photo)

Ashley, Darlene, Landon, Emily, Lisa, Jim, Pat, Kristina, Margaret

Matt, Ethan, Mom, Steve, Rachel, Diego (Matt's exchange student)

Same group plus me (Diego took the picture)

The birthday girls! (Rita you were in our thoughts, you were the invisible one next to me!)

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!