First Day of First Grade

Yesterday was Emma's first day of first grade.  I still can't believe how old she's getting.  She loves school!  And yesterday was no exception.  I think this year will go a little more smoothly than last year simply because she'll be in the same school and the same class all year!  She was all smiles in the morning, and then all smiles when I went to pick her up.  Can't ask for more than that I guess.  Of course, I miss her while she's gone (I always do), but at least I know she's having fun.  After dropping her off I went to breakfast with a few friends, sort of as a distraction to the initial missing of our children.  It was really fun (and yummy).  Thanks again gals!

This year Emma wanted to wear the exact same thing she wore last year on the first day.  So I thought I'd throw some of last year's pictures up for comparison.  The only difference in her outfit is the length of her leggings.  I can't believe how much she's grown.  :-(  What happened to my itty-bitty baby?  Ugh, well that's a lament for another post.

Last year

This year

Last year

This year

My big first grader

Emma's 6th Birthday

I still can't believe I have a 6 year old.  I don't know how that happened.  I mean, I know how it happened (hee hee), but I don't believe how fast the time has flown by.  One of Emma's favorite games is when I ask her, command her, or plead with her to stop growing.  I am constantly telling her she needs to just stop.  Right now.  Stay like this forever.  Upon me finishing my sentence she immediately crouches down low and pretends to grow even taller than she is just to mock me and my request.  And I always smile or laugh at her antics, but that's only because a small part of me will cry if I don't fight against it.  What Emma may never understand is that it's not really a game to me.  I mean it every time I make those ridiculous requests.  Every day she seems to me the perfect age, and I want to capture that forever.  And then she blows it all by growing even more.  Mile stones such as birthdays, as fun as they are, just serve as reminders that she is, in fact, growing up way too fast.  Sigh.  So what's a mom to do?  Well, we do what we always do.  Move forward and focus on other things.  Like actually throwing a birthday party for these rats of ours who never listen and keep growing despite us.

Emma doesn't really like cake.  Well, she likes cake alright, but she doesn't like frosting.  Yup, she really is mine.  I've given up trying to understand the connection.  So we decided to have an ice-cream party and just skip the cake all together, which is hard for me because I love making cakes and I'm sort of obsessed with cup cakes.  Oh well.  I guess I'll just switch my focus.

Here is the invitation that I made, with our personal info blurred out.

It was fun trying to decorate around the ice-cream theme.  I think the party turned out great, and Emma and her friends all seemed to have a wonderful time.  They especially liked being able to put anything on their ice-cream they wanted without having to worry about any moms coming and putting the kibosh on their plans of dying from sugar overdose.  The pure joy that something as simple as an open ice-cream bar can hold for a child is a wonder to witness.  These kids were awesome!  As far as activities went, we had them decorate their goody bags when they arrived, and they also each made a bracelet with an ice-cream cone charm on it.  At the end of the party they played in Emma's room until their parents came to pick them up.

Here is Emma the day before wearing the party hat I made for her out of a real ice-cream cone.
 I saw the idea somewhere, and thought it was so cute.  

The ice-cream bar.

There was chocolate, strawberry, and caramel sauces, whipping cream, and several toppings to choose from, including gummy bears, mini marshmallows, mini oreos, mini chocolate chips, sprinkles, and cherries.  There were also snickerdoodles, doughnut holes, and brownies for them to enjoy, and their choice of regular, chocolate, or strawberry milk (not pictured here) to wash it all down with.

They could choose a bowl or a cone.  We had chocolate, vanilla, strawberry, and mint chocolate chip ice-cream for them to choose from.

Here's Eric ready to dish it out for them.

We turned our balloons into ice-cream cones.

And added "cones" to our lights so they'd fit into the theme as well.

Posing before the party started.

About to blow out the candles on the brownie cake I made for her.

The finished bracelets.

Having fun in Emma's room.

The next day was Emma's actual birthday.  Eric's parents were in town all week, and so Grandma spent the day with Emma and me.  First we went to the movies to see the last summer movie before school starts.  Then we went bowling, where Emma got a spare almost every time!  It's not a stretch to say she could easily beat me.  We went shopping where Grandma let her choose her own present (Emma was in heaven, and acted very much in charge - she knew it was her choice), and then we hit up a few other stores just for fun.  Emma chose what restaurant we ate at for dinner - Texas Road House (which she refers to as the peanut place).  She loves shelling her own peanuts and she loves their rolls.  They came by with some dessert for her and had her sit on a saddle so everyone could give her a loud "yee-haw".  She was thoroughly embarrassed, and so I felt my job was done.  At home after dinner she opened up all the rest of her presents.  She was so spoiled this year, with presents having come in the mail from Grandparents, aunts and uncles, cousins, and of course Eric and I.  The last present she opened was a Packers jersey from Eric and me.  I think it's her favorite gift.  She's been wanting one for quite awhile now, and was squealing with delight when she saw it.  She immediately had to put it on along with her cheese head.  Oh dear.

You can see the determination in her eyes!  Plus I think she wanted to show off for Grandma.

Loved this hat on her even though it was a little too big.

Yee-haw!

Go Pack Go

Presents and cards were still arriving several days later, which helped to make this one of her best birthdays yet.  She's so lucky to have so many people who truly love her.  Thanks to everyone who helped to make her feel so loved and special!

A Visit From Grandma and Grandpa

Last week Eric's parents were here visiting us.  It was fun having them here, and needless to say, Emma was thrilled!  She'd been looking forward to this visit for awhile.  Emma is a lucky girl to have such wonderful grandparents.  This particular visit was especially exciting for her because while they were here Emma celebrated her 6th birthday (more on that in another post).

We tried to fill our time showing them around our new town.  We ate at yummy local restaurants, saw the lighthouses, went to the beach, did some shopping, and of course ate cheese!

This was taken by Grandma as we were out and about the town.
I love squinty-the-sun-is-too-bright-for-me expression on her face!

We also rode the train to Chicago while they were here.  Emma loved going back to the city, and we got to see some some really fun sites.  Our first site was Millennium Park.  Right next to the great lawn (where they were holding a huge group exercise class) there is the Cloud Gate sculpture, which is really cool, but I also think looks kind of like a lima bean.  A really cool lima bean.

And now for some Where's Waldo action: can you find me?  And for those who know them,
 can you spot Eric's parents?  We are all in this picture somewhere.

Next we went to Navy Pier.  The humidity of the day was especially felt here.  But the views of the city were great!

And if you've ever wondered why I'm not in more of the pictures on this blog, it's because I just don't seem to come out right.  Case in point: this picture taken along the pier.  ;-)

Next we headed for Michigan Avenue for some shopping, but first we had to stop by the Ghiradelli store where Grandma and Grandpa enjoyed what is surely the main reason they wanted to go to Chicago!  ;-)  And I can't really say I blame them.

While shopping we came across this little number, which is, in fact, for men.  While Eric had it on someone walked past (not an employee) and told him it just looked fabulous on him.  It did match his purple shirt rather nicely, but oddly enough Eric didn't buy it.  What do you think?  Do we need to go back for it?  ;-)

We did find a few things we wanted though, but only about $700 worth of stuff.  But I figure if you're not spending at least a thousand dollars you're not really getting the full Michigan Avenue experience, so we'll wait to make our purchases on another day when we have more time to find a few more items we want.  ;-)  Emma did get a couple late birthday presents, including a stuffed Perry the Platypus and a little Lego set.  For dinner we ate some pizza and then headed back to the train.

It was a long day for sure, but a fun one.  Emma loves all the skyscrapers, and loves riding the subway and the el.  I think she just likes the excitement of standing up while moving.  People would kindly offer he their seat, but she would turn them down.  Standing up was way more fun!

The next day it was time to say goodbye.  We are so glad that Eric's parents could come visit us and see our new home and surroundings and spend some time with us.  We can't wait to do it again!

Birthday Project

I brought home some wooden projects from Utah that I planned on finishing by the end of July.  They are all birthday and/or party themed.  I didn't even start them until about a week ago, and I only got around to them then because I really wanted them up for Emma's birthday this year.  Normally they will go up and stay up for the entire month of August since both Emma and I celebrate our birthdays then.  If Eric wants them up in October he's more than welcome, although I think he'll want to stick with the Halloween decor we'll have up.  These might be a little too girly for him.  In any case, here they are all painted, glittered, ribboned, papered, inked, wired, etc.  Emma is very excited that they are finally done.  And so am I.