Emma 55 and 56 Months

On March 29th, something BIG happened in the Crozier family. Emma asked Jesus into her heart! Right there in the Trader Joe's parking lot. It was a precious moment to be a part of (even if her asking was precipitated by a discussion on hell). Emma is the most sensitive of souls and has been known to randomly burst into tears exclaiming she doesn't want me to die because she "will miss me so much." Sweet, sweet girl. Now I get to tell her we will be reunited again for all eternity! What a precious gift.

Emma is our adventurer. She loves to climb trees, rocks, statues and sledding hills. Her initial timidness rarely lasts for long and she's definitely not one to miss out on any fun (unless of course it involves getting water in her eyes - then she is most certainly, definitely out. You will never catch her without goggles on a slip and slide and the top of her head is ALWAYS dry when she emerges from the swimming pool). 

Emma LOVES preschool and comes home every day with all sorts of hand-made projects like the woodworking masterpiece pictured below. Her favorite station remains "the art cart" and she's graduated from drawing hearts every day to girls with long, long hair.

She's a classic middle child and sometimes it's easy to lose her in the mix. She often contentedly plays alone, bathing her my little ponies in the sink, or caring for one of her many stuffed animal "pets." One morning last month, I couldn't find Emma and eventually discovered her and her kitty "Skye" sunning together happily on my window sill.

She thinks riding in the Honda is THE BEST THING EVER and begs for me to take her for a spin in it when Daddy is home. 

Emma and Jack have a pretty special bond with one another. One evening, we were driving and I looked back to see this:

Though she claims to want to be a ballerina when she grows up, I wouldn't be surprised if she ended up working with animals. She LOVES all things living (including her cousins' new chickens). She is fearless around them, even when the now-nearly-full-grown ones climb up on her shoulder. She is constantly updating me with her most desired pet of the day, ya know, in case I suddenly decide to go out and spontaneously pick up a meerkat or something (her latest choice). Other pet options include a baby tiger, a bunny or a crow. 

Emma is my most-willing kitchen assistant. She usually asks if she can help when I'm in the kitchen cooking and she isn't shy about getting right up there on the counter and diving in.

I often feel like I'm still trying to fully get to know this kid. Her personality is unique and awesome and a whole lot of fun. She's tender and gentle and appreciates all aspects of life. She's easily-excited, she's an encourager and she also has a bit of a stubborn streak. She insists on wearing long sleeves and pants and socks, all day, every day. No matter that it be 85 degrees. At bedtime, she adds socks to her hands in addition to the ones on her feet. When the nights are hot, she sweats and sweats in bed but absolutely refuses to remove a single article of clothing. Instead, she helps herself to a nice cold washcloth which she lays over her forehead. If I try to remove her socks in the middle of the night while she is asleep, I awake to find she has somehow managed to replace them. Silly girl! My new mantra is "some battles just aren't worth fighting.

I just love my girls! (And ice cream).

Emma and one of her favorite dogs, Louise. She thinks it is pretty much the best thing ever when she gets to hold the leash. We're so thankful for friends with dogs who help her get her fill!

I'm pretty sure Emma would accompany where ever I go if she could. Every night, she asks me "Are you going anywhere tonight?" and if my answer is yes, expect the floodgates to open. She happily runs errands with me all the time but when given the choice, she requests one-on-one dates at Starbucks. She loves to bring pencils and paper or paints and do art together at the coffee shop. Here we are attempting some "adult" coloring pages.

Earlier this month, Emma treated me (and my mom who had been babysitting earlier in the day!) to a special Mother's Day celebration at school. She went all out with the homemade gifts/art projects which included a corsage for each of us, tissue paper flowers, a hand print place mat, a canvas with a picture of her on it and tons more. Her class performed some special songs for us and, true to her personality, Emma waved at us excitedly over and over. When her teacher explained to the moms that the kids had set us each special places at the tables, Emma piped up and loudly told us that she had two places for us - mom on one side and Grandma on the other. And that she of course would be in the middle. :)

Here is the little project she put together about me:

I told you she only wears long sleeves and pants. Well, that and the occasional two-big onesie sleeper when gardening....

The other day we were picking up Isla from school when Emma ran up to me exclaiming "Some boy I don't even know just came up to me and kissed me right here!" And so it begins, folks, and so it begins.

Emma's other favorite pastimes include dressing up in frilly costumes, hanging out with her uncles and cousins, doing gymnastics (see video below), swinging on the hammock and borrowing other peoples toys. 

We just adore her!

 

Happy 4 1/2, Emma!

Emma turned 4 1/2 this week too! And now she is already counting down the days until she turns 5! She CAN'T WAIT to start Kindergarten in the fall and she is registered for FULL DAY which fills me with great excitement and trepidation. She loves school and is disappointed on the two days every week when she doesn't have it. Boy am I ever going to miss her though!

 Emma's half birthday comes quickly on the tails of Isla's and so quite often "her" menu ideas share a striking resemblance to what was served at Isla's celebration a few days prior. Emma did select an individualized dinner menu of pasta with red meat sauce and raw carrots sticks (and that was it!) but she mimicked Isla's breakfast of sprinkle pancakes. Well. With the exciting addition of raw carrot sticks to make it truly her own. Yum!

 Thank goodness she changed her mind and decided at the 11th hour that she wanted a rainbow cake. Her prior request was for a tiger and I fear I was about to sorely disappoint her with my lack of decorating skills. She of course wanted "chocolate cake with strawberry frosting, " just like her sister, and maybe I should have made it easy on myself and served the leftovers like I've done in the past. But when she changed her tune and asked for a rainbow cake, I knew I'd have to introduce her to the novelty that is funfetti. She. Was. Thrilled.

 And she said my cake turned out "just exactly the way she wanted" (phew!!!) which is amazing since I used ziplock bags with holes cut out in the corners to pipe out the rainbow. She definitely is my little encourager and know how to make a girl feel good, even when I feel like she might be stretching the truth a little. ;)

 I think this one has a little bit of athlete in her blood. She is so excited to begin a gymnastic course next week and still asks me regularly for ballet classes. Last week we were at a park and happened upon a soccer ball and discovered she is a natural! That made her half birthday present shopping easy and she is now the proud owner of an orange soccer ball (her favorite color). I'm hoping to get her on some sort of soccer team in the spring to see what she really thinks.

Emma asks a lot of really good questions. Like if it hurts Jesus when our heart pumps the blood through (since he is residing there, she wants to make sure he doesn't get squished!) When she's not saying funny stuff to make us laugh, she's snuggling up to us to make us smile. She is more or less easy going except when it comes to getting dressed or buckling into her carseat...

She loves babies and gravitates toward any little one who she can take under her wings. She also LOVES dogs and is so sweet and tender with them. Happy 4 1/2, Emma!

Emma 50 and 51 Months

Well folks. I'm pulling a first here and combining the months of December and January together into one for my supposedly-monthly posts on my girls. Let's just blame Christmas craziness! These posts can at times feel cumbersome but, as the saying goes, the days are long and the years are short and it's so easy to get caught up in all that is hard. But then I take a browse through my pictures and think over all the silliness that happened in each passing month and I can't help but just burst with love and gratitude.  

She's certainly my tender little sweetie pie! I love these shots of her painting that I captured just this morning. She asked me to paint the outline of a tree house and then said she'd fill it in with color. I made a valiant (read: terrible) effort as she kindly told tell me that my "tree" looked more like a bush and that my structure didn't even look like a house. When Daddy arrived home, she immediately made the same request of him, adding that "Mommy tried but she was really bad at it." I love her sweet honesty. Next she went straight to work painting striped snakes (pictured here). I think she could do art all day if I let her!

When she isn't doing art, she is most certainly dressed to the nines in her blue sparkle dress that leaves evidence of it's presence EVERYWHERE. In the form of glitter. Just ask Grandpa and Grandma Crozier! She wore it to their house on Christmas and you could easily trace every last one of her steps, just like Hansel and Gretel and their trail of breadcrumbs. I'm guessing Grandma and Grandpa are still vacuuming glitter off of their furniture. Thankfully, we've discovered the hoop skirt sewn into the dress prevents her from being able to buckle into her car seat. Which means she can't wear it on any errands...darn it! It is one of her very favorite Christmas presents though so all the sparkle is worth it.

One of her other favorite gifts is orange kitty (pictured below) from Great Grandma Juna. She named it "Skye" after the former Crozier family dog who she never did meet. 

When she isn't wearing her blue dress, she's most likely in a leotard and ballet shoes begging for me to put on "Nutcracker music." She's definitely got some moves and asks for more ballet classes regularly. We missed sign ups for this session so I keep telling her maybe next time. 

Emma LOVES tights (or long socks as Grandpa Crozier calls them). She got about 12 pairs for Christmas and she somehow manages to wear them ALL within a matter of days. Unfortunately, she doesn't have enough long-sleeved dresses to pair with them so she almost daily tries to convince me tights can double as pants. She has daddy to thank for that one I think. He used to let her wear them as such on the days mommy was at work...

Emma still is almost always game to "help" me in the kitchen. She loved getting her hands dirty with all the Christmas baking. Her other specialty is helping mix up pancakes.

Emma has QUITE the imagination. *Cough* Yes. I think we will call it that. I picked her up from Sunday School a while back and her teacher exclaimed "I didn't know it was her birthday!" 

"It's not," I replied. 

Looking confused, she proceeded to tell me how Emma had said that it was and that we were going to be heading home after church to make a rainbow cake for her party. Right...

Then on her last day of school before Christmas break, one of her teachers told her goodbye and told her to "Have fun in Cannon Beach!" Then she looked at me and asked "Do you guys have a place there? Because it sure seems like you go there a lot!" 

My puzzled expression outed Emma's little story and the teacher and I burst out laughing, as Emma hid in embarrassment behind my leg. I guess our summer trip to the beach made more of an impression than I thought! 

In other news, in case you missed it, EMMA GOT A HAIRCUT!!! She'd been begging for months and finally we gave in. I told Graham the night before that I was just going to "give her a trim" but then at the last second I decided - what the heck- if we're gonna do this, let's just do it and donate it like she'd been asking.

Some lady with cancer is going to be THRILLED to receive the locks from this generous soul! I'm so proud of her!

Oh and in other big news, I'm told Emma tied the knot up at the slopes earlier this month. She and Isla and Daddy got to go on a sledding "adventure" with some of the Steingard crew. The day had a few hiccups which eventually led to Graham and the 4 kids spending a LOOOOONG afternoon in the lodge. So what is a couple to do when stranded in the mountains? Get hitched of course! 

That picture!!!! I just die. And then this next one too! I mean. The way she is looking at him! If that's not the look of TOTAL ADMIRATION than I don't know what is! We are in TROUBLE. 

(But in all honestly, Leif, you have our blessing).

Emma 49 Months

I'm fresh off a morning spent with this charming beauty. She must have known I was headed to a coffee shop to go write about her because, just moments before I left, she ASKED to wash the dishes for me and then proceeded to help bring out the recycling and grab me a snack to stash away for later. Sometimes she gets lost in the mix of being the middle but mostly she's a dear.

Her hair is so super long and she wants to donate it but mommy and daddy can't quite bring themselves to cut it (though she did take matters in her own hands a couple months back and cut some herself). She's moving away from her usual "side bun" hairstyle request and now, on most days, asks for two braids or a long ponytail.

She is LOVING school and comes home with painting creations EVERY day. She tells me painting is her favorite part of school and her teacher says the dress up corner is a real hit too. We had her first parent teacher conference and she is doing well on all accounts! Her teacher says she's ready for some basic reading which came as a surprise to me, not because I doubted her in particular, but rather because I tend to underestimate what my kids are capable of. She has a little boyfriend named Lucas and it sounds like they spend a good chunk of time together. I sort of love it that she hangs with the boys.

The boy that puts the biggest twinkle in her eye though is definitely her friend Leif. He lives in West Seattle but the distance makes no matter to them. They love ANY opportunity to be together and pretty much act like an old married couple, greeting and bidding each other adieu with a hug and a kiss.

She's a snuggler and a hugger and likes most anything mommy says she likes. :) I'm savoring this phase where I can (sometimes, ok rarely) have a say in her outfit choices by saying it's my favorite. Emma's go-to is definitely a dress and tights or long socks and usually her light up tennis shoes!

 Emma and Jack are the best of buds. When big sis is in school, these two are inseparable. They play together SO well and keep each other entertained for an hour at a time. Whenever Jack gets injured, Emma is the first to come running to the kitchen for a ziplock to fill with ice.

 We are big on calling body parts what they are over here. Despite our efforts to tell it like it is, somehow Emma got it in her head that the male anatomy is called a "peanut." A couple weekends back, Isla was attending a friend's birthday party at the theater. I told the kids the name of the movie she would be watching and you should have seen the look on Emma's face when I said it was called Peanuts!!!! Her expressions depicted perfectly every last thing she was thinking: They made a movie about THAT? Oh my word it was hysterical!

 Some things that have been keeping Emma entertained this month include: playing school with Isla, playing pretend kitties or tigers, building with legos, dressing up and dancing. We were so excited to be gifted tickets to the dress rehearsal of the Nutcracker and which we surprised the girls with the night before Thanksgiving. Ever since, Emma's adult aspirations have shifted from "being a bat" to "becoming a ballerina in the Nutcracker." I guess we should resume those ballet classes!

Emma (or is it Emmy?) 48 Months

 This girl is her own unique ball of wax and we love her dearly! We just never know what sort of curve ball she's going to throw our way. Most recently, it was a name change. You expect those sorts of things when they're teenagers but when they are 4? Oy vey.

 Originally we'd strongly considered naming her Emmy. It was Isla's idea and we both really like it and nearly pulled the trigger but switched it up to a more traditional Emma at the last minute because "it would look better on a resume." Long story, but that's the short of it. We decided we would call her Emmy as a nickname but it just never really happened. Until two weeks ago. I went on my typical Saturday morning run and somewhere in my two hour absence, her name officially changed to Emmy. I mean, we're talking all the way down to the sign on her door. Big sis was quick to step in and make sure she know how to write a Y in place of an A and, just like that, apparently it became official. Further exploration soon revealed that daddy was the one to "change" her name. Dear Husband, I love thee. But sometimes....SOMEtimes!

Before we knew what was happening, she was correcting both family and strangers alike. And apparently teachers, which I found out when I was pulled aside quizzically by one of them who stated she was telling them all that her name wasn't Emma anymore because her "daddy changed it to Emmy." Lemme just say that was an interesting one to try and explain... I quickly forced *cough* I mean encouraged Graham to sit down and have a little chat with Emma to inform her that her name is still Emma (and that all her name tags at school are going to read Emma) but that Emmy can be a nickname if she likes it. She has mostly since forgotten and answers happily to both. Seriously. The crazy things we do as parents!

Speaking of her name, she does an excellent job of writing it ON ANY AND ALL SURFACES OF OUR HOME. It's on the back of her door (I mean, in case you forget what room you are in in the middle of the night), on her backpack (in Sharpie), on the wall and the table. When confronted on who might possibly have written her name everywhere, she's quick to tattle: "Jack!" ;)

Even if she does try to blame her trespasses on her brother, man oh man does she ever love him! The two of them play SO well together and will disappear upstairs in the late morning hours and pass the time laughing and giggling and doing who knows what. Yesterday I set them up with a spray bottle of water and a mop to "clean" the chalk dust out off the bonus room floor. They had such a blast spraying each other in the face that I could hardly stand it.  

Emma told me this month that she has a boyfriend. Isla laughed it off and said that no she didn't but Emma was quick to refute that yes she did because he was a boy and he is her friend. For a second I thought they were teenagers with how the conversation went down. Emma's "boyfriend" is super cute and they had a blast together at the pumpkin patch and apparently at school too.

I'm just DYING to know what Emma is like in the classroom setting. I literally have no idea because she's always been one to keep me on my toes. Whatever the case, I'll bet she is a riot! We have our first parent meeting next week at her preschool and I'm looking forward to hearing what they have to say about her. She can write most all of her letters now and is enjoying asking how to spell things, just like her big sis. She LOVES school and I am so grateful for that.

Other tidbits about her: 

Emma definitely is my snuggle bug

She is super tender with her little brother

And she likes to teach him all sorts of cool things like how to talk potty talk

She's taken the reigns as the early riser around here

She loves dressing up

And reading books

She knows just what buttons to push to irk her big sister

She always wants to help me in the kitchen

She loves her little buddy Leif

She's a doll and you can't help but love her

Happy Birthday Emma Grace!

To our Emma Grace,

Happiest of Birthdays to our amazing FOUR year old! I will never, ever forget that first week when you came into our lives. It was then that I learned just how deep and fierce a mother's love truly goes. You scared us half to death when you became ill at only five days of age and we are so very, very thankful that you pulled through. Daddy chose your middle name on a bit of a whim shortly after you were born and it couldn't be a more fitting reminder of the grace God has shown to our family.

You have a way of lighting up the life of every last person that you meet. You are a real charmer and you can sneak in snuggles like nobody's business, especially with your grandpas. You are tender and sweet and stubborn and a little bit quirky with a dash of shy thrown in the mix. I never quite know what's going to come out of your mouth from one moment to the next but usually it's hilarious.

I love spending time alone with you. As the middle child, you are more or less destined to either be at the heels of your big sis or leading your little brother around by the end of a stick. One-on-one time is only accomplished with immense forethought and planning but it is so worth it. When I hang out with you, I'm often tempted to ask you questions about your favorite food, color or how you are feeling about starting preschool. But our best times are had when I just keep my mouth shut and let you take the lead. I took you on a date while we were on vacation in Cannon Beach last week. I suggested we take a walk and you enthusiastically took it from there. You wanted to go to the hotel lobby where we grabbed a cup of hot chocolate for you and coffee for me. We sat briefly and then you wanted to go outside. Your cocoa spilled the moment we stepped out the door but you remained calm while I fixed you another. Next you suggested we walk to the beach to "see the big rock." Along the way, we posed for pictures in front of a puffin statue - your request of course. We passed another statue of a sailor and you pronounced him your daddy. Seriously, kid. You're crazy sometimes. The beach was cold and so once we reached it, we took shelter against a wall to sip our drinks and talk. You wanted to show me how you could make a sand angel and then I loved you ten times more because it was so ridiculously adorable. 

Thanks for helping remind me who you really are in the special moments we spent together. Sometimes being three (and now four!) is super tough. We've had a bit of a rough go as of late. And I think I've been handling it all wrong. The root of the issue, I think, is that you need more from us than we're giving you. I was a middle child too so I know how easy it is to get "lost" amidst the siblings who may be the squeakier wheel at the moment. We see you and we love you and you are oh so very special to us. 

You are strong, little one. When you set your mind to something, nothing will sway you. Particularly when it comes to your wardrobe. You will be dripping in sweat but will REFUSE to change out of the wool sweater dress that you insisted on wearing in the 80 degree heat. On other days though, no one could convince you to get dressed by yourself if they tried. You'd much prefer to be babied. 

I love how recently, when you accidentally fall asleep in the car or in some other random location, you exclaim immediately upon waking, "I was just pretending to be asleep" as if it were the worst thing in the world to actually need a little bit of shut eye. I always wanted a kid who would provide me with crazy sleep stories and girl, you are that kid! I have more than my fair share of pictures of you while asleep because you fall asleep in the silliest of places.

It's been fun getting ready for your birthday party. You decided MONTHS ago that you wanted a bat birthday party, since bats are your favorite animal. I've asked you numerous times what you would like for your birthday and all you will tell me is a Stellaluna the Bat cake. I really think you'd be happy with that and that alone. But for the sake of your guests, we also have been working on a bat piñata because your mama has no idea what else one does for a "bat birthday party" that isn't creepy for other 4 year olds...thanks for always keeping life exciting!

Emma, as you turn 4 and begin preschool, my prayer for you is that you would grow in your knowledge of all things academic but more importantly in your knowledge of God and His never ending GRACE for you. I pray that you would build strong friendships, learning to communicate in a kind and gentle and honest way. I pray that you would continue to draw people in in your charming way. I pray for your relationships with your siblings, that your friendships would continue to deepen and grow. 

You are a precious gift, Emma, and we love you so much! Happy birthday to you!

Love,

Mom and Dad

Emma 46 Months

-testing, testing 1-2-3

-that about sums up the phase she's in right now

-she's a tricky one, this girl

-she's learned this cool new thing called telling a lie

-she'll say she put something away and I'll find it hidden under my desk instead

-there's a lot of "pretending she doesn't hear what we're saying" going on too

-and so I've implement a have-to-fold 5 pieces of clothes for each time she disobeys policy

-well, I did it once

-and it worked

-10 items of clothing later, she was doing just what I asked

-also, she is quite good at folding!

-she also loves washing windows

-which I might add we do for FUN, not discipline

-she really looks up to her big sis and they are having lots of fun playing this summer

-she can't wait for her school to start

-she can start on her bike all by herself now

-she's taking her second session of swimming lessons now

-she didn't technically pass the first but she was already registered for the second...

-I tried to bribe her with a tricycle from Value Village for when she finally does a bob

-poor girl has gotten progressively more fearful

-the trike is still sitting on the shelf in the garage after 16 days of lessons...

-and I'm laying off with the crazy-mama pressure

-her favorite animals are bats and she's currently planning a bat birthday party

-she LOVED the fireworks this year on the fourth

-she's obsessed with the hotel we stayed at in Clarkston back in May

-often brings me my phone and asks me to show her where it is on the map

-is really, really bonded with her brother

-definitely my most physically affectionate

-love her spunk even if she is stubborn!

Emma 45 Months

-she's a love bug
-leans in, grabs my arm and whispers "I love you so much" all the time at dinner
-also VERY stubborn and thinks it's her way or the highway
-wears long sleeves only
-and tights
-no matter the temperature
-on a recent 80+ degree day, she was decked out in her winter best when she asked "why am I so wet?" Isla filled her in: "BECAUSE YOU ARE SWEATING!"
-still she refuses summer clothing (except for in the picture above which is literally the first time I got her to wear this dress and only as a result of some parent to kid trickery...)
-I'm learning to choose my battles (and also to box up all her long sleeves)
-likes socks on hands at bedtime so she's "warm and cozy"
-favorite animal: the bat
-favorite store: Barnes and Noble
-favorite colors: pink and yellow and purple
-the other day she told me she wants Jesus to come to her birthday party so "she can see his face"
-I totally melted
-continues to be super interested in how the body works
-loves feeling her heart beat
-comes to me occasionally with a worried expression "I can't feel it beating"
-you can she the relief wash over her when I help her locate it again
-has grown a bit more devious with lots of lying and hiding
-thinks cleaning her room means piling everything on her bed
-but on other days, she pulls it out of somewhere and does a great job of tidying up
-could ride her bike for days
-also loves sneaking out the back door and running around front and ringing the doorbell until the pictures fall off the wall
-spends her quiet times playing with her stuffed animals, looking at books, playing board games with herself and asking me if quiet time is over yet
-told me the other day that lollipops are her favorite fruit
she's a riot, y'all

Emma 44 Months

Oh man, oh man. This sweet girl KILLS me! She's at that super fun phase where you never quite know what is going to come out of her mouth and she usually comes up with the darndest things. Like the other day for instance when she was sitting at the table working on some artwork....she piped up and out of no where said "This is a picture of me when I'm grown up. And in jail." As you can see it came complete with her dressed in stripes and everything. Yes, baby girl. Make your mama's wildest dreams come true.  

She's a character for sure! She wants to wear dresses and tights every day and when all her tights are in the hamper, she'll concede to pants and a shirt but ONLY IF it's a long-sleeved shirt. On warmer days, she still insists on wearing tights with her dresses. She asks for her hair to be done in a "side bun" on most days and wears her shiniest of shoes out in the garden and tries to convince me they are her "work shoes." She's has her own fashion sense for sure! 

She and Jack and developing quite the bond. They love each other so much and make each other giggle constantly. Sometimes I will look back at them in the car and see that they are holding hands and Emma is almost guaranteed to give him bites of her snack. This month I was hit with a sneak peak into the dynamics of our kids' futures: Emma and Jack tag-teaming to make TROUBLE while their order-loving older sister nearly loses her mind trying to keep them in line. Should be fun!

Emma (and Jack) love going to Safeway for their car carts and Emma likes Trader Joes and the produce stand because of their kid-sized shopping carts. She rarely lets me run any errands (or anywhere for that matter) on my own. This kid hears the keys jingle (from bed, I might add) and screams "Mom! Where are you going!!??" None of my kids really experienced much in the way of separation anxiety so I guessing I had it coming to have a child not want me to leave the house without her. Ever. The funny thing is that she's totally fine with me dropping her off at church or in other settings and this only applies to my leaving the house. For now, I'll just try and be grateful for the 4 gajillion hugs she insists on giving me before she even thinks about letting me walk out the door.

Emma can't wait for school in September. In the meantime, she loves doing pages in her preschool workbook and she's learning to write many of the letters in the alphabet. She spends most of her quiet times reading books, playing board games (with herself) or coloring.

She also loves Costco. What kid doesn't? We got to try our one of those huge orange things and she helped me navigate the aisles using her zoo map. I love her!

Emma is loving her ballet class and I think she has a knack for it. She can't wait to start swim lessons in a few weeks too. It's been really fun and good for both of us to enroll her in something that is JUST HERS. She comes alive! 

Any time the sun comes out, you'll be sure to find her in her bathing suit and armed with a hose. We've been spoiled with a lovely spring for sure, but I'm not convinced it's swimsuit weather just yet. We usually get some funny looks from our neighbors.

She is rocking it on her bike! She can do 3 miles on her own, stopping for dandelions along the way of course.

She may be dreaming of going to jail but I personally think she has medicine in her future. She has a unique interest in blood and shots and wounds and doctors. When I let her pick out a non-fiction book of her choice at the library, she skipped right over the ones about monkeys and butterflies and went straight for the one about blood. You go girl!!