Our last few weeks

Our last few weeks here at home have been busy ones. First, we've really been working on potty training. While most days she has the "pee pee" thing down, we still have accidents and have yet to even attempt "poo poo" on the potty. Mommy is trying not to get discouraged but some days it can be. I know she can do it!! She just has a stubborn streak. Yesterday we had a dry panties day all day and so far so good today. So while progress might not be as quick as what I might like, we are getting there slowly but surely. Last week we did make a trip to the zoo (see photo of Em and racoon) and she pottied in the big girl potty before we left. When we walked out of the restroom she shouted very loudly, "I pottied, People!" Unfortunately we were the only ones there at the time and nobody heard.

Last week we started our Wee Toddlers class at the Rec Center. This is a one hour class on Thursday mornings where kids her age get together for 30 minutes of unstructured playtime then story time, snack and a craft. Since last week was our first week I anticipated maybe a bit of reluctance. However I was not prepared for Emily running down the hall back toward the front door, screaming and spending the first 30 minutes in class crying hysterically. I felt horrible! The teacher made several attempts to get Emily involved and then I think finally gave up. It wasn't until it was time to pick up toys and get ready for a story that she actually left my side. I slipped out the door of the classroom (which was left open but had a baby gate in it) and sat outside the room and I never heard another peep out of her for the last 30 minutes. When class was over she came running out to show me her picture and was happy, laughing and having a great time. I'm hoping this Thursday is better and that we don't have to go through the first 30 minutes like we did last week.

This morning was our first morning for Toddler Time at the library. It runs for 30 minutes each week. Today's topic was ABC's. There were just three other toddlers there with their moms so not a very big group. I was pretty pleased with my girl though as she was the only one who sang along to the ABC song with the librarian. She seemed to enjoy it and Mommy did, too, so we'll look forward to going back each week from now until mid-December (minus the weeks we will be out when baby brother comes along).

Yesterday we had our baby shower for our little boy expected in just four weeks. Emily knew pretty much everyone there and had a great time. Here is a picture of Em, me, my two sisters and our two aunts--three generations of a sort since my mom is no longer with us.

Emily loves to water the flowers. A co-worker of Jeff's gave her a duck watering can shortly after we moved here and she takes such care walking from the kitchen sink to the front porch to water. Here is a picture of her watering our flowers.

And this from the "out of the mouths of babes" column...last week I was finishing putting my make-up on one morning when Emily joined me in the bathroom. I told her I was almost finished but needed to put my make-up on. She asked, "So you don't scare people?" Yes, Emily, so I don't scare people. Children are so honest!! :-)

Fun at the Fair!!

Yesterday we had the opportunity to go to the state fair. It's held every year in Hutchinson, the town we just moved to this summer. We live just 6 blocks from the fair grounds and since Jeff had to work at a booth for his college for part of the afternoon, Emily and I went up to meet Daddy after his shift and have a look around.

I had never been to our Kansas State Fair so I had no idea what to expect. It had all the typical fair "stuff" just on a larger level. We got to eat a bit of fair food--funnel cake for me and Em and a meat pie just like what they have in NZ for Daddy. We also got to visit the birthing barn (darn, no babies being born at the time) and got to see a very friendly one day old calf, some baby pigs, baby chicks (to which she said "Gobble, gobble") and a baby donkey. They were all so cute. She wanted to see some cows and had been making mooing sounds a good part of the day so of course there were plenty to see.

Probably the biggest highlight for me was watching Emily ride some rides so I included some photos. The only ride she had ever been on was a merry-go-round at the mall. So we started out on that. Unfortunately she did not want to sit on a horse but instead settled for sitting on a bench with Daddy. Then she saw the car ride and wanted to ride on that. She said she wanted a specific car. Since there was just one kid ahead of her and six cars to choose from, I hoped she would be able to get the car she wanted. She didn't (the little boy took "her" car) but she quickly decided on her second choice...a sporty little red car. She rode that twice. She and Daddy also rode the bumblebee ride. She wasn't sure about it at first. And neither was Mommy as it went pretty high up in the air. But she seemed to enjoy it. I was worried about Daddy on all these rides but he fared pretty well, too! HA!

After walking around for more than two hours and seeing all we wanted to see, Mommy's eight month pregnant body was ready for a rest so we said goodbye to the fair until maybe next year. Then, we will have two in tow!!

Labor Day Weekend fun

This past Labor Day weekend we spent at my dad and sister's houses. They live next door to each other so it's easy to visit both. Here is a photo of Emily and her Papa (my dad). We left home Saturday morning and drove just 20 minutes to the little Amish/Mennonite town of Yoder and had breakfast at a very popular restaurant there. Then we drove the rest of the two and a half hours to Papa and BB's (my dad and sister, Brenda). Saturday afternoon Emily had a swim in BB's pool with Mommy, Daddy, BB, and cousins Haileigh and Eric. A good time was had by all...except for when Emily was clinging to someone. She is not terribly confident in the water. Saturday night we had pizza at Papa's and Sunday at lunch we celebrated Papa's birthday (Sept. 3) and Emily's great Aunt Dee's birthday (August 30) with hamburgers, hot dogs, chips, etc. etc. Needless to say we were well fed this past weekend. We had a special visit from Emily's great Aunt Carol who lives in Arizona and is in Kansas for a month visiting. Emily and Jeff had never met Aunt Carol and it had been several years since I last saw her.

We had a nice time and it was good to get away, if even just a few hours away! But visiting family was the best part!