Trying So Hard!!

Emmy is trying so hard to crawl - she has started pulling her knees up under her and rocking a bit. I think it will be any day now. Our world sure will change!!

Slinkies are Delicious

This is the BEST toy in the entire world. It keeps Emmy busy for at least 20 minutes each night while I am cooking dinner. Who would have thought? A $.25 slinky? I am going to buy a case of them!!

A visit from Gramma and Daddy Jim

My parents drove down from Boston this weekend to visit and to help me out with the kids on Saturday since I was organizing a silent auction for Aidan's preschool. We had a lot of fun even though we didn't really get to do much of anything. Thanks for driving down Mom and Dad - it was great to see you!!

Bath Time!!

Emmy loves the bath. I think she is happier for those 15 minutes per day than at any other time! Here are some pictures from last night's bath. She and Aidan take a short bath together and then she gets out and Aidan gets to stay in after we add some more water for him! He is really gentle when she's in the bath with him - what a good big brother!Daddy's idea of fun...

Skating Lessons

Aidan started skating lessons last weekend but Emmy and I didn't go until today to watch. He got through about 12 minutes of the 30 minute lesson before he wanted to stop. That's better than the 4 minutes they got through last week before he got tired. They made it through the entire lesson and Aidan is getting better quickly. He hates to fall because he can't get up by himself. We got him a cool hockey helmet because kids' bike helmets don't fit Aidan - he has a very large head - it is only 2 inches less in circumference than Brendan's!! The helmet really is necessary - I guess he took a pretty bad fall last week that would have been really bad without head protection! The best part is that Aidan's friend Will is in the class with him and all the guys go out for donuts afterwards!Here they are trying to get a feel for the ice - Will and his Dad are on the left.Here is Aidan standing by himself! He is sliding forward in this one - the teacher has the kids practice moving on the ice with their hands in different positions - even bending over to touch the ice - to get them used to shifting their centers of gravity

Emmy and the Farm

It's really interesting to see how much differently Emmy plays than Aidan did at this age. She loves this little farm and the plastic animals that go with it. She'll put the animals in the doors and move them from stall to stall. It keeps her occupied for at least 10 minutes - which, if you're a mother of a boy, you know is incredible. At this age Aidan was so concerned about learning to pull up and walk that no toy could hold his interest for longer than 30 seconds. I'm not exaggerating. Emmy is very content to sit and play with a toy. When she gets bored she falls on her back, rolls onto her tummy, pushes up and looks around. If she sees something she wants and it is out of her reach she'll try to get someone to get it for her by grunting and looking at the desired object. If that doesn't work she'll make a few attempts to reach out and grab it - this mostly sends her backwards - then she'll set her sights on something closer. Here she is with her two loyal subjects. Murph and Sully LOVE Emmy. They try to be as close as possible at all times. She loves to pet them and pull on their ears - it's really cute.

Play-Doh

Here are some pictures of Aidan playing with the Play-Doh that he got for his birthday from one of his friends. I have been very leery of Play-Doh since the first time we tried it and all he wanted to do was eat it - granted, that was probably a year ago but I haven't really given it a chance since then. He wanted to play with his new Play-Doh so I set him up at the table and he played with it for over an HOUR. I got to talk to my mom on the phone and have a nice conversation without being interrupted every 2 minutes. It was GREAT. I don't think I can remember a time when he has played with anything or sat still for that long - amazing!