Leaping Around

Yesterday I mentioned to Emily that this was a Leap Year and we have an extra day in February.  Her immediate comment was 'what?....does everyone leap around on that day?'  I love that kids are so literal.  So to explain more clearly I did some research.  Did you know that Leap Years are needed to keep our calendar in alignment with the Earth's revolutions around the sun?  It takes the Earth approximately 365.242199 days – or 365 days, 5 hours, 48 minutes, and 46 seconds (a tropical year) – to circle once around the Sun.  And did you know Julius Caesar first introduced Leap Years in the Roman empire over 2000 years ago?

Oh La La

As in Fancy Nancy!  For her birthday gift Emily recieved a ticket from Madlyn to the Fancy Nancy ballet.  What a treat and it was such a cute performance...perfect for children.  It was put on by the Evergreen City Ballet Company.  I would highly recommend seeing this performance.  I think they still have shows available.  We even got to meet the illustrator of the books and she was signing books for the kids.

Great Family Fun

Saturday night we celebrated Uncle Ryan's birthday.  We bowled, played some pool, ate and then splurged with ice cream at Cold Stone Creamery.  Happy Birthday Ryan!

Small Moments

This past week has been a rough one.  Emotionally draining and at times a struggle to find something positive. Our family is o.k. but my girls in the 'hood' have had to deal with some tough stuff.  I had to remind myself more than once to take those small good moments and really appreciate them.  Like our coffee lady at work announcing that she is expecting a baby girl in May.  Or my favorite niece bringing me lunch at work.  Or celebrating Ryan's birthday with our family.  Here's to next week being a much happier one!

H is for Heart

Here's an original Jen Moser poem....do you think I should keep my day job?

H is for heart as my heart belongs to my Valentine, Chris.
E is for Emily as in my favorite bugga who I love all the much and beyond.
A is for awesome as in I'm blessed with awesome friends and family.
R is for red as in red is my favorite color.
T is for thankful as in I'm thankful for my life.

Happy Valentines Day!

Valentine's Party's Rock!

Kaitlyn had a Valentine's party on Saturday at the Little Gym.  And my sister went all out.  As in Martha Stewart on crack.  It was awesome!  I wish I would have gotten more pictures.  The kids has a blast!

Our Emily

As part of her birthday post this year, I asked our immediate family this question:
"Besides the obvious, what is one thing you remember about the day Emily was born?"

And here are the answers:

Jen (aka Mommy) - I remember the moment the doctor said that our baby was a girl and thought 'it's an Emily'!

Chris (aka Daddy) -  I woke up at 3:45 and washed the car.  I was anxiously excited to see what the day would bring.

Uncle Scott - "  Waiting in the hospital waiting room hoping it was a girl and then getting the good news it was""

Auntie Karena - "Seeing her adorable little face, and small perfect fingers and toes."

Auntie B - "I remember thinking, how can something so tiny already hold such a big place in my heart?!"

Uncle Ryan - "...that Chris washed the car at an insane time that morning."

Grammy Jill - "On the day you were born, I couldn’t wait to meet you! Papa Dirt and I were so excited!   I thought you were so beautiful....with a tiny nose and mouth, and so cute!"

Papa Dirt - "I had never seen a C-Section baby, and thought WOW, you were so perfect.... no “smashed head” "

Grandma Sandy and Papa Bike - ".....I think seeing our son holding his new baby girl in his arms, looking at her with amazement of how beautiful she was and his excitement of being a daddy. It is hard to explain how gratifying and wonderful it is to watch your child with his child, absolutely priceless the pride and love you feel as a parent."

Eight is Great

My baby is EIGHT today! Happy Birthday my Bugga!  I love you all the much and beyond!

Who Would Have Thought?

That Chris and I would have iPhones??  Yes, we have moved up into the 21st century now!  We don't know what how to work them yet but hey, they look cool!

Queen for the Day

We celebrated Emily's 8th birthday on Saturday.  The morning hosted her girlfriend  party, the evening hosted her family party.  This year Emily wanted a small girl party with pedicures.  So off we went with six girls to the local spa.  It was so much fun!  And for most of the girls it was a first.  After the spa we came back, had lunch, played hide-in-seek, ate hot pink cupcakes (compliments of Auntie B) opened gifts and did a craft.  Emily told me later that "this was the best birthday ever".  Thank you everyone for making it a special day!

For the family party Emily was very specific about the menu.  She wanted hot dogs, fries and plain white cake with roses on it.  And since she is the birthday girl, that's what we had!  It was a perfect day from start to finish.  Happy 8th Birthday Emily!  We love you!

Grammy Jill and Papa scored with this gymnastic leo....Emily wore it for the rest of the party and to bed!

Grandma Sandy and Papa also scored with cool clothes, a jewelry box and a great joke book!

I love traditions.  And Auntie Karena, Uncle Scott and Luke continued the tradition of giving Emily a precious moment figurine for her birthday.  It's the Growing with Grace collection and Year 8 is 'Sharing the Love'.

And speaking of traditions, Auntie B, Uncle Ryan and Kaitlyn have given Emily a theater ticket for her birthday the past few years.  This year she is going to "Mamma Mia".  She was so excited!  I have an awesome video of her opening the gift but when I try to upload the video it keeps giving me an error message.