Emery Turns 4!

I woke up this morning thinking where has the time gone. It seems like yesterday I was waking up this morning anxious to have Emery here. Today I was anxious to slow time down. I can't believe my baby is not a toddler anymore. We began the day with a few tears.The tears left as quickly as they came!I'm really not quite sure where the peace sign came from. Emmet was so hopeful this morning that he didn't have to go to school because it was Emery's birthday. He will try anything to get out of school and he was persistent but I held my ground and to school he went! Emery and I met up with all of Emery's younger cousins for a birthday lunch at McDonald's. She loves her cousins and she had a great time eating nuggets and playing ring around the rosies!Notice the different outfits. Emery LOVES clothes and wore at least three different outfits today. Grandma Kathy gave her new clothes and she was in heaven. I haven't really done a "friends" birthday party for Emery and this year I thought we would give it a try. We invited four friends over for an hour and fifteen minutes. I had it all planned out and Emmet was hysterical making the girls laugh and it was so cute to see him helping make her party fun. He did eventually get sick of it and went to play at the next door neighbors. His humor and antics reminded me of Sam and that always makes my heart sing.It was a very simple party, but the girls had a great time especially Emery. I hadn't seen her so excited before and so grown-up. She's really starting to come out of her shell. We had a cake and we were singing to her and she wasn't sure what to do. Emmet and I were laughing just blow the candles out!The day ended with her gift from me a silly tent, but I knew she would love playing inside of it!I had to throw this last picture in for Grandma Kathy. This was her final outfit for the evening.I am so relieved that her birthday met her expectations. She's excited for her cousins party next week. Birthdays are a hard day for me. Emmet's and Emery's birthdays were two of the most important days Sam and I shared together and it's hard that he's not here to share in the joy. I'm grateful I've learned to go simple and we had a great time. I don't need to make a production out of it. Emery was beaming as she went to bed. So mission accomplished!

First Day of Kindergarten

I have been dreading this day. Whenever I would think about Emmet going to kindergarten I would get all teary eyed. It's all day kindergarten here. Despite my trepidation, I have been talking it up big all summer and today was the day. I had my whole family praying that it would go smoothly and it did! In fact Emmet was awesome. He was dressed and ready to leave the house by 6:45! He woke up and the first thing he said to me was, "I feel like today is going to be a great day!" That's how I knew he was excited.

He was ready with his Bakugan backpack, Bakugan lunch box, and Bakugan thermos!
We got to school quite early, but he enjoyed playing in the playground and so did Emery. Emmet's teacher is so great she encouraged all of the parents to come inside her classroom and take pictures. Emmet was so confident and he sat down and immediately was talking to the kids at his table.

I wanted to cry watching him only because he looked so grown-up. I was also so relieved that he was happy and excited.
I picked him up from school and he was quite proud that he ate his entire lunch and was even prouder that he ate a chocolate doughnut for his snack. Maybe he'll start eating better. Who knows. All I know is he had a wonderful first day. His favorite part of the day was recesses where he was tackled by three girls. I thought to myself, I'm in trouble!!

Bakugan Tournament

In my attempt to be a fun mom we head to Arizona Mills Saturday to participate in a Bakugan Tournament. I had no idea what we were getting into or if it was legit, but it turned out to be a lot of fun! The place was packed with mom's being dragged by their sons who were carrying their stashes of Bakugan. We stood in line for over an hour waiting for Emmet's turn to battle.

The kids handled the long line well. Of course Emmet loved talking about Bakugan with all the boys in line with us. They were arguing over the finer points of the game. I was entertained by the man standing in line behind me who managed to discuss Star Wars with me for a good amount of time. He feels that his knowledge of Star Wars is so great there is no question you could have that he couldn't answer! I was grateful that Emery was starting to get bored so I could focus my attention on her and not the Star Wars trivia that was being thrown at me.

There were three stations. The first was a demonstration of the game Bakugan given by a "Bakugan Master". I think he was a great actor, but Emmet was convinced he was a "real" Master! I learned all of the rules and was surprised at how much I already knew about Bakugan. So, any moms out there wondering how to play Bakguan, I can definitely help you out with that.

The second station Emmet actually battled! It was done with the help of an adult who assisted the kids during the battle, answering any questions and making sure the game was being played correctly.
The last station Emmet was able to battle unassisted and sit in a really cool chair. He actually won and I could not believe how excited he was! I left so glad we went. It was free and Emmet had a great time. It amazes me how simple an activity can be, but how fun the kids actually have. He wants to have a Bakugan birthday party and set up a tournament. We'll see if I can pull that off.

I have to hand it to Emery. She was such a trooper. She could have battled if she wanted to, but she would rather cheer Emmet on.