Colors

Emma says that colors have a smell.
Here are the details:

brown = root beer
red = radishes
blue = blueberries
orange = orange (duh!)
yellow - lemonade
white = frosting
green = lettuce
pink = sprinkles
purple = cookies
black = licorice

Things I hear on a Sunday

First:
Emma overhears Andy asking me to buy some cookies the next time I am at the store.
She says (incredulously, no less): "You can BUY cookies from the store!!!"

Last:
Sophie is sitting next to me on the couch, wearing her mama-made jammies.
She says (with the cute little way of hers): "I love it when you make things for me to wear."

What did I do on Sunday to deserve that? I must have been good, as those were the sweetest, unprompted comments ever. And, thank you girls!

a story...

about a bike, a boy, a frog and a burger...

Once there was a boy. He was riding his bike to a restaurant. On the way, he met a frog. The frog was going to the restaurant too. So, they went together. When they got there, the boy ordered a hamburger and he shared it with the frog. The end.

On our drive home this afternoon I told Emma there is a bike, a frog, and a hamburger. Then I asked her to tell me a story about them. That was her story.
Fittingly, we took a walk around the block this evening before taking the girls up to bed. On our walk, we met up with a few frogs. And Sophie stomped on a slug she found on our front porch.
This is how we start our last long weekend before school starts. In store for us this weekend:
*a massage for Andy (lucky guy)
*a haircut for me (the girls got haircuts today)
*a wedding (Andy's friend Sunil)
*a class about canning and preserving for me (at our local nursery - it's free)
*a first birthday celebration
*somewhere in there, some much needed R&R
Hope you have a lovely last weekend of summer (officially, anyhow).

weddings

"You shouldn't be funny at a wedding. Pish, posh!"
That was my five year old this morning.

stars of the show

Emma and Sophie usually play together really well.
They like to pretend a lot - going to the roller rink, playing mom and dad, going on trips around the world (Emma and the neighbor boy rode their bikes to Italy over the weekend), ice skating on sheets of paper, swimming in the living room, birthdays are celebrated daily. One thing is pretty constant though. Who they are.
Emma is always called "Miss Curslyn" and Sophie is always called "Daddy Phim". Always.
Sadly, Andy and I are referred to as grandma and grandpa a bit too often...

Our American Idol...

Last night, Emma came back downstairs unable to sleep about an hour after bedtime. We decided to pause the excellent Blazer's game to share some American Idol with her (she never sees it anymore, but used to love it when she was one or two). She watched Jennifer Hudson and Miley Cyrus with awe and even seemed to enjoy Matt's performance. But, her moment came just after Jennifer Hudson finished her song. She was so attentive to her singing, but when she finished Emma turned to us and said: "My voice is bigger than hers"! If that's true, darling - we will be so thrilled to someday watch you perform your heart out on American Idol. For now, we are a bit in doubt though...

playing dressup

Emma wanted to skip ballet today - because she was the queen and about to celebrate her birthday. Sophie was a guest at the party, and I was happy to oblige since it meant I could dig through some patterns to find some inspiration for summer clothes for the girls. I am all about the $8 skirts (just about one yard of fabric and some elastic) from Grand Revival's Ruffle Skirt pattern as Emma loves the first one I made for her... but that can't be all she wears this summer, can it?

I just about finished my summer blouse from Heather Ross's new book "Weekend Sewing"... just need to make the opening a little more modest... then I will photo and post it. It was an easy enough pattern, but I made so many "oops" on this one that it took me a while. It's okay though. I now have made momma size sleeves, a placket and my own bias tape. Now that I have made bias tape, I doubt I will ever use icky store bought again. It is always so stiff and unappealing. Although... not true, I did buy some linen bias tape from Superbuzzy that I love and this new stuff with dots and stripes is great too. But the other stuff... ew, ick.

Oh baby,

My baby is five!

There she is on the day she was born - newborn sleepiness and all.

Today, I don't imagine her being so peaceful as this - but probably just as charming.

What is Emma like at five? Well...

Creative

Funny

Sensitive

Smart

Thoughtful

Loving

Caring

Emma loves pink and princess and all things related. She loves her ballet and gymnastics classes. She is an amazing little artist who loves her smelly colored pencils and a good art pad. Her favorite food is yogurt. Her favorite color (breaking news here, as of this morning) is brown (really, I still think it is pink, but this new silly side of Emma is entertaining). Her favorite show is Ni-Hao, Kai Lan. Her favorite thing to do for fun is play princess. Her favorite book is Duck and Goose by Tad Hills. Her favorite place to go is The Secret Forest. Her best friend is Sophie.

Emma and Sophie are playing right now. I am about to start decorating cupcakes. Andy is on his way to urgent care - he smashed his pinky on his walk with Charley this morning. Gotta keep things interesting around here...

What do you want for Christmas, Emma?

I want a bunch of teddy bears.
You do? You already have a teddy.
I want a bunch.
Why?
Because then I could give some to Sophie and she could love them as much as I do.
That's nice.

She sews...

Emma has started sewing a felt butterfly with big chunky yarn and a huge plastic needle. The butterfly already has holes in it, comes with a little stuffing and when she is done, there are sequins to glue on for added beauty. She enjoys it in small spurts - mostly showing interest anytime I sit down to knit for a few minutes. It's good.

Here is a little Sophie - Emma conversation I listened to this morning while eating my breakfast.

Emma: Come here Sophie. Do you want to pick out a doll?

Sophie: I already have a doll.

Emma: Yeah, but this is a new one. Don't you want a new one Sophie?

Sophie: I don't want that one (pointing at a doll in the catalog).

Emma: Well, what about this one, or this one?

Sophie: I like that one.

Emma: That one is for big girls like me. How about this one, or how about the baldy over here?

Sophie: I don't want the baldy Emma.

top secret project

Emma is hard at work on a top secret project. If you are a grandma or a nana you will get to see the results sometime in the next several months. For now, I just have to tell you what she said to me about the project.
"Mom, when I am finished - can we write this at the top: 'My mom helped me, but really I did all the work.'"
That's what she said to me. You need to know that I have not helped her one bit, and she has done all the work. So, when you see what you can't see now - remember that.

Old picture, new story

Emma and Sophie are midway through a week long music class with Miss Erika. Miss Erika is Emma's ballet teacher and we haven't seen her in a while (Emma decided to take a break from ballet). Today, Miss Erika asked Emma when her birthday is and Emma replied; "Well, I don't know but I am really looking forward to being five!"

Emma says...

I think this is going to be a new category on this blog. I try to keep track of the best of Emma and this might be a better place for me to do that. Here goes:
This was just today - while on her swing.

Emma - "I watch my shadow everyday, so that I can see how big I am."