A Special Present From Daddy

Before Doug left on his trip, he set aside a special present for Emma's birthday. It was something she's wanted for a very long time: a toy cash register.

Here she poses with the unopened present.

Can't you see the excitement on her face after she opened it?

Next, she read the card to herself in typical Emma fashion: upside down on the floor.

I asked her to read it to me, but instead she held up the card for me to take a picture.

So you wonder how she likes her new present? To quote Emma, "I've been playing with it like crazy!"

Emma's 5th Birthday Playdate!

Emma is very proud to 5 years old now!

Since Daddy wasn't home to celebrate, we made the day special by going over to Evie Jackson's house to play. They spent several hours playing together and didn't want to say goodbye when it was time to go home.

Abby, Evie and Emma posed for some birthday pictures on the swing before we had to go.

Good friends!

Milestone

I just had a feeling that while Doug was away, Lizzie would learn lots of new things. She is now sitting completely unsupported. She enjoys being able to move around and reach whatever she likes, which is usually whatever is furthest away from her. She also rolls around the floor to get where she wants to go. The older girls haven't quite figured this one out yet, and Mommy has had a few heart attack moments when finding little tiny toys in Lizzie's vicinity.

Lizzie is very happy about her new-found freedom. Her personality is beginning to shine.

Although I don't have pictures of this yet, she also just figured out how to wave and clap at church today. It was so sweet to see her proud of her accomplishments. She beamed from ear to ear, especially when she got attention from Mommy and sisters.

Abby and Emma wanted me to take these pictures so they could say hello to Daddy.

Hello, Daddy! We love you and miss you!

Hello Daddy!

After church on Sunday, Emma and Abby decided that we should take a picture of them saying hello to Daddy. Abby is sporting a "hippie-do," what I call it when she puts her own headband on. (She doesn't quite understand the concept of putting it on under her hair.)

Hello Daddy, we love you!

We've been corresponding with Daddy via e-mail and facebook since he's been gone. Emma mostly wants to tell Daddy about how much she misses him. Abby, on the other hand has gotten quite creative with her notes.

One of them was, and I quote, "If you eat a cow you will get sick and have to go to the hospital."

Very random and very funny. Her style can best be described as stream of consciousness. It's difficult to type as fast as she talks. Especially when you're laughing...

I had a picture of myself to put on here too, but somehow it got deleted....

Saying Goodbye Is So Hard To Do

On Saturday morning, we dropped Doug off at a bus station in Janesville, so that he could go to O'Hare International Airport in Chicago. He flew to Italy to attend the Nida School of Translation Studies for the next two weeks. That leaves me at home with the girls for 16 days on our own. The first 3 days have gone okay, but that first one where we said goodbye was a very sad day in the life of our little girls.

Here are some pictures from Saturday morning. Oh, how hard it it to say goodbye!

Daddy and Lizzie

Daddy with his little girls.

Emma just couldn't smile.

Abby put on a happy face, though.

Comforting Emma while Doug waited for the bus.

Standing in line waiting to board the bus.

One last hug for the girls before he got on the bus.

It's okay, Emma. I'm coming back.

Waving goodbye.

A silly face to make us feel better.

We were all sad to see him go, but we know that Doug is learning lots of new things and will have lots to share with us when he gets back. Besides, the day looked a lot brighter after we stopped and had McDonald's hot cakes and fruit & walnut salad for breakfast!

Uncle Ezra Stops Over

Uncle Ezra stopped by last Thursday night on his way to see baby Delaney in Michigan. The girls all enjoyed having some time to play with him. Lizzie was happy just to have him hold her while he walked around.

Ezra was on his way by Friday afternoon, but had a moment for me to catch a quick picture with the girls before he left.

Emma and Abby waved goodbye until they couldn't see his "classic" car anymore.

It's Emma and Abby...No, It's Shawn Johnson???

Ever since the Olympics, Emma and Abby have taken to pretending gymnastics all over the house. If only I had a dollar for every time I've had to tell them not to use the living room furniture as a vault or a trampoline....Anyway, Emma pretends she's Shawn Johnson, and Abby likes to be Alicia Sacramone (I think she likes the way her name sounds).

Here are Emma and Abby, er Alicia and Shawn...

Field Trip to the Zoo

We went to the Henry Vilas Zoo for a field trip during Emma's first week of homeschool. We learned about all the different kinds of animal feet, how they looked and were used differently than our own feet. Emma and Abby both enjoyed seeing the animals.

Here they are standing in front of the flamingoes.

They also pretended to be penguins.

Lizzie wasn't very impressed: she decided to take a nap while Daddy carried her.

Lizzie's Dedication

Lizzie was dedicated during our church's service on August, 31st, 2008. Lizzie was a good baby, didn't fuss or cry the whole time, not even before we went up front. In fact, she was very attentive. All she wanted to do was stare at the pastor, which she did very intently without blinking for several minutes...as you can see by the photos in time sequencing below.