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.

What a Doll!

Almost since the moment she was born, I have thought to myself that Lizzie's face looked so different from the other two girls, and yet so familiar to me at the same time. I thought (or maybe just hoped) that it was because she looked more like me than the other two girls.

But I think I have finally figured out why she looks so familiar to me. When I was a baby, I creatively named my first doll Beebee, and I took her with me everywhere. I recently found this doll and brought her out for Lizzie to see. It was then that I noticed....

Is it just my imagination, or does Lizzie look a lot like Beebee? Same hair, same rosy cheeks, eyebrows, eyes, little lips....

Random strangers have told me that Lizzie was "just like a doll!"

What do you think?

Emma's First Day of Homeschool!

Emma's homeschool adventure began on Monday, August 24!

Based on her level of interest and the fact that she is suddenly a voracious reader, Doug and I decided to go ahead and start kindergarten with her this year, even though she won't be five until September 18. I gathered curriculum in all the basics (reading, writing, math, science, Bible, and, of course, who can forget all those nifty art projects involving scissors, glue and common household objects).

Here are Emma's first day of school photos in her "first day of school outfit" (can't tell she's excited, can you?):


As I look at these pictures, I just can't seem to get over how grown up she suddenly looks!


Okay, I know we didn't technically GO anywhere, but who can resist the first day of school picture by the front door? After I took this picture, Emma told me that the smile didn't count because she was laughing.


So I took this picture. Which really wasn't a smile at all....


Once we started class, Emma was all seriousness and proved to be a good student, as you can see by how she is concentrating on her coloring...

You're probably wondering how this homeschool thing works out with the two younger ones needing my attention too. That's a very good question, and I don't have that one completely figured out yet. But so far it's been going well.

Abby understands that when Mommy is Emma's teacher, she can either listen quietly or go find an activity to entertain herself. She has usually opted to stay and listen or help entertain Lizzie while I go over Emma's lesson with her. I also plan some of the activities with Abby in mind (like art and science projects which are easy to include her on). While Emma is working on her coloring, Abby likes to find her own favorite coloring book and color beside Emma at the kitchen table. Today, Abby looked up at me after filling-in most of the page with color and said, "Mom, I LOVE coloring!"

She had the cutest expression on her face!

What about Lizzie? Since she's become a part of my hip lately, I was concerned that there might be an issue. But so far, she has been content to be close in the same room where we are working and seems to enjoy all the activity going on around her. Of course, her two naps also help since we can get a lot done while she sleeps.

Our first week of school will wind down with our first official field trip to the zoo tomorrow, to observe the animals. And Friday is "library day" when Emma gets to use her very own library card for the first time....One week down, only 39 to go before the end of the school year!