One of a kind style

A month or so I got Emerson this dress at the consignment. Thinking she would wear it this spring/summer. But, of course she had other plans and thought it fitting to wear it now. She added the coral jacket that finally fits and a pair of khakis that fit her waist but are a bit short. Since she is a tiny thing pants are getting tough to wear without being highwaters. Emerson has been following her own fashion inspiration for awhile. She doesn't care what everyone else would say goes together. She wears what she loves. As she is heading towards turning three I know some of the these little quirks might fade away. But, I hope she holds onto some of her individualism.

 

This Girl

This girl has been saying the craziest things lately. I knew if I didn't write it down I would forget. So let's recap our conversations this week. 

We had a coupon for 3 free bagels this week so I asked her what kind she wanted.

Emerson: "I want a big one."

Me: "Ok, we'll get a big one but what type?"

Emerson: "Umm...I want a Rapunzel one."

Me:"Ok, we'll check and see!" (Didn't hold my breath on that one) :)

Ezra was fussing a little bit and she looked down at him and said, 

"Ezra, honey, I can't hold you right now. I'm working."

Yesterday  I had to go upstair several times and tell her to take her nap. The first time she was wearing two dresses layered. The second time she had added a t-shirt. The final time I went upstairs because she was crying. I found her in this outfit, baby onesie and pj shorts.  Standing inside her pajama drawer. 

Me: "Emerson, what are you doing?!?"

Emerson: "It's backwards."

Ah, the problems of a two year old. 

Let down your hair

What is this you ask? Rapunzel hair of course. According to Emerson, "She has long, long hair." Using one of my favorite scarves as rapunzel hair was all her idea. I love her creativity and spirit! She constantly amazes me with how her mind works. No one could deny she is one of a kind.

Ezra was amazed too.

"She's silly Mom."

My little chef

 Emerson has been helping me cook for quite some time now. We've made muffins, cupcakes, cookies galore, breads, and pizza.

She loves to use the mixer and stir everything with a spoon. She put together her outfit here if you couldn't tell.  Not only a good cook but stylish as well. 

The other week we made pumpkin nutella bread. I added a few chocolate chips on top just in case there wasn't enough chocolate.  To make the bread it's basically a pumpkin loaf first then you swirl in nutella at the end. I had a bowl of nutella set aside to mix with the bread. 

I soon learned you can't turn your back on a toddler and a bowl of nutella. She didn't do a good job of covering the evidence.

Christmas Traditions

We've really enjoyed getting into the Christmas spirit this year. 

Ezra tried to escape out the back door to help with the tree.

I created advent garland full of christmas activities leading up until christmas day.  It's been full of crafts, outings, and treats. Here we used ice cream cones and decorated them with homemade buttercream and sprinkles. Voila! A Christmas tree.  Emerson first drank her sprinkles (the whole bowlful) then ate the cone. I must say it was delicious. 

I had seen on this idea on pinterest. I worked on a Christmas tree that was bigger than planned. Over 6 feet to be exact and I couldn't get it to stick to the wall. But, after I cut it in half it worked perfectly and it was the ideal height for a 2 year old to decorate. We have been busy baking christmas treats and yesterday Emerson delivered cookies to our neighbors and said, "Merry Christmas!" I love getting her in the spirit of giving. Only  5 more days until Christmas Day!

Conversations with Emerson

When I walked into Emerson's room following her nap I said, "Do you want to come into my room and watch a show so I can dry my hair?"

Emerson,"Dry your hair?"

"Yes"

Emerson, "Mommy, you wash your hair? I'm so proud of you!"

~

While we drive around looking at the christmas lights in the country club she says, "Is that a castle?!?"

~

While leaving the neighbors, "Bye honey! Bye honey!"

"Emerson her name is Annabelle."

"Oh....Bye Annabelle!"

~

Emerson sitting beside Ezra, "We're girls." Thinking about it she corrects herself, "We're brothers!"

Disney on Ice

We were more than excited to tell Emerson that she was going to "Disney on Ice" yesterday. We had told her about at all because she wouldn't understand when we were going etc. But, instead I put it on our home made advent calendar. When she woke up from her nap I asked her if she wanted to find out what we were doing today. When I read, "Go see Rapunzel!," she lit up. She kept talking about it and as soon as Mark got home she told him, "Going to see Rapunzel with Avery!" She put on her rapunzel dress and after some convincing put on a shirt underneath because it was going to be cold!

Here they are waiting on our tickets. She told us about ten times on the way she wanted to see Rapunzel.

Walking around the outside of the RBC Center

We ended up having really good seats! Much better than I had thought we would have. 

Trying to take a picture of Emerson and Avery. Not an easy task with all the excitement. Emerson kept asking on the way, "Is Avery excited? I'm excited?"

I had never been to disney on ice so I didn't know what to expect. They went through three disney stories and acted it out. The princess and the frog with Tiana was first. Even Ezra was entertained!

Next was Cinderella. I thought the costumes were amazing!

Finally we got to Rapunzel's story and Emerson stood up. It was really an amazing production. Rapunzel and Flynn were suspending in the air by her hair flying around. 

Emerson couldn't stop watching. When Maximus came out she yelled, "Maximus, it's you!" She danced and twirled around, having a blast. This morning I could hear yelling coming from her room at 7am. I walked in and she was reciting lines from Tangled. She lifted up her hand and said, "I"m Rapunzel." Needless to say I think she really enjoyed it. What a wonderful memory to have. 

Painting Pumpkins

I bought pumpkins early in October with every intention of letting Emerson paint them. But, it wasn't until November that we got around to it. It was still fall so it was fine. Truth be told we still have them out as decor. Anyways Emerson had a blast painting a masterpiece. It was unusually warm, hot even for October.  

Emerson was so excited to paint and get messy. Of course she sported her tutu as only a true artist would. 

Ezra was a good sport observing his sister. I suppose it was a little bright. But, he eventually gave a wave. 

Since we used washable finger paint, the next time it rained it came right off the pumpkin. Traumatizing the artist. They were pretty while they lasted. 

State Fair

I was thrilled to go back to the fair this year. We went three times last year! This year instead of going on the popular can food day we went the day before. Notorious for being a slow day. On top of that it was a rainy, chilly day so it was perfect for crowd control. Before the fair started I bought a ride sheet. I didn't know if Emerson would be interested but figured she could ride some of the "kiddie" rides. Little did I know I had a little dare devil on my hands. First I spotted a carousel.  Emerson loves the carousel so I thought it was a perfect first ride. She hops on with Mark and the ride starts spinning super fast! Apparently it wasn't the little kiddie carousel. I was surprised when she didn't even flinch at the increase of speed. She hopped off and spotted the ferris wheel. I was hesitant but she was full steam ahead. No fear. This was no rinky dinky ferris wheel. It was a big ferris wheel with wobble buckets for seats!

I couldn't even spot Emerson because she was so tiny in comparison.

Until she turned around to peep out. Not the least bit concerned.  After the ferris wheel we found there were several rides she couldn't get on since she wasn't 36 inches. She wasn't thrilled about that. But, we found a few good ones and she had a ball and Ezra enjoyed watching her. He was laid back as ever, enjoying the fair from the stroller. We indulged with some homemade chips, cupcakes, and a corn on the cob. Food, my favorite part. 

Emerson also enjoyed looking at the farm animals. Although she was a little weary being so close to the big cows. They all had their calves and she loved seeing them. I have to admit I love it too as the animals are adorable to say the least.


Here is one of our favorites, a baby donkey. Emerson was insistent that she needed to touch it.  We also saw some super cute bunnies on the way out. She about took them out of the cage she wanted one so bad! After a fun filled time we headed out.

While enjoying the beautiful view of the fair.  Mark made sure to capture some of the fantastic lights. Can't wait until next year's fair! We might need two sheets of ride tickets. 

Bring a Friend

Not a day goes by that Emerson doesn't say, "Where did Addie go?"Literally every place we go she hopes she is also there.  So when it was bring a friend week at dance class Emerson knew exactly who she would invite. She absolutely loves Addie and was so excited to dance with her. The watched the big girls dance before their class began and were completely captivated.

I love seeing Emerson develop friendships. It's very sweet. I think here Emerson is looking at Addie's leotard wishing she had some stripes. Ha!

The girls walked in holding hands and even though Addie is a little younger than the rest of the girl's she did great! As you can see they had a good time dancing together. I'm sure they have many more memories ahead!

Beans

Over the past couple weeks I've tried to do some intentional learning time with Emerson. She is pretty good at occupying herself and playing but I thought it might nice to try some new things. I can't remember where I saw this activity. Someone's blog or pinterest? But, scooping beans from one container to the other is the activity. It helps all those motor skills and it's needless to say fun for a two year old. I bought a $1 pack of eraser heads and hid them in the mix. She loved scooping back and forth. Even tried to eat a few beans. Everytime she would make it in she would say, "score!" Not sure where she got that! This activity has captivated her attention on several occasions. Never mind that I had to clean up about 300 of them from under the couch. We're learning, right? I guess I'm learning new cleaning techniques. Hopefully I can share a few things here and there that we are doing. I don't want to keep it too regimented but instead fun for us both. Wish us luck!

Farm Day

Back to our farm day adventure. Every week I deliver for The Produce Box. My route goes out to Durham and back up to Raleigh. On the way back I always pass a rural area, which is funny because it's very close to Hwy 70. But, we always stop the car and say hi to the horses. This week I saw a sign for a farm-a-palooza and I was immediately intrigued. I googled the farm and found that they were having food, music, and most importantly you can visit the animals. The goats were super interested in us since we had some feed for them.


This guy was the boss man. Pushing everyone else out of the way to get some food.

Emerson eventually warmed up and feed the goats herself.  She was so excited. We even got to pet a bunny rabbit. 

Another one of the goats. 

Emerson was so interested in the animals but sometimes cautious since they would jump over top of the fence.  There were also chickens, pigs, and sheep. 

We invited our neighbors and Emerson's good friend Addie. She was very excited that Addie was there. They have become great friends! I love how they are both smiling but not looking at the camera. Ha!

We spent some more time on the farm and took a stroll through the fields.  It was crisp and perfect fall weather. 

Ezra enjoyed a snack break, and Emerson "fixed" my hair. One of her favorite pass times lately.

Emerson held Ezra for a little bit but I'm sure that won't work much longer! We had a really great time at the farm and even picked up some freshly laid eggs. We will definitely visit again!

First Haircut

It was finally time for Emerson to get her first haircut. I had put it off for a long time being sentimental about cutting it but, eventually one side was much longer than the other and it was long enough we could trim it a bit. We were lucky enough that my cousin, Anna, cut her hair. It was much more relaxed and Emerson did great. I didn't even have to sit with her, which was nice so I could take pictures. We decided to just trim it up to make it even across the back. She cracked me up when she stuck her hand out of the cape thinking she was getting her nails done too!

After a quick snip, voila! A clean new look for E. 

This is her final look!