Trick-or-Treat

Happy Halloween!  Here's Emmy giving her Halloween kitty a hug - she loves to snuggle stuffed animals lately.

We ate a yummy jack-o-lantern pizza for dinner.

We got Emmy into her strawberry/Berrykin outfit and had a quick photo shoot.

Where was Reese during this photo shoot?  Well, she was having a complete meltdown -- she had 3 different costumes on, we cut the sleeves off her Strawberry Shortcake dress because they were "TOO TIGHT!!!!!", she cried in her room, and I yelled things like "This is supposed to be fun!" and "We need to go make memories!"  This went on for about 30 minutes, then we finally made it out trick-or-treating.  Once we got going, both girls had fun. 

Emmy enjoyed her first sucker (thanks a lot, Heather!!!), so I had to brush her 3 teeth really well tonight. She just got her 3rd tooth today (this one is on top).

Libby participated in trick-or-treating too.  She went with us to every house walking up the driveway and climbing a tree in nearly every front yard.  The neighbors laughed and agreed she was the perfect Halloween cat.

Halloween Parties

We attended two Halloween parties this weekend.  We had a blast, and it was great to have more opportunities to wear our costumes.  Reese selected our costumes this year -- all Strawberry Shortcake characters: Strawberry Shortcake, Plum Pudding, Huckleberry Pie, and a Berrykin!  We had to talk Reese into letting Daddy be a boy character because she really wanted him to be Orange Blossom. 

In case you don't have a 3-year-old little girl at your house and aren't familiar with the characters, here's the look we were going for...

 

We had fun at Reese's school Halloween party on Friday night.  Us 3 girls even won the costume contest!  Reese kept saying, "I can't believe we won!!!"  I can't believe we won either because Reese refused to wear her hat or tights - silly girl.

 



Click here for a video of the girls dancing.  They danced all night long, and were much more wild than this video shows!

Em and Ab

We have been spending a lot of time at our MOPS church this week volunteering during a portraits fundraiser.  Good thing the girls found things to do -- Reese loved climbing and handing on the stair rail (she seriously did this for 2 hours) and Emmy met friends.  This is her little buddy Abby who is 2 months younger than Emmy, but I think she looks so much older because of all her hair.  Em and Ab -- how cute!

Look Outside

Reese and Emmy have been spending a lot of time looking out our windows lately.  There has been so much to see -- construction in our backyard to prevent further land erosion...

wild turkeys (Reese had to call Grandpa Cipra right away to tell him)...

And snow!  Reese likes to tell her sister what's going on outside.  Today I overheard her say, "Emmy, Emmy, Emmy, Emmy, Emmy, Emmy, Emmy, Emmy, Emmy EMMY! [Finally Emmy turned to look at Reese.] Emmy, guess what... it's snowing outside."



Crib

The girls jumping and playing around is the only use for our crib lately.  Emmy has still been sleeping with me, and Todd still sleeping with Reese most nights.  Every morning I tell myself that I need to teach Emmy to sleep in her crib, but every night I'm too exhausted to start the training.

Lunch Date

When we dropped Reese off at preschool today, Reese seemed a little sad that Emmy got to stay with me.  Reese told me, "Mommy, when Emmy gets big and she goes to school, I'll stay with you." She was so sweet that I didn't want to burst her bubble and tell her that she will be in school too.  So I just told her that sounded great.

Emmy and I enjoyed a lunch date while Reese was at preschool today.  Emmy always charms the people around her, and we had many people come up to us during lunch telling her that she's cute.  She's going to have such a big ego!

Four Eyes

The girls and I took a quick trip to Austin this weekend.  We just needed a change of scenery from our house! The girls had fun playing with Grandma and Grandpa's toys, and trying on Grandma's glasses.

School Projects

Mrs. Koosman comes up with so many great projects in preschool, and I finally figured out a way to put them on display.  It's fun to change out Reese's creative work every week.

One week theme was the farm and the letter A.

Another week they learned about fire prevention and the letter C.  I told Reese that she drew such a nice picture of her family (lower right picture titled God Made My Family).  Reese told me that is just a drawing of Emmy.  Well, obviously!!!

School Picture

Reese had her school picture taken, and it turned out great!  This picture was totally worth the bribe I gave her -- if she wore her hair clip and gave a nice smile, she got to pick out a new movie.  I'll think of this adorable picture every time we watch "Lion King 2." 

Lava Lamp

Reese and Grandma Cipra did a science experiment today, and created something that looked like a lava lamp. 

You fill a bottle 2/3 full of oil (we used vegetable oil), then add 1/3 bottle of water, plus we added a little food coloring.  Of course the water sank to the bottom, and oil rose to the top, which was a fun science experiment in and of itself.  But then Reese dropped in an Alka Seltzer tablet which created colorful fizzing bubbles.  So neat!  Reese wanted to do it over and over again, and used up all 6 Alka Seltzer tables Grandma brought.

9 Month Well Visit

Emmy had her 9 month well visit today, and she had a great check up.  She was officially in the 21st percentile for weight, 46th percentile for height, and 64th percentile for head size.  She's also at or ahead in her development.

Emmy did not need any immunizations today (hooray!), but did get her flu shot.  Actually all 3 of us girls got our flu shots -- I went first with a poke in the arm (and Reese was very concerned about me), Reese sent second with the mist up her nose (which she handled fairly well), and Emmy went last with a shot in her leg. 

Emmy also had to get some blood drawn to test for lead.  That was the worst!  She kept crying and looking back at me like she was asking "Mommy!  Why are you letting this happen to me!?!?"  Glad it's over.

Baby Elsa

Tonight we met our newest friend, Elsa Ann Lorenz!  She is such a honey!  I think Emmy and Elsa will be great buds -- two little "E" friends. 

I was only slightly annoyed that Bryan and Ashly seem to be doing great and have everything under control (that was definitely NOT the case for Todd and I when we first had Reese) and Ashly already fits back into her pre-pregnancy jeans.  Ha!

9 Months Old

Where has the time gone?  Emmy is already 9 months old!  She is 17lb 3oz and 28 inches long.  We looked back and that is EXACTLY the same height and weight as Reese at 9 months.  Emmy's latest tricks include...

• Crawling, although she only goes a few feet.  Life is really going to change when she figures out that she can go across the room.
• Getting into Reese's stuff, so we are having a lot of conversations about sharing.  I have told Reese the only things she doesn't have to share with Emmy is her Lovies, and if she wants to play with something by herself, she should just take it up to her room to play.  So far this is not going well.
• Pulling herself up to standing next to furniture and the window sill.  Emmy and Reese often look outside the window and yell to scare the squirrels in our backyard.
•  Pointing to things with her pointer fingers.  She has always pointed at lots of things, but now she seems to do it with purpose.  She points to pictures in books until I say the name of the animal/person/object.  The other day, Reese and I were playing the game Spot It, and Emmy pointed to the black cat on two of the cards.  She's already learning how to play that game.
• She says some words -- Dada, Mama, Hi, Bye, Ball, and I swear she has said the word Gentle.  We say "gentle" a lot when Emmy is pulling Reese's hair or petting Kitty Libby -- we think Emmy might think Libby's name is "Gentle" since we say it so often around the kitty!  It appears Emmy is going to be very verbal and an early talker, just like her sister.

She Crawls

We have a crawler in the house!  Emmy started crawling today, just one day before she turns 9 months old, so we can officially write in her baby book that she crawled at 8 months.  :)  She crawls in a slightly unconventional way with one knee on the floor and the other leg straight out.  Oh well, it works!

Click here for a video of Emmy crawling.

And another video of her crawling and throwing a ball.

Girl Hug

Reese gathered all of us together (including Libby) and yelled "girl hug!"

 

Lovies

Reese has been attached to her Lovey (a flat, green elephant) since she was a baby.  I think I wrote on the blog awhile ago that one day Reese found our back-up Lovey that was supposed to be used when one was in the wash or if it ever got lost.  So, she has been carrying around and sleeping with two Lovies for quite some time.

Today, I heard a shriek and Reese came running downstairs...
Reese: "Mom!  Look!  Another Lovey!!!"
Mommy: (astonished and thinking to myself "crap") "Wow.  Where did you find it?"
R: "In my top drawer." (of her dresser)
M: "How did you see in your top drawer?"
R: "I used my bean bag and stacked pillows on top!"

So, with that discovery, we now have 3 Lovies -- "Lovey", "Other Lovey" and "Third Lovey".  And Reese loves each one of them.

I'm now trying to introduce Emmy to a lovey with the hope she will become attached and it will help soothe her in the future.  We are calling Emmy's lovey "Lovey Bear."  I think I'll just keep one "Lovey Bear" in the house at a time.

Flag Football

Both Daddy and Mommy played flag football tonight.  We ended up needing two baby-sitters to keep the girls busy and calm during the game.  Thanks to Katie and Lauren for helping out so Mommy and Daddy could have a little fun!

Wrestling

With two girls, I didn't think we would have many wrestling matches in our house.  I was wrong.