Katie and Rod

Our friends Katie and Rod came over tonight.  Reese and Emmy LOVED them!

Reese wore Rod out by making him eat her toes (with ketchup on top), chase around, and dance.

Reese was still wound up when they left, so she had Daddy, Mommy, Emmy, and even Libby chase her around the front lawn from 9:00-9:30pm.  Our neighbors must have wondered what in the world we were doing!?!?

Spa Party

We had so much fun at Carly's spa birthday party!  What a fun theme!

Reese put on her party dress and walked to the big event.

She wasn't so sure about the facials.

But loved the pedicures and manicures.

The girls ended the night with a dance party with Carly's new disco ball.  Fun!

Backward Driver

Emmy has started driving her Jeep, but only knows how to go in one direction -- backwards!  Click here for a video of her crazy driving.

Funnies - Olympics Edition

I came across a piece of paper we used to write down funny thinges Reese said while watching the Olympics.

Reese had her ponies (from My Little Pony) do Olympic events, like running races. She named her ponies Matt Lauer, Scott Lee, and Joyce - names she commonly heard on NBC's Olympic coverage.

We often looked in to the family room and saw Reese practicing swimming, diving, running, and gymnastics moves.

While watching people run the hurdles, she yelled, "Look!  They are jumping over fences!"

She told us, "They should try to win silver - it's prettier [than gold]."

Development Surge

Emmy has learned lots of new tricks this weekend.  It's like she suddenly had a huge surge in development.  I'll do my best to get all these on video sometime, but for now, here's a list...

1. Waves hi (as seen in this picture)

2. Claps her hands

3. Bounces up and down while sitting.  I think she would crawl soon... if she would ever go on her tummy without crying hysterically!

4. Gives kisses - nice and slobbery kisses

5. Plays peek-a-boo by putting a blanket over her head and pulling it off

He's Six

Happy 6th birthday to cousin Brayden.  We had so much fun at hisbirthday party, we never wanted to leave!

I think it's so cute how kids get so excited to watch the birthday kid open the present from them.  Reese was practically jumping up and down when Brayden opened his present, then came over and gave me a huge hug.  It was adorable.

I love this picture of Emmy and Grandma Haag!

Hi sweet Aubrey!

Teacher

This is kind-of a long video, but You Tube is uploading quickly today.  Click here for a cute video of Emmy eating puffs and Reese teaching Emmy how to use her sippy cup.

Jump! Jump!

Emmy loves her jumper!  It's nice to finally find a toy that will keep her occupied for 10 minutes at a time.  Here's a video of her jump, jump, jumping!

Shaking Head No

Emmy has a new trick - she shakes her head no.  She does this when she bites when nursing (ouch!) and when you ask her questions.  She seems to be using the gesture correctly.  I'm not sure if this is normal for a 7 month old or if she's a genious -- we'll assume she's a genious.  Here's a video of Emmy demonstrating this trick.

Funnies

This week's funnies by Reese...

Reese has made up a new word, and uses it all the time.  The word is "amn't" -- the contraction form of "am" and "not".  She often says, "No I amn't".  I have a hard time correcting her because it is grammatically correct.  Why doesn't this word exist in the English langauage?

Reese often likes to pretend to be a baby.  Last night Daddy said he wanted to be the baby and Reese could be the mommy.  Reese said, "No Dad.  I can't be a mommy until I turn 16."  Oh boy.

I don't remember the circumstance, but Reese did something wrong.  Her response was, "My apologies."

We asked Reese what happened in the My Little Pony show she was watching.  She responded with, "Don't get me started."  Guess it was an interesting episode.

Reese has been interested in time/days/calendars lately.  She uses the terms "this day", "last day", and "next day".  Also, she often says, "Remember last year..." when referring to something she did in the recent past.  Gosh, how do you explain the concept of days, months, and years to a 3 year old?

Baby-Sitters

I'm so thankful that Grandma and Grandpa Cipra continue to come up to help with the girls every week since I've kind-of returned to work (ok, just a little --  about 10 hours a week from home on a project for General Mills).

Here are the girls with their baby-sitters in action...

And not so much action...

Randoms

A few random pictures from the past few weeks. 

Look at those yummy chubby legs...

The girls enjoying some of their favorite snacks.  Cheetos for Reese; graham crackers and Cheerios for Emmy...



Reese LOVES animals, and animals love her.  Every day we have to go check on all the neighborhood cats and dogs.  We call her our little Snow White...

We often take Emmy out for a stroll if she's having trouble falling asleep for her nap.  We usually have to walk up and down the street one time before she's snoozing away...

Reese and Brayden are great buddies...

The girls playing dress up...

Sisterly love...

Emmy loves to swing...

There was a deer in our backyard...

Playing at National Night Out...







Pre-K Open House

We attended Reese's Pre-K open house tonight.  Reese was SO EXCITED to meet her teacher and check out her classroom.  She will be attending Pre-K at our church 2 days per week for 3 hours starting in September.

Reese is usually apprehensive in new situations, so I took a lot of pictures of her classroom so we can look at them a lot and talk about them before school starts.

She is very excited to sit on the R/rainbow spot on the rug...

She has her own box for school supplies.  We brought a scissors, glue sticks, paint shirt, paper towels, and Reese picked out a dolphin folder.

 Coat rack...

Names of all the kids in her class.  Reese will be attending Tuesdays and Thursdays in the afternoon.  There will be just 10 kids in her class at that time...

Enjoying the imagination center that will change out every few weeks...

Emmy wants to go to Pre-K too...

When it was time to leave, Reese said, "We can't go!  I haven't learned yet!"  I think she's going to enjoy school!

Last Music Class

It was kind of a sad day -- our last Music Together class.  Reese has been attending music class for the past 3 years, but we have decided not to re-enroll this fall because she will be in preschool.  We have absolutely loved these classes, the friends we have made, and the teacher Jackie. 

I'm sure we'll re-enroll in the future for Emmy, but for now, we're taking a music break.

River Days

Our very busy week continues -- VBS all week, a trip to Austin for the fair and Cipra family reunion, and then we rushed back for Rockford River Days.

Reese and I rode in the parade for our MOPS group, then hopped off our float to collect candy with some neighborhood friends.

Reese rode on a few rides, but was not very brave today.  They even had to stop the mini rollercoaster ride because she was so scared.

Mower County Fair

We spent the evening at the Mower County Fair in Austin.  The girls had fun feeding at the animals, riding ponies, going on rides, and eating yummy fair food.

VBS

We have had a very busy week at Vacation Bible School at our church.  This was Reese's first year attending, and I thought it would be a good warm up for preschool that starts this fall.
 

I was the Pre-K caravan leader, taking 11 cuties to craft, snack, games, Bible challenge, and more. 

I learned that 3 and 4 year olds have very short attention spans -- Reese's attention span is very long compared to some of the other kids.  So, on Monday evening, I tapped into my mom's many years of teaching to come up with ideas to fill time.  I was much more prepared on Tuesday and throughout the rest of the week because I carried around a backpack full of playdough, white boards, stickers, snacks, and more. 

We had a fun week.  Reese enjoyed most of the activities and meeting new friends.  I think she'll do great in preschool.