A Letter to my 3 Year Old

Dear Emmie,
My baby girl is 3 years old and it's hard to believe!
As far as your personality goes, you are one spunky little girl with a strong will.  You defintely know what you do and don't want!  You are super independent and like to do things on your own.  You get frustrated when people do things for you.  You are hilarious and like to make us laugh. You have this cute little smirk on your face when you are being silly or a little bit fiesty.   You go to school Tuesday and Thursday afternoons and your teachers say you are quiet and a great helper when it comes to cleaning (the only one in class).  At the PDO program you go to they tell me that you are always such a good girl.  Safe to say, you know how to act in school - phew! :)  I was surprised to hear that you are shy because you don't stop talking around us.
Food wise, you love your chicken salad from Devon Meats.  You ask for chicken salad all of the time and get excited when you see it at the deli counter.  You are also a dairy girl and love your noodles.  You know to avoid peanut butter and it was a bit of a problem when trick or treating.  As soon as someone would give you candy you would ask, "Does this have peanut butter?"  So much for a simple thank you.  I can't tell you how many times I told you just to say thank you and we would take out the peanut butter items later.  Well that wasn't what you wanted, so you get the picture.
Sleep isn't your thing and I think it has something to do with your inability to relax.  You are always going, always thinking.  You will nap in the stroller or in the car, but it takes you a good 30 min. to fall asleep even when you are super tired.  As long as you have your favorite blankie, you cuddle up and roll a bit to the side.  Then it's just a matter of time until you are out.  You are an early riser. You are up between 5:20-6:00 most mornings.  You are up that early whether you nap or not.
You LOVE your family and your friends.  There are some friends you love immediately and others who you are still warming up to.  The number one person you ask to see is Nico Guacamole (silly nickname, yes).  You ask to see him every single day.  You also love to ask to play with Charlie and Sam Hannigan.  You also talk about Brian and Emily in your preschool class.  There is a little girl who grabs your hand at PDO and the two of you go off and play.  You make friends quite easily and you enjoy playing.  You also like your Barbies, little Disney Princesses, helping me bake, doing puzzles, going to the library, riding your scooter, stickers, and playing at the park.  You would take a shower AND a bath every single day if you could.  Many times you will just jump into the shower with whoever is in it.  You LOVE playing with Maddie and Dane and you call them your buddies.  Maddie and you will do art projects and do your dolls hair together.  You and Dane build forts and play like little boys together! :)
You like to wear dresses every single day.  Of course you have your favorites that you wear often.  You don't like socks and are very picky when it comes to underwear.  Things seem to bother you if they are a little tight fitting (not too small, just the way they are).
Thanks to one of our favorite books, On The Night You Were Born, you and daddy often say, "God made you just the way he wanted" and you use that line often.  You truly are one of a kind, you crack us up often and you make us smile lots.  Keep laughing, keep dancing, keep singing and stop crying! :)  LOVE YOU EMERSON KATE!!

May God bless you always,
Mom

A Letter to My 6 Year Old

Dear Dane,
When I think about you over the years, much has remained the same for years and I love that about you.
You've always had a strong liking for sports and your style has always been sporty.  You love Purdue basketball, the Cubs and can get into any sport whether it be golf or swimming.  You memorize players names and numbers easily and have a great sports IQ.  You've been super fun to watch on the Hawks soccer team.  It's fun to see you go after the ball and you are way more aggressive out there than we thought you would be!  We know how hard you play against us, so it's fun to see you on the field with that same intensity.  You are also a good sport and pass to other players as well.  You often ask dad and I to play sports with you when we have some down time.  You earned your first sports award this past summer at Mike Small basketball camp - you were named Best Ball Handler and you got to show why in front of all the parents of the boys and girls in camp.  We were most proud of you for getting up in front of all of those people and doing the spider drill.  You don't like attention on you, so that was a big deal.  You are competitive and you like to win, but understand you lose sometimes.  You've shown great maturity when losing this past year.
You've been able to get along great with children older than you and make friendships rather easily.  You've enjoying making new kindergarten friends and knew everyone's names in your class very quickly.  You enjoy playing sports with your friends first and foremost and have gotten into wrestling with them too.  You and Allie still play well together and you love building forts, Legos and playing on the IPAD.
You are musical and can keep a beat well.  You learn songs really quickly and have a very sweet singing voice.  You can tell when others in the family are off key or off beat (we won't name names!) :)  You taught yourself how to play  the Star Wars theme song on the keyboard.
You pick things up quickly and you are always thinking.  You were super ready for kindergarten and are doing so well.  You are reading well on your own and it's something that you just picked up on your own although we've been reading to you since you were a baby.  Your kindergarten teacher says she keeps pushing you and you keep meeting her.  She says she hasn't pushed you all the way yet! :) You are always thinking about what could happen and sometimes you worry.  This is something that we are working on.
You also have a deep love for your family.  You look out for your sisters and prefer being with family over everyone else.  When dad or I have somewhere to go, you go out of your way to tell us bye, give us a hug and kiss and wave to us on the front porch.  You enjoy getting notes in your lunch box and when Maddie runs up to you when you arrive at school.
You are such a loving boy with such a sweet and caring heart.  You have no idea how much we love and adore you.  Thanks for being you.
Love always,
Mom

September

August

What a super fun and busy month!!

 Emmie's Style - done 100% on her own.

 Emmie in her favorite strawberry dress - she just loves it!

 Maddie's first day of school!  Her own personal style too :)

 Emmie tried to make her way into every picture I took.

 Maddie, Sophia and Arianna lining up for Mrs. Ferraro on day 1.

 Maddie has wanted to be a librarian since she's been 2 years old!

 Dane and Allie's first day of kindergarten!  They both go in the afternoon, so we were able to get them together in the morning for pics!

 Dane and his 2 favorite buddies, kangy and leopard spots.

 Maddie transformed the old changing table spot into a desk.  Maddie is a great sister to Emmie and she shared her space with her.

 Cali!  In the bed of our rental truck.  We loved it!

 My hikers!

 Mermaid fins in the sand.  The kids loved this and it kept them in place for a long while! :)

 Buddies!

 The kids (especially Maddie) fell in love with these little puppies!  They were so adorable.

 Our visit with Mimi - she is one amazing lady!

 Now Uncle Billy's turn for kid love! XOXO

 Maddie loves her Aunt Tami

 Sweet!

 We had a great day at Sea World and did dinner with Shamoo.  It was super cool to eat with the killer whales right beside us!

 We had a potty star party for Emerson and it wasn't chaotic at all! Ha! :)

 Our last day before school started for Maddie and Claire was spent at the Shed.  It was a great time!  The sting rays were a hit with our kids.

 Dane's first day at line up time.  He did pretty good.  Just a few tears when he walked in.

  Maddie with her fellow brownies at girl scout camp!

 It was a little chilly and rainy, but we still had a good time.

 Great Grandma's birthday at her favorite restaurant, Olive Garden.

 Dane's very first BEE AWESOME sticker!  The kids get them when they are caught doing something really good.  In Dane's case he was cleaning up a mess that he didn't make without being asked.

Our Friday Ice Cream truck semi-tradition! :)