What goes on at daycare?

Our daycare has a Facebook page so we frequently get picture updates showing us what Emma has been up to with her friends all day.  A morning in the life of Emma....

9:00 a.m. Side by side play with Clara

 10:00 a.m. Sharing a good book

 

  10:15 a.m. Sitting up to smile for the camera

 

11:00 Still playing, now I have the circle to myself

 11:30 a.m. Learning to Read Books Together

 Say Cheese!

Say Cheese Take 2

 Learning to make faces when our picture is taken too often.

Emma + Great Grandma = 100...

Well, not exactly 100, but in about month and a half the equation will work.  Last week Great Grandma Burrell celebrated her 99th birthday. Even though Mommy and Daddy had to work, Emma was with Great Grandma to help her celebrate.  Emma loved Grandma's purple feather boa and her "Happy Birthday" balloon.  During the visit Grandma even took Emma for a walk around her apartment.

Hey Grandma, Did you have to grow into your tongue?  Mine seems extremely long.

Happy Valentine's Day

On Valentine's Day, Emma and Mommy presented Daddy with a crown of hearts.  Emma made Daddy's heart band with lots of scribbles and Mommy helped her write the word love.  Mommy had to do the cutting and taping for the project.  Emma's job was mainly to lick every possible item that she could get her hands on.

 My favorite part of the project was licking the tape.

 It was hard for Emma to resist the scents coming from the candles we had out for dinner.

Daddy Tornado Twist

Daddy added to the weekend fun on Sunday when he took Emma's sledding adventures to a whole new level.  Instead of just going down the slope and coming back up, Emma learned the meaning of a 360 degree rotation.  We had lots of fun outside after the ice storm passed.

By the end of the day, Mommy and Daddy were both really tired but Emma was still up for more playing.  We decided to let her bang on pots and pans while we made dinner.  The clanking definitely kept both Mommy and Daddy fully alert.

Making a Mess

This weekend, Emma and Mommy spent lots of quality time together making messes.  We designed Valentine's Day gifts for Daddy, made playdoh, went sledding and even built a tent in the basement.  Mommy's favorite part of the day was taking Emma sledding in a plastic bin tied to her waist as she shoveled the driveway.  The Maas family driveway doesn't have a big slant, but it was big enough to send Emma into a state of "whooas" as she rode behind Mommy.

 Why did you stop Mommy? 

Besides the laughs creating from sledding, Mommy also couldn't stop laughing when Emma kept putting her hands in the flour to make playdoh.  Every time Emma brought the flour up from the cup and opened her fist, she lost all the flour she had gathered.  She was persistent in getting the flour up to her face but it ended up all over her clothes and the counter instead.  Immediately after our playdoh experiment, Emma had a bath with all of her plastic water animals.  Alli even paid a visit to peer over the side of the bathtub.  Emma couldn't stop laughing when Alli showed up.

 

 Wow, where is that light coming from Mommy?

 

  Hey Mommy I am just like my stuffed animal elephant.  Squeeze my tummy and my cheeks light up.

 Mommy, quit playing the the camera and come in the tent. 

 I would like to add to my job application bead moving expert. 

To Crawl or Not to Crawl?

This past month has marked the end of Emma's stagnant behavior.  We have entered into the phase of wanting to walk or crawl all over the house.  Currently walking has ended up with more votes because it allows fast movement.

But crawling has proved a close second as well as a viable skill when adult is not available to assist Emma.  It does not matter the surface that she needs to scale, Emma is one determined little workhorse.  She easily makes her way up the stairs, crawls across the living room carpet and stomps her way behind Alli shrieking the whole time.  

In Emma’s mind, she and Alli have become best friends even though Alli has not yet accepted the invitation.  One thing Alli and Emma do have in common is a love for stuffed animals (preferably not their own).  Emma loves to steal Alli’s toys just as much as Alli loves to steal hers.  Both can’t resist taking things away from one another.

 Over the river and up the stairs to Emma's bedroom we go...

 Beware the Atomic Powered Robot

February is the Month of Love

Mommy and Daddy don't really get into the the whole Valentine's Day spirit each year, but Emma seems to have other plans.  Ever since she has learned to crawl and stand on her own, no one can keep her away from the vacuum!  It was love at first BUZZ.  Emma is drawn to the vacuum's cool purple exterior as well as his extendo tube that stretches quite a few feet.  When vacuum is turned on, Emma watches in both trepidation and intense fascination.  All of the lights and the spinning debris visible from vacuum's transparent stomach cause Emma to want to get closer.  Of course when vacuum is turned on and she approaches, the two end up having a screaming match.  Vacuum usually wins.  Thank you vacuum for making this Valentine's Day a special one for Emma and providing Mommy with a great way to explain personification to her students.

Hi, my name is Emma.  What is yours?

 

 Mommy, you can't separate us.  We belong together!

Vacuum allows me to stand unaided by human hands.

 

 He sits and watches me play on a blanket that he would love to destroy.

 Please turn vacuum on again so I can see him process his lunch.