fore!

On Sunday afternoon, Em and her Papa were merrily watching the golf. She loves to play with the myriad of golf balls that are floating around our house and was amazed to see the familiar white orbs on TV. Papa quickly explained the rules of the game, and Emerson was soon cheering for the golfers.

Em: "Tiger hit ball cup" {Tiger is hitting the ball in the cup.} "Uh-oh. I miss." {He missed} Then, when someone would make a putt, she'd clap and cheer and demand to see it again. So funny. You should have heard how happy Jeff was to be watching golf with her. So cute!

It wasn't long before he had the idea to get out his putter and some balls and teach her to putt. At first she was so excited.

Soon, as is inevitable in golf, she got frustrated. She even threw a Gatorade bottle across the room!

But she kept at it, and found it was much easier to putt with two hands on the putter. Ultimately, they both had loads of fun. I never thought I'd be so excited to see my kid golfing, but even I couldn't resist beaming from ear to ear.

P.S. Please disregard the fact that Emerson is still in her jammies at 4:00 on a Sunday afternoon. It was just that kind of day at our house!

how could I forget????

...the best of all the sentences that Emerson has started to say..."I lob {love} you."

Seriously.

Best. Feeling. Ever.

she's speaking in sentences

We're in the midst of another language explosion around here. Emerson is stringing more and more words together to make (albeit grammatically horrific) sentences. Her first one was "I yike{like} pasta." (That's a girl after her mama's heart!) She also says "Papa ah-dah {all done} work" when Jeff gets home. "Mama teach kids" is what she says when I leave to tutor or teach Religious Ed. "Papa cook baba {bottle} Em" is what she's been demanding in the middle of the night lately. That's always fun. The other day, out of the clear blue when playing with her baby doll, she said "Baby ride car," and set off in pursuit of her scoot-along car.

She's amazing. Amazing. AMAZING. I wonder what she'll cook up next.

Sigh.

star's secert weightloss tips revealed

So I was perusing my usual list of blogs this afternoon when I came upon these handy tips from Cosmo Cricket's blog. My aunt Nona is famous for saying "chins up, boobs out" whenever the camera comes near, but I think even she'd be impressed with these tips.



Now get outside and appreciate the glorious weather. That's an order!

:)

it has sprung

Finally, after the longest winter I can remember in quite some time, spring is here. Mother Earth is celebrating!

factoid

Here's a random tidbit about me...I LOVE fonts! I have downloaded over 650 fonts and use them for various things, from scrapbooking to letters and even for to-do lists. In fact it makes me NUTS that I can't change the font on this blog to something a bit more funky. Oh well. I frequently will see a font in an ad and will share with whoever is around what the name is. Jeff LOVES this little quirk of mine. ;)

If you love fonts or want to love fonts, here's a great website to start your collections... it's http://kevinandamanda.com/fonts/ You can download hundreds of fonts for free (and she gives great instructions for PC or Mac.) As well, you can submit your own handwriting and she'll turn it into a font for you for free. So cool!

Happy font hunting!
a.

we are in BIG trouble...

...when Herself grows as big as her attitude. Check out what I was dealt when trying to snap a simple picture.

What are you, 14?????

Guess she's had enough of her camera-happy Mama. Take the hint, lady!

roots

I love where we live. We're in a large metropolitan area, but our actual town (village, technically) boasts a population of around 40,000. It's small enough where you can really get to know people and see them around, yet large enough where everyone is not in everyone else's business.


Last week, while getting an oil change, I ran into a dad of a girl I went to high school and played softball with. We gabbed and gabbed the whole time our cars were getting worked on, and the hour went by so quickly. Fun!


Yesterday at the park, we ran into two different friends that we've met through various Park District & Library "classes" that Em has taken. So fun. Not just for Emerson (who, to be honest, was pretty unaware that her friends were there), but for us. We love to be social, and having a toddler has put a damper on that aspect of our lives. But for a bit yesterday, we got to hang with our people in the same boat as us, and it was so nice.


Then today at the grocery store, I ran into a parent of a former student as well as a parent of a former classmate who lived in the same neighborhood as I did growing up. She gave me a big hug and caught me up on her kids and grandkids. It left me feeling all smiley inside.


Two doors down from us is the childhood home of another friend from Jr. high & high school. Her parents still live there, and her mom and older sister were taking some of the grandkids to the park at the end of the street as we were getting the groceries out of the car. Em & I joined them and had such a nice time talking and playing.


That's a perk of staying put and growing roots...you bump into people here and there, and it makes it feel like "home." Makes you realize that you're not all alone as you go about your day. How very nice it is, indeed.

Today, I'm smiling inside and out. And speaking of out, GET OUTSIDE and play!

Make it a good week~

spring is springing

Hurray! Spring is in the air. I know that the warm weather will not last, but it's SO NICE to be able to get outside and stretch our legs. We spent over an hour at the park this afternoon, and even ran into 2 friends, which made it even nicer. Emerson loved climbing, swinging, sliding, jumping and just generally being a kid. And THAT makes both of us smile.

Emerson loves to scale the "climbing wall" at this park. She is so proud when she gets up to the top!

One last thing...recently, Em has started saying the sentence "I like..." She inserts various words at the end from pasta to kiwi to Papa. Today, she ran up to me at the park, wrapped her little arms around my legs and said "I like hugs." I melted into a puddle right then and there.

she really is my kid too...

Ever since Emerson was born, people have commented (sometimes apologetically, which is funny to me. If I thought her Papa was so bad looking, she probably wouldn't be here, right?) that she looks just like her Papa. Jeff & I definitely see traits of both sides in Em, but we thinks she just looks like, well, Em. But every once in a while, she'll strike a pose that is uncanny towards one side or the other.



Here's a visual aide:





I love these two pictures. The color photo is Emerson in my mom's garden from last July. The b&w photo is of my mom in the late 40's...looks like the same kiddo to me!


Make it a great weekend!

unbelievable

Just when I think that I KNOW my kiddo, she goes and does something unbelievable. Take today, for instance. We're eating lunch {ham and bean soup, my favorite from my own kiddo-dom}, and gabbing away. The conversation was something like this:

E: "Soup"

me: "Yes, Em is eating soup."

E: "Soup. Uh-Ga-Gah {That's Uncle Craig for those of you who aren't fluent in Emersonese}

me: "Um, yeah. I think Uncle Craig likes soup."

E: "Uh-Ga-Gah. Soup. Soup."

me: "Yes, Em. Uncle Craig likes soup. I don't know why you keep looking at your soup and saying Uncle Craig...OH!! I KNOW! You remember when we went out to dinner with Uncle Craig last month, and he shared his soup with you!"

E: "Soup. Uh-Ga-Gah. Soup. Soup."

At this point, I've about fallen off my chair and have already dialed Jeff to tell him what a genius our kid is. SHE REMEMBERS SHARING SOUP WITH UNCLE CRAIG WEEKS AGO. HOLY COW!!! I'm amazed that she 1. remembers, 2. was triggered by a completely different flavor of soup all together, and 3. is thinking abstractly about Uncle Craig.

{Incidentally, we called Uncle Craig and left him a message to tell him that we were thinking of him. He texted me back saying that she made his day. How sweet!}

Is this normal for 19 month-olds? Because I'm about ready to find my local chapter of MENSA for her :) Seriously, I thought I knew what motherhood would be. But no one prepared me for moments like these. If this is what lunch is like with a toddler, imagine how I'll feel when she's in college.

Sigh. I heart her.

quote of the day

CLEANING YOUR HOUSE WHILE YOUR KIDS ARE STILL GROWING IS LIKE SHOVELING THE WALK BEFORE IT'S STOPPED SNOWING. ~dayspring~


Amen.

spring forward

One of my very first posts on my blog coincided with daylight savings time in the fall. We were stressing out about what time to put Em to bed as we knew she'd be up at the crack of dawn. And as it turned out, we were right to worry...she was up before 6 everyday for about a week. Now, I know some of your kiddos (not to name names but...MEGAN!) are always up that early, but here in the Girling house, we try to avoid that sort of madness.

Fast forward 4 months to now. Spring forward. I always hated this one because we lost an hour of sleep (or in college, an hour of bar time!) But as a Mama, I have a whole new appreciation for springing forward. Em adapted seamlessly, and has slept until 7:30 and 8:00 since we switched. Hurray for SPRINGING FORWARD!!

Feel free to remind me of this bliss next November when we switch again, OK?

how fun is this?

Calling all you children of the '80s...remember the Rubix Cube? Well, now you can design your own using 6 pictures of your choosing. Discount Photo Gifts website has all the details. I know some girls in Madison who might need this in their Easter baskets...

Just don't ask me how to get it back together...you're on your own for that :)

Make it a great week~

camera batteries...

...are the bane of my existence. I got a new camera for Christmas, and I generally love it. Takes great pictures, has loads of manual features so that I can play around. I'm pretty happy with it. BUT, it sucks the life out of rechargeable batteries like frat boys @ a kegger. I'm at the point where I can literally take 5 pictures before it dies. I tried non-rechargeable, and they were better, but I can't justify spending Emerson's college fund on my photography habit. Grrr.


I went to Kodak's website to see what they suggested. Of course, they only endorse their own products and can't help me unless I'm using Kodak batteries. So back to the photo store to return my 2nd (!!) charger, order the Kodak model, and see what happens. I'm not holding my breath.


Why are simple things sometimes so complicated? Ponder that and get back to me, K?

my cat snores loud

Loud like a man loud. Loud like I can hear her down the hall loud.

That's funny to me.

I just thought you might like to know.

more project 365

I know that I've been delinquent here about posting Project 365 pictures. But never fear; I HAVE been taking pictures everyday and wanted to share a few from the last few weeks.

Thursday 2.12- do we have a future virtuoso on our hands? Look at her posture! She's a natural!Thursday 2.19- A visit to the dentist. That's Dr. Leix on the right and her ace assistant Jenn on the left.

Wednesday 2.25- Our kitchen has become an art gallery showcasing the early works of Emerson in mixed media.

Monday 2.23- Jeff's cousin Melissa was in from NC for a visit. These two girls love to play together.


Saturday 2.28- Jeff & Em shared an apple. He got the skin; she got the good stuff. I think she looks so old biting on this whole apple.

Make it a good week~