Daddy & Emma

Emma adores her Daddy but she doesn’t always show it. Sometimes though, if she knows something special might be coming, like a trip to Goodberry’s for custard, she is EXTRA sweet to him. Daddy of course, won’t complain….he’ll take it when he can get it:)

Here’s proof of how sweet & loving she can be:

Our Little Jumping Bean

Emma LOVES to jump around. Here is a picture of her jumping in her playroom:

Emma’s First Day of Preschool Art Camp

It’s tough to think that Emma is so big already that she is ready for Preschool. It seemed just a little while back, that this day was WAY in the future. Well, it’s here and Emma couldn’t be happier:)

Although “real” preschool doesn’t begin for another 2 weeks, the preschool that Emma will be attending, mandates that the kids complete one week of summer camp so that they become familiar with the school, teachers, classrooms, rules, etc. So today was that first day for Emma. She had been counting down the days. When Mark and I went into her bedroom this morning, she was still sleeping like a little angel. We looked at each other and realized that our “little baby”, wasn’t a baby anymore. She woke up with a big smile and excitedly got up and was ready to go. Obviously we had been prepping her for this day by reading books about preschool and what to expect, as well as talking to her about all she would be doing.

When she first walked into the classroom, she was a little bit clingy and shy, but that only lasted like 2 minutes. As soon as she saw the classroom centers with playdoh, paint, dyed-colored water, and mini-furniture, she knew she was in a FUN place. We helped her put her backpack into her cubby and she let us know she was ready to paint. She has 2 teachers- Ms. Sandy and Ms. April. We got our hugs and kisses and let her know we would be back in a little while and she let me Ms. Sandy put a smock on her as she prepared to paint a beautiful blue picture.

As Mark and I watched from the door, I could see her talking Ms. Sandy’s ear off and laughing as she had a conversation with her. I could see just how HAPPY she was and how ready she was to finally begin preschool.

At 1:00pm, we picked Emma up. She was at the reading center looking at “The Very Hungry Caterpillar”. She saw us standing there, smiled, and quickly got up to come and hug us. She had sidewalk chalk all over her pants, so right away, I knew she had had a wonderful first day of preschool.

Ms. Sandy and Ms. April both told us that she had a great day. They said Emma was the only one that knew that the bowl in the story, Mouse Paint, said- Cat. They were very impressed by her and said she was very “advanced”. They definitely thought she was prepared for preschool.

Emma didn’t give us too many details about her first day but she seemed to really enjoy herself. When we asked her if she played in the playground she said, “No, we played in the sandbox instead because it was too humid outside”:)

July 4th Celebration

We had a wonderful 4th of July with our great friends and neighbors, Ted, Lisa and their daughter Emma. My sister, Anamarie, surprised me and came up for a few days to visit and my Mom also showed up. It was great catching up with my family and our friends. Emma LOVED watching the fireworks but was frightened by the loud exploding sounds. Although she had seen the fireworks once before she didn’t remember it. We were fortunate to have a great view. Here are a few pictures of our day.

Emma and I going down the slide:

Self-Portrait

Emma loves to draw and paint. Most of her drawings are scribbles at this point but she enjoys herself and is always so sweet to make one picture for Mommy and one for Daddy. Recently she drew me and actually did a pretty nice job….I mean it had a circle for a head, eyes a big smile and even some blue bangs. Alright, so my bangs aren’t blue, but she drew them in there, showing attention to detail:) I was impressed that it actually looked like a cartoon person vs. the usual scribbles.

On Wednesday, she wanted to use her easel so I set it up for her and to my surprise, she drew herself. She even drew some blue bangs on herself to match the ones she had drawn on me. This is the first time she attempts to draw herself so I obviously made a big deal about it and we hung it up in her playroom along with all her other drawings and arts & craft projects. For 3 1/2 years old, I think it’s wonderful!

Meet Snaily….Emma’s New Pet

On Sunday Emma was helping me water the plants when all of a sudden, we noticed a large snail in one of the flower pots. Right away she asked if she could keep it as a pet. I thought about it for half a second and then answered, “Sure”. What could I say? I never thought of a snail as a pet, but really, it can’t get better than that. A snail is pretty much hassle-free. Emma was SO excited to bring Snaily (that’s what she named him) in to show her Daddy. She eagerly showed him her new pet and told him that Mommy said we could keep it for a pet;)

On Monday, we went to Target to get a home for Snaily. We found a bug park from Fisher Price. It’s so cute. You can actually control the Ferris wheel and teeter totter by turning the wheel that is located on the outside. So you can assist your bugs when they decide to ride:)

Today, I went to the garden to pick some fresh leaves for Snaily and guess what? I found Swingy. Now Snaily has a partner. So far so good. They seem to be getting along very well. Swingy swings her entire shell from side to side when she walks- kinda like Ursula the Sea Witch moves her hips, in The Little Mermaid. So, there you have it….Snaily and Swingy, our pet snails.

A Visit to the Farm

Emma loves animals so I planned a visit to a local farm.  We went with Emma’s friend Alex and her mommy, Erica.  The girls had so much fun.  They played with 2-week-old mallard ducks, fed the goats, emus and pony, walked around the 10-acre farm, and even rode the tire-swing at the end of the tour.  We were lucky to have the farm owner, Mary, to ourselves as we toured her farm.  This particular farm had 2 emus, 2 llamas, a bunch of goats, 1 pony, 1 sheep, 4 baby ducks, and a bunch of chickens.  We had a wonderful time!

Emma Has a New Hairdo

On Monday I took Emma to get a haircut. Her friend Alex just got her hair cut short and it looks so fresh and cute for the summer. I thought Emma would be excited to do the same, so I mentioned it to her and she was on board with the idea. Because Emma has SOOO much hair, it is puffier now than it was while it was long but, she is comfortable with the new length and it makes washing it and brushing it MUCH easier.

Emma’s Princess Bed

Emma is growing up so fast and is quite a beautiful little flower. Several months ago we removed the crib from her room and replaced it with her “Princess Bed”. That’s how we sold it to her at least. In reality it is a queen size bed on box springs that sits directly on the floor of her room. There are no fancy bed frames, canopy, or opulent bed posts. It is just a bed on a floor with three bed rails that I attached to reduce the chances that she roll off it and thump unceremoniously on the floor during her sleep. She’s an active sleeper you know. The queen sized mattress might seem like overkill for a 3 year old, but since we had it lying around (in the guest room) and finances are short these days, we decided to move it into her room instead of buying a bed set for her. She has been so appreciative of it, and sleeps through the night now. Sometimes at night she says, “Daddy, thank you so much for my beautiful Princess Bed”, which breaks my heart because it is far from regal.

Fall is Beautiful

Elena, Emma and I went for a nature walk last week to enjoy the nice weather and beautiful fall leaves. After living in South Florida for so many years, I had come to forget how nice the fall can be. The changing leaves are a great indicator of time. In another month or so the trees will be bare indicating winter is coming, and we will soon be looking forward to the green growth of spring.

Like the seasons, Emma is changing quite rapidly as well. She is just over three years old and is no longer a baby. She is a little person, full of ideas, and opinions, and her own personal agenda. She communicates so well now and knows so much it is stunning. Today her mother said it is Wednesday, to which Emma responded, “It’s garbage day”. Things like that blow me away. She is 3 years 3 weeks old people! What is she supposed to know about garbage day?

When I look at Emma and see how big and healthy she is I am consumed with happiness. It also makes me extremely sad at times to see how much she has grown already, and despite blogging about her, when I see pictures of her a year ago, my memory already betrays me. I don’t ever want to forget how she acted at each and every stage of her life. I want to remember and recall the snapshots of her development but life has a way of making you forget. This saddens me because I know the Emma I see today will be but a distant and faded memory a year from now. I realize that I have to cherish every moment, even more than I do already. I can see time fast forwarding on me: graduations, Marriage, Babies of her own, and I will become a much less important person in her life. I hope and pray that I will always be relevant to her and I will be a good Father that she will always know she can rely on and that she will save a place for in her heart.

I know it may seem quite dramatic to be thinking this far ahead, but I am a reflective thinker who understands what lies ahead. Acknowledging the future allows me to make adjustments now so that when that day comes, I am not full of regrets for what I should have, could have, done differently. I don’t want to be that parent who postponed life and time with my daughter because I thought there would always be time for her later. You know, the whole “Cat’s in the Cradle” thing.

Cats In The Cradle Lyrics

Artist: Harry Chapin

My child arrived just the other day
He came to the world in the usual way
But there were planes to catch and bills to pay
He learned to walk while I was away
And he was talkin’ ‘fore I knew it, and as he grew
He’d say “I’m gonna be like you dad
You know I’m gonna be like you”

And the cat’s in the cradle and the silver spoon
Little boy blue and the man on the moon
When you comin’ home dad?
I don’t know when, but we’ll get together then son
You know we’ll have a good time then

My son turned ten just the other day
He said, “Thanks for the ball, Dad, come on let’s play
Can you teach me to throw”, I said “Not today
I got a lot to do”, he said, “That’s ok”
And he walked away but his smile never dimmed
And said, “I’m gonna be like him, yeah
You know I’m gonna be like him”

And the cat’s in the cradle and the silver spoon
Little boy blue and the man on the moon
When you comin’ home son?
I don’t know when, but we’ll get together then son
You know we’ll have a good time then

Well, he came home from college just the other day
So much like a man I just had to say
“Son, I’m proud of you, can you sit for a while?”
He shook his head and said with a smile
“What I’d really like, Dad, is to borrow the car keys
See you later, can I have them please?”

And the cat’s in the cradle and the silver spoon
Little boy blue and the man on the moon
When you comin’ home son?
I don’t know when, but we’ll get together then son
You know we’ll have a good time then

I’ve long since retired, my son’s moved away
I called him up just the other day
I said, “I’d like to see you if you don’t mind”
He said, “I’d love to, Dad, if I can find the time
You see my new job’s a hassle and kids have the flu
But it’s sure nice talking to you, Dad
It’s been sure nice talking to you”

And as I hung up the phone it occurred to me
He’d grown up just like me
My boy was just like me

And the cat’s in the cradle and the silver spoon
Little boy blue and the man on the moon
When you comin’ home son?
I don’t know when, but we’ll get together then son
You know we’ll have a good time then