Let the Games Begin!

Claire's new love has recently become the game of Candy Land. She absolutely loves it! I must say, it brings back fond memories for me, and it is a fun way for Jeremy and me to spend time with Claire.

A Morning Out For Mom

Today was Emma's 1st day of "school"! Actually, she is going to a Mother's Morning Out program one morning a week this year. It is nice because her MMO is located at the same church where Claire goes to preschool. I will say, however, that it felt strange leaving that parking lot with an empty car this morning. Although I will benefit greatly from having one morning a week to run around town in an attempt to get as many "child-less" errands done as possible, today was a little teary for me.
Aside from my "Where Has My Newborn Baby Gone?" emotions, Emma seemed to have a great time. Her teacher said that she did well, and that it was quite clear she has an older sibling. Apparently, Emma seemed advanced in her skills. Namely, climbing on things. It looks like she might be the child in the class that introduces the others to a whole new world of toddler possibilites.

Our "Beautiful Butterfly"

Today was Claire's 1st day of 4K in her Butterfly class. This will be her 1st year in a 5-day (9am-12pm) program, and I think she is going to love it. Claire has a lot of good friends in her class this year, so today was a very exciting day. Hopefully, as the weeks progress, Emma and I can keep up with the daily drop-offs and pick-ups!

"So This is Love"

As I have previously mentioned, Emma loves Mickey Mouse. I guess this may be because Claire's love for watching the Mickey Mouse Clubhouse peaked when Emma was itty bitty, and she has since seen Mickey's happy little face pop up on our TV just about every morning of her life. However, from very early on, we noticed that every time Mickey appeared on TV Emma was all grins and giggles.
While in a gift shop at Disney, Jeremy unknowingly parked Emma's stroller in front of a wall of plush Mickeys. It did not take long before she went bananas and was grabbing them off the shelves. Once she chose her Mickey, there was no going back. Seeing as how Claire already has one exactly like it, I had hoped to convince Emma that she wanted a Minnie. No such luck. She even cried when we took him from her to check out at the register.
Ever since that day, Emma has been loving her Mickey Mouse. Most interesting to me, is how she snuggles with him at night. For some time now, I have filled Emma's crib with little blankets and animals thinking that she might eventually want to attach to one. However, each night we hear the little thuds as she tosses them from her crib. Not Mickey! I took pictures of her sleeping with him the first night we were home from Orlando. I also took pictures of the animals on the floor that did not make the cut. It has been the same every night since.

A Magical Adventure

Emma's face when she first saw Mickey appear at the Playhouse Disney show. . .

"Honey I Shrunk the Kids" playground

Passing time while waiting for a show to begin. . .Claire's favorite show, "The Little Mermaid" (Jeremy and Claire saw it twice!). . .

This past weekend, we decided to take the girls down to Orlando. We stayed at a great resort, The Marriott Grande Vista. They had so much for the kids to do, and it made for a nice getaway.
While we were in Orlando, we had to visit some Disney friends, so we chose to go to Hollywood Studios. Last year (while I was pregnant with Emma), we took Claire to the Magic Kingdom and the Animal Kingdom, so Hollywood Studios seemed like it would be a great change of pace. Both girls had such a great time. They were in awe, and grinning from ear-to-ear all day. Emma is a huge Mickey fan, and Claire got to see Ariel and Belle, so all were happy!

Character Meetings

Claire hugging June, one of her favorite characters from "Little Einsteins". . .

Happy baby!Claire was telling the Mad Hatter all about her "Ariel birthday". . Silly faces. . .Mary PoppinsClaire took this picture of the Mad Hatter (and her hand!) while we were leaving the restaurant. This character was too funny!!

What is a trip to Disney World without meeting some of your favorite characters? We had the opportunity to meet some while at Hollywood Studios, and then others we met at a breakfast at Disney's Grand Floridian hotel. Claire was most excited to meet Alice and the Mad Hatter, while Emma loved meeting Mickey. Emma seemed to thoroughly enjoy her visits with Tigger and Pooh as well.
I must say that in planning this trip, I knew that Claire would be ecstatic, and I thought that Emma would enjoy being along for the ride. However, I think Emma got just as much (if not more!) out of the trip as any of us. She was so happy! It really made for priceless memories and unforgettable pictures.

Living the Dream

Claire was in full vacation mode on our trip to Orlando. She ate breakfast on the couch while watching TV, had her first Shirley Temple, bathed in a huge, jetted bath tub, and frolicked and played in the sand and water. Ahhhhh, life is good when you are 4 years old!

A New View

These days, it is recommended that you keep a child's car seat in the rear facing position for as long as possible past the age of one. My goal was to make it to 15 months, but Emma is just too big for that now. Last week, we decided to turn her car seat around. Pictured above is her 1st car ride in the new position. She was loving it. Her legs were loving it even more as they were finally able to stretch out and move.

A Star is Born

Waving to her partner for the "Greeting Dance". . .

Claire demonstrating her favorite warm-up exercise - "The Cereal Bowl". . .

Claire just completed her first week of dance classes. Recently, she has shown a lot of interest in tap and ballet, so I decided to sign her up for a week long "Fairy Princess Dance Camp". She absolutely loved it! It was a great little class that combined ballet, tap, and tumbling. I was amazed at how much the kids learned. Claire also thinks it is fun that she can speak French now. A little "merci" here, a little "ici" there. Mix it in with some ballet terminology, and we have a bi-lingual child!

Sucking Thumbs

Every now and then, Claire likes to see what all of Emma's thumb sucking is about. Thankfully, she does not think it is that great.

Enjoying the Weather

Emma watching a squirrel eat some scraps. . .

Claire's photo of our picnic. . .

Feeding the BIG fish and turtles. . .

On Sunday, we decided to take full advantage of the beautiful weather, and we headed out for a picnic and small hike. You have to understand that where we live, the July heat and humidity is unbearable and draining on a daily basis. So, for us to actually have a pleasant and seemingly "cool" day was exciting to say the least.

Under the Sea

Aunt Kristi & Aunt Stacey (Baby cousin on board!)

Opening presents. . .

Putting some new birthday presents to use - a Belle gown and some play make-up. . . Yes, she is applying it to her forehead.

This past weekend we celebrated Claire's 4th Birthday with an Ariel, "Under the Sea", theme. The weather was absolutely beautiful, and the kids had a great time playing in the octopus sprinkler and pools. We had such a great turn out of friends and family. Everything together made for an extra special day for Claire. She was one happy girl!