Emma is 11 Months Old!

Emma is just one month away from her first birthday!!! She's crawling really fast now and loves to cruise on anything that will support her. She just started walking pretty well if we hold at least one of her hands. I'm betting she'll take her first steps sometime in the next month.

 Using this toy stroller to practice walking

A Fun Afternoon at the CDM

I took the girls to the Children's Discovery Museum yesterday. We haven't been there since February, but now that Emma is mobile it's a great place for both girls.

 We went inside the "crawler room" in the Wonder Cabinet for the first time. Older siblings aren't really suppose to be in there, but Ella's very gentle and there was only one other baby in there, so we got away with it. :-) Ella understood right away that this was a special place for Emma and helped her explore it.

 They both loved the little mirror space!

 They have small windows at floor level and Emma really enjoyed looking out of them.

 They also have small stairs and a wavy inclined floor for babies to crawl up. Emma held my hand and walked down the stairs one step at a time. She was so thrilled at being able to do this that she was squealing with delight.

 Another of Emma's favorite things in the Wonder Cabinet was the shadow carousel. The space that it's in is dark and the horses are reflected in different colors on the walls around you. This has always been one of Ella's favorite things in the museum too.

 They have a new nature exhibit downstairs. Here the girls are exploring an eagle's nest.

 A log full of racoons!

 This frog pond plays frog sounds. They have all sorts of little ponds like this around with fish, frogs, ducks, and other animals.

 In the chipmunk's tree

Trip to Gramma & Papa's

We spent the weekend at my parents' place in Colfax. On the way up I stopped at the Nut Tree to let Ella stretch her legs and get Emma out of her carseat for awhile.

On the train at the Nut Tree

Ella made a friend on the checker board and they played "stack the pieces" for awhile.

Emma at Gramma & Papa's - She looks so tiny to me when she stands up. I guess because Ella's around to compare to. :-)

Ella and Buddy absolutely love each other. They had so much fun playing in the water together!

Buddy, in mid air catching some water that Ella threw for him

Buddy was asking Gramma if he could keep Ella.

Emma enjoyed several new foods at Gramma & Papa's. Here she's enjoying strawberries!

Ella and Buddy

Ella and Emerson at Gilroy Gardens

We went to Gilroy Gardens today with our friends Amanda, Emerson, and Ansley. I didn't take a lot of pictures, but here are a few.

 Ella, standing with Emma and Ansley ("the baby sisters") in their strollers

 Ella and Emerson on the spinner

 They loved it!



Snapshots Of A Day

I did my "Snapshots of a Day" yesterday (the 9th). Emma's coming down with another cold and we have a strange schedule today, the 10th. I knew I'd miss it again if I didn't just do it a day early this month. :-)

 9:00 AM - Making breakfast for Ella and I

 10:00 AM - Feeding Emma her breakfast. She didn't wake up until 9:30, quite late for her.

 11:00 AM - Girls in the car ready to head to swim lessons

 11:30 AM - At swim lessons just about to enter the pool... I just had to add these two shots into the day even though they're not on the hour. ;-)

 Can you tell that Ella really loves swim lessons?!

 12:00 PM - Out of the pool and getting dressed

 1:00 PM - Reading a story to Ella while Emma naps. We've really gotten into library books! :-)

 2:00 PM - Unloading the dishwasher

 3:00 PM - Meeting friends at the park for a short play date

 4:00 PM - Getting back into the car to head home

 5:00 PM - Putting lotion on Emma after her bath (she has very sensitive skin and it gets dry really easily)

6:00 PM - Checking the address for Speaker Night (Positive Discipline) before heading out the door for some much needed "mom time"

Things the Girls Love to Do

Ella loves to help with the cooking. This afternoon she helped me clean the potatoes.

Emma loves to make her chew toys squeak. We think it's so funny how she squeezes it so emphatically.



In Costume

I took these pictures of Ella in her costume just before leaving the house for her performance Saturday. The shoes are her "street" shoes. She wore black tap shoes for the performance.