Friday, September 5, 2008

the very first first day of school

Entrance to preschool.





Well, we all survived (mainly me!) the first day of school. Thank goodness I managed to give Emilia her morning bottle before we left for school since they don't "allow" bottles at school. When we went into the building I was impressed that I didn't hear any babies crying. Granted for many of the classes it was already their 2nd day of school. When we got down the hall to Emilia's room all her classmates were already there, settled, and playing/exploring the different toys in the room. I dropped her off with no tears (from her or me - I managed to hold it together until I got out to the car). When I picked her up she burst into tears when she saw me but I think that was more from tiredness/realizing I hadn't been there the whole time. Her teachers, Miss Courtney and Miss Annete, both gave a great report on Emilia. She had a fine time dancing and clapping her hands when Miss Annete played the guitar and sang (imagine, the Latina likes to dance! :)) They said she was very attached to Miss Courtney and wimpered a bit when she would go to the bathroom to change another baby's diaper, but that she would bounce right back. She had a snack (animal crackers) and that was it! They have a regular schedule I'll post later but for these two beginning weeks they just spend a lot of time exploring the classroom and outdoor playground areas and getting used to it all. I'd say it was a successful (if not exhausting - the girl fell asleep in the car on the way home) first day. Bravo mi nena!

Ready for her first day, loaded down with her bags.


In the car on the way to school.




At the door of her classroom - getting a lay of the land. Dress courtesy of Grandpa. Shoes courtesy of MamaMama.

Crying when she first saw me. She didn't cry like this the whole time but once she saw me she was ready to go apparently! I'm chalking it up to a lack of morning nap.

Thursday, September 4, 2008

more new fun

I mentioned earlier Emilia loves opening drawers and taking things out of them. Well today she got into both the panry and the drawer where I keep all my hair stuff. Here is the result.
Who, me?

Waving around some hair clips.




Huh! I found another piece of cotton!

Mama, quieres granola? (Would you like some granola? I brought it from the pantry into the bathroom!)

purse fettish

So we can officially say Emilia takes after me with her love of handbags. Fortunately for her Papa her tastes aren't quite like mine - no Furla, Coach and Gucci (yet!:) but Dean and Deluca, birthday party gift bags, and a shoe box. Why she loves to carry these around I have no idea but if she's crying, it's probably because she doesn't have one of her bags!




Part of her handbag collection.


Carrying around a couple of her bags.

A woman on the move.

Wednesday, September 3, 2008

soft as...

...cotton! Yesterday morning Emilia and I were brave and went to the Y. I went to a cycling class (ouch! so that's why I've avoided them like the plague!) while Emilia spent an hour in Childwatch, the onsite daycare. She did a great job. She barely looked up at me when I was leaving and when I came back to pick her up she just looked up at me, acknowledged I was there, and went right back playing. It was too funny. I don't think she wanted to leave! Fortunately since we went so early in the morning there were hardly any babies there. Plus, Emilia had her good friend Kyriethere to keep her company (and to comfort - poor Kyrie wasn't too happy at all).



When we were back at home I left Emilia for a minute by herself. She took off (apparently to my bathroom) and when I found her in the kitchen she was doing this...


Hmm...what are these? Let me get a workout for my quads as well!

"Talking" to the cotton balls.

bath time fun

The girl loves having fun in the bath!

Tuesday, September 2, 2008

party girl

Sitting pretty at Connor's party.


Emilia went to a birthday party yesterday, Monday. It was Connor's 2nd birthday. He is one of our neighbors. Emilia had a grand old time wearing a dress her Farmor bought the fabric for and her great-aunt Siv made for her in Finland over the summer. She looked super cute.

The partygoers - Graham, Reece, Connor, Meg & Emilia. Have you ever seen so many blond-haired kids?!


Playing in the sandbox. I think she thought she was back at the beach!

Saturday, August 30, 2008

labor day festival - matthews style

Today we took Emilia to the annual Labor Day festival in historic, downtown Matthews, NC (mind you - the downtown, I believe, is approximately 4 blocks). In any case she had a good time and had the opportunity to ride on her first carousel. Papa put her on top of one of the carousel horses but she apparently didn't care for that too much, so instead they rode sitting on one of those sleigh-like things while I snapped pictures furiously. We were not there for terribly long because it became beastily hot outside and we all know how Pearl doesn't tolerate the heat too well.



When we came home we changed Emilia's outfit and put her in her Clemson onesie in the hopes it would bring good luck to our Tigers but alas - it's not looking good so far. It may be a long football season.

Hot and sweaty after just 5 minutes at the festival.


Emilia getting some words of comfort from her Papa on the carousel.


Look at those curls! Don't you just love it!?