Emma Is 3!

We spent the last two weeks before Christmas in a flurry of birthdays (hurray for Emma and Daddy!) and sickness (boo for ear infections and fevers!). Alas, the birthday stuff is but a memory; this damn illness, however, just lingers and lingers. Just when I think we've kicked it, it seems to flair up again, and the girls have another day where they are in pain and attempting to hack up a lung. Sigh.

On to happier times: We had a Pinkaliciously Fancy Nancy tea party to celebrate our wonderful Emma. To keep our shy girl from being overwhelmed, we kept the party small. (How'd she do? Well, she spent most of the night hiding out in the kitchen, stealing the hummus toasts from the tea party setup. But I'll still count that as a success: She wasn't clinging to me the whole time. That's a step in the right direction!)

Martin and I curtained off the dining room and surprised the girls and our guests with a Fancy-Nancied dining room. Thumbtacks, construction paper, and some cheap garland worked miracles!

The girls made Froot Loop necklaces as part of their getting "fancy."

Have I made it clear on this blog how colossally silly Emma is? You'd never guess it by her outwardly shy, clingy nature, but she has a clownish streak a mile wide.

My Pinkalicious cupcakes. I was so proud of how well they turned out! Just like in the book!

The birthday girl, all blinged out. (Notice the frilly toothpicks in the brownies? We fancied up anything that didn't move.)

 

Now that's a tea party!

Libby, taking a turn at the pinata. (Notice the big clip-on earrings?)

More of Our Busy October

October is one busy month in this household. We love it!

The girls went on a field trip. Here's Libby with our beloved Sophie and CeCe.

Emma and Libby stay classy with our much-adored Anna.

Sophie's birthday party was then on her cousin's farm up in Wisconsin. Farm-girl Libby gathered eggs from the henhouse.

Emma, suspicious that this tiny pumpkin didn't really grow in this "pumpkin patch" after all.

The girls got to ride a pony. A pony with a fancy mane, no less!

The girls, hanging out with several of their favorite cuddly friends. Is Emma really showing a pretend something simply so she can emulate her sister? Yes, yes, she is.

Outside our friend Isi's birthday party. (See that damned little dog next to Libby? Same dog as the last picture? We can thank Aunt Kimmy for that @#$%ing tiny little dog that goes everywhere with us. Oh, Pinky, how I DESPISE you.)

Headed up to the Fairy Tale Trail in Evanston. Libby wore her wings to the Halloween event. We got lots of oohs and ahhs on the street, especially because Emma was wearing ...

... this. (Cute, yes? Be cuter if she smiled some. Kid is not big on getting her photo taken.) 

"Mom, I'm Rudolph the Reindeer Nose!" (That's a french fry with ketchup on the end.)

Pinkalicious and Little Bo Peep went ice-skating on actual Halloween.

Daddy skipped the costuming but enjoyed the skating nonetheless.

And then on to a party at our friend Katie's, where we got to catch up with old playgroup friends who we hardly get to see anymore (much to our chagrin).

How We've Been Hangin'

Yes, it's been more than two months since my last post, but I vow to be better in the future -- or at least as equally bad. Let me amend: I vow not to slide any further. Yes, I will not exceed more than 2.5 months between posts in the future!

The girls both have fevers and congestion today, so we are hunkering down and boob-tubing it for the day. Which leaves Mommy some time to blog!

Here's how we spent our fall:

Libby had a costume party for her birthday. Pinkalicious Emma and Little Bo Peep Libby (I didn't get a single picture with her bonnet on!) had a ball.

Some of Libby's gang of friends.

Cupcakes on her actual birthday. She's a big girl of 4 now.

We went apple-picking. Why are we so flushed? Because it was unexpectedly a 95-degree day in mid-October. Score one for global warming!

The "apple orchard" was pretty much a mini-amusement park, complete with jumping pillow. 

The climbing on hay bales rocked!

We went with our most wonderfulest friend Evelyn (or, as we like to call her, the Artist Formerly Known as Baby Evelyn).