Thursday, June 16, 2011

LOVE THESE VIDEOS!

A couple days ago, I was doing the dishes and heard Emerson reading to Zane so I snuck the camera out and actually was able to record some of it without them noticing. When they notice me there, they usually stop. I LOOOOOOOOVVVVVVVVVEEE this video - I love Zane's patience with Emerson, I love how she asks Zane something and when he answers it, she responds with "Oh, yeah...the giant." I love after I ask her to read it again how she starts with "Once upon a time...", I love how they have to figure out which character they most resemble, I love Zane helping her name the characters, I love when he yells, "The Giant!" and she pretends she's scared, etc. etc.

Untitled from Josie Weingartner on Vimeo.



Speaking of Zane being patient with Emmy - he lets her get away with a lot. She loves to tackle him, put toys on him, push him around, tell him how to play, etc. I like how he was sort of laughing, not totally sure about his situation, but kept playing. All his comments are so cute too. And of course, Emmy's wildness is hilarious. Emmy's outfit is funny too - its a 5T boy's shirt and shorts from a garage sale - it was the only thing I had to switch her into after they played in the sand and water area at a park earlier.

Untitled from Josie Weingartner on Vimeo.

Soccer Again...

We signed Zane up for a summer sports camp through our rec. He gets to spend two weeks on Soccer, two on T-ball, and two weeks on Basketball. The first day was really fun. He started with Soccer and it brought back all the memories from his last soccer adventure. He did better this time though - he only sat down once while waiting his turn and he didn't lay down in the middle of the field like last time. They got to move around rotations and he really liked it.

Here he is practicing shooting a goal. Then, he just stood there instead of going to the back of the line. Cutie Pie.

Untitled from Josie Weingartner on Vimeo.


Taking a little resting break - it's tough work waiting your turn!
Emerson wanted to join in so badly. She wanted to be part of the group...here's her sad/grumpy look.

Then she tried to make a happy face for me. Nice try.

Emerson

We love Emerson and her big personality sooooo much! Everyday, she keeps us busy, laughing, and thinking about how to be the best parents we can be. Here's a couple videos of our sweet, silly little girl.

I had to grab the video camera this day after she woke up from her nap. She doesn't exactly wake up happy in the mornings and after a nap. She almost always needs a few minutes to feel grumpy and then usually snaps out of it. I love this face she makes when she's feeling a bit grouchy.

Untitled from Josie Weingartner on Vimeo.



On the flip side, here she is being happy and silly. After her bath, when she first started hiding and saying "SURPRISE!" she had the hugest smile and was cracking up. By the time I started recording, it was less but still super cute.

Untitled from Josie Weingartner on Vimeo.

Monday, June 13, 2011

Updates and Things to Remember...

I have about a zillion little notes and funny things the kids have said written down on sticky notes and random envelopes but I just haven't gotten around to actually posting any of them in a very long time. It's to the point where it's just too overwhelming to go through them all and post it all. I'll just have to store them in a safe place so that I can look back and remember them all years from now. But for now, I just want to write a quick update on both kids off the top of my head so at least I have something published about how they've been and what they've been up to.

Zane and Emmy can't live with each other and also can't live without. They play together, watch TV together, misbehave together, laugh together and on the other hand also take toys away from each other, argue over whose is whose, scream and cry because of each other, etc. Zane eggs Emmy on pretty well and she responds with hurting him or screaming...I know - a phase I hope she gets out of very soon! The good thing is that he barely ever responds back by hurting her. He does know other ways to push buttons though. On the positive side, they really do play well together some of the time. Earlier today, Zane even helped Emmy get undressed and put her swimsuit on for her. They giggled the whole time. They also come up with new games together and can truly entertain each other for long periods of time. They read together too, which I LOVE!
He says the funniest things to her, most of the time bossing, but lot's of other things too...
For example, "You just hit me in the head with that toy! I really did NOT expect that!" "You're really starting to make me feel frustrated."

Zane wants to be completely independent lately. This is a good and bad thing. He is helping so much more and doing so much more for himself and Emmy, but at the same time, it's hard when he doesn't want any help at all when he needs it. Actually, now that I think of it, same with Emmy. Anyways, he is just so old all of a sudden. He and I just talk and talk and talk all day long. What he comes up with astonishes me.

He's also catching onto sarcasm which is cracking us up. He loves telling jokes. On his own, he came up with "Why did the dog cross the playground? To get to the other SLIDE."

He's reading words now, sounding out. And he can read simple books with help. He's starting to form letters better. He can write words with help with spelling and his pictures are progressing.

One of his favorite thing to do is dress up and pretend anything and everything. He's getting more and more creative with what he comes up with to play. Now he drags Emmy into it too and she loves it. One hour he'll be an "animal expert" who is searching for animals and has to wear special gloves to stay safe from the poisonous ones, and the next hour he'll be the "lead detective" on a case with Emmy as his assistant and they'll have a bunch of props to help them. Then later, he may be a "superhero elephant" who knows a special language, etc. etc. etc. It goes on and on and on and on.

He's eating so much more of a variety of foods now, thank goodness. He likes chicken and actually eats his veggies, even if he doesn't really like them. He tries new things and usually will eat what we're eating now.

Emerson is getting so big! She's talking so much more, which is of course fun. It's really fun though, because we get to hear her sense of humor. She teases us and jokes around so much. She is super quirky and silly for sure.

She is soooo loving and passionate. And also strong willed. She definitely shows her emotions on her sleeve. She gives hugs and kisses and love all the time and randomly tells us she loves us. She gives the new baby so much love and kisses my belly if she ever feels like it gets bumped or hurt. When she's feeling naughty though, she'll say stuff like " I just love Mommy" or something like that. Oooooh, I can't believe that a sweet, cute little 2 year old can be like that! When she's happy she's incredibly happy and when she's mad or grumpy, we all know it. Basically her mood affects the whole family.

She loves dressing up in all sorts of costumes and loves just being silly. She talks in silly voices. She cracks all of us up all the time. She wrestles with Zane and asks to play with him all the time.

She says, "thanks" and "no thanks" for everything. She's starting to "use her words" better. For example, instead of screaming at the top of her lungs when Zane is doing something she doesn't like, now she's practicing saying "Please don't do that Zane." Its so cute when she actually does it. They also have to ask the other nicely to have a turn with a toy if the other has something they want. Sharing is a slow process.

She still copies Zane - usually what he says and does. Usually she repeats his sentences exactly and then adds "too" at the end. But she's starting to do her own things more too.

She's super athletic! She can run so fast, jump like crazy, and I think she's pretty coordinated at throwing balls, climbing, etc. She's brave too - she doesn't hesitate to jump in the pool, go down slides or water slides, etc. Even if she gets hurt - she just tries again.

She's picky about her own clothes and wants to pick what she wears. She obsessed with her sleep sacks and wants to wear them over clothes most of the day.

She's s pretty good eater, and likes to use her utensils and drink out of a real cup.

Did I mention she's sassy, sassy, sassy?

Sunday, June 12, 2011

Vail Getaway

My sister, Jordan, has been working like crazy as an OB doc resident. Last week she had a vacation and asked my other sister, Janelle and me if we wanted to get away on a mini vacation. We thought of a bunch of ideas, but ended up just wanting to head to the mountains for a few days.
So.... my sisters and I headed up to Vail, just the three of us on Sunday. We went out to a great dinner, stayed up late talking, slept in the next day, and hung out downtown. We had such a fun day together to get caught up and refreshed. I love that we're such great friends.
Then, later Monday afternoon, my mom and grandma brought the kids up to join us. We had the best few days just eating yummy food, playing, resting, etc. I want to do a girls (plus Zane) weekend again soon.

When Zane heard he was going to the mountains, he was set on packing his hat and scarf (and wanted to pack his whole snowsuit) because he was sure it was going to be cold and snowy. So, Zack compromised and sent some warm things for him and Emerson. He begged the whole drive up to hike up the mountains through the snow. So when they got up there, my mom took the two of them up the mountain to find snow.

I love this picture before they left to explore and search for snow...

Beautiful 75 degree sunny day, kids in shorts and T-shirts plus scarves and hats...
Zane and Nell snuggling...
We cooked and baked a bunch. The kids love to help with EVERYTHING! Here's Emmy stirring the oatmeal cookies.
And here's Emmy watching TV with an awesome diaper wedgie.

Emmy with her grandma
Jord and Zane
Zane drew a picture of Nellie and I think she imitated the expression well. The only difference is that in real life Janelle doesn't have her legs and arms sticking out of her head and only one patch of hair on the top of her head.
Unfortunately, the gondola wasn't open yet, the paddle boats at the lake weren't out, and then when we went to a really fun park, it was closed because of wet paint. We made the best of it and played on the smaller one, but were bummed.



Zane took a special hike with my mom, Jord, and Nell.

Snowball fight...







Then, we drove to Avon and hung out at the beautiful lake.





Investigating a roly-poly


My mom and Nell painted for an hour or so while the kids, Jordan, and I walked around the lake.

We made home-made ice cream and Zane and Emmy got to try it first. Here's their versions of an ice cream mustache
and beard
Rollers in her hair...
Thanks for a great time everyone!

Sunday, June 5, 2011

Buddies

Love when Zane and Emmy get along!

Here they are singing the Gummy Bears theme song - Zack and I used to watch it when we were kids. This song is in my head every single day. Ugh.
They also sometimes watch Duck Tales, Rescue Rangers, and Darkwing Duck.

Untitled from Josie Weingartner on Vimeo.



Here they are eating Popsicles together and cracking each other up. I caught the very end on video, but before I walked in the room they were laughing harder than ever. I like how Em drops part of hers and acts like nothing even happened.

Untitled from Josie Weingartner on Vimeo.

Friday, June 3, 2011

Summertime Fun So Far...

We finally got some warm weather this past week and the kids and I have been loving it. They both like to pick out their own clothes each day and have been begging me for a while to wear shorts and short sleeves, so they finally got to.

We got our backyard all set up for playing. We got a new sprinkler, little pool with a slide, got our water table out, etc. They've spent a bunch of time back there already.
With this sprinkler, they just ran through it for a long time, like in this video. Then, they discovered that they could hold one part each and spray each other directly - then it became super fun!

Untitled from Josie Weingartner on Vimeo.



For Memorial Day, we grilled brats and had corn on the cob - I know, so typical. Zane and Emmy loved helping shuck the corn, even though it was a struggle for Emmy.


Untitled from Josie Weingartner on Vimeo.


For a while, Emmy was in her bee costume too but she took it off. They kept telling us they were best friends, and were watching TV, laughing, and playing together.
Playing Nintendo together. They both think they're the one in control, so they can both play at the same time no matter whose turn it really is. Emmy kept getting really close to the TV, hoping it would help her.
A few days ago, we went to the zoo with friends. We really do go a lot and the kids love it so much every time. This time they had their friends Charlie, Nathan, Isaac, Abhi, and Ella with them to explore. And I had my friends Katy and Tammy to talk and laugh with.

Here's the group - Katy took the picture, so she's not in it. But this is Tammy and me with all 7 kids (and we're both expecting another baby in October which will make 9!).


Here they are looking at the lions with Charlie.
I like how Emerson's face is smashed against the glass.
The crew
The polar bear was out and close, gnawing on a huge animal bone.
So happy to be with their buddies...


Yesterday, we went and got free donuts for "National Donut Day" and then went to a really fun park. We decided to ride bikes around the lake (1.2 miles) and we were off to a great start. Zane just got a new big bike with training wheels so he was so excited (early birthday present from Grandma and Grandpa). The path had gravel though, which made it pretty hard for him to ride.

Untitled from Josie Weingartner on Vimeo.


They rode for about 10 minutes and then both of them decided they'd rather walk/run the rest of the way so I took the bikes back and Zack took them the rest of the way around the lake - an hour trek all together!



Zane's fast!

They were pooped by the end.
They also had to keep emptying out their shoes since rocks were getting stuck in them. Next time, we'll wear tennis shoes!
Then, they got to play at the playground.




The crazy thing is that after all that exercise and being out in the sun, neither kid napped! Zane never naps, but I thought he'd at least act a little more worn out. Nope - he had as much energy as ever. Emmy was just wide awake in her crib and never fell asleep. Zack and I both napped though - haha.