Christmas

A few pictures from this morning =)

 

Emily was in charge of getting and opening everyone's gifts. She loved it. She was pretty quick at ripping off the tags so we didn't know who the present was for. Luckily we could tell once each present was opened!

 

She loved her fish. They had to go to "sleep" so that she would open the rest of the presents.

 

One tradition I remember - getting a box of my favorite sugary cereal for Christmas.

 

Thomas. Of course Emily was eager for Keith to get him out of the box.

 

When Thomas was finally out and the track set up, she had  her other Thomas follow him around the track.

Front Runner - Train Ride

Em has been going crazy with all the test trains going past lately, so I knew she would love the chance to ride one. Today was the free day, then Monday the train starts it's service officially.

Em and I headed out early(ish) this morning and arrived at the train station at 9:45am. The first free ride was scheduled to leave at 10am. We were too far back in the line to make it on the first train, but we only had to wait 30 minutes to get on the second. Did I mention it's forecasted to snow today? Yeah, it was cold. And very windy! Luckily we survived the wait.

 

Some people sitting next to us were nice enough to offer to take a picture of Em and I.

 

Once the train started moving Em was mesmerized by the houses and cars flying by.

 

And of course we had to take a toy train along for the trip!

 

After we'd been on the train for an hour or so she started getting tired. 

 

So we got off the train and took another one to get home.

 

I'm so glad we took this trip today. I only wish I had realized the whole trip was going to take 3+ hours and brought the diaper bag! Next time... =)

Em's first dentist visit

We took Emily to the dentist this morning and it went much better than I expected. I loved everything about the Smile Center and would recommend it to anyone with a little kid. Keith loves it, too!

When we first walked in, Em immediately saw the fish. She got to watch them while I filled out her form.

Then we were led back to their children's room. Off to the side there are some pretty cool toys and the dental hygienist played with Emily for a little bit to get her comfortable with the place as well as her.

After a few minutes we moved into the "other" room. Emily was scared to sit in the chair so when it came time for that Keith let her sit on his lap.

 The hygienist explained the whole process using this dinosaur and over-sized tools.

 

She even let Emily touch the toothbrush to see how it just tickles, doesn't hurt.

 

Emily thought the toothbrush was cool, but still didn't want to let it in her mouth.

 

The dentist came in and was able to get Emily to open her mouth, if only a little. She was cooperative (but still a little wary).

 

After the dentist, Emily decided she wanted to have her teeth brushed after all. We got two cleaned!

She loved the water!

 

Then it was time for a prize and a treat. What fun!

 

Pumpkinland

Em and her cousins went to Pumpkinland this morning. What a fun Halloween activity!

Another update...

Em did the cutest thing the other day:

It seriously cracked me up! She loves hiding now... playing peek-a-boo with me is still a favorite but it's more involved than ever!

At the playground today I got some good shots of her:

 

Em Lately

Some random shots...

Pushing her baby doll in a "stroller"

Making a train with her baby doll

Chatting with Nana over a sprinkler phone

Waiting for a train to come by

There's the train!

The favorite pink shoes

Coloring on the stairs outside

Her pail of rocks

A "choo choo train" made of rocks

Putting on bracelets

Now where can I get more?