Chatterbox

Adara is at the stage of talking where I repeat everything she says because it's so cute!  That, and she says things over and over until I do. :)  She talks constantly, narrating the world around her, veering into unintelligible when she gets too excited.  She wants to know what/who everything is, "Wassat Mommyy?"  "Oo-sat Mommy?" and has an opinion about most of it, "I wan go fwings [swings] now Mommy, I wan go fwings now."   She wants attention all the time - today she made Emily ["Wach dis Umily!"] watch her take each bite of oatmeal, which Emily kindly complied with, "What a big girl you are Adara." each time.  I forgot how much fun this age is!

A few nights ago she was crying in her crib, so I went it to see what was wrong.  She rested her head on my shoulder while I asked her "Are you hot?" (yes) "Are you cold? (yes)  "Does something hurt? (long pause...) "I sad.  Cy-in. [crying] Want mommy."  How can I be stern about bedtime with that kind of heart-melting answer?  

Never wanting to be left out of anything, one of her trademark phrases is "I wan come too."  I first really noticed it when Emily was leaving on a trip with my parents.  I leaned Adara into the car to and asked her if she wanted to say goodbye to Emily.  "No!  I wan come too!"
Another time recently she was croupy and couldn't sleep, and as I rocked her back to sleep in for the zillionth time at 2am, I lay her back down and she immediately woke up.  I told her calmly that Mommy was going back to bed and she needed to lie down and go to sleep (this actually often works with her!)... she sleepily lifted up her arms and said through her tears "I wan come too mama!" I couldn't leave her behind.

She calls peanut butter & jelly "pillyjelly".

She refers to herself sometimes as Dari, but if you ask her her name, she refuses to answer, or yells "Aloe-Emily-Jill!" (our friends' names..this somehow became her joke and she laughs every time).  But tonight after she said that, I asked her "Is your name Adara?" and she said, "No!  I Baby Kafryn Goves Tickle Elicious!"
Apparently she's been listening when we refer to Emily's self-proclaimed full name.

She wants to be one of the big kids.  She follows Emily and her friends around the playground with no fear.  "I cime side Mommy. [climb slide]."  "I big kid."

She loves her baby doll, and is very into taking care of her.  "Where baby go?" "Where baby go bottle?"  "I change baby di-puh"

That reminds me... she is also determined to potty train herself.  She went through a phase of being interested last winter, which waned... but she's started up again, with a lot of success this week.  And also a lot of taking her diaper off at night and going to the bathroom in her crib.  Sigh.

Party

We decided Emily was old enough to get into the idea of a birthday party, and I think the anticipation and planning was as fun for her as the actual event.  We had Granny, Aunt Becky and Uncle Brian here, and 5 adults to manage 10 children was just right. :)

Getting Ready...

The girls love to 'help' mow the lawn.

Party Time...

 Crazy kiddos

(Sylvie, Alex, Emily, Henry, Austin, Nathaniel, Claire, Stella, Audrey)

 Pin the cloud on the rainbow

 Very serious about the Wonder Ball (aka "the Dora ball")

Bike

On the day of Emily's birthday, a package arrived from Mimi & Papa... Daddy disappeared into the garage for a bit while Emily waited in suspense to see what he was making.  Ta da!  

I turned around for a minute and Adara climbed up

Granny

We had a weeklong visit with Granny leading up to Emily's birthday, such a treat for all of us to have an un-rushed visit.   As usual, she read about a million stories.  One day while Adara was napping, Granny and Emily had a date to look at fish & birds at the pet store and have hot cocoa at Panera.  She also brought us some mint plants.  

worms!

opening presents

 

I had to take this picture, because it reminded me so much of this one from three years ago.

Four.

Emily didn't have as many life changes this year as she did last year, and still enjoyed many of the same activities (Romp & Stomp, gymnastics, playgrounds, reading,), but no question that she's grown up a lot!  She's come out of her shell quite a bit, comfortable being left at friends houses or her classes, and begun to really enjoy playing with her friends.  She has taken a real interest in the idea learning to read, often asking for help sounding out words or writing letters.  She does still love her independent play time, staying outside happily for long stretches of time (playing with the cats or her imaginary friends). At her doctor's checkup today she measured in the 90th percentile for height.  She's polite, sensitive, affectionate, and smart, and loves Westport, swimming, skiing, gymnastics, her cats, and stuffed animals.  Her memory amazes me, referencing an offhand comment I made months later or talking about a small detail of an event from a year ago.

A few interview questions with the birthday girl, asked over the course of a few days. 

Who is your best friend? Alex, and Rosalie

What is your favorite color?  Purple, and pink, and all the colors God made... but not gray.

What is your favorite book?  My new Curious George book   [most nights she asks for a Bible story before bed]

What is your favorite animal? Giraffes and everything that goes to the zoo.

What is your favorite food?  Everything that you cook me.   [ha!]

What is your favorite game?- Tug of war [I've never seen her play this, but she tells me that Austin taught her.]

What is your favorite song? Sin is Broken

What is your favorite thing to drink?  cocoa milk

What's your favorite thing to do outside?   Race around and have my birthday.

What animals do you sleep with? my special purple unicorn

What is your favorite thing to do with Daddy? Ride the bus, and dance with him.

What is your favorite thing to do with Mommy? Cook.

Emily's Westport Trip

Emily tagged along to Westport last weekend with my parents and Mike's family.   :)

 making s'mores with Uncle Mike

 driving Papa's boat

watching a show

Eowyn & Ben's Wedding - Part Three

The day after the wedding, Eowyn & Ben came back and joined us all for a family brunch at the hotel.   I got to catch up a little more with my parents and Mike & Bekah & Nick (so fun to have both of our families at the same wedding again!).  That afternoon, we went out to the house the Groves cousins had rented nearby, and just relaxed, grilled lunch, played pinochle and talked.  Very peaceful. 

  (The girls with 2nd cousin Moriah.)

 And then, the long drive home. 

We arrived home at 2am Monday night so that we could spend Memorial Day cleaning up our flooded basement.  (So grateful to the friends staying here for pumping it out while we were gone!)  Most of the water was on the unfinished side, so hopefully we will be able to save the carpet.  But this week our lovely playroom has looked like this:

Eowyn & Ben's Wedding - Part Two

The only time the girls slept well on the trip was the night before the wedding - thank you Lord!  We had breakfast at the hotel, and my mom came on a last minute Walmart run with the girls & I.  Then, it was off to the church to join everyone else in getting ready.  The girls were fascinated by all the bridesmaids doing hair and makeup, and most of all by Eowyn and her dress.  (And of course, by the snacks.)  My parents (to the rescue once again!) drove Adara around for an hour so that she would nap before the big event began.

The ceremony was beautiful!  The girls did great. They walked well down 3/4 of the aisle, when Adara stopped and put down her basket.  Emily looked up like a deer in the headlights, unsure what to do with this deviation from the plan, but eventually they continued down the aisle without the basket.  She came up to me at the front, and started telling me what had happened, but was shuttled easily off to Mimi to sit quietly for the rest of the wedding.  Adara made it most of the way, and Papa took her out just for the end.  Eowyn was stunning, Dave Goneau and the Greens spoke well, and I just thought the whole thing was a great representation of Ben and Eowyn.  

By the time pictures rolled around, the girls were definitely past their prime.  (We realized later we should have let them go and done some wedding party pictures without them - for some reason that didn't occur to me.  Sorry Eowyn!)

The reception was lots of fun, including great toasts, a goofy song by the Groves family, an amazing poem by Ben's mom, and blueberry pie instead of cake. And then they danced the night away...  

 They were both on the dance floor until the end, Emily sticking close to Uncle Alden, Daddy and Granny, and Adara wandering through the crowd, lucky not to get stepped on too often.

Many more photos here.