Grapes and Guac - Why Not....

We had Mexican food for dinner the other night and Emma loves guacamole. And by loves I mean begs for guacamole. So after dinner we let her lick the bowl. We also gave her some grapes. She suddenly got this smile on her face, picked up a grape, and then dipped it in the guac and ate it. You could just read her mind, "If I like grapes and guacamole, I bet grapes in guacamole is delicious!" I don't think she found it as appetizing as what she had originally thought it would be.

Visit to California

We went to visit California this past week. We got to spend some quality time with family. Here are the highlights:

One morning Emma wanted to go outside and play after breakfast. So I let her out without shoes. She noticed the sprinkler system going off and went to investigate... a couple of times.

I got her up from her nap one day and Emma wasn't quite ready to get up. When she saw Grandpa Rich she wanted to go to him and she snuggled with him for a while. Both Aaron and I were jealous.

Whenever Grandpa Rich had his computer Emma snuggled right up to him. My dad was a good sport.

Emma found Aunt Mary's ugg boots one day.

Every morning Aunt Mary would eat a big bowl of oatmeal with berries on top. Emma would cozy up to Mary and beg for her breakfast even after she had already eaten breakfast. It turns out that she really just wanted the berries.

Every lunch we would go visit Nanny. We had a great time. I got to hear Nanny stories and Emma got to play with the phone, Nanny's bears, Bitsy the ceramic dog, dance to Nanny's TV and play with the electric keyboard.

For lunch we would sit around Nanny's table with Emma sitting on Nanny's walker, named Petunia. Emma did pretty good eating but on occasion Emma would rub her food all over the table. She also liked to pour water from one cup to another and more than occasionally spill some water everywhere. Nanny was a good sport about us coming and making a mess and putting up all of her breakables.

One of the stories that I enjoyed about Nanny was that after she graduated from college in physical education she went on to teach middle school. I asked her if she liked it. She said no. I asked why. She said that because she was little (both short and skinny) the kids would try to pick her up and carry her around. I was about crying I was laughing so hard.

One story I enjoyed about my mom was that she was working in the nursery at church before she had kids and she did some research as to what kids would like to do. She read about giving kids 25 pounds of dried beans and letting them pour the in cups. So she laid down a blanket and let them play with the beans. Apparently the janitors hated her for years afterwords as they kept finding beans everywhere.

A while ago I challenged Nanny to an eating contest. To put this in perspective, Nanny eats about 5 noodles and calls herself full. Nanny was boasting that she could eat a whole bowl of olive garden salad. We are talking an olive garden serving bowl, not a cereal bowl. I decided to call her on that one. So we got olive garden soup and salad to go and had an eating contest and I will say that Nanny did an impressive job. So let it be known that I won. But Nanny did bring her "A" game. She actually ate more than my mom, which isn't normal. (A word of warning: I took these pictures with an iPad. They are horrific, but it isn't my fault. I blame apple.... just sayin.)

 This is Nanny waiving the white flag.

 Me being a stink pot.

Emma loved it when Cosmo came down with Emily and the kids. She chased Cosmo all around. One morning Emily walked Cosmo on a leash around the house after Emma. Emma thought she was being chased and just giggled up a storm. It was adorable.

We also went in the hot tub and Emma was in heaven. The next day she ran out to the pool and banged on the fence and asked to go in. Another day she saw her swim suit and she wanted to put it on. Emma would walk around the seat and occasionally try to walk into the middle and swallow some water.

I also got to take a cooking class with my dad on Indian food. It was fun. I learned that the chef's industry is quite rigid. I don't think I am that rigid, and as far as rigid goes, I am definitely up there! We made some chicken bryani, tomato chutney, a vegetable korma, mulligatawny soup, and a mango lassi. I am excited to make it for Aaron. Emma liked the leftovers. On another note I feed Emma fire hot Cheetos and she actually wanted more. She didn't even seem phased by them. I don't think I need to worry about spicy food with her. My dad said they tasted like a corroded battery terminal except crunchy.

In all Emma and I had a great time visiting with family and were especially delighted to spend some time with Nanny.

Finger Painting - With Paint This Time

I thought I would introduce Emma to finger painting (not that she isn't familiar with it, but this time with paint and not poop). The concept was a bit odd for her at first. She was looking at me like I was nuts as I laid out paint in bowls and paper on the ground. To be honest, I thought I was nuts for allowing a not-quite-two-year-old near paint in a non fenced in area of my home. Apparently I was not sane enough to stop myself.

After I showed her what to do she got excited and just squealed with delight as she painted on the paper. And then, in a moment it hit her what was happening - her hands were dirty!!! Oh the horror! So periodically I would wipe her hands off and sanity was restored (for her at least) and she would continue to paint again.

Finally, when we were done, we got to clean up. It is debatable what Emma liked more - the painting or the cleaning.

In the end, no one got hurt and my house survived. After lunch Emma asked to paint again. She wouldn't let it go, so while she was napping I hid her pictures so hopefully she would forget. I am that mean of a mom.

Hot Stuff and Independence

Apparently Emma likes hot stuff. She noticed that Aaron was putting red pepper flakes on his food and she wanted some. Finally we gave in and gave some to her. She didn't flinch, cry or anything. In fact, she asked for more and more. She ate quite a few of them and loved them. We were the ones to cut her off.

Emma is quite convinced that she is big. She wants to everything herself except for a few things. The biggest issue comes when her sippy cup falls over on her tray. It is then that her arms become broken and she wants me to pick it up for her. I got into a contest of wills with her over who was going to pick up the sippy cup. I would like to say that for once, I won. This probably won't happen again and so I would just like it to be recorded somewhere.

Family and The Children's Museum

We had Rex, Mindy, Braxton, Marissa and Grandpa Russell come to visit us this past weekend. We had a great time with them. Emma loved having cousins to play with. She would hug and kiss an pat Marissa and also check to see if Marissa had a dirty diaper. On Saturday we went to the Houston's Children's Museum. We had a great time and it is hard to say who had more fun - Aaron or Emma. Emma loved the phones and chatted on them and pushed the buttons for about 20 minutes.

Outside they had baby chicks that were hatching, a fish pond, books on dookie, and a water splash area. Emma enjoyed playing in the water and got soaked. Fortunately Aaron remembered to bring extra cloths for her.

 In the basement they had a place called the Invention Convention. Aaron and I instantly fell in love with this place. In fact, I wouldn't mind going back there for a date. There was a station for making paper rockets and firing them off. There was a launching pad for paper airplanes. There was a station for using various items as musical instruments. That is what Emma is playing with here:

 There is also a station for playing with Legos and using them to build a car and race it down some tracks. You will notice a large wet spot on Aaron. It is from Emma and the water park. Just thought I would put that one to rest before hand. You will also notice the intense look on both of their faces - that pretty much sums it up.

 Emma loved destroying Aaron's Lego man. Destruction brings great joy and contentment to Emma's heart.

In all, we had a great time with family - we went swimming and played games and enjoyed chatting.