Emily's 4th Birthday Journal

Our first and oldest grandgirl turned 4 on March 15th.
My gift to her was a pink container with snap side lid packed with her own baking things! She has loved to be with me in the kitchen since she was so small that she just rode on my hip while I did all the work.
As soon as she could grasp a spoon or whisk, she has helped and in four years has done more and more. She has  added ingredients, mixed, emptied, filled, chopped, sprinkled, frosted, rolled, cut and on it goes.
She loved her small sized supplies and the second part of her gift was to use them the day after her party to make a birthday cake in Nandy's kitchen!

The photos are self describing so I'll stop here ;)
If I can figure out how to load the pictures and videos from my phone to the computer, I will add more content and share Emily and her brother, Caden making pumpkin squares last night!

Emily Skye's 4th Birthday

From my drafts folder!

If I have already shared this, please forgive me the repeat!


I just wrote an entire post for here and it wouldn't sent (something about html tags not being accepted) and even after deleting everything I could think it would be --- it wouldn't post or save. I copied and pasted and planned to start over but copied something else in the process and lost the whole thing!
I'll just a share the basic content of the original post:
• Grandkids are growing up so fast! Emily Skye is our oldest grandlittle and she will be starting SCHOOL next year! Caden is going to be 3 in a few months --- unreal! Hailey Hope recently turned ONE! The baby grandbit is six months …he has already been here half of a year!
• Emily wanted me to help her make some paper flowers from a book her Uncle and Aunt got her. We made two darling flowers and her mother made one herself. Such a cute idea --- I am making a list of all the things I want to do with them!
• After flower making was over, we plopped down on the couch to watch a movie. MY DIH {Daughter-in-Heart…new one☺) and I realized we didn't have time so the kids watched Noggin and they pushed each other in order to have a place in Nandy's laps. I know it is plural. Emily must have figured two legs meant two laps bec she has called mine that since she was a small baby and could make out the word. Now, they are all calling it my "laps" … smiles.

"Few things are more delightful than grandchildren fighting over your lap." Doug Larson

Update: Caden will be three in less than a month! Hailey Hope is now 14 months and Elijah is 8 months this month! 

Grand Little Day :)

My oldest son, his wife and our three oldest grandlittles and I went to a little "fair or festival" of sorts where all homemade or homegrown items were sold from little tents. Last night, I made two loaves of something everyone here has loved for years: Chocolate Chip Orange Zucchini Bread! I let it cool before slicing, bagging and putting in the fridge so it would be ready for early this morning. I also made a pot of coffee to go with it. It was SO good!

We got local honey, flavored honey straws, and real beeswax lip balm!

The kids each got a origami paper shape (Caden/ 2 got a fish and Emily/4 chose a dinosaur with hearts) and Emily got a butterfly painting done on her arm. Caden definitely and vocally did not want one even when the nice clown kept asking and offering.

Hailey Hope? Her little, almost 1-year old self decided it was fun to just watch everyone else and kick her fat legs if she got really excited.

We finally got some hand made soaps from, Steve. He is a teacher, has a lovely wife and  and  owns Willow Soap Company and has a soap we buy for men and boys that is better than any we've ever tried. His lavender was out of this world, too but I've long since finished off the bar my above mentioned DIL gifted me with several months ago!

Simm's Organic produce and flowers got a visit (he is so one of our local favorites:) and Emily wanted blueberries so we got her a little container of them. He gave each child the choice of a Zinnia and I bought a bouquet ($2!) and we got a back of popcorn at another stand before leaving. Wonderful time!

When we got back, my son had to leave to sleep for night shift and the two older grandbits stayed here.  The kids both ate the zucchini bread I had more of here and Emily ate her blueberries while Caden ate popcorn.

Half way through her blueberries, Emily told me we should "make somefing with these bluebewwies" ...
She is four and still not fully speaking all her sounds so her mom and I discussed her possibly having some speech therapy in school. We both had it and so did her uncle Brandon so it is easily remedied.
Anyway, I agreed with her and we found a delightful recipe and only had to buy a few things to make it!

Blueberry Banana Cream Pie

Can of blueberry pie filling or 1 1/2 cups fresh blueberries (we did the latter, of course)
Bananas
1 cup of sugar
8 ounces cream cheese
12 ounces Cool Whip
2- ready made graham cracker pie crust

Have the children slice bananas and cover the bottom of the pie crust. Stir or blend (I used a mixer) cream cheese with sugar and then fold in Cool whip and spread in pie pan. Arrange or sprinkle blueberries on the top and chill for 3-4 hours.

Caden, the 2 year old who now wants to do anything the older kids are doing, sliced a banana but we didn't add it because the pans were already covered with them. He helped with all the steps the kids did and then added an extra loving touch by scooping bites of pie filling with his finger before we got the tops on.

The kids were tired so it was a crazy day but everyone had fun and they got some art done using crayons, thick and thin markers, and colored pencils. They played some inside, some outside and then settled down as we watched the movie UP.

Good day. Wish I had more pictures!

May/June 2010 Kids Garden

*Yes. Zucchini is spelled wrong in every single picture.*

Emily Skye: Spring Break

Her mother and I were JUST today talking about phonics, teaching reading, and things along those lines. Referring to
Emily, that is. The grandgirl I write about here and other places... our oldest grand-precious.

After a day full of doing things. . . I sat at this computer and started answering emails and had things on my mind. I forgot to call my sister back . . .  did I remember to pray for my friend who was sick all day? . . . did the dryer stop yet? ... you know, that kind of thing.

Anyway, Emily comes in and plops down on the chair behind me talking --- a lot, like she frequently does. Filling up a LOT of space with a LOT of words.
I am nodding, saying "yes, that is very nice" and more not all the way there answers that a decent grandmother would not do or admit to.

Emily opens up a book behind me and says: "I not gonna look at the pictures any more, Nandy. I'm gonna read this book."
I tell her that is fine (she had been looking at pictures from Easter on the computer) and send a quick smile over my shoulder.
She says, as she opens to the title page of the book she is "reading" ... "What does this say, Nandy?"
I realize at this point that she has the book I use with Braxton and the one I started Lauren on when she was five... a year older than this inquisitive and talkative little mouth next to me.
"First Reader" ... I tell her clearly what the title page says.
"OH! I'm a first reader! I'm a first reader, right, Nandy?! My carseat was first and it is in the middle and yeah, I'm a first."
Then she says all of this (I can't keep up with what order) ---
* Oh! This is SOOO pretty! Oh, I know what it's gonna be! Baby birds! {Referring to a picture of a nest with blue eggs}
* You might not want to look at this. A pider (spider).
*You won't like this, Nandy. A nake (snake) .
*There's a kangaroo in here! K K
* She goes on to the next page: "Big H, wittle h. ..  I know my numbers now."
* Big qwew, wittle qwew
* There's a wagon like your old wagon?!
* Big Z wittle z
* A policman! Like my daddy!
* A flag! Like your flag outside... right out there!
* My number! My number is wight here! E, see , Nandy! This makes me sad.
Why, I ask her, does this make you sad?
 Because they have my number (meaning, letter... and it is E for Emily) but not my name. See? They don't have my name. You see? I love you, Nandy. But I am so sad that they don't have my name though.
* Whoa! There's five bells? Nandy, look. There are five bells. See, Nandy? Nandy, LOOK! 1, 2, 3, 4, 5! I'm four though.
* I'm not looking at these little things that I don't like. These little things... this thing is boring. I'm going to look at another book. {After she went through almost every single page in the entire book}

Braxton & Emily: Spring Break

Emily is spending the night with us. It is Spring Break so she and Braxton are "makin' stuff" with play dough, staying all nice and clean after being scrubbed down (separately, of course) in the shower. They have had a good time. While they were at the work table eating pizza bites and drinking their second glass of water, Emily stated some things to Braxton:

"I'm gonna be a poweece officuh when I grow up."

Braxton said, "Me, too."

Emily: "Your daddy's not a poweece officuh?"

Braxton: "Yeah, I know." No arguing? No saying he could be what he wants no matter what his dad does? Amazing.

Emily: "I'm gonna hunt deer . . . and get a husband . . . and be married . . . and have a baby!"

By this point, the boy mind in Braxton was already a million miles away and he was day dreaming over something... probably a valiant victory he made happen single handedly.