tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-51670120282754536602024-03-05T01:56:29.648-08:00Children and CamerasI'm not a scrapbooker. I feel no need to slave over photo albums with colorful papers, cutesy decorations, and fancy-cut photos. How stupid! Instead, I will do all of that online for family, friends, and total strangers to view.Shannon Emmonshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11555467530501625882noreply@blogger.comBlogger90125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5167012028275453660.post-14872023870458772432012-11-23T17:52:00.002-08:002012-11-23T17:52:13.136-08:00Christmas Came Early<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Dear Layla,</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br />
</span> <span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">They say great minds think alike. If that's true than Ya-Ya and I have great minds.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br />
</span> <span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I, uh *cough*, I mean, Santa bought you a Caillou doll for Christmas. I was so excited about it. He is your favorite! </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br />
</span> <span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Ya-Ya also bought you a Caillou doll. She sent it to you in a Thanksgiving care package. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br />
</span> <span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">She wins.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br />
</span> <span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Love,</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Mommy</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br />
</span> <span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<iframe width="640" height="360" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/16hKcHZd3Fg" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>Shannon Emmonshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11555467530501625882noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5167012028275453660.post-84124552987855513112012-11-17T10:52:00.001-08:002012-11-17T10:52:41.245-08:00Beefcake<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Dear Nono,</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br />
</span> <span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">LB has been telling us that she's a princess for a while now. One day she asked if you were a princess. I told her, "No! He's a beefcake!" It stuck. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br />
</span> <span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Love,</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Mommy</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br />
</span> <br />
<iframe width="640" height="360" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/IUkUqWZo6Ew" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>Shannon Emmonshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11555467530501625882noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5167012028275453660.post-87719410012594079772012-11-15T18:06:00.003-08:002012-11-15T18:06:18.067-08:00ABC Song<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Dear Layla,</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br />
</span> <span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The best part of this song is NOT that it's the ABCs. It does make the teacher part of me so proud to know that you are interested in learning the ABC song. But no! That's not the best part. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br />
</span> <span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The best part is when you sing, "Sing with me"! </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br />
</span> <span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Love,</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Mommy</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br />
</span> <br />
<iframe width="640" height="360" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/2hIKLML8SeU" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>Shannon Emmonshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11555467530501625882noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5167012028275453660.post-46949467751437924552012-11-10T13:31:00.002-08:002012-11-10T13:38:13.433-08:00Reese's Peanut Butter Cups<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Dear Noah,</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br />
</span> <span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Last year you had to sit and watch as Layla ate a Reese's peanut butter cup after going trick-or-treating. You didn't know that you were missing out. They are delicious.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br />
</span> <span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">You got to have some this year though! Here's the video from Halloween night:</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br />
</span> <span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen" frameborder="0" height="360" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/Q4byIkHwKeI" width="640"></iframe><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Then, a few nights later, we gave you another Reese's. You ate in all in one bite. It was quite impressive. And funny. I think my favorite part might be that you started crying when you realized that your's was gone and LB still had some candy. She ate her's in about 37 bites. </span><br />
<br />
<br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen" frameborder="0" height="360" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/bjJtj5REXzU" width="640"></iframe><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Love,</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br />
</span> <span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Mommy</span>Shannon Emmonshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11555467530501625882noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5167012028275453660.post-77192724344025473642012-11-06T19:19:00.002-08:002012-11-06T19:19:15.995-08:00Caillou<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Dear Layla,</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br />
</span> <span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">You have created your own bedtime routine. Usually it's the parents that are supposed to create this routine, but you did it on your own. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br />
</span> <span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">According to your schedule, things go like this:</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">1. Bath time</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">2. Put on jammies</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">3. Play a little more</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">4. Brush teeth</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">5. Give Nono a kiss and send him to bed</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">6. Snuggle and watch Caillou</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br />
</span> <span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">You take Number Six very seriously. You insist that we sit together, snuggle under a blanket, and watch a little television. Last night you brought me the remote and said, "I watch Caillou". For whatever reason, you are certain that Caillou comes on once Nono goes to bed. You are very wrong. Daddy and I have set the DVR to record all episodes of Caillou just for you and snuggle time. </span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Thank you DVR for making my Baby Girl happy before bedtime. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br />
</span> <span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Love,</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Mommy</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br />
</span> <br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen" frameborder="0" height="360" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/uXGwvZDjRGA" width="640"></iframe>Shannon Emmonshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11555467530501625882noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5167012028275453660.post-30450290177047155232012-11-06T18:17:00.001-08:002012-11-06T18:17:13.558-08:00Gator Sweaters and Leaves<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Dear Little People,</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br />
</span> <span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Mama Jane had an awesome idea. She told me to buy you orange sweaters and get your names embroidered onto the chest. Boom! Gator sweaters!! See? I told you it was an awesome idea!</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br />
</span> <span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I'm not a big fan of fall. Some people go crazy about fall. They love the cool weather, changing leaves, and Pumpkin Spice lattes. Oh my God, Pumpkin Spice lattes. People will seriously fall over themselves to get a Pumpkin Spice latte. My Facebook timeline blows up every fall with people posting pictures of their lattes and commenting on how happy they are that the Pumpkin Spice lattes are back. I think they are sick. It's like licking the bottom of the spice rack.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br />
</span> <span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I don't like the cool weather either. It's just a reminder that it's going to get icy cold in just a few weeks as winter approaches. I would be happy for it to be hot and sunny 365 days a year. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br />
</span> <span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Now, about the leaves. I will agree with the masses and say it's pretty. I think the fall leaves are very beautiful. This is something that didn't happen when I was growing up in Florida. Everything was pretty much green until those few frosty weeks when things turn brown. Seeing the orange, yellow and red leaves is so nice. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br />
</span> <span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I do believe one of the prettiest fall spots in all of Memphis is Chimneyrock Elementary. This is my school so I get to see the campus everyday. It seems like one day all the trees are green and then just 3-4 days later, everything has bright fall colors. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br />
</span> <span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">So, one Saturday, I dressed you in your jeans and Gator sweaters and took you up to Chimneyrock to play in the leaves. Layla loved walking around looking for the pink leaves and Noah loved picking up the sticks. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br />
</span> <span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Love,</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Mommy</span><br />
<br />
<table cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" border="0" bgcolor="#ffffff"><tr><td><a href="http://smilebox.com/play/4d7a4d334f546b7a4e544d3d0d0a&blogview=true&campaign=blog_playback_link" target="_blank"><img width="420" height="330" alt="Click to play this Smilebox slideshow" src="http://smilebox.com/snap/4d7a4d334f546b7a4e544d3d0d0a.jpg" style="border: medium none ;"/></a></td></tr><tr><td><a href="http://www.smilebox.com/?partner=smilebox&campaign=blog_snapshot" target="_blank"><img width="420" height="46" alt="Create your own slideshow - Powered by Smilebox" src="http://www.smilebox.com/globalImages/blogInstructions/blogLogoSmilebox.gif" style="border: medium none ;"/></a></td></tr><tr><td align="center">Create a <a href="http://www.smilebox.com/" target="_blank">free slideshow</a></td></tr></table>Shannon Emmonshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11555467530501625882noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5167012028275453660.post-52430488404126357542012-11-06T17:45:00.000-08:002012-11-06T17:45:04.658-08:00Pumpkin Patch<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Dear Babies,</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br />
</span> <span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Can you call something a "tradition" if you've done it 3 times? I'm saying "Yes!" That's makes our trip to the pumpkin patch a few weeks ago a family tradition! Hooray!</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br />
</span> <span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">While we were there, I noticed a man taking pictures. He took a couple of each of you before I summoned the courage to ask him what he was doing. He explained that he in the owner of the pumpkin patch and he wanted some cute pictures of kids to post online. I'm guessing for advertisements or whatever.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br />
</span> <span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I really don't know how I feel about that. On one hand, I post pictures of the two of you all the time. On the other hand, he is a stranger and possibly a perv. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br />
</span> <span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I'm torn. But, like I mentioned, here's more pictures of you two that I am posting online. The Internet just might explode with pictures of LB and Nono.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br />
</span> <span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Love,</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Mommy</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br />
</span> <span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<br />
<table cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" border="0" bgcolor="#ffffff"><tr><td><a href="http://smilebox.com/play/4d7a4d334f546b774d54633d0d0a&blogview=true&campaign=blog_playback_link" target="_blank"><img width="420" height="330" alt="Click to play this Smilebox slideshow" src="http://smilebox.com/snap/4d7a4d334f546b774d54633d0d0a.jpg" style="border: medium none ;"/></a></td></tr><tr><td><a href="http://www.smilebox.com/?partner=smilebox&campaign=blog_snapshot" target="_blank"><img width="420" height="46" alt="Create your own slideshow - Powered by Smilebox" src="http://www.smilebox.com/globalImages/blogInstructions/blogLogoSmilebox.gif" style="border: medium none ;"/></a></td></tr><tr><td align="center">Customize a slideshow</td></tr></table>Shannon Emmonshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11555467530501625882noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5167012028275453660.post-18213089406258608692012-09-24T18:23:00.001-07:002012-09-24T18:23:19.925-07:00Gymnastics!<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Dear Layla,</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br />
</span> <span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">You have been taking gymnastics classes for two months now and it shows. You love showing off your moves. I am so proud of what you learned. I can tell that you are proud of yourself too.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br />
</span> <span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Love,</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Mommy</span><br />
<iframe width="640" height="360" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/eLHgPZzGpbY" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>Shannon Emmonshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11555467530501625882noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5167012028275453660.post-83361694339117814932012-09-23T18:58:00.002-07:002012-09-23T18:58:22.207-07:00Mommy's Bed<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Dear Layla,</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br />
</span> <span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">One of your favorite books is <i>Ten Little Monkeys Jumping on the Bed</i>. Daddy groans every time you want to hear us read it. One day, not to long ago, you made the connection between the book and that you could jump on the bed. It started innocently. I was putting laundry away in your room and you climbed into your bed. Then you jumped and liked it. I mean really, really liked it. I could tell from your face that you were going to do it again, but I scooped you up and told you not to jump on the bed.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br />
</span> <span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">It wasn't long after that first jump that you got a little braver. You were sitting on my bed, then stood up and started jumping around. This time I didn't stop you. I just told you to be careful and stay in the middle of the bed. After all, jumping on the bed is super fun so I can understand why you wanted to do it. You probably spent 10 minutes jumping and landing flat on your bottom. Nono just stood at the end of the bed watching you. I could tell that he was completely envious of you. (Don't worry Buddy, one day you will be big enough to jump too!)</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br />
</span> <span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">It's clear that playing on Mommy's bed is one of your favorite things. Not only do you jump, but now we take pretend naps and I do my own version of jumping on the bed. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br />
</span> <span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">But like all good Mommies say, we'll have to stop once someone pokes their eye out.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br />
</span> <span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Love,</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Mommy</span><br />
<br />
<iframe width="480" height="360" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/MR3RXU8d2RI" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe><br />
<br />
<iframe width="640" height="360" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/u5aYldBRt78" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>Shannon Emmonshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11555467530501625882noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5167012028275453660.post-802460948842371032012-08-15T15:23:00.002-07:002012-08-15T15:23:28.350-07:00Food Feet<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Dear Noah,</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br />
</span> <span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I've said it before and I'll say it again and again - You eat it's your job. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br />
</span> <span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Last night we had spaghetti squash spaghetti. Now because it's the beginning of the school year and I have 28 students, I'm too tired to clean up messes. I knew that allowing you to feed yourself would be a huge mess, so I fed you the spaghetti. Just the thought of spaghetti all over the floors, in the highchair, and on your clothes made me feel super tired. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br />
</span> <span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">This video is of your feet in between each bite. It cracks me up! I've been meaning to video your feet during meals for months now because it's just that funny. I can feel your nerves as you anxiously await the next bite. You must be thinking, "Is she going to give me another bite?!" or "I'm so hungry. I haven't eaten in 20 minutes and I'm about to starve!"</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br />
</span> <span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">You are just as anxious when you feed yourself. You shovel food into your mouth like it's about to disappear. That's also pretty funny.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br />
</span> <span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Love,</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Mommy</span><br />
<iframe width="640" height="360" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/P7EPvp1A-bA" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>Shannon Emmonshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11555467530501625882noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5167012028275453660.post-37009699434773274742012-08-13T19:09:00.000-07:002012-08-14T19:12:09.644-07:00Moves Jagger<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Dear Layla,</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br />
</span> <span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The song "Moves Like Jagger" by Maroon 5 is, without a doubt, your favorite song. When it comes on, you yell "Moves Jagger" so loudly and dance around the room. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br />
</span> <span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">You dance in the car too. The buckle restraints greatly limit your moves, but you still manage to boogie. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br />
</span> <span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">But your best moves always happen in the living room. Enjoy!</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br />
</span> <span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Love,</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Mommy</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br />
</span> <br />
<iframe width="640" height="360" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/tuXNA4S2C-4" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>Shannon Emmonshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11555467530501625882noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5167012028275453660.post-64239547832570870972012-08-13T18:50:00.002-07:002012-08-15T14:41:00.038-07:00Princess Toothbrush<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Dear Layla,</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br />
</span> <span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">We've taken the princess thing too far. You have princess panties, princess toys, princess toothbrush and now princess toothpaste. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br />
</span> <span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Boy do you love princess toothpaste. It's bright pink and tastes like bubble gum. You love it! </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br />
</span> <span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">My favorite part of this video is how you announce "I do it"! I would hardly call what you do anything even close to brushing your teeth. All you do is suck the toothpaste off the brush.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br />
</span> <span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Oh well. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br />
</span> <span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Love,</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Mommy</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br />
</span> <span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<iframe width="640" height="360" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/ylTu36k6X00" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>Shannon Emmonshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11555467530501625882noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5167012028275453660.post-69402811210861739052012-08-05T19:00:00.002-07:002012-08-05T19:09:18.890-07:00Let Them Eat Cake<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Dear Layla and Noah,</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">When Layla turned one, I bought her a smash cake. It's a miniature cake just for the birthday kid to eat and destroy. Layla loved hers. She ate, and ate, and ate. Then threw up the next morning. Lesson learned? Smash cakes might be cute and fun, but it can make you sick from over-eating.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Fast-forward to Noah's first birthday.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzajdGT3LclyERopjENm2Gs4Qg5robMZJta4uynidd3SmFhiJAOEXjRDu33O0ubw_ufdfUdoIyy0fowUnp-pEC8u5WsCjvSewSsnYe90s0865GIvE21kWR4wp30WP8uAI1VeSPueNo-haN/s1600/P1030287.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzajdGT3LclyERopjENm2Gs4Qg5robMZJta4uynidd3SmFhiJAOEXjRDu33O0ubw_ufdfUdoIyy0fowUnp-pEC8u5WsCjvSewSsnYe90s0865GIvE21kWR4wp30WP8uAI1VeSPueNo-haN/s320/P1030287.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Sorry Noah, but you did not get a smash cake. You got a cupcake. And you loved it. And you didn't puke. </span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Love,</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Mommy</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen" frameborder="0" height="360" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/mbQaOqyV7Dc" width="640"></iframe>Shannon Emmonshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11555467530501625882noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5167012028275453660.post-25683593292638926562012-08-04T20:16:00.001-07:002012-08-04T20:16:32.713-07:00Shave and a Haircut, Two Bits!<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Dear Layla and Noah,</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">We took you for your first haircuts yesterday. I expected Noah to cry and have a total meltdown, but he surprised me. As you will see, it was Layla that panicked. She cried the second she was placed in the chair. </span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen" frameborder="0" height="360" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/iAQexmMrTaQ" width="640"></iframe><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Eventually Layla calmed down. It actually looked like she was starting to enjoy it. Charles, the haircutter guy, was very patient and gave her toys to hold. I love how she watches herself in the mirror. </span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen" frameborder="0" height="360" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/UA4lDYkLfsM" width="640"></iframe><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Before he got started, Charles suggested that I let him trim her hair so that it is even all around. He showed me the shortest piece that he would use as a guide. It would have made your hair just to your ears. NO WAY! I told him that I was only comfortable with taking a tiny amount off. He also wanted to cut bangs. NO WAY! Charles may have been nice, but he had some crazy ideas for your hair.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen" frameborder="0" height="480" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/3phYRQL3gX4" width="640"></iframe><br />
<br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Then it was Noah's turn. Brian, the haircutter guy, let Noah hold two toy trains. Noah didn't get upset at all. The trains must have been calming or something. He actually seemed to enjoy getting his hair cut. Everyone giggled when he tried to lay back.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen" frameborder="0" height="360" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/9jswwoQj-XM" width="640"></iframe><br />
<br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Before Noah's haircut, I asked Brian to take just a little hair off. I wanted him to have a clean hairdo for his birthday. I also told Brian not to worry about using clippers. Brian did it anyway. Oh well. It was during this part that Noah started to get upset. I don't know if he was upset because the back was being cut or that Brian was using the clippers. </span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen" frameborder="0" height="360" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/1wUC7uKu8bA" width="640"></iframe><br />
<br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen" frameborder="0" height="360" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/25Aqzvy7YrI" width="640"></iframe><br />
<br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">You both looked beautiful before the haircuts and you look beautiful after. </span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Love,</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Mommy</span>Shannon Emmonshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11555467530501625882noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5167012028275453660.post-75194656789607880652012-07-29T18:08:00.000-07:002012-07-29T18:08:35.233-07:00Noah and the Spoon<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Dear Noah,</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I tell people all the time that you eat like it's your job. You stuff food into your mouth almost to the point of choking. </span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">One time you bit your lip while eating. You puffed up like you were going to wail but you didn't. You just whined, stuck out your lip for a second as if to say "Ouch that hurt. You should pity me", and kept on eating. </span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Another time we were at the splash park with some of the kids from Mama Jane's house. You were eating some dry cereal while sitting in your blue car. One of the kids pushed you into one of the sprinklers. You sat there in your car, blinking wildly while water sprayed you in the face, and kept on eating. </span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">All very impressive.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Clearly you love to eat. Table manners, on the other hand, only get in the way of your feasting. I love how you hold the spoon but show little interest in using it. You took a few bites with the spoon, but your hands are your preferred method of choice. </span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Love,</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Mommy</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<iframe width="640" height="360" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/UJf5o9rqdNM" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>Shannon Emmonshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11555467530501625882noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5167012028275453660.post-591434864256141212012-07-28T14:39:00.003-07:002012-07-28T14:39:51.938-07:00Yogurt<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Dear Babies,</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">You both love yogurt. You will eat any flavor at any time. So it should not be a surprise that Noah tried to mooch some of Layla's yogurt. The real surprise should be that she actually shared.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Love,</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Mommy</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<iframe width="420" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/9_h58qQBM1A" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>Shannon Emmonshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11555467530501625882noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5167012028275453660.post-1885310029411082482012-07-28T13:14:00.000-07:002012-07-28T13:14:19.427-07:00Nono and the Walker<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Dear Noah,</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I've tried not to do it. I didn't want to be that kind of parent. But I can't help it. It's just too hard to not compare you with LB. </span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I find myself looking at your pictures and then her pictures from when she was the same age. I stare at them looking at every tiny detail. Daddy showed me that I can select several pictures then click my space bar and the pictures will pop up. Then I can flip back and forth from picture to picture using the track pad. It's slightly obsessive. </span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I've compared milestones too - rolling over, crawling, sleeping through the night, eating solid food. </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">LB has you beat in some areas and you have her beat in others. </span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Who will win the walking contest?? That is yet to be decided. LB was using the walker pretty regularly at 10 months, but you've only recently started to use it at almost 12 months. Point to Layla. She started walking at 15 months. Time to get to it.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Love,</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Mommy</span><br />
<br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/QQIzCgDqd7s" width="560"></iframe>Shannon Emmonshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11555467530501625882noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5167012028275453660.post-88380921788009152692012-07-27T12:34:00.002-07:002012-07-27T12:46:09.720-07:00Mommy's School<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Dear Kiddos,</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I think the week before teachers return to school should be called "Take Your Children to Work Week". You'd think that the 5 days before kids show up would be enough time to set-up a classroom, but that thinking is beyond wrong. Way beyond wrong. Pre-planning week is usually filled with meetings, professional development, registration, chatting, and lunches out because we never get to do that. Therefore teachers usually go to school ahead of time to have everything ready to go. And they usually bring their kids. It's "Take Your Children to Work Week". Someone should really make that official.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Our TYCWW started on Monday. In the 3 hours we were in "Mommy's Boom" I was able to place all the furniture around the room. We are always told, nah, nagged, to not drag the furniture on the freshly polished floors. We are told to wait for a custodian to come by with a dolly. In my 8, now 9, years of teaching, I've never seen a custodian with a dolly or seen a teacher wait. Teachers drag the furniture. I did it and I'll do it again next year. Those floors are going to get messed up anyway. Deal with it.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Tuesday was mainly unpacking. My room has wooden lockers and I stuffed each and every locker with teacher junk at the end of school last year. Again, we stayed at school for about 3 hours. </span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">You both were exceptionally good. I made sure to have plenty of snacks and I let you play with my classroom things. It's amazing how pencil cups and chairs and things like that can entertain two small children. The only problem happened on Tuesday. I was talking with another teacher when I heard Layla cry out, "Pip-pops wet"! Layla had an accident.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I let you skip school on Wednesday to go play with your friends at the splash park. I can't believe I let you cut class on TYCWW! I should feel ashamed. :)</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">On Thursday you got the day off again to stay with Omi and Poppi! Skipping twice in one week?! Shameful. . . . but I went to school and got so much done. My companion that day was my hot glue gun. That's another thing we are nagged about - don't use hot glue on the walls. I don't care. I do it anyway. It's really the only thing that let's you stick stuff to concrete walls without it peeling off before Labor Day. </span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">We went back to school on Friday. We didn't stay long since I had only had a few things to do. But I did remember to take my camera. I had to capture TYCWW! I love how excited Nono was to sit in the chairs and how LB played peek-a-boo in the lockers. </span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcsIuA7itMPxy3WaKY1xXNwyVzG5fJrYwWxoJP__Zwi030KXwm9ofz9k12c3eqsI38XyYiXGdzg2ynt2XXmuvwYVdUOPXFYuaAEt1HWY4WDOx2ULRC8NEPRQrKEkVxOpg3Xbvf64e9dJJ0/s1600/P1030179.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcsIuA7itMPxy3WaKY1xXNwyVzG5fJrYwWxoJP__Zwi030KXwm9ofz9k12c3eqsI38XyYiXGdzg2ynt2XXmuvwYVdUOPXFYuaAEt1HWY4WDOx2ULRC8NEPRQrKEkVxOpg3Xbvf64e9dJJ0/s320/P1030179.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9ytMkH5nHuU5P5QV9EDbM7OPhsoDY7YovkxfP1fp464bYSpfDNyF8CgHphZvctddysDZVpEG_RmGDx8Nquvn1wusc_2G0OZHXpFnOahUQIW_pKrl_XxqDfh-6vITbFwrb-8wsTcmAKoz6/s1600/P1030181.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9ytMkH5nHuU5P5QV9EDbM7OPhsoDY7YovkxfP1fp464bYSpfDNyF8CgHphZvctddysDZVpEG_RmGDx8Nquvn1wusc_2G0OZHXpFnOahUQIW_pKrl_XxqDfh-6vITbFwrb-8wsTcmAKoz6/s320/P1030181.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgL9ACRm8mff_jYqzvhenUAzzs0rKygImgu-M1rApvWTAaBdpyNyw_b67qvsQDnlrrczrWFkRYN24QakAIqUpJcRRmA3f7m4bd0l1HL_NobHKRVD1BeOsD1Gp77dJGzlqlT-PrWqf4EAQU9/s1600/P1030182.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgL9ACRm8mff_jYqzvhenUAzzs0rKygImgu-M1rApvWTAaBdpyNyw_b67qvsQDnlrrczrWFkRYN24QakAIqUpJcRRmA3f7m4bd0l1HL_NobHKRVD1BeOsD1Gp77dJGzlqlT-PrWqf4EAQU9/s320/P1030182.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6Tnbqi43IAIm6OBEpXpvB1JHNRPZGIdP88a7a1A-DWO3Ba7dG0OdoxJhCx4XokOcj0j_oF8m9BONtJnt24ylQR5KxX11avYpkIFEtPg9LU_N_5aCbzTiWG0VDo1Fw2V7buwthdzD-1EBj/s1600/P1030186.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6Tnbqi43IAIm6OBEpXpvB1JHNRPZGIdP88a7a1A-DWO3Ba7dG0OdoxJhCx4XokOcj0j_oF8m9BONtJnt24ylQR5KxX11avYpkIFEtPg9LU_N_5aCbzTiWG0VDo1Fw2V7buwthdzD-1EBj/s320/P1030186.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgS3sfN0q4yD13EjXsNoUUcOCX2w74Cu0L95bXs57sgDyqULFlYzb1m5gGXBxxE-cetwxPpQ337LfT6HSM1BqSbwadXd_L9gHO1m0tDFt-_cWMUkUhyOBldaseOQj4CuvqN-l3IH7nPAT8h/s1600/P1030190.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgS3sfN0q4yD13EjXsNoUUcOCX2w74Cu0L95bXs57sgDyqULFlYzb1m5gGXBxxE-cetwxPpQ337LfT6HSM1BqSbwadXd_L9gHO1m0tDFt-_cWMUkUhyOBldaseOQj4CuvqN-l3IH7nPAT8h/s320/P1030190.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOnmw8E6509aPNK1IWmmQ0-fbZdabE_Op3PeKgRL14zEEoKtCACmeGANEj6Et0F3jtdKnVtTZHRe7nhzS10jVcgeduNQO4T9E7kv-FVb5l63fQe67qh6tUm-STZ4q4Eg4FDUmWI6xPkDEl/s1600/P1030183.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOnmw8E6509aPNK1IWmmQ0-fbZdabE_Op3PeKgRL14zEEoKtCACmeGANEj6Et0F3jtdKnVtTZHRe7nhzS10jVcgeduNQO4T9E7kv-FVb5l63fQe67qh6tUm-STZ4q4Eg4FDUmWI6xPkDEl/s320/P1030183.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Love,</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Mommy</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>Shannon Emmonshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11555467530501625882noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5167012028275453660.post-87643178026863871312012-06-28T12:52:00.001-07:002012-06-28T12:55:38.810-07:00First Day of Gymnastics<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Dear Layla,</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">For as long as I've known Daddy, he has always said that his kids will not play soccer. He thinks it's boring. I think it's adorable to watch a bunch of 6 year olds chase the ball like a swarm of mosquitos. At that point, it's not really soccer anyway. I say that my kids can play anything they want.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Today you started gymnastics. You didn't have a choice in the matter, but I think you liked it. One day when you are old enough you will tell us what activities you want to participate in, but for now you will just do what we want to watch you do. </span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5AHD3aocLg6KVCElLgFpUa-NenvcqS8qLSiuiBMCn0VudEjchD9pf8xtbk5V6st5F_XzTDJ_GMyWusMT5wCHwZfBM1vyOuRx8eIJkoW6a64_lOjBPqC4jQTzHQv5BPnLV9zGjXF6Lmyps/s1600/P1030024.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5AHD3aocLg6KVCElLgFpUa-NenvcqS8qLSiuiBMCn0VudEjchD9pf8xtbk5V6st5F_XzTDJ_GMyWusMT5wCHwZfBM1vyOuRx8eIJkoW6a64_lOjBPqC4jQTzHQv5BPnLV9zGjXF6Lmyps/s320/P1030024.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">And I will always choose the stuff that looks adorable.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Love,</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Mommy</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<table bgcolor="#ffffff" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0"><tbody>
<tr><td><a href="http://smilebox.com/play/4d7a49794e7a63794e7a453d0d0a&blogview=true&campaign=blog_playback_link" target="_blank"><img alt="Click to play this Smilebox scrapbook" height="330" src="http://smilebox.com/snap/4d7a49794e7a63794e7a453d0d0a.jpg" style="border: medium none;" width="420" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td><a href="http://www.smilebox.com/?partner=smilebox&campaign=blog_snapshot" target="_blank"><img alt="Create your own scrapbook - Powered by Smilebox" height="46" src="http://www.smilebox.com/globalImages/blogInstructions/blogLogoSmilebox.gif" style="border: medium none;" width="420" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td align="center"><a href="http://www.smilebox.com/photo-albums.html" target="_blank">Free digital scrapbooking design</a> created with Smilebox</td></tr>
</tbody></table>Shannon Emmonshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11555467530501625882noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5167012028275453660.post-41919160340078293262012-06-27T07:41:00.000-07:002012-06-27T07:41:23.428-07:00Panties<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Dear Layla,</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">One of my goals for this summer is to get you potty trained. We've been really working on it for a few days now. I say, "really working on it" because you've used the potty for months now, but you haven't really mastered things yet. Most of the time you have just a little accident in your Pull-Up and then finish peeing on the potty. Is that too much detail?! Oh well. </span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I'm hoping that your new panties will help do the trick. They have princesses on them! What little girl doesn't just love princesses? And to be really real, I'm sure that there are plenty of boys that like princesses too.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Love,</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Mommy</span><br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/_8nvwLdYrv4" width="560"></iframe>Shannon Emmonshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11555467530501625882noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5167012028275453660.post-55967144802486972002012-06-26T17:44:00.001-07:002012-06-26T17:44:43.895-07:00Folding Sheets<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Dear Layla,</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">It took me years to learn how to fold a fitted sheet. Learning how to tuck one corner into the other, then all the corners into one, and folding everything into a neat square is ridiculous. When I was first learning how to do it, I would skip the whole corner tucking dumbness and go straight to the folding step and hope Ya-Ya wouldn't notice. :) </span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Now I can fold laundry without having to cheat. Do I think it's a super fun chore? No. Do I think you think folding laundry is super fun? Yes. Yes, I do. </span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">You actually love folding laundry. You take whatever it is that you are folding, roll it into a ball and applaud yourself. You often yell, "I do it" when I try to fix it. </span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Hmmmm, rolling laundry into a ball kinda sounds like cheating. I guess great minds think alike. </span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Love, </span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Mommy</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<iframe width="560" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/QEEHyfehxYY" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>Shannon Emmonshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11555467530501625882noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5167012028275453660.post-50738835448166436432012-06-26T08:28:00.001-07:002012-06-26T08:28:30.071-07:00Curtains<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Dear Layla,</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">It's still surprising to me the everyday, ordinary things that you use as toys. Well, on second-thought, I think I should rephrase. I'm still surprised that I get surprised when you use everyday, ordinary things as toys. </span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">(Author's note: I wrote, rewrote, read and reread that last sentence at least seven times.)</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">This summer I decided to take on the project of painting all the trim in the house. It's a looooonnnnnng project. It takes a while to prep, paint, and put the room back together when there are two little kiddos in the house. Last night I stayed up until 3:00 in the morning to paint the living room. I knew I needed to do it all in one night because there are NO WAY that I would be able to do any painting while you and Noah were awake and nap time would not give me enough time to do anything productive. When I went to bed, I left all the furniture and toys in the middle of the room. </span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">You thought having the living room is disarray was wonderful. You especially loved running behind the couches while yelling at the top of your lungs. You also loved playing with the curtains. You must have done this curtain thing for ten minutes, but I only managed to video the last few times because I couldn't find my camera in time. I missed all the times that you made Noah laugh and your sly smile where you know that you are doing something naughty.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Love,</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Mommy</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<iframe width="560" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/HdpbnR3S57U" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>Shannon Emmonshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11555467530501625882noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5167012028275453660.post-65062696465343722952012-06-26T07:55:00.000-07:002012-06-26T07:55:38.287-07:00Bananas<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Dear Layla and Noah,</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Back when I was in high school and college, <i>Jackass</i> was a popular television show. It was so popular, in fact that they got several movie gigs. Basically it was a group of idiot guys doing a bunch of idiot stuff. Stuff that hurt. Stuff that was gross. Stuff that was socially unacceptable. I didn't really get it. Watching some dude willingly getting kicked in the groin isn't funny so I didn't watch it. </span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">However, I did catch a prank they pulled on some unknowing participants that were eating outside on the patio of a restaurant. The patio was right beside a stop sign and on a very steep street. The idiots drove a hearse up to the restaurant and stopped at the sign. While stopped, the back of the hearse flew open and out rolled the coffin. Can you imagine everyone's reaction to a coffin rolling down the street?! The idiots had a camera set-up across the street of the patio to capture the people's reaction. Their faces were awesome. So awesome that I am giggling as I think and write about it. </span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Watching you two eat a banana makes me think of <i>Jackass. </i>It is totally disgusting. You both insist on stuffing the banana into your mouth making you gag and banana goo gets everywhere. I'm still in disbelief that I actually recorded the disgustingness. I'm sure the <i>Jackass </i>idiots would be impressed.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Love,</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Mom</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<iframe width="560" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/2rTK4273WRI" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>Shannon Emmonshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11555467530501625882noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5167012028275453660.post-74945925748676164612012-06-25T13:41:00.000-07:002012-06-25T13:41:05.701-07:00Beach Trip 2012<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Dear Layla and Noah,</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Daddy and I tried to take you two to the beach during Labor Day weekend 2011. We packed up the car, made arrangements to stay at one of Jay's (Daddy's stepdad) beach condos, and drove to Gulf Shores.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">It was a disaster. A tropical storm came in that exact weekend and rained-out our plans. I was beyond bummed. At one point in the weekend, the rain stopped so we drove across the street from the condo and looked at the beach. That's right - LOOKED at it. Daddy and I showed you the giant waves and white sand. </span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">In June 2012, you both finally got your chance to experience the beach when we went to Jacksonville to visit Ya-Ya and Poppa. You both enjoyed the sand, but the water was a different story. Layla loved digging and trying to fill the wagon with sand. Noah just enjoyed eating it. :) It wasn't until we were ready to leave that y'all decided that the water was a fun place to play. Layla started to enjoy the tugging feeling of the water as the waves went back out. She thought it was so funny!</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I'd call the trip a success!</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Love,</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Mommy</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<br />
<table cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" border="0" bgcolor="#ffffff"><tr><td><a href="http://smilebox.com/play/4d7a49794d7a51774d44673d0d0a&blogview=true&campaign=blog_playback_link" target="_blank"><img width="420" height="330" alt="Click to play this Smilebox slideshow" src="http://smilebox.com/snap/4d7a49794d7a51774d44673d0d0a.jpg" style="border: medium none ;"/></a></td></tr><tr><td><a href="http://www.smilebox.com/?partner=smilebox&campaign=blog_snapshot" target="_blank"><img width="420" height="46" alt="Create your own slideshow - Powered by Smilebox" src="http://www.smilebox.com/globalImages/blogInstructions/blogLogoSmilebox.gif" style="border: medium none ;"/></a></td></tr><tr><td align="center">Make a free photo slideshow</td></tr></table>Shannon Emmonshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11555467530501625882noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5167012028275453660.post-9416543721180996252012-03-25T11:56:00.000-07:002012-03-25T11:56:04.746-07:00Slides (Year 2)<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Dear Layla,</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Last spring I posted a video I took of you and Poppa playing on the slides on March 20, 2011 titled "Slides and Swings". Go back and watch it before watching this one.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I will wait. . . . . .</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Watched it? Okay good. Let's move on to present day.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">In this video you went down the slide all by yourself while Noah and I watched and cheered! What a difference a year makes! You did the slide several times, and once, while I wasn't watching, you did the twisty slide. Brave girl!</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Love,</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Mommy</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<iframe width="560" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/5SYiiZbeZdE?rel=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>Shannon Emmonshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11555467530501625882noreply@blogger.com0