Emma's 5th Birthday

I never actually thought the day would come that my little girl would turn 5 years old.  Not only does she look older than she did a year ago but she acts older too.  She is such a sweet girl and a really good helper.  She is kind and gentle but definitely has her mind set on doing things her way.  I love seeing more and more freckles appear on her cute little face...especially her nose.  She is already so much like me it is kind of scary.  Emma was really excited to turn 5 because she is so anxious to go to school this year.  We had plans on sending her to the Japanese preschool but I think my selfishness has kept her at home with me a little longer.  She is so much fun to have around and such a good playmate for Abby.  It will be lonely when she leaves us in the fall to go to Kindergarten but I know that she is going to love it. 

I was surprised that Emma's love for ballet stuck past the first couple of months of ballet class.  Both she and Abby talk about ballet frequently and so it seemed fitting that Emma wanted ballerina cupcakes this year.  After searching for the perfect ballerina cupcakes I finally found the cutest ballerina cupcake toppers.  They required a little bit of preparation but when they were done they were absolutely perfect.  Oh, and Emma LOVED them.  HERE is a link for the tutuorial on how to make them.  We just did a family party this year although after seeing the cute cupcake toppers I wished I had more time to plan a fun party with a few girls....maybe next year!  The boys enjoyed the cupcakes as well and had fun being boys and smashing their faces in the frosting.  Andrew was proud of his Santa Clause face.  Everyone definitely got into it.   Since I forgot to get candles (because I always have candles on hand except they all got thrown away with the move) we had to use tealight candles for Emma to blow out.  So much for being prepared on that end of it.  Thankfully she didn't care too much...but she did have to have 5 of them. 

I was really prepared in ordering all of Emma's gifts an entire month in advance knowing that things take a little longer to get here.  I was extrememly disappointed when her main present didn't arrive.  So I did the next best thing and took pictures of them for her.  Luckily a present from her grandparents and one of our gifts did arrive so she was able to open up some gifts on her birthday.  To this day the ironing board and iron are still not here and they have been resent.  I hope they get here soon.  Funny thing is the thing I wanted to get for her was on backorder until May.  I ordered it anyways thinking that it would be fun for Abby's birthday in June.  Well, it came right after Emma's birthday.  So, I guess in the end it all worked out. 

 

The Moo Moo

I have had requests to see what I was wearing during our last photo shoot.  So here it is for your enjoyement.  This picture doesn't really do the moo moo justice as I was squatting next to Emma.  Gotta love the Japanese and all their crazy ideas about what is fashionable. If you missed Emma's crazy hair you must go back and see the post HERE. I posted these pictures later than the rest of the post. 

Family Bowling

Our Saturday outing today found us at the bowling alley.  Andrew had been invited to a birthday party from one of his classmates and so we tagged along (mostly because we didn't know the parents) and bowled on our own.  Andrew enjoyed the party while the rest of us enjoyed bowling together.  Abby was especially excited as this was her first time bowling.  Both Emma and Abby LOVED using the bowling ramp to assist them in getting the ball down the alley in good speed.  Emma tried pushing the ball without the ramp at first but then realized she liked the ramp better.  It was the best start to any bowling game I have ever had.  I was 1 pin away from a Turkey in the first three rounds.  Mike could never quite catch up to my score which was fun to see as he usually beats me when we bowl.

Sea Life at Hakeiijima

Today we had planned on heading up to the Ramen Museum by train but once we stepped outside we realized that it was such a warm day so we immediately changed plans and headed over to Hakeiijima Sea Paradise.  Since our season passes are good until the end of March we try and take advantage of going when we can.  Last time we were there we didn't end up riding the big roller coaster because it had already closed for the night.  That was the first place we headed today but it was not meant to be because they had scaffolding everywhere and were obviously repairing the ride.  It was quite disappointing to Andrew who loves roller coaster rides.  We decided instead to head over to Fureai Lagoon and see the sea life.  We saw dolphins, whales, sea otters, and walruses.  Mike was actually able to pet the whale and we waited for it to come back to the surface for the kids to touch it but it never did.  We sat through a really cool walrus show and then got to pet the really fat walruses.  On our way out we watched the dolphins as they started jumping in and out of the water.  Abby was especially fascinated by the scuba divers that were cleaning the tanks.  We will have to come back when it is warmer so we can walk through the tidal pools.     

We hit some of the smaller rides on the way out of the park.  The kids favorite ride today was the crazy barrels.  They somehow convinced me and Mike to ride this tea cup like ride with them.  The kicker is that while the barrels spin the entire platform of barrels rotates to a 45 degree angle.  It was interesting and I will leave it at that.  I am just glad that we did not get sick.  We rode on the Peter Pan ride and the Great Baron ride as well.  I loved sitting next to Abby on the Peter Pan ride and watching her put her hands in the air and have a grand old time.  Such fun!

Abby . 2 1/2 years old

I can't believe how much Abby has grown up over the last 6 months.  She is still in diapers because she refuses to potty train all the time.  I guess I should be happy that she will ocassionally take interest in it.  At 2 years old her favorite thing to watch was "The Little Einsteins."  Now all she wants to watch are princess movies.  Her favorites are "Snow White" and "Sleeping Beauty."  She loves to dress like a princess, talk like a princess, and sing like a princess.  She also loves to play with all of her princess dolls.  She is definitely more girly in that respect than her sister was at this age.  My all time favorite Abby moment as of late was during dinner one evening.  She just stood up on her chair, clasped her hands together, starting turning around as she batted her eyes all while singing, "Someday my prince will come."  The more we laughed the more she did it.  I think the eye thing she did was the most hilarous part about it.  She is just too cute for words.

Here is part of a conversation we had at the beginning of the month:

Abby:  "Momma, what are you doing?"
Sara:   "I am going downstairs to make dinner."
Abby:  "I will make dinner with you. I am a big girl."
Sara:   "Yes you are."
Abby:  "You are a mommy big girl."
Sara:   "I sure am."

Abby is always excited to help out.  She wants to see what I am doing and be a part of it.  She loves mixing things in the kitchen for me but usually ends up making a huge mess.  She does not want to share the stool with Emma when we are in the kitchen but she does understand about taking turns and she will eventually give in.

Abby LOVES to sing and I am amazed at how many songs she can sing all by herself.  Her favorite songs to sing are:

I am a Child of God
The Temple Song
Book of Mormon Stories
Five Little Ducks
The Monkey and the Alligator Song
The Rabbit Song
The ABC Song
The Birdie Song
The Wheels on the Bus
The Daddy Song
Popcorn Popping
Little Purple Pansies 
In the Leafy Treetops
The Coconut Song
The Princess Songs

Abby loves to read books.  Her favorite books are:

Going on a Bear Hunt
All the Curious George Books
A Bad Case of Stripes (she calls it the Stripes book)
Fancy Nancy
Little Bo Peep Lost Her Sheep
Goldilocks has Chicken Pox
Brown Bear, Brown Bear What Do you See
Polar Bear, Polar Bear What Do you Hear
Mother Goose's Nursery Rhymes
If you Give a Pig a Party
No David books
Go Dog Go

Abby has been known to hum while she is eating.  It is very entertaining. 

When Abby is not in a dress up dress she would rather be naked.  It is not uncommon for me to find her in just her diaper laying by the window basking in the sun.  When she does decide to finally get dressed she does not want my help.  Surprisingly she is able to put on her own clothes pretty well.

When Abby tries to read a book to me she very seriously adds, "Amen" when she is finished.  

Abby is always intrigued by our exercise routine.  She usually jumps on in and does the warm up with us.  I will occasionally catch her trying to do some yoga moves.  She is quite flexible.

Abby is usually the first to volunteer to say the prayer and will just raise her hand and say, "Pick me, pick me. I want to pray."  We usually let her pray often at meals because she loves it so much.  She is always quick to bless the boys while they are at school and daddy at work.  She is also quick to add in, "Bless Abby to have fun in ballet."

 

When Abby sees a picture of Jesus with the children she quickly points out who she is.

When Abby wakes up in the morning she comes into my room as says,  "I woke up mommy."  Then she crawls in bed and gives lots of loves.  She loves to give kisses and lately she wants to give them on the lips.

Sometimes when I get in the shower Abby takes off all her clothes and knocks at the shower door to come in.  I do love taking showers alone but sometimes it is fun to have her tag along.  I just can't resist that cute little naked girl.

I love to see Abby's face as she jumps up and down on her bed.  It is like she is having the time of her life.

When Abby doesn't want to do something she says, "No fank you."  Oh how she is so polite.  It is the cutest thing to hear her say.

When Abby wants to play a little bit more before going to bed she says, "I wanna play for second minutes...ok"

It's hilarous when Abby mimicks me when she is serious about telling me something.  She puts her hands on my cheeks and says, "Look at me momma...do you understand?"

Abby loves to tell me stories.  They all start like this: "Once upon a time there was a Abby princess...or...Once upon a time there was a Mommy princess."

When Abby senses anger or frustration in my voice she quickly asks, "Are you mad momma?"  Her sweetness quickly reminds me to pull it together so I can tell her that I am not mad.  What a sweet example she is to all of us.