Ruth Mitchell Edwards

Our sweet little Ruthie was born at 2:31pm. She is 7lb 13oz and 19.5in. She has an adorable, round little face and curly dark hair and we are so in love with her!

Emmie and Ellie were so thrilled to meet her and have already kissed all over her!

Welcome to the world!

We are so excited to introduce you to Ruth Mitchell Edwards. Ruthie was born at 2:31pm and we are madly in love with her! Pictures coming soon!

Christmas Eve and Christmas Day

Yesterday we went to the children's service at church which was wonderful. I love how relaxed it is because it's full of children so it's ok if they're a little wiggly or talk a little louder than they should. Dr. Thomas did the message and as always he was entertaining while teaching the children important biblical truths.

We had pizza for dinner and then watched The Polar Express. We did this last year as well but it just didn't hold either one of their attention spans for very long but this year they LOVED it. We have read the book a lot recently so they were quite fascinated by the movie. They also had a candy cane to eat and some hot chocolate to drink during the movie which they loved! We used the teacups from Emmie's birthday for the hot chocolate so they felt extra special!

watching the movie...Emmie sat just like that for about the first 10 minutes of the movie!

The girls started out on the blanket on the floor but ended up on the couch with us. I LOVE this picture of them cuddled up together! I just love how much they love each other!

This morning Paul and I were BOTH awake before the girls. What kind of sense does that make? Then I had the monitor on so that I could hear the girls when they woke up and intercept them before they went in the den and I was sitting there listening to the monitor, waiting for them to wake up, and Emmie pops up beside my bed saying "Santa came! He brought me my Rapunzel doll!". I wish I could have gotten that excitement on video...she was so thrilled! Apparently she had very quietly gotten out of bed and gone into the den and checked out all the presents (she didn't touch anything though which I thought was really funny...just looked!). So Emmie and I went and woke Ellie up while Paul got out the video camera and then we all went and checked out the Santa presents and looked in our stockings. I think Franklin was the most excited about Christmas this year. He was like a big kid and it was hilarious!

Letter to Santa

Santa came!

Emmie's Santa gifts

Ellie's Santa gifts (By the way, the little jars are powder that you mix with water to make snow...supposedly it lasts for weeks...if our test sample does well I think we'll fill the sandbox up with snow!)

gifts for Emmie and Ellie

Emmie's much desired Rapunzel doll. I think she's being saying since about June that that was what she wanted from Santa...her only request! Last year she wanted an Arial doll and snow...Santa wasn't able to deliver on the snow...hence the snow this year! 

Ellie's  Tiana doll...in case you're not up on your Disney princess movies, Tiana is from the Princess and the Frog which is  a newer one set in New Orleans...it's one of my favorites!

Look at those flopping ears....he's so excited!

I love this picture because Ellie has her gifts all over the place and Emmie's are lined up in a row...such a  great picture of their personalities!

 

We ate cinnamon rolls for breakfast and my parents and Uncle Ben arrived about the time we finished. The girls hadn't seen Ben since summer and they were SOOOO excited to see him! We opened presents and once again Franklin was the most excited! When it was his turn he would come flying across the room, tail wagging, and stick his head in his gift bag. The girls loved all their presents and got lots of their favorite things!

Excited about his present!

Emmie got a hairstyling kit complete with play scissors. By the way, see how passively Ellie is sitting there letting Emmie do whatever she wants? That's how Ellie's curls got chopped off a few months ago...

Ellie decided to chop off Gran's curls! When she's really focused on something she opens her mouth and sometimes sticks out her tongue...so cute.

Treats!

One of our traditions is that the girls get each other a book for Christmas. Emmie picked The Rainbow Fish for Ellie and I love this picture of Emmie "reading" it to Ellie.

Paul's boomerang! Or is it half a picture frame?

Franklin was so glad to see Uncle Ben..he LOVES for Ben to hold him like a baby but won't let anyone else hold him that way!

Emmie's Christmas Program

Today was Emmie's Christmas program at preschool. (Baby #3 had strict instructions that it was not allowed to arrive before this program...since it's her very first school program.) I found out about a week ago that Emmie's class was dressing as kangaroos so I was very interested to see how this played out. (It was a Christmas Around the World theme so then the kangaroos made more sense.) I was sitting right behind the CD player so it's a little hard to see the kids but you can tell that Emmie is singing for much of the song! Also, note the terrified expression on her face when they first come out...I thought she might start crying when she saw all the people! Suprisingly she is a little on the shy side, especially in a crowd, which comes as a surprise to those who know her, as at home she is quite loud and loves to be the center of attention!

sweetness

I love these moments!

Dance

Emmie started taking dance at Bailey's Fine Arts this fall. She goes once a week for 45min and does ballet and tap. I picked BFA because the price was reasonable and it is close to our house but I've been so thrilled with everything Emmie has learned!
Emmie loves to come home and teach Ellie everything she learned in class however I haven't actually gotten to see her in class since the first week. The parents were allowed in the room for the first class and this week they had an open house and we got to go watch. Paul even came from work to see Emmie which just thrilled her! I was so impressed at how far all the little girls had come since that first week!
Emmie's face in the early videos is so funny...she was so overwhelmed by all the parents being in there! I was also so proud of how well behaved she was. She did her dancing and then would sit quietly and wait while everyone else had their turn.


Emmie doing her "heel, stomp". She wasn't even close to being able to do this a few months ago but she practices all the time at home.


Back shuffle. This is apparently something new they've been working on as I haven't seen Emmie practicing it at home. When Mrs. Cari said they were going to do their back shuffles all the little girls started talking about it being hard. I must say I'm not sure I'm coordinated enough to do it!


This is one of Emmie's favorite things that they do in class. She has taught Ellie how to do it too and they do it all the time!


Ballet exercises. You can see Ellie at the bottom of the screen doing them along with the class. She can't wait until next year when she can do dance too!


Princess walk. I think this a favorite of all the little girls!

At the end of class they all curtsey!

4 years old!

Dear Emmie,
You are 4 today and I just can't believe it. It seems like yesterday you were born. I still remember falling in love with you the first time I saw you. This has been a year of new adventures in your life. You tried sledding, had your first swim lessons, were a flower girl in Emily and Blake's wedding, started preschool, got a bunk bed and started sharing a room with Ellie, went to Disney World, started ballet/tap, went to the Nutcracker and within 10 days you will have a new brother or sister.

You are an intense child. You feel everything so much more than the rest of the world and that can be hard for you (and me!). You are very dramatic and can go from laughing to crying in seconds. You can pitch a royal temper tantrum. You sometimes laugh and laugh over the smallest things (you and Ellie have started telling each other knock knock jokes which you both find hysterical). You are so tenderhearted and you have so much compassion for others but your heart also gets broken so easily.

This year you have really exploded academically and you love to learn. You've been very interested in  letters and letter sounds the last few months. You also love to work on writing your letters. You taught yourself to write a "m" so now you can write your name and you're so proud of that. You are really good at finding your name anywhere it is written. With some help you can count to at least 60 (you usually get tired of counting somewhere around there). You can sing the days of the week and you're starting to really grasp the concept of a day and the passage of time. You still love your books and we read all the time. You have most of them at least partially memorized and you love to "read" to Ellie.

This year you have been going through some separation anxiety. You missed that stage when you were a baby/toddler so I guess it was bound to happen eventually! You need to know exactly who's going to be with you if Daddy or I aren't home and when we will be back. If we deviate from the plan you get very stressed out.

Emmie, you are definitely my little helper. You love to have a job to do. When I potty trained Ellie this year you helped take her to the potty and frequently asked her if she needed to go to the potty. You love to help put up laundry and are always organizing your drawers. You are always wanting to help me cook and most nights you set the table for dinner and take your plate and Ellie's plate to the table. You love to sit and watch me sew and then you pretend to sew with the fabric scraps.

You are a very social child. You LOVE to play with your friends. A few weeks after school started I was talking to one of your teachers and she said that you were a good friend. I can't tell you how proud that made me. To me, being a good friend and being kind to others is so much more important than the academic side of life. I love to watch you when we go somewhere you don't know anyone as you tend to have at least one new friend within about 5 minutes! You tend to gravitate towards older children in a social situation....you've always wanted to be older than your age! Some of your favorite older friends are your second cousins and you love when we go to NC for family events and you get to play with them!

You are my artistic child and I love it. You sing and dance all the time! You love any kind of arts and crafts and you're very good at coloring and painting (and you've finally decided to be right handed...you went back and forth for quite a while!) and you've recently started drawing pictures of people which keep me entertained. You are also very imaginative. I love to listen to you play with your toys...you are always making up different scenarios!

You are not a super snuggly child but every once in awhile you ask to snuggle with me and I love that. Yesterday you came in my room during "nap time" (you just have quiet time now) just to get a hug...I love that.

Emmie, you are growing up so fast. Sometimes I feel like time is just slipping away. As I mentioned before you have always wanted to be older than your age and I feel like you're pushing farther and farther away from being a baby and you need me less and less. A few weeks ago you told us you didn't want to sit with us during the children's sermon at church (we usually sit beside you at the front of the church). Then you went a step farther and said that you wanted us to stay at the back of the church while you went to the front (actually we compromised on that...you wanted us to open the door for you and then go back to the balcony to sit until you were done). I think watching you walk down that aisle so little and alone broke a little piece of my heart...so I followed you and sat in a pew at the front instead of beside you...you were not pleased with me! This past Sunday Daddy let you walk the whole way by yourself while he waited at the back and he said you did GREAT. You are our little Miss. Independent and I know that your independence is a good thing but sometimes it is really, really hard for your Mommy!

Emmie girl, I can't wait to see what 4 has in store for us!

December 17, 2009

1 year old

2 years old (doesn't she look just like Ellie?)

3 years old!

Visit with Santa

Monday we headed to the mall to visit Santa. Emmie talked a big game before we went about how she was going to sit on Santa's lap. Ellie didn't pretend that she was going to be brave. She flat out refused from the beginning to sit on Santa's lap but did say that she would stand next to him while Emmie sat on his lap. We got there and had to wait about 15 minutes and then right before it was our turn the little boy in line behind us pinched Ellie in the face. So pretty much any braveness she had went out the window. The Santa at the mall was really great (as were his helpers...I was super impressed...much different from the usual run you in, take the picture, and get you out as quick as they can) but neither girl was willing to get to0 close to him. Emmie was willing to talk to him. She told him that she wanted a Rapunzel doll and Ellie wanted a Tiana doll. Then the girls and I sat down while Santa stood behind us. It worked.
I do think the "anatomy of a Santa picture" is funny. When it was just Emmie I used to try everything to get her to smile and then I'd pick the closest picture I could get to a smile. When we threw Ellie in the mix I looked for the picture with no tears in it. Now that we're getting ready for baby #3 I picked the funniest picture (check out Ellie's lip).

 

(Also Ellie not only insists on picking out her own shoes but now also insists on picking out her own socks...hence the Valentine's Day socks with her Christmas outfit....I was just glad they were red.)

Emmie's 4th Birthday Party - Fancy Nancy!

I ordered these invitations off of Etsy and I was THRILLED with how they turned out!

Emmie turns 4 on December 17th but we had her birthday party this past Saturday so that we made sure we got it in before baby!

I took the girls to Belk a few weeks ago and let them pick out fancy dresses. They wanted to be matching.

This year we did a Fancy Nancy tea party at our house. If you don't know who Fancy Nancy is, she's a book character who always dresses fancy, uses big words and often speaks in French because everything sounds fancier in French.

I got home with the flowers and realized that I wasn't going to have Gin-g here to do the flower arrangements and I'm AWFUL at arranging flowers. Fortunately Clara saved the day and offered to do them for me. They turned out gorgeous!

Emmie's birthday book for all her friends to sign.

food table

The food table with the food on it. We had veggies and ranch dressing, fruit and dip, pig in a blanket (fancy hot dogs), butterfly shaped sandwiches, and pretzels dipped in chocolate and covered with sprinkles.

 

The cupcake table.

Vanilla cupcakes with strawberry icing...yumm!

 

 

The tea party table. Our numbers worked out perfectly so we had enough room for everyone to sit at one table. Gin-g and my friend Laura hunted down teacups for me at Goodwill so that we could have real china teacups! The kids were so fascinated by them. I was quite impressed that none of the cups were broken!

 

We had 9 children in attendance at our tea party (including Emmie and Ellie). Paul was super dad and dressed up in his tux to be their waiter.

We decorated picture frames and then everyone got food and "tea" (pink lemonade) and after they ate the waiter served them cupcakes and they all decorated their own cupcake. I think the kids had a lot of fun although they were all quite subdued for most of the party...guess it was the fancy attire!

making picture frames

Look at those cheeks! I just want to squeeze baby Madison every time I see her!

Jackson provided the music for us :)

They were talking to each other so politely...it was really funny!

Ellie was getting into the pink lemonade!

 

 

 

I was WORN OUT after the party (I was asleep by 9!) but Emmie had the best time so it was all worth it!