One more from dance class

One last video from dance class. Party in the USA! What could be better?

Dance Class

Emma's been talking about taking a dance class for a few months now so we decided to give it a try this summer. She's in a combo class where they do 30 minutes of ballet each week and then alternate between hip hop and tap for the second 30 minutes. Here's the warm up.

Here Emma's learning some ballet moves and their names.

Here they put it all together.

These are some jumps from first to second position. There's a name for this move but I won't attempt to spell it here.

After about 30 minutes of ballet, they started hip hop. This video was so good that I had to put it all up here. The blog only allows certain sized videos so it's split in two. It's worth it to watch both!

Sorry for the delay

I have been remiss in my duty to keep this blog up to date. Please look at all 7 posts I put up today which makes us current. Emma starts dance class tomorrow so I'll be sure to post those videos soon!

Who's gonna brush your teeth?

Steve and Emma have their own special song they sing when it's time to brush Emma's teeth. Here's Emma's rendition.

Emma thought it would be a good idea to have her stuffed animals sing the song too.

The Sun is Going to Come Out

Charlie and Lola is Emma's favorite show these days. In one episode, Lola really wants to be the sun in the school play. This is the song she sings. There are actually more verses than this one but unfortunately Emma doesn't know them.

Emma has also started talking in an english accent. Here she tells you the name of her favorite episode.

Swimming

Emma's in her own swim class these days. I must say I'm thankful that I don't have to get in the pool anymore. Here's Emma practicing swimming on her back with her teacher, Miss Tina.

We've been to Wright's Pond a couple of times so far this year. Here Emma practicing her kicks and scoopers.

Emma got more practice swimming in Greenport at the Murray pool. She got some encouragement from her cousins Megan and Myles and her Aunt Laurel.

Biking

Emma is getting good at riding her tricycle. Other than running into my car, this is a good example of how far she's come along.

Gymnastics

Emma just finished her gymnastics class for the summer. Here are some videos so you can see how far she's come with it and how much fun she has at class. We're taking the summer off from gymnastics and Emma's taking a dance class but we look forward to going back to gymnastics this fall.

Here's a video of Emma on the trampoline. She is getting better about listening and performing specific tasks, rather than just jumping.

Here's some donkey kicks on the trampoline.

Lastly, here's Emma doing some straddle jumps and more importantly, she's following directions!

Reading

Emma got the Tag reading system to keep her occupied in the car on our road trip to NY. It is this electronic pen that can be used on special books to "read". Here's Emma reading Beauty and the Beast.

Emma also reads books so many times that she has them memorized... sort of. She has a way of making the stories her own, as she shows you here as she reads to Kaelen and Ryan.

Who says TV is bad?

I'm not saying one should watch TV all days long (unless they're in their 30's and on summer break), but a little bit here and there can be good. Emma is a huge fan of Super Why. It's a cool show where the super readers find answers to problems in books. One of the characters is Princess Presto and she has Spelling Power! She sounds out letters and then writes them. Here's Emma's interpretation...

Another character is Wonder Red and she has Word Power! Here's Emma, Grandma Marion, and me practicing our rhyming, just like Red does.

Emma's 3!!

Emma came downstairs and found some presents for her third birthday! The video cuts off before you see the gift so I'll ease the suspense and tell you that it's a fairy house... you'd have to see it for the full effect.

We got her some fingerpaint. It seemed like a good idea in the store. She was actually not as messy as I thought she'd be but I think I'll hide it until it's warm enough to be outside and be able to hose her down ;).

Needless to say, Emma was very excited that her friends were coming to her party.

We didn't do many games or activities but we did have a pinata. It was an Olivia pinata which is one of Emma's favorite characters (other than her daddy). Each kid took a turn and pulled one red ribbon. All but one of the ribbons just pulled off the box. Lauren was the lucky one to find the right ribbon but she was a little upset because she thought she broke it. It was very cute.

I was amazed at how quickly the kids picked up on the collecting of the loot. Kaelen was the champion of picking up the candy and toys. It was fun to watch the mayhem!

The Boston Children's Museum

We spent 5 fun-filled hours at the Boston Children's Museum. There was so much to see and do. Emma kept going back to this exhibit where you put golf balls in this funnel and watch it go around and around.

Who doesn't like bubbles?! Emma is a huge fan!

How many times can one spin a windmill made of spoons? Here's a small clip of what was in reality about 10 minutes.

I wish I could enjoy something as simple as a shadow as much as Emma does.

Bowling

Bowling is a team effort here at our house. We don't exactly follow the standard rules but we have a good time playing!

10 in the bed

Emma is honing her acting skills. Here she is reenacting a classic... Ten in the Bed.

too much snow

Walking in snow is not easy, especially for Emma. Her boots are a little too big and she's a little too small! She held her own though. Kaelen is a snow champion!

Sledding was an adventure! Steve and Tara took Kaelen and Emma to a hill and, as the story goes, the first couple of runs (seen here) were awesome... then, a fall off the sled and a stuck foot and the fun was gone. Oh well, maybe we'll try again next year!

Christmas Morning!

When I asked Emma whether Santa came to her house on Christmas Eve, she looked out the window and said she didn't see the reindeer so she thought he didn't come yet. I guess the finer points of the Santa myth are still up for interpretation.

We point out her stocking to her and Christmas gets going.

We find there is no end to the stocking fun. Emma didn't notice all the toys that Santa brought.

She finally noticed that there were more presents!

The best gift that Santa brought was the Ladybug Girl outfit!! She changes into the outfit many times a day!

Dancing!

Can you point your fingers and do the twist? Emma does an interpretive dance to this song but does pay attention to the key moves!

She's also been practicing the Mr. Knickerbocker dance. She is much better at it than in the earlier post on this site.

Finally, we see Ryan's dance moves... though Emma doesn't give him much space to work with as she literally dances circles around him! I think he needed some better music to really get going. Emma is doing her irish jig, which, of course, she learned from the Wiggles.