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.