The same night as the dance recital, Princess Libby had a party to celebrate her birthday at Riverside Gymnastics. I for one was very excited to have a party at some place other than the JumpZone. Don't get me wrong, they have tons of fun at the JumpZone but it seems like all the recent parties have been there. Let's just say that all the kids had a blast at the party. Josh had so much fun jumping on the trampoline and Emma loved running down the lane to jump in the pit of Styrofoam pieces. She got brave enough to try and hang from the bar over the Styrofoam pit but once she got out there, she quickly realized it was a big mistake. It was a great night and both kids were exhausted, which was good since they needed some sleep as the next day was bringing an early wake-up so we could catch a plane to Arizona.

Dance Recital

Emma had her winter dance recital on the 17th. We drew a good number this year and Emma's class was the third performance. Of course, Emma wanted to stay as long as possible afterwards and we almost made it before we had to leave to get to an appointment at home. This year, they danced to "." Unfortunately we didn't get any video of the performance because somebody (me) forgot to charge the camcorder. At least we got some photos and Emma did a great job although we couldn't really see her face since she had it turned to watch Karsen (one of her teachers) in the wings. After the performance, Emma was gifted with a beautiful bouquet from her Daddy and took the time to oblige Brad with some photos.

Grace Christmas Program

We packed a lot into the week before Christmas so I'll try to catch everything up in chronological order. We started off the Friday before Christmas with the program at daycare. Unfortunately Josh had to sit this one out since he had run a fever the day before and was home from school. He did get to come along and watch the other kids although he was most interested in his big sis. This year Emma got to play an angle in what was advertised as "the best, shortest Christmas Program in Town!"

She certainly made a cute little angel and enjoyed singing the songs they had been practicing for several weeks. One of the hymns that they sang was "The Snow Lay on the Ground." The refrain is repeats "Venite adoremus Dominum" four times. Emma had been singing that at the house and when they got to the end of the song, she decided she wasn't quite done so while everybody else had stopped, Emma sang out "Venite adoremus Dominum." At that, Ms. Colleen said they could sing it one more time and we had one final refrain from "The Snow Lay on the Ground." After the program, we had time to visit with teachers and friends with plenty of goodies that the kids enjoyed.

Outtakes! - Photo Overload

Clark Griswold?

This photo reminds me of the scene from Christmas Vacation where Clark is ready to throw the electricity to his brilliant outdoor display only to have nothing happen. Thankfully our lights worked!

Emma Story

The other night on the way home, the kids were on the lookout for Christmas lights. As we drove past a vet's office, I pointed out that the vet had lights. Emma then wanted to know what a vet was so we explained that it is a doctor for pets. She then told us that some day, she wants a cat and if it gets sick, we'll take it there. I told her that I had had a cat before and did take him to that vet when he was sick. She wanted to know if he had gone to see Jesus like their fish Franklin from school. I told her that he had and this next part is the good part. Emma then asked if an Angel had appeared to me and told me that some day I would have another cat. I told her that an Angel had not appeared so she said it was too bad that she wasn't there because she would have held up her Angel and told me that some day I would have another can and if it got sick, we would go to the vet. I think we need a cat; Brad disagrees! I told Emma she needs to work on her Daddy!

Wordless Wednesday - In the House

Emma at 4!

There are times when Emma seems so much older than 4 years old in the way she speaks and acts. At the same time, she does have her moments when she is definitely 4 years old. She is so analytical in that she has to know the how and why of everything. For instance, with our Elf on the Shelf, "how is he magic?", "how does he get to Santa?", etc. She wants to know the ins and outs of everything, which makes me a little concerned that she'll be drawn towards the sciences as a career. However, while she does have to break everything down, Emma is also very creative and loves to draw, color, make crafts, sing, play instruments, and dance. I would definitely say that dance class is still her single most favorite activity. Emma also loves puzzles and games. She has easily mastered 24 piece puzzles and moved on to 48 piece puzzles, which also don't seem to present much of a challenge. She is loving learning how to write all her letters and numbers and likes to make lists. Her fine motor skills are excellent and she always tries to color inside the lines and is none too happy if she gets out of the lines. According to her teachers, she still does have an issue with gross motor skills but when you're a "growing machine" as Emma puts it, that is to be expected. I didn't get the exact measurements at her appointment last week but I think they said she was 41 1/4 inches tall (80th percentile) and just shy of 35 lbs (50th percentile). Assuming the girl grows into her feet, she is going to be tall. With that, here is our most recent Q&A with answers that have given previously denoted by a "*."

What is your name? Emma Grace Schnackenberg
How old are you? 4
When is your birthday? November 6th (close)
Where do you live? In Arkansas
Who is your best friend? Libby*
Who is your favorite friend (stuffed toy) to nap with? Baby Wilwy (I should note that poor Baby Lily was been banned from school since she is a total distraction to Emma during nap time. She was allowed to bring her back after doing well with napping and after one day, got her banned again.
What is your favorite thing to do with Mommy? Work puzzles & play games*
What is your favorite thing to do with Daddy? Watch shows
What is your favorite thing to do with Josh? Play*
What is your favorite thing to eat? Pizza*
What is your favorite breakfast food? Pancakes
What is your favorite fruit? Pineapple
What do you like for a snack? Fruit snacks
What is your favorite treat? Smarties*
What do you not like to eat? Couldn't think of anything but if you ask me, I would say anything I cook in the crockpot is immediately turned down
What is your favorite place to eat? The Purple Cow*
What is your favorite animal? Monkeys
What is your favorite thing to do outside? Play games with Josh outside
What do you like to play with? Josh's toys
What is your favorite toy? Games
What do you like to watch? Dora* & Barney
What is your favorite book? "I Spy"
What is your favorite song? All the songs from the movie "Annie"
What is your favorite Bible story? Jesus healed the lepers
What is your favorite color? Pink & purple & yellow*
What makes you scared? Thunder*
What makes you sad? When Josh hits me
What makes you happy? When we go somewhere new
What is your favorite place to go? Downtown
What do you want to be when you grow up? A Mommy
What will you do in the winter? Play in the snow
What is your favorite game? I Spy
What makes you proud of yourself? When I try something new
What do you like to wear? Hello Kitty stuff
If you could have any pet, what would you choose? A Cat
What is your favorite movie? "Annie"

Emma's Birthday

After several events in the week leading up to Emma's birthday, we finally celebrated the big number 4 last Saturday. The poor little girl felt tortured most of the day as she was dying to unwrap her presents. The way things went, she got to open a few here and there in the morning before finishing things up later in the afternoon. In addition to opening presents, we went to see Happy Feet 2, which Brad and I enjoyed. Emma thought it was good while she was paying attention and Josh said it scared him. Still not sure what was scary but then he is scared of the penguins at the zoo. To round out the day, our good friends, Mr. Win and RiRi came over for dinner and birthday cupcakes. All in all, I think Emma had a good 4th birthday although I for one still can't believe she is 4!