So long, October! It came. It went. It’s over! We really enjoyed this past month and all its beautiful fall glory! Here’s a quick re-cap made possible by leftover Halloween candy and a giant bowl of candy corn. Emerson kept me guessing with a wide range of interests as of late. From bugs, to dress-up, to collages, you never can tell what she’ll be interested in day-to-day. She managed to capture two tiny katydids while playing outside one afternoon — Roxy and Squirt. They survived a few days in their new habitat before their demise followed by quite a few intense discussions about life and death…. we’ll be keeping ‘pets’ to a minimum after this ordeal. E...
It’s Fall, Y’all!
Fall has shown up right on time for us Northwestern Iowans this year. Bright yellow leaves began falling from the trees yesterday and I’ve happily traded in my flip-flops for flats. To welcome autumn we made the short trek to the Center Creek Orchard in Fairmont last weekend. Emerson was excited to look for the rarest pumpkin of all, which she called the ‘Arabella Pumpkin.’ I haven’t quite figured out what influenced this imaginative name, but we sure loved all the hype over the one perfect pumpkin that she would find amongst hundreds. The funny thing was that we came home empty-handed — still looking for that Arabella! Even with a variety of...
The ‘Emerson Monologues’: Take 1
I had a revelation today. Instead of trying to take down notes of the crazy stories Em comes up with (that I never get word for word anyway) let’s just let the camera do its thing. My lame attempt at the Toddler Talk posts will be retired and replaced with the new and improved series I like to call: The Emerson Monologues. Isn’t it funny that she calls me ‘Naber’ sometimes? Love this weird kid!...
Birthday Week
What a week it was! I haven’t stopped stuttering yet over Emerson’s age… out with ‘3’ and in with ‘4’ is a tough concept for me. An even tougher concept? Out with the warm and in with the cold! With temps dipping down as low as 35 degrees last week, I’m missing the summer months already. We’re definitely getting excited for some fun fall activities and breaking out the winter wardrobe…. not so bad, right? I am proud to report that the unseasonably cold weather didn’t stop us from a few outdoor activities last week. After a nice birthday snooze last Sunday, we visited the Clay County fair. Em couldn’t quite get over the smell...
A Little Party Never Hurt Nobody
Another birthday came and went and as far as I know, we all survived… although a little extra sleep would go a long way! Emerson turned four on Sunday and took advantage of every possible minute of her special day beginning at about 5:45 am. We like to sleep in around here so she must have been psyched out of her mind for the big birthday. Even in complete darkness she noticed her room had been filled with balloons right off the bat and asked, “Mommy, why are there so many balloons in my room?” To which I replied, “It’s just a dream, go back to sleep.” I’m obviously no match for her four-year-old...