Happy Halloween!

The girls got to pick out their own Halloween costumes this year.  Erin wanted to be Rapunzel & Emmy wanted to be Wonder Woman.  They had fun at their friends Halloween party and then trick-or-treating with friends in the neighborhood.

Emmy's 5 Year Check Up

We were a little late on Emmy's 5 year check up.  Her check up was on 11.8.13 and she weighed 43.1 pounds and was 42 1/4 inches tall.  She's in the 25-50% for height & 50-75% for weight.  My little shorty!

She's a typical five year old...skips, runs, walks on tiptoes, loves to do projects, knows all her colors, tells very detailed stories, loves to sing and tell nursery rhymes, knows all of her letters & can count to 100 with a tad bit of help, loves to draw, read books & write out letters to grandma, loves to dress herself, loves to help with chores, and loves playing with her friends.

Her pediatrician was really impressed that Emmy knows her address and phone number already.  Heck...Erin knows our address & phone number. :)

Erin's 3 Year Check Up/Screening

Erin had her three year check up in July.  She weighed 35.9 lbs & was 38 1/4 inches tall.  She's in the 50-75 percentile for height & 75th percentile for weight.  I still can't believe that my little preemie is in the 75th%.  WooHoo Erin!!

She is doing well developmentally and can do all things a normal three year old can do and then some.  She passed her vision & hearing test with flying colors.  

Her pediatrician was really impressed with Erin and said to keep doing what we're doing.

The day for her preschool screening finally arrived on October 24th.  She was so ecstatic to go.  It was a huge deal to her and she talked about it at least 10 times a day.  She passed on all levels and completed all non verbal parts with the screener.  She needed me by her side for all verbal questions.  Once I was in the room, she warmed up a lot.  

Some of the development areas assessed:

• Cognitive - Basic concepts...counting, colors and completing sentences.
• Fine Motor - Small muscle & eye-hand coordination.  Block building, copying shapes, and drawing.
• Gross Motor - Large muscle activities (hopping/balancing).
• Speech/Language - Say sounds correctly and ability to use words and sentence patterns.

Overall, she scored 24 out of 25 points.  

She's all set for Preschool in the fall.  She's very excited about going to Four Star Express and her teachers are excited to have her.  They can't wait and have already been telling me about the registration date. 

Gustavus Adolphus Family Weekend

We traveled down to St. Peter to see Tyler at college this Fall.  He's enjoying Gustavus Adolphus and is working hard on the swim team.  The girls were excited to see Gus the Lion.  The college even had activities for the kids.  We ate in the school cafeteria which is rated #7 in the nation for its awesome food.  Man, these kids don't know how lucky they have it.  I wish I had that kind of food during my college years.  It was ramen noodle city for this girl.

Prime Time Emmy Awards

We celebrated the 65th Prime Time Emmy Awards this year!  Emmy & Erin had a blast accepting their awards.  We'd like to thank the Academy...

Erin's 1st Year of Dance Lessons

Erin started dance lessons this Fall at Dancin' on Broadway.  She absolutely loves going to dance every week.  She just beams from ear to ear!!  She's looking forward to her holiday dance party.  She gets to dance to Frosty the Snowman.

Two Cuties

We went to a wedding this summer in Alexandria.  These two cuties had a blast with their cousins.  I love having them dressed alike for special occasions.  Erin was pretty pooped out after the party!!

Tennis Lessons

Emmy took tennis lessons this summer with a few of her friends.  Her coach (Scott) did a wonderful job with all the kids.  He gave nicknames to each of the kids.  Emmy's nickname was M&M.

Every kid earned at least one gift card or free kid's meal coupon for a local restaurant each week.  At the end of the season Coach Scott treated all the kids to a bowling party.  Erin is excited to take lessons next year when she's four years old.

I started playing tennis when I was about three years old and I learned with my dad's racquetball racket.   So, it's not too early for them to start playing.

Emmy's 5th Birthday Party

We celebrated Emmy's 5th birthday party at our house this summer.  She wanted a bouncy house again this year and wanted to invite her whole preschool class.  How can you say no to that?  Thank heavens not all the kids showed up.  What was I thinking??!!!
The kids had so much fun though.  I think I needed a stiff drink when it was done.

We had a face painter come for a couple of hours and the kids loved it.
Emmy received so many adorable gifts.  She had a fun party!

Three Grads

Samantha graduated from college, Tyler graduated from high school, and Emmy graduated from preschool this year.

We even stopped to take a picture of the girls by my old high school locker!  
 

Emmy's 1st Day of Kindergarten

Emmy started Kindergarten at Fernbrook Elementary school this fall.  She was so excited to start "Big Girl" school.  She loves her teacher, Mrs. Dunham, is eager to learn new things, has made lots of friends and is so excited to tell us about her day when we pick her up.
Some of her Four Star friends are in her Kindergarten class so she's really excited about that.

Emmy's Preschool Graduation

Emmy graduated from Four Star Express preschool this year.  What an outstanding program for the kids.  We really enjoyed everything about it and the teachers were all amazing.  Emmy absolutely loved going to school each day.  She had two morning teachers: Mrs. Scherber, Mrs. Shultz and two afternoon teachers:  Mrs. Barnes & Ms. Matheson (our neighbor).

The program offers:

• A jump start to Kindergarten Readiness
• Theme based developmentally appropriate curriculum including:
  • social skill building
  • literacy skill building
  • music & creative arts
  • technology, media, & computer
  • physical education
  • science & math
  • cooking
  • positive play
• Child care
• Field trips
• Daily breakfast and snack
• Access to school lunch
• Mentoring opportunities
• Progress conferences

We miss our Four Star family & going to Weaver Lake Elementary each day, but on to bigger & better things.

Erin's New Bike

Erin got a new bike this summer.  She just loves it and has so much fun riding around in the cul-de-sac.  She loves keeping up with her sister and all the neighbor kids.