Shoes

When we get ready for the day, I tell Erin to go get her shoes.  She runs to find them and then comes back to me and places them in my hands and says "Shus."  This is pretty much her first big word.  The only shoes that she keeps on her feet right now are Robeez. 

She really only says Dada, Uh Oh & Mama.  If I ask her to say mama, she says dada a lot and laughs. 
She understands what we are talking about all the time.  I ask her questions about searching for things and she responds well by going to find them, etc.  She knows where her nose & belly button are on her body when asked.  We're working on other body parts and still trying to get her to talk more.
If I tell her it's nap time, she grabs her woobie and walks up to her crib - with no fuss. 

So far, she's still an easy baby...aside from her occasional tantrums she throws on the floor. 

Swimming & Gymnastics Progress

Emmy had her swimming evaluations last Thursday.  She moved up four levels to the Little's I class.  She will be in a class with other three year olds.  I don't have to get in the water with her anymore! 

I think we initially signed her up for the wrong class.  I signed her up for the beginner class because the information stated that if your child is hesitant of the water or doesn't like getting his/her face wet, then they would need to be in the beginner class.  When I talked to the person on the phone about it, they agreed.  The class that she's currently in is fine and Emmy really loves it, but they don't learn anything new.  Every week is the same thing - Singing and patting their hands on the water.  I asked if they would learn anything different and I was told that they strive on repetition and focus on "zooms" and "humpty dumpty's." 
Zooms are basically when Emmy zooms under the water from me to the instructor.  Humpty Dumpty is falling in the water as you sing Humpty Dumpty sat on a wall, Humpty Dumpty had a great faaaaaaall. 
She has learned some new things and conquered her fear of the water.  I'm pleased but still a little frustrated that they don't learn anything more for how much we paid for the class. 
When I was a kid, my brothers pushed me in the pool and said start kicking. 

I'm looking forward to her next class.  I've been watching this class the whole season and wished that Emmy was in it.  It looks like it's more geared toward her age, etc.

We've been teaching Erin the things that we learned during Emmy's swimming class.  She's catching on really quick. 

Brad is usually the one who takes Emmy to gymnastics class each Thursday.  Last Thursday he had a hockey game at the same time, so I took Emmy to class and we got a babysitter for Erin.  I was really amazed at how much Emmy has learned during the last six weeks.  I took her to her first class, but Brad has taken her to all of the other ones.  She really has progressed and catches on to things pretty quickly.  The trampoline continues to be her favorite.  She loves to jump and she loves to do "Seat Drops."  (Jump up - land on your butt and then back up to your feet).
The class has helped her with getting her colors right.  I think she knows her colors.  If I say go find the green one etc, she does.  But, if I pick up a green color and say what color is this, she says red or purple, etc.  Sometimes I think she's playing with me. 
She'll be starting fall gymnastics next month.  I'm hoping that she can get into the evening class.  All of the other classes for her age group are during the mornings while I'm at work. 

5 Year Anniversary

Brad and I celebrated our five year anniversary on July 15th. We didn't have much planned and tried all week to get a babysitter, but everyone that we knew was busy. We ended up just bringing the girls with us out to eat and then spent the evening at home as a family. It's hard to believe that five years have already come and gone.  It's been an amazing five years & we are so blessed with our two adorable girls. 

When thinking back to our wedding day, we both said that the best part of the day was seeing each other for the first time.  How special.  :)


The five year tradition is "wood."  So I stuck with tradition and bought him a bird house.  Sadly, no birds have made a nest yet.  Brad got me a bracelet that matches my wedding jewelry.  It's so beautiful.  I always try to wear my wedding jewelry on our anniversary.  Now I have the complete set. 

We are also planning on taking our first cruise this winter as an anniversary gift to ourselves.  We are thinking of going to the southern or eastern Caribbean.  We just don't know which cruise line to go on yet.  We're still in the planning stages and soooooooooo looking forward to it!

Christmas In July

Our neighbors had a "Christmas in July" party earlier this month.  We were all asked to bring a white elephant gift.  I ended up bringing a roll of toilet paper that I bought at a craft show last year.  On the roll of toilet paper were the words "In case you get crap for your birthday!" embroidered on the front.  Hilarious!!!  We had trouble finding a second gift so we just brought a bottle of wine from our wine rack.

The roll of toilet paper played into the night pretty well because one of the guys mentioned that he had an uncle who always wanted to pick out the BIGGEST gift at their family Christmas gatherings.  So as a joke one year, his mom wrapped up a roll of toilet paper in the biggest box she could find.  His uncle grabbed the box and when he opened up the toilet paper, he got pretty upset.  So, my toilet paper gift ended up being pretty funny!!

We had so much fun and did so much laughing.  We played a few games and sang some Christmas songs. 
During one of the games, we split up into two teams and had to stuff a pair of pantyhose with blown up balloons.  Then one of our teammates had to wear the pantyhose on top of their head and we all had to sing Jingle Bells. 

Towards the end of the evening, we all decided to go Christmas caroling.  One of the guys from the party ended up going home early that night so we snuck into his house & stood next to his bed and sang "We wish you a Merry Christmas & Silent Night" to him at 2:00 in the morning.  He about had a heart attack. 

We had fun, but can't party like we used to in our twenties!  Until next year!

4th of July Curse

Due to Brad's hectic work schedule for his consulting business, our 4th of July weekend was spent at home.  We got some things done around the house and played with the girls.  We were telling Emmy all about the Fireworks (aka...colors in the sky) and she was getting so excited.  I bought some sparklers, snakes, ground spinners & pop its for the kids and we let them off in the street.

I fed Emmy her lunch that day and then laid her down for a nap.  After her nap, she woke up and started throwing up.  Erin woke up from her nap and Brad fed her some lunch.  Not long after Erin ate lunch, she got sick too.  The girls both ate hot dogs for lunch...so I'm assuming that's what got them sick.  Neither of the girls had fevers.  We spent the entire holiday cleaning up after sick kids.  I think Erin went through seven pairs of pajamas and got several baths that day.  Emmy & I gagged as Erin got sick.  I definitely inherited my mother's weak stomach.  As I was bent over the tub gagging & giving Erin one of her many baths, Emmy was gagging behind me, so I told her to run to the toilet.  She got sick in the toilet and then decided to go potty.  As she was sitting on the potty, she started laughing at me and said, "Haha mommy...your pants are falling down."  I guess I had plumber's crack.  he he

Erin got sick in so many different places of the house.  I sent Brad to the laundromat to clean our comforter, we had to throw out our living room rug, and washed her bedding & the couch cushions.  Later that night, we thought the girls were feeling better.  We wanted to show them the fireworks outside so we drove around the nearby lake.  As we were driving, Erin got sick in her car seat.  Emmy was so concerned about her and started crying.  She said (in a crying voice), "Oh no!  My Erin is sick.  She needs to go to the doctor!!"

So, the "Gort Family" 4th of July curse has come back to haunt me.  As kids it never failed that one of us Gorts would always get hurt or something happened to one of us on the 4th of July.  It ranged from my dad getting severe sunburns on his very white legs to Scott getting hurt from a bottle rocket that blew up near him.  And leeches on some not so great parts of the body.  YUK!!

Needless to say, I threw out the hot dogs and have yet to buy more.  I don't eat hot dogs in the first place, but the girls love them and they are quick & easy.  Emmy even requested them the next day for lunch, but I said no way!

Erin's 1st Corn on the Cob

She LOVED it!!!  And wanted more!

Sounds of Summer

We have been taking in the local performances at the Town Green Bandshell every Thursday morning.  The girls love the music and enjoy getting outside.  Last Thursday it was quite cold  - yes the girls have jackets on and it was the end of June.  Today we went to see a magician and it was 100 degrees.  We are looking forward to the upcoming activities - they range anywhere from music, circus act, story telling, puppet show, dancing and movies.

Last Thursday...The Bazillions.

Swimming Lessons & Gymnastics

We enrolled Emmy into swimming lessons & gymnastics.  Both classes are once a week and are each about a half hour long.  She absolutely loves both.  I take her to swimming lessons at Foss Swim School every Wednesday night and Brad takes her to Gleason's gymnastics every Thursday night.
The swimming lessons have really helped her fear of the water.  More so of getting her face wet.  She now loves to take showers at home.  She is the oldest in her class of six and looks forward to going each week.

Her gymnastics class has three other little girls who are all beginners just like Emmy.  She does really well on all of the equipment but loves the trampoline & the trapeze swing the best.  Emmy has some serious upper body strength for her age.  She's so strong - she does the monkey bars all by herself.
The instructors help teach basic tumbling along with listening skills, shapes and colors during each class.