Brooklynisms....

Brooklyn has been saying the funniest things lately. I know I won't remember them in years to come, so I must write them down!

A few weeks ago, Brooklyn and I stayed at home and cleaned the house. She helped take all the animals off their beds for me and then I changed their sheets. She also wiped down some door knobs and dusted her kitchen. She worked hard! I told her when we were finished and wrapping things up to eat some lunch, "Brooklyn, thanks for helping me today. We worked really hard." She replied (insert very tired sigh), "I know. I feel like Cinderella."
She has a hard life. :)

I was helping Brooklyn go potty just the other morning and this was our conversation:
Brooklyn: Where does our potty go when we flush?
Me: Down into the ground.
Brooklyn: Like down to Satan?

I love 3 year olds and the things they say. Don't always love their behavior, but they sure are funny.

Emma Learns to Ride Her Bike

We finally took the training wheels off Emma's bike. We had tried riding it a few times, but she was nervous. I gave her a "controlled" fall (meaning I held the handle bars and lowered her down to the ground), and she immediately hated riding her bike. Yeah...I've got serious Dad skills.

I searched the internet and spoke with Brett Harkey about how to teach her how to ride her bike and gain confidence. Brett's idea seemed plausible, so last weekend I took Emma to the old driving range near Lewis & Clark. They have a ton of grass, and a few little short hills. I held the bike for her halfway up the hill, then let her coast down it, learning how to balance. I reminded her to use her feet to keep from falling. She coasted down and used her feet to not fall when she slowed down!! She was SOOOO stoked! We kept doing that over and over, going higher and higher up the hill. She started pedaling at the end of the hill, and was riding all over that driving range! It was awesome! We called Mommy, and she beamed the news over the phone. She eagerly wanted to ride on the road, so we got in the car to head home.

On our way to all of this, Emma found her camera in my car. On our way home, she said she wanted to go on a "photo adventure" with me. So we stopped at the railroad tracks in Johnson and went exploring with our cameras. It was so fun! I'd take a shot, and she'd try a similar shot, then show me and ask me if that's what I was trying to do. There are some pictures from the adventure (her's & mine) below.

When we got home, the fam went outside to see Emma show off her new riding skills. Here's the video. Please disregard my fatness and moobs. It was a pretty perfect day!

Emma's First Art Show

Emma's art class is divided into three sessions a school year and she just finished the second session (her first session to take). At the end of each session, the teacher holds an art show at a local restaurant where all the students work is displayed. They can price their art to sell as well.
This all took place last Friday night and it was really neat. I LOVED seeing all the other students art. The ages range from 3 years old to adult and there was some amazing stuff. Emma was so proud to see her art hanging on the wall and loved showing it to those who asked what belonged to her. They even had biography pages with a picture next to their pieces. So professional! These pictures are from my phone so they are not great. I will have to add the pictures from John's camera later.

Congratulations Emma! We are so proud of you and the way you are using your creativity that God gave you!