The Emmons Kids

Ian Turns 4!

// September 1st, 2011 // No Comments » // General

КартинииконописIan’s 4th birthday has arrived, and none too soon, as he’s been relentlessly questioning us about where his birthday presents are stashed. I think he’s guessed every part of the house, so when I finally told him I’d hidden them in the sky, he replied, “Tell me for real, Mommy, are they in the basement? They are, aren’t they!”

All of this stems from his complete love of Legos, in particular the Ninjago sets, which he was promised more of for his birthday. It doesn’t matter that he already has bins full of Legos, he always wants more. His favorite line seems to be, “Hey, Mommy, I have an idea – let’s go to the store and buy Legos!” We oblige these requests probably more than we should, but the fact that he plays with Legos for hours without making a peep, doesn’t seem like a bad thing to encourage. In a recent Ianism he even professed that when he’s older and has money, he’s going to buy a house and fill it full of Legos.

That brings to mind two of our other favorite Ianisms, which are: 1) “I like you and I love you!” (It’s never just one or the other…), 2) “Mommy!” What Ian? “Nothin’!” (Hysterical laughter ensues and he will do this several more times, getting to the point where he doesn’t even wait for me to say what…).

Despite his newfound interest in Lego Ninjas, Ian continues to think pirates are cool, and dresses up like one when Ally and he play princess and pirate together. He also still loves swords, and the crock full of them is firmly rooted by our front door, as full as ever.

When Ian was born, I was determined to never use the line, “You are such a boy!” But I’ve found myself using it more than I care to admit as he gets older. I guess I’m just at a loss to otherwise describe his boundless energy, refusal to sit down to pee, and general love of causing “non-premeditated” mass destruction. His favorite form of play is wrestling, and we spend untold amounts of time with him trying to body slam, squish and pin us. I guess some things really are innate, because we’ve never let him watch wrestling on TV. He’s still a peanut, so for now, it’s all good, but one day I know that will change.

His size is the only thing about him that is small – he has a rather deep voice compared to other young boys and packs a wallop of a personality, which features generous helpings of mischievousness, playfulness, and silliness. But there is a softer side to Ian as well, a side that can be very sweet and gentle. He is big on snuggling when he first wakes up or sleepy and loves it when I yank him back and forth as he tries to kiss me (and gets frustrated when I don’t let him win a kiss). And what a kisser he is – cupping your face in his hands and laying a huge lip locker on you – lock up your daughters!

Ian’s favorite lullaby is “You are my Sunshine,” and he always points out that he is my sunshine and I’d be sad if he was ever taken away. Maybe that’s why one night as I was putting him to bed (rare since he usually prefers Eric for bedtime), he said, “Mommy, I want to keep you forever.” My response was, “Little man you can, because you will absolutely own my heart forever.”

And that has been true from the moment he was born. Because even though he’s officially made me the “Executive Director of a Madhouse” as I like to joke, that’s life with Ian and just the way we like it. Happy birthday, Ian!

Learning to Let Go: Alexandra Turns 6

// August 4th, 2011 // No Comments » // General

свети атанасПравославни икониAlexandra turned 6 on July 5th and is now officially more than “one whole hand.” Since Alexandra’s 5th birthday, the biggest developments have been the loss of her first tooth and graduating from kindergarten.

There have been plenty of other changes too, but ones that are harder to pinpoint. Every parent has those moments, when you look at your child and they’ve seemingly matured overnight. You can’t always identify what it is, the sound of their voice, something they’ve said, or just their general “look,” but you can feel it – they are older somehow. I seem to get that feeling every other day now. And it is both heartbreaking to be yet again reminded of how time flies, and exhilarating to see the young girl she’s maturing into.

Personality traits apparent since she was a toddler are developing further, in particular how outgoing she is, striking up a conversation with people everywhere she goes, currently any kid that appears to be her age. You’ll turn around and there she is, “Hi, my name’s Alexandra and I’m 6. What’s your name and how old are you?” She also has a take charge attitude, and tries to take the lead in most situations. While a good thing, I do spend time coaching her that there’s a difference between being a good leader and friend, and just being bossy and mean.

One quirk I thought she’d outgrow but hasn’t is her refusal to wear any shirts or dresses with buttons on the front. I don’t know when or how that one started.

Her taste in TV has changed as she now prefers Wizards of Waverly Place and My Babysitter’s a Vampire to the usual cartoons, but still enjoys Scooby Doo. I’m always happy to snuggle with the kids to watch Scooby, and they just discovered two of my other childhood favorites, He Man and She Ra, which we watch together too. She also loves jewelry (not to wear often, just to collect it seems) and makeup.

Alexandra was very proud of herself at her kindergarten graduation – getting her diploma and signing Louis Armstrong’s “What a Wonderful World” with her classmates. Alexandra’s teacher choked up as she was reading each student’s name, and we are so lucky she had a chance to learn from her. I am still amazed at everything she knows and can do now – reading, writing, addition, subtraction, counting money, telling time. That last one I wish they would have waited on though, as I can no longer fake her into an earlier bedtime!

Alexandra will start first grade in just a few weeks now. I still have trouble comprehending that. We’ve been slowly collecting the items on her school supplies list, and she’s had fun picking out what she wants. The prospect of the bus, a new school and whole class of strangers is enough to make even our outgoing girl feel a bit nervous though.

At her birthday party, surrounded by friends from her old school, current school and her neighborhood too, I was reminded of how lucky our girl has been in meeting and making friends throughout her preschool days. I’ve used that to chat about her concerns over her new school, and her opportunity to make even more great friends.

During one of our mother/daughter walks the other evening, Alexandra let go of my hand, and said, “Mom I’m a big girl now, so I don’t have to hold your hand all the time anymore.” I agreed, saying, “True, but my hand is always here whenever you want it.” She quickly grabbed it again and we walked the rest of the way home hand in hand.

I’m learning that growing up means letting go of our children in little ways every day – showing our confidence in their ability to stand on their own. And while it can be difficult to let go, that moment helped me learn something equally valuable – that Alexandra growing up and me being willing to let go, does not have to mean us growing apart. I’ll always be there to give her guidance as her personal “spotter” and whenever she needs me, while giving her space to mature into the woman she will one day be, and that’s what it’s all about.

A Tooth Tale

// June 6th, 2011 // No Comments » // General

икониAs classmate after classmate lost their first (and in some cases second, third and fourth) tooth, Alexandra kept asking when she too would have a wiggly tooth. I tried explaining that everyone is different and the day would come before she knew it.

This past Friday, Alexandra’s wish was granted. As we were going through the store after school, I offered to get some ice cream to take home. As my girl’s face lit up with a huge excited grin, I noticed that her smile seemed a bit different.

When she opened her mouth so I could get a closer look, I could clearly see her bottom left tooth was loose. “Oh, my gosh Mom,” she gushed with a look of awe, “I have my first wiggly tooth!! I didn’t know, I just thought my tooth was sticking out funny today!”

I admit to getting a bit teary-eyed at yet another reminder that my little girl isn’t quite so little any more.

As we headed to the checkout line, Alexandra proceeded to tell every person we passed about her wiggly tooth, and once in the car had to call Pappy and Grandma Hensell to fill them in.

At home, she ran into the house and immediately shared her big news with Eric, before beginning to wonder exactly when her wiggly tooth would come out. We were betting on it falling out within two more sleeps – before she went back to school on Monday.

I’d forgotten how much a loose tooth can bleed, which hers did a fair share of all day Saturday, up until dinner. And then it happened, as she was eating her pasta, she shouted, “Mommy! My tooth just came out!!”

Sure enough, there was her tiny tooth on her plate. That night, we placed the tooth in a baggie and she carefully put it under her pillow. At 5:50 a.m. Sunday morning, she came running into our room to say she’d heard the tinkling of bells overnight and found money under her pillow – the tooth fairy had come!

Needless to say, Alexandra was thrilled to be able to go to school today and share all the details with her friends.

When the Parents are Sick…

// March 10th, 2011 // No Comments » // General

Идея за подаръкEric and I always encourage our kids to be self-sufficient – that while some things require Mom and Dad’s help, there are plenty of things you can easily do for yourself.

This paid off recently, when Eric and I were both hit with an awful bout of the flu that left us too weak and sick to get out of bed and take care of our own kids. It’s something I hope we never experience again, but at least we know the kids can fend for themselves for a short while if it does.

Realizing we couldn’t even get the kids to school, we placed a distress call early Monday morning to Pappy, who dropped everything to come help care for all of us. While we were waiting for him to make the three plus hour trip, Alexandra was a wonderful help. Our big girl not only tried to take care of Eric and I, but she also got snacks and drinks for her brother and herself, and kept Ian entertained. We were so appreciative of what she did.

Of course Ian is a different story. His pint-sized, big blue-eyed appearance easily fools some into thinking he’s an angel. Ahem. I’m his mom, trust me, I know he is an absolute sweetheart most times, but he has an equally (and some days exceedingly) mischievous side that can’t pass up an opportunity to do something he shouldn’t whether it can cause bodily harm or not.

So, when Eric turns to me and asks, “Did you just hear the front door?” as we’re laying miserable in bed, all I could think was that it was too soon for my dad to have arrived. But then I heard it too.

I immediately attempted to get out of bed, which was not easy, and called to Alexandra to see what was going on. Her response was, “It’s not me, Mom, I’m getting us a snack!” And then it hit me – Ian! Once at the top of the stairs, I see my son making his way outside and began yelling for him to get his butt back in the house. His perfectly rationalized reply was that he’d only be a minute and needed to take some trash outside (which turned out to be a single sheet of paper).

It’s at times like this that Alexandra’s take charge attitude (and dare I say her bossiness) can come in handy. The girl does not mess around, and before I could shuffle down the stairs, she was out the door declaring to her brother, “Oh no you don’t mister! Ian Cooper, you get inside right now!” Impressively, Ian didn’t argue at all (she did have him by the arm), and he followed her right back into the house. After relocking the door, she sat him on the bottom step and gave him a little talking to about why that wasn’t a good idea. It was very clear that she is mini me in more than just looks alone.

Ian apologized, but I know that does not mean it won’t be repeated. Quite the contrary for sure, so Eric and I learned a valuable lesson – with Ian in the house, we need to invest in a much higher lock on the front door. While we didn’t have to worry about such things with Alexandra, Ian just can’t seem to help himself – if opportunity strikes, he’s going to jump on it. I swear he’s hardwired for mayhem sometimes.

I spent the rest of the time waiting for Pappy lying on the couch. Thankfully he arrived a short while later and spent the next two days taking care of and watching out for us, and we are ever so grateful. I don’t think I would have gotten much rest otherwise.