Happy Thanksgiving!

Hoping you and yours have the best Thanksgiving ever!

There are so many things I am thankful for, but none more so than...

The cardiac kid

Well, we had a little too much excitement at Emma's horseback riding lesson yesterday. After taking lessons for about 10 months, she got thrown from her horse for the first time. Back in February, she slid off her horse onto the ground while riding bareback, but the horse was barely moving. What happened yesterday was a whole different experience.

Her horse, Cinnamon, was a bit sluggish yesterday, probably because of the cold weather. But she just wasn't in the mood to trot. Emma had a crop and was using it, but Cinnamon would still slow to a walk whenever she thought she could get away with it. Emma's trainer, Sarah, went and got a whip...not to whip the horse, of course, but just to snap it to get her moving. It did the job pretty well for awhile, but then Cinnamon slowed to a walk again. Sarah walked a little closer to the horse and snapped the whip and apparently Cinnamon knew she meant business, because she bolted and started cantering at full speed.

Emma had never cantered before...the poor girl hung on as tight as she could while Sarah ran after them, but Emma eventually just flew off the horse and fell flat on her back on the ground.

I was screaming at this point. From where I was standing, I thought the horse had stepped on Emma. Sarah got to her first and picked her up. She was fine, although she had the wind knocked out of her. She wasn't crying - probably because she couldn't breathe. The older girls must have heard the commotion (aka me screaming) and ran in and chased Cinnamon down.

Anyway, Emma was fine and when we all got calmed down, she got back on Cinnamon and finished her lesson (no more cantering!) It was kind of sweet, because the older girls all made a big deal out of officially welcoming Emma to the club - because you're not an official cowgirl until you've been thrown from your horse.

Still, I would have been happy had she not become a member of that club for a little while longer. Hopefully she won't fall off again for a very long time...my heart just can't take it!

Emma and Santa 2008

Emma and I made a trip to the mall today (a place I usually avoid like the plague) with the express purpose of seeing Santa. We only had to wait in line a few minutes and I snapped a couple pictures while Emma filled the jolly guy in on what she wanted this year for Christmas...



A few of Emma's friends are already skeptical about Santa, which saddens me. Emma said one of her friends at school told her there was no way Santa could visit every house in the world in one night. Emma said she explained to her friend that when it was daytime here, it was dark in Africa and China and that's when Santa went there. Then when it's dark in China and Africa, he comes here. Which is an entire day...totally do-able, in Emma's opinion.

I just hope she believes for a long time...

Emma and her horsey friends

We spent another long day at the stables today. We usually get there at 2:30 or so, Emma has her lesson at 3 o'clock, but we seldom leave before 6. After her lesson, she always wants to hang out and help the older girls feed and water all the horses. I don't mind and I just sit in the lounge reading.

Emma absolutely adores these girls and they love her too. They are all much older than her...Katie is 10, Sophie is 11 and Nicole is 16. But Emma seems to feel these are her peers and likes nothing better than running around the barn with them. I normally would not let Emma hang out with girls this age at school or anywhere else. But all these kids have a common love (horses) and would spend their entire lives at the barn if they could.

I snapped a quick photo today of Emma with her posse...


I just love this photo...it's just a weird thing that what little light there is in the stable is shining on Emma. What I love more is the light shining in her face because she's having fun with her horsey friends. You can see she is in heaven.

Emma...child model

Some of you might recall that a couple months ago, I was contemplating whether to let Emma sign with a modeling agency. A photographer friend of mine, who works with a number of really good agencies in town, had suggested it after seeing a picture of Emma.

Anyway, long story short, Emma and I met with three of the agencies that Gabe (photographer friend) recommended and we ended up signing with one of them. I know...I can't really believe it either. But Emma says she really wants to try it. And it would be a nice way to add to her college fund or pay for her rather costly love of all things equestrian.

So last week, Gabe took some photos of Emma for her composite card (a big postcard that the agency sends out to clients.) Here are some of my favorites...






Even though there was no obligation to do so, I've signed Emma up for a couple of modeling classes with the agency so she can learn more about photo movement, acting, runway, etc. I know...RUNWAY! How hysterical is that? I guess kids are booked for a lot of bridal shows and stuff. Her first class is tomorrow after school. I'll let you know how it goes...hopefully this won't end up being a colossal mistake on my part!

Lord, please let this be true...

...at least for a few more years!

Flashback Friday

When Emma was just about 2 1/2 years old, we decided it was time to tackle potty-training...as you can see from this photo, she had a little trouble with the concept at first.


Fortunately, she caught on pretty quickly and was potty-trained in less than two weeks!

2nd!

Happy Halloween...

...from Minnie Mouse and her mommy!

Emma's first horse show

Emma is entered in her very first horse show on Saturday. I was not really keen on her participating, to be honest. She's been riding less than a year and she's so much younger than the other girls in the competition. But she really wanted to do it and her teacher said she thought she was ready. So I was overruled.

She'll just be riding in one class...a walk/trot class for kids 10 and under. I don't even know if I can watch. I honestly don't care if she wins (she won't) and she says she knows she probably won't. My only concern is that she'll make a mistake and feel horrible about it - she's such a perfectionist.

I know it's a valuable lesson for kids to learn that they aren't always going to win and always excel. I'm just hoping is she does her best and has fun, whether she wins a ribbon or not.

Wish her luck...I'll let you know how she did!

It's apple pickin' time!

Saturday was a glorious fall day and we went apple picking with some of our friends. We had never gone apple picking before and I have to say, it was just wonderful. We traveled to an apple orchard about an hour away. Here are the girls (Emma, Jenna, Christina and Kimmie) just before we set them loose to pick apples and run wild...


Here's Emma wielding the apple picker...frankly, with four six-year-olds running around with these, I can't believe there weren't a few serious injuries...


Here are Emma and Kimmie...I love this photo, even though the girls were squinting into the sun...


We were out in the orchard for nearly two hours, picking apples and eating apples. Even this late in the season, the orchard had like ten varieties of apples still on the trees. It is amazing how different they all taste. Emma pretty much liked them all...




I don't know if it was because we were outside in the crisp fall air, but the apples tasted better than any I've ever had before. Of course, that's probably a good thing because now I have a bushel of apples sitting in my kitchen and we can't possibly eat them all. Looks like I need to break out the applesauce and apple pie recipes!

Emma and Biggie

This past weekend, we traveled to St. Louis to visit my parents. Emma loves her Biggie and Papa so much. Yes, "Biggie" is the name that Emma somehow came up with when she was a baby to call my mom. I think it has something to do with the fact that my mom's oldest grandchild, my nephew Ryan, called her Gobey. And Emma, hearing all the other grandkids calling her Gobey, somehow got it turned around a little and has called her Biggie ever since. It's quite a source of mirth in our family.

Anyway, it was a nice weekend with my parents...shopping and eating and eating and shopping. We did manage to make our annual fall pilgrimage to Grant's Farm, which is always great fun.

Here's a picture of Emma and her Biggie at the farm...


We have a lot of exciting things going on right now...too much to write about in this post. I'll try to fill you in sometime this weekend when I have a bit more time.

Have a nice weekend, y'all!

Flashback Friday

Some bloggers on their Friday posts have started posting pictures of their children from years gone by, so I thought I'd take my turn. Here's a picture of Emma taken four years ago right around this time.


This was taken outside a hotel in St. Louis where we had met my parents for a fun fall weekend. We're meeting them at the same hotel this weekend...hopefully it will be just as much fun!

The pumpkin patch

This weekend Emma and I made our annual trek to the pumpkin patch to get our pumpkins. We've gone to the same place every fall since Emma was two. I don't know if it's tradition or if I'm just too lazy to scope out a new place. Either way, it was a lovely day and we had a nice time...




Excuse the crummy pictures...the battery on my good Canon camera is having trouble holding a charge and I had to order a new battery...so I was stuck with the old point-and-shoot. Hopefully I'll get the new battery this week and will be back in business soon!

Zoo camp

Nothing of great importance going on here...busy weeks and busier weekends it seems.

Emma and her friend Amy spent part of their Saturday this past week going to a day-long zoo camp. They got to learn a lot about animals and rode camels and the zoo carousel about 30 times. A lot of fun, but probably not enough to inspire a career in zoology.

Here's a picture of the two adorable girls (taken by Amy's mom)...


I bet this is probably just about the GREENEST picture you've ever seen! They are just so darn cute, though, it warms my heart!

Little Emma on the Prairie

Emma's Brownie troop had a field trip yesterday to this historical museum. The girls had such a blast dressing up like children 150 years ago. Here's a picture my friend Beth took of Emma with her friend Madeline...


I didn't get to go on the field trip, unfortunately. But last night, Emma regaled me with facts and tales about life in the 1800's. She told me that the parents ate dinner first and then the children. She also mentioned that the children were often responsible for emptying the chamber pot. She said "Boy, kids had it rough back in the olden days!"

A girl and her kitty

I really don't have anything spectacular to write about. All I have is a picture of Emma with her beloved cat Sami...she loves her kitty so much! And despite the rather pained expression on her face, Sami loves Emma too!

Catching our breath...

Ever since school started in the fall (or late summer), we have been insanely busy. I mean INSANELY busy. It's not that I have Emma signed up for 100 activities or anything. It's just that the few things she is involved in have swung into high gear.

This weekend was especially crazy. We started off with a Brownie meeting on Friday night. Saturday morning, we had to get up early to participate in the ALS charity walk (my employer was a corporate sponsor.) Then we rushed off to catch a big youth horse show downtown. We left that early so we could make it to our local FCC chapter's Moon Festival by late afternoon. We left home at 9 am and walked in the door at 9 pm, both exhausted. Today was a little less hectic...just church, going to a big local art fair and horseback riding lessons. Next weekend looks slightly less hectic, but only slightly.

Emma and I both like being busy, but this is a little too much...I hope it slows down a bit. But looking at our calendar, I don't see it - at least for the next several weeks.

Anyway, here are a few pics from the weekend. This is Emma at the horse show, indulging in one of her favorite activities...


Here she is at the Moon Festival, hanging with her friend Hope...


And this is Emma deep in the creative process while painting at the art fair today...


So because we've been gone all weekend, the house is a mess, the lawn needs mowing, and I only got about half the laundry done. I did manage to squeeze in a trip to the grocery store so we wouldn't starve this week. But that was about the extent of my accomplishments. Better luck next week, right?!

It's homework time!

When your child enters first grade, suddenly there is this thing called homework. Emma received her very first homework assignment today. She was very excited at first. Then reality kicked in...as you can see from these photos!






She only had about ten minutes of work to do...just some vocabulary words she had to copy. They give the kids homework on Tuesdays and Thursdays which isn't too bad. But if she's this exhausted from doing ten minutes of homework now, what are we going to do a few years from now when she has two hours of homework every night?!

Emma, Emma, quite contrary...

I don't know if it's being in first grade, if it's just a phase, or if I'm just a lousy parent, but Emma has developed a real attitude of late. Could it be that she is coming to the realization that her mommy is not a dazzling genius who knows everything about everything? I was hoping she wouldn't find this out until she was like 30.

Anyway, we're going through a rough patch. Maybe it's just adjusting to the start of the school year or something. She's always been this incredibly sweet and compliant child - we didn't even really have terrible twos - but she's been so whiny and pouty all week. Nothing horrible, but a lot of contradicting me and arguing over every little thing. It's wearing on me.

Plus, it took her all of four days of school to get in a little trouble. She got put in time out in school today for talking. Emma had a real problem in kindergarten with talking in class when she wasn't supposed to. We had her pretty well back in line by the mid-year point. But I can see now that we (meaning her teacher and I) will have to keep on her. So I told her she couldn't play on the computer the rest of this week...and if she got another time out, no computer this weekend. She really loves playing games on the computer, so I think this got her attention. We'll see...

I don't want to make it sound like I've got a spoiled brat on my hands...she's still very sweet like 90% of the time. But that other 10% is testing my patience right now!

Anyway, here's a picture of my little angel...let's hope our week gets better!