Broadway Baby

Ammon and I agreed from the moment we found out Emma was going to be a girl, that we want to expose her to both dance/girly activities and sports/not-as-girly activities and then let her pick which one she likes best.  When I was down in the valley for about a month in April doing the Easter Pageant, I put Emma in a dance class at my sister's studio because:

A)  I was going to be doing a lot with the Easter Pageant, and wanted Emma to have something for her
2)  Madi dances there, and the owner is a good friend who called me to work on the Easter Pageant
Lastly)  It was free because of the above

Naturally, Emma was terrible in class.  The teacher would try to get her to do something, but she would just do her own thing the entire time.  She was terrible at following and mimicking.  She would frequently say "No, I do this!" when the teacher told her to do something.  She didn't really love it while she was there, but it was all she could talk about when she wasn't.  Then, the inevitable happened.  Costumes for recital arrived, and Emma had to have one.  Umm...no!  She's a little young.

Then, my dance class that I teach in Flagstaff had their recital and Emma was SOO upset the entire time that she wasn't able to be in it.  She wanted her chance to dance for everyone.

Fine.  Might as well get a costume, and let her be in the recital with Aunt Mads, right?  Plus...Emma would be dancing to "Broadway Baby", the very first dance that Madi did.  Ugh, I'm a sucker for nostalgia!

So, we drove down for the recital to watch Madi dance, and decided we might as well let Emma have her shot on stage.  Let's be real...2-year-olds don't really need practice.  They don't memorize the dances anyways.  During dress rehearsal, I was a complete disaster!  I get terribly nervous for other people.  I really don't like it when people have a bad experience and are scarred for life.  To this day, I still am nervous for Madi...especially because she had to sing (yes, she was mic'd) and dance this year during the opening number (naturally, she was awesome).  As for Emma's performance, I just wanted three things to NOT happen:

First)  Emma peeing her pants on stage
B)  Emma crying hysterically and running off stage
3)  Emma throwing up

Luckily, all she did was just sit there on her little bench.  PHEW!  So, I was feeling much better.  After dress rehearsal, I asked Emma why she didn't dance.  She said that it was because I told her to watch Miss Maryanna.  I'm retarded.  She did exactly that.

The next day was recital, and I was excited to get this stupid thing over with.  (Note to self: don't let her do this again...for my sake!)  On the way to the recital, Emma kept telling me that she didn't want to go on stage. I felt so bad!  What do I do?  Once we got there and got her dressed, I told her that if she got on stage and danced (in any way she wanted), then she could have the princess balloon she picked out (she didn't like the flower I got her).  She agreed.

After the recital, she definitely got her balloon.  She did exactly what she was told: she danced in any way she wanted.  Was it the choreography?  Nope.  Was is close?  Sometimes.  Was she so proud of herself? Absolutely!  I went backstage after her dance to take her potty (she may or may not have been dancing because she had to go).  She told me that she was a good listener and that she did a great job!  I was SOOO excited that she had a good experience!  Mission accomplished!

Madi only had a few numbers in the show that Emma was in (her main recital show was the following night), but made it a point to pick Emma up during Finale so Emma didn't feel so lost.  Madi danced with Emma and pointed us out in the crowd, and Emma waved and blew a kiss.  She was probably completely relieved to be done!  Thanks, Mads for helping your non-dancing niece feel more at home!

On our way back to my parents house from the recital, Emma told me that Madi is her sister, not mine.  Tender moment!  I can't wait to watch the video...especially the Finale!  *tear*

Guess we can check dance off the list of activities Emma will be doing...phew!  Up next: soccer, rock climbing, swimming, singing, and piano!  Hopefully watching Emma do those won't send my blood pressure through the roof!

This is the pose she did for recital pictures.  Whenever she has this costume on, she shows off her pose!  :)

So big!

Emma picks up all my bad habits.  One of which is being bossy.  She's mastered that.  The other is using my words against me.

Emma:  "I want a wah-pop" (otter pop/popcicle)
Me:  "Sorry, Emma, you have to eat your enchiladas first."
Emma:  "That's not an option.  I eat a wah-pop."

Emma:  "Mom...Mom...Jesica!"
Me:  "Emma, I'm on the phone.  What do you need?"
Emma:  "Focus, Mom.  I need chocolate milk.  Be a good listener."  (aka: do what I want right now)

Because of Emma's new-found grown-up talk, we've let her have a little more freedom.  Up until now, I have never let her be outside unless I'm outside.  However, there is a cute 3-year-old girl across the street that Emma always plays with.  I really needed to make dinner, and Emma was adamant about playing with her friend.  So we compromised.  I sat Emma down in a spot where I could see her out my kitchen window.  I told her she couldn't move from that spot until I was done making dinner.  Surprisingly, she listened.  She and her friend colored with chalk and drew each other pictures.  I was so proud of both of us.  Me, for giving her more freedom, and her for being responsible.  Can you believe Emma will be 3 in a week?  She's gotten so big!

This was the view from my window...so cute!!

Emma is...strong-willed?

You know your kid is crazy when everyone feels the need to comment on her personality, but they aren't quite sure which word to use.  Here are a few examples:

Example 1:
Mother's Day is always interesting for moms of kids who are no older than 2.  Let's be honest...it's just like every other day, but husbands are there to help out a lot more.  The sweet nursery workers tried making Mother's Day extra special.  They helped each kid fill out a paper of characteristics of their moms.  I was in nursery to watch this take place for a few minutes while I was setting up for singing time.  It was adorable!  The leaders really tried hard to make the answers sweet and special.  In the legal world, you could say that they were asking leading questions.  Here were a few of Emma's answers:

1. Leader: Emma, do you call your mom "Mommy" or "Mom"? (The paper says "My mother's name is___)
    Emma: No, I call her Daddy.  (Sadly, she really does mix us up all the time.  It makes me a little nervous!)
    Leader: Really?  Then what do you call your Daddy?
    Emma:  Mommy
    Leader:  Oh, I bet that's kinda confusing at your house then.
    Emma:  HAHAHAHA  No, it's not confusing!  (She seriously thought that was the funniest word!)

2.  Leader:  Emma, did your mom have a birthday recently?  (The paper says "My mom is ____years old)
     Emma:  Yeah, but it's my birthday next in June.
     Leader:  I know!  You'll be 3 soon.
     Emma:  No, I 18.
     Leader:  You're 18, huh?  But at your mom's birthday, did she turn 25 or 30?
     Emma:  No, my mom is 10.
     Leader:  10?  You're older than your mom?
     Emma:  Yeah!

When I went to pick Emma up from nursery, her leaders gave me her answers (and told me that their conversation with Emma was their favorite because of her "creative" answers) along with a paper with the "Hand prints" poem and her hand print on it.  Her leader then told me to take a high-heeled-shoe-shaped cookie.  I let Emma pick out which one she thought fit me best.  Emma then announced that the cookie was hers.  I said it was mine, but I would share it with her.  Emma then threw herself on the ground kicking and screaming.  Since she wouldn't let me pick her up, I dragged her out of nursery by her foot.  As I left the room, another mom who was going to pick up her child proceeded to tell me how much she loves Emma's "strong-willed" personality.

Example 2:
Emma is in a playgroup of 6 kids.  We take turns having it at our houses.  When I dropped Emma off, a mother said that she" loves to see the outfits Emma comes up with".  Yes, Emma was wearing a short-sleeved dress and sandals when it was no warmer than 50 degrees outside.  When we left the house, she had on pants, a coat, socks, and shoes.  By the time I got her out of her car seat, she had shimmied out of her layers and put on the sandals that were in the back of the car.  When I went to pick Emma up, another mom told me how independent Emma was, how she was such a leader, and how she loved her "fun" personality.  While she was telling me this, Emma was running around screaming, hiding under tables, and jumping on the couch.  Mothers of the kids who were following Emma kept chasing them and trying to get them to calm down.  Proud mom moment.

Example 3:
Yesterday, Emma and I had a "Stubborn Duel".  She had woken up several times in the night complaining of a stomach ache.  She didn't seem like she was going to throw up, although she kept saying she was going to.  I kept offering her food, but she refused.  The next morning she pooped...a lot...then said that her tummy hurt again.  I figured she was finally hungry.  I sat her at the table and told her she could only get down if she took one bite of cereal.  I knew that if she took a bite, she would either down the rest, or finally throw up.  She sat at the table for TWO HOURS crying the whole time.  She finally took a bite, and downed 2 bowls of cereal.

To say that Emma is stubborn is an understatement.  To say that I am more stubborn is obvious.  Naturally, our personalities don't mix.  I feel like I'm the mother of a teenager.  I'm hoping that her personality will keep her on the straight and narrow.  However, if she happens to choose the other path, we're in BIG trouble!  It's instances like these that make me grateful we don't have another child.  The Lord clearly knows that Emma needs a little more one-on-one attention than most kids her age.  :)

A little hike in Sedona.

5 years down...

While everyone was watching the Royal Wedding, Ammon and I were off reminiscing about the first day of our lives.  Ammon loves surprises, and I'm horrible at them, so naturally Ammon planned a surprised anniversary trip for us, and I was trying to piece everything together the entire month I knew he was scheming.  

Since this would be the first time leaving Emma with a babysitter for more than a few hours, I was a little nervous.  I wanted to make sure that she would have a fun time too.  Luckily, Ammon thought of everything: his parents came all the way from Salt Lake just to entertain Emma.  She loved every second of it!  She didn't even cry or throw a temper tantrum once!  

We took off heading West on Friday morning and were in Las Vegas a few hours later.  I was hoping that we weren't going to stay in Vegas...it's not the most romantic destination.  :)  We did, however, get to do some shopping (which is heavenly without Emma)!!  After the mall, we went to see the Bellagio flower exhibit, which was A-mazing as always.  It's my favorite place to stop.  Sadly, it was beyond windy, so the water show wasn't going.  Here are some pics...

Yes, this is a re-creation of a piece of art, but with flowers, of course!

My new favorite flowers...

The theme was a Springtime carnival featuring butterflies??  :)  Who knows...but it was gorgeous!

My second new favorite flower...

Who knew tulips were so cool??

After a fabulous dinner in Las Vegas, we headed to St. George!  I was so excited!  Before we left, I was hoping that we were going to go to Sedona (because we both love red rocks, and it's surprisingly romantic), but since we started heading West instead of South, my second choice would have been St. George.  We had a fabulously romantic hotel suite, which was the perfect place to try the new bath bombs I had just purchased.  Nothing like being pampered, right?  :)

The next morning, Ammon asked me to navigate him toward Snow Canyon.  I was a little hesitant, because I'm not exactly nature girl.  However, I trusted that Ammon wasn't going to just ditch me and go climbing for a few hours.  :)  Naturally, he delivered!  We went to a massive sand dune.  It was gorgeous scenery, perfect weather, and a beach (let's be honest, I never go in the water when we go to California)...without a 10+ hour drive!  I was in heaven!  For those of you who know me, you might understand better if I tell you that it was like opening a new tub of butter and being the first to take out the swirl!  There were hardly any people, so hardly any footprints in the finest red sand you've ever seen.  We lay [Ammon said this is the correct form of "lie"] out, had a little picnic, then drove to see the other landscape...it was so relaxing!

Those are our footprints...

"The last set of footprints were when He carried you"...or the second person walked in the first person's footprints so we could take the shot.  HAHAHA

I mean, seriously, is that not the coolest picture?

After our "beach" adventure, we lay out by a real pool (although it was only in the 70s and too cold for me to  get into the heated pool), read books, took naps, and relaxed!  Once we awoke to the reality of rumbling tummies, we went to the temple to await our dinner reservation at The Painted Pony.  

And had to take a picture with Brigham Young, naturally!  :)

The Painted Pony is a "real" restaurant.  In other words, they have a real chef and charge a lot more.  Look how amazing my French Onion Soup looked??  Don't worry...it tasted even better!  :)

I forgot to take pictures of our entrées.  We were too hungry to remember to wait. Ammon had THE most tender meat. You didn't even need a knife to cut it!  I had scrumptious ravioli.  This is our dessert...the perfect blend of sweet and tart!  YUM!

Sadly, we had to leave early the next morning so we could be at our 1:00 church (Did I mention we have new callings?  Ammon is the 1st Counselor in YM and I'm the Nursery Chorister/fill in for the Primary Chorister when she's sick.), and so Ammon's parents could make the long drive back home.  Thanks again, Dave & Karen!  You were lifesavers!

It probably wouldn't have mattered where we went on our trip.  We just needed a break to talk uninterrupted, a break from our stressful lives, and a break to fall in love all over again!  5 years down...an eternity to go...