Emma Starts Preschool

Three weeks ago, on a rainy Tuesday after Labor Day, Emma started preschool. There were some mixed feelings about this. Dave bemoaned the fact that she was getting older. I was excited, because she needed a break from me, and I could use some one-on-one time with Madeline. Emma was thrilled that she was going to go to school.


She hung her backpack up and didn't look back.


Later, as I was running errands with just Madeline in tow (something I had been looking forward to for months), I was struck by the quiet. No little voice singing along with me to the radio, or asking me a million questions as I wandered Target. I got a little teary myself. But when I picked her up, she was full of stories. She comes home singing new songs and reciting poems.

She absolutely loves it. How do I know? Because on Wednesday, when I told her she wasn't going to school (she's on a Tuesday/Thursday schedule), she cried. But don't worry--she perked right up when I told her we had gymnastics instead.

PS. I put her in a dress on the first day, mostly because I was worried about her being able to go to the bathroom without having to worry about buttons and zippers, and now she thinks she has to wear a dress or a skirt every time. Or perhaps she loves it so much she wants to dress up for the occasion??

Labor Day 2010

I have many more summer posts coming up (we really were busy between the 4th and Labor Day...too busy to blog I guess??), but I wanted to get back to posting things as they happen. Dave's busy work schedule slowed down (hooray for Dallas clients that actually take holidays!) and we took advantage of temperatures below 100* to go to the Dallas Zoo. They recently opened a new Giants of the Savanna exhibit that we though was really cool.



You could also pay a very marked up price for lettuce feed the giraffes:

Emma loved allof the statues:



We are excited to get back to the Zoo and use our membership again!

4th of July

We celebrated the 4th of July on the 3rd by going to the Rockwall Parade. Of course we had to get donuts before:



Emma loved waving her flag:

Later that afternoon we went to a barbecue. Our friends live in a neighborhood that is technically on "unincorporated" county land, so there is no one to tell them they can't shoot off some fireworks! Despite the wet afternoon, we were undeterred:

Summer Fun: Northeast Texas Children's Museum

Some friends introduced us to the Northeast Texas Children's Museum in Commerce. It is good, cheap fun. It is one big room full of great stuff to play with, from a "hospital" with a real gurney, to a courtroom, to a jungle, to a space shuttle. Emma spent the majority of her time playing with the grocery store. I spent my time following Madeline around. She loved this airplane:

Summer Fun: Dallas World Aquarium

Way back in June, Dave's brother, Matt, visited us, and we decided to cross off another activity on our Summer Fun List and head to the Dallas World Aquarium. It is one of my favorite activities in Dallas. It's not like a traditional aquarium--it is set up like a rain forest. You start on the top canopy level:

Then you go around and down, looking at animals on all of the different levels, until you get to the underwater tanks.

Checking out the turles.

Emma, Matt, and a jaguar.

Madeline and the flamingos. For the first time, I freed Madeline from the stroller and let her walk by herself in a public place. She loved it!