Swag

My sister made this cute gif of Emberly going to the "school of swag" that I meant to include in last week's uniform adventures post, but I forgot.  So I'm making a whole new post with the cartoon and some new pics of Emberly's uniform looks.

Short sleeved cardi: crewcuts
Lace sleeveless tunic and belt: 77kids
Leggings: children's place
Boat shoes: target
Pocket tee: crewcuts
Necklace: heirloom
Skirt: cherokee (under-skirt bike shorts for playground modesty: gapkids)
Sandals: target

Kinda Scary

This is my sweet five year old daughter.

Would you guess that she is the artist behind these somewhat scary illustrations?!

I completely encourage her to draw and I'm often impressed by her ability and imagination, but sometimes the images haunt my dreams.
She also considers herself a bit a photographer too:

Hulking Out

Bauer is an easily frustrated little boy.  Where Emberly dissolved into a whiny mess, he screams and throws his weight around.  With The Avengers being everywhere right now, I've coined a term for the phenomenon: hulking out.

So Grown

Bauer wants to do everything himself.  As in, he does not need help from Sister, Daddy or Mommy.  They were blowing bubbles in the "backyard" (it is neither behind our home nor much of a yard LOL) and at first I was holding the solution for him.  I did not try to control the wand or his bubble blowing, but it was not good enough.  He wanted to also hold his own bubble solution.  So I let him.  It lasted about 30 seconds before he spilled it all and bubble time was over.  And wanted me to comfort him about it.  Geez louise, kid.  Sometimes we have to learn from our own mistakes.

Creeped Out

Emberly often impresses me with her drawing.  One of us is always asking, "Did you help her draw that?"
But many of her drawings have such a creepy quality to them.  I don't tell her that though LOL

Young Fanatic

Bauer LOVES Conan.  He'll shove the remote at me while chanting "Conan" until I comply (it's on the DVR).  He really only wants to hear the theme song and watch Conan dance about while the audience settles down.  But he's a serious fanatic for those few minutes.

Playtime

Emberly always wants us to throw her around like a rag-doll the way we play with Bauer.  To her, it shouldn't matter than she weighs nearly twice as much as he.

Brothers Beware

Emberly made warning signs for her brother when he's not allowed to come in their room.   Typically because she's playing with a set of toys with small pieces not meant for those under 3yrs.
I bet she imagines this:

But here are the real signs, which I'll credit Bauer, are a bit confusing.  No smiling people?  Well, he's not smiling, he's not happy he can't get into his room!

Success

Your got pancakes for breakfast?
You sneak-attack smacked your mom right on the butt?
You built something crazy tall with your sibling and your mega bloks?
Your daddy offered you a bite of brownie and you forced him shove the whole thing into your mouth?

These types of success can only be celebrated Liz Lemon style.  High Fiving a Million Angels.

Modest Ninjas

We were at the grocery store the other day when we ended up in the same aisle as someone dressed with her face covered, presumably for religious modesty.  Emberly spotted her.

It was really pretty endearing and I hope she wasn't offended.  We let Emberly know that she should really keep comments about the way people are dressed to herself, just in case it would hurt their feelings.  Later we tried explaining that it probably part of the lady's religion to have her face covered, but it was too abstract for her.  Politely preserving people's feelings was enough.

I Survived

I survived the hiatus for The Walking Dead on AMC by checking out the comics (compiled into a hardcover graphic novel) from my library.

The differences in storyline interest me.  And I'm also noticing that some characters I don't care for may be more about the actor's intrepretation on the show.  I can't wait to keep reading, but currently there are no copies of the 2nd book available.
Good thing the show is back to tide me over!

Here's Some Love

Happy Valentine's Day!

We celebrated by making Valentine's for Emberly's friends and eating hamburgers.  Fancy, right?  That's okay, because the real fun comes tomorrow when I buy candy on clearance.  Take that, over-hyped holiday to drive consumerism! ;)
I tried to get some pictures of Emberly blowing a kiss.

I have trouble nailing that look too.  So here's some classic duckface for you.

Courtesy of Emberly, my back-seat paparazzo.

And, guess what else?  The EBEW challenge was pink and red.  Hopefully it's not cheating that I ended up more pink and coral.

Top: J. Crew
Sweater: very old Express

Skirt: Goodwill

Belt: Target

Shoes: very old NYLA

Bracelets: H&M

Dance!

My kids love to dance.  I thought all little kids did, but being around more of them, I realize my kids *really* love to dance.
Bauer goes crazy for the opening theme of Conan.
Emberly has a mini obsession with LMFAO (she actually has trouble remembering that letter sequence {which is probably good LOL} and calls them Redfoo and Sky Blu).  She likes to Shuf-a-luffle (her words) and do the wiggle dance.  Ah, pervasive media and pop culture...  Thanks.

Persausive Lady

We made the mistake of taking our MJ cd into Daddy's car.  We have not managed to get it back.  The radio never seems to be playing anything good (and seriously, is it a requirement that you be an idiot and/or ignorant to be a radio dj?!? please, just don't talk).  Emberly found a cd in my car that she wanted to listen to.  I explained to her that this cd was made pre-Emberly and that there was unacceptable language on it.  She then engaged me in a rather convincing debate about it.  The most compelling points being:

1. She's four.  When she was three, she may have been tempted to say bad words that she hears, but her self control and maturity have grown leaps and bounds since then.
2. Bauer's a baby.  He doesn't even know what bad words are and so he won't try to say them.

Her persuasion skills are definitely up there, but I've been trained to resist.  We really need our Michael Jackson hits cd back.

Zelda Master

My mom and sister came out last week to be with Emberly and Bauer while hubs and I were away for our anniversary.  Emberly's favorite pastime was Majora's Mask (no clue if I'm spelling that correctly).  She watched auntie play and perfected her own ability to play.  I know she enjoyed herself to the fullest knowing we would not be letting her play when we got back!

Bonded

Emberly LOVES her auntie Danielle.  She insists, in fact, that they are twins.  They're hanging out right now, certainly strengthening their bond and increasing their powers.

The Doctor Will See You Now

This last trip to see my mom and siblings, Emberly unleashed her guilelessly brutal honesty on them, the way only a 4yo can.  I think she gave them plenty of fodder for their new year's resolutions (hey, auntie, found a place yet?).

All Transactions Final

When I was pregnant with Bauer, I waited until I was out of my first trimester to say anything to Emberly, who was 2.5.  After a good appointment with the midwife where I heard that reassuring heartbeat again, I decided to tell her she'd be a big sister.
She was ecstatic.  But I guess we hadn't explained well enough from where babies come, because she was wondering if the place where we pick up the baby was on the way home from daycare :/ LOL

Snuggle Bug

My mom crocheted and knit a couple blankets for Emberly before she was born.  Emberly used them but never developed any sort of attachment to them.
Bauer, on the other hand, is all about his blankies.  He loves burying his face in them for snuggles.  Loves stroking them while nursing.  He'll drag them behind him while playing.  And occasionally, he'll insist that we wrap him up like a burrito in them (and this is especially his favorite naked right out of the bath).
My only explanation for this is that he slept independently from a younger age and developed his attachment to self-soothe.  I'm not sure why he prefers the handmade over say the fleece or cotton jersey knit ones though. *shrug*

Even Girly Girls

Emberly is such a girly girl and she used to insist that we leave the bathroom when she was having a "movement" until she was done and flushed before we were allowed to come in and help her out.  And she would run to the hallway to pass gas and then rejoin us on the sofa.  No one else was doing this, it's all her.  But lately, she's found humor in passing gas where we have to smell it.  Maybe the boys at daycare are rubbing off on her.  It seems awfully out of character for her to maniacally ask us if we can smell it.  Gross.