I Like To Ride My Trycycle

Emma has been busy this last week practicing on her bike in the back garden. I had to learn the hard way that you can't take the bike to the park and expect to teach a 2 year old how it all works when there are so many distractions. As much as Emma can be a "one track" she can also be a really good "side track". Too many distracts and other toys and children to play with is not a good learning environment for bike riding. So with the nice weather we are having in February I took advantage of the back garden. I still insist that Emma dress properly with helmet, the right kind of shoes with socks and the right kind of clothing. With a bit of preparation, off come the dresses, sandals and on go the rest. Good habits of safety last a life time.


She wasn't too keen on the helmet but now expects it to be put on which is great. I still get a lot of pedalling backwards and walking the bike. The nice part is she is concentrating on what she is doing and I let her have fun with how the bike turns and pushes. I want her to really explore the bike before I get to involved with "now do this" "now do that" . I grew up with bike riding being really fun and I still love it to this day. I want her to have the same feelings with no pressure only pure joy. Every day she asks to ride her bike and is sad when it gets too dark to go outside and ride some more.
Her Aunt Linda puts it best "Your a cleaver girl Emma!", so I have no doubts that she will be doing circles around me in no time!

Daddy's At Work

Not so shocking to those who really know what an amazing daddy Donald is, but Emma has had a most difficult time with Donald going back to work. After getting laid off last fall and then starting a pretty amazingly great job 6 weeks later, Emma is heart broken. Over the weeks it has gotten a bit better. When Donald first went back to work she would stand at the door and cry for daddy, at night she would want Donald to rock her until she would fall asleep in his arms. Over time it got better, and now it's like Donald is a rock star when he gets home...little girly screams and all! Emma runs to him screaming "DADDY!!!" which is immediately followed by loads of hugs and kisses. She still talks during the day about daddy being at work but the tears have dried up and replaced with understanding and knowledge. She looks forward to the weekends and evenings when we are all together and to our special Fridays. Since Donald's new job is located downtown and we still live in north county, Donald is gone almost 12 hours a day....so on Fridays we drive downtown with Daddy have Starbucks and breakfast in Little Italy, then drop Daddy off at work, head over to Balboa Park for some fun, then maybe Fashion Valley Mall and lunch with Daddy, home for nap, then back downtown to get Daddy and finally dine out downtown before heading home for bed. Emma loves it and she knows that means the next two days Daddy is going to be home! It's a great way to get a jump start on the weekend and get a bit of extra time in with Daddy.

Below is a bunch of photos taken over many weeks.

Morning breakfast at Starbucks in Little Italy

Watching the planes flying into the airport.

Morning coffee at Papa Lecco's by Daddy's work.
Emma picking out a special treat.

This coffee shop is just like having our Starbucks in London back, only in San Diego. Boy do we miss London.

Enjoying her treat.

Lunch at the Spicy Pickle Downtown.

Dinner at the Spicy Pickle
Playing in Balboa Park after dropping Daddy off at work.

Waiting for Daddy to get off work in Little Italy.
I love those eyelashes!

4 days and going strong!!

We are so PROUD of Emma!!

That's right Emma is a big girl and she can do lots of big girl things!! She now has been using the big girl potty for 4 days. Only 2 accidents so far and that was only because we just didn't get to the bathroom fast enough. We took Donald's cousin Julie Ann's advice and got a seat that went on top of a regular toilet and it worked!! (Aunt Linda be proud of you daughter for giving such good advice, it must be in the DNA) The moment I brought it home Emma asked to sit on it and she immediately went pee. Now Emma just tells me that she has to go and just in a few seconds of sitting down she pees. No waiting, no reading books, no singing songs...she just goes!! It's the most wonderful thing. I told my dad the other night on the phone that it was like winning the lottery only better!! After raising 4 kids of his own he laughed and totally agreed with me :). Since I didn't think it would be appropriate to post a photo of the princess on her "thrown", nor is she on long enough to do so, I have decided to post a few wonderful photo of her watching music videos on her iPod. Much more adorable and she won't be mad at me years later for it.


For the concerned out there, Yes, Donald I purchased child headphones that don't go to loud volumes as to not hurt her ears. She rarely uses them as we mostly listen to music through speakers in the house. This was a special treat.

Our Princess

Photo courtesy of David OBrien. A Fairytale moment in our princess's life.

Donald and I have reflected on the last year of our little one's life and over the course of a few weeks came up with a "What we love about Emma" list we are happy to share. This list will never be able to reflect all that is in our heats and will never be complete. Emma is now a wonderful 2 years old, a fantastic 35 inches tall (75 percentile) and a comfortable 27 3/4 lbs (45 percentile). Dr. Neglia is thrilled with her language skills and growth. At her 2 year appointment she was very polite and did everything the doctor asked of her. When his exam was over Emma ended it by saying "Thank You Very Much" to her doctor and again after given a shot saying "Thank You Very Much" to the very surprised and very pleased nurse. No tears, just a brave, gentle and kind little lady that we grow to love more than our hearts could have thought possible.

What We Love About Emma (things that make us smile)

1. When Donald and I are hugging and kissing she runs over to us in great excitement and can't wait to join in.

2. Her love of music, and crayons

3. That I can talk to myself all the time now that Emma is around to pretend to listen and no one stares at me funny.

4. Watching Donald and Emma run towards each other all giggles and smiles to hug and kiss.

5. Emma asking me to dance.

6. Listening to her say "Please", "Thank You", "Okay", "May I please", "Help please", "Good job", "Good girl", "Thank you welcome" and "I love you"

7. When we tuck her in bed at night she asks for "Kisses head", "Kisses hair", Kisses mouth", Kisses nose".

8 When she asks us to "snuggle daddy", "snuggle mommy"

9. Listening to her sing "Abc's" "Itsy Bitsy Spy Zipper", "6 little Ducks", "5 years Time", "Read My Mind"...oh and so much more

10. Looking into the backseat to see her happy face while taking off her shoes to do "This Little Piggy"

11. Watching her sleep.

12 Knowing our kisses DO make it better.

13. Watching her play with all the kids at the playground.

14. Seeing her love on all our families and watching them interact with her.

15. How free she gives so much love.

16. Watching Donald Love on her and love taking care of her.

17. She's our little "One Track"

18. "This is very cool!!" the first time on a train.

19. The ever exciting "Button" (bellybutton)

20. Her deep baby voice.

21. "Naked Nanners!!"

22. She LOVES going for coffee "STARBUCKS!!"

23. Shouting "We made it!!" as if we were that bad at driving :)

24. Taking credit for anyone who farts.

25. Seeing her discover the joy of chocolate

26. When she rest her head on our shoulders and snuggles in tight with arms around our neck.

27. "Goonyah!" Motorcycle

28. Seeing how much she loves her daddy

29. "Eskimo Kisses"

30. No matter who others might think she looks like or takes after - she is a little mirror of her mommy. Just ask her Daddy :)

To quote one of our favorite books "McDuff Moves In", "How happy we are they said in their dreams!!" And how truly happy we really are.

Look Who's 2!!

In her dress from the UK from Uncle David and Aunt Ann and birthday hat from Aunt Andra

Yes, that's right on January 25 our little Emma turned an exciting 2 years old! It's so wonderful to know that we have been parents for 2 years and Emma is happy and very much loved little girl! We started out the day having breakfast at the Bread & Cie in Hillcrest (one of our most favorite places to eat), and then headed for the Zoo. Emma really enjoyed the children's zoo and petting the goats (even though I did have to rescue her big pink bow before a goat ate it up). But I think her highlight was riding the little meri-go-round at the entrance. Two other girls jumped on to join her and that made Emma feel really special.



Having her picture taken with Grandma.

Emma and I having a bit of fun too!
After a morning at the Zoo we headed home for a bit of a nap which consisted of snuggling mommy and daddy in bed and reading her books Then it was off to Grandma and Grandpa's house to decorate, eat, and open gifts.

Emma admiring and using all self control not to open her gifts just yet.

We had a wonderful filet mignon roast with potatoes and veggies. It was really good thanks to Grandma's fantastic culinary skills. I did a store cake as I didn't think I would have the time to make one, and I was right. Emma helped me pick this cake out as she just loves strawberries, she still doesn't watch TV or movies so she has no idea who Strawberry Shortcake is but I am sure in time she will.

Getting ready to blow out the candles, and loving being sung too!!

She did it in one blow all by herself!

Just loved this picture of her big brown eyes.

Opening her new beautifully handcrafted chair made especially for her by our good friend Gene.

Giving Gene a big hug for such a wonderful and special gift!

Putting on her Fancy Nancy glasses.

Opening up some beautiful new clothes from Grandma and Grandpa, which being my little girl wanted to put them on straight away!

Her new "chav" outfit that says gorgeous on it from Uncle Mike of course. Which is perfect because while Aunt Linda was visiting she taught Emma to say "simply gorgeous" with a posh British accent.

Opening up Fancy Nancy Doll

So excited to finally have her own bike!!

Being the cautious parents we are, we also went to a bike shop and had her properly fitted for a helmet.


Final birthday cuddles from two of her favorite people, Uncle Kevin and Aunt Andra!!

I LOVE my iPhone

There have been so many moments that I haven't been able to capture and share because I don't always remember to take my camera or it just doesn't make sense to lug my giant 20D around all the time. But since I always have my phone on me I can now take pictures with ease. They aren't the same quality and I will still lug my camera around when ever I can. But for those quick moments like this one, I now get to share just a bit more of Emma joy. Emma taking a break from our afternoon walk with her baby Amy.

Carrillo Ranch

On mornings that Emma and I just want to take it easy and go for a walk we head over to Carrillo Ranch in Carlsbad. It's open to the public and it is a lovely easy walk. The problem is that I never really plan on going it just sort of seems like the thing to do, so I never have my camera on me. Now that I have figured out the picture taking on my iPhone I can share a bit more when I am without my trusty Canon 20D.

We of course had bitty baby with us that we now call Amy.
Emma for some reason is really fond of rocks right now. I'm sure all children go through this stage, Emma just seems to be going through it right now.
For all my fashion blog readers, yes this is an entire Puma outfit Emma is wearing. From shirt, pants, to shoes. I just love dressing her :)
One really neat thing about the ranch is that it is home to over 100 peacocks so Emma and I spend our walk counting as many as we can. Some are bold and might give chase, some will fan their feathers others just want to be left alone, and there is even an all white male peacock but I have been told a few times that he is not an albino.
I can't wait to add a peacock to one of my drawings. I think they are magical and Emma really enjoys them.