we're baaaack

From 4.5 awesome days in Park City, Utah!! The trip was a blast and Emma was a fantastic traveler. For going that far away, for such a short trip (and a 2 hr time difference), she really held her own. There were fifteen of us staying at the condo too!! Girlfriend is now a bona fide 'party girl'.

I didn't take my SLR camera with me, but we got some wicked good videos on our point-and-shoot. Did I mention Emma was awesome? She went ice skating, snowmobiling, hot-tubbing, bus taking and overall enjoyed everything we threw at her. What memories we'll have of this trip!

I think I was the luckiest one of all, because I did all the skiing!! Emma was too young for ski school - they don't start until 3.5 years. Roger had a bad back from shoveling our way out of Snowmageddon 2010 AND a round trip drive to Miami. He and Emma hung out while mama learned to carve her way down Park City Mountain, thanks to the olympic training she received, courtesy of one Katie Fabian. You rock, girl!!

Here are a few EKH digital shorts:

In this video, Emma is proudly displaying her pink butterfly goggles. She wore these EVERYWHERE. It was the cutest thing ever. The first thing she asked for when she woke up in the morning was, "goggles!" followed by "hot tub!" Roger had planned on taking her on the Alpine Sled - a gravity-assisted roller coaster. After psyching her up and waiting for it to start, the cautious employees made the call that there was too much snow to operate. She looks so bummed, doesn't she?!




Since the Alpine Sled was a bust, Roger took her over to the ice skating rink. She rocked it!! She even helped her new friend Dani take a lap around the rink with a walker. Dani was younger than Emma, but Emma was trying her best to help Dani by putting her arm around her back. After the video, Dani got sad/frustrated, which you'll hear about in the next video.




This video makes my heart just BURST. I cry every time I see this video. My little girl is ice skating!!! All by herself!! I can't stand it. I am so unbelievably proud of her. She is willing to try anything. I would never have pushed her to do anything she didn't want to, because I can completely respect a healthy dose of fear. She didn't bat an eye. In fact, she asked to do it. I just adore her adventurousness and confidence. I hope I can continue to encourage and empower her to try new things and feel strong and independent. Ok, I took my mommy goggles off now. :)




A big group of us went on a 2 hour snowmobiling tour. It was sooo much fun. Emma was pumped the whole ride over and couldn't wait to take off. Every time we stopped, she'd say, "more!"




Shout out to our peeps!




Always Miss Independent, Emma wanted to work the throttle. BY. HER. SELF. :)




She had sooooo much fun that she decided a quick nap was in order. The guide even warned me it could happen, but I thought, "Oh no. Not my kid. Never happen." Well, here's proof:




Finally, nothing like ending an adventure packed day with a people packed hot tub. She would have stayed in here allll night long if we'd let her.



More pics to come! But lots of great highlights! I'm so excited for next season so we can get her on some skiis. :)

snowed in

I was changing the sheets in the guest bedroom when, naturally, my little friend came in to see what I was doing. I threw her into the pile of pillows and all of a sudden, four days of being cooped up inside during a snowstorm came bursting out.

We broke all the rules during the snowstorm of 2010. Stayed in our jammies all day, ate breakfast for dinner and dinner for breakfast. We watched more tv than usual (including mama!) and were allowed to jump on the bed.

I'd say this monkey had a great time!

Last week, Roger and I both looked at Emma's static-y, wispy baby hair that had grown into about 5 different layers, all of different quality, and most of it landing in her eyes. I had never cut her hair, and part of me was so reluctant to it, for fear of losing her precious, trademark curls. But it truly was time. The ends were getting matted and it just wasn't doing her beautiful face justice.

So I took her to the 'cartoon cuts' place in the mall. I wasn't sure how she'd do since having her hair touched is one of the few things she really gets grumpy about. But luckily for her, they had non-stop Dora videos! Our hairdresser showed me how much she thought we need to cut off, and I almost had a heart attack. We girls are so attached to hair! But she promised me she'd leave the top long and that it would look MUCH healthier. I'm so glad we did it and she was so right! Her hair looks amazing, the curls are still there, and now they're bouncy and shiny and Emma loves telling people she got her hair cut!

Of course, the wooden heart necklace, the new polka dot bow and the cup of Maggie Moo's helped a little too. :)

All done!! Beautiful!! :)

new header!

I mean honestly, it was time. We haven't lived in San Diego for over 6 months now - a detail I prefer not to think about right now!)

A huge shout out to my designer friend Sara for making us look spiffy! :)