Last Day In 2009

Merry Christmas

2 cute little boys

Christmas Stockings

I'm sure there's some kind of Christmas stocking history out there to learn, but what do you use for your stockings?Because we use rainboots. Just kidding. We hung this mirror at the boys' level for them to play with and I decided to add a little Christmas flair to it with some stockings. The boys decided to add the rainboots. And yes, they are still there now.



I love these two pictures for several reasons....it shows the boys height/size differences, you can see their reflections in the mirror, the lighting, and just because both the boys are in it. ;)
Merry Christmas!

The Big Reveal

We wanted to create a special play area for our boys. Since their birthdays are only a month apart, we decided it would be a present for both of them. Caden's birthday came and went and we weren't finished....so Corban's birthday became the deadline. We were working into the night the evening before the big reveal.I had to include this picture....when Caden saw me in my overalls, he (on his own!) went and found a pair that he could put on to match Momma. So cute!
The next morning, we told them we had a surprise to show them. We had them hold hands and walk around the house to the back...
Here's a few shots of their reactions..
Caden's reactions were priceless. Corban...well, let's just say he didn't really get it. ;)
Here's a few individual pictures of what this new play space holds:
African village, painted by a Togolese friend
Giant Chalkboard - Caden drew the little person and Corban drew all the little sticks
Hopscotch - Corban can't actually jump, but he is super cute when he's trying. Caden can't seem to jump enough, he loves it.
Lastly, the alphabet board. We decided to paint the outlines so they could practice drawing on the insides. My mom gave me a good idea to let them paint the letters with water, the concrete will change colors but dry out...perfect, no clean up!
This last picture is also a good view of what the whole area looks like. The Village Scene is just to the left of the edge of the picture.

Happy birthday boys and may you create many childhood memories in this special place...we love you!

"Daddy, I Can See You!"

Watermelon Munchies

It's watermelon season here, and we have been taking down some serious amounts of the beautiful red fruit. Corban especially loves this Christmas time treat :)

Preview and Printing

A small preview of Christmas....
Before I show you the last picture, you must know the story. Yesterday, we captured a small gecko and put him in a jar for the boys to "play" with for a bit. They would carry the creature around and his name became "Lizard" (appropriate, right?). Then, last night Caden was writing his letters on his dry erase alphabet board when he asked me if he could write Lizard's name on the jar. I said sure, not knowing what he would write. Without any help and to my amazement, he began to slowly sound out lizard and wrote the sounds he heard. This is what he wrote:
L-I-Z-R-D
(you can see "Lizard" in the bottom right corner of the jar)

Corban's First Sentence

This puzzle piece is what prompted Corban's first sentence. We were spending some time together while Brett and Caden were on a special trip to the pool. Corban pointed to this piece and said, "ear i da cor"...translation: here (or maybe where) is the corn.
I was impressed.

Family and Fun

The Emerson Family:
2 adults in their early thirties
+a four year old
+a two year old (on Monday)
=endless amounts of fun

Where do you find rest?

Sweet brother pictures never get old.

Caden Darrel Emerson

He is four.
No words needed.

**Family, if you want a copy of any of these pictures, let me know and I'll send you a higher resolution.**

What is Hapenning Chez Nous (Our Place)

Yovo continues to try and mate with young Jolie, even though she is not ready (notice the ferocious teeth), while C2's chubby knees look on from the top of the frame. This pic totally reminds me of the fake(?) pictures of Bigfoot walking through the woods...This is a preview of April's upcoming "Caden is 4!" post. Photographing Caden is challenging at best. Great pic of my muddy, rugged, African little man, sporting his GracePointe Kids shirt. Love you C1! Little boys and puppies go hand in hand (most of the time)...

bde

Brothers

Caden's Party

Caden's party was safari themed and surprised me how fun it was. Obviously, the kids enjoyed it...but I think the adults enjoyed it as well (at least Brett and I did!). The party began when his friends arrived...

The gift table:
(before all the gifts arrived)

Scrapbook of baby Caden:
It was fun to reminisce about his birth and share a bit of his story with people who weren't there for the experience four years ago.

Creating binoculars & safari journals:
Each child was given 2 toilet paper rolls. With the help of the adults, they added construction paper, stickers, drew their own designs, attached the tubes together with tape and added ribbon for the strap. Then they chose another sheet of paper to decorate into their safari journal.

Listening to the safari guide:
Brett did a great job getting the kids excited about looking for animals and reminding them to be quiet so they didn't scare the animals away. I was surprised how intense the kids seemed to be listening.

Caden spots the first elephant.

At the observation tower:

The kids were spotting animals right and left with such enthusiasm. They did a great job whispering to each other as soon as they spotted something new.

Recording their findings:
After all the animals were found, we took a break to draw in our safari journals what we had discovered.

Next up, animal races:
The kids raced from one end of the yard to the other as different animals each round. The round pictured here, everyone is doing their best monkey impression.

Feed the lion:
In this game, the kids took turns tossing oranges into the lions mouth.

And finally...
Cake & presents time!

Thank you Asher, Gabe, Caleb, Joshua, Abby and their mommies for joining us in celebrating Caden and his four years of life!