Em's 6th Birthday Wish

Emma has been dying to have her ears pierced. She has, quite literally, been talking about it for months. I wanted to wait until she was at least 8-9 years old. Arturo thinks we should have done it 6 years ago. A month or two back, Arturo said she could have it as a birthday present - and Emma is NOT one to forget details. So this weekend, we made the big trip.

We had prepared her for the fact that it might hurt. She has even watched several girls (8-9 years old) at the mall getting their ears pierced, sobbing and crying. She was always fascinated - and I thought - sufficiently too scared to do it. But even on the car drive to the mall, she was SO excited, she could barely sit still. She knew exactly what she was getting herself into, and she couldn't wait.

Here she is, picking the earrings that she wanted to get pierced with. She ended up choosing sapphire studs, for her birth month, September.

The before shots:

The lady who did Emma's ears really did a fantastic job. Was very hygenic, very calm, and very quick. We approved, and Emma literally smiled THE ENTIRE TIME.

Getting ready to pierce! At the moment of piercing, Emma jumped a bit in surprise, but she still never stopped smiling, and didn't even hesitate for the second ear either. I thought for sure we'd be done after the first ear. (I asked the lady if she would consider coming with us to do Emma's yearly doctor's shots as well, but she said no.)

Showing off her newly pierced ears!

Cocoyoc

Arturo spent the last week of summer vacation in Mexico with the girls. They were at Abio's house for 6 days. And the girls pretty much spent all 6 days in the pool - they couldn't get enough of it! Over the weekend, there was a big birthday party for Abio as well. Overall, sounds like it was a great trip. And, for the most part, I enjoyed a great week off (though it was eerily quiet the first few days) - resting and getting lots of stuff done.

Abio with his granddaughters:

Felicidades Abio!

Pau and Emma doing cannonballs together!

Water Sliding!

This weekend, we rigged up a water slide in the backyard, using the playset. Arturo hung the water hose on top of the playset so that there was a constant stream of water going down the slide. At the end was our inflatable baby pool, filling up with water. The girls went up and down (they got A LOT of speed going down!) for almost an hour - Emma especially enjoyed the adrenaline rush!

The video gives you a good idea of their happiness going down the slide. But silly me, I took it at an angle - hope you don't get a crick in your neck watching!

For Elizabeth

Ok, Elizabeth requested some belly profile shots, and because I like her - and because this blog is semi-private (thereby minimizing my embarassment), I will honor her request. Here are some pictures of me throughout the pregnancy. (Cringe)

7 weeks:

16 weeks:

27 weeks:

32 weeks:

Potomac Nationals!

The first torrid day this summer (95 degrees and very humid), and we decided to head out to the ballpark with our neighbors, the Burkes, under the glaring sun and no AC. It was the girls' first experience with baseball - Emma listened as I sort of explained what was going on, but Alexa didn't seem too into it. They DID however, like the junk food (hot dogs and ice cream) and the water mister that was down by the concession stands!

Girls with their buddy

A picture from a few months back when the girls went over to their friend Natalie's house for a playdate.

Jockey's Ridge Sand Dunes

Jockey's Ridge is noted as the largest natural sand dunes on the East Coast. We spent a morning climbing up the dunes to see the big "sand castle" and watch the hang gliders fly off the ridge. I surprised myself by actually keeping up with the family in my pregnant state. And Alexa held on too!

You'll have to click on the following picture to note that the dot near the top of the picture is actually Emma running up the huge sand dune. Think big, huge mountain of sand! Emma continues to surprise us this summer with her boundless energy. Alexa and I were trudging up the sand dune slowly, and there was Emma sprinting off ahead with a big smile!

Mini Golf

Mini Golf day. Even though we went in the early part of the morning, it was still SO HOT!

OBX Aquarium

We took a break from beaching, to head to the aquarium over in Manteo. It's just small enough that we can cover it in a short afternoon, and there is interesting sea life for the girls to observe.

There was an interactive room where the girls got to touch starfish, sea urchins, sting rays, and hermit crabs. Alexa really liked this one!

Outside, they had a digging pit where kids could dig for shark teeth fossils. Emma carefully combed through many handfuls of dirt and claims to have found 3 shark teeth! She was very proud of herself...

Cape Hatteras

We took a day trip drive down to Cape Hatteras one day - enjoying the little beach towns along the way - and anticipating my favorite restaurant (Cafe 12) for lunch. Emma was finally tall enough this year to try to climb the lighthouse. (Alexa and I stayed at the bottom, due to my big belly and her shortness.)

Arturo and I figured it would take Em a while to climb up - they say that the climb is equivalent to climbing 12 flights of stairs. Little did we know that the child would zip up the entire stairway without stopping once - at a steady and quick pace. She was up within 5-6 minutes! She was so proud of herself and Arturo and her got to enjoy the view a little before heading back down...

Arturo is the guy in the yellow shirt waving from the top of the lighthouse. Emma is the shorty next to him!