Oh this little girl of mine has been so patient! Waiting an entire month to be baptized was oh so hard for her. She really, really wanted to be baptized on her birthday, but our stake has asked that all the little kids who turn eight in one month, all get baptized on the first Saturday of the following month. So this morning Emily was baptized. There was one other little boy who turned eight over the summer who was also baptized. It was a really sweet and beautiful occasion to watch these two children make such a significant covenant with their Father in Heaven. They were beaming, glowing even, all morning long.
Sharing the program with another family was a wonderful experience, but presented some challenges - so many people to coordinate with! - but it all worked out. Emily asked Grandma Mum to play the piano. She did a wonderful job of playing Baptism, by far one of the more difficult pieces in the Children's Songbook, and When I am Baptized. Grandpa Art led the music and Grandma Mutti gave the talk on Baptism. Emily's primary teacher was able to come and give the closing prayer. Micael's bishop gave the talk on the Holy Ghost.
We filled the Relief Society Room with family and friends from both families. I continue to be so grateful to those who are able to come and support our children. It was a very busy holiday weekend and many had commitments, making those who came all the more appreciated!
We ate chocolate cupcakes with white frosting afterward in the Primary room. Since GR had to be up at the church a few hours early to fill the font, I gave him very specific instructions as to how to set up all the rooms. My mother offered to make the cupcakes for me, and I accepted - aren't you proud of me! My sister brought all 72 of them with her Friday night.
Emily with a cake her Primary Teacher made for her:
Then later that afternoon we all gathered at Grandma's house for swimming, a special dinner - GR's famous smoked ribs - and to spend time with family. We found out that some good friends grandchildren were in town for the weekend - they are Emily and Sam's age - and we asked them to join us in celebrating. Their grandchildren spent a week with them earlier in the summer and our kids had a couple of opportunities to spend time together. They became instant friends! Since the cousins weren't able to come and Aunt Mary Ann was the aunt/uncle representative, having this little extension join us for the evening festivities was so very nice. It was a perfect day for a perfect little girl who was tickled pink with every part of her day. 
Thursday night is soccer night here in these parts. We're down to two soccer players this season (Emily and Sam) and I can't tell you how nice it is to have the kids practices on the same night!! GR took Alex along to Sam's practice so he could play at the park. The following conversation happened while GR was pushing Alex on the swings and it perfectly captures Alex right now.
Alex to couple passing by the swings: HI!
Couple: Hi.
Alex: My name is Alex.
Lady: Hi Alex, I like your t-shirt.
Alex: I made it.
Lady: Oh really, that's cool ... Good-bye
GR: Alex, your silly.
Alex: I not silly, I funny.
GR: You're silly.
Alex: No. I funny.
GR had no idea that Alex really had made his t-shirt at a playgroup activity two months ago. We did freezer paper stenciling and Alex painted a blue whale on his t-shirt.
Hi, my name is Kathleen, and my three year old is not potty trained.
Alex and four little friends and the mama's are doing a little co-op preschool once a week. We each take a turn teaching and hosting our little 1.5 hour class, and Tuesday was my first time teaching. We choose our own topics and I went with Eric Carle (author of The Very Hungry Caterpillar).
My lesson consisted of some pretty basic stuff ... reading lots and lots of Eric Carle books and acting them out. a simple craft, a matching game using characters from Eric Carle stories (if you want a copy of the cards, let me know and I can email you the PDF) and lots of free play outside.
Cindy was the first to teach and her main piece of feedback was, the kids aren't into crafts. With this in mind, I went with a coffee filter butterfly to go along with The Very Hungry Caterpillar. I did a trial run Monday morning, and Monday night when the kids got wind of what I was doing, this little craft turned into an impromptu FHE activity. They had such fun! We have butterflies all over the house! They have a life span of about 14 days right?
As part of my prep for teaching, I went to the library and picked up a big stack of Eric Carle books - holy cow that man has written a TON of books! - to go along with some of the ones we own. It was nice to have a book for each of the preschoolers to hold and look at, but more than that, my own kids have loved having all of them around the house to look through. It's been such a positive experience, that I'm now in search of other authors to "feature" in our reading basket here at home, rotating them every week or two.
One of the things I love about Eric Carle book's is that Sam can read them. They aren't too long, and the vocabulary is on his first grade reader level. I'm thinking we'll try some Fun with Spot books by Eric Hill next, and we'll see what the librarians suggest, but I'd love to hear your favorite authors for preschoolers - both for independent reading and for reading aloud. A definitely bonus for beautiful, interesting, and creative illustrations.
I was finishing up in the kitchen when Alex came in and said. "Get your camera mom! Come look at Sam."
Thanks to some much needed one-on-one time with his Dad tonight, Sam finally got the hang of his two wheeler! Something he's wanted to master all summer. It took all of 10 minutes, tops, and he is so thrilled. I love the look of intense concentration on his little face, and that tongue!
