Wonder Toddler Thursday -- Roadtrip!

Wonder Toddler Powers, activate! Form of...Road Warrior!

On our recent roadtrip, Eme was a total trooper. She didn't complain even once during the 6-ish hour drive (that's each way), and she even helped entertain Oskar, who did complain multiple times during the drive.

Here we are, stopped for a lunch break, testing Andreas' theory that Sheetz is not so much a "gas station with food," but rather a "restaurant that also happens to sell gasoline."

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Wonder Baby Wednesday -- Halloween Baby

Wonder Baby Powers, activate! Form of...Spooky Halloween boy.

We ended up not doing a costume this year, but thanks to Aunt Amy we did have a cute Halloween outfit to put him in.

Happy boy.

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Pennsic XL memories

For those to whom I've promised Pennsic photos:

Emelie in the "ger that dad built"


Oskar as "sir not appearing in this film"


Everyone having a good time.


Thanks to all who made Pennsic wonderful this year!

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It's no wonder at all

People have been telling me that Oskar really looks a lot like Eme. I didn't see it until I looked back at some pics of Eme when she was about the age he is now.

One of these is Eme in November 2008. The other is Oskar a few days ago, in October 2011.

Can you guess which is which?




If you're having trouble, here's a hint:



Of course, I can see the differences -- Oskar's face is more oval and Eme's chin comes to more of a point. Eme's ears are slightly longer. But it's no question that they do bear a strong resemblance to each other, and no wonder -- they have the same parents!

On a side note, why has it been so long since my last post? That was rhetorical, but I'll just say that the answer is pictured above. :)

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Wonder Baby Wednesday -- Easter already?

Wonder Baby Powers, activate! Form of...the cutest bunny in the history of bunnies.

Remember that episode of The State when the little boy was so cute, and they put puppy ears on him, and ended up having to use emergency measures to keep the grandma from eating the boy because he was so cute?

This is a little bit like that.

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Wonder Baby Wednesday -- first foods

Wonder Baby Powers, activate! Form of...sweet potato quality control tester.

Yes, he's trying baby foods now, and he seems to be enjoying himself thoroughly!

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Wonder Toddler Thursday -- Jem-elie

Let's pretend it's Thursday, or I may never get this posted (I keep waiting for Thursday to post, then missing it).

Wonder Toddler Powers, activate! Form of...Jem-elie!

Yes, I've introduced my daughter to the Jem cartoons. Yes, they're as bad as I thought they might be, even though I do remember them fondly. (And I just found out today that the entire series is being re-released on DVD in October!)

Eme loves them. She parades around the house pretending to get into peril and singing her way back out of it. She's truly, truly, truly outrageous.

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A father/son conversation

This actual conversation had me laughing all day. Andreas and Oskar were in the bathroom together:

Andreas: I've got to teach you something about shaving, little buddy.

Me: Aren't you getting a little ahead of yourself? Oskar is only 4 months old; he can't even grow a beard yet.

Andreas: (to me) I was getting to that. (to Oskar) Step one: grow a beard.

Oskar: (smiles)

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Wonder Baby Wednesday -- finding my feet

Wonder Baby Powers, activate! Form of...foot detective!

Oskar says, "there's that foot I've been looking for! Now if only I could get it to go into my mouth..."

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Wonder Baby Wednesday -- Prince Oskar

Wonder Baby Powers, activate! Form of...Prince Charming!

Eme crowned her brother "Prince Oskar" the other day. I hope these pictures don't come back to haunt him if he ever decides to run for office.

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Wonder Toddler Thursday -- Fire Chief

Wonder Toddler Powers, activate! Form of...Stow Fire Chief!

We went to see the Touch-a-Truck event at the Stow Library a few weeks ago, and Eme had a blast! You may notice, though, that while she is wearing a fire chief hat, she's actually sitting in the driver's seat of a mail truck.

Still cute, though.

(For a blast from the past, click here to see the last time I posted a pic of Eme in a fire hat at the 2009 Touch-a-Truck, when she was just over a year old!)
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Wonder Baby Wednesday -- Smiles!

Wonder Baby Powers, activate! Form of...Biiiiiiiig Smiles!

Oskar started making really cute, really big, non-gas-related smiles. In this pic, his sister is doing her best to make him smile for my camera.

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Wonder Toddler Thursday -- Tied

Wonder Toddler Powers, activate! Form of...Daddy ready for work.

The other day Eme took a ribbon and tucked it into her shirt, then told me she was like Daddy when he goes to work. Yes, she made her own tie.

She came up with it all by herself. I merely took the picture.

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Wonder Baby Wednesday -- No paparrazi, please!

Wonder Baby Powers, activate! Form of...the incredible sleeping man (child)!

What else would I post, other than a pic of him sleeping? He's too young to do much else.

Yes, he was sleeping with his hands up over his eyes. I thought it was too cute!

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We did NOT do it on purpose

Today I realized that Andreas and I must be really great actors because we have both an "Emmy"...



and an "Oscar."



I swear we didn't name them that way on purpose.

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Wonder Baby/Toddler Wednesday -- Welcome home!

Wonder Toddler Powers, activate! Form of...a Big Sister!

Wonder Baby Powers, activate! Form of...wait, I'm barely home from the hospital. Can't I just lay here a little bit before having to save the world?

Wow, nothing like having a new baby to make me drop blogging like a hot potato. In any case, here is a pic of the new addition -- Oskar -- with Daddy and big sister.

Eme's comment upon seeing the pic was to say "it's an Oskar sandwich!" So true.

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Wonder Toddler Wednesday--Prom Queen

Wonder Toddler Powers, activate! Form of...Pretty in Pink.

She dressed herself up in jewels and fuzzy shoes and descended the stairs, and the scene from Father of the Bride (the one with Steve Martin) was playing in my head -- you know, the one where the daughter is saying "I've met a man and we're getting married" and the dad is picturing her as a little girl.

One day, Eme is going to descend the stairs in her prom dress (or wedding dress, or supreme court judge robes... whatever) and all I'll be able to think of will be this picture.

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It's DEFINITELY a Kind of Magic

I love Eme, but that doesn't mean that every day is a picnic.

There are some days, however, when I am convinced that Mommy Magic is a very real, very powerful force.

Of course, while I'm calling it Mommy Magic, it's not exclusive to mommies. It's that thing where you (whether you're a mommy, daddy, grandparent, aunt, uncle, and/or primary caregiver) know the child so well, that you can help bring them around to where you need them to be through the exact right mix of cajolery and responsiveness. When it works, it feels magical.

Examples: sometimes she doesn't want to put her coat on, but I magically come up with a way to get her to do it herself without a fight. Once in a while, I'm the only one who can convince her to let us buckle her into her car seat. And today, I magicked her into taking a nap.

Eme has recently stopped taking naps. The good part of this is that she goes to bed an hour and a half earlier, and pretty much gets the same amount of sleep as before. The down side is that I don't get a break in my day, which can be a little bit wearing.

Today she woke up an hour early. Both she and I were yawning by 11am. We were planning to attend a family party tonight, and I knew that we'd end up leaving early (and possibly in tears) if she didn't get a nap.

I convinced her to lay down next to me after lunch. I talked, told stories, cajoled, and after a struggle of wills to get her to stop jumping around, convinced her to close her eyes, at which point she was asleep within minutes. Me too.

The fact that both Eme and I got a 2-hour nap was real magic.

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Wonder Toddler Wednesday--Mulan

Wonder Toddler Powers, activate! Form of...Mulan getting ready for the matchmaker!

Eme got a costume for Christmas that is supposed to look like a traditional Chinese outfit (thanks Aunt Gillie and Uncle Ryan!). She calls it her "Muuman dress." She enjoys putting on the whole getup (including a pair of red shoes--thanks Papa Guy--and a pink fan) and acting out the first few scenes of Mulan (where Mulan gets dressed to go meet the matchmaker and, through a series of hilarious events, ends up making a huge mess).

Luckily, Papa Guy is usually willing to act out the whole movie with her. Then they act out Cinderella, or Beauty and the Beast, or Robin Hood... the list goes on.

So cute.

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Welcome to Wonder Toddler Wednesday!

New year, new baby on the way, and my girl has been a toddler for some time now, so welcome to the newly named (but still the same) Wonder Toddler Wednesday!



Wonder Toddler powers, activate! Form of...the cutest sheep in the Christmas play!

At the last moment we got roped into the Christmas play at church (they had only one sheep). Eme enjoyed her time in the spotlight -- she was a total show-stealer -- but kept trying to take the baby Jesus away from the girl playing Mary. When we told her she couldn't hold the doll until after the play, she requested to hold the other sheep's actual baby brother.

At least she's interested in babies. Hopefully this will come in handy over the next few months. :)

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