Daddy/Daughter Weekend #2

Building on our last adventure and following the same guiding principle (stay out of the house), Emma and I decided to venture across the country for a quick weekend trip to see the Hokies play the University of Miami and visit some old friends. Sara and Ian decided to sit out this adventure, having had enough of flying on their last trip.
Sara and Ian dropped us off at San Francisco airport (before heading off to shop and party) and we were on our way for 7000 miles in 3 days. Thankfully, we had her carseat and her videos in the iPod to make the flight go by quickly. Also, the secret to making the cross country trip: keep her fed and have a secret stash of treats:

The trip also gave Emma the opportunity to catch up with an old friend who was a very gracious host to us, sharing her room, toys, and; making a football weekend complete, playing princess dress-up with Emma.

Enjoying the game, as it turned out, involved 4 hours of standing in the rain. Having seen me watching plenty of games on TV, it was unclear to Emma how getting wet improved the experience:

Fortunately, the game offered a lot to cheer about.....

...specifically, pretzels, popcorn, BBQ, chocolate chip cookies, ....

...and great seatmates, who are the only reason we made it through the whole game.

In the end, Tech won, Emma enjoyed the game, and probably now associates live football with 12 hours of flying, rain, playing dress-up, and endless junk food. She's a true fan!
Finally, the sign of a truly successful trip: Emma slept for the majority of both of the cross-country legs of the flight, even drawing compliments from neighboring passengers (Thank you carseat and treats!)

Now it's time to work on Ian.

A little California fun

After visiting with the firefighters, we headed to one of our favorite places...The Car Wash. You may ask why the car wash is one of favorite places here in California. Well, this is a special car wash; not only do you come out with a nice clean car, but they also offer some fun for the kids...

Free popcorn, anyone???


Just like at the movies

Not only do they offer free snacks, but they cheap entertainment, too

Of course, you can still enjoy your free popcorn while riding

After all that entertainment, you can still watch all the cars come through the wash

Ian was not quite as entertained

He is much happier hanging out at home!

The Firefighters come to Visit

Last Wednesday, Emma's school had it's first "reverse field trip" . Because of transportation issues, Emma's school does not do field trips, but they do bring in community helpers throughout the year. So even though it was not a school day for Emma, we headed off the meet the firefighters.

The morning started off with a fire safety lesson and a fun book about what to do in a fire

Then we headed outside where some of the firefighters had brought their truck for the children to check out

One of Emma's new friends

Emma had to come by and make sure Ian was okay

One of the firefighters put on all his gear to show the children what he looks and sounds like.

They got to go and touch hims to show that he was not scary

Then it was time to go climb into the fire truck. Emma was a little worried so she found her teacher for support

Going into the truck

Coming out the other side

All smiles
We had a fun time and Emma learned a lot about fire safety

Emma bakes a cake

After much persuading (begging), Emma finally convinced me to let her bake using the Easy Bake Oven that I received as a "gag gift" before we were married. Because the box is bright pink and purple, Emma has always assumed it was her. After figuring out how to insert the heat supply (a 100 watt light bulb), Emma was ready to bake her heart out- a vanilla cake complete with chocolate icing.

Emma adds water and mixes her batter

The batter poured into the pan

Mixing up the frosting

Watching the cake cook... and cook... and cook

The finished product (there was some chocolate spoon licking going on)

Finger licking good!
You know that there were now be more dessert mixes on Emma's Christmas List!

The Princess Birthday Party

Emma got invited to her very first kid only birthday party and it was all girl and all princess! All the girls were dressed as princesses and Emma was very specific in what she wanted. PINK!


Emma poses before the party

Can you tell that she is excited???

The perfect spot for a princess to sit

With Mommy

Picking the flowers
I did take a few pictures at the party before I left

The birthday girl

Emma's friend Kaylie enjoying the pink lemonade

Cupcake decorated by Emma
and because he is just too cute, one of our little prince

Ian Eats

We are on our way to having another good eater in our family. Ian got his first taste of rice cereal this morning, and judging by the empty bowl, we think he liked it!

First taste

Getting used to the spoon

"Do you have more???" (notice the outfit change, Ian got a little messy :)

I think I like this!

Thanks Daddy!

Emma rides on Two Wheels (and some trainers)

We have achieved another milestone in the life of Emma. After searching through Craigs Lists ads, we found Emma a two wheeler bike to meet her approval. (It had to be pink and very girly-she was a little upset that there were no princesses on it :)
We were not sure how she would do, but amazingly, she jumped on and got the hang of it really quickly!

Off...

She....

Goes!....
Stay tuned for the video