Picking and Painting

We went strawberry picking for the first time on the first day of June! Emma was really excited about it. It was a cooler day with a strong wind. The season had just opened but I knew that if we didn't take advantage of the "free" Friday we would not have gone at all. So we met our friends Betsy and her son Truman at a place on the north-east side of Madison along I-94. There were a handful of people picking when we got there, but soon we had the field to ourselves. Emma and Truman ran up and down the rows, Emma carefully stepping over the plants to get from row to row in the middle of the field. Truman's legs were not quite long enough to avoid stepping on the plants.  Emma didn't eat any strawberries until she was that Truman's face was turning red with juice. Even still, she managed to pick 2.1 pounds of berries!  I picked 2.5 pounds to compare.  It was a great day!  Emma and Truman liked the animals they had under the temporary trailer; goats, a sheep, and a potbellied pig. The kids fed the animals some grain and laughed like crazy.  At home we washed all the berries and had strawberry shortcake for dessert. Then we had strawberries on our breakfasts and just for snacking and in a delicious smoothie! Yummy!

For Father's day Emma and I undertook a project described on the blog The Artful Parent. We bought some rubber cement and made our own watercolor paints. First Emma drizzled and brushed rubber cement on several sheets of watercolor paper. When they were dry we started making the paints. Here Emma is mixing up the dry ingredients for the paints. She loves cooking and measuring!

She experimented making different colors with the food coloring colors, and ended up with 10 different colors. Outside she painted 6 pictures, one without rubber cement, for Papa, Grandpa, Daddy, Mommy and herself, plus an extra. Even for Father's day she is thinking outside the male box. :)  She loved painting with the water colors, that stayed liquid throghout the session.  We left the paints on the counter and after 5 days they are finally all completely dry- like the watercolor paints in the store.  Sometime soon we will do some more painting and compare how the paints are dry versus wet. Daddy loved his painting, by the way and temporarily stuck it to the wall above the bed. He asked for a frame even.  Emma noticed it hanging there and was quite pleased with herself.

Non-baby Shower

 Auntie Em decided that we should have a party for my pregnant self and just not have it be a baby shower. So a small group of Emma's aunts (my friends) came over with delicious food and ready to help paint the play room. Aunt Chenoa brought her daughter Audrey so Emma had a lot of fun playing while the ladies did our thing. Aunt Darcy and Holly were also there on June 10th.

Steve set the girls up on the ottomans with a tablecloth. After eating the girls played out in the new sprinklers that he bought. The large ball popped right away apparently; the girls had to come inside and share the news. The other sprinkler kept them happy for a long time. When it was time to be done, Audrey borrowed some clothes of Emma's and hers went in the dryer. It was really cute to see what Audrey chose- a long purple and red hippy-style skirt with an orange shirt.  Emma seemed delighted to share.

During one break, we let Audrey and Emma add their own touches to the garden scene in the playroom.  Audrey filled in a few flowers, and Emma created a group of roses. Later Aunt Chenoa used her artistic talents and added some highlights to really make it look like a group of roses!

Emma was upset at first when we moved things out of the playroom and when I painted the walls a pale green. She even said a couple of times, "I don't want flowers on the walls. I want my room to stay white like it is."  But now that she has seen the wonders that her aunts can do- she is excited. (Except that the room is still torn apart and I need to finish painting....)

Perhaps Emma would say that the best part of the day were the presents that Aunt Chenoa brought. (Auntie Em and I tried to make it a no-gift party, except for the potted petunias I gave to my friends, but Chenoa couldn't resist!)  There was an awesome green and blue big girl backpack with a Zane CD/DVD, baby socks, and recycled plastic tugboat and chew rings. This was Emma's gift for having fun with the baby. She loves the backpack and has kept it filled with things for camp ever since!  The other present was for baby only; an adorable outfit, brag book, and Sandra Boynton book. Emma was excited about reading the book to the baby. So cute.

Sealing

Emma had an unusual Friday at home with Daddy yesterday. I had to be at the nature center all day for training and summer prep.  So this story is coming second-hand from Steve.

While eating lunch, Steve was reading the newspaper and came across an article about our local zoo. Apparently a zookeeper noticed that one of the seal's was exhibiting some pregnancy signs. There was doubt, but 5 days later a baby seal was born. Emma was very interested in the article because she loves the zoo. Steve asked her what a baby seal is called, and Emma said a sealing.