Mothers Day 2014

Apparently for three nights in a row this week Emma gave up story time to work on the plan for Mother's Day. How cute is that?  I will have to take a picture and post it-later.
I was instructed last night to stay up late so that I would sleep in. If i snuck down the stairs like Mama  bear in the Berenstain Bears Mama's Day Surprise story, the whole day would be put on hold and we would have to do Mother's Day the next day or the next Sunday. I don't want to ruin any surprises do I?
I woke up to the sound of something crashing (it wasn't anything relating to the meal prep). Not long later a marvelous spread was carried up, led by Emma who wished me a Happy Mother's Day with her gap-y grin. Annika also came in and smiled at me while asking to come into bed. (Steve whisked her away for a diaper change.) Chocolate crepes with sliced strawberries on the side. Yogurt with granola and dried cranberries. Cherry juice. ginger lemon tea. C'est magnifique!  Plus a lovely card that Emma signed from both her and Annika.
I lounged in bed and ate quietly. Everyone else ate downstairs. when I came down, Annika was calling Mama. Not too special of an occurrence these days. she is always wanting Mama/Mommy. But still warms the heart.
After a brief interlude (I had to go to church briefly to try a song) steve hooked up the bike seat to my bike. Emma really wanted to go on a family bike ride and has been asking all week. so we headed out to the purple park but turned down the path through the school property and went along the backroads to Emma's school. Or rather to the park by Emma's school, Heistand Park. Steve walked with Emma across all the cross-streets and we made it there safely. We chained our bikes to the start of the trail and headed off up the hill. Emma first gave us the nature talk. "This will be a nature walk. We will use three senses- sight, hearing, and our noses for smelling. We won't taste anything. Nature stays on the ground and we are going to walk quietly."
Annika was slow going and eventually Steve had to carry her the rest of the way. she picked up a couple sticks and a popped balloon (icky). Emma didn't reprimand her but that might have been because Emma was patiently waiting at a fork in the trail at the top of the hill.
"This is the hill that you rolled down that day that you helped out in class, Mama." indeed it was. that brought back good memories. Emma ran down the hill to the next concrete rectangle (the park has a frisbee golf course embedded in the woods and trails). we caught up and then were advised to wait for a couple of guys who were throwing for the next cage. they were nice and commented on the weather and also wished me a happy Mother's Day. the trees were oaks and very scraggly and stately. (I will insert a family selfie later.)
At one point Emma tripped and got caught on a stick. She started to whine and cry, "i hate the dirt! I don't like the dirt!" She brushed her legs off and got it together quickly. we made it back to the bikes without further incidences. Emma was interested in exploring the stream but not by herself. so she gave up the idea.
We rode back home on Milwaukee street that is a pretty brutal hill- up hill from pretty much the park all the way to the entrance to our subdivision. Emma did awesome!  Even though her and Steve had to stop to walk across two streets they almost caught up to Annika and I!  It was great.
Back home we made some delicious hummus, tomato, cuke, lettuce sandos and had a picnic in the backyard. There were two kinds of potato chips and some sandwich cookies. Plus sliced apples and pear. so good. Annika only ate a couple pieces of bread. she had eyes only for the fruit and chips. We rationed her, though, and she wouldn't eat sando even for a cookie.
Annika went down for a nap and I napped in the chair. :) Emma and Daddy hung out in the front yard until I stumbled out 40 minutes later.
Emma lazed around inside on the couch for a bit while Steve and I did some gardening. eventually Emma came out to help by shaking the dirt off the grass clumps and filling the wheelbarrow. We transplanted the rosebushes (more like rose sticks) from the front yard to the Rainbow Garden area along the front sidewalk. (Emma and Annika picked out some native seeds to plant a Rainbow Garden in a couple weeks- after the seeds have been properly stratified.) The roses secure the red zone for now.
Then the girls and Daddy went to Smoky John's to pick up some ribs and then we have a fantastic rib meal with beans and broccoli salad. Steve made some strawberry-blackberry juice and served it with three kinds of chocolate. Emma and Daddy sang a little bit of Old MacDonald to be silly right before serving. so good.
Then it was a "twin bath night" according to Emma.  Daddy helped scrub and get them clean. Mama helped get Annika into her PJs and Daddy read her stories. Then Mama dried Emma's hair and we organized the bookshelf. Emma helped choose books to share with Annika and some for the garage sale. she is getting so grown up.
I read her stories and Daddy tucked her into sleep. She seemed so proud of herself when we thanked her for her efforts to make the day so fantastic. For once Emma didn't say "you are making me feel too proud!" or something similar.
It was the best day so far this year! thank you to my precious girls and loving hubby for making it happen. I am the luckiest Mama ever. :)

Let it go!

Annika hasn't seen Frozen but she can sing part of Let it Go.  The neighbors across the street watched the girls on Friday for a couple hours. When I stopped by to pick them up, Karen exclaimed- she can sing Let it Go.  And right on cue, annika started singing.  She only knows that phrase but she can really belt it out. I have a video that I will have to upload later. I do not get this technology!
Anyway, stay tuned for the next youngest star!
It should be noted that after Emma saw Frozen at church a couple months ago she was addicted. We listened to the soundtrack multiple times and she sang Let it Go and For the First Time all the time. Then on our France trip Frozen was one of the free inflight movies. She watched it around 5-6 times there and back. Wow. So it isn't like Annika got the song from nowhere. :)

Making Up Songs

Today on the phone my grandma asked me if Emma is interested in music. I realized that the answer to that question might need to be addressed on this site- for posterity.
It amazes me how musical she is. Not in a prodigy sort of way. If that were the case I am sure that the piano would be used for more than just plunking and random song creation. Emma hasn't composed any sonatas or piano concertos or anything like that.
However, she does on occasion sit and sing songs while playing. She is in fact composing new songs every time, but sadly they are not recorded.
And she does not limit her song creation to her fleeting moments at the piano. Just yesterday morning- or was it this morning?- while she was feeding the dog Emma was busting out a classic song. I so wish that I could remember even a few of the lines. She was rhyming and singing about the dog and herself. She uses some techniques from songs we hear on the radio or (yikes) in the Frozen songs. Things like adjusting the intensity, volume and actual notes. It is pretty cool.
(It reminds me of my singing days as child. I have a vivid memory of sitting on the exercise bike in the creepy basement near the laundry space and belting out totally random tunes. I wondered what my family thought, if they could hear me, and was only a little embarassed when they teased me about my singing.)
We have talked about making music lessons a priority for the girls at some point. Piano and guitar are instruments we have here so that would be easy. But I wonder what Emma would choose if she had the chance to explore different instruments?  And voice is an instrument.

Annika also seems to have a musical bone. She reminds me of Boo in Monsters Inc.- in cuteness, pigtail likeness and the humming/singing characteristic.  I do not have memories of Emma singing much without intelligible words. but Emma talked earlier. Anyway, Annika has been able to hum Happy Birthday for awhile now. Tonight at the dinner table Annika started humming Happy Birthday,  which reminded me that it is Aunt Jan's birthday today. I asked Emma if she wanted to record a birthday video message for her. She was very eager so I recorded her singing Happy birthday while annika smiled along. Unfortunatley she did't hum while Emma sang. Stage fright perhaps.

Some of the best musical moments also involve Daddy. He is great at random singing songs about what is happening using familiar tunes mostly. Sometimes the tune is original.  Emma joins right in- most of the time- and the two of them laugh and sing. I love those moments. And it is clear that they do, too.