A Dyreson Christmas

The Dyreson clan got together at Great Grandma's place today. We had a wonderful time visiting with everyone and eating a very tasty meal together. This year Emma had a new cousin to play with...Tate. He is only 3 months old, so Emma's interaction with him is mainly saying "hi", and asking "where baby go?", whenever he is out of site. Tate will not be holding the status of youngest Dyreson for long though, as Ken's cousin Scott, and his wife Sonia also announced they are expecting their first baby next summer, so the family keeps on growing.

Goodnight Kiddo's

Daddy, Carter and Emma enjoyed a night at the movies...the special feature tonite was "choo, choo". It was a favorite of everyone's...especially Ken's!

Mama break

Grampy captured a little quality time between daddy and Emma. Yes Emma... daddy's ear is just as fun to pull as mama's hair!

Self portrait

Since Emma is not accustomed to the cold weather, she has been looking for more indoor activities to keep her busy. She has taken a liking to our camera, and her first self portrait is captured here. We also got a few pictures of the carpet, my jeans, etc...but I will wait to post more of her work until she has fine tuned her skills!

Christmas Thanks!

Emma was a little overwhelmed by the generosity of her family (and Santa) this Christmas. She enjoyed opening all her gifts this year, and was especially thankful for her older cousins' help in the gift opening department too! She's going to have so much fun playing with all her new toys and reading her new books over the coming year. So Emma has one thing to say to everyone..."Tank you!"

Brrrrrrrrr.......

Emma went for her first sled ride around the neighborhood at Grammy and Grampy's house today. It was a little colder than our little Emma is used to. Cousin Carter was a little more prepared for the snowy weather, and showed Emma how to relax on the sled while his dad served as their winter tour guide.

Now that's a snowblower!

Emma got a first hand look at snow removal on the farm. She enjoyed seeing all the snow that was blowing around, but I think she really liked waving at Uncle Nathan each time he went by the house.

You look FABULOUS, darlin'

Emma and Isabel are showing us how to accessorize their jammies with "pearls". These gems date back to about 1982...and we have grandma and grandpa to thank for having the good sense to hold onto these treasures. I'll have to be sure to school Emma in how to knot the pearls for a more sophisticated look though!

The three muskaTHIERs

Our precious little Angels....take 52! We had a Christmas miracle happen, when we got all three of the girls to sit still AND look at the camera. Emma and big cousin Haley were all smiles during their game of bean bag toss with Grandpa.

Christmas in Minnesota

We started off our midwest trip by spending some time with my family in MN. A splendid time was had visiting, playing, and of course partaking in some of Mom's christmas candy treats!

Just a Swinging!

Clifford and Cars

We went to the Children's Museum on Friday night to check out the Clifford exhibit. Emma enjoyed riding down Clifford's big red tail, and pretend driving. It was a fine evening indeed.

Dress code

Emma has occasionally decided to dress herself these days. She has a couple of looks that really seem to work for her...the shirt as pants, and the boots with jammies. Our little fashionista!

Music Man (girl)

It took her a little while, but she eventually got the hang of the harmonica!

Mullet no more

Emma's second haircut. The mullet was modified this time around, and we are happy to report that her hair is slowly starting to grow into a normal cut.

Phantom Clucker

The chicken decided to make a brief appearance this Halloween. It took a lot of negotiating, but Emma finally transformed into her feathery alter ego, the phantom clucker. The costume didn't stay on too long, but luckily Emma really likes to visit our neighbor, Marge and Heidi and kept her outfit on to trick or treat at one house at least.

Trip to the park

We are taking advantage of all the nice weather we get, as we know it will not last for long. We had sun and 60's this weekend, so headed down to the park to play. Emma was having a good time walking through the leaves and tossing a few in the air. She also decided it was time to ride the big girl swing for the first time. Don't worry...parental hands were right out of picture range and on the ready. She did pretty good sitting in the swing...but I think we will still stick to the baby swing for a bit longer!

Rocking out!

Emma was rocking out on Saturday night...dancing to some good ol' music while riding her rocking horse. This is Emma's version of "winding down" before bed.

Riding around the fruit loop

Emma's pal Elias joined her on the fruit loop tour this weekend (apple picking). Lots of smiles on the wagon ride for two.

Fall walk

Emma and I baked some cookies, and wanted to bring some to share with our neighbor Marge. Well, Marge wasn't home, so we went for a little walk around the neighborhood to check out some of the fall leaves. Emma was grateful she had a basket with the cookies available, as she had to stop for a couple of snack breaks along the way. She is also trying out her new shoes today, and found they work pretty well splashing in mud puddles (after she got used to walking in them that is).

Bump, bump, bump

Emma's interpretation of "The Wheels on the Bus go Bump, Bump, Bump". We had to cut the song short, for fear she would actually come out of her seat.

Pumpkin pickin'

Emma let us know that pumpkin picking is not all fun and games. We got off to a bit of a rough start when Emma fell asleep on the car ride out to Sauvie Island and we had to wake her up. She was not too impressed by the view of Mt Hood from the Pumpkin patch either. Things started to pick up and she did enjoy the hayride out to the patch and picking out her pumpkin. However, when she learned there were no potties in the field...she did not appreciate the 3 minute hayride back to the farmhouse. Hence the lack of happy pumpkin picking pictures this year.

Meeting Roar

Emma plays with "Roar" all the time (her lion puppet). She didn't seem too impressed by the real thing...but she definitely enjoyed toddling around the zoo in the spring like weather we had that day.

Supervision required

Emma and Cash got together for a play date this past Friday. Much fun was had climbing trees (and sitting on each other in the tree), and pouring sand on themselves in the sandbox. It was great to have the Cash Monkey and his parents over for the evening. We are still adjusting to the toddler dining experience (with the kids MAYBE eating a bite or two of food, in between chasing the cat, riding the trike, or trying the push cart out as a little scooter). Which just means the adults get their exercise during dinner, and really earn that second glass of wine.

Exploring the neighborhood parks

We were out enjoying the nice weather on our bikes, so we took the opportunity to visit a park that we don't usually get a chance to visit. Emma had a fine time playing on the new playground equipment, as well as partaking in her usual people watching that she likes to do at the park. She met a nice little boy who came over to ask if she was okay after she fell down. Emma was smitten, and wanted to follow the little boy and his family home when they left the park. And so it begins...

Miles and miles of SAND!

Emma was in pure heaven this weekend. She loved playing in the sand, and chasing puppies on the beach. Ken and I actually thought we might be able to cure Emma of her thumbsucking habit, since her hands were almost constantly covered in sand. She was a little upset with her sandy thumb at first, however, she got used to the grit in her teeth pretty quickly.

Exploring the tidepools at Haystack Rock

We got up close and personal with some of our ocean friends. When the tide went out, we were able to walk right out to Haystack Rock, and explore the tide pools. The starfish was our coolest siting by far. Emma didn't seem to really care too much about the fish, but did enjoy running barefoot in the sand, and getting her hands dirty!

Sunset on Haystack Rock

We had the pleasure to spend a night on the Oregon Coast this weekend. The weather was beautiful and the sunset was fabulous. This was Emma's first overnight stay in a hotel, and she definitely loved our balcony that overlooked the "water" and "puppies".

Wisconsin Made

Sure Packer games are fun to watch...but the real smiles from daddy and Emma surfaced when we were served up a plate o' sausage, crackers and cheese. Hmm...do you think she takes after Ken at all?

Exploring the neighborhood

Emma went for a little bike ride today...her longest one yet. She biked down to the end of the block, and then wanted to keep going. She wasn't too happy with me when I had to turn her bike around to go back home, but came around when I told her we could stop to see Heidi (our neighbors dog) on our way back home.

Thoroughly Enjoying the Fruit Slushie

Emma helped mama blend up a fruit slushie this afternoon (she was pretty fascinated by the power she had when she pressed the blender's buttons). We enjoyed our fruity creation on the front porch, as I envisioned a scene such as in these photos, and decided an outdoor clean-up might be easier. I just wish it would be socially acceptable for everyone over the age of one to enjoy their food this much. (Oh...and that is my ID badge from work that Emma is wearing. She likes to play dress up as a Providence employee from time to time. Silly girl!)