An update

While I have the time I'm going to try to tell about what we've been up to lately.

Last Saturday we all took a walk on the canal path...along side the Erie Canal. It's about half a mile or so from here. We ended up walking all the way into town which is about 3 miles, so round trip 6 miles. It was nice weather and the kids had fun. Hailey found a crab claw, a 'crystal', (she insists it's a crystal but we aren't sure..need to look it up I guess...) and a goose feather. We saw two geese, a snake, and ducks. Plus, we discovered that part of the path is actually a road used to access a couple of houses that are right on the canal. I guess they have been there a long time and can't be forced to sell? I don't know...but it was interesting. We ended up having lunch at Salvatore's, a pizza shop we had not tried yet, and it was delicious. We were gone from home much longer than we had intended but it was a great day. I so enjoy time spent with the family, and I'm especially glad we're (well, me...they have been all along) able to get out now and get some exercise.

Emma has begun to be a little more active. She makes eye contact...and she loves to stare at her Daddy! :) She smiles in response to our smiles and coos some. She's very cute...

Hailey has learned to pick her up properly and can move her around as needed while holding her. She also practiced picking her up from the floor and standing up with her, walking from room to room, and getting her out of her cradle and bringing her downstairs...all while I watched from a near distance. She likes to help and I thought it would be good to teach her how to care for her sister. Now I can feel confident leaving Hailey watching her if I need to get a shower, do laundry, etc...and I can still hear her call if she needs me. I try to do most of those things when Emma is sleeping but I figure it's a good learning experience for Hailey anyway, and it creates another pair of arms in the house for Emma.

We went to church today. Emma has done pretty well during the services we've been to, but since she's getting older she is awake more. So, today she really wasn't sleeping during the service and I had to take her out since she started fussing. The good thing is that there's a 'quiet' room where we can sit and still hear and see the service. So, I went there with her for the remainder of church. I think next week maybe we'll just start in that room, that way we won't have to get up and leave, disturbing others in the process.

I have something I've been wanting to share that Corbin asked me a couple of weeks ago. The kids often go outside to play in the afternoons, and practically wall day on Saturdays and Sundays. They really enjoy playing with the neighbor kids and many times our house is the 'center' of play. One particular day they were out in the garage goofing off. I have some boxes of toys out there that I am saving for Emma, but Corbin is sometimes still interested in them. Musical instruments, kitchen toys, etc. Suddenly the door opened and Corbin asked, " Mom, is it okay if I play with the tangerines?" Now I had to pause for a moment, but I soon realized what he meant. There is a toy tambourine in the box of musical instruments. That's what he wanted to play with! I was able to keep a straight face until he closed the door ( after I had said yes) then I looked at Karl and we just laughed. I love the things kids come up with...especially when they're mine 'cuz they're just so precious!