Dorothy the Fish!!!

Elliott and Emma have been talking about getting a fish for weeks now, and I was the last to know:) So we had plans to go on Saturday to the "puppy store" so Emma could pick one out! She was really most excited about the "shopper in training" carts that she gets to push around, BUT once we got her focused and Cooper under a little bit of control.... Emma picked out a Finding Nemo fish tank and a multi-colored goldfish (that will eventually get so big it will have to go live in Grandma Loerch's pond!!!). On the way home she decided to call it Dorothy, just like Elmo's fish.
Emma and Daddy got the tank all set-up and Dorothy seems fairly happy! Emma gets excited when she remembers that she is up in her room and has to go check on her. We did realize after the fact that we should have gotten a plain orange one - easy to replace! Oh well....

Emma admiring her Daddy... It is a miracle when I can get her hair in pig-tails so we had to celebrate with pictures:)

She is such a joy - getting so much easier to take places and generally happy, unless she is tired or disappointed, but that usually passes quickly too!

Love to all...

Zoo and Sesame Live!

We have been a very busy Patterson family! Emma has been sweet as can be, with a few moments of Mr. Hyde just to keep us on our toes! She has been asking if she can do everything, "Mommy, can I take off my hat?" "Daddy, can I please have some juice?" It is so fun and heartwarming. Lately she has been calling us "guys" as in, "hey guys, look at this!" She loves to play puppy, kitty, and pretend that I am a baby and she can carry me! Through role playing it has been so fun to hear he say what we have told her, and hear her explore her boundaries through teaching and talking to us in various degrees of baby or puppy-ness:) Last weekend we took her to the MN Zoo, where we finally got a Membership!!! Thanks to Grandma Hinrichs' Christmas gift - so we are excited to be able to go whenever we want, for as long or short as we'd like. She picked out the above shirt from the top of her closet, and wore the backpack the WHOLE time we were there!

Watching the dolphins as she eats her sucker, the MAIN REASON she wanted to go to the Zoo - the sucker!

This silly giant fish was following Elliott's finger and would open its mouth SO WIDE to try and eat it!!!

Yesterday we took Emma to see Sesame Street Live " 1-2-3 Imagine".... This was the pre-show picture of her in her Elmo jacket from Grandma Loerch. And, she posed this ALL BY HERSELF!!!! Look at those hands crossed and all!

She was so intrigued and entertained from the first minute. We were SO impressed with the show and how well it was put together, choreographed, and danced. I'd recommend it to anyone with a young child! And we will certainly go again. Watching her face, as she watched the show, was the best! Following here, are some of those faces....

"1 - close your eyes, 2 - pretend you're there, 3 ..........." Dang, can't remember!

Clapping and dancing to the songs and music. She spent 1/2 the time jumping in front of her seat, swaying back and forth, clapping...

Papa and Grandma Loerch came over to our place to watch the Vikings SMASH the Cowboys!!!! Emma absolutely made Grandma Loerch's day, snuggling with her after her nap!

Love to all...

Happy New Year!

We decided to celebrate the new year by taking Emma to the Water Park! She had been with her Daddy two times before this, so I got introduced this time....

Here she is when we first got there, going down the slide she can do all by herself.

On the way home she said the red slide was her favorite thing and here she is getting ready to go, about her 25th time!

I think Elliott and I were the only adults going down that slide!