Our November Birthdays

It has been a fun, busy two weeks celebrating our November birthdays! Emmy's birthday was on Thursday, the 10th and she took cookies to school to celebrate with her class. That evening, we made homemade pizza and opened presents from Mommy and Daddy. Her gifts included a new bike helmet, some clothes, bubble gum, and gem stickers. She reminded me that she really wanted a hugger and a camera...I guess Santa has his orders for Christmas!

Today was Eli's birthday. He had a party at school earlier in the week with the other November birthdays in his class. Then this evening, we went out to dinner at Cracker Barrel with Grammy, Grandpa, Aunt Megan, Maddox, and Zander. We all had chocolate cake for dessert, and Grammy and Grandpa surprised Emmy and Eli with gifts from the CB store. Eli got a new red fire truck, and Emmy got a Belle doll. She has had her eye on this Belle doll since our last visit to Cracker Barrel almost a year ago. Both kids are pretty spoiled! :)

Our initial plan was to go to the zoo for the kids' birthdays on Friday, the 11th, Veterans Day. However, there were thunderstorms all day from a hurricane, so we postponed our zoo trip until Saturday. The weather was much better. In fact, it was a perfect, sunny day with temperatures in the upper 60s. Emmy was very excited about celebrating her birthday at the zoo. 

We rode along with Grammy and Grandpa and met the Houstons and Boomer's parents in Asheboro. We parked in North America and then rode the tram to the center point, called the Junction Plaza. We walked the loop of Africa, where we saw the gorillas, chimpanzees, giraffes, zebras, and rhinos. 

We arrived back to the Junction Plaza for an early lunch around 11AM. Before eating, the kids wanted to ride the carousel. Emmy talked me into the spinning saucer, and I'm glad we had waited to eat lunch (haha!) After lunch, we had cookies and sang for our two birthdays. 

After lunch, we finished the North America exhibits of the red wolves, bears, bison, elk, otters, and alligators. My favorite was the polar bear. Boomer was Super Daddy pushing and carrying both kiddos as energy levels started to dip. For the most part, everyone remained in good spirits, especially when we passed out a second round of cookies and other snacks. 

We had two very tired kiddos after we returned from the zoo. Sleeping angels!

Emmy has been so proud to say that she is 6. Her favorite things right now are coloring, Friday movie nights, pretending to be a teacher or a princess, and learning to read. She will notice letters and words on signs and try to sound them out. She already has a long list of sight words that she has memorized. She loves her Tuesday dance class and Christmas choir practice on Wednesdays. While there are moments that she gets frustrated with her little shadow Eli, she is a nurturing big sister. I love catching sweet moments between the two of them when they think no one is watching. It makes me laugh when she puts her hand to her forehead in exasperation as Eli does something silly or isn't listening to directions. She tries to play school with him, but he is not the most cooperative student. She looks so big when I pick her up in the afternoons with her bookbag on. Sometimes before bed, we will have conversations about the future, her fears, heaven, and her feelings. Right now, she says that she wants to live with Mommy and Daddy forever. She's my tender-hearted, sometimes sassy six-year-old, and we love her so much!

Eli is 3, and he can show us on his fingers. He is a constant chatterbox. He has a big vocabulary, and he likes to be listened to. He will often turn my head and call my name multiple times to ensure he has my full attention. "Hey Mommy, watch this!" is a common phrase I hear. Eli loves Spiderman, Spidey and his Amazing Friends, Lightning McQueen, all race cars, and watching sports with Daddy. He has memorized the Wake Forest fight song, and he will pump his fist in the air when it's time to say "Go Deacs!" He is well liked at school, and his teachers say that he is very easy going. At bedtime, he isn't interested in being rocked anymore; those days seem to be in the past. After reading a book, he will whisper, "I want to go to bed." While Emmy is left-handed, Eli appears to be right-handed. When he colors and eats, he predominantly uses his right hand. He knows his ABCs, and he can count past twenty, although sometimes he forgets 'thirteen.' I love his strut when he takes off to be the leader of our group. He'll swing his arms like a man on a mission. We love our E-Guy!