A Star Is Born

Okay, so the truth is that this star was born a long time ago.  Like 6 years and 4 months ago, "long."  Emily Rose.  Star of the Week in kindergarten.  She was SO excited and came right home and shared lunch with "Bono" the monkey - her friend for the week.

Emily LOVED Bono and, in keeping with her teacher's instructions, she took him everywhere.  He had breakfast with us on Saturday morning,

drove the cart around at Home Depot,

and went with us to Disneyland!  He wore the funny 3D glasses...

AND pulled the trigger on Midway Mania!

He also had a chance to meet our cousins whom we totally randomly ran into in line...

and hitched a ride with Daddy when free hands were required.

Bono was so lucky, in fact, that he was able to join us at Disney TWO days in a row!  Emily was very attentive to him always and made sure he had a clear view of every ride and show.

Once home on Sunday evening, we put together Emily's "Star of the Week" poster - on which she put a lot of pictures of her favorite things.  (The back side had a few more.)

Unfortunately, Bono's time with us was not ALL rosy though and he did have a bit of a health scare.

He was rushed into emergency surgery after a run in with battery acid.  (It was inside of him, old battery.)

But, thankfully, he came through with flying colors!

It was a bit lucky though that he was left open after surgery (and the contaminant was extracted) because Emily was able to choose a heart for him,

and fill it with love...

before putting it in his chest forever.

When Bono returned to school he went with lots of great memories, a full heart, and just a couple of minor scars.
Emily was very, VERY sad to return him though and is really hoping that Santa's elves can make her a Bono to keep since they can make anything... which is especially important when what you want is not new and easily purchased.

Finally Felt Like Fall

Today we set out in the still cool morning to visit a favorite fall spot... the Irvine Regional Park pumpkin patch!  First in the gate... a picture of Emily on the pumpkins...

like in years past.

As well as both Emily and Everett together,

and Everett by himself...

like in years past.

Last shot on the pumpkins, a family picture!

We always get a family shot!

Then, in keeping with tradition, we went over for some face painting.  Everett wanted something "scary"...

 and Emily wanted "pretty."

 Frankenstein meets the princess.

It wouldn't be a trip to the patch, without pictures in front of the measuring stick.

Tradition!

New to our photo collection this year (and the only year we expect to have a shot like this), was Emily, Everett, and Mama cradling little pumpkins.

(Frankenstein, cute!)

Also new (to this year's agenda) was a tractor race.  It was rather popular and we had a bit of a wait. During that time, I was visited by a teeny tiny little caterpillar - he entertained us for several minutes.

Soon enough though, it was Emily's turn to race a tractor.  (Drivers had to be 5-8 years old, so Everett was only able to be a passenger.)

The kids ran through the hay maze many many times, they played one bean bag toss, and we were on our way out.  That's when I had the urge to snap a picture like one from 2010 that I have always loved.  Emily and Daddy...

It was a really great morning and we were so happy to have a pretty cool day come along so it actually FELT like we should be at the pumpkin patch!  90 degree days again this week though.

Missing Pieces

On September 23rd, it was pretty clear that Emily's bottom left tooth was REALLY ready to come out.  A few days before, we had noticed that there was a new permanent tooth waiting in the wings...

and Emily could move the baby tooth around easily in her mouth whether it be with tongue or top teeth.

So, she said she was ready for me to pull it out.  I was surprisingly okay with that.  (I say surprisingly because I was not so brave with my own teeth!)  I used a tissue for grip and plucked it right out.

I am sure my eyes were huge and I was smiling really big, waiting to see Emily's reaction.  She ran over to the mirror and was cracking up...laughing hysterically.  I was excited for her happy response!

But then she calmed and came back to me ready for me to try again.  I said, "it's out, Emily I thought you knew."  That's when she started crying.  A lot.

And the blood pooled.  Which didn't help...

but it was only a minute before she calmed down and embraced her tooth being on the outside.

And then she was all smiles.  I guess it was just a really emotional experience all around!

That night, Emily left the tooth fairy a note by her bedside and put the tooth in a bag under her pillow.  When she woke up in the morning, she found that the fairy had sprinkled glittery dust all over it... 

left a picture that showed her in Emily's room right where her tooth was left...

and also a certificate.

Hard to believe that the those baby teeth are coming out now.  Seems like it wasn't that long ago we were battling them on their way in.