Emmy the Ballerina

I already missed my chance for a Christmas blog, so here's my nod to Christmas:

So Emmy just turned four yesterday and she was so excited!!! It really made her feel like a big girl, especially with two babies at home. She got a bike for Christmas, which she has been loving.

Before that she only had a tricyle and a scooter so she's really stepped up to the big time and joined the other big kids in the neighborhood. She still measures at above the 90th percentile for height, so most people thought she was 4 all year, but now it's the real deal. One of her favorite presents was a ballet outfit and a multi-week class to learn ballet. If you saw my Halloween blog you'll know that Emmy moved on from the typical little girl princess phase and was into witches and goblins and everything non-cute. So on her 4th birthday I was happy to see she was still open to ballet. Gagey was also really excited about her frilly outfit, but that's another story:) Here's Emmy's untrained and free version of ballet!

See below for a video of Gage's new pursuit...

Gage Houdini Martin

So the last few weeks Gage finally figured out how helpful talking can be and began to repeat everything he hears. While he's been repeating a few words for months, he didn't seem interested in actually communicating. It has been so much fun listening to him try and pronounce everyday words, but what hasn't been fun is dealing with his new found attitude. He decided now that he's 20 months old and can talk (if that's what you call it) that he doesn't have to do "baby" things anymore. So he went from two naps a day to none, doesn't want to sit in his booster with a tray, and wakes up at 4 AM because he can!!!! Yep. Hilarious. I thought this didn't hit til the teenage years. The real kicker though is that he decided even a crib couldn't keep him in...

This is the real reason he gets up at 4 AM. He can get free of his cage and start the new exciting day! His parents aren't too excited though. Especially cranky papa bear because momma bear is nursing the new baby, guess who gets to deal with "big boy" Gage? Yep...