5 on Friday!

Here are the top five reasons why I am loving Emily this week!

1)  She is so excited about Christmas!  She was a big help decorating the tree and is thrilled about the little tree in her bedroom.  I love Christmas and I am happy that she is so into it this year!  Here she is posing with her new Troy Polamalu ornament which is a tradition I am really excited about continuing.  Every year when I was growing up, I would select an ornament which represented something that I was into that year - soccer, Snow White, a school desk the year I started kindergarten, etc.  I have been doing the same thing with Emily every year too and Troy is very appropriate for 2011 since she is crazy about him and it commemorates attending our first NFL game this year.

Some very old friends are making an appearance
this holiday season.

Our beautiful tree full of so many memories
both new and old.

2)  We went to pick up our holiday cards on Saturday and after we were finished we went to Freedom Park so Emily could enjoy the warm weather and get some of her energy out.  I love how she is so outgoing and makes friends every where she goes.  Within minutes, she had found a couple of little boys to play with.  Here she is near the pond holding a leaf which she caught falling from the sky.  She thought it was so cool that she was the first person to ever touch the leaf since she caught it mid-air.

3)  I like checking in on Emily at school and seeing her "read" to the class.  I remember doing the same thing in kindergarten and it was so much fun.  I think she will really be reading very soon.

4)  On Tuesday evening, she rushed into the house and insisted on sweeping and cleaning the floors for Santa Claus.  After she was finished, she said "Santa will be so surprised when he comes because the floors are really clean and usually, not so much!"  She's right but goodness gracious when did she turn into a teenager with her "Not so much" comment!

5)  Peer pressure starts so young.  One day this week, Emily wore a pair of knit pants with stars on them.  I guess several of the little boys in her class told her that she was wearing pajama pants and maybe teasing her a little bit.  The first thing she did when she got home that evening was march upstairs and put on some jeans because they are "cool" and "nobody thinks jeans are pajamas!"