Pete and Matt took Hannah and Emma to a gymnastics birthday party over the weekend and here a few of the photos Matt took of the girls. Hannah loves gymnastics and is a monkey on the bars and it appears that Emma shares the same passion. They had a blast running, jumping and climbing.
Emma is totally into Mo-wee (a.k.a. Nemo). She fell in love with Hannah's stuffed Nemo toy long before she had ever seen the movie. The day she saw the video, she was absolutely stunned....her favorite fish was a movie star! She watched in utter disbelief and started chanting, "Mo-wee, Mo-wee, Mo-wee." Matt had no idea that the place had Nemo stuff, but he is very attentive to Emma's needs and desires and he made sure that he took Mo-wee and a binky with them (I would have left them both at home!). I couldn't believe he even wanted to go to the party. He had been stuck inside all morning studying for a chemistry exam while the neighborhood kids were playing baseball right outside our windows. Baseball is Matt's passion and after a long, cold, baseball-free winter, he wanted nothing more than to be outside with his friends, but, he kept studying. When he was finally done and free to do what he wanted, he heard us talking about the party. I had mentioned to Pete that siblings (meaning Emma) were welcome. Matt piped up and said, "oh, that means I can go!" I asked him why on Earth he would be interested in attending a 5 year olds birthday party when he could finally go out and play ball with his friends. "I just want to be with Emma", he said. She's a beast!" Apparently calling someone a "beast" is about the highest compliment someone his age can pay a person and he adores Emma. He was, at one time, equally smitten with Hannah, but Hannah is now five, teases him, steals his stuff and drives him crazy (she's a pro at this!). Maybe that will be the case with Emma at some point, but right now, he loves spending time with Emma. Everyday when he comes home from school, he comes through the door and scoops her up (she waits by the window for him). She looks so small in his big arms. She says, "Matt Matt" and pats him a couple times on the chest and then they go downstairs into the playroom to watch TV for a little bit. It is a daily ritual that she likes as much as he does and it's very sweet. In fact, I might never have seen this sweet side of Matt without Hannah and Emma around. He's a great big brother and this relationship with Emma was sealed before I even met her. Traveling with his dad to bring Emma home and having that time together in China to get to know each other and bond has had wonderful benefits that may last a lifetime. Matt still insists that when he goes off to college, he's taking Emma with him! How many 16 year olds would say that. He's a great kid!
Yesterday, Hannah's preschool held their annual Author's Tea. The children have been learning about and making many different kinds of books and have been exploring the writing and artwork of Leo Leoni. Yesterday, they invited the families to come and see all the books which were on display including their autobiographies which the teacher read aloud one by one. They were beautiful, touching stories about themselves, their homes, their families and the love their families share with them. It was very moving to hear all this expressed in their writing. Then they sang us songs which they had been practicing for weeks. We all had tea, fruit salad and pastries/donuts. The kids were so proud of their books, but were especially cute when their autobiographies were read to the families. The first three photos above were taken just as they were reading Hannah's book.
