A Couple of Photos, Etc.

Emma's looking pretty sharp with her new bangs.

Our friends Brad and Liz came for dinner last week with their two children, Anya and Dane. The kids had a great time together. Liz and I have already discussed marriage plans for Dane and Emma. We're happy they're getting to know each other early.

Funny things Emma has been saying lately:

- Every time she hears someone say "Barack Obama" on T.V. or radio, she says (quizzically), "Rock-a-bye Bama?".

- She's been watching a lot of "Dora," so when you say "thank you" she's likely to reply "De nada" (or sometimes "fenada").

- She says "totally." As in, "I lost my book. I totally can't find it." Our little Salt Lake Valley girl.

-She also says "that's cool" a lot.

-This morning after we ate she said, "Thank you for a hearty breakfast."

-She's very attached to her little blanket (which is now in rags and tatters). Sometimes she'll take a big sniff of it and say, "My blanket smells like my blanket."

-A couple of months ago we saw "To Kill a Mockingbird" on TV, the scene at the end where Scout discovers Boo Radley standing behind the door. Then just the other day we were watching it again, same scene, and Joe says, "Hey, Emma, what's the little girl going to say to the guy behind the door?" and she pipes up with "Hey Boo!" That's our girl, a regular cinemaphile.

- The other day she came up to me as I was sitting at the computer and said. "Sometimes you look really old...Why?" Uh oh kiddo, you're on to me.

She Was a Good Dog

We got Annie at a PetSmart Adoption Fair in May, 1999. She was 8 weeks old and still had puppy breath. She was a chewing machine for about a year. She destroyed many a sock and shoe, including one of Aunt Julie's espadrilles. I came home from work one day to find the stuffing from our love seat strewn about the living room in great billowing piles.

She had jet-black fur and was rambunctious and silly.

Sometimes we'd take her out to the bike paths by the airport and let her run figure eights through the weeds.

She was Joe's loyal comrade as he recovered from heart surgery in 2000. They spent many mild September mornings sitting on the porch at our old place on 9th South, watching the world go by.
She was a good watch dog, a champion barker, but very mild-mannered. She escorted dozens of my piano students to their seats after greeting them at the front door.
She hadn't been well for a few months and had lost a lot of weight. The vet told Joe yesterday that she was filled with cancer. Poor poochy. We decided to let her move on. We will miss our faithful doggy, but we're glad she is now pain free. Goodbye, Annie dear. Annie
March 11, 1999 - September 13, 2008

Off to School....with Bangs!

Today was Emma's first morning at her new preschool. She goes twice a week for three hours. I thought I was taking her photo this morning but I had the camera in movie mode, so that's why you have the herky jerky video. Behold the new bangs. It's kind of a nice change, and we don't have the raggly scraggly tendrils falling in front of the eyes any more.

When I picked up Emma from school this morning one of her teachers said, "She has a heart of gold! I'm so glad she's in my class." Apparently Emma had been extra nice to some of the other kids and had given a couple of hugs to a little boy who was crying.

She's been very sweet during my recovery from surgery, too. Almost every morning the first thing she asks is, "Your leg feel better today?" One day I told her that I would get better and better all the time and she said, "And then you'll be regular mama again." (I hope that's a good thing...)

She is a cutie patootie.