I heart pink!

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Bye-bye ' Emma and Olivia' blog. Back to Bates family blog!

Our Mommy is now getting smart and combining her blog and our blog to have one big family blog, still complete with loads of cute pics of us, but also of our family happenings and daily living stories. So good-bye for now in this spot and hello to our NEW SPOT. Keep us on your favorites.



Love,
Emma and Olivia

Olivia is 1! Happy Birthday!

We had a fun party for her on Saturday. She enjoyed cake and playing with some fun new blocks! What a wonderful miraculous day it was when she was born on September 26, 2010.

Liv's 1 yr Birthday Party

Happy Birthday Daddy!

It's no coincidence Olivia is going around calling everything and everyone "Da da" this week, including Mommy!!

And Emma is ready and waiting for Daddy to open up his presents and eat the cake!

It's safe to say they love you "as high as they can reach"!

Happy 31st!
Love,
E and O
























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Girls and Boy

We have enjoyed some play dates with our friends, Abi and Caleb...Caleb being the only boy but enjoying munching and watching the girls play :)






T made Emma a sand box!






And O gives kisses! Lots of fun. :)



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Bald and beautiful

11months old!


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We Need Cold

It's ALWAYS steaming hot on the equator! Anything that can cool us down usually makes life much more fun. One of Emma's favorite things to do is to eat some "strawberry blueberry" frozen yogurt at the local mall. All the workers at the yogurt store know and love her. They always remember what she orders. I'm waiting for Emma to bust out and say, "just put it on my tab, please. " :) On this particular day Emma received some balloons from the "yogurt peeps". BONUS!





We also enjoy making orange pop sickles and running around the neighborhood, literally. Yeah for cold things on hot days!!





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Emma's First Day of "School"

So she is only 2 1/2, what are we thinking?? School??? But those of you who know Emma, know that she is a super extrovert who loves learning and making friends. And we thought, her brain is a sponge right now, and we would really like her to soak up the local language, which she can't do through us much since we have thick American accents and most of what's spoken isn't anywhere near a local person's abilities. So, "school" is one option we thought might give her lots of exposure to the language and culture. She started a playgroup at a local Christian school today.

She was excited about wearing her uniform, the nametag, having a backpack (thanks, mimi!), and getting to sing songs, play with blocks/toys,etc.

She has over 30 kids in her class with 3 teachers for the first few months. Parents are allowed to be a part of the class for the first 1.5 months of the year. Than the "adaptation period" as they call it, is over and the kids have to be ok with just the teachers helping them. No Mommy. No Daddy. We think she will be ready by then if this turns out to be a good avenue for her to make friends and learn the language.

The best part of the day was when the teacher brought out some paper stars in different colors and she asked the kids what colors they were, in the local language of course. The teacher pulled out a yellow start and asked what color it was. Most kids were tired at that point, didn't care, were crying/scared, or didn't know. Emma yells out at the top of her lungs (in the local language), "YELLOW!!" :)

So needless to say, the first day went well. She had fun and I could tell after we got home, she felt even more empowered to learn and do new things. This afternoon she learned how to do a somersault by herself (she had been wanting to do it for a while but was a little timid; she did it with our help) and preceded to do about 20 of them in a row. :)

That's our Emma. :)

Click on the album below for photos and comments on her first day.

E First Day School

A Dad of Two

Being the Daddy of an infant and a toddler is probably one of the most challenging and influential roles one could hold. When he comes home from work, usually it's "play time" which means almost 100% attention goes to the sweet talkative and active toddler before she goes to bed. Weekends are the same. A little rest here and there but Mom needs a little break too, so Dad swoops in to share the responsibilities of the household and kids' needs. He wears many hats. The Mr Fix-it hat. The tickle monster hat. The discipline-when-needed hat. The fun-outside-activities hat. And the list goes on.

Emma and Olivia are the most blessed little girls around. They have a Daddy who loves them unconditionally and who longs to be there for them in the ups and downs of life. He is their Protector and Gentle Guide. He is Comforter and Strength. He is their model of how much their Heavenly Father loves them.

Thanks for being all those things and more to our little girls, T. We love you!
2 smooches and 2 hugs from E and O.

Two Most Adorables

This past month or two, the girls have really blossomed. Emma is pedaling like a champ on her new bicycle and Olivia is babbling and scooting everywhere, although her smiles and laughs are what still catch people's attention the most. Any day you can catch the two interacting whether it's Olivia chasing Emma around trying to take the toy in her hand, laughter in the back seat of the car for no apparent reason, or an occasional accident followed by a loud little sister scream after a toy or something has landed on her finger. Sisterhood. It's begun.


E and O Talk

Olivia occasionally says, "ma ma" when she's hungry.

Emma recently said sentences like, "Mom, can you please help me button the onesie on baby Livy doll and then after that you can go back to reading your Bible." or "Where are we going to, Mom?" or my favorite, "Emma to do it. Emma to do it." (when she wants to do something herself) And there's the genius in her that really comes out when she can quote the entire "Olivia the Pig" book at bedtime and is learning how to recognize and spell words.

We are two proud parents. I told Todd this morning, "Can't they BOTH be the most adorable things on this planet?!!"














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Being a mommy

You know you are a Mommy when you are totally satisfied if the only thing your husband does for you for Mother's Day is let you take a nap and change the dirty diapers. It really is the little things.

But T did a great job making sure I had a "Katie Day" which means good food, movie, a sentimental present with photos of the girls, and sleep! What a great husband and father. It's not easy taking care of 3 girls for a day.

As for celebrating motherhood, it is such a privilege to help raise these two amazing little girls. It is so worth all the clean-ups, time-outs (sometimes for me!), diaper changes, boo boos, whines, tears, screams, outfit changes, sing-a-long songs, night wakings, tooth aches etc

to experience the smiles, giggles, the milestones, the hugs, and the blossoming of their personality and character.

To be entrusted with the two most precious girls on the earth is a high calling that can't be done without a loving earthly and heavenly Father.

Happy Mommy's Day!



























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First Bike! (not just any bike...)

It's hard to find quality products in the country we live in. We spoiled Americans are used to so many great choices. So when looking for a bike for Emma, I didn't expect to find this "gem". I expected plasticy, might-just-fall-apart-after-the-first-ride, kind of kids bikes. Because God cares about details and the little joys of our lives, I have no room to doubt that He put this cute pink Strawberry Shortcake bicycle right in the store just for E. She LOVES Strawberry Shortcake! AND it was more than just quality. It's a monster! Todd's words, "It's heavy! I could ride that bike!" I and the girls returned home super excited for Emma to begin learning to ride.

"What color is your bike, Emma?"
"PINK!"
"What's on your seat?"
"A STRAWBERRY!"
"Who's on your bike?"
"STRAWBERRY SHORTCAKE!!"

She had a tough time going to bed due to the excitement of her new SS bicycle. It even has a little basket in the front for "baby Livy doll." What a little slice of heaven for E. Thanks God. :)

Family Pics for Easter

Lots of fun this Easter weekend for the Bates family. Homemade french fries and hamburgers for lunch, lots of "Jesus songs" as Emma calls them, dancing, naps, and a fun family photo shoot. Ok, so the photo shoot lasted less than 5 minutes which is actually a long one for a toddler and baby. Emma is getting a little too good at smiling for the camera and Liv, well, she just loves the flash and is clueless about the rest. :) Happy Easter everyone!

Love,
Emma, who loves dresses and pink at the moment.
Olivia, the scooter and grabber-of-hair.

Green face and scissors

What are the gals up to today? ...

O thought avocado was...interesting.



E really loved learning how to cut with her new PINK scissors. "you don't touch the grey part," E said, after I instructed her to avoid the sharp part of the scissors.



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Liv's First Food: Avocado

See Emma's First Food

Biker Beauties

E and V having fun at church.



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Big Little Girl Events

Emma has begun potty training and had a very successful evening going pee pee 4 times in the potty! She was rewarded with new panties in her favorite color (pink), with her favorite character on it (Strawberry Shortcake). :) We also did a special celebratory potty dance. She was so proud of herself and we are too! Now for day 2. I thank God we are in the land of tile floors.


Liv is 6 months today! She is really wanting to crawl and practices getting on all fours on our bed before bath time. See her cuteness on our you tube videos in the upper left corner of our blog.

Rollin' Liv

I usually put Liv on my bed after her bath while I bathe Emma. But she's getting a little too wiggly now. I couldn't resist taking a picture of her position just seconds after I laid her on her back. She quickly laughed and flipped right onto her tummy. No more bed for her without parental supervision. Don't you just want to kiss those cheeks?! (the ones on her face, that is)


We are some of those parents who don't mind for a baby to sleep on her tummy once in a while. Well, with Liv, that's all she knows. But now that she rolls over all the time, when she goes down for a nap and then rolls on to her back, she doesn't know she can sleep on her back. We began a few days ago to teach her to do it by letting her fuss a little before we turned her over onto her tummy. She's learning quickly as this photo can contest. It's the first time in a long time she fell asleep on her own on her back. Notice the hand in the mouth. I heard the chomping from the other room. She was completely out! :)