Midnight Magic . . .

So, by now you were probably beginning to think that we had given up on the blog and stopped posting altogether. How wrong you were!! We have been busy adventuring and just didn't have the time, or our computer, to work on the blog. This is the beginning of what will soon be a blogging blitz. After all, we have over a whole week to tell you about. The question is, where should I begin? I think that the best place would be where we left off last time, instead of jumping ahead and then jumping back and jumping ahead and jumping back, you get the idea.

I am going to start with the Midnight Magic Party, the release party for the last Harry Potter book. We all went as a family because Emily was so excited about the book, she just would not go to sleep on the evening of the release. I wanted to go because I could not wait to start reading it. We chose not to dress as character's because, well, it's just not what we do. We did take part in all of the fun activities. While we were there, Emily had her picture taken with Harry, made her own wand (because at the end of book six Olivander had gone missing), guessed at the number of Bertie Botts Every Flavor Beans in a jar, and watched a magic show. When it was time, I got in line to buy the book; Christa & Emily went out to the car to get away from the mad rush of HP fans. Ten minutes later, I had my book and we were on our way home. Emily fell asleep; Christa fell asleep; I stayed up and read my new book.

The next morning we went to swimming lessons, then came home, so I could read my book. Emily was playing on the floor and began to do something amazing (apparently there was some Midnight Magic of another kind at play here) . . . Emily figured out the mechanics of crawling! Well, mostly; she doesn't always get all the way up, but she is definitely on the move. I continued to read my book through all of the errands we went on that day. Once the errands were over, we went to a wedding reception for our friend and Mary Kay (tm) consultant Amanda W (now, Amanda G. Just like Christa, she married up, alphabetically speaking). We all had a great time, then we went home. Christa & Emily went to bed and I finished reading my book; I have to say I really enjoyed it. I was very sad about parts of it, but overall I am happy with how she chose to end the series, but as this blog is about Emily and not a Harry Potter discussion, I will end it there.

Incredible things were going to start on Sunday, but that is best left for the next entry, because let's face it, I like to leave you wanting more...bwahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha!

Arts & Crafts at the Harry Potter Release Party. Make your own Magic Wand!

Emily chose a yellow straw to make her wand, a pink pipe cleaner to wrap a handle, and some yellow, pink & purple feathers to make the "magic" on the end of the wand.

Here she is making sure that the straw for the wand doesn't get away while I try to wrangle a pipe cleaner around the "handle" with one and a half hands.

After making her Magic Wand and getting her picture taken with Harry Potter, Emily decided to kill the time by eating her toes. Steve and I filled out some Trivia Sheets to try and win Steve a front of the line space to buy his book.

Emily decided to chew on her little baby polar bear for a little bit before showing off her new moves.

"Grandma, Look! I'm going to crawl now!"

"Whew, crawling is hard work. I need a little break."

Sometimes her crawling begins as a push up. It's quite amusing.

"Watch me go, Auntie Mandy!"

"Grandma, did you see me?"

Always the little lady, Emily was eating her dress at Amanda W.'s wedding reception. No, not our Amanda W., our friend Amanda W. (well, now it's Amanda Gude).

She was fascinated by the plastic tablecloths. She couldn't get enough of them!

Amanda came by to say hi and admire Emily's pretty dress.

I just couldn't get everyone to look at the camera at the same time. Emily is such a distraction, but a very cute distraction . . . I guess that's part of the problem.

Our little party girl melted after awhile into Auntie Mandy's lap.

In this video, you will see Emily making faces. Shocking, I know, but it's true. You will also see her trying to steal the camera away, and will get a super quick view of the couch cushions as a result of the scuffle. Oh yeah, she also tries to eat the camera. I know, I know, I couldn't believe it either. Parental Guidance is recommended due to Emily's crazy faces, theft, and violence.

Video run time is 39 seconds.

We call this video "The Grandma Jumperoo." You'll understand why after you see it. This video is rated "G" and has been approved for all ages.

Video run time is 42 seconds.

Your last bit of entertainment is called "On The Move!" In this video, you will get to witness Emily's new crawling skills first hand! Remember, at the time of this amazing feat she was only a week past the 7 month mark! This video has also been rated "G" for all ages.

Video run time is 2 minutes 1 second.