M-I-C-K-E-Y MOUSE came to Emma's house

I have been waiting for this since last December! That is when Ashley and David made the decision to go to Honduras on a Mission Trip with their church. We are so proud of them for making the choice to spend their total vacation time serving God. When they told us they were going, they asked if the grandmothers might be able to divide the week up and keep Emma! DUH! Of course. I think I can speak for Patti, "Happy" here, that we are both thrilled to babysit Emma! Now, I will say here that I was super disappointed because I thought Bud (Larry) was going to be able to come with me and that would have made the trip even MORE special...but work kept him home. We missed him BIG time!

As time got closer, I decided I would plan some activities based on Mickey Mouse, because really, this little girl loves Mickey like nobody's business! 99% of the time, she has a Mickey Mouse figurine in her hand...usually more than one. She can still do all sorts of stuff while holding those tightly in her hand.

Here are just a few activities we did together to celebrate our friend, Mickey!

Mickey Mouse Lunch-Tea Party-
We invited some of Mickey's friends. I let Emma set the table...with a little instruction from Honey she caught on quickly. Here is our first Mickey Mouse Luncheon. We had many! If fact any time it was time for a meal, she would ask if we could have a "tea party". I loved it!

Painting and coloring masterpieces...of Mickey of course

Minnie Mouse Cookies-
Okay, I really had planned on making them from scratch but then we saw this dough at Wal-Mart and really, it was just as fun and NO MESS! She loved getting them out of the box, putting them on the cookie sheet and then standing at the oven door watching them cook. She kept talking non-stop about Minnie's pink bow! :)

Swim Time-
Of course Mickey and friends also joined her in the pool. She played for a good 45 minutes with them...taking them down the slide, watching them under the water, having them jump off the side of the pool and even making boots for them to ride in out of her crocs! What an imagination!

More Tea Parties-
I brought her a couple of new figures, Minnie and Daisy who were having a tea party of their own...so of course she wanted to do the same...and Honey loves having tea parties with this little girl!

Park Time-
We went to one of the parks in Mansfield to play, though we didn't stay long because the heat got to us both!

 Love the curls!

Playing Mickey Mouse Matching Game-

I loved how many ways we found to play with Mickey Mouse. I had printed off this very simple matching game...but she took it a step farther after she would make the match with the cards, then she would find the figurine to match it and line them up in a row. Or we would play with the stacking blocks, then they became "houses" for Mickey and all his friends. Or the barn would become Mickey and friends little "house". It was like every toy could be re-invented by Mickey Mouse!

Bubble Baths with Mickey and friends-

Each night when I would tell it was time to take a bath, she would get so excited and start staying words...Bubbles...Mickey...Friends...Emma...Bath...Play...Bubbles...Honey...Minnie...Bubbles...

You get the picture...the girl was excited and when she gets excited instead of saying full sentences...she just starts hopping up and down and saying all the "key words". So cute.

Swimming with Mickey Mouse and all his friends.

Bath time for Mickey and Friends:

While I was getting supper ready one night, I let her give her friends a bath in the kitchen sink. Amazing how long she played with them in that sink. I figured as much as they were being played with and carried around...a bath probably wouldn't hurt them! :)

Town Square Toy Store-

Mansfield has a very nice toy store so of course we went to check it out! Right now, along with Mickey, Emma loves Wonder Pets. She used to only want to watch Mickey Mouse Clubhouse but rigth now if she gets to watch a movie...she will request Wonder Pets. It is so cute, she knows all the songs and characters and so when we were in the toy store, we found little Wonder Pets Stuffed Animals. I let her pick out one to bring home. Linny was the winner! Funny thing about Linny the Hamster, he eats celery and guess who has developed quite the taste for celery...you guessed it. Every meal, she would ask for "celery like Linny eats".

The girl and her Mickey:

One thing that was so precious to me is how this little munchkin can do all sorts of things all the while holding on very tightly to Mickey. Mickey stays in her hand pretty much ALL the time. Minnie often joins the hand but she will release Minnie if necessary. Mickey, not so much. 

David and Ashley require Emma to put Mickey and friends into their "house" while she takes naps and at nighttime...because she would lay in bed and play with them for hours! So, each time it is time to go to bed...she puts them in their house...the microwave of her kitchen. It is pretty funny. She has to arrange them all...sometimes they stand and other times she would lay them down. As soon as she gets up...that is the first stop!

Games:

We had so much fun playing games, working puzzles and dancing to her CD's. She is so fun to play games with...one of her favorite is Busy Town. I love how she would get her microscope to look for things in Busy Town. Pretty fun stuff.

 Even the timer became a telescope!

To say we had fun would be putting it lightly.

The best part for me was just being in her little world for 5 days in a row! I loved every single second and my heart is bursting with sweet moments and funnies from this little one who has completely stolen my heart. Just like her cousins she has a extremely special place in my heart.

I love you Miss Emma Grace!