Dunn has decided he wants a Harry Potter themed birthday this year. We have decided to have parchment invites with shiny green writing (a'la Hogworts acceptance letters) I will pick all his friends up from school in the van with a Hogworts Express sign taped to the side, bring them home to make Harry Potter glasses out of black pipe cleaners, put lightning bolt scars on thier foreheads with eyeliner pencil, decorate lengths of dowels with paint, glitter glue etc for wands, play some sort of Quidditch game, and make Troll boogers in "Potions Class" (some recipe with white glue, borax and some other stuff. I'm going to have to figure this one out) Cream soda will be "Butter Beer" and we will have some Bertie Bott's every flavor Beans and what ever else I can dream up. I hope he thinks it's a fun party as it's not every year a boy turns eight!

Emma has learned to crawl up stairs. This accomplishment was announced by a loud tumble, thud and wails the other day. I found her in the entry way and am not sure how far up she was before she fell. I was in the bathroom and she had been crawling around the house looking for me and I guess she thought I was upstairs. Thus ushers in the age of the babygate.

Earlier in the week I came out of the bathroom to find her sitting against the closed office door (where the computer is) crying and banging her little hand against it. She had crawled all the way from the kids' play room, where I had left her playing with toys with all her brothers, through the kitchen, dining room, and living room to the office door looking for me. It was such a pathetic sight, seeing her there knowing she was thinking I was inside and not letting her in. She is starting to turn into a little person with a personality and history. We have a snorty, snuffy nose face that we make to each other and laugh about as a game we play. It is fun to have her initiate it and see her get so happy when it ends in a snort back and laugh with mommy just like she expected.