**warning...a whole month of photos is about to be seen! (and I did cull some!!)**
So far I am loving this age/stage just as much as any of the others! Every one of them has their good points and not so fun ones but to me the positives seem to always outweigh the negatives! ;-D
Emma has entered the land of the 2 year old's! How excited was I to be able to stop counting her age in months!!! She is now 2 in 6 months she will be 2 1/2 and then 3...you get the jest. In true Mom fashion we celebrated for pretty much the entire month of March.
We started it off with a new kitchen that even cooks when Emma puts things on the burners. She constantly make Mommy and Daddy soup and breakfast. She tells us it's hot and makes sure we blow on it! She also got some new puzzles and cutting work with velcore fruits and veggies for her to slice apart. As soon as she saw it she said "YEA Miss Haley put out new work for Emma" I couldn't help but laugh because Miss Haley does put out the new work for Emma at school and since this is set up like her school's shelves why would it be any different?
We celebrated the weekend before her birthday since we would both be in Las Vegas on her actual second birthday celebrating Michael's brother Hunter's 21st birthday.
As soon as we got up that Friday we told Emma that she was going to get to celebrate her birthday at school with her friends. She was very excited and thus began her birthday weekend. ;-)
Michael and I were able to make it to her class after afternoon group to see the sweet birthday celebration. They do the sweetest celebration! The parents provide the teacher with an overview of their child's years and for Emma it was the first two. Here is what Miss Haley read for Emma and after the 1st year Emma walked around the with the globe just like the world rotates around the earth each year!!
0-1
You have always been in a hurry and your birth was no different. You arrived a month early but we were all ready and you were perfect.
As the first grandchild on both sides you have been adored from the moment you arrived.
Our fur babies didn't know what to think at first but soon grew to love you.
After two wonderful months at home with Mommy you started at Just Like Home an started making friends right off.
You had ear aches a lot so you had your first surgery at 8 months and from then on you never slowed down on your talking.
You made trips to Brinkley and Birmingham to see all your family and always traveled well.
Before we could blink you had had your first halloween, thanksgiving and Christmas and then you were 1!!
We had a big party and you were showered with love.
1-2
You said goodbye to your friends at JLH and made new ones when you started Montessori!
You have loved choosing all your work and are becoming more independent each and every day.
You learned to walk, talk, feed yourself and if given the chance you want to do everything yourself these days.
You love to sing and read books, watch Yo Gabba Gabba and Elmo's World and playing outside is your favorite!!
You are Mommy and Daddy's sunshine and your smile brightens our hearts daily!!
We can't wait to see the girl you are growing up to be…and then you were 2!!
Happy Birthday Peanut!!
She was so proud of herself when she was holding the globe!
Blowing out her two candles!
How exciting is it that Emma equates Birthdays with fruit and not cake! Another reason we love Montessori!
That night we were on a flight to Vegas and the weekend was a success! We also loved our room!!
NaNa knew that Emma was getting into princesses so she got her a princess castle!! She also kept us updated with pictures through out the weekend and we even did some facetime. She is such a technology baby and when she sees the phone she says "I want to see Emma"
We all went to see an Illusionist named Jan Rouven and before the show I got to get a picture of Hunter buying his first drink with both his step brothers there.
These were the dancers from the Illusionist's act
And the illusionist himself!
Before dinner
Brothers
Dinner with Mom, Dad, brothers and sister-in law. Thanks to Tre for taking care of it!
Hunter is a BIG fan of the show
Tanked on Animal Planet and we went over to their warehouse. They had just moved and it was a Sunday but they said their retail shop was open so we made our way over. Hunter was so excited to just be there and see some of the amazing fish tanks he had seen on the show.
And it was our lucky day because not only was the star there Wayde King...he came out to meet Hunter, take a photo and even show him around the whole warehouse! He also got to meet Redneck!
Totally MADE his 21st birthday!!
And Michael, Saundra and I spent some time watching the lights at the Bellagio.
Emma had a great time with NaNa while we were away but the day after we got home she became sick. After our second doctor visit in two days with 102 temps she was diagnosed with a stomach virus and pneumonia. She was so pitiful, snugly and very sleepy.
We rotated staying home with her and by Saturday when I was leaving for St. Thomas I thought all was good. But as we pulled up at the air port to drop me off she threw up her antibiotics and the jell-o she had eaten. Luckily that was the last of it but it made leaving her about 100 time harder! The only thing that kept me going was the fact that I knew of NO ONE better to take care of her than Michael while I was gone and she did great!.
I was super lucky and got a first class seat on my last two flights to the Island and I have to say it's truly the only way to fly. I just wish I had unlimited funds so I could do it each time.
As soon I a could I got down to the water!!
Happy St. Patrick's Day and wedding day for Amber and David.
Lisa and Hunter
My beautiful Mommy!!
The ceremony was beautiful!
Beautiful Bride
Uncle Denny posed for a picture to send to PapPaw
Family
Hunter will make a handsome groom one day
After a fabulous reception the cousins headed down to the beach to finish 5 bottles of champagne. Some of us even got in the ocean. ;-) Funny thing is that Jordan wasn't drinking the champagne!
The next day Mom, Lisa and I went to St. John and if I did go back to St. Thomas I am staying there!
Photo time before we went to dinner.
Hunter was such a sport considering he really hates getting his picture taken. :-)
On our last day we all went zip lining! It was super fun but I think I will be good from here on out if I don't do it again! ;-) Oh and the hats were less than sexy but the backdrop was too good to pass up!
We also tried our hand hand at the some of the water sports!
And if this looks familiar, it's because Magens Bay was the cite of the Breaking Dawn's honeymoon beach! Locals point out that the beach makes kinda of a heart shape. :-)
It was a beautiful trip and I loved that I got to go but I can't say I was sad to leave!
I made it home in less style but I was still so happy to be back. I worked on Thursday but then I had Friday off for the UofA's spring break and so did Emma so we had ...
Spring Break Friday with Mommy!
The Fayetteville Public Library had some great craft time
It's so close to spring!! We can't wait to leave the mittens and hats behind for our springy duds!
Brinkley is doing great! His hair is growing back and while his thyroid tumor isn't getting much bigger so that is another major plus!! Just a little less than 2 months of the 25 week protocol left so keep those prayers coming! Next step will be thyroid tumor removal is he can stay in remission for the lymphoma.
Such a cheese ball. So happy that she loves walking the puppies with Mommy.
Emma knew that Mommy was on a big air plane and so I brought her one home!
She loves accessories now and Grandmother got her a new dress, purse and glasses to name a few things!! Emma had to wear them right then.
New Years our mailbox was destroyed. We searched and searched and even bought a new one for $150 but as Michael put the last bolt in the bottom into the cinderblock it shattered. So we kept our old one together with duck tape until we finally said "who cares about covenants" we needed a new mailbox so we got one that looks great! Thanks so Michael for getting it up and operational! (who knew mailboxes came in a dozen pieces!?!)
Our hair has grown so long I am now able to make Emma have a faux hawk in the tub.
It's the Sunday before Easter but with two Easter dresses we had to wear one early!
When did our baby become a little girl??
Once we got home we put our snowsuit on and helped Daddy repot some plants in the garage.
It was chilly so we needed some warm milk and I added some chocolate to it.
School has been going great for Emma!
But we are still clumsy and come home with scratches and bruised all the time and it appears that Emma has a band aid fetish. Every time she sees a scratch she said "Emma needs a band aid"
This is our "squeezing out pee pee" face
We are not there yet but I think that big girl panties could be just around the corner!!
I even got to have some time to hang out with my fellow sisters! We had a Delta Delta Delta social at Uptown Eyes and it was so much fun! I hope we have more and more involvement with our alumni group. :-)
Jamie and I won the only two free things with our Razorback sunglasses.
Pledge class 99 and one of the amazing doctors!
Be blessed and hope it won't be another month until I get our Easter photos up! ;-)
Best,
Jill
