St. Louis

Emma and I spent last week in St. Louis with Grammy, Poppa, Grandma, Tante Janet, Uncle Ben and Aunt Erin. We had a great time! Emma enjoyed all of the quality time she had with her Skype buddies! We went to the zoo, the park, shopping, for all kinds of treats, and on a special breakfast with Tante Janet. The week went quickly and Emma was such a good sport with the changes in routine and schedule. Here are a few pictures from the week. I am not the best about taking pictures of the daily activities, so there is not a picture of Aunt Erin with Emma, but she played with her and helped with her tons while we were there-and she helped take the pictures the rest of the time.

Looking at the Duckies at the Zoo with Grammy

Emma insisted in walking around the entire Zoo, which covers quite a bit of ground. Thankfully it was not very crowded and she was able to walk.

It was sweet to watch her walking around with Grammy and Poppa. I have to admit that I enjoyed just walking and not having to chase her or do things for her.

Emma rode on Poppa's shoulders part of the time and played with his hair while she was looking around. It was sweet to watch her "pet" Poppa!

Emma enjoyed the park with Grammy. She was able to swing very high.

Aunt Erin and Grammy helped Emma with the big kid slides. As you can tell by Emma's face, she was not too sure about the height of these slides.

Grandma came with us to the park to watch Emma play.

Poppa introduced Emma to chocolate milk. She was able to have chocolate milk each day after she finished her breakfast. Once she got her lips on the straw she did not stop or look up until it was gone.

Emma enjoyed the swing at Grammy and Poppa's house.

Emma helped Grammy and Aunt Erin make applesauce.

Emma enjoyed cuddle time with Uncle Ben. She enjoyed his company at breakfast each morning while he got ready for work.

More chocolate milk...this is serious business!

Emma and Tante Janet

Emma was so excited to have so much time to play outside while we were there-and a wealth of people who were eager to play with her. She just bounces along smiling...

Emma took her baby for a walk in the stroller, accompanied by Grammy, Tante, and Grandma.

Reading with Tante

Emma's first "Easter Cake" - our family's traditional coconut cake with raspberry filling.
Check out her "bed head" from her nap!

Zoo with Daddy

Emma was trying to kiss the Duckies through the fence. When the picture is bigger you can see her lips all puckered up. Her favorite thing to do is run from the entrance to the ducks and watch them for 10 minutes or so. She entertains the people around us with her squeals of delight at the ducks.

Watching the polar bear swimming

She loves to watch the monkeys! They were swinging from tree to tree. One of them was right on the other side of the glass. She wasn't so sure what to think of it being that close to her.

Emma enjoyed her time with Daddy at the zoo. She even got to ride on the train with Daddy, and yes, they saw the Duckies from the train...the day was complete!

18 Months

Happy 1 1/2 birthday, Emma Kate!

Emma loves running around and playing outside. She stands at the door screaming for it to be opened. I think we will be spending a lot of time outside this summer!

Big girl on the slide

Emma's first whole hamburger! She just giggled with delight!

Emma was 18 months old on March 19. Emma had been very sick with a virus the entire week. Her fever spiked to 105.1 on Monday which caused us to spend 3 hours at the pediatrician's office. After we ruled out the other options, the doctor determined that it was just a virus and Emma spent the next 3 days with a fever. To celebrate feeling better (and to get us both out of the house), Emma and I went to the zoo on Friday. It was a wonderful time with Emma. The zoo is her favorite place to go and she just enjoyed it so much. After her nap, we went to the park with Emma's friend Margot. Emma showed Margot how to run around and how to go down the slide. It was a fun day together!