Thanks, Nana and Papaw

Nana and Papaw came over with Aunt Sarah, Uncle Keith and Sarhea to celebrate Mother's Day and Papaw's birthday. Nana and Papaw brought Emma some fun presents including new bows for her hair - she was so excited that you would have thought it was a new baby - and an apron! Emma is excited to have an apron just like Mommy to help in the kitchen and with art projects! She was also excited to see her name on the apron. What a fun gift!

Sunday Morning

Our new double stroller came this week. Emma was SO excited about her "new seat". We have talked about the other seat being for the baby and she insisted that this was her seat. She kept crawling up into this side and even marked her territory...if you look closely you can see her entire bottom is wet. She did not have a diaper on since it was so close to bed and she peed in the new seat.

Emma's latest obsession is folding her arms. Evidently I do this a lot and she has been mimicking my actions at dinner every night. We have seen her do this folding of her arms the past few days and it is hilarious. She will stop mid activity to cross her arms. She is getting better at it, but it took quite a bit of work to do it prior to this.

See the concentration!

I love this picture...I think it is one of my all time favorites!

One of the few benefits of having our church service on Sunday nights is the opportunity for Emma to have more snuggle time with Daddy on Sunday. They laid on the sofa and read animal books this morning. So sweet.

Sweet Videos

Emma has started sharing the responsibility of praying before meals with us. She just came out with it one day and has continued to grow in this area. It is so sweet to hear her pray and thank Jesus for things.



Aunt Abby sent Emma ballet slippers that Emma has very much enjoyed. She just squealed when she saw them and after putting them on her feet, she started spinning around. She has enjoyed playing ballerina just like Angelina Ballerina and Aunt Abby.

Zoo Blooms

Emma and I have so enjoyed Zoo Blooms at the Cincinnati Zoo. Of course Emma had no interest in smiling at the camera and after just a few pictures the camera stopped working for me. That was very frustrating, but here is what I was able to get.

More Park Fun

We are trying to get some good spring pictures of Emma. She of course has no interest in sitting still for 2 seconds and smiling, but here are some snapshots from a recent park trip. The hat is new and she "picked it out". I had a hard time finding a hat for her age, but we succeeded! The flowers and trees have been just amazing around here this year!

Easter

This was our first and only photo op for the day. Emma was a "treat" on Easter Sunday. She did look very sweet in her new dress and enjoyed wearing her black shoes. I wish I had some great story about how wonderful our Easter was. It wasn't, but there is always next year!

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!