Back by Popular Demand...

Okay, okay, okay. I have been getting so many requests for updated Emily pictures and videos, I decided to officially re-open the blog. I know pictures are such a beautiful way to stay close and connected from afar, so I really want to make an effort to share our lives this way.

Before I go posting the latest and greatest, I just want to extend a quick (and HUGE) thank you to those of you we haven't talked to in a while. We had a pretty rough summer/fall, that's for sure. I seriously thank God for all of you. We have the most amazing family and friends. You keep us positive and strong every day and you all helped us survive the last few months. The little notes, flowers, books, phone calls, emails, prayers were just so...wonderful. And, yes, we are doing better. We are all 3 just continuing to heal.

That being said...the last post/video of Emily is SUPER old, so you may not even recognize the little girl/toddler you're about to see.

"My name is Emily, I like to dance!"

It's Official

We have a little walker!!! This video was shot just last weekend. As you can see, we still had to entice her with cheerios to get her to walk. She's showing off a little of her signing too :)



Then, over the past week, she's gotten braver & braver, actually walking on her own without any encouragement. She's just going for it. It hasn't even been a full week & she's just taking off, getting stronger every day. It's so fun to watch! I think this is my favorite milestone yet :)

Fun Times!

Wanted to share a couple videos of Emily's latest antics...

Here she is pouring cold water all over herself (twice). What a talented little gal!




One of her favorite things at gymboree!



Emily's 1st Swimming Lesson. No smiles here, but I swear she had fun. I think she's just still slightly terrified/skeptical of the whole swimming thing. We did somehow manage to catch her kicking for the 1st time. Whoo-hoo!



Here's a few pictures of her walking too. She'll take quite a few steps on her own if she's encouraged by mom & dad (and puffs), but definitely prefers the one-handed walk.

Happy Belated Easter!

I'm playing a little bit of catch up, since I've been away from the blog so long. Here are some pictures from Easter week. We had 3 fun-filled egg hunts (she has quite a busy social calendar for a 13 month old!) & a great Easter day with family. My new goal is get more family faces in the photos, not just Emily :)


The Easter Bunny left her a fun little basket. She crawled right over & knew exactly what she wanted - quacking duck first (have to agree - its pretty cool), book second, puzzle fun last.


Enjoying the eggs from dad's hunt!


We had such a busy month - I'm really hoping to get back to my weekly posts, so be sure to check the blog more often. Love & Hugs from San Diego!!

Our little walker (almost)

Emmi's starting to get brave & walk around holding only one of our hands. So close to walking on her own!



I wanted to post this one too because it makes us laugh. She seems to be stuck in reverse.

Turning one is fun!

These are a little late (since our gal just turned 13 months!), but thought I would share some pictures from Emmi's birthday blowout weekend. Grandma D, Marc & Sara all made the trip down to share in the festivities. It's always so much more fun with family & Emmi just loves, loves, loves her Yergos. Such a great weekend!!

Hangin' with her favorite Auntie
Bubbletime with Uncle MarcHappy Birthday to Emily! Mom had to get her started, but once she figured out she was suppossed to eat the cupcake, she dove in! Yum!
Presents!!! Opening them was the best part!
Hangin' with Grandma D
We made it!
Having fun in her fancy new chair (a birthday gift from Nana)

Cruisin'

Thought you might enjoy a couple videos of Emily's favorite cruising style lately...



Oh - and in this one you can see her infamous smile. Somehow, she figured out it will make us laugh if she tilts her head back so far she almost falls over then smiles. She does it ALL the time.

Just in Time!

Hallelujah! 4 months later & today we are FINALLY finished with Emily's DOC Band. Dare I say, I'm a little nostalgic???

And, icing on the cake...I finished Emmi's baby book last weekend. I've been putting in some serious late night hours on that thing after she goes to bed. What will I do with all that time now?!?

We also treated ourselves to a new camera for Emmi's upcoming birthday. I love, love, love how much quicker it is than our old one. It takes an instant photo - no delay. Now we can capture those cute little expressions & fun action shots so much better. Below are a few "tester" pictures from her bath this week.

I think it's safe to say that now we're ready to party!!!

One week to go...

...and we'll be parents of a 1 year old!?! Here are a few recent (and a little random) shots of Em enjoying the last few days of her 1st year. She just seems to have grown so much over the last month!

Enjoying Dad's day off with a trip to the zoo. I know it doesn't look much like the zoo...we were waiting for the bird show to start :)

Playing dress-up in her birthday suit

At Sea World in the "play pit"

11 Months Old

I can hardly believe we have an 11 month old! I think I say that every month. We thought we'd include pictures of Emily doing one of her favorite things...clapping! She claps whenever she's excited...when she sees a dog, when she sees dad at the end of the day, when she hears music...the list goes on.

Then, I tried to get a picture of her with her favorite little friend, Dog Dog, but she decided to crawl off the chair instead. I guess she had things to do. Ok - photo shoot over :)

Toothy Grin

Over Christmas, Emily got her 2nd middle bottom tooth (for a total of 2 now). They are so cute! I've been trying so hard to get a good picture of them, and just this week she's started to smile so big & wide, it's hard to miss them.

My apologies for the obnoxious noise-maker (me) in the background!

10 Months Old!

Here are a couple pics from our 10 month shoot. It's so hard to get her to stay away from that sign! And somehow we lost the hair bow in the 2nd shot? She's getting so sneaky...

We've also been working on some very important skills this month...like high-fiving, which I've realized can sometimes be confused with "hi" :)