Merry Christmas

It's hard to believe this was technically Emma's second Christmas. Everything about it mirrored a first...her wonder at seeing a Christmas tree in with all its lights and shiny ornaments and her curosity peaked at the beautifully wrapped packages beneath the tree. But it was indeed her second Christmas. Unfortunately, Joe had to work Christmas day, so Emma and I headed over to my parents house to hang out until Joe got off work and would meet us there for Christmas dinner and presents. Emma made out like a bandit with great toys and pretty clothes and while Joe and I really didn't exchange gifts this year, the best gift we could give to each other was being together and watching our daughter enjoy all the wonder that is this season. Feeling a little nostalgic, here is a picture of us last year... a family of 3 for a mere 12 days:and a picture of our best present last year:

Now for this year. Here is Emma all dressed up for Christmas Eve services at church:

Emma enjoying some of her new presents:

Hello? Santa? The Christmas Ham:Me and my baby girl:Emma checking out the Christmas tree:
And here we are, a family of 3 for 1 year and 12 days. What a difference a year makes.

I hope your Christmas was filled with wonder and we send you best wishes for 2009.

Jitterbug

Today we were watching Happy Feet and Emma decided to dance along with the penguins. This kid is too much. She brings a smile to our faces everyday!

Little Lawnmower

Emma got this cute lawnmower for her birthday and she plays with it all the time. I love her little giggle at the start of the video. Enjoy!

It's the Big ONE!

It's hard to believe it's been a whole year, but indeed it has. This past Saturday, we celebrated Emma's First Birthday. We had a lovely party with family and friends and overall, Emma did very well considering we partied right through her nap time.

As a child, my mother made and decorated all of my birthday cakes, so I felt compelled to do the same for my baby girl. I found a great cake pan in the shape of a #1 and with a little help from Betty Crocker, we had a wonderful cake!

I also made some fancy cupcakes as well. The one with the candle on top was Emma's special cake to eat...more on that later.

Having a December baby born a mere 12 days before Christmas, I wanted to keep the colors as far away from Christmas as possible, so we went with a bright pink and orange. We had a lovely array of food and the centerpiece was a photo frame of pictures of Emma from birth throughout her first year.

After eating lunch, we sang happy birthday to our girl and gave her a cupcake to enjoy. She did not have the traditional reaction to this as most kids:

After cleaning her up a bit, she realized that she could eat this messy treat and it was pretty good! We then had a change in reaction:

So as you can see a fun time was had by all and here we are a family of 3 for one year:

To view all the pictures from Emma's big day click here:

Emma's First Steps!

While crawling is still her primary mode of transportation, our busy baby has taken her first steps!! It is so exciting to see Emma learn new things and how proud she is of her progress. At the rate she is going, we will have a full time walker by Thanksgiving! Look out world! Here comes Emma!

'Hope' - Let's help Obama

Politics is normally a topic I try to avoid while in mixed company, but my sister in law posted this to her facebook, and I was really moved by this.

Barack Obama was indeed my choice for president and he did receive my vote. This video however is not a slap in the face to McCain or a "Go Obama Go", but simply the truth of the change our country so desperately needs and how it cannot be in the hands of our new president alone, but it rests in our hands as well, as the great United States of America. So wether or not Barack Obama was your choice for president, he has been chosen by the people to serve. Please pray for him and for our country for the next 4 years. Pray that we can make a dent in the mess that has become our great nation. Together, we can change the world. With God, All things are possible. Thanks for sharing this again Lease!

Finally...some Halloween Pictures

Sorry this is coming a little late, but things have been rather hectic lately. Emma was a lady bug for Halloween and while we didn't take her trick or treating, we did dress her up and go to Grammy's. Getting these pictures was quite a task since our little lady was getting quite tired. Maybe next year will be easier and more fun for all. Enjoy the pictures of our little lady bug.

A Note from Emma

Hello everyone! I see Mommy blogging alot, so I decided that since this is our family blog, I would go ahead and try to post myself! This is alot of fun. I love to use the laptop. Mommy took some pictures of me while I was writing this post so you can see just how cute I am! I love you all and hope to see you soon.

Love,

Emma

Tag. I'm it!

I've been tagged in an "about you" survey blog by my cousin in law, Josie. Enjoy getting to know a few little known facts about me.

1. What was I doing 10 years ago?
I was 17 years old and in my senior year of high school. I was applying to colleges and dealing with boyfriend drama. Nothing out of the ordinary for a high school senior.

2. What are 5 things on my "to do" list today?
Go to the post office to mail 2 presents
Clean up the house a bit
Conference call for work
Make dinner
Watch Grey's Anatomy
Exciting I know...

3. What are my 5 favorite snacks?
Tostitos and queso
Cereal
Ice Cream
Yogurt
Cookies
Healthy isn't it?

4. What 5 things would I do if I were a millionaire?
Pay off debt
Buy 2 new cars
Donate to the MS Society for research of the cause and cure for MS
Save for Emma's wedding and college
Renovate my house

5. 5 places I have lived?
I have only lived in 2 places:
Bowie, MD (with mom and dad)
Gambrills, MD (with Joe)

6. 5 jobs I've had?

• Adventure World ( Previously Wild World, Currently Six Flags) as a Water Attendant. Basically, I stood at the tops of water slides and told people when they could go. Hey, at least I got a great tan!
• Hallmark as a cashier/merchandiser. I worked here there for 5 years and loved it!
• Suburban Federal Savings Bank as a teller to start then worked my way up to Assistant manager and manager. I worked here for 5 years also.
• M&T Bank as a Relationship Liason...which means glorified secretary. I worked there for about 4 months.
• National MS Society Maryland Chapter as a Community Development Coordinator. I work to educate and raise awareness of MS and recruit volunteers and sponsorship for local events. I am still currently working there and have been there for almost 2 years.

So now maybe you feel like you know me a little better? Thanks Josie, this was something fun and out of the ordinary for me.

Now I tag (if you want to participate)
Kristen C.
Laura T.

Daddy's Little Girl

This is now my new favorite picture! There is something so special about Daddies and their little girls. I love these two!

God is Good!

Every 6 months, Joe returns to Johns Hopkins for follow up for his MS. Today we went and spent a very long day, but it was all worth it.

I dropped Joe off at 9am this morning where he would undergo 2 hours of MRI's. He would then have his normal neurology exam with his doctor and I planned to meet him back at the outpatient center at 11am to accompany him to this appointment. While Joe was having his MRI, Emma and I sat and had breakfast at Panera at the Inner Harbor. After breakfast, we made our way back to Hopkins and met up with Joe and went on to his appointment.

Much to our delight, the radiologist had already read his MRI's from the morning and they were in the computer to view and compare during his neuro exam. In comparing all his MRI's from the past through today, they have all steadily improved with today's being the best. We were thrilled to see that there are no new lesions, and that some of the old lesions have disappeared!!! Joe's doctor was very happy to see the improvement and said that it's very rare to see lesions disappear. Joe now only has a couple "old spots" that are just remnants from the initial attack he suffered in December 2005. All this means that there has been no new activity in over 18 months! We have been told that he is in the very early stages of his MS and all looks great.

What an answer to prayer!! I would like to thank all of you who are faithful to pray for Joe and his health and I ask that you would continue to do so. We truly feel that it is prayer and the hand of our Lord that has blessed us to this extent. I am so glad to share this news!!

Neat Video

My mom forwarded this to me in an email, and while I am not big on forwards, I thought this was too cool not to share. Enjoy!

Halloween Preview

I have been looking for the perfect costume for Emma's first Halloween and I have found a couple that were great, but the prices are not so great. I cannot justify spending $30 for something she is only going to wear for an hour...even if it is a piggy costume. So, my mom and I checked out a great gently used childrens store by our home, and we found a great costume with an even better price... $5.00! You can't argue with that!

While the costume itself is cute on the hanger, it became 10 times cuter once Emma tried it on. So, without further ado, here is a sneak peek at our "little lady's" first Halloween costume. Would you give candy to this little bug?

Strike a Pose

Did I mention how much of a ham my daughter is?

How can you not love that face?

Emma on the Move!

As promised, here is our little girl on the move! Emma will be 9 months old tomorrow, and she is crawling, cruising, waving hi and bye bye,claps her hands, plays So Big, and points to pictures and everything else. It's so hard to believe that she is 9 months old already! While part of me is weepy and missing my sweet tiny little baby, I am filled with pride to see how much she has grown and developed into the little firecracker that she is. She makes her daddy and I so proud with all that she can do. While some days are indeed a challenge, we still fall more in love with our little lady everyday.

New Blog Layout

I decided to spice up our blog layout after being turned on to this website from a friend. Thanks Beck!

Stay tuned for a new post with our girl CRAWLING!

It's Fun to be One!

This past weekend was not only my birthday, but we also celebrated with our neice Elle at her First Birthday Party! Elle's real birthday is August 26th, but we celebrated on the 23rd at her home in Sperryville Virginia. It has been an exciting year for Elle and she has grown so much. She is such a happy girl and smiles all the time! She is the light of our lives and a special addition to our family. Happy Birthday Elle! We love you so much!

Here are some pictures from the day:

The Birthday Girl:

Emma wearing her party Hat:

Emma and Elle playing together:

Singing Happy Birthday to Elle:

Elle eating her cake:

Mommy and Emma at the end of the party:

8 Months Old

It's hard to believe, but Emma is 8 months old today! Our girl has 7 teeth, is army crawling, pulls to stand, claps her hands, waves bye bye, and giggles all the time! We celebrated her 8 month birthday a little early since the weather was so nice on Monday, and made a trip to the park with Daddy! Emma enjoyed playing on the swings and even took a little trip down the slide...with Daddy's help. Then we took a nice walk down a quiet shaded trail. What a fun day!