It's Party Time!

We had her first birthday party on Saturday, which according to Wade, should have been the day she was born on. Wade's birthday is October 27, mine is November 27, and Emberlyn's is September 26. Just one day shy of each birthday being exactly one month apart. What can you do...she just couldn't wait any longer to see the world!

We had such a fun day with all of our friends! Wade did all the cooking and preparing, while I ran all the errands. It worked out very well. We all know that I'm not much help in the kitchen. Emberlyn looked so cute in her party dress! I'm so bad at remembering to take pictures, so I didn't get many. But I'm already planning a future photoshoot of her in that dress! She was absolutely adorable! Being the great host that Wade is, he was behind the scenes, serving people left and right. So, a photoshoot with him and Emmy is also in the process! She had a cute polka dot cake from Sugar Plum Bakery in town, which I highly recommend. It was fabulous! And of course the only pictures of it I got, were in the box! I'm horrible! After we sang Happy Birthday and put her very own mini version of the cake in front of her, she went to town! At first she was delicate, and scraped the top frosting with her two fingers. But then, she scraped both hands across the top and mashed it all over her face, and rubbed it in her hair! We had a ball watching her! She loved it and thought it was hilarious! One quick bath later, we joined the party, and played with all the other kids. Emberlyn had a wonderful day and two good, long naps to finish it off. I still can't believe she's 1!

Happy 1st Birthday to Our Princess

Our Sweet Pea

Emberlyn's first birthday is finally here! Wade and I have been reminiscing all morning about a year ago today... feeling contractions starting at 3:15 am, telling Wade to time them only to discover that he fell back to sleep, calling my mom around 7 am to tell her that I'm feeling some weird pains, still unsure if this is actual labor and contractions that I'm feeling, waiting for Wade to run his errands for work, still trying to figure out if this is labor, getting a phone call from the doctor's office to set up my induction a couple days later and then telling her that there's no need because I think I might be having this baby today, and then hanging up with the doctor only to nearly get sick all over Wade. At this moment, we decided to pack up the car and head to the hospital. I was convinced that we were going to be sent home because of false labor or not substantial progression. After I got checked out, I was told I was 4 cm. and 100% effaced. This is real! They're keeping me! About an hour later, my water broke. Now, things were really happening. About an hour after that, I was fully dilated and ready to meet my daughter. The only problem is I still hadn't received an epidural. Most people would just continue naturally, but I thought that was crazy! So, ready to start pushing, I asked for an epidural. My anesthesiologist was wonderful! An hour later, we still haven't met Emmy. The epidural had taken the feeling away, making it very hard to feel anything! Which is a GOOD thing, but not when you're trying to deliver a baby. Finally, at 5:24 pm our bundle of sunshine arrived. No words can satisfy our emotions. It has been so much fun watching her grow these last 12 months. From her little 8 lb. 1 oz. to now at a whopping 19 lb. 7 oz. Emberlyn Jade has experienced so much in her first year. Her Daddy getting deployed when she was 5weeks, making a cross-country trip to Texas to stay with family, driving to Illinois for Christmas, welcoming her Marine uncle home from Iraq, driving back to Virginia, and welcoming Daddy home after 7 long months. I'm so thankful for our families and getting the opportunity to be with them for Emmy's first 7 months. And I'm so thankful for the wonderful husband that I have. He's a loving father who has developed such a strong bond with Emberlyn. She is his little mini-me. Happy first birthday Emmy! Mommy and Daddy are so blessed to have you as part of our family! All I can say is...the 14 hours of labor- worth every second!!! We love you!

A Year of Memories

Nearly 1 Year!

How is she almost 1? It's hard to believe that her first birthday is Friday! We can't wait to celebrate! She's crawling, babbling, and growing nonstop! She LOVES reading books, playing with her "house" and her newest game is taking things out and putting them back in. She does this with our diaper bag, blocks, laundry baskets...anything you can think of! She also loves raising her hands high in the air with toys, and then letting them fall through her fingers, only to crash to the floor. It's very funny to watch. We visited Daddy at the airshow yesterday, since he had to work his squadron's booth. We were there for about an hour, and Emmy fell fast asleep on my lap. When does that ever happen...never! But she did, and we left shortly after. How you can sleep with jets zipping through the sky, I have no idea! But, she managed to just fine. We continue to have SO much fun with her. Daddy's really helping her out on this whole "walking" thing. She kicks her legs in the air, and sometimes crosses her feet over eachother while walking. I think she just does this to make us laugh. Because it works everytime! Emberlyn, Daddy and I can't wait to celebrate your first year! We love you!