Happy Birthday Daddy!

It's hard to believe that was us exactly one year ago!

It's Wade's birthday today! And we just want to say thanks for being a fabulous husband, a fantastic father, and an incredible best friend. Here's to another amazing year! Love you more than anything! Happy Birthday!!!

Emmy's Search for the Perfect Pumpkin...and a Few Farm Friends Too

The 3 of us headed to the Hunt Club Farm to find Emberlyn a pumpkin. And she had an absolute blast! They have so many activities for the kids including carnival rides, pony rides, hayrides, and a petting zoo. She was in love with the horses, but unfortunately, was just a little too small to ride them. The weather was absolutely perfect too. We couldn't have done it on a better day. So here are some pictures of Emberlyn's little adventure. Enjoy!

The Botanical Gardens Photoshoot

Emmy and I have been sick this past week. I caught a sore throat last week that I couldn't shake. I lost my voice and felt miserable. Then a couple days later, Emmy was stricken with an ear infection. It's been a pretty difficult week for us. But fortunately, the photoshoot came just in time. Last Sunday, we headed to the Botanical Gardens in Norfolk. What a neat place! We were so lucky to have perfect weather too! Our great friend, Lindsay, took some AMAZING shots of us. Emberlyn did wonderful. She's a natural! She needed no direction. She knew just what to do. We had a really great time! Lindsay sent me the top 85 pictures, yes 85, and Wade and I can't seem to narrow it down. They're all TOO good! She posted just a few on her photography blog. So if you'd like to take a peek...
http://ltcphotos.blogspot.com/

On the Move

Emberlyn has been on the go! She has finally learned to pull up! She first started learning in her crib two weeks ago, and this last week she's learned to pull up on tables, toys, walls, Mommy and Daddy...anything she can get her little hands on. She's even started crawling up the stairs! Daddy was so impressed. They crawled up the stairs together 3 times! Now, we're trying to teach her to go down them backwards. She's getting brave these days! She's been learning to walk behind her walker. It's a toy that she can stand behind and push. And she smiles the whole time. She even lets go of things to balance. She can balance for a couple seconds, and then quickly grabs back on. It's the cutest thing to watch. Her newest game is being chased. I'll say, "I'm going to get you!" And she'll start crawling away, faster and faster while giggling! We are having so much fun watching how independent she's getting. But I think she's even more excited about it! She loves to have conversations with us. We'll say something to her, and she'll babble back at us. And it goes back and forth. It's funny how she's starting to learn how when one person stops talking, then it's the other person's turn. Daddy always comments on how much she analyzes. We can tell that she's always thinking about something. She's such a relaxed little girl who sits back and takes things in. She's really picking up on the signs that I've been teaching her the last couple months. She can sign the words: hat, flower, dog (which is also "flower" for her, so we're working on this one), book, more, milk, drink, and eat. And she has discovered her tongue! She talks with her tongue hanging out. And she crawls like a little puppy, panting and everything! I think she's imitating our dog, Avery. Emmy loves to make people laugh! We've got some more fun things to do this month! Coming up: trip to the pumpkin patch to find Emmy a pumpkin, Emmy's 1 year pictures that will be taken by my good friend, celebrate Daddy's birthday, and play dress-up for Halloween. This will be her second Halloween, but FIRST Halloween costume, very exciting! Many more pictures to come!