Easter 2013...

Emily had a wonderful first Easter! We started out the morning waking up to an overflowing basket of goodies. Lucy even tried to get in on that action, lol.

Lucy wants to help open the basket...

 



My Easter dress...

 



At church with my friend Keira

Mimi (Great Grandma) and Emily

 





My first Easter egg hunt...

 

 

After church we went to Grandma Joanie and Papa Rich's house to have an Easter egg hunt and dinner.  I was spoiled just a little bit (a lot!) more. My cousins Samantha and Alyssa were there and helped me with the egg hunt. We got to blow bubbles too, my favorite! Then my first Easter ended with a visit from Papa Bob and Grandma Nancy, they brought me a basket too.

 

These days holidays of any kind are such a special time for us. Today we are especially thankful for God's blessings.

 

The Final Birthday Post... The Cupcake

To wrap up my day mom and dad got a BIG cupcake just for me. It was yummy and I ate almost all of it but liked the frosting the best ;o)

Today I Turned 2...

To celebrate my 2nd birthday mom and dad took me to Lowry Park Zoo. We saw monkeys, a tiger, penguins, turtles, manatees, otters, red wolves, giraffes, elephants, zebras and lots of other animals. I even got to feed the goats; the nibbling on my hand felt funny. It was great day and I loved seeing all of the animals! (I actually turned 2 on 1/2/13 but my mommy is slacker and took forever to post this.)

Let's go...



Check out my glasses!

 



Mommy says I have hair like this in the morning...

 



Look dad penguins!

 



One of my favorite pictures, just look at that face!

 



What next?

 





Checking out the manatees...

 

It tickles when they nibble on my hand..

 



One pooped 2 year old!

Emily's 2nd Birthday Party...

12/29/12

 

Joshua and  Emily

 



Enjoying a cupcake

 



Check out my cake...

 



A LeapPad, thanks Grandma Pat

 



A doll with cradle and all, thanks Grandma Joanie

 



Steve and I had one just like it when we were little...

 

Uncle Steve and Emily

 



With Grandma Joanie and Great Grandma Mimi

 



Emily's birthday is January 2nd so we had a small party with the family the weekend before her birthday. She really enjoyed herself and the attention. Thank you everyone for showering her with love and gifts.

Christmas Blessings...

Finally, after waiting for so long, we celebrated Christmas as a family of 3! It was amazing; we had so much fun and experienced such joy in having Emily home to celebrate with us. Our first Christmas  event was taking Emily to Chic-Fil-A where she saw her first Christmas lights. For those of you here in Tampa, you know the store over on Waters, puts on a huge and beautiful Christmas light display. Emily loved the lights and music! We did all of the typical Christmas things - stood in line to see Santa, holiday parties, shopped and then shopped some more, decorated the whole house, wrapped presents  and anticipated how she would react to her first Christmas . I'm not sure who was more excited us, her grandparents or her!

Chic-Fil-A

 

Christmas Town, Bush Gardens

Emily and her new pony!

Chillin' with Daddy

 

 Some Grandma lap time

 Checking out her new chair and blanket

Joshua (cousin) and Emily

It was awesome  to see Christmas through a little one's eyes again. Emily  took her time unwrapping her presents and savored each one. She loved to help everyone else and all the attention. The day was filled with giggles, smiles, family, food, fun and lots of love. Our best and most precious gift was having our daughter home, wrapped in our arms and love!

Thanksgiving 2012...

Wow, there is so much to be thankful for this year but at the top of the long list is that after 5 years and 362 days (who’s counting, lol) of waiting, Emily is finally home!

I have so many things to be thankful for - my husband, my daughter, the rest of my family and friends. I’m thankful for the people that God has put into my life; who have helped us get through not only the long winding international adoption road but life in general. I’m thankful for the good times, the bad times and the tough times that have brought me to this point in my life and helped me to continue to grow as a person. For all of the friendship, love, laughter, hugs (physical and cyber), shoulders shared, and tears - I thank each and every one of you from the bottom by heart. I am truly grateful for all of you!

 Emily and Mom

 Grandma Joanie, Papa Rich, Emily, Sam & Alyssa

I just love glasses of all kinds!