Happy Birthday, Itty Bitty One

I'm not sure who had more fun with Emma's birthday...Aubrey or Emma. It was tough to keep Aubs OUT of the gifts and to keep Emma interested IN the gifts. But, at least the birthday (cup)cake was a smashing success (quite literally, as you will see). The Little People Noah's Ark has been a hit; Emma decided to share a zebra with Tucker the other night. Thankfully I was able to rescue the poor plastic critter before Tucker had a chance to do much more than get his slobber on it. Yes, Emma and Tucker have become quite the buds, until Emma decides she has had enough of his licks and can't escape his tongue. Then I hear a wail and see a tail wagging for all it's worth. Anyway, our little girl is one and my little bitty is growing up. (*sniff!* - and NO, I'm not pregnant!)

Pooh Power

And then there's the ultimate photo

opportunity that comes knocking once in a great while. I had some great shots of Aubrey at about a year old in this outfit and decided to try my luck with Emma one morning. She turned on the charm and this is just a smattering of the shots I was able to get. I love her personality that is beginning to explode as she begins her quests of adventure. Aubrey often asks me, "What's Emma doing?" To which I reply, "She's exploring." While Emma enjoys watching Aubrey do her (many) thing(s), she is definitely her own person on her own missions at times. I have been heard telling my husband that this (Emma) is his boy. In all honesty, though, it is amazing to see how the Lord has given this creation so much personality and spunk, and is so similar to yet so different from her sister!

Bubbles and Bathing Beauties

Bubbles were quite the attraction as Aubrey discovered the magic of the slippery, disappearing orbs. She chased and flung and twirled, pausing every now and then for a "CHEEEEEEESE!!" The greratest difficulty was keeping her out of the refill bottle as she insisted that SHE could replenish the bubble tray whenever she felt the urge. Which perhaps might have been true, if you consider the patio table, deck, shirt and shorts all part of the bubble tray (read between the lines here, folks: she managed to get it everywhere and even places that I didn't know existed!) And then there's pool time...we'll call it about anything just to have an excuse to splash (or at least get wet)! Don't worry...we have a larger pool now. We can't get too extravagant or Tucker will have a new chew toy.

(Aubrey and Emma, May 2007)

Southern Belles

Here they are in all of their glory...well, at least most of their glory...ok, a bit of their glory.

I know that the matching outfit days are numbered, so I feel that I must take as much advantage of it now that I can while their objections are few. Several people actually asked me if I made these outfits...those of you who know me and my becky-home-ecky-less-ness can stop laughing now. (Actually, I bought Aubrey's dress last year at the end of the season clearance and discovered Emma's on sale this spring while Grandma was visiting...thanks, mom!)

(Aubrey and Emma, April 2007)

It's a Swing Thing

Well, you get the idea. This little bitty loves her swing and will kick back in it for just about as long as I will allow her. It's a pretty rough life she leads, doncha think? (Emma Sophia, 10 months April 2007)

Happy (belated) Easter

We were able to have a mini egg hunt (plastic eggs, thank you very much) this year as Aubrey finally got the hang of looking for them after I hid them. Emma just enjoyed chewing on the eggs, never mind the hunting part (too much effort, doncha know!). It was too cold to wear the Easter dresses bought for the occasion, so we went to plan B - dresses with sleeves (novel idea, I know). Oh, yes, I almost forgot Tucker...now 6 months old (as of mid-April).

No matter the windchill, we relished the opportunity to celebrate the meaning of Easter and all that the Lord has done for us.

On the Blog Again

Ok, so I have a lot of catching up to do, to say the least. My wonderful husband was incredibly thoughtful and brought his laptop home with the blog loaded onto it so I could work from home this afternoon and see how much progress I can make in this overwhelming endeavor. In my blogspot absence I have taken to Facebook-ing, which has been a ton of fun catching up with former students and colleagues from years gone by. My very first contact (outside of Meredith who coerced me into joining the craze) was a little kindergartner I used to help cross the crosswalk when I was in high school. He's now in college and boy do I feel old! Anyway, that's what I've been doing in my blog-less time. Oh, that and taking pictures of 2 of my favorite people. So, I'll try to work my way back in my mind to April and keep things as chronologically organized as possible. Since being out-of-pocket we have (among other things) celebrated Easter, played outside, celebrated a first birthday, gone to the beach (as my husband mentioned earlier), experienced the Lazy5Ranch, and flown to visit grandma and grandpa in IL. Again, sorry for the delay, but it's great to be back, even if it is in a limited sense!

There's more than one way....

Ok, so they won't give me a photo toolbar to work with on my home computer, so David has now taken matters into his own hands and is posting the pictures for me from his computer at school. So, thus we have pictures again...kind of. It's just going to take a while to get use to this new set up. Guess I'm going to have to take a picnic in and let him babysit while I post pictures from the last 3 months (we've been busy!) So, please be patient (if you haven't already given up on us), and I'll see if I can get something posted in the next few days. However, we are going to be out of computer pocket for a bit, so check back as you are able and I'll be in touch when things are up and running smoothly.

It's a King Thing

Well, we had to go to the beach. My family (David's) always chooses to go to the beach for family vacation. (sigh) Last year we couldn't go because EmmaDarlin' decided to be born two days before vacation began. This year we had no such excuse.

So we had to go this year. Had to go down to the ocean each morning (sigh); had to go down to the ocean each evening; had to go to the NC aquarium; had to eat more food than we should have; had to take walks in the sand; had to play with the girls on the beach (and a very short way into the water). I am so glad that I am back at work.