Thanksgiving on Signal Mountain

Family Fun







Downtown Chattanooga








Rock City Christmas Lights






Thanksgiving Day





We went to visit Paul's family in Signal Mountain, Tennessee this week. Emma Jane was happy to see her Aunt Stacy and Uncle Paul. She REALLY enjoyed playing with (annoying) her cousins Vincent and Daniel. Grandma Jane, Grandpa Bill, and Great Grandma Nora also came up from Panama City so we had the whole clan with a total of 5 dogs and 3 cats. Needless to say, our little girl was in heaven! She had a great time exploring a new house and getting reacquainted with her family.

Paul and I took Emma Jane to explore downtown Chattanooga Wednesday afternoon. It is a really cool area with lots to see and do. Later that night we went to Rock City to see the Christmas lights with the whole family. It was a cold night, but that didn't bother Emma Jane. She had a ball checking out all the lights and tried her best to wander away every chance she got. Her little fingers were FREEZING at the end of the night, but she didn't seem to mind. She felt like such a big girl as she tried to keep up with Vincent and Daniel.

On Thursday, we had a wonderful Thanksgiving feast before heading back home. Unfortunately, Emma Jane was so worn out from the day before that she had a major meltdown just as we were sitting down to eat! Oh well, a girl can't be perfect ALL the time, now, can she?

On this Thanksgiving we are grateful for many things. We are so blessed. We are thankful for this special time we were able to spend with the Street family and we are grateful for ALL of our family and friends who enrich our lives. Happy Thanksgiving!

santa visit...take one!

To avoid crowds in the coming weeks, we took Emma Jane to the mall to see Santa today. She liked looking at him from a distance and seemed thrilled to wait in line to see him. But when it was actually time to sit in his lap, she clung to me for dear life! Paul took a few pictures of the confident Emma Jane on her way to see Santa, but in the last picture you can only see a glimpse of her skirt as she decides to hide from him! Shelly, Brad, and Addie were also there to see Santa, but Addie wasn't quite ready for the bearded man either. We decided that the girls will likely change their minds in a year or two when they discover that Santa is the one who delivers the toys! I'll probably take her again in the coming weeks to see if she has changed her mind, but I refuse to torture her. If she doesn't want to sit in a strange man's lap, that is FINE with me!

home is where the fun is...

Emma Jane and I usually go on at least one outing everyday. She is such a busy bee and keeping her entertained at home is a challenge. Yesterday she proved to me that she can find plenty of ways to entertain herself at home. She spent the afternoon coloring (the highchair is the safest place for this right now!), practicing her stair stepping (she can now walk up by herself while holding onto the rail), and finding new ways to play with her toys (she is finally stacking blocks instead of knocking them down!). Never a dull moment at home with Emma Jane!

ps ... She still insists on wearing her boots with EVERYTHING! Don't worry, she didn't wear them out in public with that dress! :)

a better view

While on our usual Riverwalk excursion, Paul put Emma Jane up on his shoulders for the first time. She loved it! She especially liked drumming her fingers on his bald head! Walker wasn't sure what to think about it. We also tried to teach Emma Jane how to blow dandelion seeds into the air, but after trying to blow through her nose without the desired effect, she decided to just eat the dandelion!

monkey in the morning

Most mornings Emma Jane wakes up on the RIGHT side of the bed. When she wakes, she happily plays in her crib waiting patiently for mom and dad to appear. We usually hear her giggling and talking to herself. One of her favorite things to do is grab toys out of the basket next to her crib. She can easily squeeze the soft toys through the bars. I keep her monkey rain hat in that basket and she loves to fish it out and put it on. It's hilarious to walk in the room and see our little girl bouncing up and down in her crib with that monkey hat on. I finally caught it on video and took a few pics. Please excuse the mismatched pjs...it was laundry day!

falling for fall

After all the rain we have had, our yard and entire neighborhood is COVERED with leaves. I snapped a few pics of Emma Jane enjoying all the colorful leaves around her. She really likes it when a gust of wind blows them around. The last shot was taken when she spied the neighbors' cat. Obviously you can't tell from the photo, but she is "meowing" like crazy to get the cat's attention!

loving lily

Last week we had fun at the Riverfront Park in downtown Columbia with Sara and Lily. Lily is a very sweet friend who loves to give hugs. Unfortunately, Emma Jane is usually not into hugging, but on this day she decided to show Lily some love. Here are a few precious pictures of these cuties.

blooming vocabulary

These pictures are from our trip to the zoo today. Emma Jane is so "big girl" with those sunglasses. She really does pull them down like that when she wants to take a closer look at something. The shadow pic was just something fun to try. Emma Jane kept pointing out our shadows as I strolled her through the zoo so I took a picture to see how it would turn out.

Since this blog is also kind of like my diary for Emma Jane, I thought I'd share her blossoming vocabulary. She has always been more of a mover and a shaker than a word maker, but just recently she has begun to really try to express herself with words. Here are some of the words and sounds that she has used with an obvious understanding of their meaning:

mama (of course!)
daddy (second after mama but used more often than mama now!)
ball (goes berserk with this one when she sees them in a store)
bye (with a VERY Southern drawl)
hi (said very shyly most of the time)
na..na..no (usually in response to someone telling her "no")
meow (when pointing to cats)
bug (loves to show us when she finds one)
apple (first 2 syllable word, besides daddy)
bow (can say it, but won't wear it)
hat (ditto the above)
hmm...hmm...(for Walker, um, he's a whiny dog!)
arf arf (when pointing to all other dogs)
moo (still won't say cow though)
baa (says this when she sees any white, fluffy animal)
moon (she can point to it in the sky)
bell (when she hears one ring)
kick (from one of her favorite Laurie Berkner songs)
bone (she gives them to Walker)
boot (she LOVES to wear her boots)
bu...bu..(for button when we let her push the button for the garage door)
Addie (one of her friends)
zzzzz (for bumblebee)

I'm sure I'll think of more and add them later!

happy halloween

Emma Jane was thrilled to spend Halloween with her best buds at Lily's Halloween party. Sara really outdid herself with awesome Halloween-themed snacks and spooky music for dancing. This time Emma Jane wore a ballerina costume and looked precious! ALL of the girls were adorable in their costumes. After a little playtime and a yummy dinner, we took the girls trick-or-treating in Lily's neighborhood. Emma Jane still doesn't quite get the concept of getting candy. She put the candy bar that she got at the first house back in the bowl at the second house! At least she's generous!

chef emma

Emma Jane had a blast at the Little Gym Halloween party. Paul and I found a cute apron and chef hat at a toy store in downtown Greenville. I added a little "bling" with my new sewing skills and "voila!" a diva chef was born! Of course, Emma Jane refused to wear the adorable hat at the party. Oh well....I guess that's what a TRUE diva does.