catching the sunset

Our trip back home to Panama City was filled with good times with family and friends, but no visit to Florida is complete without seeing a beautiful sunset from the beach. Record cold temperatures kept us from visiting the actual beach during our stay, but we did have a few mild days before it was time to head back to Columbia. While driving down Beach Drive to see friends in the Cove, the sun was just starting to sink into the bay. I couldn't pass up the chance to let Emma Jane run in the sand and see the sun setting against such a beautiful backdrop. It was really cool to see her take it all in with such enthusiasm. You can see from the pictures that she was pretty excited to be there (even if her mama was stalking her with the camera again!).

happy birthday, deeeee!

We celebrated Paul's birthday a day late since he was working out-of-town this week. Emma Jane really missed her "deeeee" and was so happy to have him home today. She even helped him carry his backpack into the house! We surprised Paul with a birthday banner, homemade scribble card, and framed "daddy and me" photos. Emma Jane helped Paul open his birthday cards and fed him his birthday brownies, too!

biker babe

Emma Jane thinks she is pretty cool riding her big girl trike!

first sentence

Two words DO make a sentence, you know. All you need is a subject and a predicate. Take it from the school teacher, this is true! Emma Jane has successfully mastered her first sentence...drumroll...she can say, "I do!" This is her quick answer when asked various questions like, "Do you want to go play?" or "Do you want to take a bath?" or "Would you like a cookie?" We are also working on "please" which she pronounces as "deese". Here is a video of Little Miss Manners after dinner last night.

christmas for 4

Banana slices with whipped cream!
(Appetizer while dad makes French toast)



Excuse me, I have an important phone call to make!



Fun with Elmo!




Giving Walker some Christmas love...



Silly, silly girl!




Little Chef



Biker Babe




It was a very laid-back Christmas for Paul, Emma Jane, Walker, and me. Although we missed our family and friends back home, we thoroughly enjoyed spending a quiet day together. Watching the pure joy in Emma Jane's sweet face was all we needed to remember the reason for the season and how this precious child came into our lives. We are so blessed!

Since Emma Jane has been such a good girl this year, Santa brought her a kitchen set complete with a bubbling pot and sizzling pan. She's been cooking up a storm! She has been in playtime overdrive with all of the cool presents she has received. One of her favorites is the "bike" from her Aunt Stacy and Uncle Paul. Although her feet can't quite reach the pedals just yet, she can rest them on a stand under the bike and we can push her. Another big hit was the basket of pretend food from Grandma Jane and Grandpa Bill. She tried really hard to feed Walker the plastic eggs! Since Emma Jane has recently become interested in Elmo, Mommy and Daddy gave her a stuffed "Mo" that blows kisses and an Elmo shirt too! Our little girl had a day filled with smiles and giggles and hugs and kisses...and our Christmas couldn't have been merrier!

lions, and tigers, and lights, oh my!

We took Emma Jane to see the Christmas lights at the zoo. She was especially thrilled to see "noooo" coming from the snow machines they had set up throughout the zoo. It was a little chilly out, but Emma Jane didn't seem to mind. With just two days left before Christmas, this was a wonderful way to get all of us in the holiday spirit!

where's emma jane?

Hiding is Emma Jane's new favorite past time. She hides behind doors and curtains, in corners, under tables, and beside our couches. We pretend we can't find her and frantically call out her name as she giggles uncontrollably from her hiding spot. Here she is in one of her favorite hiding places. Surprise!

party girl

Paul and I had a nice time at the Watsons' Christmas party, but Emma Jane REALLY made herself at home. We spent the evening chasing her around their beautifully decorated house. She had a great time following around 4-year-old Maggie and, as a good little hostess should, Maggie was kind enough to share her toys with Emma Jane. Katie and Jason even have a dancing Santa! Emma Jane was a little unsure of the hipshaking Santa at first, but then she decided he was pretty cool and tried to hold his hands and dance with him.

glamor girl

Emma Jane now likes to put on her mama's shoes. They are so big on her that she can't actually walk in them, but she will stand in them and giggle until someone notices her big girl kicks. She has also designed her very own blankie sleeping mask to block out the sunlight that streams in through her windows during nap time. What a diva!

girl with a blue balloon

Emma Jane has decided that she LOVES going grocery shopping at Publix! Sometimes she gets a sugar cookie from the nice people in the bakery and if she's really lucky she gets a balloon while we check-out. Yesterday she became especially attached to the blue balloon that she got on our outing to Publix. She played with it for hours in the playroom holding onto the string for dear life. She finally let it go while she ate dinner, but she still insisted on having it floating close by. After dinner, she gleefully grabbed it again like a long-lost friend. She even took it into the bath and into her room for our bedtime routine. It was so cute that I just had to capture her balloon love with a few pics. Enjoy!