it's hard to leave the beach

We spent the last few days in Panama City at a condo on the beach. The weather couldn't have been more perfect and the gulf was beautiful. Emma Jane is a BIG fan of the beach! She loved digging in the sand and jumping in the gulf (even though the water was pretty cold!). Luckily, the stretch of water in front of our condo was very clear, calm, and shallow with a sandbar. This was the first time Paul and I were able to sit back on the beach and let Emma Jane do her thing without worrying she would be swept away by the waves. She spent most of her time collecting seashells without discrimination (I kept a few), chasing seagulls, and throwing handfuls of sand into the gulf. Paul also "buried" the bottom half of her in the sand and she loved it! She sat there for quite some time patting the sand around her. The time we spent together on the beach was priceless. I completely agreed with Emma Jane on our last day when she tearfully told us, "It's hard to leave the beach!"

family & friends

We were lucky to spend a little more time with family and friends during our latest trip to Panama City. Emma Jane was constantly surrounded by people who love (and spoil!) her. Of course, Grandma Di & Grandpa Ron and Grandma Jane & Grandpa Bill had lots of fun with our girl. Emma Jane especially liked the kitty cats at their houses. We made a trip to Holy Nativity to see all of my teacher friends and former students. The kids were so sweet to Emma Jane and she made lots of new friends! Emma Jane loved seeing her Aunt Scott at school and several other times during our trip. She also had some playtime with a couple of cute boys. She spent some time at Garrison's house complete with some swinging fun. She also hung out at the Barefoot Beach Club playground with little Jacob. Emma Jane proved that she can definitely hang with the boys! I was lucky to have some lunch and dinner dates with some of my best girls, Marlene, Bridget, Margaret, and Scott. We made some great memories and can't wait to go back as a family of four!

celebrating nine years

While in Panama City, Paul and I celebrated our nine year anniversary. We stayed at a beautiful condo on the beach for four nights, two of which we spent without Emma Jane who stayed with her grandparents. This was my first time spending a night away from Emma Jane, but as much as we missed her, we thoroughly enjoyed our alone time together. On the night of our anniversary, Paul took me to the Red Bar in Grayton Beach. This was the site of our very first "real" date over 12 years ago!

surprise!

Our first night in Panama City turned out to be full of surprises! Paul and I planned to hang out with some good friends, but didn't realize they had planned a surprise baby shower for us. We were VERY surprised! How lucky we are to have such a wonderful group of friends! Thanks everyone!

it's much more fun at the park

Emma Jane is still attending a ballet class on Wednesday mornings, but it doesn't seem to be her favorite thing to do. She likes her teacher and seeing her friends there, but after 10 minutes of back-to-back instructions, she's DONE (and this is a 45 minute class)! This week she was the only student in class, so I thought having the teacher's undivided attention might help her focus better. Wrong! She actually did participate very well for the first part of class, but after 10-15 minutes, I think her head was literally spinning! Today she sat down in the middle of the floor, started taking off her ballet slippers, and said very matter-of-factly, "I all done with ballet class!" So, after a few more tries, we ended the ballet class a little early and I took her to the park! Being outside where she is free to do what she wants is definitely Emma Jane's idea of a good time. You can see from the pictures that she had a ball climbing and running and jumping at the park...still in her ballet attire! Her pink tights were soon covered in mud and filled with holes, but it was worth seeing my girl smile!

Before ballet class...



Climbing everything at the park...







Yes, she is HANGING from a doorknob!

mommy's five!

I couldn't have asked for a better birthday! Paul cooked a yummy dinner for us and made homemade cupcakes, too. Emma Jane helped me blow out the candle on my cupcake and thoroughly enjoyed eating hers. When we'd ask Emma Jane whose birthday it was she would say, "Mommy's birthday coming soon!" When asked how old her mama is she replied, "Five!" Uh...add 31 years to that for this year's grand total!

afternoon stroll

We took a late afternoon walk around the capitol grounds this afternoon. Paul had planned to have a picnic there earlier today, but I wasn't feeling well so we had to postpone. Emma Jane loves going to the capitol. We haven't been since May, but she remembers the "gi-rant steps" and chasing the "squwurels". On the way there she kept saying, "We're almost to the captain's building!" We enjoyed the sunset while there and Emma Jane said, "Uh oh...it's getting kinda, very dark!" For some reason everything is "kinda, very" or "maybe, probably" which we think is sort of, really cute!