birthday blast

Emma Jane's Panama City birthday party was a day to remember! Our very generous friend, Bridget, offered to host the party at her adorable house in the Cove. We were so happy to have our family and close friends there to share in our celebration. It is so hard to believe that our little girl is already one! We made cupcakes again and she was a dainty princess licking the icing off with her fingers just as she had at the first party. I finally dumped the cupcake out of the holder so she could at least make a little bit of a mess! Our friend Rachelle surprised us with BEAUTIFUL homemade cookies that spelled out Emma Jane's name. She also made some very intricate sea creature cookies. Emma Jane was thrilled to have several big kids at her party and was especially interested in what was going on in the boys' room. She grabbed some toy cars and proudly took them outside to play. Present opening was exciting for her at first, but she decided there were other things she wanted to do, so mom wound up opening most of the gifts with the help of sweet little Garrsion. Grandma Jane got Emma Jane a bubble gun as part of her gift. She LOVES bubbles! Grandma Di seemed to enjoy the bubble gun as much as Emma Jane. I think everyone had a wonderful time watching Emma Jane have a wonderful time. Thanks to all of you who attended and contributed to this perfect party for our birthday girl! Thank you to Grandpa Ron for taking so many great pictures to help us remember this special day.

baby in a boat

We also took Emma Jane out on the boat for the first time during our trip home. On the day we arrived, we took the boat for a test drive. She seemed a little nervous and unsure, but she was also exhausted after a long trip in the car. The next day we took her on a much longer boat ride to Shell Island with Grandma Jane and Grandpa Bill. She looked so funny in the life vest! She was very quiet during the trip and liked to point at the wake behind the boat. When we got to the island, she had a great time in the water sitting in her float, but wanted no part of that "icky" sand. We are relieved that our baby girl seems to be willing to hang at the beach with mom and dad since this is one of our favorite things to do!

beach babe

While back home in Florida, we couldn't wait to take Emma Jane to the beach. She seemed to like the waves and all the new things to see, but she REALLY hated the sand. If she got one finger or toe in it, she would cry until we washed it off. Her time at the beach was spent mostly on the towel or in the water with mom or dad. Paul picked up a few small hermit crabs to let her look at them. She peered closely at them crawling around on his hand and to our surprise, she picked one up! I think it scared her when it started wiggling between her fingers because, as you can see from the last photo, she was not happy! All in all, Emma Jane seemed to have fun at the beach.

zoo for two

Emma Jane met Addie at the zoo today for a quick visit. The girls enjoyed the aquarium most where they could stand right next to the tanks and point to the fish. Emma Jane got so excited that she fell off the step, but don't worry, she got right back up without a fuss! Our cuties also enjoyed "petting" the bronze lion cub at the zoo entrance. Zoo days are always fun!

color of choice

Emma Jane has been showing preferences in many things for awhile now...tastier foods, special blankies, and certain toys. Now she is showing an obvious preference in color. In the pool of colorful balls she has, she ALWAYS chooses the turquoise ones to play with. She will sit in the pool, pick up a ball, carefully examine it, and dump it if it isn't turquoise. She takes at least two turquoise balls out of the pool and carries them around the room. If she loses one, she goes back to the pool and chooses another turquoise ball to replace it. Who knew a one-year-old could be so particular?

up...up...up she goes! down she goes, too!

Emma Jane is learning to climb the stairs...actually Emma Jane CAN climb the stairs all by herself! We just put her in front of them and up she went! Of course, I am standing close behind her with hands at the ready the whole way up, but she hasn't needed me yet! What a little monkey!
ps....as of today she is now climbing DOWN the stairs! (See new pics added at the top.) She was very cautious about it, but we won't completely trust her just yet!

party girl

Emma Jane's first birthday party was so much fun! She woke up from her nap to discover Addie and Kaitlyn in her room to start the party! The girls laughed and giggled all afternoon and the parents thoroughly enjoyed watching them together. Our dear friend Amanda (aka...Kaitlyn's mom) took loads of incredible photos with her fancy camera. Thank you, Amanda! We are so grateful to have these amazing pictures to help us remember this special day. Emma Jane loved her cool birthday presents, but I am sure if she could tell us, she would say she loved the company most of all! We are so blessed to have such good friends to help us celebrate Emma Jane's first birthday.
As far as party preparations, Paul and I had fun getting ready for our guests. I tried to be creative. The invitations, party hats, and birthday banner were all created by me! Paul cooked a FABULOUS dinner and baked the cupcakes too! It was a perfect, low-key celebration for our girl and one we will always remember.