Christmas 2009: Part 2

We spent Christmas in the UP with Nick's family this year. We had dinner with everyone right after we got there...Emmie was so happy to see Noah that she ran across the restaurant to him and hugged him for the longest time. It was so sweet! The next day was Christmas Eve. We all got together and decorated cookies. Emerson ate as many as she decorated!
Then we went to Grandma Glo's church and back to her house for a delicious Christmas Eve dinner and a wonderful evening together. We even got to skype with Grandma Lisa, Grandpa Mike, and Sarah in China!



Emerson and Noah helped everyone open gifts and provided lots of entertainment for us!

On Christmas morning, we had a fabulous brunch at Mary Jane's house with lots of family and friends. Here is a picture of Grandma Lowney and some of her kids, grandkids, and great-grandkids. We were so thankful we got to see so much family while we were there!

Koen was all decked out for the occasion, but not terribly interested in opening gifts of course:-) But isn't he adorable?

Emerson was happy to share her new toys with Uncle Alex (and anyone else who would play with her)



Emmie was very interested in her new cousin. She was very gentle with him and wanted to play with him. It was so cute!

Snuggle time with Nana the day after Christmas

Nana also taught Emmie this cute little rhyme that Grandpa Lowney used to do when she was little. Emmie loved it!

And of course, we had PLENTY of snow to play in...

We hope all of you had a very Merry Christmas. May you be blessed in the New Year!

Christmas 2009: Part 1

We celebrated Christmas with my family last weekend at my sister's house. All four of Emerson's 2 year molars were coming through and she was crabby! Despite her crankiness, we all enjoyed a delicious meal and had a great time together opening gifts, playing, and catching up.








Emmie loves this stuffed bear and plays with it every time she's at her aunt and uncle's house. She even curls up on it like a bed!





Dance Party!

I love her face in this picture!

Grandma & Grandpa Ross--we'll see you in Florida!

Snow Day!

Emerson and I had our first (and second) snow days of the year this week! Yesterday was warmer so we bundled up and went outside for a little while. Emerson played with Jayce (who also had a snow day) while I shoveled. She was so excited to go out and wanted to again today but it was just too cold :-(

Oh Christmas Tree

We picked out our Christmas tree and brought it home on Sunday. Emerson was a big help..."how bout this one?" over and over :-)

She "helped" Daddy with the lights...

...and Mom with the garland (I LOVE this face!)

Then she decided playing with my bracelet was more fun.

It made a good decoration,

and headband!

2 Year Stats

(She wore her "cupcake jamas" for her birthday and I thought she looked so sweet in this picture!)

Emerson had her 2 year well-baby visit on Monday. She is healthy and growing, though she's gotten wise to what goes on at the doctor's office and cried for the first few minutes of our visit :-( She cooperated after awhile and showed off her wonderful language skills for her pediatrician.

Here are her 2 year stats:

Weight: 32 lbs. (95%)

Height: 35.5" (89%)

Head: still off the charts of course but she looks much more proportional to us!

She's a healthy, growing girl!

Happy 2nd Birthday, Emerson Grace!

Our little girl is 2 years old! We can't believe how quickly the time has gone by. Emerson has been such a blessing to us in the past 2 years. She has such a fun personality, talks non-stop, and makes us laugh every day. She is a sweet, affectionate little sweetie. We celebrated her birthday on Friday evening with some homemade mac & cheese (her favorite dinner) and then celebrated again tonight with my sister and her family. We didn't have a big party since her birthday falls at a very busy time of the year and most of our family lives far away. Emerson got many wonderful gifts and has been having fun playing with all of her new things. She has her 2 year check-up tomorrow, so stay tuned for her latest stats.

Emmie got a new chair,
new doll & backpack, table & chairs,
chalkboard,
puzzle,
puppets, and lots of other goodies!





First bite of her Coldstone Oreo Fudge Cupcake...




What a mess!

"I'm TWO!"



Ah, that was good!

This is a little hard to hear, but Emerson is singing "Happy Birthday" to herself after we sang to her!