Parents are People Too!

Andy surprised me and took me to Newport for the day and night for my birthday. It was our first vacation together and a really nice getaway. The weather was beautiful and we had a great time! I had a parent moment while we were away when we went to buy Emily a sweatshirt. I remember when my parents would go away and as they were unpacking their suitcase I would always run in and want to see what they brought me home. Now here I am doing the same thing, still seems crazy to me! Of course we missed her a lot and couldn't wait to see her, but it was really nice to enjoy time together as people not just parents :)

Cliff Walk

Check out our "ride"!

Sunset Cruise

Pictures, Pictures and more Pictures

Loves giving Charlie hugs and kisses!

She learned to close the door, but then gets stuck on the other side because she isn't tall enough to open it.

Pushing baby Chloe in the stroller! Make sure you check out those thighs because now that she is walking a little bit they might slim down!


She loves to put on the fan and the light

Swimming and Standing!

We had a nice trip to PA last weekend, but unfortunately couldn't see any visitors other than a few adults while we were down there because Emily was still recovering from her second strain of the cocksackievirus. She had, had a slight fever earlier in the week and then a few more sores on her finger, but thankfully she didn't seem to be in too much discomfort.

While in PA we were able to spend some time with Emily's Great-Grandpa and he was so happy to see her. She must have loved his place too because she couldn't stop standing up and even taking a few steps. Previously, she had taken a few steps but she hadn't perfected standing up on her own. Well, while at Grandpa's she must have done it 30 separate times and each time would look to everyone for approval, it was adorable. She was SO proud of herself!


The weather was really hot and humid so luckily we were able to spend a few hours at a friend's pool, thank you Glenn & Linda! Emily LOVES the water!

I'm Back!

I guess "running" after a 1 year old is as much more work as everyone said it would be. Emily isn't walking yet, but has taken a few steps and continues to stand on her own for seconds even minutes at a time. Even though she isn't walking yet, she is on the move and now getting in to everything and wanting to play all day long.

We were busy from the birthday festivities and enjoying the outdoors, but are back after our brief and not intentional hiatus. Just because she is 1 doesn't mean the posts will end, so please continue to check back and follow along on our adventures.

With Love,

Jess & Emily

Signing...more to eat, please!

As I have mentioned before we are working with Emily on her sign language and over the past few days it seems to all be clicking in her brain. We started with "more" which was at first clapping, but still served its purpose. Well now she does "more" correctly, and has also started signing "eat" and also "please". I selfishly taught her "please" to try and minimize the amount of whining I was hearing and it seems to be working, yay!

She has also started putting her signs together, we are so proud! Not only is it extremely cute, it's also extremely helpful and must be gratifying for her as well because she is getting her needs met. We were sitting in bed this morning as we normally do before breakfast when all of a sudden she signed "eat" and then pointed at the door. Andy and I couldn't believe it, and were smiling from ear to ear with pride, such a smart girl!

Carousel!

We have a wonderful carousel at our local mall that I have been waiting to take Emily on. I remember going on it when I was younger, so I think I was more excited about her first adventure than she was. We took our spot on a big white horse and off we went. At first she was a bit weary, but it wasn't long before she was smiling away!

A Birthday Fit For A Tiny Queen!

Can't believe how quickly this year has gone by, it's simply amazing. Saying that I am a Mom of a 1 year old just doesn't seem possible. We have had a wonderful year that was celebrated by a wonderful birthday, filled with lots of love, laughs and even a few presents :)

We spent the day with Nana Jo and PJimmy at KidCity a children's museum in Middletown, CT. She was a little bit too small for all of the exhibits, but she still had a great time, mostly watching the other children. We'll definitely be going back once she starts to walk and can explore a bit more herself. All and all it was a success adventure.

We stopped for lunch and then headed straight home for a much needed nap for the little lady.
After her nap, we were joined by Mimi and Papa and had a delicious dinner in our dining room. We never use the dining room but felt it was appropriate since we were celebrating such a special occasion. Daddy made a delicious filet and I made her a little ladybug cake. I was pretty proud of my skills since it was my first try. It was a lot of fun to do, so I hope as the years go on my skills will only get better and better.

Speaking of cake, this was the first time Emily had any time of sweets, but it was her birthday so of course, she had to have cake! She was certainly interested but wasn't exactly sure what to do with the piece we gave her. She kept looking at me and I could see it in her eyes that she was thinking, is she really letting me eat this? You mean I can just pick up this piece and eat it? She didn't shove it in her face like most 1 year olds I have seen. Instead, she was very dainty and ate it with little bites and didn't even make a big mess. Can't complain though, it was much easier to clean her up this way!

All in all we had a wonderful day, celebrating a wonderful little lady. Here's to another year filled with love, health, family, friends and lots of fun and laughs!

Visting KidCity

playing with daddy...

She was more interested in the candle at first.

What is this? I think it's good...


yes! It is good and I think I'll just skip using my fingers and eat it straight from the tray.

The Happy Birthday Girl!