Christmas 2008

We had a wonderful Christmas! Emma loved opening gifts! She would say "ohhh" as she saw packages come her way! Needless to say, Emma had plenty to open. New clothes, new toys, new books...now I'm asking for some new storage! Here are some pictures of our long weekend!

The Zinser Family

The Weatherwax Family I love opening presents!

Emma's bouncing pony - she actually got one from each of her aunts! Great minds think alike!

Hailey and Emma in their new big girl chairs!

Another Christmas tradition includes having some of my HS friends over on Christmas night. The best gift that John and I could have ever asked for!

Building confidence!

Emma has been practicing taking a few steps since early October. In the past few weeks, she's really started to take off. So now her movement repertoire includes scooting, crawling and now walking! She's getting pretty good at turning corners, although she still resembles a drunken sailor at times!

We hope everyone has safe and blessed holiday! Merry Christmas!

No No No...Ho Ho Ho!!!

Emma is a very happy girl. Not many things make her cry...hunger, extreme fatigue, and now Santa! We headed to the school's holiday open house and Santa was there. As we were approaching him, she was waving, smiling, and saying "ho ho ho." But as soon as we got within 3 feet - watch out - she was terrified. We snapped a quick picture, and went on our merry way.

Maybe next year?

Gobble, Gobble, Gobble!

We hope everyone enjoyed their Thanksgiving weekend! We headed to Nashville, TN to visit John's family. Emma loved the food and would say "mmmmmm" after most bites! She also drove around looking at homes of country stars with the boys while the girls shopped in downtown Franklin. Here is a picture of the whole Crider family.

http://www.squierphotography.com/slideshows/EmmaW12mos/

Above is the link to Emma's 12 mos photo shoot!

(I forgot to post earlier) Emma's 12 mos stats: 26lbs 10 ounces and 30.5in

Sweet Home, Chicago

Last weekend we headed to Chicago for my annual reunion with my girlfriends from PA school. Stephanie is a family medicine PA in Denver; Kristen is a pediatric PA in Milwaukee; And, Kate is an Emergency Room PA at various ERs in Illinois. Kristen and Greg welcomed Audrey in September, so it was our first time meeting her. What a cutie! On Saturday, the girls and I headed down to Millennium Park where we could see the famous "bean" and the Crown Fountain. The boys were at home watching Audrey and Emma, as well as football, of course!

On our way to Chicago, we visited John's cousin Katey who is a freshman at Wheaton College.

Happy 1st Birthday Emma!

Its hard to believe our little girl turned 1 on November 6th. This first year has flown by, and what a wonderful year it has been! John and I have had the pleasure to watch her grow, mature, and develop the cutest personality ever! I miss those days when she would just sleep on my shoulder or wear those cute knitted booties from GG. These days Emma is strolling around with her walker toys, signing "baby" and "more," calling out "mama" and "dadda," and holding up 1 finger for how old she is! She's even developed a mini-attitude and she'll let out a grunt or grrrr if she doesn't get her way! I wonder where she gets that from? :)

Emma had a very very rough birthday week. Poor thing was very sick and has been through a lot for anyone, let alone a 1 year old. She wasn't up for much on her actual birthday, but fortunately she turned the corner for her birthday party on Saturday. Here are some of our favorite pictures from the weekend!

Future President?

Only 17 years and a few days until Emma can vote!