Disney Cruise!

Words cannot describe the amazing time that we had on our vacation. It was definitely the trip of a lifetime that was worth every penny and every moment of planning! Emily was spoiled rotten by everyone on the ship for the entire week, and we were treated like royalty as well. The weather was perfect, the food was wonderful, the entertainment was outstanding...I could go on and on, but I'll let the video and pictures below speak for themselves :-)

Emily enjoying the view

Our servers Ana and Ivett waiting on Emily

Grandpa, Emily, & Grandma

Fun on the deck of the Disney Magic

Napping on Mommy

They could be models, right?

Best place to nap :-)

Hi Mommy!

Sharing a smoothie with Grandpa

Dinner with Mommy

16 Months!

We're a little late in posting Emily's 16 month update, but we had a very busy few weeks, including our amazing vacation that we will update you on soon! Here's what's going on with Emily at 16 months:

*Emily loves to say "Up!" as she asks to get into her highchair or on the sofa.

*She has started to branch out more with her eating, and she has discovered dipping sauces like ketchup, honey mustard, and Polynesian sauce at Chick-fil-a. 

*Emily's vocabulary continues to grow! We are amazed when she repeats words after us or when she points and says something we've never heard before. 

*Emily's routine is back to normal, but we are down to one nap a day, still just for an hour.

*She's starting to be more opinionated. She is very particular about the books she reads at bedtime and what she eats during mealtimes.

*She's gained additional dance moves, not just spinning in circles anymore!

* She knows who Santa is (picture below). He's the giant inflatable thing across the street, and she is fascinated with him! She always says hi to him when we come inside.

Peek-a-boo!

Emily is hilarious lately when she's playing peek-a-boo! Here's a video of her having fun during lunch today:

Word of the day...

Can you guess what it is?

Animal Sounds

Emily loves making animal noises! Her "meow" is my favorite, and Fouad loves when she "roars" like a lion! Check out her new sounds:

Halloween 2011

Emily has had a few different Halloween costumes that she tested out for 2011. First, she wore her kitty cat costume to Boo at the Zoo with Grandma and Grandpa:

Then she attended the Jason's Deli Halloween party with Fouad dressed as a pirate princess. Here's her awesome dance moves at the party:

Finally, Emily celebrated at the MOMS Club Halloween party and did her Trick or Treating in her ghost costume:

Here's a sweet video of Daddy and Emily in our neighboorhood on Halloween. Emily just learned how to say "BOO!"

Dance Time!

15 Months!

Our little girl is 15 months old! It's amazing how much she has changed, even in the last month. I know I have been saying that every month, but it really is incredible how much they change from month to month. Here's what she is up to now:

* Emily has lots of new words this month, and the number of words that she understands is even more amazing! She can say Mama, Dada, ball, bubble, go, goat (can you tell we've visited the petting zoo a few times?), Nay Nay (Aunt Nadine), Teta, Jiddo, hi, bye, good girl, eye, yogurt, purple, baby, and dog. She also takes instructions very well, like "Take Daddy your shoes."

* She can point to her head, hands, eyes, nose, mouth, bellybutton, feet and toes when asked.

* She is finally pacifier free! She sleeps great at night, but we are still working on naps.

* Emily loves story time just as much as she always has, but now she brings us multiple books before bedtime. Her current favorite book is "I Love You, Stinky Face". In this video you can see how upset she gets when the book is over, but she grabs another one right away:

* She got her first pair of tennis shoes, and she loves running around in them!

* Emily loves to dance - especially to the theme songs of her favorite shows, Super Why and Sid the Science Kid.

* Emily still really loves going to daycare. When I drop her off she says hello to everyone and when we leave she says bye bye and blows kisses! She is so spoiled there! Someone is always holding her and loving on her. We are really glad she gets to have a special place to go while I am working!

* Another thing that Emily has discovered is Fouad's iPhone and Teta's iPad. She loves watching clips of her favorite shows and YouTube videos of songs and nursery rhymes.

Uncle Shuck's 2011

We went last weekend to Uncle Shuck's Corn Maze and Pumpkin Patch! Emily loved the goats, but the corn maze...not so much. We had a great time!

Georgia Aquarium

One of the last things that we enjoyed during Fouad's vacation at home was the Georgia Aquarium. Emily really enjoyed all of the exhibits, but she loved the penguins the most! Here's a few pictures from the day:

Emily's Chase Game

This video is from late September, and I should have shared it much earlier! Emily loves to chase us and to be chased. She often gets that look on her face that says, "I'm gonna get you!" or "Come chase me!" and she's off! Check out this video of Emily's favorite new game:

Fun at the zoo!

We took Emily to the zoo for the first time this week. She loved all of the animals, and pointed, waived, and said "Hi!!!" to her favorites. She loved the elephants and monkeys, but the pandas were her absolute favorite! Here's a few pictures from our day:

Feeding the ducks...and Emily

We took Emily to a nearby park a few weeks ago to feed the ducks. She snuck a few bites in herself...silly girl!

Sweet Moment

You may remember the picture above from Emily's 7 month update. It has always been one of my favorites, even though she was teething and obviously not feeling well. It was such a sweet moment that Fouad captured, I will always treasure it. Now it has a new memory attached to it...

Yesterday, I picked Emily up from her nap and went to change her diaper. When I put her down on the changing table, she stood up and gave me a nice long hug. She even let out a couple of satisfied sighs, which I like to think it was because she was just enjoying the moment as much as I was. She then looked over to this picture, which is framed on her bookcase. She said, "Mama!" and pointed at the picture, then proceeded to continue hugging me just like the picture. After a few seconds, she pointed to the picture again and said, "Mama!", and continued to hug me. It was like she was saying, "Look, we're doing that again!" It was so precious!

14 Months and Pigtails!

Emily is 14 months old! Here's what she's been up to this month:

* Emily loves to play with boxes, bags, or containers of any kind. She enjoys taking items out and putting them back in. She especially loves a giant container of play food that we received as a gift.

*As you can see above, her hair is long enough to put into pigtails! Of course, she doesn't enjoy them going in, but she does enjoy playing and eating without getting her hair in her face!

* Emily has really started to love on her stuffed Goofy doll that Uncle Andy got her. Every morning we have to give Goofy kisses and let Goofy "kiss" Emily.

* Emily has started to point to the correct things when asked. For example, she can now point to her nose, her foot, any dogs, Goofy, Mommy, Daddy, etc.

* She really loves dogs. While we were at Suwanee Day, she pointed out every dog that she saw and squealed "WOOF!"

Here are a couple of videos of the Emster showing off her skills (and pigtails!):

And here is another video of Emily having fun with the dogs:

Suwanee Day!

September 17th was Suwanee Day! We joined the rest of the city of Suwanee (and Aunt Nadine) in the celebration at Suwanee Town Center. It was a fun filled day of music, food, and shopping! Here are a few pictures we captured from the day:

 So excited to be attending Suwanee Day!

 Stopping at one of the vendors

 Aunt Nadine helping me drink some fresh squeezed lemonade

Emiy had WAY too much fun!

13 Months

Please excuse the delay in this post, but we've been very busy! Emily has also been a busy girl. Here's What has happened this month:

*As you can see from the photo above, this girl is so busy she can't even sit down in the bathtub!

*Who cares about walking? This girl can RUN! Emily loves to be chased, and even gets the cutest little look on her face when she "invites" us to chase her around the house.

* We're still working on the teeth - it has been painful for everyone!

*Emily spent the night away from home for the first time! Tita and Jiddo have a room set up for Em now where she has her pack n play and stuffed animals for when she sleeps over. She loves it! Mommy and Daddy are loving our date nights as well :-)

*Emily loves to wave goodbye to Daddy at the door in the morning when he leaves for work. He forgot to wave once and had to come back because she was so upset!

*She has a lot of new words, and loves to try to mimic what we are saying.

*Emily loves to read, and we often catch her sitting down and "reading" a book to herself.

*She has been very affectionate, and loves to run at us and give big hugs and sloppy kisses! She even loves to kiss her baby dolls, stuffed animals, and Callie & Charlie.

Catch Air

Emily, Fouad, and I enjoyed playing this afternoon at Catch Air. This place is great! There's a few huge inflatables and tons of stuff to play with. Emily's favorite thing by far was the carousel. Here's a video of her riding on it all by herself!

Here's a few more photos from our day, we had so much fun!





Em's New Favorite Toy

You'll never guess her new favorite toy...it's the refrigerator! Check out Emily playing below, and watch her new way of asking for things. Also, there's a twist ending! The suspense is killing you, right?

12 Month Update

Emily is one year old! I cannot believe how fast this last year has gone by. We've been a little busy since Emily's big day, but here are the updates on our (gasp!) toddler...

* She is a great walker now. No more "monkey walk" with both hands in the air. She has great balance.

* We took away Em's bottle and switched her to cow's milk all at once. There were a few cranky days, but now she's doing great with the sippy cup!

* Emily is talking a lot more these days. Some of her favorite words are balloon (still), ball, bubble, GO! (which she frequently yells the dogs), cracker, yogurt, and a perfect "MAMA!", which I am thrilled about! She has also figured out the meaning of "Uh oh.." and we hear it frequently before something hits the floor. Check out Emily playing "Uh oh" with the blocks during her photo shoot:

* Emily's favorite things to do lately are reading her books, going up the stairs, and playing with her new car that Tita and Jido got her for her birthday.

* She LOVES to give hugs and big open mouthed kisses. One funny thing that she has been doing is reaching up to get a "treat" when the dogs get one. Don't worry, Emily gets a yogurt melt, not a dog treat.

* Em has FOUR new teeth coming in all at once, so she has been a little cranky lately.

Happy Birthday Emily!

We put together a slideshow of our favorite memories from Emily's 1st year and showed it at her birthday party today. I can't believe how much Emily has grown in such a short amount of time!

Happy birthday Emily! We love you so much, and can't imagine life without you!

How Old is Emily?

We'll let Emily tell you how old she is....

Emily is walking!!!

Check out this video of our little lady walking to her Daddy! Please excuse my extreme excitement, I was in shock!

11 Months!

Emily is 11 months old! She just continues to amaze us every month with everything that she is learning. She still has a limited vocabulary (balloon (ba-oon) and bottle (bobble) being the only words she knows), but she recognizes lots of different words. Emily completely surprised us a few days ago when she was playing with her current favorite toy - My Pal Violet. Violet plays "If You're Happy and You Know It" with different actions (clap your hands, wag your tail, etc). Emily recognized the music and knew to clap her hands! So smart! She's loving her books these days. When we watch her on the web cam at daycare she's always playing with the books, turning the pages and pointing at the pictures. Emily is also loves to play repetition games. She plays a game with me where she puts her head on my chest and I say "asleep", then she pops up and I say "awake!" She loves to open and close drawers, play peek-a-boo, and loves to open and close Callie's crate door. My absolute favorite thing that Emily is doing now is giving hugs and kisses! She continues to love Super Why and is absolutely mesmerized when the show is on.

Emily has been a great eater, but we've noticed this month that she's starting to become a little picky. She used to gobble up her veggies, but now she only will eat a few. She LOVES macaroni and cheese, or anything with cheese really. Her top teeth have now completely come in, so she is able to bite everything into pieces better. She refuses to wear a bib, so most nights she's eating in just a diaper.

We're looking forward to next month, celebrating a YEAR! I can't believe how quickly it has gone by!

Emily's First Word

We've debated for months what Emily's first word would be. We've been talking up a storm with her, and really pushing "mama" and "dada", as well as teaching Emily many things such as waving and clapping. We also tell the dogs "no" constantly (mostly because they are always licking the baby!), so all of these words were front runners.

Anyone will tell you that when it comes to children, you will almost never be able to predict what they say or do. Emily surprised us all with her first word. Fouad decided to get a ton of balloons for my birthday at the beginning of the month. Em was fascinated with the balloons as soon as she saw them. It only took her one day to decide that it was very important for us to know how much she likes "ba-ooons". She says it all the time! She gets excited every time we go to Publix now becuase the balloons are the first thing she sees. Emily can spot a balloon a mile away, even in places where I'm sure there are no balloons.

Needless to say, I'm pretty sure Up is going to be our next movie with Em...

Emily's First Haircut!

Emily had her first haircut on Memorial Day! She really just needed a little trim as you can see in the first picture below. We stopped by Snip-its in the Forum shopping center, and after a little trim, Emily looked great! 

Before the scissors came out:

The finished product! 

 Emily in the middle of her haircut, being distracted by dolls and other toys...



Look what I can do!

Emily surprises us every day with new things that she has learned by watching us. Here's a couple of videos that show just how much she is changing day to day:

Emily Playing Peek-a-boo

Emily Drinking Out of a Cup!

10 Months and Pool Time!

 Emily is 10 months old! As you have seen, the biggest thing to happen this month is that Emily is walking with her toys, and she is very close to walking on her own!  She's become much more vocal, saying "mama" and "dada" all the time, and she understands lots of words. Em can wave and clap her hands, and enjoys drinking juice or water out of a sippy cup. She has moved up to the next room at daycare, which is the room for the mobile kids. It's so fun to watch them play! Emily also had her first visit to the pool recently. She was very curious about the water, and was much happier in Mommy and Daddy's arms than her baby float. She enjoyed splashing the water and sneaking in a few sips. Silly girl!

Here are some pictures and a video of Emliy's first trip to our neighborhood pool. Enjoy!

Almost walking!

Emily's new favorite thing is walking around with her Vtech Sit to Stand Learning Walker. She has loved this toy for a long time, but now that she has discovered that she can walk with it, she doesn't play with anything else! Here's a video of the first time I discovered that she could walk with it on her own:

Tita and Jido are back!

Fouad's parents have moved back to Georgia from Lebanon, and Emily has been enjoying some quality time with them since they returned. Here's what Fouad's Dad calls a "Million Dollar Mustache Touch"!

On the road again...

I had my first trip for work since Emily was born over the first weekend in May. I headed to some very cold weather in Denver, and Emily and Fouad had a Daddy/Daughter weekend. To make matters worse, the convention was a pediatric convention, so there were babies everywhere! Thank goodness I recieved lots of updates from Fouad, and cute pictures on my camera like the one below when I returned!

Emily on the Move!

Emily is on the move! Check out this slideshow and video of our VERY active little girl: