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Monday, October 22, 2012

Fouad's 29th Birthday - The Great Birthday Race

Oops! All the focus on Emily and I forgot to update on Fouad's birthday in August! For Fouad's 29th birthday, I surprised him with a scavenger hunt style race (modeled after the Great Urban Race) around The Avenue Forsyth, an outdoor mall near our home. We had a great turnout of his friends and family, and everyone had a blast running the race and solving the clues. Here are a few pictures from the day:

 Team 2 Legit 2 Quit in front of a statue from a clue
 Team Franklin & Bash posing with the wrong answer...oops!
 The Most Interesting Team in the World gets a point by posing with a stranger with a real mustache while wearing a fake mustache
 Team Woody & Buzz doing the YMCA with two strangers for a point

Sunday, October 21, 2012

Panama City Beach 2012

We took a weekend trip to Panama City Beach with the Coffeen family and Aunt Nadine in September. We rented a condo on the beach near Pier Park, and it was a blast. We will definitely do this again. Take a look at the pictures (and video) and try to decide for yourself if Emily liked the beach or not.

Catching some rays with Daddy 
 Snuggle time :-)
Running off during a diaper change = nude beach!
 Enjoying lunch on the beach at Pineapple Willy's
 Breakfast at Thomas Donuts - yum!
 Loving the water!
Mommy & Emily in the water
 Enjoying the water
Sweet baby Katie napping in the ocean
 Playing in the waves
 So proud of her sandcastle!
 Sunset
This girl loves the ocean!
I love the beach, la la la..."

Emily & Aunt Nay Nay being silly

Suwanee Day 2012

Suwanee Day is one of our favorite events in our area. It's such a fun day out for our family! We enjoyed lots of good food, shopping, and fun for Emily in the kids area. Of course, Emily's favorite thing was running through the fountains (which are always there...). Here's a few pictures of our fun:



Jason's Deli Picnics

We were invited to both the Atlanta and South Carolina Jason's Deli Company Picnics this year, and we were able to attend both. Lucky for us, the Torrence family (and Emily's friend Olivia) were at both too, and the girls had a blast playing together!

 



 

The Children's Museum of Atlanta

Emily LOVES going to the Imagine-It Children's Museum of Atlanta. We went several times in September and she couldn't get enough of it. She talked about the exhibits for weeks. Her favorites were the grocery store area and the fishing pond. Here are a few pictures of her adventures:



 

Tuesday, September 4, 2012

25 Months


I'm not really sure when I will end the monthly updates on Emily. Fouad and I talked about doing it after she turned two, but she has changed so much even since her 2nd birthday, I feel like I will want to remember the little things that she did month to month. This month was no exception! Here's the update on our big girl:

*As you can see from the photo above, Emily has learned to smile on command. This might not sound like a big deal, but believe me I was almost out of ideas on how to make her laugh or giggle while taking pictures. Now she will just say "CHEESE!"

*Emily has started to talk herself out of being scared of things. For example, EVERY time the dogs bark at the front door she is startled, then she will announce that it's "just the neighbors." She also has had a fear of the vacuum for months, but now she will open the cleaning closet randomly and announce, "just the vacuum." Hilarious!

*As I mentioned in an earlier post, Emily has been enjoying time with her friend Olivia. They are so sweet together, and they really miss each other when they are apart.

*Emily has started taking a music class and she LOVES it. We had some trouble getting her to pay attention in dance class and gymnastics, but she has a blast and is focused for the entire 45 minute music class. I highly recommend The Music Class if you are in the Atlanta area. We initially did a one-time class that focused on Disney music, and she loved it so much we signed up for the 10 week session.

*Along with her music class, Emily has really developed a love of singing. She loves to sing songs from daycare (like Baa Baa Black Sheep), music class, or even songs that she makes up.

*Nap time has disappeared, but quiet time has started in it's place. Emily is doing well with quietly playing in her room (while I watch on video monitor) for about 30-45 minutes. After that, she's ready to continue her day with Mommy. Of course, Emily still naps wonderfully at daycare.

*Emily has some funny new phrases this month including "Oh my dear!" and adverbs like "really" or "very." She will tell us that her food is very hot or that she can jump really high. I love that her language skills are continuing to develop!

*Her memory is astonishing. She can remember the tiniest details from a conversation or sequence of events. She is constantly reminding me of things that I said or that we have seen.

*Pretend play has continued. Emily's favorite activity this month has been "cooking" and her specialties are coffee, tea, cookies, and pancakes. Each of these items always has a special flavor, like blueberry coffee, banana tea, or garlic pancakes. She loves to pretend and it is so adorable!

*Emily has started to enjoy movies and will request certain ones. Her current favorites are Little Mermaid, Elmo's Potty Time, Finding Nemo, and Up. I'm so glad it's not the same one over and over!

Emily & Olivia

Emily and I have been spending a lot of time with my friend Jenn and her daughter Olivia, who is three months younger than Emily. When we first started our playdates, the girls would play alongside each other, but not really together. Recently, they have really started to enjoy playing together, and I am just thrilled that Emily has a really good friend. An extra bonus is that I enjoy hanging out with Jenn, so we all have a great time! Perhaps the sweetest moments are when they randomly give each other hugs or hold hands, or when Emily asks me in the morning if we are going to see Olivia today. I'm so glad she has someone that she enjoys having fun with!


Here are some pictures of the girls during our various playdates:

Tutus and Bubbles!

Lunch Break!

Playing together so well

Aren't they so sweet?
 
 
The Torrence Family also has a house on Lake Lanier that they so kindly invited us to in August. Emily had a blast playing with Olivia in and out of the water!

On our way! So excited!

Daddies and their girls in the lake

Ready for a boat ride!

Too much fun makes a sleepy girl