Thankful for Family

Emma had a great time celebrating her second birthday!  This pretty much sums up the party:

This is her pirate face:

Emma (and Dad) have been enjoying some of her new toys, like her table and chairs.  Dad is getting ready for tea parties!  

Pretty girl <3

We had so much fun on Halloween.  Emma was ready to go!

She dressed up as Sully from Monsters, Inc.  She's a cute lil' monster!

Last weekend we celebrated an early Thanksgiving in MA since Aunt Lindsay was home for a visit. We went for a pony ride of course, and Emma sported her new helmet!  

She couldn't wait to go pet the pony!  

And couldn't wait to get back in the saddle, either!

Emma got her very first lesson from Grandpa.  Heels down!  Just wait til he takes away your stirrups!  ;)  

She also got another tractor ride after her lesson.  Beep beep!

After a busy day on the farm, we came home to a delicious Thanksgiving meal prepared by Memere.  Dee-lish!  

Emma's favorite part was definitely dessert.  Who doesn't love strawberry shortcake?!

On Thanksgiving we gathered 'round for another delicious feast.  

There are four generations in this photo if you look closely ;) 

Stuffed!  

After a night of partying, Ayla and Harry Potter Emma took a soak in the bubble bath.  Too cute!  

We have so much to be thankful for!

Now it's time for Christmas!  =) 

Happy 2nd Birthday, Emma!

Well, it's official - we have a 2-year-old!  At exactly 10AM today, little Emma turned two.  It is just amazing how this time has flown by.  2 years!  It doesn't seem real.

We had an absolutely wonderful day today celebrating the big 2.  We took Emma to the Bronx Zoo for the first time (first time for Mom, too!) and it was perfect.  The weather was beautiful, it wasn't very crowded, and there was so much to see!  Matt has many fond memories of visiting there with his family (and especially the nearby Botanical Gardens), so it was extra-special for us too.

Here are some of our favorite shots!

Camels!

Emma's new winter hat.  She loves it.  Or the animals.  Probably the animals.  

These little fellas were all over the place!  

Zebras!

Giraffes!  Probably one of my favorite exhibits.  They are just extraordinary to see in person.  

Emma thought they were cool too! 

We tried getting a shot of us with the giraffe in the background, but Emma was a little distracted by the giant animal doing laps behind her.  I guess you can't blame her!  

African dogs!

Toddler!  

Flamingoes!  (FYI, they are pink because of what they eat - mostly shrimp.  Fun fact of the day.)  

Yawning brown bear.

I just love the look of wonder and learning in her eyes.  That's what this is all about!  

Baboon! 

Antelope!

Of course she found some furniture to climb on ;)  

Cool pumpkin carving.  The whole zoo was all decorated for fall - hay bales, corn stalks, mums everywhere - very festive!  

Emma didn't want to wear her hat anymore, so Mommy borrowed it.  

The sea lions!  

This guy kept popping up to say hello everytime he swam by.  Emma loved him!  

Attack of the toddler!

Bison!

Big kitty!

Coca-cola dude!  

Bye, peacock!  See you next time!  

Tired 2-year-old, time to go home.  She was such a trouper and rested up on the drive home for more festivities.  

So when we got home, we had some birthday cake in the shape of Emma's favorite character - Elmo!  

In case anyone was wondering, Emma had no problem eating her favorite character, Elmo.  He was delicious!  

Happy birthday, Emma!  We love you with all our hearts.  Love, Mom & Dad.