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.

Fall Fun!

Today is going to be a double-post day!  We have a lot to share from the last few months, but it's also Emma's birthday, so I'm going to split them into two separate posts.  Hope that's ok :)  It's been pretty crazy for me at work, so I just haven't had a chance to update lately.  But here's what we've been up to...

A few weeks ago, our cousins welcomed a beautiful baby girl into the world.  Emma wanted to send them a welcome note.  

Matt is honored to be the proud Godfather.  Kinley is an absolute doll and just the sweetest baby ever!

When we went to visit, Emma got to hang out with Kinley's awesome big sis Ayla, and Ayla gave her some lessons on how to turn your crib into a trampoline.  They had so much fun jumping and playing, and we have no un-blurry pictures to show for it - those girls move quick!  

They eventually tuckered themselves out though.  Briefly, anyway.  

Emma also got her first haircut recently!  We just took in for a little trim to clean up the ends and even things out.  Emma did great!  They had an awesome kid-friendly set-up, as you can see by the Barbie chair and pink cape.  

First cut!

Emma loved checking herself out in the mirrors.  Lookin' good, kiddo! 

All done!  She got a brand new clip...

...and a lollipop, AND a balloon!  Score!  

When we got home, Emma showed off the results of her lollipop.  

We also headed up north a few weeks ago to hang out with Aunt Lindsay, who was home for the weekend from Colorado, and the grandparents.  

Emma helped Memere plant some mums at the barn.

She is a great gardener!  

She even swept up some leaves!  

Later, we went to the local apple orchard.  Lindsay and I have many wonderful childhood memories at the orchard, and it was so great to bring Emma.  She had a blast! 

This is the only way we could get Emma to leave.  This picture cracks me up.  

Emma loves her rocking chair! 

And of course, we got a real pony ride in before we left :) 

It's been getting colder lately, so Emma had a pj-day and we tried some new indoor activities.  I made her some homemade play-doh for her to try out.   

We were off to a good start, but it didn't last long. 

She wanted nothing to do with it!  Oh well, better luck next time.  

  

The next set of pictures is from my phone.  There's always something going on with Emma and I don't always have a camera handy, but I thought I'd share some of my favorites.  

Going for a ride on her trike! 

Jammin' out and eatin' chips with Daddy.

For some reason, we thought we'd try taking her to Chuck E. Cheese.  It was a cold, rainy night and we wanted to get out of the house.  Never again.  That place is like a casino for children and the equivalent of giving them a cup of coffee and all the Halloween candy in the world at the same time.  Lights!  Noises!  Buttons!  Games!  Aaahhh... sensory overload!  She just ran from game to game and pushed every button she could and then ran some more.  Very exhausting.  But she had fun, so that's all that matters :)

We did find the one horse in the place to go for a ride, of course :)  

New fall clothes <3

So on our most recent visit to my parents' house, I was sent home with a bounty of fresh tomatoes.  Emma happens to love fresh tomatoes, and I happened to leave the box on the kitchen table within her reach.  Emma of course got into the box, and took one single bite out of each tomato she could reach.  Just one.  Out of all these tomatoes.  Too cute!  

And now, my proudest achievement as a parent.  We have successfully taught Emma how to dunk an Oreo into a glass of milk.  

Success!  My work is done!  

(Oh, don't mind the messy counters.  And the messy child.  My work is obviously not done, but you know what I mean.)