Ems,

You are officially ONE! (Plus one week, because I didn't send this on time.) Emerson Charlotte, you are a force to be reckoned with. You have made it clear since the moment you arrived that you are your own person. I wasn't sure how my heart could grow to love another child, but man did it ever! The moment you arrived - before I even knew you were a girl - I couldn't believe God had given me another perfect little human to mother. You arrived a full two pounds heavier than you sister, with blonde hair and dark eyes (which quickly turned blue). I think the first thing I said was "You don't look like Aiden!" And you have been making it clear since that moment that you are NOT you sister.

I love everything about you. You have the best giggle and when you smile, you smile with your entire face. You are strong-willed and I pray that God guides me on how to help nurture that strong-willed nature into His will. You have wanted to be on the move since the moment you were born and you sure have somewhere to go! (Although none of us, including you, know where exactly you're headed when you take off.) You love your sister and it's so fun to watch you guys really play together recently. It makes my heart want to explode that I have two little girls. I pray that you two are always the best of friends.You are a daddy's girl and I'm pretty jealous of all the great snuggles you give him. 

Emers, you are such a gift. One that I do not take for granted. It is my greatest honor to be your mom. I tell both of you girls this all the time, but I love you because you're MINE! I will always love you more than you will ever know. I pray that you always feel an overwhelming amount of love in your life, and that you know it comes only from God. We love because He first loved us. You were fearfully and wonderfully made by our perfect Father. Everything about you is exactly the way it should be, because He does not make mistakes. 

Happy first birthday, my love. I am overwhelmed with love when I look at you, and can't believe I get to keep celebrating you every September 18. A gift, indeed.

Love,Mommy

Emerson: One Year

Well, we made it! You are one year old. What a year it has been, little lamb. This month has reminded me how much FUN this age is.

• She's trying to talk, saying mama, daddy, ba ba (bottle), bubboo (bubble), abba (Abba Father, when we pray she folds her little hands...sometimes), hi
• She is a daddy's girl and he LOVES it.
• She took her first beach trip! She loved the sand for about 10 minutes and then was OVER. IT. Daddy got to spend some quality time with her in the pool.
• She loves to just walk around, especially outside.
• As with any one year old, she loves to put everything in her mouth. Except vegetables. How convenient.
• She thinks it's hilarious to pat people on the stomach.
• If you ask her where her belly is, she'll pat her own belly. SO CUTE.
• She fake coughs if you ask her if she's sick
• She loves her baby doll.
• She loves to play with her toys phones - she'll "answer them" and walk around.
• Honestly, her favorite toy is whatever big sister is playing with. Neither one of them love sharing, which consistently leads to ear-piercing screams from Emerson and fits from Aiden. YAY.
• She loves to come over to me when I'm laying down and sit on my stomach and bounce. She thinks it's hilarious. She also loves peek-a-boo, lady ride and patty cake.
• She's as strong-willed as ever! 
• She's coming in at 30.5" tall (89%) and weighs 21 lbs 8 oz (74%). 

Some fun videos from this month:

• Big ole Belly
• Are you so sick?
• Shake your maracas
• First cake!

Emerson, we love you! You are getting more fun and interactive by the day and we can't wait to watch you continue to grow into a little lady. I cannot believe you are already ONE!

Aiden: One Year

One year old. We're here already. How? I'm not even going to try to think of something mushy or funny to say about how the time has flown and how much we love her. Go find a better writer and read what they have to say about the first year of motherhood, I bet my feelings are pretty similar.

• She took her first step on August 3 at my mom's house and officially started walking on August 24 - the day before her birthday! 
• She talks all day long, and I finally got a "mama" out of her! She's speaking her own language for the most part, but definitely trying to communicate. Lately we've gotten a lot of "this", and she just recently started saying "hi".
• Speaking of "hi", she's an expert waver. She's still a little wary to wave to new people, but then sometimes she'll sit at a restaurant and just wave to every single person who walks by. She's a joy.
• She gives the best open-mouth kisses. Oh, they're the best.
• She still has the greatest laugh.
• She loves to drink water out of our cup, and really loves to stick her hands in it. If she can, she'll grab ice from the cup and eat it. Weirdo.
• She also really loves to drink water in the bathtub. Except she fills the cup to the top and then tries to chug it. Basically, she water boards herself and then freaks out.
• She's still a great eater, but has discovered she can stand up in her highchair if we don't strap her down. She also stands up in the grocery cart and will only sit down if I go running through the aisles. Literally. I look ridiculous. She's a mess.
• If she has a free moment when Adam or I are preoccupied, she makes a beeline for the dog food and water bowl. I finally decided to just let her eat the dog food (cool parenting moment!), but she likes it! 
• If we take the dog food and water bowl away from her, she will (sometimes) go play quietly with her toys...for maybe 2 minutes. But it's the sweetest thing to watch. Such a big girl!
• Adam discovered that she loves a good back scratch. It's hilarious, and the only time she sits still.
• I don't know what's going on, but she is mosquito bait. The poor thing is always covered in mosquito bites! I'd love to quarantine her inside, but she loves to be outside. More bug spray it is!
• She has started to remember certain surroundings. When we walk up to the park she starts squealing, kicking her legs and flailing her arms because she knows she gets to swing. She does the same thing when we drive up the hill to my parents' house. Genius, I tell ya!
• She had her first "temper tantrum" at Target the other week. As I mentioned above, she won't sit still and has to stand up in any cart she's in. I let her out of the cart to play with boxes of thank you notes and when it was time to go I picked her up and put all of the boxes away. She was NOT HAPPY. It was the first time I really noticed that she was angry because I took something away from her. Oh, boy. Here we go.
• We celebrated her "Wild One" birthday on August 20! I'll post more on that later.
• She received an A+ at her one year visit to the pediatrician! She's weighing in at 20lbs 14oz (65%) and is 29.25" tall (50%). She also has two molars (top and bottom left), bringing her tooth count to ten!

Bathtub waves: https://vimeo.com/179922171

Sharing, kind of: https://vimeo.com/179922858

Peek-a-boo sprouts: https://vimeo.com/179922917
On the move: https://vimeo.com/179925625
Officially walking: https://vimeo.com/180100028

Other than her brief temper tantrum, she is truly the happiest baby. People comment all the time and ask if she's always this happy. Our answer is "yes!" I can't believe we've had the joy of having this chick in our lives for an entire year. Wow. We love you, AG. You are the brightest star and we're so proud that you're ours.