12 Months Has Flown By!

As I sit here working on this blog post, I find it so hard to comprehend that our little baby has just turned one. Micah and I were talking about it the other day, on her actual birthday which was December 29th, and reminiscing about the things that we were doing or preparing to do last year at this time. Then we had no idea what parenthood entailed ~ the joys, the pains, the happiness, the sadness or the immense love that we could feel in our hearts for this absolutely beautiful (on the inside and out) little girl that our world was soon to be built around!

It has been wonderful, to say the least, to have been blessed to be Emily's parents for this first year of her life and to watch her develop and grow by leaps and bounds! She is an absolute princess and we love her more than words can adequately express!

Here are just a few of the things she has learned in this 12th month of her life:

~She has become quite the little dancer. Whenever she hears music she can't help but move her hips, no matter where she is or what she is doing! And throughout this Christmas Season she has also developed a great love for Christmas music as well. Since that is all that gets played in our house from Thanksgiving to Christmas it has been fun to watch her shake her little hips to Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer and listen to the radio intently when she hears a song like "Silent Night" or "Joy to the World" being played.

~ Emily is also ALMOST walking all by herself!! She still hasn't mustered up the courage to let go to the hand or the chair that she is gripping while she goes, but she is getting closer!! She definitely takes after her Mommy and really enjoys being on the go!

~ Emily also has 8 teeth now! She has 4 on the top and 4 on the bottom! Her latest one just came in on Saturday January 2, 2010! And she uses them to the fullest. She loves her food! She will try ANYTHING, even lemons, limes and olives without wincing!!She is one amazing little girl!!

~ Emily is also getting a lot better at using her potty too! We put her on it when she wakes up in the morning and different times throughout the day and even though she doesn't always go and diapers are still her main way of "outsourcing" she is getting more and more used to the potty which is fun to see!

We are just so grateful to have this little girl in our lives. She has brought so much joy into our lives over this past year and has taught us so much! Micah and I were just talking last night about how we can hardly remember not having her in our lives! She is a tremendous blessing to us! Heavenly Father definitely knew what He was doing when he sent her to us! She is a perfect fit!! We love you Emily Marie!!

Now for some fun photos from our 12 month photo shoot.........

This one is obviously not from our 12 month photo shoot, but this is one that was taken of Emily when she was only a few minutes old in the operating room, just after she was born! So precious then and still so precious today!!

Here is our very first family photo together!! What a sweet and tender moment that was! One look at this picture and it takes me right back to that very moment!

And here she was on Sunday during her 12 month photo shoot! She definitely has quite a relationship with her bear, that has been in the making for 12 months!

Another thing Emily loves to do now is to give Hugs and Kisses, especially to one of her favorite furry friends!

And when she gets tired, she can't resist putting that thumb right in her mouth. She has become quite attached to it, hopefully when the time comes to change that habit it won't be too rough on her!

All laid back and ready for this part of the photo shoot to be OVER!

But we had to snap just one more shot to get her in "mid-clap". She looked so adorable on Sunday in this nice dress that Mema gave her for Christmas this year!

Here she is in front of her dresser! Note: this is the first time that we have taken this pose and she has been standing on her own, unassisted!! We are going to have a little walker on our hands in no time!

What a precious shot of two of my most favorite people in the whole world!!

You know Mommy had to sneak a shot with her 1 year old Sweet "P"!

Let the happy moments roll, along with the photos!!

Our Family Photo at the end of Emily's 12 month photo shoot!! I am so grateful for such a wonderful family! Heavenly Father knew exactly what I needed when he sent Micah into my life, followed by Emily and now Haley!! What a blessed Mommy I am!! Happy One Year Sweet "P", here's to many, many, many more!!