TWO THOUSAND TEN

Goodness...where did 2009 go? We have stayed sooooooo busy this year with moving to a new house, our jobs and with Miss Em...I guess so busy that 12 months zoomed past us. Somebody posted that they hoped our best day in 2009 is our worst day in 2010. I love that thought and wish that for all of our family and friends. So...we will ring in the New Year reflecting on all of the memories that 2009 brought us and look forward to seeing the joy and excitement that 2010 will bring!

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!

Wii are having FUN!

We got some money and some giftcards for Christmas and decided to put it towards a Wii game system. We have talked about getting one for a while and just thought our money could be spent on something more practical. Well, we cracked and what better time to buy it than when we have a solid week left on our Christmas vacation. It is a lot of fun--so much so that we may need to put a time limit on it. I got Karaoke Revolution and LOVE, LOVE, LOVE it! I am working towards my rockstar status :) Emma got VERY excited watching T box on the Wii. She was bouncing up and down and throwing her hands in the air. It was an unexcpected reaction! T and E are celebrating T's knock out!

High Five! Great job, Daddy!

Unrelated to Wii, but I had to post. Em had the WORST bedhead today. Her hair was sticking straight up.

Cheese!!!

Christmas...take 2

We had a 2nd family Christmas with the Motals today. We had T's parents, brother, aunt, uncle and cousin and his wife over for an afternoon of watching Emma :) It was a lot of fun to catch up with everybody. Em hated all of the attention...hee, hee---yeah, right! Grandma Motal picked out just the right gifts for Em. She loved this doll that giggles and will equally enjoy the fairy tale book as she gets older.
Em's brain will be hard at work with this speak and say.

GM got Em this recliner. It is a mini replica of the leather chair in our living room. Em kept looking at her chair and then back at our "big" chair. She loved getting in and out of it and quickly mastered the cupholder. Ahhhhh...this is the life!

We will not be making a habit of this, but it was a pretty cute picture. She was kickin' back and relaxing as she watched Andy Pandy (her favorite cartoon).

She still really enjoyed ripping the paper today. Even tried to open up presents that were not hers. She has this whole present thing figured out and thinks that anything that is wrapped and under the tree is fair game!!!

Aunt Katherine and Uncle Chaz got Em a million pieces of food---ok not a million, but close :) She is going to love "shopping" at the Motal Grocery and then setting up her table with all of these delicious goodies.

At the end of the evening, T and I were cleaning the kitchen and when we peeked around the corner, Em was sitting at her table entertaining herself---while holding her new teddy bear. It was a really cute moment and reminded us, yet again, that Em is growing up far toooo quickly!

So, presents put away (sort of) and Em's play area now looks like a mini livingroom. Thanks to the Pattons and the Motals for making sure that Em had a wonderful Christmas!!!

Feliz Navidad!

We celebrated Christmas with the Patton side on Christmas Day at our house. We are lucky enough to have my grandparents and my parents so close! Camie, Davin and Mia were in NC for Christmas and were missed greatly...Emma especially missed her playmate/cousin, Mia. We will be celebrating Christmas with the Motals tomorrow, and with Cam and her family when they get back from NC. Whew...Em is going to be filled with Xmas spirit when we are done :) Papa and Lela

Travis, Grandpa, Grandma, Me, and Em

Silly Lela!!!

So excited about Christmas morning. Look at that belly, she had not even eaten yet. She did eat REALLY well though...2 muffins and breakfast casserole. Mmmmmmmm...

Emma has been kissing us (and anyone else who asks) A LOT lately---we love it! She also was getting her bear and baby to kiss---very sweet.

Em got foam blocks from my grandparents. When she opened the package, she started squealing and bouncing up and down. She was SOOOOOO excited. I wish I would have gotten a video of that moment! She will have many hours of fun with those blocks!

She immediately started building things and was obsessed with the blocks with the holes in them.

Grandma and Grandpa also got Em a puzzle floor mat. The picture on the mat also showed that you could make cubes---which quickly turned into an hat for Emma :)

Here, Daddy...Let me help :)

Wow...just what I wanted! I love how she was inspecting her clothes.

Emma did not hold back with the wrapping paper. I thought for sure that she would not get that there was a present inside and that she would just play with the paper. Boy, was I wrong! she tore into the paper and went straight for the toy. She caught on quick!

Lela and Papa gave her a big wheel. Em was going to help T figure out how to put it together.

E really enjoyed all of the new books that she got! What a little bookworm!

Checking out her new wheels!

Em's expression and body look like they should belong on a Harley. She is fast!!!

Christmas Eve 2009

Christmas Eve 2008

Christmas Eve 2009

What a difference a year makes!!!

Em spotted Santa..."I know I have seen this guy someplace!!!"

We got a semi-white Christmas Eve :) It flurried for a while today--nothing stuck. T wanted to let Em experience the flakes in the VERY cold and windy weather. Don't you just LOVE her snow baby sweater?!?!!? A friend of ours knitted it when Em was born. Sooooo cute!

Wishing you a very SAFE and MERRY Christmas from our family to yours!!!

December Updates

Travis and I decided that we would host my school's staff Christmas party this year. So, we decked the halls and opened our home to the NES teachers and staff. It was A LOT of fun and both T and I agreed that we would love to do it again! Ashley and I


LeAnn holding---probably the funniest---white elelephant gift of the night. McKenzie decided that somebody needed to lay their head on her face each night :) Very creative, McKenzie!

Me, Krista, Lee, and Jennifer---What a great bunch of girls that I work with!

All in all, I think the party was a great success!

Merry Christmas to my NES Family!!! I feel sooooo lucky to work with such a WONDERFUL bunch of people!

We did the manidatory Santa visit this year. I was curious to see what Em's reaction would be when we sat her on a strangers lap and walked away. She looked at him with her head cocked, decided all was ok and then smiled for the camera.

All I want for Christmas...

Who is this guy?

T and Em walking to the North Pole to see the Big Guy :)

Emma making friends as we waited in line to get her picture taken. She is not shy!

Em has started feeding herself (if we are not in a hurry).

I just had to share this picture. This is a tree in our backyard. I came home from work and looked outside. It was stunning and I had to take a picture. It is now BARE.

Our little artist. One of Em's favorite things to do right now is draw. She LOVES doodling with pencils and chalk. At first she just held the pencil by the tip of the eraser, but now she has pretty good form and great control when she is drawing.

Playing Dress Up

Little Princess!

Happy Thanksgiving!!!

We had a wonderful Thanksgiving with 2x the turkey, yummy sides and delicious deserts. We spent lunch eating turkey with T's side of the family at his Aunt and Uncle's house in Austin. We drove back to Georgetown to have a turkey dinner with my side of the family at my parents' house. Both lunch and dinner were fantastic! We have soooooo much to be thankful for...family, friends, good jobs, our health, a roof over our head, and food on the table each night! Sometimes life gets a bit hectic and we forget to stop to take a moment to see all the good around us---we really should take the time to reflect on how lucky we are more often!

Obviously, Em is one of the things we are MOST thankful for she has brought soooooo much joy into our lives. Here are some of her most recent pics. Enjoying some of the cooler temps while Daddy puts up the Christmas lights.

She is SOOOOOOO curious! That is one of the things we love about her!

Thanksgiving Day 2009

Mia wanted to start a rock band with Emma. They pounded away for a while. Em got some great practice on a bigger piano at T's Aunt's house earlier in the day.

I think Em is eyeing my plate which had more food on it :)

Mmmmmmm, mmmmmmm, mmmmmmm....Finger lickin' good :)

Emma Grace taking care of her baby. She loves feeding her babies and often feeds T and I a bottle also :) The other day I found her giving a story book character a bottle---she just held the bottle to the page, flipped the page and found the character's mouth again. What a little mommy!