sneak preview of the birthday pics

A sneak preview from our photographer friend of me with my birthday cake...so looking forward to seeing the rest!

Happy 1st Birthday, Emmersyn Faith!

happy 1st birthday to emmersyn

It's so hard to believe our last baby is 1.  This past year has flown by, but not without lots and lots and lots of laughs, memories, and kisses.  While we are so sad to see the baby baby phase slowly ending in our home, we are also excited to see what God brings us in these next phases of life.  We sure love our little Emmersyn Faith, and we thank God for her.  We so loved celebrating her 1st birthday, and we pray for many, many more with her!  What a wonderful day it was!

On the night before my birthday, Mommy is busy setting up my birthday table...

HAPPY 1ST BIRTHDAY TO ME!!!

(I am sitting in my new chair from Oma...she gave me this gift a little early, and I LOVE it!!)

Aunt Kelly came over during the day to give me my gifts since she & Uncle Art couldn't come to dinner. Here I am holding my $1 from them!

Opening up my gifts...

...& loving my new purse!

The phone was my favorite part...lots of "hi's" going on!

My next gift was a book...

...& I love "reading" books!

Uncle Art & Aunt Kelly also gave me a water table for outside.  I am so excited to be able to use that.  Thanks, Uncle Art & Aunt Kelly, for my awesome gifts.

Brecken & me hugging in my chair.

Daddy came home for lunch on my birthday, so he got to see me and read my new book with me...

...& he & Mommy gave me my big gift from them...A NEW CAR!!!

I love it...

...and I got in and out of that car...

...& then in and out some more!!

I even had Brecken push me around for a bit as i cruised through the house!

Me & my new wheels!

(Do you like my little foot all propped up on the dash?)

Becken also acted like my mechanic, and we had so much.  Mommy had to pry me away from it for my bath & nap...

...& I did get to have my birthday bath in the sink, which I loved!

After my nap, I got all dressed up in my birthday outfit for dinner!  Don't I look darling?

Brady & me

(And, yes, he wore pink just for my birthday...so sweet!)

Check out my curls...and all my cuteness!

Yes, I am officially a 1 year old now...sniff sniff!

We headed out for dinner to Kobe's Japanese Steakhouse.  I enjoyed watching all the tricks and enjoying some of the food!

Then, we headed back to our house for cake & presents.  Before heading inside, we all played outside for a little bit...it was a gorgeous evening!

(Here is a full length look at my adorable outfit!)

Mommy & me

Mommy loves me so very much!

Once we got inside, I got to open my presents.  Brady went first and gave me a plush baby and stroller.

We were both obviously very excited about it!

Becken was next...and he gave me a Little People set...

...& Averie gave me a bracelet!

I also opened up a gift from Uncle Todd & Aunt Helen...a shape sorter...that my cousins helped me open!

Oma helped me open her gifts...and I was excited for a Radio Flyer ride on toy for outside!

Thanks, Oma...even if i didn't want my picture taken all night! :)

But, I was really into the book Oma gave me...

Opening up my gift from Uncle Blair & Aunt Blip...

...& I even smiled at the box...Little People Princess Castle!

And, Poppy & Nana gave me a gift card to Gymboree.  I like shopping, so this will be fun!

I didn't want to stop and have my picture taken with anyone, so it went the same with trying to get one with Poppy & Nana!

Time for the cake...

...& I wasn't sure what to think of that lit candle & everyone singing to me...

...but I didn't hesitate to start eating my cake!

I am very serious about my cake!

Daddy & Mommy with me...

...& giving me kisses for my birthday!

And, one last kiss from Mommy.

Mommy & me

Sure was a wonderful day of celebrating.  Happy 1st Birthday to our Emmersyn Faith!  She had a fun day, and we are so thankful to all who helped us celebrate!

field trip to the zoo

I so enjoyed my field trip to Columbia Zoo.  And, Mommy, Brecken, and Emmersyn got to go with me, so that made it even more wonderful!  It was a gorgeous day, and we enjoyed seeing all the animals...& hanging out with all my friends from my class.

Me with a tiger in the background.

Stephanie, Ines, and me with the tiger.

Brecken and the monkey

Mommy & me...and some sleeping lions!

Me with over half my class :)

Me, Stephanie, Ines, Sean, and Liam

My very best friend and me...with some flamingoes!

We all giggled at this penguin...it looked like he was trying to climb that mountain, though it was simply just a picture of a mountain!  He tried and tried and tried while we giggled!

This bird was so beautiful...so many colors!

Ines, Bella, Stephanie, me, & Hannah hanging out with the flamingoes.  These are all the girls in our class!

The girls with some dirty, but amazing elephants!!

Brecken with the elephants...

...& Emmersyn!

One of the coolest parts of this zoo is being able to feed the giraffes!  For $2, you would get a huge handful of lettuce that the giraffes loved to eat.  They literally walked right up to the "bridge" that we were standing on, and we got to feed the giraffes...their tongues were so long.  It was so fun!

I LOVED it...

...it was so awesome to feed him so close up!

The giraffe & me

Becken also fed the giraffe, but I gladly helped him.  This picture was supposed to be of Brecken with the giraffe, but I am laughing with excitement in the background!

Check out that tongue!!!

(Such an amazing animal...one of my faves!)

We also enjoyed the "farm animals" section...feeding goats and such.  We just loved being able to get as close to the animals as possible.  So fun!

Becken also loved this part...he fed them one at a time...so cute!

More animal fun...

...& more animal feedings!

All the 3rd grade girls having lots of fun together!

Our last stop was feeding the birds.  Mommy couldn't go in there with Emmersyn and the stroller, so my teacher, Mrs. Danner, took Brecken and me...and Mommy's camera.  She snapped some great shots of us feeding the birds while Mommy & Emmersyn watched us!

We both loved it!

So much fun!

Mrs. Danner's 3rd grade class...& the 2nd Grade class!

(They only have 4 students!)

Mrs. Danner & me...& my stuffed giraffe

What a wonderful day & a wonderful trip!  We had such a fun time!