Emma's favorite food

Emma seems to have discovered the joy of noodles (other than macaroni & cheese) and has new and interesting ways of eating them, not all of them appropriate for public locations:

Hanging Around

Emma has discovered a new use for her diaper changing table, playground:


And bed:

Emma's Two Year Checkup

Emma went for her two year check up today. She weighs 25 lbs, 1 oz (25 percentile); she is 32.5 inches tall (25 percentile); her head is 19 inches (75 percentile). She has finally sprouted out of the bottom of the height barrel. The doctor said she is doing wonderfully and is healthy as a horse.

Emma's new toys

Emma got some great new toys at her birthday party. One of her favorites are some building block (they are also daddy's favorite). Here she is building a tower with daddy and Aunt Stephanie:

Building on her own, impressive!

And finally, her favorite part, knocking it all down:

Emma also got a great ball pit, it needs more balls, but seems to be a favorite already:

Emma's party

Emma had a great time at her birthday party. The highlight of the party was the wonderful cake that Aunt Stephanie made, it had all of my favorite animals on it:

Here was my own personal smash cake with my favorite TV character, Zaboomafoo (also hand made by Aunt Stephanie):

The chef took some time out to personally show the birthday girl her cakes:

And Aunt Stephanie & Mimi helped Emma blow out her candles:

Devouring her Zaboo cake (it was unrecognizable by the time she was done):

Enjoying cake with all of her friends:

Opening presents:

Emma got a lot of books that she begged to have opened right away:

Thanks everyone for making my birthday party so great!

Emma's birthday

Emma had a wonderful birthday. Mimi, Papa, and Aunt Stephanie all came to celebrate with her. She was a very lucky girl and got great gifts. Here she is opening her pile of presents:

Even Cassie got in on the action, protecting the present she wanted most:


Here is Emma blowing out her candle:

Here she is enjoying her cupcake:


Delicious!


And here she is enjoying one of the favorite presents, her jumpoline (as she calls it):

Tug of War

Despite a house full of toys, Emma's favorite toy is still the puppies. Here she is playing tug of war with Sammy:

Cookie hog

Emma loves her cookies so much that she won't even share a tiny little bite with mommy:

Emma and the tiger

Emma loves riding her stuffed tiger, but her newest thing is to fall off:

Emma playing at the mall

Emma got to play at the mall while Mimi and Papa were here because it was raining all weekend. She had so much fun using the bridge as a slide:

I don't think that is the best way to fly a plane:

And she refused to leave the mall without Mimi's purse, which was a little heavy for her to carry all on her own:


When the purse didn't work out, Emma found herself a rolling backpack that she refused to leave the store without:


Thanks for a great time Mimi and Papa!

Emma around the house

Emma is considering a new career, as an artist. Here she is practicing her coloring skills on the brand new easel that Mimi and Papa bought her (thank you very much for it). Mommy thinks she is better than Picasso:

Here she is working on being a ballerina in a lovely purple tutu that mommy made for her:

Here she is being a Hollywood starlet (she is ready for her close-up):

Out of my car!

This is a one-seater, buddy...

Emma at the playground

Emma loves to play at the playground and got to go to a great playground while Mimi and Papa were visiting. Here she is swinging on the bar (mommy may lose her wish for Emma not to be a gymnast):

Peek-a-boo:
And here she is crossing the swinging discs (even more signs that mommy will lose her gymnastics battle):

Thanks for the trip to the playground Mimi and Papa!

Squirrel!

Emma loves to watch the squirrels at Grandma and Grandpa's house!

Chicago visit

We took Emma to Chicago this past weekend to celebrate her second birthday with the O'Sheas, and we had a great time! Emma spent a bunch of time hanging around outside with her cousins:




Emma opened a few presents...


And finally, got to blow out the candles on her birthday cake! (Which she really, really enjoyed.)


Thanks, everybody! We had a great visit!

Battle Creek Zoo

We went to Chicago this weekend to visit Grandma Jean and Grandpa Tim. On the way there, we stopped at the Battle Creek Zoo. Emma had a great time! She fed and brushed the goats...



She was very interested in the hippo drinking fountain, and was disappointed that it wasn't real.


Her favorite part of the whole zoo was the part where she got to feed the giraffes. She wasn't a big fan of feeding them lettuce herself, but was happy to watch her Daddy do it.


After she had a few minutes to get used to the giraffes, though, she eventually fed one herself!


It was a lot of fun, and we'll definitely go back!

Recycling Toys

Emma got some toys a while back that she is first growing fond of now. Here she is playing with the animal slide and drop bridge that Grandma bought her. It has become a new favorite:

And here she is on the Sit N Spin that Mimi gave her a few months ago. She loves to make herself dizzy, but only when someone else actually spins it. We call that the smart, and lazy, way to do it:

Emma's new toys

Emma has gotten a few of her birthday presents a little bit early so that she could enjoy them. Here she is playing in her new pool (turns out she hates the slide that mommy was so excited about):

But she really loves to sit, splash and kick in the water, especially if she can make someone else wet while she does it:

Here she is playing with bubbles, a new favorite thanks to Mimi. She loves to try to blow them herself:

And to chase them when someone else blows them:

Here she is in her new kitchen. Already she is a seasoned hostess serving coffee:

And in true O'Shea and Wurtzel fashion, she can already multi-task, talking on the phone while serving coffee; what a pro: