Finally A Family: The Merry, Merry Month of May

May was a great month! We celebrated our one year anniversary of our "Gotcha Day" for Miss Emma. I didn't get a chance to blog about it because we were on our way to Florida for our vacation that day. We spent a lot of that trip reminiscing about being in China last year and what an amazing experience it was. (To see the blog posts from last year, you can click on the little triangle beside '2008' and then 'May' in the Blog Archives section on the right hand side of the blog.) As she gets older, I hope we can help her understand how blessed we are to have her in our life. I cannot imagine a more perfect fit in our family!

I know all kids change so much in the first few years, but it just amazes me how much Emma has changed from last year! In my wildest dreams, I wouldn't have thought she would come this far. She is running and jumping all over the place - and, boy, can she TALK - and talk, and talk! Emma notices absolutely everything that is going on around her. I call her my little play-by-play announcer. She has also recently found her voice. Her screaming voice. She will just scream for no reason and then laugh like crazy. Sometimes when we are driving, I'll have her say the ABC's with me and she will start out normally, then about half way through, start screaming them. Emma is starting to get into games and loves to play Candy Land Castle, Elefun, and Lucky Ducks. I can't wait until she is old enough to play Monopoly!! She is also enjoying puzzles, writing and drawing, stickers, and playing with her kitchen.

Here are a few pictures from the end of the month.

Emma wearing grandma's clip on earrings.

Dad at our house playing Wii bowling. I think he had 3 strikes in his first game!!

Emma caught on to riding her bike very quickly!

Emma and Mommy!!

Emma loves to run! My dad started running around their house with her and one evening she ran around 4+ times with him, and then at least 3 more with Aunt Terri. Here Aunt Kelly and Alex are running around with her.