Aquarium

Back during the summer we got an annual pass to the Ch@tanooga Aquarium . . . so we went Saturday.  It rained on us on the way up there but the rest of the day was pleasant.  The crowds were very small so it was a great relaxing day together:

 

 Emily said she was a turtle with her head poking out of this big shell:

 

Abigail's favorite past time yesterday was getting to stick her hands in the water:

 She actually touched a sting ray at this exhibit:

 

 This bird flew right over our heads during this presentation:

In the butterfly gardens Joe got a butterfly to crawl to his hand:

 Emily wanted him to pass the butterfly to her hand but chickened out right when it touched her finger:

 So then Emily asked me to get one to let her try . . . so I got this one to transfer to my finger and Emily snapped a picture for me:

 

. . . but then chickened out again when it was time to try to put the butterfly on her hand.  Another little girl came up to us and asked if she could hold the butterfly so I transferred him to her hand.  Her family got all excited and about 12 people flocked to her and starting flashing their cameras : )

Taking a break to suck her thumb for a bit:

 When we got to the penguin exhibit, Abigail was super excited about the fake penguin statues.  She hung out here for about 10 minutes.  I tried to get her to go see the real penguins but she said, "I don't want to see the real penguins, I sit here":

 Emily enjoyed finding all the little crevices to stand in and posed for pictures:

 

A fun day!

Birthday Party

Yesterday was a big day for us!  Emily celebrated her birthday at school and then came home to open presents from us:

 Our friend Tara made Emily's cake for us:

We had Emily's birthday party at M@nkey Joe's which is a jump house at 4:00.  The kids had a great time and since it was the middle of the week we practically had the place to ourselves:

After running around a bit the kids sang Happy Birthday and enjoyed some cake:

 Pondering her wish before she blew out the candle:

 The party favors were a big hit:

 

 Joe enjoyed going down the slides with Emily and Abigail:

 

 

Abigail enjoyed hanging out in the smaller kids area:

 

Birthday girl having fun:

After the party we let Emily pick where we went to dinner.  She chose "the mexican restaurant by the church."  So that's where we went.  After dinner we came home to open all her presents from her friends:

 Abigail tried on some headbands that were still attached : )

 

Emily got a kick out of dad wearing her new wig:

 Happy Birthday Emily!!!  We love you!!!

Happy 5th Birthday Emily!

Happy Birthday to our sweet Emily!  Five years ago today you came into our lives and we have been so richly blessed because of you.  We were such nervous first time parents and didn't even name you until you were a day old . . . but your name is perfect for you!  We love you and look forward to what you will do as a big 5 year old girl!

We love your smile and how excited you get to spend time with friends.  You LOVE going to school and enjoy learning.  Your favorite things to do are to play with your dolls and dollhouse and barbies.  You love pretend play with any toys you can find and it's so fun to hear and watch you play.  You are so sweet to your sister and love showing her the ropes.  Your favorite thing to wear is dresses, dresses, dresses : )

We are so lucky to be your parents and thank God for you every day!

Happy Birthday to our sunshine girl!

Starting off the new year

The girls' school was out the first week of January so we stayed in Montgomery so I could work and my parents could watch the girls.

Every single day that we were there Abigail wore her 'Punzel dress over her clothes.  So here is a rare picture of them dressed in normal clothes.  However, Abigail wore Emily's red "sparkly" shoes every chance she got.  Before I took this picture she quickly pulled off her shoes that I had just put on her and put Emily's shoes back on:

 So when we got back home we went to the store and got Abigail her own pair of "sparkly" shoes : )  We also put the new quilts that DeeDee made on their beds:

Emily and I got to go to a movie together one afternoon and it was fun.  The movie was a little over her head but we still enjoyed getting to go to a movie together.  The girls' school starts back tomorrow.  Our break was nice but we are all ready to get back into our routine.

New Years

For New Year's we went to Montgomery to have Christmas with my family.  My mom finished quilts for the girls.  I plan on using these as their bed comforters when they share a room:

 We found my rocking chair as a child in the attic and found one that my Granddaddy had caned.  So mom had them painted purple to give to the girls: