Trot Trot to Turkey: Year 2

Once again we started our Thanksgiving day off by waking up early, strapping our shoes on, grabbing our ipods and child and heading off to run 5 miles at the Turkey Trot. We tried to head to the back of the pack since we have a jogging stroller but the back of the pack soon became the middle since there were around 15,000 people lined up. I think it was more crowded than last year. We competed well and the whole time I only managed to get tripped by a dog once and literally ran into one person, who decided to stop running and walk right in front of me. It was a very fun race and I was proud to be the family winner this year. Though I am sure Andy would have won if he did not have to navigate the stroller through tons of people. So I guess I had a slight advantage. My parents did well too. It was great running along side my dad since I have never done that before. As a kid I used to cheer him and my mom on as they competed in races and now it is fun to join in with them. Now it is time to rest the feet for a bit and then start working on the next race.



The runners!




Emma and me after the race.


Andy, Emma, and my dad after the race.


Emma stretching her legs after the 5 mile run.


Is this Easter or Thanksgiving? Emma was in love with this Easter egg that spins around like a top.



Emma pushing around a duck that my brother had when he was kid.

Who is this girl and what has she done with my Emma?

As many of you know we have been having a hard time getting Emma to eat real fruit. She will take purees when she feels like it but refuses the real deal all together. Well today a miracle happened. Emma ate an apple and a banana. I was very shocked and excited all at once. Of course I did not let her know this because then she probably would have stopped eating it. That is also why I do not have a picture of it. I want her to realize it is normal to eat fruit. Maybe this is the start of something great. Only time will tell.


Here is a picture of her showing of her cute curls.

This is it!

This is officially Emma's last birthday month. Wow it is hard to believe that in one month she is going to be 2! Oh the time is just going by way too fast. I want Emma to stay a baby and not become a toddler. Maybe since the clothes we buy her all say 12 months she can still be considered a baby. Just kidding but not on the size.

We love you so much Emma and can't wait to celebrate your special day in one month!




Savoring her last birthday month.

The purpose of a stroller is...

To carry your pom poms, purses, and necklaces of course.




I know this is not the best picture but I just thought it was too cute watching her wheel away her goodies.

So happy to say...

That Emma made it through school with no tears today!! I am so proud of her. The teacher said she had tons of fun and kept saying baby. They tried to give her a baby doll but she was not interested. Something else I learned today is that Emma loves art time at school. I was shocked by this. Every time I try to do an art project with her she refuses and starts fussing at me. When I shared this with the teacher she was shocked. She said Emma absolutely loves to paint and do crafts. Oh that Emma, she always keeps us guessing.

How Old Do I Look?

This afternoon I took Emma to the park and this dad that was next to me at the swings turned to me and said "let me take a guess she (meaning Emma) is almost 1." I kindly laughed and said that she is almost 2. The whole time I am thinking to myself I know she is small for her age but I do not think she looks like a 1 year old.
Right?

Raincoat

This year I swore I was not going to buy Emma any more coats or jackets b/c she owns at least 10 of them. Well a few weeks ago I was at GAP and I could not resist buying her a raincoat. I figured since she did not have one that it would be ok to add another jacket to her collection, especially since we were having tons of rainy days. Well of course right after I bought the coat it stopped raining for two weeks. I was beginning to feel that maybe I was being silly getting her another jacket. Well today we finally got to wear the new jacket. I was so excited for the rain and for giving her new coat a test run. I just think it is super cute!!


Emma sporting her new brown with white polka dots on the inside raincoat.

A Nice Afternoon

Today Emma decided to wake up at 4:45 am! She woke up so early that I had to cancel her OT appointment b/c I knew she would not make it until 12 and I was right. At about 11:30 she crashed. Since she napped so early that meant we were going to have an afternoon of fun together. Emma can have a blast with just bubbles, pom poms, and necklaces. She also figured out today how to get onto the couch all by herself. I know most of her friends are already doing this but since Emma is petite it makes it hard for her to get onto taller objects. I am very excited that she can now do it all by herself. She is very impressed with herself as well. =)

Gymnastics with Daddy

Last Friday I took Emma to gymnastics and to our surprise Andy showed up to watch Emma in action. We were so excited to see him, especially when I asked him to come and he told me he couldn't b/c he had a meeting. He was just fooling me so he could surprise us. That sneaky guy! I am just excited that he finally got to see Emma at gymnastics. I am always telling him how much she loves it and that I think she has found her calling (I know she is too young to know her calling but it is nice to see her have a passion for something).

A Busy Halloween

We started our Halloween off by heading downtown to the Texas Book Festival. It is a huge event (I even saw President Obama one year) and when I have the opportunity to go I try. Well this year we made a point of going b/c one of my favorite children's book authors was making an appearance, Mrs. Judy Schachner. She writes and illustrates all of the Skippyjon Jones books. I was very thrilled to meet her and share with her that Emma is in love with her books. She was very touched by that. Such a sweet woman!



After we stood in line for 2 hours to get her autograph, we ran into Kinky Friedman. My mom was so excited!! If you do not know who he is then I suggest googling him. He could be our Governor someday.




Later on in the day we got Emma all dressed up for a Halloween party (thanks Julianna for such a fun party!) and some trick or treating. She had a blast being a cheerleader. I think her favorite part was having pom poms to play with.


Emma with some of her neighborhood friends.


Emma being the center of attention at a neighborhood block party.

Overall it was a fun filled day but also very exhausting. Now I need to start working on next years costume. Just kidding (but I do have some ideas)!