A Birthday

I just wanted to share a few of my favorite pictures from Emily's birthday.

This is our new tradition. For each birthday, this little candle will be on the table reminding the family that today is a special day.

Haley was all about helping her sister celebrate her birthday. She sang Happy Birthday and helped Emily blow out her birthday candle at breakfast. She even told Emily "Happy Birthday sister. I got you a present." She then went over to the toy shelf, got the big orange truck, and gave it to her sister. It was beyond sweet.

Our birthday girl.

Opening presents was fun. Haley helped a lot while Emily mainly played with (and ate) the tissue paper.

This was her favorite present. Thanks Grandpa and Grandma Hinten!

Emily got half a cupcake (it was really big!) after dinner on her birthday. She picked at it a little and then realized it was delicious.


Haley helped me make the cupcakes for the party. I love that she enjoys being in the kitchen with me.

Time to party! I love the way the decorations turned out! Pinwheels was a great theme.
This little girl just makes me smile.

She definitely got her daddy's serious face. This is when she reminds me of Zach the most.

She got a cute little birthday hat from her Granddad and Tante, but she wasn't having it at her party.

The cake smash turned into a group effort. Emily wasn't all that interested in digging in, so all the little ones came over to help. It was precious.

Could she be any cuter??

Happy 1st Birthday Emily Grace!

One Whole Year

If you were to ask Haley, she would tell you that Emily is one whole year. Can't believe it! This past year has gone by quicker than it should have.

She loves her milk. We made the switch about a week ago when we said bye bye to the bottles. She was always going after her sister's cups, so we knew it was time to move on.

Peek A Boo is a favorite. Emily is always poking her head around corners or lifting something in front of her face so she can surprise you. It's so sweet.

This girl also loves shoes. But really, what girl doesn't!? If there are shoes lying on the floor, you can bet this girl will go after them. She also enjoys eating them.

Emily's not walking yet, but we are working on it every day. She is still so proud of herself when she stands up by herself.

She is talking all the time and already has about 10 words in her vocabulary. I'm so impressed. Although really, she amazes me every day with something new. Emily Grace is growing up.

Luce Love

Emily loves her some Luce cat. And for her part, Luce tolerates Emily pretty well. Emily has even started trying to say Luce (it usually comes out like ucy) and she gets a huge smile on her face whenever she sees the kitty. And this is how it usually goes.

Luce sits in the window, back to Emily to let her know she wants to be alone.

Emily doesn't care and keeps on coming. Luce turns her head to let Emily know she knows she's there and kindly tells her to back off. (Luce is very good about not hissing or swatting.)

Again, Emily doesn't mind and stands her ground. Luce will eventually give up sunbathing and jump down from the window sill and head under the dining room table. No biggie for Emily and she usually follows and goes right under the table too.

Luce finally realizes that Emily's going to keep following her and decides to take off.

But Emily is quick and crawls over to Luce before she has a chance to leave and will usually get a quick pet.

I think secretly Luce loves being chased by Emily. I see them being good friends.

Things On Thursday

We have been so busy lately that I haven't had a chance to update everyone. So here goes.

It's been so hot lately that the only time we can go to the park is early, which means we haven't been going very often. One morning we actually made it out and the girls had so much fun. And I love that Haley still goes down the slide backwards and on her tummy.

Speaking of Haley, she had her very first dance class the other evening. We told her that she was going and she said "I looooooooooooove dance class." (To be honest, she looooooooooves just about everything right night, but it was still nice to hear.) The class is called creative movement, but it's mainly like pre-ballet. They did ballet stretches and a little bit of tumbling. She has so much fun and the teacher told us that she did very well. We are excited to take her back next week!

I love cooking with this girl. Never a dull moment.

We have been pretty busy lately and I guess this is the proof. Poor girl was so tired she fell asleep at the dinner table.

This just makes me smile. Sisters.

Our sweet little Emily is standing up more and more by herself. I know that it is any day now and she will be off and running. Hard to believe she will be 1 this time next week.

Promotion

Last March he tested for promotion (he was going for Master Sgt or E-7) and he found out in May that he made it! Then came the waiting. His line number was at the very end, so we knew that it would be a while before he sewed on his new stripe. Then, after 14 months of waiting, the day finally came!

Zach's dad hadn't missed a single one of Zach's promotions yet, so he flew all the way down to be here for the ceremony. The girls got all dressed up. It was a special day.

Zach's commander gave a very nice speech. She spoke about how impressed she is with Zach. The fact that he has promoted through the ranks very quickly and that at just under 12 years in he is pinning on Master, speaks very highly of his abilities. That he completed his CCAF (or associates degree) and is now pursuing his Bachelor's degree, all while working full time. She also spoke about the range of missions he has worked on and how they have all contributing to the war on terrorism. She said all the things that I am so proud of about Zach.

Then came the pinning on. Haley even got to help put the new stripe on.

It was a wonderful ceremony and I am so incredibly proud of Zach.

Congratulations MSgt Hinten!

We are so very proud of you!

Baby Picture

Everyone always asks us who we think our kids look like. I know without a doubt that Haley looks like me, but never saw much of myself in Emily. While we were in Oklahoma last month, I was telling my mother in law that I assumed that Emily looked like Zach did as a baby, but had never seen any baby pictures to compare. So that night, Zach's wonderful mom searched through baby pictures.

I think it's perfectly clear now just who Emily looks like.

11 Months

A few days late, but Emily is now 11 months old. Less than a month until her first birthday! How did the time go by so quickly??

Emily has the sweetest little face. She still smiles all the time, showing off her six little teeth.

Now that her hair is long enough, I've been trying to keep bows and headbands on her. When she knows there is a bow there, she reaches to take it out. It's always a losing battle for mommy.

She does the cutest little thing her her hand. She puts it up to her mouth and then moves it to make noise. It's just precious.

She wants to stand up and walk so badly. She'll push anything around to walk with.

It amazes me how much she already knows and understands. She mimics the way Haley did her ABCs at school by clapping along with the song. She will usually start clapping and then say "Aaa, bee". It seems incredible that she picked that up! Emily also has at least SEVEN words in her vocabulary already! I just don't remember Haley talking that much that early. I love hearing that sweet little voice.

Hard to believe this little cutie will be a year in a matter of weeks. I love her so much and couldn't imagine our family without her.

A Few Favorites

Now that we are all settled back in at home, I thought I would share a few of my favorite pictures/memories from our month long adventure.

Haley got her first Build-A-Bear. Truthfully, I think I was more excited about it than she was. But now that we are home, Haley and Spots are spending more time together.

Granddad won this inflatable color when we went to the Kemah boardwalk. Haley loves to pretend color with it.

My baby brother graduated from high school! He's now on to Baylor in the fall. Can't believe it!

And speaking of brothers, I love seeing my brothers with their nieces.

I just love seeing two little girls in a wagon :)

I can't even begin to tell you how much Haley loves to play in the sprinkler. So many of our evenings were spent playing in the water.

Nothing beats a hot summer day like playing in the washtub with your cousins.

It was so much fun getting to see my brother and two cousins. I couldn't tell you the last time we were all together.

While we were at the children's museum, Haley made herself right at home in the kitchen section. She was busy putting food together and even set the table all by herself.
One afternoon we went to the sprayground. I had never heard of this before, but it was fabulous! Haley loved shooting the water canon and Emily enjoying splashing in the puddles.
Another day we went swimming and we found out that Haley was ready to start holding her breath under water. It may look like she was drowning, but she was holding her breath. She'll be ready to start swimming in no time!

The last weekend of our adventure was Zeth and Emma's wedding. It was fabulous! Haley even made some new friends and spent most of her time out on the dance floor with them.
We had a busy trip, but lots of wonderful memories were made!