Some of her now favorite toys are stuffed toy dogs, dinosaurs, fire trucks, a piano and a baby doll. There is a large T-Rex at school that she’ll lug around (it is almost as tall as her) and we have bought her several stuffed ones, she has bath toy dinosaurs and puzzles. She was a dinosaur for Halloween and Emma likes to roar like one. She got a baby doll for her birthday and takes it grocery shopping with us. Emma likes to feed the baby its bottle and wrap it up in a blanket. She does the same with two of her stuffed toy dogs - Emma LOVES dogs. We got her a toddler size stand up piano for her birthday and she’ll bang away on it with great joy and enthusiasm. She is fascinated by large trucks and fire trucks are her favorite kind. If she hears a siren, she’ll ask you, “do you hear it? It’s a fire truck!” We bought her one that moves (she says its scary so we turned it off and she plays with it now) and I got her a different one recently that she likes a bit more than the first. It doesn’t move, but has a siren she really likes.

Birthday present from Mommy and Daddy. Emma is showing her baby how to play. 10-07-07

Emma’s 2^nd birthday in October was a great celebration. My Mom and Stepdad drove out from Denver for the occasion, which Emma enjoyed very, very much. She and my mom did activities each day like making cookies or decorating a Halloween pumpkin, read books and had tea parties. We also held a Grandparents Luncheon for all the grandparents. We will make that a tradition each year, for we plan on taking her birthday off from work each year to have it. It was really a great day, and a wonderful week with my Mom and Stepdad here.

Grandma and Grandpa Miles got Emma a tricycle for her birthday...they got her a bell to go with it as well, which is her favorite part. 09-30-07

Grandma showing Emma how to apply sprinkles to the frosted cookie. 10-01-07

LOTS of sprinkles. 10-01-07

Finished product that Emma took to school to share w/the other kids. 10-01-07

Grandma helping Emma make her first ever Halloween pumpkin. They glued stuff onto the pumpkin to decorate it versus cutting the pumpkin. Emma had a TON of fun doing it! 10-02-07

Gluing the eyes onto the pumpkin. 10-02-07

Finished product. 10-02-07

Opening birthday presents. 10-03-07

Nana made Emma's cake again this year. She didn't dive right into like she did for her 1st birthday...she's much more methodical about eating these days (just like her Daddy). 10-03-07

My mom and step-dad got Emma these balloons, which lasted a really long time and she had so much fun playing with them. 10-04-07

It was difficult to keep Emma in her dinosaur costume on Halloween, but here are a few shots that we were able to catch where you can actually see her. She loved the costume; she just didn’t want to wear it all the way. We did not Trick or Treat, we instead went to the Sacramento Waldorf School for their festivities. No scary costumes, lots of story telling and “gifts” for the kids. The teachers and high school kids put on a production and there are about 12 stops to visit. This year the theme was trying to catch the gingerbread boy to get more ginger for the King of Egypt for his son’s wedding. At each stop, the kids got a gift that coincided with the story and a stamp in a passport. For example, one stop was Asian folklore with a story about the sea, so the gift was a seashell. Another was a band of gypsies telling fortunes and she got some beads.

Bath time is always a good time...Emma really enjoys laying down in the water. 11-12-07

We spent Thanksgiving week in Texas; first in Austin and then drove to east Texas to Pittsburg (Pittsburg is close to Arkansas and Tyler, Texas). We spent a few days in Austin visiting my friend, Susan and her husband David, and then to my grandmother Cossey’s house in Pittsburg. I hadn’t seen my grandmother since Jared and I got married in 2001, so it was definitely a long overdue trip.

Packing for our trip to Texas...we bought Emma her own suitcase and she loves it. The item in her hand is a cleaning wand from the vacuum. She loves to help "clean." 11-14-07

Grandma Cossey, myself and Emma in Pittsburg, TX at Thanksgiving. 11-23-07

Each year, we get together for what I call the Sonora Peeps Christmas dinner. Friends that Jared went to high school with gather at someone’s house (we rotate each year) at the beginning of December for our group Christmas celebration. The gathering includes anywhere from 5 or more families and their children (if they have kids). This year we hosted and there were 17 of us total. As our families continue to grow, I think we’re going to need a bigger venue this year than someone’s house!

Emma and Lauren Allen reading in her room on the glider. These two get along great and had so much fun! 12-17-07

Popping bubble wrap is serious business. 12-17-07

Christmas was pretty mellow this year, which was nice considering the previous Christmas Jared was living in Sonora during the week and commuting home on the weekends. We (Jared, Emma and I) opened our gifts Christmas Eve morning at our house, and then went to Auntie Meryl’s house for the large family celebration in the afternoon. We then drove up to Sonora Christmas Eve night to spend Christmas at David and Karen’s house. We came home on the 26th. Santa was good to all of us this year and Emma got her first of many motorized vehicles (yes, we are that kind of family); a battery operated quad as her “big” gift. Her favorite gifts were a harmonica, a set of maracas and a little shopping cart filled with pretend plastic food. She enjoys riding the quad, but the other gifts are just so much more fun, apparently (smiles)!

You can really see her Bronco blue and orange p.j.'s her...quiet the ensemble! 12-23-07

What more could this two year old need besides her binky and quad!? I'm thinking a helmet, possibly some pads. 12-24-07

Look, no hands!!. 12-24-07

Emma has been wearing sunglasses since she was about 5 months old AND she keeps them on, even when not needed. This is how she decided to eat her breakfast one weekend morning in January...Dolphin in one hand, bagel in the other with her pink sunglasses on. I'm sure cartoons were on as well. 01-29-08

Watching cartoons in the "nest" that Daddy made for her. She is holding one of her favorite stuffed animals, Dolphin. 03-07-08

Yum, yum hummus and tortilla bread...one of Emma's most favorite snacks. If she had her way, she'd spoon the hummus out of the container and skip the bread all together. 03-18-08