Emerson is 1! (And Happy Birthday, Aunt Krista!)

Today our  Emmie turned 1!

At first she wasn't sure what to do with her little cupcake,
but we soon learned that like the rest of the family, she loves icing! =)

Before her party, Ry and Jul had the fall festival at their school, hence
the tatoos and Juls "bruise" on her forehead from the Wacky Hospital.  

Aunt Amy and Uncle Jeff with our celebrity for the day and her tired siblings!

Great Grandpa Schuette

Present time!
Hold back your excitement, folks! =)

The birthday girl is starting to get very sleepy...maybe she'll just ride away in her new chariot off to bed...

Oh so tired, but there is more to open!

Em in her cute new Minnie hat Gram

And another new hat Gram made to match a sweater.
That Gram sure has been BUSY!

The birthday girl and her favorite cousin Colin giving her some lovin'.

"Mom, save me!!"

Happy Birthday Aunt Krista from your little birthday niece! =)

Em's Surgery

Little Em has been hoarse now since June.  Our ENT did one scope last month in his office to try and see what was going on with her, but ultimately decided he would need to do a more direct scope to determine what the cause of this was.  So this morning (happy early birthday, baby!) she was scheduled for surgery.  We had to arrive at 6am, which was insane, but probably for the best since she couldn't eat or drink anytime after midnight the night before.

Daddy working hard to entertain Em and help her forget about wanting a bottle while we wait for the anesthesiologist. 

The Dr gave us several photos he took during the surgery. (Gross, but WAY interesting too!)  Can you see the little nodules she has on each side? One he is pushing down with his silver instrument and you can see the other little nodule on the other side.  These are what is causing her to sound like she smokes a pack of cigs a day.  This does cause her some stridor when she has a cold, but overall, since it's not a health issue, we will do nothing with these at this time.  We'll keep an eye on them to make sure they aren't growing each year, and if necessary, he can remove them when she's 4-6 years old.  Daddy says she will make a fantastic bar singer. =)

Dancing Queens

Juls and her friend Annie are super excited to start their new ballet and tap dance classes together!

Girls Weekend!

A big thanks to my hubby for realizing I needed a little weekend away and sending me to West Palm Beach to visit one of my favorite girlfriends!  Amanda and I had a great visit! The girl talk, hang time, walks on the beach, spa day, shopping...I loved every minute!

So fun, right!!?
We spent HOURS like this one day.
And the best part of returning home?! Emerson is now sleeping through the night!

Em's First Day of School

This sweet little angel started preschool today.
I'm more than slightly excited.
I have visions of getting to fold laundry before a child dumps out the basket
and (sorry, TMI!) of getting to use the restroom without someone sitting
on my lap or hanging on my leg! =)
Yeeea Haaaa!

Here are the sweet kids from her class headed to music time.
Cousin Colin is in the back row, closest to the camera..the little guy smiling.
Em still isn't sure what to think about this! =)