I have been wanting to get these pictures on here for a while now, but time just doesn’t seem to wait for me. Emory turned 2 while we were in Utah last month and although we smothered her with kisses and sung happy birthday 325x that day, we never got a chance to celebrate her. When we got back, Ale still had a few days off from work, so we planned an entire day around her birthday. We all went out for breakfast and brought our birthday party hats with us. The kids are real troopers when it comes to going above and beyond for each other. They’re still at the stage where every birthday is their birthday, but for this time around, they all focused on their baby sister and celebrated her.
How is she already 2 and how has an entire year passed by since this post???
I love the pictures of Ale and Emory together. They have the sweetest bond those two. He always says that Emory is his adventurous child and he gets super excited about the possibilities of their fun together. I know for a fact that one day, she’s going to give him a run for his money in the adventure department.
Emory’s smile is everything here. She’s so in love with her papa. 
Grace has been looking forward to celebrating Emory’s birthday for weeks. I think she secretly wanted cake, but she settled for blueberry pancakes loaded in maple syrup.
Can I tell you that we’re realizing how much these kids are actually going to start costing us?! A few months ago, we’d visit a restaurant and order two meals and have enough to share with everyone. These days we’re having to order 4 meals to have enough food for our clan. There was a moment where Alex and I looked down at all of this food and wondered if we had overdone it. Nope. It was gone and the kids were asking for more within minutes. It’s always such a surprise when we have to close one chapter and start the next, even when it comes to little things like these. For some reason having to order more food makes the kids all of the sudden look so grown up. I guess I spend so much time with them that I still think they’re so little. Then they reach for my entire plate of food and we’re now having to adjust our budget.
They’re so proud of their meal choices. 
This little guy. He’s all boy and I can’t get enough of this picture of him opening his mouth so big to taste every single bit of that banana. Emory is getting so big and independent. These days, she refuses all help and won’t stop eating until her plate is clean. A girl after my own heart for sure!
This may be the last birthday we’ll be using these party hats. They are being held together by tape and staples but they have served us well. Here they are FOUR years ago!
There’s something so special to me when I see Ale interacting with the kids. He draws them all of the cool characters, teaches them magic tricks, swings them around like an airplane and is by far their cool parent. Haddon knows that my drawing skills go as far as Mickey’s ears… but not Ale’s. Somehow he’s learned to draw lightning McQueen, fairies for the girls and all of the Disney characters. Check out Emory’s face.
I asked them to smile at the camera but apparently, the shiny red car outside was much more important than taking a picture.
I love these pictures below. I think they clearly depict my relationship with Emory. She’s adventurous, fun and so energetic. I can’t wait to see what the future holds for this little lady. For now, I’ll just continue to hold on to her super tight and love on her fiercely.
Emory,
We love you more than you can imagine and we hope to show you that every day of your life.
Love,
Mom and dad
