Emma found my purse on the ground and decided to be like Mommy. We thought it was very cute that she put it on all by herself. She was very upset when she had to give it back.

Ross and I had a pretty wild experience one night while on a little stroll with Emma. We were walking along the road just after sunset when we heard a high pitched crying sound. I figured it was an owl on the hunt, but Ross was pretty sure it was a kitten in distress. Following his hunch we went across the street to what looked like an empty field to find the poor thing. As Ross was hunting in the bushes I heard a scream and went running to find Ross waist deep in a hidden ditch holding Emma in the air to keep her out of the water. After splashing around for a bit he found the kitten next to an empty cardboard box. It seems that someone was looking for a quick way to dispose of some unwanted burdens. We rushed the soaking wet Ross and kitten to our apartment, and spent the next few days loving our sweet Shakira. Unfortunately we were not able to keep her without paying a $1000 dollar deposit- only $500 of which we would get back. We found a very gracious lady who runs a Four Paws pet adoption center from her garage to take her in. It was only a short time, but it was a good time for Emma to learn how to react to a small living animal like that. We all miss our kitten and can't wait to get into a position to have a cat of our own.

That's right- Emma is eating solid foods like a champ now.
This is her first experience with rice cereal, and she seems to really like it. She cleaned the whole bowl and still wanted more.

Ross bargained for this table and refinished it to match our furniture, and it is now Emma's favorite place to play and crawl. Unfortunately she is still a little wobbly which causes her to frequently tumble and acquire bruises.

She is still baffled by the fact that she can see through the glass, but not reach through.

This is my best friend Carrie and I trying our best to make the farewell as long as possible.

The waterfall behind us, which you can't really see, is Emma's favorite place in the gardens. She loves when we dip her little feet into the water.

While taking some pictures, Heather had fun playing with the different settings on our camera. I think I look much better in black and white!








We FINALLY got Emma to smile at the same time we were smiling at the same time Heather was taking the picture.

My sister Heather is something of an amateur photographer, and she was kind enough to offer to take some family portraits while we were at the gardens.

In August my best friend Carrie and my little sister Heather came to visit us at our apartment in Rexburg. They stayed for a weekend and we had a lot of fun. Right before they left, Ross and I took them to our favorite part of Rexburg- the gardens at BYU Idaho.

This is Emma getting ready for her very first swimming adventure.