One!

In the excitement and flurry of returning from traveling and then getting ready for Spring Festival, Emily turned the big O-N-E.  So after dinner on her birthday we had a little party for her, sang happy birthday and had banana muffins (bananas are her FAVorite!) together.

Here's a couple of little clips of the birthday excitement.

Happy 1st bday to Emily @ Yahoo! Video

Emily is one @ Yahoo! Video

Then she opened her gifts (with a little help from Caleb and Susanna!)

It was a fun day for our family, remembering her birth, celebrating her life and enjoying all of the precious things that make her her...

Her dimple and her birthmark, the way her hair curls in the back, the look of focus in her eyes when she's trying to do something new...














Her toothy grin and the way she wrinkles her nose when she's giving a playful smile...















The way she hears music in the sound of a car alarm, and dances even to the rhythm of a hammer driving in a nail!
The sound of her sweet voice as she says "I-lah-yu", her chubby little hand as it blows us a kiss or waves goodbye, and the way she crosses her feet when she's relaxed...

Curious, playful, sweet, spunky, expressive, cautious--all the nuances of her little personality coming out as her ability to communicate and understand the world around her are growing.  Her vocabulary is also growing steadily and it's always so much fun to hear her trying new words.  She's very thankful these days, saying thank you in the local language even to herself sometimes when she picks up something she wants!

She recently added "flower" "water" and "good job" (she claps for herself some times too!), and last week she learned how to distinguish exactly what she wanted with a most important word: "That!"  Gone are the days of crying and shaking her head no while Mommy tries to guess what she wants.  Now she simply points and declares "That!"

Needless to say, she brings alot of joy to all of us as she goes throughout her days, playing peek a boo, cruising along from couch to coffee table to chair, exploring everything (cabinets, containers, trashcans, toilets, whatever!), looking at books and playing with toys, riding (or rather, being pulled along on) the scooter, singing and jabbering in her sweet, happy little way.  Here's another video from her birthday. 

Emily 1st bday--standing @ Yahoo! Video

Thank God for young life, and for our precious Emily!