Happy Father's Day!

Although this was technically Ben's second Father's Day, it kind of felt like his first true Father's Day as Emery was only four days old last year when Father's Day rolled around. We had a GREAT day! I was so relieved when Emery woke up Sunday morning in the best mood ever (see previous post). Daddy made a delicious breakfast for his parents and me and then we headed to the pool for a few hours while we recorded the US Open. Emery loved every second she was at the pool, as did the rest of us. She wanted to dive off the swim team blocks, danced up a storm in The Grill, spent some time in her floatie, and had the undivided attention of her grandparents, mommy and daddy. She was in heaven! Chef Ben

Woke up on the right side of the crib, thank goodness!

Sporting her new bathing suit and coverup from Auntie Alison

The aqua socks crack me up! Thank goodness we had them.....I tossed them in the pool bag at the last second. The pavement around the pool was HOT!

Giving Daddy some sugar for Father's Day

My loves! And they just happen to be clones....

CUTEST THING EVER

I had fun with you, Daddy! Happy Father's Day!

Emery's First Birthday Party

This picture pretty much sums up Emery's first birthday party.....I threw a small pizza and beer and cupcake party for family (Ben's parents were in town and my parents came up from Atlanta) and a few friends with babies right about the same age as Emery. Unfortunately, Emery was not in a good mood the evening of her party. I'm not sure what was wrong with her, but she'd been really sleepy all day and just not herself. Teething? Heat stroke? ;-) Ugh. I hope her fussiness didn't take away from the enjoyment of our guests. I was a frantic, stressed maniac during most of the party as I was worried about Emery and also freaking out that everyone was sick and tired of hearing a screaming baby. Emery is usually so cheerful and loves a party, especially when she is the center of attention. Anyways, by 10:30 that evening Emery had gotten her second wind and was back to her normal, happy self. She was running wild through the house and playing with all her new toys. Where was that baby during the party!?!?! Oh well. Live and learn.

Cuz came up to Greenville for the second time in one week to celebrate Emery's birthday again!

Bobbie Ann and Savanna

Casey and Davis

Nando and McKenna

Me and Tara

The happy babies! Casey with Davis and Tara with McKenna

Mom and Dad with their grandbabies

Emery is 1!

Emery celebrated her first birthday with a small family party on her actual birthday, 6/16. In some ways this year has flown by. But in other ways, I feel as though Emery has been with us forever. I just can't imagine what life was like before my precious baby girl joined the family. Mom, Dad, Nanny, Alison and Hayes came up to party with us. I cooked chicken Milanese and made a pink lemonade pie, two of Emery's favorites.

The Cozy Coupe was a big hit. Nanny gave Emery the car and Mom and Dad gave her a cute wagon. Emery loves both of them.

Bahamas

Ben and I enjoyed a long weekend in Nassau with Tara and Nando Calvo without our babies, which was bittersweet. We had a wonderful time with the Calvos (we always do), but I missed Emery terribly. The trip was nice and relaxing for Ben and me, but Tara and Nando had kind of a rough start. Nando mistakenly thought his passport was current for another month. Not so much. His passport had actually expired last month. Needless to say, he was not able to make the flight with the rest of us. But in true Nando style, he defied all odds and made it to Nassau only ten hours after Tara, Ben and me. My dad hooked him up with a Delta "buddy pass" so that he could fly to Dallas and get an appointment at the passport agency there. Surprisingly, Atlanta does not have a passport agency. Anyways, Nando made a 2:30 CT appointment in Dallas and from there had to fly to Miami and then to the Bahamas. If he had waited to expedite his passport renewal at a post office in Atlanta, he wouldn't have been able to join us until Saturday morning....and would have had to pay $750. So all things considered, a 10:30 PM arrival was pretty darn impressive. Let this be a lesson to the rest of us....ALWAYS check your passport!!! The rest of the trip was smooth sailing....lots of fun in the sun, gambling (none of us won anything), drinking and eating!
Pretty shell necklaces Tara and I bought for McKenna and Emery. Emery's is the pink one, naturally.

View from our room

Nando enjoying his first day on the beach

Ben and me in the gorgeous water

Tara and Nando...."reunited and it feels so good!"

Lake Oconee with the Calvos

Ben, Emery and I spent Memorial Day weekend with Tara, Nando and McKenna Calvo. Nando's parents have an amazing house on Lake Oconee and they were kind enough to invite us to tag along. Our trips are different now that we bring our babies, but just as much fun! Being only two months apart, Emery and McKenna are perfect travel buddies. They enjoyed their first of many trips together! Thanks for hosting us!
Trying out the pool at the Lake Club

The night before our departure we did a dry run with the life vest....not a big hit. Thankfully, Emery came around the second day on the boat and wore it without protesting.

Emery (11 months) and McKenna (9 months)

Lunch at the Ritz Carlton Lodge was a big hit. Both babies behaved like angels and the food and setting were superb.

Note to self: always ask for a kiddie cup (with lid) to be filled with ice. Hours of entertainment!

Captain Slagel brought his boat on the trip....I have to admit that I was initially against this idea because I thought Tara and I would end up stuck in the house all day with the babies while Ben and Nando spent hours on the boat. Thankfully, I was wrong. Emery and McKenna had such fun on the boat that we ended up spending most of our time on it and I even got to surf some!

Surfer Nando

Emery's first surfing lesson from Daddy (learning how to hold the rope)

Nando and Charley prepared a delicious dinner Saturday night

View from the back porch....can't beat that!

Ben's pride and joy. What a luxury to walk right out the back door and onto the boat. Heaven! Now we are itching to build a lakehouse on our Lake Hartwell property, but that is probably never going to happen. I guess I need to start buying lottery tickets each week!