Emma's first birthday

Yesterday our sweet, adorable, beautiful Emma turned 1! Can you believe it has been a year already?! Time goes by WAY too fast! Luckily, I take more pictures than I can count; I will have to look back at those when my little baby isn't a baby anymore. Today to celebrate we had a mini party, us and one other family. Since her birthday fell on Sunday, and our life has been a little too crazy to have a party earlier, we thought it needed to be a very small and intimate affair. I don't think I would have felt quite right having a big shindig on a Sunday. I just hope everyone will understand, because I would have loved to invite the whole world to help us celebrate, especially since Emma loves attention, but we decided that it would be better to just have us and one other family. So, we and the Bells helped to ring in Emma's birthday and a new year for her of possibilities: walking, talking, and toddlerhood. We ate hamburgers, ranch potatoes, pasta salad, fruit, drank Berry Delicious Lemonade, watched Emma devour her cake, and opened presents. I think it was nice: small, sweet, and special, perfect for our special little girl!