Sweet Girl...

Thanks to Aunt Carly for an adorable shot of our girl.
P.S. Is it just me or is she taking after her dad with the widow's peak?

Best $45 We've Spent in Years

Okay people, run, don't walk to the Santa Ana zoo for an annual membership.  $45 dollars.  No joke.

Sure some of the animals are sickly.  And lets be honest, that elephant's not gettin' any younger... but the monkies.  OH the monkies.  So good.  Emma loves them.

 

Who doesn't love a lemur?

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Emma mid clap.  Notice the delicate interlacing of fingers.  Only the best in response to the monkies.

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Did we mention they have a petting zoo?!! Forty... five... dollars.  Make it happen and call us.  We'll go together! P.S.  This goat is showing indifference, but he's just playing hard to get.  He'll come around. Give him time.

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Mia (Emma's buddy*) and Emma on the Merry-Go-Round (COME ON!!!).  What does this place not have?!!  Don't even get me started about the train.  Yeah, that's right.

*By "buddy", we mean casual indifference with the occasional toy share and over-agressive recovery of said toy.  14 month-olds aren't exactly bosum buddies with anybody just yet. 

Happy Easter from the Hartmans

She's Mobile.

Emma's First Birthday Party

A year has flown by since our sweet Emma arrived. We decided to mark the milestone birthday with a French-themed party that was inspired by a dress a client gave me for Emma and, of all things, an Eiffel Tower shaped cookie cutter.

As we all know I'm so not creative so my mom added her magical touch to make the party memorable, like creating this banner that hung from the arbor in our courtyard.

Andrew's beachcruiser was turned into a French bike scene with flowers, a Bonjour welcome sign and a basket with breads, fruits and French cookbooks.

I always love cooking for our parties.

The birthday girl.

The proud parents.

Emma's first cake - Chocolate Mousse. She performed well for her crowd of adoring onlookers.

Emma with her Mimi who she LOVES.

Pops usually stays behind the camera at these events. I'm glad we were able to get he and Granny with their messy granddaughter in this shot.

Thanks to our family and friends for your generosity and love!
We're so glad to have you in our, and especially Emma's, lives.

One Year and Counting

Fair warning: We love you enough to warn you that this is chocked full with Momma/Papa pride. It's 10 minutes long.

February

It's a new month...and it's been busy!

Here are a few highlights...

Emma helping me put the bowls away...wait, no...actually she's trying to pull them down.

Emma helping gather a few things around the house, put them on her walker, and bring them to me.

Here she is helping unload the dishwasher.
Her favorite foods vary daily, but this week she's been all about the frozen peas. Who knew.Happy Valentines Day!
We've never been big fans but we did celebrate with wine, cheese and chocolate at the Kershes. Emma loved the wine...just kidding.More milestones - we turned her car seat around and she's drinking regular milk. When did I become that mom who blogged about her daughter sitting forward in her car seat? Seriously though, it's awesome.

Aba!

Go ahead. Call me a slacker.
I haven't updated our blog or taken very many pictures of January's adventures, but then again...if I had documented January's happenings they would have included the following events I'd just as soon forget:
1. Emma getting the stomach flu...twice, and giving it to me, Granny and her Aunt Carly.
2. Emma cutting her top teeth. I now think the homeopathic teething tablets are "cute"...but understand why they make Orajel.
3. An unexpected trip to the ER after Emma fell off her changing table. I'm still working out my guilt issues on this one.

But there are several things worth mentioning:
1. Emma's chattering more than ever, saying Mama, Pup-pup, Baby, Button, Ok, Hi, and her latest favorite...ABA. We're not really sure what it means but it's obviously really important as she uses it for just about everything.
2. Her favorite thing to do these days is to walk around the house (and driveway...and neighborhood) in her walker. I love how much I can get done and she loves the independence. She especially loves to gather things that are her height around the house and bring them to me, including tea towels, candles, cups, bowls, bags, etc. So helpful.
3. I've never seen such a little kid eat so much. Last night for dinner she ate green beans, mixed cereal, a half cup of peas, a peach, 3 slices of cheese, 2 big pretzels and cheerios. Where does it all go?
This month she'll be 1! Stay tuned for more...

11 Months

Note: This image has not been doctored in any way. Emma, for the first time on this blog, is not raising the roof.

10 Months

Emma's First Christmas

I felt so blessed this Christmas. 2008 has certainly had its challenges but it was also a year full of incredible memories, including the birth of our sweet Emma Grace. We are blessed by fantastic friends and family, excellent health, and we continue to be amazed by how the Lord continues to remain faithful to our family. We look forward to seeing where he leads us in 2009!

Obligatory first tree pic. A note to our friends in the Northwest - yes, Andrew is in fact wearing sandals. We celebrated Christmas with both families at the Brandes'. All families agreed ahead of time that it would be a low-key Christmas. Apperantly the Grandparents define "low-key" differently than we do, as evidenced by all of Emma's gifts.Merry Christmas from the Hartmans.

A Brandes Christmas Eve tradition - as a kid I always stood at the fireplace with my mom, all dressed up for Christmas Eve, and when my dad came home we'd take a special "Christmas Eve" picture. This year Emma has replace my first dog, Dylanne.

The Brandes'Our First Christmas.

A very special Thank You to our friends and family this Christmas season. We appreciate your generosity and the love and support you give our family.

Loving Us Some Bakersfield

Last weekend we met Jeff and Kirsten for a calorie-laden brunch at Mimi's in Bakersfield. Despite the frightened look on her face, Emma really did enjoy her time - especially the Christmas board book the Kruegers got for her. Thanks again!

Little Swinger

9 Months

Emma turned 9 months this week! As she gets more and more mobile and curious these monthly photo shoots are becoming increasingly difficult.

I just recently noticed emma always has her hands up in pictures. How come nobody told me about this?

Again, the hands.

We have this daily ritual of walking to get the mail and then Emma plays with/eats all the unwanted catalogs and direct mail pieces. The Pottery Barn and Dean and Deluca catalogs were spared, I'm happy to report.

Cait comes to town!

My roommate and dearest friend from Biola came out to visit after spending an adventurous 2 years with the Peace Corps in Zambia, Africa. It was so fun having her here - and she doesn't know it yet but I'm officially starting a campaign to get her to move to So Cal.

I couldn't wait to introduce her to Emma.

Caitlin braved the elements to capture this shot of the Brea fire from the 57 freeway as we were headed to Teri Hopper's wedding.

Andrew and I are so excited for Teri and Jacob. Caitlin and I at the wedding.
We took this picture outside of the Summit House in the Santa Ana winds. It was a crazy place to be while the fires were lighting up the hills around us.

We went out to celebrate my 28th birthday in Laguna Beach - martinis and chocolate souffle at French 75. My favorite part was the live music and the 40-somethings getting their groove on the dance floor.

San Diego

Andrew and I went to San Diego last weekend to celebrate my 28th birthday. Thank you Mimi and Papa for the weekend away!!

We had a picnic lunch overlooking Coronado Island after a relaxing morning downtown.

I'm pretty sure they used a shovel to flip my pancake at this great breakfast restaurant we found called Cafe on Park. Also, didn't I do a great job of hiding my embarrassment that Andrew wanted to take this picture of me?

Ruth came for a week and watched a teething Emma the weekend we were in San Diego. Thank you Mimi!

Happy Halloween!

We came up against a big dilemma this year regarding Halloween. With an 8 month old who goes to bed at 6:45 and with a significant lack of funding, we figured we could do without the costume even though we realized it meant no First Halloween photo opp. But as it turned out Emma's Granny couldn't stand the thought of her granddaughter not having a costume for her first Halloween. And so, as you can see below, our Emma was magically transformed into a Pixie Fairy Princess for the day and we got the ever-important photo opp. we thought we had missed. I know she's only 8 months but I really think she believed she was a princess that day.

It doesn't get much cuter than this...

Emma Month 6,7, and 8

Through the magic of the internet, we will now age Emma from 6 to 8 months...