Happy 1st Birthday, Emma!

I'm quite late on this blog post but better late than never! My baby girl turned one on Thanksgiving (November 24th)! It was a bittersweet day for my husband and I, though we didn't have much time to dwell on the fact that our little girl was now on her way to toddlerhood. Both Emma and I were sick on her birthday, and Ryan spent the entire day taking care of us. Emma began throwing up on Wednesday night after her bedtime bottle. She was unable to hold any food or drink down for 24 hours. It was awful. This was Emma's first illness! She made it a few hours short of a year without getting sick....and yes, I know how rare this is and how lucky we are that she made it this long!
We spent the Thanksgiving holiday with my family in Pennsylvania. I had two birthday parties planned for Emma while there because my family is SO big! The Thanksgiving dinner/birthday party with my mom's side was as good as it could be. Emma was able to open a few presents and was especially fond of the leap frog birthday cake and picnic basket! We got a couple of smiles but overall, Miss Emma was pretty miserable. She was finally able to hold water down that evening and  thankfully, was all better by Friday morning!

The party on Saturday was with my Dad's side. Emma was in such great spirits and had a really fun time opening her presents and eating her special birthday cake! She loved her cake! It was so wonderful to see her smiling after how sick she was. I think the favorite present was a baby doll that giggles when you squeeze her. She lit up as soon as she saw it!

We also had a birthday party for her at home in NC. A few of our friends stopped by with their little ones and we had a great time hanging out for a few hours! I didn't get any pictures because I was so busy! It was a fun time though and Emma really enjoyed playing with her friends. I'm so thankful that she plays so well with other kids! :-) She's our social butterfly...can't figure out where she gets it from. ;-)

Though I didn't get an official "1 year shot," I have lots of pictures from the other here are just a few!

Party 1 -- our sick little girl.

Party #2! Much happier!