We celebrated Emmie’s birthday just a few days shy of her actual birthday. She didn’t seem to mind too much. Since she could get in water with a swap of neck braces, we decided to head to a local park along with about ten other families who had the same idea for a party. Thankfully, the park is big and we found a wonderful spot under the shade of a tree.
This girl thought she was pretty hot stuff! Okay, we all did.
Papa and Grandmere came over to help us celebrate.
It looks like she has bodyguards. Well, she does. I guess this picture is pretty accurate.
Yeah, I don’t know. Teenagers!
Cake and picture time.
We kept the guest list small inviting our church family, our “family” family and our close friend family.
I thought this cake was pretty fun. While I was decorating it, I saw the idea of icing the center in atlernating colors to make a polka dot effect. Um, yeah, that was cool. I’ll post more on the cake tomorrow.
Emmie was still getting used to her neck freedom and was a touch shy of the water.
Papa and Grandmere present time!
She loves her new “home” that she got for her birthday.
Taking a peek at gifts from Ge and Granddaddy.
Emmie decided to try out her confidence in a play place. Mark and I both may have had a little tear in our eyes.
Emmie and her bodyguards. These boys will drive her batty but protect her fiercely.
She was feeding her baby apples! 
Two little girls with piggy tails is too adorable.
PDQ, free food, happy family.
Did you know strollers also doubled as shopping carts?
Ceili Rain rarely wears hats but when she does, they are cute.
This is our craft closet. It’s in the garage. When we moved in to the house four and half years ago, I really did just throw all craft things in the closet. Every time I opened the door, I whispered a prayer that paint would not cover my head. One afternoon, Zoe and I got brave and decided to attack it. Our result is wonderful and so much better.
Emmie loved the Chewi puppet. Yeah, I know I should have gotten a Chewbacca mask.
April brought a bunch of newness for Emmie. She finally started letting her physical therapist from the previous eight months walk with her, hold her hand, and work with her. I love seeing her confidence grow.
Daddy and his girl. These two have such a special bond. 
Braces are great to hold dresses while climbing stairs.
Superhero Day! Free doughnuts! 
She was super sick one day and refused to nap without me. So, I got to hold her hand for two hours.
It was a hard day. 
We call this Baby Yoga Tree Pose with Praying Hands.
She has our heart!
A few days she had to hold her baby’s hand to sleep. She would get baby all settled, tell her night night and grab her hand.
There are quite a few gorillas at our local zoo and this particular April day, they were super social. Several of them were quite interested in Emmie.
She was quite taken with them too.
We picked up a strong man, Malachi on the trip too.
Choo-choo
I have got to remember to get these pictures when we get there rather than when we are exhausted and ready to go home. As it is, this was the best we got at the end of a very fun, long day. After I snapped a couple of pictures the child who is visibly distressed (names hidden to protect embarrassment later) cried louder, “You didn’t take our picture!” Um, yes, I did. You just can’t tell because you were in curled up ball of over-exhaustion happiness.
She would try to hit it a few times and then give up and just put it in the hole.
We could see Stone Mountain in the distance.
Liam, the climber, enjoyed the view from up high.
The road less traveled.
We also got selfies…
And Mom got in with her.
And she was happy.
These wrinkly feetsies are our evidence that Emmie not only got a first bath but that she totally enjoyed it! It’s great to see that she loves the water even more than she did last summer!
When Emmie first came home without the halo, she was unsteady on her feet. But she fit in to a smaller stroller! She still helped do the dishes though!
The pantry is a great place to hide from mom and dad (and open a bag of chips nearby for a quiet snack.).
We got a new tricycle for Emmie that has sides on it. More for our peace of mind than hers.
Just taking a picture with The Godfather of Funk. Our city has undertaken a great art project. Local artists were commissioned to paint the light boxes all over the city. When we visited downtown in March, the kids had to get a picture with the James Brown box.
Our annual PJ Day at Bruster’s Ice Cream. If ya’ll have one near you, every March, they offer free ice cream if you come in your pjs! It’s totally worth the embarrassment.
Emmie received this crocheted bunny rabbit as a gift from a neighbor. This bunny has been through a CT scan, surgery and many other things faithfully. Emmie named him Hop Hop and loves to take him on adventures. The other day, she had Hop Hop holding hands with Baby so they could take a nap. I really need to see if I commission our neighbor to make an identical one so that Hop Hop can get a bath in the washing machine without causing major trauma to Emmie.
This breaks my heart even now. Emmie fell out of chair in March. It scared me deeply and meant an extra trip to the neurosurgeon and extra x-rays. About twenty minutes after the fall, she was doing this. She had gotten up, walked over to the cat toy and sat down to play with Winter.
Ceili Rain was proud of her wedgit tower!
Emmie. And chocolate. Enough said.
What happens when you brace yourself on wooden poles while moving a heavy object upstairs. Ya’ll take a guess who did this.
Teenagers and their teenage friends.
Date day. Made possible by great friends who willingly take on all eight of your children.
Schoolwork.
This was the first time Emmie has actually sat down to play with someone other than her family. It was so fun watching her play with Miss T and interacting with her. 
Cuisinaire Rod Art by Josiah
Yes, you have my precious.
Toothpaste Man.
Um, Odd Man Out?!
Thoughtful CeiRai
Queen Armadillo (I know that’s not her name but take quite delight in messing it up so the kids can correct me)
Rocking it with smiles the day affter surgery. She has two bows in her hair because that’s what she asked for.
Naptime on mommy. She was still feeling the effects of the meds the day after surgery.
So, we welcomed a little 10 week old kitten and he quickly became Smudge (he has a smudge of white on his forehead and smudge of black on his chin).
Smudge is very playful and he loves attacking big sister, Winter until she tells him it’s enough. And feet are never safe if they get near a dresser or couch or are covered with blankets.
