Emma's 9th Bday

So, it's been almost a month, but I wanted to share a few pics of Emma's big day. Her celebrations were actually spread out over a couple weeks. The morning started with a new outfit and all her favorites for breakfast: bacon, eggs, mini blueberry bagels and orange juice.

Her new shirt had to be teal because that is her new favorite color for the year. Last year she decided that her favorite color would be blue, and that each year it would change in the order of the rainbow. This year she decided she wasn't quite ready to depart completely from blue to green, so she chose the middle ground. At night we had a family birthday party with our typical "birthday breakfast" of french toast, strawberries and whipping cream, the infamous cookie cake of yesterday's post, and presents galore. Our close friend and neighbor, Sandy, joined us for the fun.
I love this next photo because Isabelle is showing Emma the present she made for her, and you can see how excited she is about it.She drew a picture of Emma, and taped a penny on from her piggy bank. So sweet!
Alex loved Emma's new set of High School Musical UNO cards.
Emma has a close friend, Becca, whose birthday is just 9 days after Emma's. In fact last year they chose to be baptized on the same day--Valentines. To celebrate both of their birthdays, our two families went to one of the local bounce places, where there are indoor inflatables, like big slides and bounce houses and obstacle courses. Unfortunately, I forgot my camera, but everyone had the time of their lives! Even Alex was able to scale all the climbing sections and brave the big slides. Afterward we came back to our house for brownies and ice cream. Then, a few days later we let them have a sleepover at Becca's house, a first for both of them I believe (other than at a cousin's), as they both have very protective loving mommies. :)

I also can't finish this post before I write how proud I am of Emma. She is an amazing person! It is so fun to watch her grow up and discover who she is. Last month she decided to set the goal of running 24 miles this year, at least 2 miles a month. She had never run on a treadmill before, but she has 3 times now and loves it. It helps that I put on a Hannah Montana episode for her to watch while she runs. She is creative and organized and responsible and loving and an altogether HUGE help to me both around the house and with her younger siblings. I really love being with her, whether we are playing games, watching movies & eating Moose Tracks, reading books (right now she's reading Inkheart to me), riding bikes, playing tennis or just having a good chat. I feel so lucky to be her mom and friend.