Mary Wade

Our sweet Mary Wade has finally gotten her two front bottom teeth! The first slit in her gums appeared on her 8-month birthday and both teeth were showing within a few days. Here are a few pictures of her showing them off!

Christmas with the Lathams

Wade's parents came the day after Christmas to celebrate the holidays with us. Emma and Mary were so excited about getting even more presents and we all had such a great time! Here are some pictures from their visit.
...Emma got lots of presents from her Mimi and Doc, but the one she is pointing to was the one she wanted to open first. We think she could tell what it was by the shape of the box!
...This is the pink guitar that Emma has been asking for for months! She kept telling us that when she got it, she wanted to "have a concert" with Wynonna Judd. She was SO excited when she opened the box, and found the pink guitar that she wanted AND that Wynonna had signed it!
..."My sweet Emma - May your dreams come true. I do believe in you - Love, Wynonna"
...Mary has her own way of opening presents!
...Daddy and Mary Wade with her new puppy.

Merry Christmas!

My parents, my brother Sonny, and his wife Kelley came to spend Christmas Eve and Christmas Day with us in Georgia this year. The girls got everything they wanted from Santa (because they were SO sweet this year!) and it was wonderful to see them so happy! Things weren't exactly perfect, though - Wade spent most of Christmas Eve afternoon at the Dr.'s office and found out that he has the flu, and Emma came down with it Christmas afternoon. Thank goodness she felt okay Christmas morning so she could play with everything Santa brought. Mary Wade was hilarious on her first Christmas and it was funny to watch her trying to figure out the chaos - all she knew was that we kept handing her pretty packages with toys inside, so she was a happy girl! Knowing that Emma really understood what was happening was so much fun to see, and she reminded us that we're never too old to believe in Santa Claus!
...Emma getting cookies ready for Santa on Christmas Eve.
...Emma helping Mary open her presents (I love the expression on Mary's face!)
...Emma checking out the toys that Santa left for her and for Mary Wade.
...Emma and my sweet brother Sonny helping her with her new Leapfrog Leapster.
...Sonny's wife Kelley with their adorable new puppy Greta, who really enjoyed her first Christmas!
...Papa carving the turkey and sporting the new Home Depot apron that Wade gave him.

Oliver Christmas Party

We went to Montgomery this weekend for Mama's side of the family's Christmas party. We had so much fun and thoroughly enjoyed the time we got to spend with our family!
...Emma with her sweet cousin Annie.
...Mary with her great grandmother (my dad's mom).
...Annie, Emma, and Bella (our cousin Jodi's baby dog).
...Emma giving Santa some last minute gift ideas!

Emma's Dance Recital

Tonight Emma had her very first tap/ballet/gymnastics recital at the Little Gym. She has been so excited about it and she did SO well! We are very proud of her - she has learned so much and has enjoyed every minute of every class. She really loved all of the attention at the recital tonight and of course she was the most beautiful girl in the class. Here are a few of our favorite pictures from the recital.
...my gorgeous little girl.
...all dressed up and ready to dance!


...showing off her medal (and her muscles)!

Emma's School Christmas Party

I'm sorry it has taken so long to get new pictures posted! We had trouble with our computer and it's taken quite a while to get it back up and running, so that combined with the holidays has not left much time to get our blog updated until now. Today was Emma's class Christmas party at McEachern. Wade, Mary Wade and I all joined her and we had a great time!
...Mary, Daddy, and Emma enjoying the party.
...Emma snuggling with her teacher, Mrs. MacMillan.
...Emma and her friend Taylor.
...Emma with her friends Callyn and Joely.

Our Weekend with the Tews

This weekend, our great friends Marci, Tragg and Reese Tew came to visit us. Reese and Emma have missed each other so much since we moved and they were SO happy to see each other! Here are a few pictures from the weekend.
...Emma and Reese in their matching pajamas.
...Reese and her daddy.
...the girls cruising in the Jeep.

Weekend in Chattanooga

Emma, Mary Wade, and I spent the weekend in Chattanooga with our good friends Amy, James, and Tyler Zippay. We had such a wonderful time and did just about everything there was to do! Emma and James are crazy about each other and had the best time posing for pictures.
...playing dress up at the Children's Museum Theater.
...snuggling on the Chattanooga Choo Choo.
...welcoming fall.
...on the steps of the Chattanooga Choo Choo.
...a little more snuggling at the Chattanooga Aquarium.
...no wonder James loves her - look how cute she is!!!

Happy Halloween!

I put off taking the girls' and Samson's Halloween picture this year because I just knew it was going to be a disaster. Today, I worked up the nerve, got Emma, Mary Wade, and Samson all dressed in their costumes and hoped for the best. Samson was completely immobilized once I got him in his dinosaur outfit, so he was no problem. Mary Wade was the first to lose it, and once I got her calmed down and happy, Emma had her own little come-apart. But, after promises of suckers and candy for one big smile, I got the cutest picture and just had to share it! Happy Halloween from all of us!

The Girls

Here are two funny pictures of Emma and Mary Wade from this afternoon. I can't say enough how wonderful Emma is to her baby sister - she loves to make her laugh and takes such good care of her. She always makes sure that Mary has plenty of toys to play with, a passy if she cries, and plenty of love and kisses. They are absolute angels and we are so lucky! This first picture is my favorite because they look like they are having a very serious conversation - I would LOVE to know what Mary thought she was saying to Emma!

Baby Jon Daniel is here!

On Monday, October 2, our nephew Jon Daniel Latham was born at Brookwood Hospital in Birmingham. Emma, Mary, and I went to see him on Tuesday and he is the cutest thing ever! He is very expressive and I swear he's already smiling! Ryan and Rachel are so happy and we are so proud for them! They are going to be awesome parents and Jon Daniel is a very lucky little man! These are a few pictures from our visit.

Party!

Saturday night, my dearest and closest friend in the world Nita threw an incredible party with her husband Jim. Everyone we missed so much from Birmingham was there and we made lots of new friends too. It made me incredibly homesick, but I know these wonderful girls will always be a huge part of my life, no matter where we live. I am so lucky to have them all as friends and I wish I got to see them more often!