Emma Victoria: 2 Years Old

At 2 years old, Emma weighs 20.2 pounds (3rd percentile) and is 32 inches tall (10th percentile).  While her weight hasn't changed for awhile, she is getting taller!  I had to put away several pairs of pants that were just too short for her.  I guess she is just getting skinnier as she gets taller!  

Words Emma says independently:

doggie, Isaac, I-zee (also a term for Isaac), Bubba (brother), an oo (thank you), cup, cay-kee (cookie), cake, shoe, bow, pretty, Daddy, Mommy, Pop, Mom-o, bite (her word for her pacifier), blankie, ni-ni (night night), book, car, ou-side (outside), play, toy, baby, hold, help, two, up (this means up or down with Emma--mostly that she just wants to get out of your arms!), no, mine, too, Emma, hair, ear, pretty, walk, egg, sit, bye-bye, owie, cheese (as in smiling for the camera, not the food), kiss, hug, horse

Her most common word combinations are:

hold me (she says this so pitifully while standing at your feet and reaching her arms up--it's the sweetest) 

help me

me too

 my toy (this refers to anything she wants, whether it's food, a toy, or her pacifier)

 my bite (she says this when she really wants her pacifier)

and…no Isaac :)

Yesterday, Emma was wandering around the shoe department while I quickly tried on a new pair of shoes.  I tried on one shoe; it didn't fit, so I started to put it back in the box.  Emma quickly pulled the other shoe out of the box and said, "two"--she so badly wanted me to try on "two" shoes.  :)   Then, she wandered over to a display of shoes at her eye level.  She pointed at a pair of little red shoes and said, "pretty shoes."  Emma often says "pretty," but she'd never said "pretty" along with the item she was describing.  

I turned around from doing dishes one morning to find Isaac saying, "Harder, Emma, rub harder."  Emma was being so sweet and giving Isaac a back rub.  :)  

Emma received a baby highchair, more dolls, and lots of doll bottles for Christmas and her birthday.  Isaac loves to play "babes" with Emma! 

My favorite thing that Emma does right now is give kisses.  Be prepared--a kiss from Emma means a full lick straight up your cheek!  Then, she wipes it off your cheek!  I think she started doing that because we all were wiping slobber off our cheeks after she kissed us.  :)  She also loves to give hugs--she throws her arms around you and says "huuuuuuuuuug" until she lets go.  :)

We love our sweet two year old!

A Quick Trip for Grandpa's Funeral

Dave's Grandpa Bailey passed away on Friday, January 24, and we flew to Chicago two days later.  

 I snapped this picture of Isaac and Emma in the backseat on the way to the airport--I love how they're holding hands and Emma is just grinning!!

Since Emma turned two a few weeks after our trip, this was her last flight as a free lap child.  :)  Dave and I laughed so hard when she crawled into this at the airport! 

I also think it's so funny how Isaac studies the flight brochures and diagrams on the airplane.  It must be very entertaining to him, because he "read" this for nearly an hour each flight.  

While traveling for a funeral is never fun, it was a blessing that we were able to see so many family members!  First, we spent the night at Emily and Caleb's apartment in Downer's Grove.  It was so fun to get a glimpse into their life!  Even though we got to their apartment quite late, we loved spending time with them.  

Isaac and Emma got lots of great reading and snuggling time with Auntie Em and Uncle Caleb.  And, Isaac even got to have a "camp-out" on the living room floor with Em and Caleb for the night.  

We had a little extra time the next morning, so we had lunch at Two Toots Cafe!  I've wanted to take Isaac to this restaurant ever since I first saw my Chicago-land friend Meghan post pictures of it!  Because of the sub-zero temps, Two Toots was pretty quiet--we pretty much had the whole restaurant to ourselves!

playing with model engines and riding the horse while waiting for the train to deliver our lunch

Can you see our baskets of food on the train cars?  There is a model train track that runs through the whole restaurant and "delivers" your meal!

I'll mark this down as one of my favorite times with my family!  I think I was as excited as Isaac!  :)

Right after Two Toots, we headed east to Iowa.  And, our kids fell right asleep!

 On Monday evening, we had a huge family dinner at Matt and Kelly's home.  Matt is Dave's cousin, and he and his wife have four boys.  Between Matt's boys, Isaac, and Griffin, there was a lot of excitement!  :)  I don't have any pictures from that night, but it was a lot of fun to be with so many family members that we rarely get to see.  

Isaac was so excited to spend time with his cousin Griffin!  We all stayed at the same hotel, and the kids had a blast swimming together.  

Grandpa Bailey's funeral service was amazing.  His pastor honored his life so well by pointing everything back to Jesus, which is exactly what Grandpa Bailey would have wanted.  Dave's Uncle Randy made an incredibly moving video tribute to Dave's grandpa that was shown in the service.   It was set to "I'd Rather Have Jesus" (click here for the YouTube link to the video--and grab some Kleenex).  

At the end of the service, a veteran gave a beautiful speech about Grandpa Bailey's military service.  He then honored Grandma Bailey by kneeling in front of her and passing a folded American flag to her.  After that, we heard Taps.  I don't think anyone will forget that moment. 

Rinn Family at Grandpa Bailey's funeral

So sweet!  Emma and her cousin, Sawyer, after the funeral

Following the funeral, we spent the rest of the day with Grandma Bailey, Uncle Randy, and Dave's parents at Grandma and Grandpa's house.  Our kids napped for nearly three hours, so Dave and I were have such a special time talking with everyone, especially Grandma Bailey.  She is an amazing woman!  

Grandpa Bailey was a glider pilot in World War II.  He gave Dave this shirt from the glider pilot museum, Silent Wings, in Lubbock.  

We drove back to Chicago early the next morning.  We also got a peek into Jon, Kristy, Griffin, and Sawyer's life in Geneva by spending a few hours with them at their beautiful home.  Isaac wanted to stay and play toys with Griffin forever.  :)

Before flying home to Texas, we were able to see one more special person--Isaac's Grandma Debbie!  Grandma Debbie loved & cared for Isaac before he became our son forever, and she's never stopped loving and caring for him. Dave and I feel like we've always "known" her, but it was our joy to finally meet Debbie in person.  And, it was extra special to see her love on Isaac again after four years.

Emma's Princess Party

We celebrated Emma's second birthday a little early this past Saturday with a princess party.  Isaac often calls Emma "our princess girl" (though he pronounces it "pwin-cess girl").  The other day, I sang a song about "Emma, our Valentine girl"--Isaac stopped me and said, "No, Mom, she's our princess girl."  :)  So, a princess party was perfect for our Emma.

We can hardly believe it's true

Our little princess is turning two

So whether you're a princess, or whether you're a prince

This is a celebration you don't want to miss!

a princess and her knight--Emma was very excited!!

tutu water bottles--how could I resist making these?  :)

a ruffle birthday cake with the tiara I wore at our wedding reception

fruit wands

What's a princess party without a lot of glitter?  I'm pretty sure there will be glitter in our carpet for months.  :)

We had chicken spaghetti (one of Emma's favorites), bread, and fruit wands for dinner.  The adults chatted after dinner while the kids played and played!  This was the first big party we've had at our new house.  It was so special to me to have so many friends and family who love our family over to celebrate!

 As I said, the kids played and jumped.  :)

Emma found this gift from my parents in the living room.  She pulled all the paper off of it and just stared at it on the couch.  Emma kept saying "hard hard"--it was too "hard" to for her to pull it off the couch.  

After dinner, we played pin the crown on the princess.

Isaac went first to demonstrate how to play for all the other kids.  :)

I was so surprised that Emma was willing to have a blindfold on and try the game!  

After the game, Dave prayed over Emma for her next year of life.  Dave prayed that God would continue to guide us as we shepherd Emma's heart and that she'd love and serve God her whole life.  

Then, it was time for cake! 

This was Emma's expression when she saw that it was time for cake!  She squealed!  

Happy Birthday, Emma!  We love you to pieces!!

After a lot of cake and ice cream, Emma began opening her gifts.  She made this shocked expression and gasped every single time she opened a present.  It was the cutest thing!  

The big girls showed Emma how to play with all her new toys.  :)

I think Isaac was finally tired by then, too.  He snuggled up with Uncle Nate and read all of Emma's new books.  :)

And, a goodnight kiss from the princess to Pop!

Happy 2nd Birthday to our princess girl!  

We are so thankful for Emma Victoria!