And so it goes

Although Emily is 1/2 Canadian by blood there really isn't anything seemingly Canadian about her (although she does love some candy/food from the great white north!!). Until now...

This girl L-O-V-E-S hockey. I mean loves. This must really run the blood :) We've gone to a few Blue Jackets games and she's had fun but this year it has become her passion. I think I know why:

Uh huh... so as much as I'd like to take credit for passing the love of the game on to her genetically, I think this image she made kind of speaks for itself - it's a BOY that she likes who happens to play hockey - and the fact that he's a scrappy little fighter just makes him all the more appealing. Awesome.... I'm so not ready for this!

these are the best days

Em brought home her school pictures yesterday and it kinda took my breath away. This girl is BEAUTIFUL (if I do say so myself ;)):

and she's growing up... too fast. When I saw that picture I realized more than ever that she's becoming a young lady. She'll be 12 in less than 2 weeks - and yet I remember the day she entered this world like it was yesterday. She is a great girl who is funny (ask her about turning on her siren at Giant Eagle so she could run fast down the aisles), smart, caring, sassy and independent. Em - you are amazing. I love you and I'm proud of who you choose to be.

I love my countries

say whaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaat?

my darling daughter is off to new beginnings tonight

how can this be possible?

i mostly don't feel old enough to have a child headed for young womens

but then there days when i feel every one of the years

she's growing into a lovely young lady

and i'm proud to be her mom

Brace Yourself...

Um yeah, so I've left the blog a little neglected for a while - life just seems to consume the days that zip past - catching up seems like a colossal feat that makes me feel like continuing to procrastinate so I won't... but another major life event for Emily has happened and I felt that it really warranted a post of its own....

Before

After

She did an awesome job through the whole appointment - and it took FOREVER!! Adjusting to the new hardware is taking some time - the nightime head gear is pretty tough but we're hoping that it will get easier as the days go by. I think think she looks pretty cute - and just think Em - in 2-ish years you'll be brace-free and have the prettiest smile ever - hang tough baby girl!

Holy Cow... what happened to the last 4 months??

Yeah... so this blog has been a wee bit neglected... lots has happened in the last four months.

Em got her ears pierced for the second time... first time didn't work out so well so we waited a few years.

Easter came and went - we had a nice holiday as usual and Em looked adorable in her dress this year! We also tried a new egg decorating method and really had fun.

Em finished her season of gymnastics and had a little gym show.

I got my hair done one day and Em insisted that she also have the same style... guess we kind of look alike :)

We've been having lots of summer fun including sprinkler/trampoline time!

Lots of other events including Emily travelling to California by herself to spend two weeks with Chris' family... that was crazy to walk her to the gate and watch her board that plane without me... but we survived and she had an amazing trip -- pics are on another computer :( Emily and I then spent two weeks in Canada visiting a lot of my family - another awesome time with lots of pics on another computer! It's been a busy summer and I really think Emily has probably slept more nights away from home than at home but she's loving every minute of it. Now we're gearing up for school to start -- who can believe that we have a middle schooler????? Not me!

Bring on Spring...

How on earth can tomorrow be April??? I mean really -- I kinda feel like we just finished with all the holiday hoopla and now it's spring. I know spring actually started more than a week ago but I don't really count it as spring until April - somehow that is synonymous with spring for me. Is anyone a big April Fool's Day celebrator (and is that really a word) anymore? I used to love practical jokes and played some really good ones before I got all old and boring.

I guess if it's spring, that means Spring Cleaning... which I totally dread but oh how I love the results. Having the puppy has made me a cleaning machine because I'm super paranoid of having a house that smells like a dog - so at least I'm a step ahead on the floors!