my funny valentines :)

i love my TWO valentines more than words could ever describe.  pictures are worth a thousand words :)

her big baby blues and long girlish lashes.....boys, watch out. her daddy's got his eyes on you!

her post wake up snuggles that i wish could last forever.....

her belly laughs that turn the whole room upside down.....

there's something about about ryan and his baby girl that makes me fall in love all over again every time i see them together.

in corner one, weighing in at 220lb......DADDY MURPHY!!!!!!!!! in corner two, weighing in at 25lb.....EMMA CLAIRE!!!!!!!!

oh! oh! the games begin.....daddy murphy takes one for the team!!!

a swift kick to the face! THAT'S gotta hurt!!!

....and ONE.....TWO......THREE!!!!!

emma claire....champion!!

ok now THAT was pretty dorky {gotta love it!}.  but seriously, watching the two of them together, playing and wrestling, and laughing like there's no one else in the world......swoon!  

hope everyone is having a very happy heart day!

will walk for flowers!

armed with a visit from aunt elisa and a beautiful bouquet of valentine's flowers....emma did the unthinkable today!!

just shy of her 13 monthday, our little munchkin is WALKING! especially lured by the pretty flowers and their soft petals she toddled back and forth between elisa and i.  it was the perfect way to end the day and was so fun and special to get to share it with my best friend!!

daddy got it on video and it wasn't 10 seconds before that video was sent to emma's biggest fans.  perhaps the cutest thing of all is just how proud she is.  claps! squeals! funny faces!!  

bye bye little baby. hello big girl!!! :)

THERE she is :)

just a few cuties of our cutie tonight. you can see the light returning to her eyes as she starts to feel better and better.....and i just had to share!

she spent the evening perfecting her new game of crawling into the space between the kitchen stool legs and then out again....over and over and over again. she found this, and our game of footsie, to be absolutely hysterical. it's good to have our beanie back :)

pretty in pink

my oh my, friends! we had so much fun celebrating emma's birthday on saturday. you know that feeling when you have a party and you're so busy and overwhelmed throwing the thing that you just don't get to enjoy it?  this was the OPPOSITE of that.  she was giddy with excitement the whole time, we got to spend time with all of our family and friends, and there were cupcakes everywhere!! it was just so much fun for us all and i really wish the day could have lasted forever.  

this is pretty dorky....i'm totally THAT mom.  i found confetti at the party store that was in the shape of her name and had to buy it.  yea, i spent $7 on a teeny bag of emma confetti, so what?! growing up with a "different" name, i never got to have these sorts of things so i'm kind of bizarrely obsessed with personalized things.  i'm nearing 30 and i live vicariously through my one year old daughter....no shame ;)

i decided that decorating her high chair was a good idea suspecting that she'd likely destroy the decorations before the party started.  good thing she napped until 15 minutes before we got started.  the pretty pink princess throne survived way longer than originally anticipated. score!  and yes, that is a pink vinyl tablecloth on our floor serving as both decoration AND protection.

i mean, do i even need to say anything about this cupcake cake?? holy cuteness i'm in love.

speaking of cuteness, here's the beanie all dolled up in outfit number one. oh yes, there were multiple outfits. multiple PINK outfits. with ruffles. pretty funny to think that when i was pregnant i was pretty dead set on all things gender neutral.  my bestie elisa likes to point out that now our life really couldn't get much more PINK if we tried....hah!

emma got her own "smash cake" which she ate fistfuls of.  at first she wasn't quite sure. we got her in the high chair and everyone started to sing to her. she looked a little confused as the serenade first began.  we placed the cake in front of her and she carefully scooped icing with her little finger.

we helped her along a little and pretty soon we were in full swing. once she realized the opportunity in front of her it was no holding back! cue the cutest moment EVER when she started clapping after a huge handful of cake :) yea, i feel the same way when i eat cake beanie...we are totally related.

a few minutes later and she was totally in the zone. she was shoving handful after handful of cake in her mouth and ryan and i looked at each other with a look of understanding. we had to take the cake away or else she probably would have eaten the whole thing. no, seriously i'm not kidding. this child has a hollow leg.

a new outfit was in order after cake.  i ordered this tutu and tank from etsy and thought it was pretty hilarious that the UPS guy delivered the package in the middle of the party.  like right after cake. perfect timing in a way.  emma wasn't so sure about the tutu at first.....

...but aunt elisa assured her that all the coolest girls wear tutus! :)

my mom gave emma a very special gift.  a locket that HER grandmother gave to her when she turned one. it's beautiful and while emma can't quite appreciate it now, it's extremely special to me and will be to her some day in the future. thanks mama.

i'm pretty sure this child likes being the center of attention as she had no problem opening tons of presents in front of a room full of people.  her newest thing is saying "oh wow!" and we all heard it about a hundred times as she plowed through her gifts.  thank you everyone for spoiling her rotten.  all she's done since the party ended is sleep and play with her new toys so THANK YOU all. more than anything, thank you all for your love and support....it means more than any gift.

ever wonder what grown men do at a first birthday party?? seriously slacking on the pink boys.....

before we knew it the day was over and it was time to say goodbye.  emma had such a wonderful time and we did too.  its been a monumental year of changes in our house and this celebration was a reminder of just how far we've come :)  an hour after the door closed on the last guest....beanie crashed for a loooooong nap. i'm pretty sure she was dreaming of just how awesome her friends and family are.

emma claire murphy, just like i've sung to you every night since the night you were born, you are our sunshine.  you make us happy when skies are grey. you'll never know how much we love you.  your light shines from inside out and we just couldn't be more in love with you if we tried. here's to another year of wonderful :)

birthday sneak peek

this is what today looked like :)

pink and frills and ruffles and SMILES. all day smiles and giggles and squeals of delight. celebrating emma's birthday with her first official birthday party today was the. PERFECT DAY. from start to finish.  i'm far too exhausted to do the birthday blog post justice but i promise i will soon. for now, i'm ready to rest my head on a pillow and dream about the magical day we just had. here are a few sneak peek pics in the meantime. thanks to all our amazing friends and family for reminding us yet again how blessed and grateful we truly are. emma is one lucky one year old!!!! :)

happy first birthday, baby :)

i've been thinking about this post for weeks. weeks upon weeks.  up until now i've measured her life in months but as of today, i'll have to start measuring it in years.  i can't even believe how fast time flies.

i'm not even sure where to begin when it comes to expressing the feelings i have about our little one. year. old. there really is no way to describe it other than to say that i've never known such overwhelming love. becoming a mother, HER mother, has been the greatest blessing of my life and this has been the best year of my life without a doubt.  she makes every one of my days worth waking up for no matter what craziness is going on in the world around us.

{minutes old}

the day she was born, ryan and i rode hand in hand to the hospital.  we were silent the entire ride there....in a bit of shock and awe of the day before us.  i remember walking onto the labor and delivery ward so proud. I was going to have a baby that day, i was going to become a mommy.  our nurse was wonderful and with every ratcheting up of the pitocin, she gave me a grape popsicle which only partially offset the pain.  we had a few visitors as i labored but mostly the room was filled with me, ryan, and our anticipation.  before we knew it, it was time to push. i remember ryan and i meeting eyes....exchanging "seriously???" glances.  he grabbed my arm and off we went....ready for life to change forever and to meet our daughter for the first time.  i pushed 5 times.  5 times and suddenly....there she was. eyes wide open staring at ryan and i. all three of us started crying simultaneously....hers being the most beautiful cry of all.  the doctor helped ryan cut her cord and it was official.  we spent 45 beautiful minutes alone together as a family for the first time.  i will cherish those moments for all of my days.  

we have also cherished all 525,600 minutes of her first year of life. becoming parents has been the most remarkable gift and getting to know this beautiful child has been the BEST way to spend a year. there have been moments of all kinds....joy, fear, laughter, exhaustion, excitement, frustration, digust (poopy diapers, hello!), FUN!.....and pretty much everything in between. every first, and there were lots this year, has been cause for celebration.  the process of spoiling her rotten has long since begun thanks to her grandparents, uncles, and multitude of friends. we love how loved she is....and how she loves in return. if you've seen the arm flailing, toothy grins, and squeals.....she loves YOU! ;)

speaking of love, she has taught me more about love....and more about the woman i am and want to be....in one year than i could learn in a lifetime.  because of her my heart is more kind, full, and patient and i have a constant driving force to be better for myself, for our family, and for HER every day. i take alot of pride and put alot of pressure on myself being the mother to a little girl.  i know the trials and tribulations that little girls face growing up and while she doesn't have to deal with those things yet, i know one day she will and i hope to be strong and brave and everything she needs me to be. being a mom is the hardest job on earth. i never understood that before i became her mommy but now i certainly do.  it's the hardest job on earth but it's the most meaningful and gratifying job around....and i am blessed to call myself Emma's mommy.

{our big girl}

thank you baby girl for 525,600 minutes that we'll never forget....and for many more that we just can't wait for! we love you to the moon and back, and always always will. HAPPY FIRST BIRTHDAY!!!!!!

{we'll be celebrating party style on saturday...can't wait to share pictures with you all!!!}