The Glass Slipper Pageant

This is only our second pageant but our first pageant out of state and without Daddy! We were very sad to leave him behind but he had to work. So Ninnie (my mom), Kyndal (my little sister), Emmry and I loaded up in the Excursion at 8:00 am Saturday morning and we were off for Spartanburg South Carolina. This is about a three maybe three and a half hour long drive, so I was mighty nervous about how Emmry would do. Much to my surprise, she did fantastic. Emmry and Kyndal watched movies and she finally drifted off for about 45 minutes. (That was the only nap she had the ENTIRE day).We arrived, ate, put on our beauty wear and the pageant began at 1 o'clock on the dot. Emmry... oh my sweet Emmry ate up the staged and grinned for attention. As a mother, I couldn't have asked for her to do any better. She danced, smiled, laughed, played "Where's Emmry" with the judges and audience, and showed her personality the entire time.
We quickly had to change into Spring Wear and oh my! My little Spring Bee was BUZZING! I was very proud of myself considering that I made all of her accessories. Granny Pat made the adorable bows and basket and I made the bracelet and earrings. Emm was ROCKIN'!In this pageant, Emmry was required to create a hat from scratch that was "spring themed". I had a field day with this part of the competition! Stressed from the beginning but at the end, I was so amazed at the turn out of this hat. The hat was an adult gardening hat. I added the fake green moss first, topped it with huge, bright daisy flowers, added a few butterflies, bees, ladybugs, a dragonfly and coated it with some hot glue and BAM! Emmry's hat was born! One of the best and most creative things I have ever done and it paid off... BIG TIME!It was a very long, very tiring, very overwhelming day that I think ended very successfully! Crowning and the awards ceremony began around 5 o'clock that afternoon. There were 13 girls in her age group and about 60+ overall. Emmry won as follows in this order:
Best Portfolio
Most Beautiful
Best Personality
Best Spring Wear
Over All Spring Hat Diva
Supreme Division One Winner
Being proud of her is an understatement. Words cannot describe how happy and elated I was for Emmry. She took every bit of it in too. AND... For her to get up at 7:30 in the morning, have a 45 minute nap, last nearly SIX hours thru a pageant and not pitch ONE FIT.... THAT IS AMAZING and all I could ask for!

Emmry Won Her 1st Pageant!

In this blog, the title doesn't say it all! Emmry did so well at her very first pageant. I could not have been more pleased with the outcome. She was so well behaved and not to mention, she won THREE awards out of 15 girls in her age group. She won the title Easter Star Pageant Queen and received a huge crown, trophy, sash, and prize money. She won Over-All Most Beautiful (I'm most proud of this one) and received another crown. And she also won the Early Entry Award and received a trophy with her name on it. All the girls were absolutely beautiful, I wouldn't have been able to judge!

Pageant Time!!!

This is something either you are 100% for or 100% against and I just happen to be 100% for.... Pageants! From the moment I found out Emmry was a "girl", I knew I just had to put her in at least one pageant, just to see how she would do. However, I didn't think it would be as time consuming as it has been so far although it has been SO much fun planning for the big event(s). Emmry's first pageant is March 28 in Dalton and I am sitting on pins and needles waiting for this day to arrive. Her next pageant is April 17 in South Carolina and this one is a tad bit bigger than the 1st one so I am a little nervous! Nonetheless, I think she will do just fine and I can't wait to upload pictures! For now, here are some shots I took of her today! ENJOY! =)

A Headband, Diaper, and Crocs?

Yes... That's right. The title says it all! Check out my little baby model! She is rockin the headband, diaper and red crocs! Gosh, I just love her!

18 Special Things About Emmry

Emmry is now 18 months old and time is seriously flying by. I blink my eyes and she is doing something new. As sad as I am that she is growing up so quickly, I am very proud of her outcome this far.

1. Emmry can finally walk.
2. She can feed herself not only with her hands but with a spoon too.
3. Ball is her favorite word.
4. She can drink from a big-girl cup.
5. She dances endlessly.6. Emmry knows when bedtime is and goes to sleep on her own.
7. She can tell our dog Rusty to speak and he actually does it.
8. Mama is her second favorite word.
9. She knows what to do with a phone. (Hold it to her ear and say hey)
10. "TOUCHDOWN" is her favorite pose.
11. She loves to wink.
12. Chicken in her favorite food.
13. When I say "Daddy's home", she runs to the window to watch for him.
14. This child loves SHOES more than her toys.
15. Painting is her newest hobby.
16. Bath time is her favorite time of the day.
17. She love, loves, loves books.
18. When asked for a kiss, she'll give you one.
I love you sweet girl... more than you'll ever know.

1st Trip to the Georgia Aquarium

This was a very last minute thrown together trip but I am so pleased with the outcome. Emmry and I planned a play-date with Brittany and Gracie Rowland to have a mother-daughter day at the Georgia Aquarium. Since our girls love animals... this is the second best place (Zoo would have been better but it was too cold). We loaded up our girls and off we went with GPS in hand. This is the first time either of us have gone to Atlanta without our husbands so I don't know if it was a bit of excitement that we were doing something on our own or if we were scared about doing it on our own. Note: we made it safely! =)

Gracie and Emmry absolutely loved the aquarium, Emmry even put her hands in the water to pet the stingrays! (I won't even do that). The day was very adventurous and only just a few fits were pitched during the entire day. I'd say that is very good considering we were with an 18 month old and a 13 month old! Here are some pictures from our trip.And this is how our wonderful mother-daughter day ended. Sleeping Beauties!!

Meet Charlie

Everyone... We'd like for you to meet Charlie, the newest addition to our family. Charlie was born on October 15, 2009 and he is a toy poodle. He will be around 4-5 pounds total. He is full chocolate and white mix. His nose and paws are even brown and he has the most gorgeous green eyes. After Sammy died, we knew Abby needed a playmate. We couldn't stand to see her looking out the window, waiting for Sammy to return. So, we loaded up the car with Emmry and Abby and headed to Petland.I walked in the store, eager to see all the little puppies in hopes that I would find one to melt my heart. We played with all sorts of them but I spotted Charlie in the store manager's arms and just knew I had to have him. I held him and that was it. I was gone. In fact, Todd was gone too. We both fell instantly in love. The funny this is, we went to Petland on a Saturday which was obviously the most busy day of the week. There were tons of people and each one of them waited for us to put Charlie back so they could hold him. One family even came in, as we were checking out, to purchase Charlie. I guess he was the "favorite" of the pet store.
Though Charlie will never replace our Sammy, he is definitely loved and definitely made such a wonderful change to our household. He is playful, he wrestles with Emmry and Abby, he has the most tiny bark I've ever heard and the way he sleeps is hysterical. I don't feel like we "chose" Charlie, I feel like Charlie "chose" us! (Charlie with his tongue sticking out)