Our Niece is Born!

In 2004, we awaited the arrival of our first niece, Emma Caroline. Sherry's brother, Paul, and his wife, Jessica, were expecting their first child, and Sherry and Eddie vowed to be the best aunt and uncle ever! They planned a welcoming baby shower for Paul, Jessica and Emma using the theme "Showered With Love". Sherry made a centerpiece for the table that was a washtub made to look like it had a shower head with sparkly streamers coming out of the shower with hearts "floating" in the tub. It was very cute and creative! Then Sherry used two dainty pink umbrellas with hearts on them and tied colorful hearts on strings to hang from the umbrellas so that the parents could truly be "showered with love".

The Mother of Honor

On a beautiful June day, Emma arrived, and we were so excited. Of course, we headed to Winston-Salem to welcome her to the family.  She was so tiny, perfect and beautiful!

Here are some pictures of our first meeting:

Emma & her mommy

Emma's proud daddy steals a kiss.

Emma's proud Papa

Emma and her Nana

Emma and her best friend, Aunt Sherry

Emma and her Uncle Eddie...it was love at first sight!

Emma gets to meet her Great-Grandma from California!

Emma meets her Great-Granny!

Emma's Family

Uncle Eddie helps feed Emma her first sweet treat.

Sherry gets Emma all cleaned up.

Nana rocks Emma to sleep!

Emma's Dedication

Emma's loving parents dedicate her to the Lord and vow to teach her about God!

Emma's 1st Christmas

Emma's 1st Birthday!

For Emma's first birthday, her Mommy started a tradition of going all out for birthday parties. She welcomed family and friends into their new home in Charlotte, NC to celebrate with a big backyard party! Of course, they had to have lots of balloons and everything had to be PINK! Emma looked like a baby doll in her cute little birthday angel dress.

Here are a few pictures from Emma's 1st birthday party:

Emma looked so cute in her birthday outfit.

Emma loved her balloons!

Emma enjoys her new slide.

In her new swing!

She's walking!

Emma's first cake

Her very own little cake

Emma really wasn't sure about her cake.

She finally dug in and got a little bit messy.

Emma seemed interested in her presents...for a minute or two!

Birthday parties are tiring.

And to end a fabulous day, Emma got to go swimming in her new pool!