1st Day of Preschool

Well I think Mom put it best, could I have ever imagined the day Emma would be excited to go to Preschool, the same Emma that likes me within 1 foot of her at all times. But she LOVED it! And was excited for days before. The very first words she said as we walked out, "I had so much fun. I love preschool". She talked on about Miss Kristin's cat and the book, Stinky Dog and hearing about all the kid's Halloween costumes. I know it's just Preschool, but for us it feels likes a big milestone! It is amazing how fast time goes.

I have to give huge thanks to my friend Lynn who made this bow for Emma's first day. It made her feel so special! Thanks Lynn.

Trojan Family

I forgot how much I love USC. As a family, we went up to LA to be on campus for the first game. Nothing like it. When the marching band came out for it's traditional game day performance in front of Heritage Hall I was definitely proud. I am proud to be a Trojan.

...and happy for Chris that it's College Football season...his favorite time of the year.

Labor Day

(As a side note... Labor Day is about the only holiday not blocked off for Cal Select Season Pass holders and for good reason. I'll just say this- we pretty much walked right onto the Dumbo ride)

Girlfriends

This picture just makes me smile...

These little girls are each one of a kind! But together they make the perfect pair! Their conversations range from who Tinkerbell's daddy is to iridescent eggs. On this day they were headed to Cowboy Town...

Princess dress up clothes paired with an Easter hat talking in a southern accent about going to cowboy town?! Entertaining to say the least. I love little girls!

Tease

I would call this more of a tease then a trick! For the past few weeks, Tay has been taking long walks across our family room, something that has come out of no where, although very much expected (in other words, very late!). Unfortunately it happens once or twice and then we don't see it for another week. It's back to the knee walking, a much more efficient mode of transportation for her. We thought this past Sunday she had made a break through as she spent much of the evening going back and forth. But it is now Friday and I can't say I've seen too much action going on with her feet.

Needless to say, this keeps it very exciting for us when it does happen!

Trick

My new favorite Taylor trick!

We believe this is the funny face she is attempting! Heaven knows she sees enough of it from her big sis. And now I can't get enough of it!

Fordy

On Monday, the girls got a special treat, a day with Ford, my friend's fluffy adorable little puppy. They were in heaven. They spent the morning chasing him around, feeding him cheerios, and then completely wearing him out on a long walk to the park. I thought Emma liked dogs, but then I saw Tay's reaction. I don't know if she enjoys them more or if it's just that she has absolutely no fear. She'll pull at his tongue, tail, nose and just sit as he licks her face up and down and not flinch one bit. It's awesome.

It was all good until we had to say goodbye. Something I hadn't anticipated. Tears. Real sincere tears. Asking for just one more minute to snuggle and the reassurance that we can go visit him often. Sadly what they don't know is that it's going to be puppy stores and puppy sitting for us for quite a long while!

PROOF

A consequence of having a child that has never made it on the charts are the many questions from an overly concerned Pediatrician. Well this is PROOF that my baby does eat!! This was also her first successful experience with using something other than her hands!! She may just be 18lbs but this girl can hang with the best of them at the dinner table!

First Pass

Emma was super excited to get her very own Disneyland Pass this morning, just like Mommy and Daddy's with her very own picture on it. She practiced her smile, wore her princess necklace and packed her Tinkerbell backpack full of accessories. It was a big day.

All was going good until the lady asked her to "smile like a princess" for the picture and Emma gave her a little something like this...

A little surprised, I laughed and smiled at my adorable little 3 year old. I couldn't have been more proud. I thought it was great. Unfortunately Cruella De Ville was working the station and wouldn't allow for that kind of picture. After some explaining (on both ends), she asked Emma again to smile like a princess and again we got something like this...

and this...

and this...

Lady, don't you know that IS how a Princess smiles?

Four shots later, one frustrated Disney employee, and a heart to heart with Emma and WA-LA, one beautiful simple smile. Everyone was happy, kind of.

Just one more thing on our to do list...find Minnie and show her the pass. Lucky for us, we ran right into her.

Such a happy place. Can't wait for another year of Disneyland Fun!

4th of July

Where has July gone!!? I feel like it was one of the longest months but yet went by so fast. So here goes my attempt at blogging the month of July cause heaven knows a lot happened this month!

I was super excited when my sister, Bree, offered to come out the weekend of Roy's funeral to help with the girls and give me some much needed support. She lives in Boston so it was quite the haul but I was really grateful. She was so much fun...Emma is still busting out little phrases and dance moves that make me question where she learned it and of course her answer almost every time has been Aunt Bree! I also loved having her around cause it was like having my own personal photographer. So with that being said, my first ever Guest Posting....or stolen posting:

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I went to visit the Adcocks for a couple of days and it was fantastic. Thank you two for letting me crash on your couch. I had a great time. We had lots of fun, Emma style. Which includes but is not limited to: making princess jewelry, building Aunt Bree a house, playing the princess card game, climbing trees, etc. And of course..lots of dance parties (this particular one was a Snow White version, what you don’t see pictured here, is me with a Fancy Nancy feather boa)

Sort of a gypsy Snow White look

She did twirls for about...oh...40 minutes

Princess card games

She got tired of building me a house about 20 seconds in...

Glitter is always a great thing to give a child

She would have climbed it if she didn't keep getting pushed out of the way by some naughty boys!

And here are some of my favorite 4th of July moments:

Taylor showing her patriotism

Megan and Emma's AMAZING flag cake

Meg and Chris promising Emma six Cheetos if she would take a picture

Hot mama

This little one is so delicate. I love her cute little features

Emma's favorite moment...this crazy bike/car thing...

A bike/car full of patriotic Adcocks, and a very happy Emma

And then there were the fireworks:

Gorgeous California sky over the ocean

KA BLAM

My favorite Emma smiles:

And my favorite moment of the trip…when I accidently gave Emma Prune Juice instead of Apple Juice:

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Isn't she awesome with the camera! She really captured a lot of great moments. Here are just a few more of my favorite pics from the annual Adcock 4th of July BBQ at the Park...

Chris with his oldest brother, Kenny, and his children below.

I was so happy to catch this picture of Emma as she reacted to accidently throwing the frisbee in the water. Whenever an accident happens, her response is always to cover her ears...same as mine.

Bree...we miss you!! Come back soon!

p.s. check out sluglovephotography.wordpress.com

1 Month Down!

On July 1st, my parents took over the England Birmingham Mission (otherwise referred to as the Earth's Best Mission). Only after what seems like the most spiritual enlightenment one could receive...four days of classes and meetings with General Authorities, including the Apostles. During this time, my dad was reunited with the missionaries who converted him 47 years ago. They hadn't seen eachother since my father left Florida 6 months after being baptized. Could you even imagine! So special. On the last day they had a question/answer session with the Twelve followed by 2 minute testimonies by each of them. Their time at the MTC came to an end with President Monson conducting them in a Sacrament Meeting. We were able to Skype my parents right before leaving the MTC and I swear, they have never looked happier and my mom has never looked more beautiful then she did that day.

It has been exciting to hear of their experiences so far even the fun ones like Mom taking off her rear view mirror as she tries to adjust to driving on those narrow England streets. They are loving the work and I am loving being able to experience it through them. Though I will not meet most of these young men and women...these missionaries will ALWAYS be a part of our family and the reason for my heart being more opened to this wonderful work. We are so grateful.

(My parents with the 2 AP's who helped transfer them in, Elder Brower and Bearnson)

Everything Fancy

If you have a little girl, the Fancy Nancy books are a MUST HAVE!! Love, love love them!! The stories are adorable and the illustrations really make the words come to life. And I can't help but do the best southern belle accent whenever I read them. Although beware: you're daughter might become a little more sassy with each and every reading! So you can imagine how excited we were when Emma's best little girlfriend invited her over for a Fancy Nancy Tea Party last month. Award for cutest idea ever goes to Janae. Everything was exquisite (that's even fancier than fancy!)! Below was Emma's get-up and her response to "smile"...she definitely has Fancy Nancy down!

(Emma, Katelyn, Charlotte, and Madeline)