Camping!!!

Emma Rose is developing quite the little personality.  She LOVES nothing more than her big brother's "stuff" - especially the toys he tends to hoard away from her.

She goes about 90 miles an hour and doesn't let go of her excited little grin.

So we knew that she would just love camping...

Here's a look at the start of Emma Rose's 1st, and Porter's 2nd camping trip in Eagle County:

Once there, both kids were thrilled.  EmmaRose had to taste it all: the dirt, the pine cones --- her face and hands were quickly black, and she had grit all over her pacifier.

Porter was adorable and absolutely mimicked everything his dad did.

His reaction to the completion of the tent:

While Porter helped his dad with the fire,

Emma Rose went exploring - on the run.

Roasting Marshmallows was Porter's absolute favorite part of the trip.

I was nervous, but with a close-to-the-Ritz set-up in the tent, both kids slept through the night.

While Porter fervently admitted to really liking camping, he wasn't a huge fan of fishing.

We took the kids on a walk to where Porter found his own fishing stick and daddy went fly-fishing.

It was a lot of work, but the kids had a blast!

And some more

Emma Rose is walking...no, RUNNING!!!...like a little champ and has absolutely no problems keeping up with Porter. It's a little late, but here is a video of some of her first steps, taken about a week before her first birthday:

Just as Porter loves his "Dino," Emma Rose adores her Giraffe - this move here is a sure sign that she is ready for bed:

With all the beautiful weather, both kids spend hours outside playing.

They truly are becoming buddies, and for the most part play really well together.

They fight pretty well together too! 

Emma Rose Sowa ... and family

Emma Rose is a healthy, beautiful 1 year old! She has brought us so much joy. We had pictures taken to remember this adorable time in her life. At 12 months, Emma Rose is walking - sometimes tumbly-running - and claps for herself, calling herself "good girl" all the time. She is full of smiles and personality, loves to wave to any and all audiences and shout, "hi!" She loves her giraffe, her blanky, anything soft, but mostly she adores and mimics her big brother, Porter. He has made her tough, but she is not short-handed when it comes to the drama department. Emma Rose weighs 22 pounds, 11 ounces, is 31 inches long, and she is very smart. She is pure joy to our family and we love her so much. We are so proud of her big brother, Porter, and how gentle, caring and protective he is becoming when he is around her. Just yesterday I looked in the back seat and my eyes welled with tears as I observed the two reaching across their car seats to hold hands. We feel so blessed at this stage in our lives.

Emma Rose's 1st Birthday

On April 13, Emma Rose turned 1.

She loved her 1st present from daddy (an awesome sleeping bag) almost as much as he does.

On the 14th, she had her 1st Birthday Party: Lollipop theme.

She had, by far, the cutest cake in the world, thanks to Nana Ne!

Of course, she was the cutest part of the party.

She had an absolute blast playing with all of her cousins and friends.

Here a few pictures of her trying out her first piece of cake:

She loved all the pretty packages...

...and boxes...

Her friends (and family) loved the party favors.

Happy Birthday, Emma Rose!