Long time, no blog

We made it home yesterday evening from our fantastic Christmas in North Carolina. We had such a fantastic time and a great visit with family. My sister-in-law Cortney and I are like little kids and we talked the rest of the family into letting us open 1 present each night leading up to Christmas (3 nights in a row!). Santa was generous to all of us, especially me. Kevin got my a beautiful ring and necklace with saphires (Emma's birthstone) and I got some much needed clothes from Dave and Cort and Joe and Jill. Mae, Kevin's sister got me glass coasters that can hold pictures. She had the most beautiful pictures of Emma printed in black and white and had all the coasters loaded for me when I opened them; they were so beautiful and touching that it brought tears to my eyes! *Thanks, Mae*

Emma had a great visit with everyone. She hit two new milestones while we were there. First, she found her voice. She had started to babble a little bit the past few weeks but never more that a few syllables here and there. Now, she goes on and on and on. She is so excited to yell and coo and talk. It is so precious because her voice is really high pitched. It melts my heart listening to her talk. Also this week, Emma learned she can belly laugh. It only happened on one occassion so far, but she did it 3 or 4 times in a row. I was giving her kissies on her neck and making funny noises when she totally laughed until she was red in the face. It was awesome! We haven't been able to get her to do it again, but you can bet I'll keep trying.

We had a great day at church today. It was just me and Em becuase Kevin had to work this morning. I'm going to relish the next few days at home because I'm returning to work on Wednesday. I hope all of you had a relaxed weekend and will have a great week. XOXOXOXO