Prague Part I

Josh’s brother got married in the Czech Republic last week, giving us an excuse to travel to Europe.

In short, woo-hoo!

Despite dire warnings about traveling with a 15 month old, we brought Emily along for her first international experience. She actually did very well- it wasn’t nearly the nightmarish scenario I’d been envisioning. We did have a few more adventures than we’d have preferred (the bloody mouth incident, the toddler grabbing the kitchen knife incident, the jet lagged kid waking up for the day at 4 am incidents) but overall she was a trooper.

The city is gorgeous. It has blocks and blocks of ornate buildings like this one:

The view from our fourth floor apartment:

White peacocks in gardens make me happy.

Roaming free makes Emily happy:

My favorite things about Prague:

4. How superfluous cars are. Walking or taking the Metro are the most practical ways of getting around, and I loved it.  You walked to the supermarket. You walk to a restaurant. We even walked/took the Metro to the wedding.

3. Having family who live locally to show you around. Matt and Anna made great tour guides.

2. Amazing design.

1. Family adventures.

Photo Booth

From the photo booth at Samir’s wedding:

Means of Transportation

Emily’s got a few ways of getting around.

This one (used occasionally):

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And this one.

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Knee walking is by far her preferred way to travel. Apparently this is not a normal baby thing, but Emily’s got her own style and she’s sticking to it. And she doesn’t always crash at the end. She was just being dramatic for the video.

First Birthday Party

Emily celebrated her first year of life with a party at the park.  Such a beautiful day!

Emily’s Grand Cake Smashing was pretty anticlimactic. She dabbed her fingers daintily into the cake, but wasn’t very interested. It would seem it is hard to be hungry when you’ve got giant people staring at you.

Take note of the one-eyebrow-raise. This is the expression people say she gets from me.

One Year

I’m feeling nostalgic today. I’ve been remembering one year ago, how I awoke out of a drugged, exhausted haze as the nurse placed a dark haired parcel next to me.

Back then she was a little blob that slept, ate and cried. Now we’re spending our lives chasing after our inquisitive little wiggler.

Happy Birthday, Em! We are grateful for you.

At the Mission

A few days ago she took her first steps! Walking on her own is still pretty sporadic and stumbly, but she’s SO PLEASED with herself.

11 Months Old

Lately we’ve been getting a lot of comments on Emily’s personality, and I’m (pretty) sure it’s not a veiled insult about her looks. Emily is a fountain of squawking, flapping, clapping, dancing, chatting, and squealing. It’s now an established pattern that Emily’s exuberance causes more sensitive babies to cry. She’s not trying to be the nursery bully- she just gets so excited.

A recent afternoon at the beach:

Bridesmaids Revisited

4 1/2 years ago these ladies stood beside me at my wedding.

Fast forward a few years and toss in four babies, all born this year:

Emily’s Dedication

Since I have nothing interesting for her 10 month post, I thought I’d finally show you her dedication pictures.

Our pastors praying for Emily

At the end of January we dedicated Emily to the Lord (basically stated our intention to teach Emily about Jesus and giving our church the chance to pray for us).  It’s not a huge deal, but it was special, and we were glad to have our parents and many of our friends there.

Jailbreak Attempt