We can't believe we've had our sweet Emery Claire for one year! We're so grateful to have her--she makes us all so happy!
I love the cute differences of personality between our girls. While Addy covered her eyes when it was time to blow-out her birthday candle, Emery was ready to put it out with her bare fingers! She dove right into her cake and enjoyed making a little mess!!
Everyone had a blast on Halloween! Our ward had the Halloween Trunk-or-Treat at a members vet clinic. My sister and I commented on how surprisingly fresh it smelled inside, not like animals had been there. It was a really fun venue for the kids to go around and do carnival-type games. Andy helped at the Elders Quorum booth and enjoyed showing off his Iron Man costume that he's been talking about for the last year. He was so excited to finally pull it off! Our cousins, Sarah and Jeffrey (the Hippies!) came with us too! It was so much fun to have them!
Addy really enjoyed their Hippie necklaces after Halloween was said and done! 
Cute Hippie!!
Addy dressed up as a Care Bear! Although, I'm not sure what she thought about the whole Halloween thing, but she loved the candy!
Emery and I went on a cupcake-walk and won!!!! Emery really loved the frosting!
Emery was a poodle for Halloween and I loved getting a shot of her tongue sticking out!
Emery enjoyed the beads as well. 
We visited the doctor's office this morning so Emery could get her second dose of the flu vaccine. The office is only a block away, so we walked over enjoying the cool weather and everyone was all smiles. I thought Addy might remember the office and want to leave, as she got "poked" at her last visit, but she was happy as ever playing in the waiting room, that is until the nurse made her appearance. Addy started crying urgently "Bye-bye, bye-bye, bye-bye!" I tried to explain that we were here just for Emery and that calmed her down a little bit.
We got into the room and I could tell that Addy was nervous, while Emery was cool as a cucumber, although I didn't think that would last long. The nurse poked Emery and she barely flinched and tensed her leg, BUT THAT WAS IT. I couldn't believe how calm Emery was! No tears at all--how ironic! It must be opposite day!
I know we live in Texas, but we're Sooners through and through! If there was any doubt as to who we're rooting for, let these pictures say it all. Emery's trying to say "OU's Number 1!" Can you believe we even got flack for wearing our OU gear and we're even asked by someone to head back to the Red River!
(I love how Emery smiles really big in this picture.)
Andy excitedly comes and gets me to see something that he says I will love. I wasn't expecting to see this, but I was pleasantly surprised! He did it in a minute, all while waiting for his toast. I was extremely impressed and took it a step further the next day, on April 1, and told him that I had entered him in the "Minute to Win It" game show. I could tell from his reaction that he was trying to be excited about it, because he could see how excited I was. I told him that they would be calling us in the next day to tell us if he had made it on the show. I let him agonize over the thought for about 5 minutes until I told him "April Fools!" Boy, was he ever relieved! Andy is busy preparing for his orals, composing pieces and getting ready for doctorate school and it appears that "Minute to Win It" was not high on his priority list. :-) Perhaps for the Poyner Family Ghetto Olympics we could adopt some of these games. Poyner's get ready and start training....here comes Andy and his mad skills!!
I love the smiles babies have, you know the gummy smiles before they get teeth.
Since Addy has become so fascinated with animals, especially birds, we decided to make Spring Break "March Animal Madness!" Our first trip was a visit to the poor man's zoo--PetCo. Needless to say, you get what you pay for. (Sorry no pictures of the eventful experience :-) We decided to step it up a notch and take a trip to the Prarie Park Nature Center in Lawrence. Addy wasn't too fond of snakes, which runs in the family. But she didn't mind this little guy....
Personally, I could only stand to be near this guy long enough to take a picture....ahhh. He looks like he's going to snap at any moment and I know I would a wet my pants!!
The below picture is Addy on the move at the Topeka Zoo! Yes, we stepped it up even one more notch for March Animal Madness! We had fun letting Addy run around and she really enjoyed all the free space!
Of course, we had to visit some members of the bird family, namely the DUCKS!
Addy was hoping to turn her frog into Prince Charming with a little kiss!
March Animal Madness was a blast, but now we have to go bigger and better...perhaps the Kansas City Zoo is next!!
"Wow, this place is cool! This is the best kept secret in the church!"
We can't believe that our little baby girl is now 18 months and in nursery. She did so well and enjoyed every bit of it!!! I'm sure it was much more exciting that Sunday School or Elders Quorum, although she did get really good naps in EQ!
"Yay! I'm so happy I got my baby blessing!"
On January 31, Emery Claire was blessed in Oklahoma with her cousin Harrison. It was such a fun weekend with the family. Me and the girls had a blast being snowed in and playing games with the family, while Andy braved the elements and went south to Texas for his doctorate audition at University of North Texas. It was a wonderful weekend between a great audition, time with our family and a beautiful blessing of our sweet baby girl!
Our family celebrating after Emery's baby blessing. Addy had a leaky diaper, so we changed her into her cupcake pj's. Notice the nephew in the background with the light saber--how cool!
I just love little Emery's smile in this picture! Such a happy little girl! Addy must be looking at the nephew with the light saber.
Our family was enjoying the beautiful weather yesterday, 52 degrees to be exact! We went to the aquatic center and Addy was having a blast splashing in the water and having fun! We noticed Addy started looking tired so we asked her using sign if she was "All done?" She quickly motioned back to the water. About 10 minutes later she calmly looked at Dad and signed "I'm all done." It's so fun seeing her using signs to communicating.
Could there be anything more wonderful than a hug and kiss from a precious little one! Addy has been surprising us with hugs and kisses on a regular basis. I may be on the floor picking up cheerios or putting laundry into the dryer when I feel little arms wrap around me. What's even sweeter is to watch how Addy loves her little sister. She loves to pat her head and give her kisses all day long. We are teaching Addy sign language and in an effort to praise her on her loving actions, we sign to her "thank you" only to have her tiny hands sign "thank you thank you" back to us. How fun to see her learning and growing!
Yeah! We were able to catch a smile on camera from Emery-doll!
I simply wanted to blog about the cutie pies in my life. I feel surrounded by cuteness!!!! 
Addy had a fun time opening up her gifts as she began to understand that wrapping paper is for ripping and that something good is underneath all that. Andy or I would rip into the wrapping paper and show her that something was underneath it and then she would begin feverishly tearing at the paper to see what was there. We had a wonderful Christmas and are so grateful for the two cutest girls in the world and our loving Savior whose birth we celebrated!
