although Grammy and i had brought you to Disney world before, you were only a wee bitty girl of one and one half years old… so you remembered nothing about flying or Disney.

you were very excited…  here’s a photo of you at the Manchester airport by the big moose before we left:

On the Southwest airplane, you kept busy during the three hour flight. Some of the funny things you said included:

(still on runway) “Are we up in the air?”

(during the flight) “I can’t hear my voice.”

Once we arrived in Florida, we  got our rental cars and eventually made it to the Wilderness Lodge, our hotel.

At night we all got on a boat and headed to the Magic Kingdom for dinner on Mainstreet USA at Tony’s italian restaurant.

We got lucky that night while waiting for our table… there was a signing with three princesses!  you grabbed your autograph book and met them:

Wow, Emma….  you read the entire book Green Eggs and Ham to Grammy tonight while we stayed with you at your house.

Once in awhile you hesitated and Grammy helped you, but for 90% of the story, you knew the words and read them very well indeed.  You sat on her lap and didn’t give up until you had finished the last word.

I hadn’t heard you tackle an entire book like that… it was a thrill, and I was so proud.

My favorite part (besides hearing you read so well) was what you said to Grammy before you started.

“Grammy I want to read you Green Eggs and Ham tonight because it’s your favorite book.”

It was a very special moment for her, one I’m sure she’ll never forget.

You’re  a gymnastics girl!

Grammy and I went to see you do your thing in Dover over the course of an hour and a half.  It was your second class.

You started out strong… running around with your group… a smile on your face..

After that, everyone picked up pieces of paper and threw them over a vinyl pad “wall.”  You had to jump high to get the paper over.  You did great.

Then you joined everyone in a straight line on the mat, moving and stretching in all kinds of impossible positions I have never been able to do one day in my life. Your Grammy?  Yeah, she could do that stuff.  But not me. Ever.

So I am very impressed my young friend, very impressed.

You had a brief tough spell when one of the gymnastics teachers tried to get you to do things a certain way.  She grabbed your legs and moved them… her style was different from the coach you liked the previous week… a little gruffer perhaps.  I think you might have been embarrassed because people were there…. maybe you felt they were watching you specifically. It might have been because Grammy & I were there.  Who knows.

You sat out for a little while, watching the other kids, sitting on the edge of the mat, fighting whatever little demons confront amazing six year old girls. You didn’t go home, you hung in there. You shook it off.

Soon another coach came over and worked with you in a more personal way. She brought you to the trampoline area, then onto the balance beam.

You beamed on the beam.  You loved it… walking confidently with your head held high.  You’re the perfect shape for gymnastics…long and slender, with a great sense of balance.  This served you well.

A few years ago, the vision of you on ANY balance beam in ANY gymnastics class would have been a pipe dream.  So this was yet another amazing moment.

When the going gets tough, or emotional, keep on going.  Push through it. Don’t give up.  Believe in yourself.  Remember what you did today on your second day of gymnastics, with girls you didn’t know, with strange people watching you doing things you had never, ever done.

Emma, I’ve never been prouder of you.

I was messing around with the giant building blocks on your family room floor, going for maximum height.   How high could I go before the whole pile collapsed?  That’s what I was thinking.

Observing my project, you soon joined in and started building with me. You are instantly sucked into any kind of crafty artsy endeavor.

Our skyscraper began taking on a new shape as our imaginations intertwined.

“Hey, what if we add a block there? That looks like an ear.”

“These purple things could be arms.”

“This phone could be eyes if we flipped it around.”

Tape was introduced as we re-imagined the project… watching what was formerly a skyscraper in-the-making … morphing into a… person/creature.

“Let’s put those blue things on the bottom for feet.”  This was the hardest part…the upper blocks kept falling down… but I held on and you taped like crazy… soon our perseverance paid off.

“He needs a hat.”

You loved doing the taping.

After awhile, our creation was A-L-I-V-E…

“It’s a Robot,” you exclaimed.

Indeed it was.

We never took it apart… you were so pleased the Robot became a permanent fixture in your room, positioned on your window seat.

That was fun… but I guess I need to buy you some new blocks…

With your new house situated in Dover proper vs. the outskirts, you, Molly and I left Arch Street behind and hoofed it to the Woodman Institute Museum. It was a leisurely walk that lasted maybe 10 minutes.

You had never been.

On our way we noticed all kinds of cool things… a bubbling fountain in a front yard, a mysterious tunnel far below an overpass and old posts where horses used to be hitched.

Arriving at the museum, we entered and placed our jackets on the ancient wooden coat hanger with fancy feet.  Then we entered the Lincoln room featuring artifacts of President Abraham Lincoln’s visit to Dover, including a saddle he sat on during a parade in his honor and newspaper clippings from that moment in time.

You were intrigued with an old wooden school desk and used my camera to capture it:

Rounding the corner, we came face to face with a 10-foot polar bear!  Molly wasn’t sure what to make of it, but you loved it.  Here’s a photo of you guys on the staircase:

Upstairs were hundreds of once-alive and now preserved animals – you were fascinated. “Are they real Papa?” you asked on several occasions. That was a hard question to answer Emma!  Yes they are real, but they are no longer alive…a weird concept to explain to a six year old. 

You were fascinated with the “creepy doll room” (something Ben told me later on that he had heard from his teacher).  You took photos here too:

Finished with the museum, a tall man then escorted us to see the old Garrison House located in back of the property. The oldest building in the city, it was originally located in the general vicinity of Grammy and Papa’s house on Back Road. You noticed the slits on the outside walls where guns once protruded to fire upon raiding Indians who attacked the garrison. Inside, the man explained to us how the two fireplaces kept people warm. Everyone had jobs to do, including the children.  Your eyes were wide as you listened to his stories.

Once the tour was over, we posed for pictures along the giant gristmill once used to grind wheat.  We hung out by the big black cannon. You gathered giant leaves.

Molly was tired much earlier than you – she was getting ancy inside the museum as soon as we hit the second floor where the animals were.  But you had zip and curiosity to spare.

Sometimes you don’t have to go very far to experience adventure. It’s all around us, each and every day. Seek it out Emma, throughout your life. You’ll never regret taking risks and stepping into the unknown… sometimes that’s when we learn the best lessons of all.

Not so very long ago, you were too shy to smile.

I’d try to take a picture, but you battled back, often refusing to participate.  You’d be the one grandchild not in the picture.

Or your Dad would hold you horizontally and “fly you” into the picture from the side.  Needless to say a severe scowl or ear piercing cry would follow this painful procedure.

When you were three, you let the My School photographer take your picture, but you definitely did not enjoy it.  The expression on your face said “I despise everything about this.”

When you were four, you lined up for your school picture but when you got to the front of the line and it was your turn, you somehow snuck to the back. You did this enough times that your photo was never taken… and no one evidently noticed.  Except your Mom when she didn’t get a school picture.

I learned this story from you last year… you told it to me with a mixture of pure matter-of-factness and possible pride… I couldn’t tell which!  You were revealing and sharing a trick of the bashful trade.

And so with this backdrop, it is with great pleasure I share favorite Emma photos from the past year.  Here’s to the girl who found her voice, confidence and smile.

We heard the car door slam outside.  Quick footsteps and excited chatter followed.

You were the first Clickman to enter our kitchen late Christmas morning, and you weren’t messing around.   You immediately gave us the imaginative present you had so thoughtfully made. You couldn’t wait!

I was taken aback at first glance because it was so instantly captivating, unique and colorful. It  was something that might have been conceived and created by a much older child…. IF they were blessed with your talent…

You crafted your psychedelic submarine out of Model Magic.

I love the way the colors blend together but each stands alone.  I love the driver and squiggly green antennas.

It’s a psychedelic vehicle of creativity and love from our magical little artist.

I hope it stays intact a long time and never fades away, like our love for you.

Merry Christmas Emma!