The Birkeland Family Blog

Here we are still in Panama. We have had many new adventures in this crazy city. We have walked...or should I say we have 4 wheeled Emmi in her stroller all over the pueblo. We have gone to the biggest shopping center in Panama City and somehow we ended up eating at Tony Roma's. It was Brian's choice that day, and I didn't argue since there was a complete toy zone for Emmi to play in. Maybe just once we could really enjoy our food. We promised each other we wouldn't tell anyone we ate there, but here I am spilling the beans. Shhh don't tell Brian. Yesterday we went to church. We took a taxi to the church which ended up being literally up the street. Woops!! Brian and I seem to be the worst at reading maps. We always have to make at least 2 wrong turns before we manage to get to our destination. Do you think we could still be the winners on Amazing Race? We walked into the church and immediately Emmi was taken from me and we didn't see her u...

After some long travels we finally made it to Panama. We now can sit back, relax and enjoy ourselves. The weather is warm and humid, the food has been ok, and the views are spectacular. It has been hard getting around not speaking much Spanish but we have received tons of attention because of Emmi. Here is a picture of all of us at a residential development that we are involved in just an hour out of Panama City. The terrain is absolutely gorgeous. We went to the historical downtown of Panama City and was able to capture some cool shots.

Get on the plane... Emmi is crying.... start pulling out books, toys, snacks, and everything possible to stop her crying... finally hook her to the boob... asleep at last.... cursing the captain with his loud schpeels about the elevation, weather, etc. trying to use hand gestures to the flight attendant that I don't want a freaking drink... Emmi awake after 30 minutes in the air.... get scolded by flight attendant for letting Emmi walk in the isles... I tell it's either happy child or crying child.... she didn't care... Houston at last.... hungry and tired we get to the food court for a "real meal"... No highchairs.. Emmi won't stay in her stroller... Give her some chicken and she chokes.... I start pounding her back...she starts gagging....and... she throws up all over the table. LOVELY!! Back on the plane to Panama City... 4 hour flight... hook Emmi back to the boob to knock her out... asleep... YES!! Sit on the runway for 40 minutes... Emmi wakes up afte...

Polka dots and little black spots..... thats what ladybugs are made of.... Our little baby became a lady on April 30th 2008. What a fun day!! We decided on a ladybug theme because for the first year of Emmi's life she has been obsessed with ladybugs. A smile will always come to her face when she sees a ladybug. I spent the entire day with Aunt Kelley decorating the ladybug cake. Wow did it turn out absolutely adorable. I can say I was proud of myself. We ate good food, which I tried to keep in the black, red, white theme, and then the kids played pin the dot on the ladybug. How cute! We then sang Happy Birthday to Emmi and she got this worried look on her face and she began to cry. Uh oh!! She didn't get that the ladybug was edible until we all poked the cake and let her know she could play in it and eat it. It took only a few minutes until she was completely wearing the cake. What a fun day for her. A day we will always remember. She had a blast with all the new toys ...

NEED I SAY MORE!!!!

Emmi saying cheese as she shows off her easter basket full of books and fun little toys. The littly ladybug was a hit. So were all the books. Emmi finding her orange easter eggs. Daddy was there to help her gather them all up!! What do you think happens when 9 kids get together all under the age of 5? Pure craziness. But no worries we all had a blast. The kids loved to run around Grandma Birkeland's back yard finding their color of egg. Communist hunt if you ask Uncle Brett. Emmi's color was orange. She just loved trying to walk and spot all the colored eggs on the grass and in the trees. What a fun day to celebrate life. A day to reflect on our Saviors life and the suffering He did so that we could live with our families FOREVER!! What a blessing!

9:00 am at Evergreen Park hundreds of kids lined up to hear 5-4-3-2-1 GO!! If you weren't there on time you would have missed it because the eggs were gathered in probably 1 minute. How fun was it to see all these kids dashing around picking up all the eggs off the ground. No, they are not hidden.....just spread across the ground. Hence, 1 minute. But, the kids loved it. Emmi just watched her cousins and all the other kids gather the eggs. As soon as they announced GO!! Isabelle and Melanie suddenly got scared, so Kelley had to take them out and gather a couple of eggs with them. It was cute. Emmi was a little popsicle by the end of the hunt. Her hands were swollen and red. Boy was she ready to go home. Eric and Kelley gave us a ride home so we didn't have to brave the walk in the freezing cold.