Olympic skier Bode Miller is remembering his late daughter this holiday season by way of a very special, personalized Christmas gift.
On Friday, Miller, 41, shared an Instagram photo of himself on the slopes posing with a pair of skis adorned with photos of daughter Emeline "Emmy" Miller. The 19-month-old died tragically in June when she fell into a neighbor's pool and drowned.
“My favorite Christmas present,” Miller captioned the photo, taken at the Yellowstone Club in Montana. “Taking my baby girl skiing today.”
This year marked his and wife Morgan's first Christmas without their beloved Emmy. Earlier this week, Morgan, 31, posted a heartbreaking tribute of her own. She shared a series of family portraits, including one of the couple posing with their children and holding a framed photo of the child they lost.
"Merry Christmas to our baby girl in heaven,'' she captioned the post in part.
Morgan went on to share deeply personal remarks about her year "full of overwhelming sadness and overwhelming joy."
Not long after Emmy’s shocking death, the Millers welcomed a new baby son, Easton Vaughn Rek Miller. Morgan, a professional beach volleyball player, was five months pregnant with Easton, who was born in October, when she suffered the unthinkable pain of losing her daughter.
"We have spent half of the year mourning and attempting to heal the loss of our angel," Morgan also wrote, "which feels like an impossible battle all while celebrating the birth of our son. Seeking normalcy for our children has been our driving force forward."
As they remember Emmy, the Miller family has worked to raise awareness about water safety for young children.
The family portraits that Morgan shared feature the couple's two children, son Nash, 3, and baby Easton, as well as Bode's daughter, Neesyn, 10, and son Sam, 5, from previous relationships. The love of their children has helped the parents heal.
"When they talk about her and share stories, they always have a smile on their face,” Morgan told TODAY in July. “It allows us to bring our focus back to the things we still have to be incredibly grateful for."
