ONE rainy day

Ramona turned one on Sunday! I can't believe it. Our one and only gift to her was that we turned her carseat around so that she actually got to look out the window during car rides. She also seems to get jollies from looking at the back of our heads. Maybe she feels she is being sneaky.

At noon we had a birthday party for her at Woodland Park. Unfortunately, at about 12:15.....it started POURING rain. All of our guests rallied, and we moved everything to the covered area.....and the party was saved. We might have had 60 people crammed under a small shelter, but we partied nevertheless.

Courtney had two wonderful contributions to the party. #1 were the amazingly hilarious buttons she made with her boyfriend to honor Ramona. Everyone at the party got a button with her face on it, with appropriate and some not so appropriate tag lines. #2 She also made Ramona's cake, which was the cutest thing ever. Ramona wasn't so sure about digging in to her own cake, so I had to cut a slice for her.....she is much more dignified than I would have been.

We had a great time, and we appreciate all of our friends who came, and enjoyed themselves......even if they did it in the rain. It was so good to see everyone and to see all the kids together.

We are now enjoying some of the marvelous gifts we got from friends and family.....I have to say having new toys is as much of a thrill to me as it is to her. She is playing with new instruments, reading new books (yes, of course she can read!), snuggling with new stuffed creatures, doing new puzzles, and wearing new clothes. What a lucky, lucky girl.

Almost 1

Its a good thing this blog post is the day before Ramona's first birthday, because I have the excuse to use pictures of Ramona when she was itsy bitsy because I'm celebrating her first year and remembering her way back when. In actuality, I've been working the last two weeks while in the process of selling our house and purchasing another one, so I haven't taken any pictures since the last blog.

Looking at these pictures I can hardly believe she is the same kid as this little baby (ok, 9 lbs 3 oz is hardly little, but its all we know!). I'm really looking forward to Ramona's first birthday party tomorrow. Its supposed to rain, and the party is going to be outside, so we'll see how it goes......but I'm still looking forward to it.

The last two weeks Ramona has spent a lot of time with Grandma Horn, and Grandma Fenton even visited my mom for a few days, so they both got to spend quite a bit of time together. My mom did a good job of doing some water play, and Ramona has taken strides in overcoming her fear of the stuff. She likes to sit on the counter and put her feet in the sink filled with water......she even kicks the water around. I'm so proud. Its no swimming lessons, but I'm sure that will be on the horizon.

I'll do another blog with pictures from the party......

More pictures!

Weddings, birthdays and babies

Wow, this has been an exciting week! It started on Friday when the Fenton family took the ferry over to Vashon Island for Dana's wedding. We spent two nights there, setting up the wedding, rehearsing, celebrating and having a great time. We actually spent those two nights in a teepee, yes I said teepee. It had horses on it, and it kind of smelled like mildew......but it was still pretty awesome. The wedding was beautiful, Dana and Brian are the most amazing couple and it really was a wedding to remember. I also got to see my friend Alexis again who has a baby (Eli) who is two weeks younger than Ramona.

After we got back from the wedding we picked up Max from my parents' house and were getting ready to go on our next trip camping at Mt. Rainier. As we were packing up the car we got a call from the Mapps. They welcomed baby Beatrice in the morning of August 4th, 2008 at 8 lbs 8 oz (almost as big as Ramona!). We went and visited the little four hour old baby, and she was beautiful! She was big, healthy and gorgeous. We got to hold her, Ramona did a lot of pointing at her, and we left them to relax in their room.

After our baby visit, we headed out with the Howells for Mt. Rainier. We camped in the State Park, surrounded by amazing sites. We went on some small hikes (since we had the babies and an illegal dog). The next day was my birthday and the Howells cooked us blueberry pancakes that were the most delicious pancakes that I've ever tasted. Justin gave me my birthday present which was a new lens for my camera that zooms in from crazy distances. It would also be helpful for spying on people, but I have yet to use it for that purpose. The timing of the gift was perfect, because I took a TON of pictures that day. We went on another small hike with the Howells, and then sent them on their way back to Seattle. We stayed another day, where we swam in a glacier lake, and drove up to Paradise. We had a great birthday dinner at the Paradise restaurant which is some kind of hybrid between fancy restaurant, a place old people like to eat, and a place where you pay at the register. We had fun........Ramona charmed our neighbors (who were of course old), and it was a great end to my birthday.

The next day we drove back and I have to say I'm glad to be back home.......but the adventures we had were fantastic. I'm so excited to do family vacations every year. We still have one more trip planned......to Boulder, CO for another wedding. For the time being, we're trying to get our life back to normal.