Spring is here!

We have been spending a lot of time outside lately! The sun has been out sporadically, and we've really been enjoying it. Our new backyard is a real treat for the dog, and also for us humans.

On another note, I'd like to announce that I'm pregnant to those of you who don't know yet. I'm due October 29th, and the whole family is very excited (or at least Ramona thinks she is excited!). I'll keep everyone updated on how my pregnancy is coming along. Happy Spring!

More cute pictures

1. Ramona's favorite ABC page in an old nursery rhyme book. Her favorite letter is z.
2. Ramona doing the puzzle on her stool. Thanks Rosoffs!
3. Ramona with a ponytail at Tutu and Bob's house.
4. Ramona with her tutu on, playing outside. Thanks Annie and Dana!

random cute pictures

1. Brushing her teeth in a tutu and her bathrobe in her playroom. Good times.
2. Feeding her bear string cheese in the kitchen.
3. Wearing knitted gear from Grandma Horn.
4. Gymnastics. That kid likes herself!
5. Blowing bubbles in the backyard with Grandma Fenton.

NYC/NJ

Ten of our favorite NYC/NJ memories:

1. Hanging out in the kitchen with Mat, Kris and Bernadette (and Cajun, of course!)
2. Hanging out in the park in Greenwich village. Ramona was a big fan of the slides in NYC.
3. Eating at Cafe Habana. Thanks for the suggestion Dana, the corn was fantastic.
4. Meeting up with Britton for lunch at Riverside Park. Nice work on the black and white cookie!
5. Eating at Belmont tavern. Thanks to Kristen's dad for the suggestion on where we could find real Jersey Italian food. That was real. http://www.zagat.com/Verticals/PropertyDetails.aspx?VID=8&R=42532
6. Watching "Planet Earth" on Mat and Kris' gigantic tv. Fantastic.
7. Seeing Katie again, and hearing about her interesting job.
8. Just walking around NYC for hours, while Ramona slept.
9. Coal oven pizza. Yum. Oh, and bagels, Kris' Fra Diavelo, Mat's stew, Tick Tock diner breakfast, pastries from Tick Tock diner, etc.......We may have gained some weight on this trip!
10. Surviving a trip with a toddler. We may be exhausted, but we survived.

Oh, and Justin wants to add that riding Mat's Solex was a highlight for him as well. Now he won't stop talking about getting one again. Damn you Mat.

Claire

ridge romp

We went to a little kids concert in the neighborhood over the weekend. Ramona had some good ol' cautious fun.

Zoo! Zoo! More!

Ramona loves the zoo. As you can tell from the pictures, sometimes Ramona isn't very good at showing she is having a good time. It was a cold day, and she was pretty unhappy, but she was NOT going to let us leave the zoo. Every time we would move on from an animal, she would say "more, more!!", and do the sign for more. If we even talked about going home, her scowl would get bigger. My mom took these excellent pictures of the animals, and Ramona also loves the pictures. She loves to say "jaguar" and "lion, roar". Her favorites are the gorillas, but they also scare her a little bit. I think that the way that they kind of interact with the humans freaks her out a little. This time, they were very playful. One of them was trying to get another to play with her, and she threw hay in the air, threw toys at the other gorilla, and finally pounded on the glass. That scared all of us, especially since my mom was trying to take a close up picture at the time. I also really love going to the zoo, and I can tell we will be going all the time this summer. Just let me know if you're going......chances are, we'll want to join you!

winter crafts

It snowed again the other day. We're all kind of over snow here, definitely ready for spring. So, we decided to do some fun winter crafts. We made a little snowman, Ramona really likes him. He is now in our freezer, and we take a look at him every once in awhile. Ramona gets a little sad when I have to close the freezer door.....but it is for his own survival.

We also made a winter sun catcher, which was our friend Angela's idea. It wasn't quite cold enough for it to stay around long, but we all got to look at it, and take some pictures for the blog.

It has been warming up here, and we are all looking forward to summer activities. Going to the park, the zoo, swimming, and hiking. I'm currently on the hunt for some play equipment for the backyard. Come on sun!