Ramona in Hawaii

Ramona got a heat rash on her first day, so as you can see from the above picture she stayed inside a little bit more than the others on her first few days. Luckily, the benedryl helped her have great naps, so she was in high spirits the whole trip. She never touched the water, but got very involved in playing with the sand (which she at first avoided, opting for sitting on the grass drinking juice). Though we had a great time, we think Ramona is made for trips to places without sun, sand or water. Ramona had a fun trip up to Haleakela with Justin, Tom and Ainsley, where they almost saw the sunrise. She also had a great time playing games with Ainsely such as "mommy and baby" and "going to Seattle".

Ruby in Hawaii

She didn't love the water, but she loved being around all of the kids. We saw a lot of smiles in Hawaii, so perhaps the warm weather agreed with her, or maybe it was just all of the attention she got. She came home with an ear infection, but all in all it was a successful first trip to Hawaii. Isn't she cute in her suit?

Great things that happened this year

Hopefully I won't be posting the "crappy things I did this year" blog after this one. Here is my list:

1. We had a baby. We like her.
2. Had a fantastic 2-year old birthday party for Ramona. Two. Woah.
3. Went on a rainy but fantastic group camping trip at Rainer. Pregnant. Next year will be better, but I loved starting the tradition.
4. Didn't gain as much weight this pregnancy. Fantastic.
5. Visited our friends in NYC. This was a tiring trip with an almost 2-year old. But it was great (I guess thats obvious, since its on my "great things I did this year" blog.)
6. We spent a week at the beach cabin, and it just happened to be the week of the heat wave. Ramona spent the whole week naked, though that might be because I forgot her suit.
7. I became a full-fledged stay at home mom. And I still haven't lost my mind.
8. Ramona started her spanish immersion preschool. I love that school. For many reasons.
9. A bunch of our friends got engaged, got married, and had babies. And we like all of them (the babies and the partners).
10. Justin did not lose his job.
11. I turned 30, and I'm still younger than my husband.
12. We went to Forks with a few friends and chased vampires. Ok, we didn't chase vampires, but Ramona did enjoy the beach, and walking through the Hoh Rainforest.

I know there must be more than this.....so expect that I will add things as my friends with better memories than mine remind me of other great things.

Christmas day

Ramona had a ton of fun, and is still asking about when Santa is coming again. Happy holidays!

"See you next Tuesday" playgroup

Our Tuesday playgroup has been meeting for almost 2.5 years! We celebrated with a cookie decorating party today, but we were missing Erin and Leif. Hopefully next year we can find a time when we all can be there. What a great group of kids!

The countdown to Christmas

Check out the pictures!

http://www.laurenhartman.blogspot.com/

So cute!