Party Girl
6 Little Monkeys
9 months + 12 days of pregnancy, 47 hours of drug-free labor, and 365 days have brought us to the very special occasion of Robin’s 1st birthday! We celebrated on Friday with a trip to the park, one of R’s favorite meals of split peas and rice, and presents from the family. On Saturday we had a party with our Denver friends and the neighbor girls joined us along with Elsa’s dad, Don. The party was decorated with all things ‘Spring’ with gardenburgers and mac and cheese featured at dinner and lemon poppyseed cake with cream cheese frosting for dessert. We were hoping for some outdoor playtime for the kids but it was a rare cloudy afternoon here and everyone stayed indoors or on the back deck. Robin had a vanilla cupcake for dessert and did not hesitate to dig right in! She immediately ate a handful of frosting and enjoyed the cupcake until it fell on the floor, at which point we decided she was done. We had so much fun celebrating with friends in honor of R’s first birthday. Hard to believe a year has gone by – I wouldn’t want to imagine life without our Robin!
For the complete set of photos, click here.
I didn’t even bother narrowing down the photos this time, they’re all too precious.
The cake-eating video:
Robin at 12 Months
Happy 1st Birthday, Ro Ro!!! Robin has gone through a lot of changes this past month. She now has 6 teeth and has started walking! She’s still a dedicated crawler but will take 4 or 5 steps before she scrambles back to the floor because it is her fastest method of transportation (that or pushing around the wheely bug, which she will do all day long). Robin continues to surprise us with the range of foods she eats (anything and everything we eat, few modifications). Her favorite food to date was Spring vegetable risotto, which I slaved over the stove for an hour and a half to make. She has great taste! When food requires a spoon Robin feeds herself now – she hands the spoon to me, I scoop up the food and hand it back to her and she puts it in her mouth (over and over and over…). She has not picked up many new words but uses sign language more often and is extremely expressive. She loves chasing after Roary and standing in the learning tower while I make dinner and feed her small bits of food. It’s still so hard to believe that a year has gone by – looking forward to what R’s second year will bring!
Weight: 23 pounds, 15-1/2 oz (90th percentile)
Length: 29-1/2″ (65th percentile)
Head Circumference: 46.5 cm (75th percentile)
Here are some videos from birthday morning:
I can’t stop watching this ‘short-but-sweet’ video of Lilly riding her tricycle. She asked me to share it with everyone, so I’m just doing as I was told. Enjoy!
http://www.flickr.com/photos/billandkristy/6956967746/
I welcomed another year on Saturday with endless blue skies and lots of family time. It was somewhat bittersweet as my 30th year was also the best and most exciting year on record and I couldn’t help but think of my last birthday when we were waiting so anxiously for Robin to arrive (already 6 days overdue at the time), but we certainly have much to look forward to and be thankful for this next year. I started the day off with a tough 4-mile trail run and took Robin for a walk around the lake while Bill and Lilly went to swim class. We had lunch on the porch and the girls took a long afternoon nap while I read a book outside – a very rare treat! In the afternoon we went for a short hike and had a great dinner and red velvet cake for dessert. Happy Birthday to Me! 🙂
For the complete set of photos, click here.
Snuggling with Grandma
It was wonderful to have my parents here to help out and spend time with us again! They arrived on Tuesday in time to see Todd before he left town and stayed for a full week. It was their first time in our house since we moved in and they came prepared to work. The second day they were here my Dad headed to the hardware store to stock up on supplies and upgrades for our home. In the time they spent here they (with some guidance and minimal help) re-organized the garage, girls closets and drawers, and kitchen cabinets, cleaned the house, took the protective fence in the backyard down, seeded and watered 2x a day for grass, mowed the lawn 2x, replaced light bulbs and light fixtures, hung mirrors and bathroom cabinet, cut, primed, and installed vertical supports for the deck railing, sprayed the house perimeter for spiders and ants, pulled and sprayed for weeds and dandelions, and much much more, not to mention the fact that they watched the girls for 3 days while we were in DC for the wedding. Aside from the house improvements and babysitting, we miss their company already. They also stayed just in time to witness Robin’s first steps – she took steps one and two a few days ago and a fearless 6 steps after dinner on Monday. Hooray for parents and grandparents!!!
Robin has been standing up for accouple weeks now but just this past week she took her first ‘step’. Then this evening after dinner she stood up and took 6 steps on her own! Of course we were watching closely so we did not get a video or photo but the above photo was taken just moments after. Robin was clapping and bouncing and knew that something exciting just happened, even if the whole walking thing didn’t seem to phase her in the least. Whether we’ll see 6 steps again tomorrow or in 2 months, I don’t know, but walking is on the horizon!
We just returned from a wonderful weekend in DC to celebrate Ryan (Bill’s cousin) and Bethany’s wedding! We flew in on Friday just in time for the rehearsal dinner and rested up for the 9:30am Saturday wedding in Arlington, VA. Judy, Bill, Peggy, Mick, and of course MarySue and family were all in town for the wedding and it was wonderful to see everyone again. The ceremony was followed by a waffle and cupcake brunch, after which we returned to the hotel to rest up for the afternoon. Later in the day we spent more time with Judy and Bill and then had a fantastic authentic Japanese/vegetarian meal at Devon and Yasue’s house (and we got to meet Len for the first time – adorable beyond words!). Sunday morning we had an early breakfast with Lisa, who has promised she will visit us in Boulder this Summer (!!), before heading home. It was so nice to see family and friends and have some time to relax together. Congratulations, Ryan and Bethany!
For the complete set of photos, click here.
Uncle Todd came to town for a visit while his school was on Spring Break. We were sooo happy to spend time with him and had a great time showing him around Boulder. We were looking forward to hosting Todd’s girlfriend Jessica as well, but unfortunately family circumstances required that she head home to Chicago for the break. Todd and Jessica will be leaving in July for a two year teaching position at the Shanghai American School, among the most prestigious international schools in the world (middle school drama). We are so excited for him (sad for us) and hope to visit them while they are abroad. Thank goodness for Skype!
My parent’s arrived on his last night so we could spend time together and have an April Birthdays celebration, complete with delicious Indian food and a vegan chocolate stout cake from our local bakery. Delish!
Lilly loves her Uncle Todd. Here is a video of the two having some fun at the playground on Easter:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/billandkristy/6911303056/
This Easter was extra special for three reasons: it was our first in our new home, Robin’s first (since she was born so late), and Uncle Todd was in town for a visit. Lilly celebrated a bit at school with an Easter egg hunt and special art projects and we attended the community Easter egg hunt on Saturday.  We started things off Sunday morning with a pasta and candy trail that led to the girls’ Easter baskets (provided by Nana and Grandma, we saw no need to add to them 🙂 ). Lilly had a blast opening her gifts and Todd made us a nice brunch. In the afternoon we went on an Easter egg hike by NCAR. I wore the Ergo carrier but instead of carrying Robin I carried a bag full of Easter eggs (stuffed with granola, M & Ms, and small toys) that I dropped off slowly along the way. Lilly had a blast escorting Uncle Todd along and hunting for the eggs. She walked the entire way and was absolutely exhausted by the time we got back to the car. Happy Easter to all!
To view the complete set of photos, click here.
Lilly had her first day at her new preschool today! She will be attending Sunflower Preschool on M/W/F from 8:30-12:30. She visited with me several weeks ago and we have been talking a lot about it, so this morning when she woke up she immediately wanted to put on her clothes and go play (it was not easy getting her to wait until 8:20!). Robin and I took her in to show her around and make her feel comfortable but she immediately took to one of the teachers, Sunny, who lead her in an art project, so we didn’t stay long. When I picked her up she was all smiles and we got an excellent report from the teachers!
I spent part of the morning missing Lilly but when Robin woke up I took her on a run to the corner hardware store (less than a mile one way) and back, then a walk around Viele Lake. I saw about 30 moms running or walking with kids in strollers during our trip. We walked to the corner for yogurt later in the afternoon, this time with Lilly of course. A great day for all, including daddy, who was home in time for dinner!
Recent Comments