New Orleans - September 2009

We just got home from a wonderful trip to New Orleans. It was the first time in a very long time that both Jen and I and Jon and Emily were in the same place. And cousin Eric was there too. Last, but not least, Grandma Janet and Grandpa Dean were there too.

There are many adventures to describe, but a list seems just as appropriate:

Friday -
Checking into the Iberville Suites
Dinner at Angeli on Decatur (wonderful pizza and calzone)

Saturday -
Letterbox in Lafayette Cemetary
Dante's Kitchen for lunch/brunch (took the street car)
Deanie's for dinner

Sunday -
Wandering around Jackson Square
Court of Two Sisters for Brunch

Monday -
Beignets at Cafe du Monde
Lunch at The Gumbo Shop

And the whole crew (minus Nicole who was taking the photos):

Things I Can Do - Dip

Ripley will be 16 months later this week (right about the time we are in New Orleans!) and she is learning a ton every day. Her most recent food obsession is "dipping". It was not anything we actually taught her. She just sort of watched us and starting doing it. And now she wants to do it all the time. This is a video I captured of her in action. She has been pretty meticulous up to this point, but as you will see, she couldn't contain her love of ketchup. There is a quick cut away, as I have to grab some sticky little fingers.

She also likes to mop up the syrup on her plate when she is eating her mini-waffles. Again, not anything we taught her to do. And I have a feeling that this is only the beginning of the things she does that we haven't taught her.

Labor Day Weekend 2009 - Fair, Fountain and Storyville

It's been a busy Labor Day weekend so far. A few updates.

First, on Saturday, we went to the Maryland State Fair 2009. If you are interested in comparing them to 2008, you can find that post here. She did not get to sample funnel cake (none of us ordered it), but Aunt Fiona did share her peach sundae, which was a big hit.

Ripley also seemed to love the chicks the most, although all of the animals captured her attention. Note how different she looks with the tractor this year. And that she has slight more hair.

Also on Saturday, we checked out the new fountain down at the inner harbor. While she didn't go full on into the water, she had a great time just running around. Every hour, it is choreographed, just like the Bellagio fountain in Las Vegas. Well, except this is Baltimore.

And finally, today (Sunday), we went to Storyville. It is an amazing place for kids at one of the local libraries. It is hard to describe, but it is basically an indoor play area with different areas - store, post office, house, construction zone. She had a fabulous time, and I think we'll be going back. My favorite part was when she took one of the blankets and put it into the play washing machine. She'll be helping with laundry before we know it. Chad liked when she decided to mix it up with the bay noises (video). He believes she has a future as a DJ.

Things I Can Do - Open Doors

A way-too-short trip to DC to see Grandma Janet

Grandma Janet and Grandpa Dean were in DC this week for a conference so Ripley and I went down on Monday (8/31) to visit. We decided it was time to go to the National Zoo. We had an excellent time, although I think the children's zoo area in Baltimore might have been more fun. In Baltimore, she got to pet (and chase) a goat; there may have been more animals in the DC children's area, but they were not set up to pet when we were there.

I think our favorite animals might have been the prairie dogs, the sea lions (who we go to see getting fed) and the cow.

The First (of many?) Weekends with Grammy and Pa Pa

I wish I could tell you that I had pictures, but there was an error with our memory card, and I think I might have lost several photos from the past weekend (most from the wedding - sigh). So this will just be a wordy update on Ripley's first weekend away from her parents and with her Jersey grandparents.

This past weekend (8/28-8/30), I had the privilege of marrying two of my good friend, James and Mare. The wedding was in NYC - Battery Garden, and there was a weekend full of events. As much as I think Ripley would have enjoyed herself, we decided this was the time for a weekend with Grammy and Pa Pa in Jersey. From what we can tell, she had a fabulous time, despite a pretty rainy weekend. And Vivienne and Chuck, while looking a bit tired when we arrived back on Sunday (we left her on Friday at noon), seemed to also have had a good time. We hope this is the start of many weekend with her grandparents. And if there is any other family out there who wants to give an overnight a shot, just let us know.

This little girl of ours is already such a personality and presence. I don't think I've written about this before because I am usually busy sharing things we've done and places we've gone, but if you haven't figured it out, Ripley is pretty darn fearless. While I worry sometimes about how far she is willing to wander off before _I_ can't stand it anymore and follow her, I would much rather have this extrovert of a child than a shrinking violet. And I don't think we have to worry about her being a shrinking violet.

She started her new daycare about 3 weeks ago, and she is already the rock star of the place. Everyone knows who she is (and this daycare is bigger than the last). She has an infectious smile and blows kisses at everyone and will stare you down with her big blue eyes with the long long eyelashes. There are mornings when she does get upset when I leave, but most of the time, she wanders off to her friends and looks back at me and smiles and then gets back to her playing and babbling.

I wish I knew how she had become the little person she is, and I have no doubt that Chad and I have something to do with it, but she is well on her way to being an independent Wilson woman, which is a tough road sometimes, but I don't think her Aunt Jenny or I would have it any other way. We've known from the start that she was a tough girl; not every child could come out of NICU having been poked in her foot to draw blood every 3 hours for 6 days with such a sunny personality, but she did. Not every child could get hit in the head with a door (as she did tonight when we were out to dinner) and just say "uh-oh" and continue on her merry way. But Miss Ripley Annabel Wilson can and does. She is a force to be reckoned with; she is my daughter; and she is the ultimate joy.