Trip to Michigan - March 12-14, 2010

We don't have many photos from this recent visit to Detroit, but here's one of Little Miss Ripley with her fast-friend Jimmy Brisson. On Friday, we had the pleasure of staying with Ripley's godmother, Katie and her family: husband Gerry; son, Jimmy; and daughter, Ruthie. The kids had such a fun time playing, while the adults caught up and munched on yummy Thai food. We love that we get to see them, and hopefully next time, the "big" kids, Lexie and Nate, will be home, too.

On Saturday and Sunday, we spent time in Dearborn with the McCartan clan. Aunt Maura was visiting from Ireland. This could be anyone sitting with Ripley, but trust me, it's Aunt Maura. Ripley had fun blowing bubbles with Mimi, giving Aunt Helen hugs, and saying Happy Birthday to Granny Maura. We even got to see Uncle Mike after his St. Patty's Day run. Our trips are never quite long enough, but we love every minute of the time we spend with family.

Ripley was great on the plane both ways, even though she seemed to have scared off the rest of the passengers. On both flights we were told every seat would be taken, but the window seat next to us was left empty both on the way out and back. Who wouldn't want to sit next to Ripley? It worked in our favor, though, as we had extra space both ways. As we waited to disembark in Baltimore, she started waving her hands in the "all done" motion, and said "All done people" and "Go, people, go." A girl who knows what she wants.

My Time with Mimi and PaPa - February 19 - 22

Thanks to Mimi, the following is a record of my time while Mommy and Daddy were in Las Vegas (where they celebrated Mommy's birthday and got ENGAGED).

Friday - February 19th, 2010

I woke up at 7:00 AM (or so PaPa says!). I called for Momma/Daddy but it was OK that PaPa/Mimi were there. Mimi started practicing how to say "Happy Birthday Mommy!" while I was getting dressed. What is a "Happy Birthday" anyways? Must be a good thing because everyone smiles when I say it. I ate "gogurt, booberries, waffle, and juice" for breakfast. Since this is my journal, it's OK to tell that I pooped before I got dressed for school. PaPa K took me to school and I spent a happy day there (see Miss Kathy's note).

Mimi picked me up from school and Aunt Nona was at home with PaPa when we got there. She is walking funny - uses two shiny sticks and swings a lot when she walks.It doesn't look like much fun. I said I wanted to watch Elmo on TV. It took Mimi and PaPa a long time to make everything work. I had to show them a button to push on the TV and Mommy/Daddy's picture helped them a lot. We started to watch Elmopalooza but I got tired of it after a while so we did art work instead. I made a drawing for Mommy's birthday and played with Play-Doh. And the I heard Mommy/Daddy on PaPa's phone. I am used to seeing them when we talked but it was OK because they sounded happy and I was too.

I played a lot with my blocks and I like using both of my hands to build tall towers. Mimi made me special food for dinner but I liked the noodle/veg/meat dish she made for everyone also so I helped PaPa eat his. I had a big bubble bath (oh I did go pee pee in the potty) and I went to bed after Mimi read me 5-6 books and sang to me.

Saturday, February 20th, 2010

I woke up at 7:30 and Mimi helped me pick out a purple outfit because today is Mommy's birthday and purple is her favorite color (mine too). We practiced our "Happy Birthday" song. Instead of booberries , we had banana, milk and gogurt today - and some of PaPa's eggs and cinnamon toast.

We played for a long time and I did my happy dance (that's what Mimi calls it). PaPa started to get me dressed for Storyville around 11:00 AM, but I was tired and took a nap instead. PaPa fixed me lunch when I woke up and I went pee pee in the potty. We played with my crayons and PaPa drew some nice pictures - he is such a good draw-er!

We had fun building things and I would knock them down. We had a big surprise when Daddy/Mommy talked to me on the computer. How can that be that I can see/hear them? I was able to tell Mommy "Happy Birthday, Mommy" and it made her so happy. I said it to Daddy too! Mommy showed PaPa and Mimi a beautiful, sparkling ring and said she said "yes" to Daddy and PaPa and Mimi were very happy too - and so was Aunt Nona. Everyone said they love Daddy/Mommy and want them to be very happy. Mommy was able to show us the lovely room they were staying at in Las Vegas - you can see big fountains from their room.

PaPa fixed me a special dinner with what he call "fake chicken" (I really like it) and peas and milk and gogurt. We decided I didn't need a bath tonight because I had not been outside so I snuggled in with PaPa who read me a lot of books - he was having so much fun I had to ask him for my "paci" so I could go to sleep!

PaPa and Mimi said they were going to call great granny Maura and grand-uncle Tom and grand-aunt Connie to tell them that Mommy made Daddy very happy by saying "yes" - and he sent e-mail to Grandmom Janet and Granddad Dean.

Sunday, February 21, 2010

Today I slept until 8:00 AM yesterday was so exciting - so many happy dances. Today PaPa is getting us organized to go someplace called IKEA - sort of a Storyville for grown ups. He and Aunt Nona are excited about buying kitchen cabinets - I wonder why that is so exciting? I don't mind because I got to ride in the car with Mimi and Aunt Nona with her silver sticks. PaPa said he had talked with GrandMom Janet and GrandDad Dean last night and MiMi said they were very very happy.

I had to stop for a while so MiMi could get a new pen. Anyways, I had a lot of fun in IKEA. We got a special chair with wheel - like a grown up stroller for Aunt Nona and her shiny sticks so she did not have to walk on her sore leg. Sometimes I sat on her lap while Mimi pushed us and sometimes I rode with PaPa. I got to play with special kid's furniture and toys while PaPa shopped - I was even strong enough to push a bigger girl around a "peek-a-boo" orange chair - we took turns spinning. I played in a little house with a bigger boy and his sister who showed me how t play with the Tic Tac Toe magnets. I showed them and their Mommy my "happy dance". We ate mac and cheese and helped PaPa eat his Swedish meatballs and dessert. PaPa let me ride on the big cart with his special doors as long as I held on tight - which I did. I was so tired I fell asleep in the car and hardly noticed Mimi taking me up to my crib and changing me as I continued my nap. Everyone else took a nap too. Later PaPa let me play with his phone and I called one of MiMi's best friends which was very nice because Mimi was able to share our happy Daddy/Mommy news.

I had a big bubble bath before going to bed.

Monday, February 22, 2010

I woke up a couple of times during the night but went right back to sleep after Mimi changed me. Daddy/Mommy are coming home today and everyone is excited. After PaPa took me to school, he was going to buy a big bottle of "bubbly" - not the kind you use in the bathtub. This is something grown-ups drink on special occasions. Kind of unusual, I think. Anyways, for school I needed a picture of a favorite animal - I could not just pick one so PaPa made a picture of a bunch of nice animals like a cat and dog. PaPa made me dinner after school because Mimi had taken Aunt Nona to the doctor for her hurt leg. They brought special treats to have a party for Mommy/Daddy. I stayed up late and helped in the kitchen. I stood on the stool, washed my hands and helped put food on the plates.

I watched out the window and all of a sudden there was Mommy/Daddy walking down the street. I jumped up and down. I was so happy to see them. I hugged and hugged and they hugged and hugged me back. We had the best family hug. I love my Mommy/Addy very very much and I am so happy they are home with me and Mimi, PaPa and Aunt Nona.

The End

PS I forgot to say that I was able to talk to Unc Culann and Aunt Carolyn on Friday and their birds talked too but not their fish.

Blizzard of the Century - February 5 - 6, 2010

In past 3 months, Ripley may have experienced more snow than some people ever experience (hmm..Texas family??). And this is in Maryland!

Yesterday on the way home from school, we stopped to play outside for a few minutes. I built a snow person and Ripley was fascinated. I thought some "before" pictures would give good context for the "after" blizzard photos.

This February storm is the second HUGE snow of the year - the other one being right before Christmas that closed school for 3 days. We've had other snows this year too, but this one truly is going to go down in the record books as being the highest accumulation. I predict no school all week.

I think there will be more photos, but here are a few to get you started.

The snow stuck against the door on the upstairs deck and Ripley ready in her sized 6-9 mo. snow suit (borrowed/stolen from the Martins).

Ripley standing on our observation platform, aka the lid to a plastic storage bin (note: the snow completely covering the step) and a family photo (note: my car in the background).

Snow surfing and sunken in the snow.

As I sit and type this, the snow is still falling. The walk that Chad shoveled earlier is almost completely covered again. Aunt Nona has joined us from down the block. It's times like this that we miss having Culann and Carolyn and Shannon across the street. We did see our neighbors Matt, Cristen and Caden out earlier. They had a sled that we tried, but the snow was too deep. We'll have to try again soon.

More photos when the storm is over...

Potty - January 2010

Ripley has started her potty training. We've had limited success so far (although there has been some action), but she does love to sit and read.

Please note how tasteful this photo is. I don't think it will cause extreme embarrassment when she is older, but if it does, I promise to take it down.

New Years 2009 - Cape May

We ended the year on a high note, spending time with our New Year's crew (Scott, Nina, Kai and Von; James and Mare; Teresa; and Alan) in a beautiful house in Cape May. It was a bit cold, but this did not deter us. There was dancing on New Year's Eve night. Feeding ducks in the park where I had placed a letterbox last year (and that I put a new book in this year). We saw the tree and train at Congress Hall and walked along the beach as the sun went down. It is hard to imagine how we could have had a better time.

Asheville - Christmas 2009

Before I forget about our adventures, I wanted to put down some of the places we visited in Asheville. We met up with Grandma Janet and Grandpa Dean right after Christmas (Dec. 26) since they were out this way visiting other family (we have no good pictures with them - boo).

We stayed at a Holiday Inn that had a suite with two rooms so that we could put Ripley to bed while we played games and talked with Mom and Dean. It also had an indoor pool. I had forgotten what joy Ripley takes in swimming. She squealed and splashed, and loved the "humpty dumpty" game where she sits on the wall, reaches for our hands and then jumps (or rather steps) into the pool.

After an adventure at the Biltmore Estate, we had a late vegetarian lunch at the Laughing Seed Cafe. It is so exciting to eat somewhere that I have to read every item on the menu because I can eat them all. Asheville was overall one of the most veggie places I've been.

On our final morning, we ate at The Early Girl Eatery. Scrumptious. And a fun pail of toys for Ripley. As usual, she enjoyed pancakes!

Christmas 2009 - New Jersey

This is out of order, but we were in Cedar Brook for Christmas Day. Ripley got to wear her Christmas sweater and enjoyed wearing her cracker crown and playing in the snow with Uncle Culann. She finally started calling grammy Vivienne, "Mi Mi", and while "Pop Pop/Paw Paw" is still quite high in her esteem, he's officially got competition.

Among the many things she got, she ended up with some stylish sunglasses and a plain old Elmo. She's a bit obsessed and we wanted to indulge her slightly, but without all of the bells and whistles.