Happy Birthday Jen!!

Today I wish I were back in Virginia to be with Jen as she turns 29 to celebrate! :)
Jen, you are one of my closest and dearest friends and I miss you all the time!
Mailee is lucky to have you as a godmother and I am lucky to have you as my friend.
We are thinking of you and can't wait to see you sometime this summer when you visit. Happy Birthday Beautiful!

Tulips, Tulips Everywhere

The weather here in Washington can be tough to take in the winter... but Mother Nature sure has a way making it all worth it come Spring time.
Only a few miles from Anacortes, there are fields and fields of tulips and daffodils... they blanket the landscape and delight all that get the chance to see the blooms! John and I are amazed how bright they are... just breathtaking!
The Skagit Valley Tulip festival draws visitors the whole month of April to our area to take pictures of the fields as well as enjoy several other activities planned in celebration of Spring. We had taken Grandma and Grandpa to one of the gardens when they were visiting, but the fields hadn't bloomed yet... what a difference a couple of weeks can make! We took some shots of Mailee yesterday... I hope to go back this week to take a few more to hopefully get a perfect picture of her and the blooms. But in case that doesn't happen here are a few:

A belated Birthday trip to Leavenworth

John had planned to take me to Leavenworth for my bithday (and no, not the federal penitentiary, but a cute little Bavarian town in Eastern Washington surronded by the Cascades. We had to cancel our plans since the Navy had other plans for John on April 9th, but we postponed the trip and went last weekend.
What a cool place... it really did make me feel like I was back in Germany with the storefronts with items like coocoo clocks inside, the smell of brats and the german beers on tap. And the mountains... it was like a scene from the Sound of Music (OK, not really that beautiful, but still :)
Anyway we lucked out...it was a beautiful weekend and we enjoyed strolling through the town, sampling the food and on Sunday we took Mailee down to to the river and parks and relaxed surrouned by the simple beauty of the place.
Oh Liz, there were kinder eggs there... but I didn't feel up to waiting in line behind 20 kids at the candy store to get them. :(
Dad - there is dog sledding there in the winter... we must go back with you.
Here are some pics

Grandma and Grandpa R visit

Mailee is sad that Grandma and Grandpa had to go back to Virginia. She enjoyed every minute of her week with them. The time went by too quickly, but we enjoyed seeing the beautiful blooms at the Skagit Valley Tulip festival, visiting Fairhaven, enjoying the views along Chuckanut Drive, going to a winery and strolling around Pikes Place Market. Most of all though Mailee enjoyed being loved, cuddled and kissed so much.

Easter

Mailee's first Easter was a very special day because she got to spend it with ALMOST her whole family!
We headed to Seattle to enjoy the day with Uncle Jay, Aunt D, Cousins Austin and Jack, Mimi and Papa, Louise, Debbie and Ben... THEN we headed to the airport to pick up Grandma and Grandpa R!!!!
The only person missing was Daddy... we sure did miss him!
oh and of course we missed Aunt Liz, Uncle Fred, and Cousin Liam too! They were having fun together in Virginia and getting ready to go celebrate Ellen and Fred's 40th Anniversary. Here are some pictures for them.

Another Play Date

Mailee got together again with her friends Georgia and Audriana this week while mommy got to catch up with Jen and Sopanha - and we even had wine...what a treat! :)
Here are some cute pictures of the girls. As you can see, Mailee was worn out when we got home from all the excitement!

A "girly" john

So everybody always says that Mailee looks just like her daddy... well, John is good-looking and all, but do we really want our precious daughter looking like a boy??? NO!! A friend of mine told me about these baby bows that stay put on practically bald heads.. I couldn't resist! John is not thrilled about this...but oh well! ;)

Trip to Langley

It finally felt like Spring this weekend... the sun was actually shining! John and I decided Saturday would be a perfect day to go explore a small town called Langley that we have been wanting to visit.
We enjoyed the day strolling in and out of the shops, enjoying the views of the Cascades and lunching at a wonderful bistro. Mailee really wanted to try her daddy's beer... but we told her she was going to have to wait another 20 years and 7 months :)

Sitting Up!

Another milestone was hit last night at 4 months and 3 weeks old...Mailee sat up! She may have been able to do it sooner, but I hadn't tried to see if she could until yesterday and was really surprised when she did. After waking up this morning we gave it another try and she did it more! I guess crawling will be next...not sure we are quite ready for her to be so mobile. :)
Grandma and Grandpa R will be here in another week and half... we can't wait!!!!
I had to post a few other pictures too... of her smiling in the morning and getting love from Sahara.