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.

Caroline Finishes Half Marathon!

I don't usually post anything on the blog but I am so proud of Caroline, I wanted everyone to know what a trooper she is. Four and one half months after a painful C-section and recovery she finished her first half marathon in just two hours. She ran through a lot of pain and nagging from her loving husband to reach her goal proving she can do anything she sets her mind to. Much love to all our friends and family for the support and we hope to see you all soon! --John

Mailee's 4 month check-up

Mailee had her 4 month check up and the doctor said she is perfectly healthy! She is in the 25th percentile for height and head circumference and 40th percentile for length/height...and of course the 100th percentile for cuteness - that's what daddy says at least.

Here are a few of her latest pictures... we found the doggie hat that Liam passed down to Mailee and had to get some shots of her in it. She wore it on our 10 mile run on Sunday (Mommy and Daddy are training for the 1/2 marathon next week and Mailee enjoys making the training extra tough for dad by making him push a stroller)




Had to post some jumperoo pictures too! Mailee seems to love it... Mom on the other hand isn't too pleased with her house turning into a circus with brightly colored baby toys EVERYWHERE! She came down stairs recently to Dad saying "don't open the door, you aren't going to be happy"... not listening, I opened the door to a smiling John and a very happy Mailee... and a HUGE baby jumper added to the swing, bouncy seat, activity mat and exersaucer. OH WELL... I've been outnumbered!

Another Smile Finally Captured on Camera

Mailee sure doesn't like to hand out smiles... but I finally got another one on camera the other day and had to post the shot.
She is now four months old and has quite the personality already... so fun to watch develop!
Our nanny, Melody started this week and we absolutely love her - so does Mailee! :)

Mom H's bday weekend

We enjoyed a splendid weekend with the family to celebrate Mom's birthday! Jay, Deanne and the boys drove up from Seattle and of course Mom and Dad stayed the weekend too.
Mailee was excited to go to another birthday party!

Mailee's First Play Date

Mailee's friend Georgia (and mommy's friend, Jen) hosted a play group a couple of weeks ago. Georgia, Audrianna and Mailee enjoyed getting to actually meet each other since all the other times have been in their strollers while their mommy's went walking or in car seats while their mommy's met at a restaurant.
We look forward to our weekly planned play dates.

Happy Birthday Mom

We can't wait to celebrate together this weekend - ALL of us :) We love you!

Happy Birthday Sallie!

Wishing you love from miles away!

A video for Grandma & Grandpa R

Not the best video of her talking.. but hey, it's something... she is getting better at performing for the camera.

We've got a smile!

Finally... Mailee didn't get her "serious" face in front of the camera. Here is proof that she isn't the grinch's daughter.

Here are a couple other cute pics I took of her.

Mailee's first trip to the zoo!

Deanne had a great idea to meet up at the Woodland Park Zoo before her birthday dinner. Although it was a little cold we enjoyed a couple of hours visiting the animals. Certainly a great way to avoid the crowds is to go the day after a little of snow falls here in Washington.

Happy Birthday Deanne!!

It was so wonderful to be able to celebrate with the entire family this year!
We love you!

Mailee loves her daddy

John is such a good daddy! It makes me so happy to watch him and Mailee together.
Over the weekend I snapped a few pictures of them during storytime and naptime. And then some of Mailee in the cute outfit that daddy got her dressed in before going to dinner.

A big milestone - The flip!

Today Mailee is 3 months, 1 week and 3 days old and she hit another milestone.
OK... so I'm trying not to call it rolling over b/c it reminds me of the days when i was trying to train Sahara to roll over for a treat - HA! But wanted to be sure to record this milestone ASAP as Mailee flipped from her stomach to her back twice today!!! :)
It was really exciting but I haven't gotten it on video... by the time I pulled the camera out she was over it and was like "yah, been there done that mom"... oh well, one day I get a smile, coo or flip on camera for grandma and grandpa R. Guess you will just have to come visit to see her athletic skills in person. Miss you guys!

Trip to Whistler

Well... my maternity leave is quickly coming to and end and John had a 3 day weekend... so we decided we better take advantage of this rare opportunity by planning a getaway to Whistler, Canada. We had a blast! Jay and Deanne came as well (but decided to leave the boys w/ mimi and papa). Mailee loved spending time w/ her auntie and uncle but missed her cousins.
John, Jay and Deanne went boarding when Mailee and Mommy went shopping in the village. Then one day Mommy and Daddy took Mailee for a snowshoeing adventure! What fun! We hope to make this an annual President's Day trip!