SIMONE'S FIRST BIRTHDAY!!!

I know it's taken a while, but FINALLY here are some photos of Simone's first birthday party. We intentionally kept the party very small and low key because we didn't want her daddy (or the rest of her relatives and friends) to miss a big birthday bash. Next year, Simone will have the biggest, bestest, second birthday ever!

Grammy and Pop were visiting for the weekend, so on Sunday afternoon we headed to Clemyjontri Park to have pizza and cake to mark the occasion. We managed to secure the critical elements -- some balloons and a BEAUTIFUL cake from mommy & daddy's favorite bakery (it was all vanilla buttercream with strawberry filling-- daddy's favorite).


We took TONS of pictures, this is just the first installment. The rest are in no particular order.



Simone's cousins Peyton and Ella made her this sign.

This is her birthday crown. She would only keep in on for a second.

And... no party would be complete without a kids' table. I have a bunch more, I'll post later. Stay tuned...

1 Year Old Portraits

Well, even though I swore off portrait studios after the last experience, I decided I might be a bad mom if I didn't take Simone for one year old pictures. Once again, it was an ordeal, but I'll get into that later. Here are some of the better shots, although not the best ones nor the ones I ordered. I'll keep those as a surprise.

A New Chair

Hi daddy,
As we've told you, we've been busy putting together a fun playroom for Simone. And now she's got a favorite addition--her new chair--Simone-size. She mostly loves it because it's small enough for her to be able to climb up and down all on her own.















And the fun doesn't stop there. She has a new friend too--Mr. Lion. She really loves him. Although each day she forgets what he is and when I bring her downstairs to play she gets a little afraid until I go over with her to play with him. Then they're best friend again, ahahahah!

Fun At The Park

On Saturday we went to a little park by Christel & Wendy's house. As you would imagine, Simone had a blast. She particularly likes swings, but she is pretty fond of sliding boards too. The mulch on the ground made her a little nervous cuz it was sort of squishy.





















But look at this daddy. Simone's glasses fall down to the tip of her nose -- just like yours. Only she can't help it, she doesn't have a bridge on her nose yet to hold them up! Come on, how can you say

she doesn't look exactly like you!?!?

Saturday at The Water Mine

Well, it's the last weekend of the summer, and we realized we hadn't taken a day off just to have fun. So--even though we had a ton of house work we should have been doing-- we met up with Christel, Wendy, Gonzo, Silvia, Olivia, Laura, and Beckett at the Fairfax Lake Watermine. We had a great day, and Simone had a blast! Not to mention she got to wear her ultra-cute new swimsuit. She played so hard she actually fell asleep sitting up floating around in the raft. You will love taking her there to play next summer!

We ended the day with a ride on the carousel. I didn't think Simone would like it all that much, but she LOVED it. She held on tight like a big girl and laughed when the horse went up and down. I think she's gonna be a big fan of amusement parks.

11 Months Old

Today Simone is 11 months old. She's just growing up so fast. These aren't the greatest pictures, but it's been a few weeks since I posted anything, so I wanted to give you a peek at what we've been upto--which, clearly, hasn't been alot.

Simone is not particularly interested in her toys, but boxes, paper, books, dishes--you name it. If she's not supposed to have it, she loves it. For example, the dishwasher. It's one of her favorite toys. She can be all the way in the other room, and as soon as she hears me open the dishwasher she comes darting into the kitchen to play. Take a look...


















Her hair is getting longer and thicker(even more so since this was taken a couple of weeks ago). I couldn't help but snap this mugshot of her crazy hair--hahahah!! Don't worry, she doesn't go out in public like this ;-). This was after a full night's sleep, before I combed it.














And finally, take a look at this!!! Remember her swing? The one we couldn't get her to sit in for even 3 minutes when she was tiny? Well, I went to pack it away now that I'm trying to create her play room. She threw a fit, wanting to sit in it with her baby. I haven't been able to put it away since. It barely rocks becuz she's too heavy now, but she loves it nonetheless. Little punk. Typical.




And in action...

Lots of New Things

Hi daddy,
Now that I can walk, me and mommy have been very busy doing new things and making new friends. Last Sunday we went to mommy's friend's house and I played with the kids there. They had lots of fun toys and I tried to taste them all.

I was pretty tired after that fun day, so I took a nap. Note, one of my new favorite sleeping positions.

The this weekend, grammy went home to Pennsylvania so we are having fun at with Aunties Christel and Wendy. We went to a block party where I found this super neat hammock to swing in. I LOVED it...

Then there was this other awesome tree swing that was a little bit tricky for me to hold on to, but mommy helped me and we had lots of fun!

I also sat in my stroller, walked around on the grass, watched the other kids play on the sliding board, and road a bike with Auntie Wendy. It was sooooooooooo exciting.

We had tons of fun today, but I still really really missed you and I can't wait until we can do all these fun things together when you come home!