Week 99

Dear Jorie,

Another busy busy week! Your Uncle Chris and his Fiancee Kim were in town this weekend, which meant a lot of visiting over at Nannie and Apa's!

We had breakfast there Saturday, Then after everyone was awake and fed we headed over to Lollypop farm to check out all the animals up for adoption and also all the farm animals! You pet a goat, and got to see a lot of Dogs, Cats, Bunnies, some sheep and a few horses. After that we headed back to Nannie and Apa's for a special pasta dinner that your Uncle Chris and (future) Aunt Kim cooked up for us, because Sunday we were running a 10K!

Sunday, Your Uncle Chris, Aunt Kim, Apa, Nannie and I ran in the Lilac 10 k! Your Uncle Chris pushed Nannie the whole way in a special running wheelchair. Your father and you cheered us on from the sidelines! It was great to see you near the finish line, I even ran over to give you a kiss!

After the run, we went home to rest for a bit, then it was back to Nannie and Apa's for dinner! You had a blast getting to see your Uncle Chris and Aunt Kim all weekend. They even asked you to be the flower girl in their wedding!

And now, pictures of all of it!

I love you Jorie bear!

Week 98

Dear Jorie,

What a fun packed week we had!

Friday there was a "Mother's Day Tea Party" at your Daycare. I left work early to come visit you in your class room and drink pink lemonaid and eat cookies with you, your class mates and their parents. Luckily for me, Jaimee was there and took a few pictures of You Zetta and me. It was great to see you playing with your friends and to see how comfortable you were there. You even made me a card and some crepe paper flowers!

Saturday morning we were awake early, so we made a trip to the local coffee shop and then headed over to the play ground. We were there early enough that we had the place to ourselves for a while, and you climbed all over everything. Soon enough other kids started showing up, and you had a blast making new friends. You played in the Sandbox, swung on the swings, and even went down the big twisty slide! We were there for a good long time, but not long enough for you! You were not happy when we decided to leave.

After a nap and some food, it was time to head up to the park to meet Nannie and Apa at the Lilac Festival! We were there to watch our friend Alex and his band perform. We got some food for Your father and Me, walked around a lot trying to find Alex, and then finally found him, and Lisa was with him! We couldn't hear really well, but Lisa came over and talked to us while we watched. It's always great seeing them, even if the location was not ideal. Then it was time to head to Nannie and Apa's for dinner, as usual!

Sunday was Mothers day! We started out the day with you and your Father giving me a huge plant of purple flowers and a cute card that you decorated with stickers. Then it was time to head to the Public Market to meet Nannie and Apa for our traditional trip to the market's Flower Days. We got breakfast and coffee at the Market, and then walked around, helping my parents buy plants and bring them back to their car. We even bought a few things ourselves. We were there long enough that we ended up getting lunch there too, Empanada's! They were delicious. After the market we headed back to Nannie and Apa's house to help Apa open the pool. It won't be ready to swim in for a little bit, but it's open now!

After that, we headed over to Your Father's Grandma and Grandpa DeGraffs, where we met up with Grandma and Grandpa Ross. We spent a long time there, we even got to see your Great Uncle Dan and your father's Cousin Dan and his Girlfriend Sam. Great-Grandma DeGraff brought out a doll house and a bunch of dolls, and you surprised me by becoming completely absorbed with them.

Some sad news this week, on Monday, one of the cats that lived at my parents house, who was my cat when I was in college, Elle, passed away. She was very old for a cat, 18 years old, and had a good long life. She was very sick, but it is still very sad for me and for all of us. I know you most likely wont remember her when you get older.

I love you so much Jorie-bear. Thank you for letting me be your mom!

Week 97

Dear Jorie,

This week was another busy week for us! I can't remember a week that hasn't been since you were born. Your Father and I finally started to get around to fixing up the back yard a bit. We spent some time clearing out the old garden in preparation for putting in a raised bed back there to grow some veggies! We also managed to get some grass seed down, which means that the back yard has been off limits to you, which you don't like at all.

Last thursday, your father and I took you up to cobbs hill to get a run in. You had fun, but unfortunately, mommies leg was none too happy with the run. Now that the weather's getting nicer, I hope to get you out for more runs with us, maybe along the canal or at Mt. hope.

This saturday was Bill's birthday! We went over to Jaimee and Bills to celebrate with a cookout and ice cream cake! Everything was decked out in My Little Pony, from some balloons to the table cloth outside, to the plates, and even some party hats for you and Zetta! You and Zetta loved the cake, which unfortunately (or fortunately for pictures) had some very blue frosting on it! The two of you looked like little smurfs by the time you'd finished. There was nothing to do after that but throw you both in the tub and scrub you down. By the time we were finished the water was blue! Zetta had even picked out a balloon just for you, and Jaimee added a couple more for us to take home. You got to bring home THREE balloons, one of which has all the Ponies on it!

Sunday was a whirlwind of Brunch, grocery shopping and then over to Nannie and Apa's for dinner.

One amusing story from this week, You've grown enough that you can now open the top drawers on the entertainment center, where we've been keeping things we didn't want you getting. You can't see in there yet, but you can reach in there. One afternoon I was in the kitchen, and you were being too quiet, so I looked into the living room. I saw the top drawer was open so I ran into the living room, and found you sitting at your dora table, with your baby doll propped up in the pink booster seat, a sheet of construction paper on the table. You were holding a (thankfully unopened) bottle of Elmer's Glue and dabbing the top onto the construction paper. When I asked you what you were doing, you looked up at me and said, very seriously "Baby do Project."

You're settling in well to your new daycare now, no more rough drop offs. In fact, with a few exceptions, you've been a very happy kidlet lately. You even came out of your shell at Grandma and Grandpa Ross' on Tuesday to bond with Kitty (one of the people living with them right now). You followed Kitty around for about an hour "helping" her clean up the yard.

I have to say though, I've been having a rough go of it lately, wanting to be home with you. Hearing all the things some other parents are doing with their kids, like mommy and me swimming lessons, or mid day trips to the play ground, makes me feel like I'm missing out. I know that I'm being the best mommy I can be, but it's hard being away from you so much.

This morning, snuggling on the couch and reading to you, was so awesome. I live for those moments right now.

I love you baby girl.

Brushing Mommies hair

Brushing Mommies hair

Surveying your domain

Sitting Pretty at Nannie and Apa's

Spaghetti requires careful eating