Second 1st Birthday

As if you weren't completely convinced of how spoiled Allie is, here's a recap of her birthday party at daycare.

Allie had her picture taken wearing a party hat.  (I have to admit that I love this picture!)

She also got to wear her hat while she played with her friends as evidenced by the photos included on her birthday card.

She was sent home with a goodie bag.

She got a squeaky tennis ball, a bag of biscuits, and a copy of her birthday photo.  She decided to give the photo to me for my office - how sweet!

She also came home extremely tired - the gift that keeps on giving to her mom and dad!

Yep, she fell asleep in the bathroom while I was getting ready this morning.

Happy second 1st birthday, Allie!

Cooking Class

On Saturday night we went to a prison workhouse to cook a meal.  I now think I know what prison must have been like for Martha Stewart.

Lucky for us, though, the prison workhouse is not part of an active prison.  It's part of an old prison that has now been converted to a center for fine arts, including culinary arts.

We attended a two-hour class for couples which included an introduction to knife skills.

Neither of us are chopping like Mario Batali yet, but we're certainly better than before we took the class.

During the class we made drinks, a warm vegetable salad with balsamic glaze, gazpacho, bruschetta pasta, and roasted peaches.  The main dishes that J and I worked on were the gazpacho and pasta.

Our favorite dishes were the pasta and the dessert - both were delicious!  In fact, we're planning to make the pasta at home later this week.

So that's our story about the time we cooked a meal in prison.

Wall of Seasons

We're about to get new photos printed for our "seasons" hallway photos.  Here are the photos we've chosen.

Spring - our neighbor's cherry tree.

Summer - a butterfly in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
We used this last year but it's too awesome to take down.

Fall - a tree in our old neighborhood.

Winter - the pine tree in our backyard.

Behind the Scenes

It's amazing the gems you can find while looking through your wedding photos 4+ years later.  Here are some behind the scenes wedding photos.

J seeing me for the first time.

The bouquet!

With my adorable niece.

Kiss from my niece.

A photo I didn't remember seeing before.

My wonderful bridesmaids cleaning off
my dress after the pre-ceremony photos.

The girls taking care of me again -
bustling my dress after the ceremony.

Waiting in the pouring rain after the ceremony.

My dad joking with us in the bride's room.

Talking after the ceremony.

The umbrella crew!

Kids' table at the reception.

Our first chance to sit and talk that day.

Laughing with the photographer.

Car decorating.

More car decorating.

So glad we have these wonderful photos and memories!

Fast Friends

Allie was super excited to go to the dog park yesterday morning!

Two of her friends were already there along with two new dogs.  One of them was just adopted from the shelter last week and seems thrilled to be with his new family.  He and Allie became friends right away and played together for a long time.

They are the same age and about the same size, so it was a perfect match.

Hopefully we'll see him again soon for more fun!

I'm One!

Now that Allie is one, she can do big girl things like wear a ponytail.

She's expected to bring home good report cards from daycare.

And play nicely with her friends.

But she's definitely not supposed to try to eat the rotisserie chicken off the kitchen counter, which may or may not have happened this afternoon.

But most of all her job is to be cute.

Luckily, she's an expert at that!

Happy Birthday, Allie!

Our little girl is a year old! 

Watch Allie grow:



1 month



2 months



3 months



4 months



5 months



6 months

7 months



8 months



9 months




10 months



11 months



12 months

 Happy Birthday, Allie!