Wills Memorial Day

We celebrated part 2 of Memorial Day with the Wills and the Alstons. Lolli got Ramona a kiddy pool. She did not want to get in it at first. But after it warmed up in the sun for a bit, she was good to go. She splashed around and giggled. It was adorable.

All good things must come to end though and Ramona is teething, so she got super fussy. Thus we capped the day off running out the door with a screaming baby! All in all we had a great long weekend! I can't wait until it's summer.

Snowden-Brunson-Wills Memorial Day

We went to my parents' house on Sunday for part 1 of our Memorial Day celebration. We got Ramona all sun screened up to swim around the pool with her cousins. She absolutely loved the pool. Good thing because eventually she will enjoy the one here. She even kicked her legs with Papa told her to kick! So precious!

Brush, Brush, Brush Your Teeth

Well we've gone from 0 teeth to 2 in no time. We bought Ramona a tooth brush and I brushed her teeth tonight. I was a little worried that she wouldn't let me because her gums are still sensitive. She gave me her typical confused look before actually letting me brush her 2 teeth. She was then very curious and seemed to like whatever it was that mommy was doing! So precious.

Reaction

We ate at Boudreaux's in the Highlands with Allen and Sara. (Sara and I wanted Pho but whatever.) Afterwards we went to Pinkberry which by the way is completely overrated. Nick and I settled with chocolate yogurt because the original tastes like sour cream. Ramona chewed on the spoon, but we didn't actually give her a bite of the yogurt.

We headed over to JoAnne's to look at sewing machines for Sara. We got out of the car and Ramona's chin was red within seconds the entire right side of her face was red and swelling. I immediately called the doctor's answering service. We headed to Cook's while we waiting for the doctor to call back. We weren't sure if we would have to go, but figured we might as well make our way there just in case. The swelling and redness went down while we were driving. Then the doctor called and told us to give her Benadryl and watch her.

It was terrifying. I am not sure exactly what caused it if it was the exposure to the chocolate yogurt or just incidental contact with something else. The doctor said that a blood test for allergies at this age would be inaccurate and a skin test would be too traumatic to do. I hope that she isn't allergic to anything that would be difficult to avoid. I am praying that it doesn't happen again or we find out what is causing it so we can avoid any future encounters.

Class 2009-2010

This was my last full week of school for this year. Next week we have Memorial Day, 1 full day, and 2 early dismissal days. (We get out at 1:45 not really that early of a dismissal.) As I look back on this teaching year, I think about what a strange year it was. I was out for 9 weeks, but when I came back I looked at these kids differently than any other group that I've had probably because now I am a mom.

They really were/are a good group of children. Collectively probably the best class makeup I've had. However, I don't feel as close to them individually as previous years which is most likely related to the maternity leave. Anyway I had a very smart and sweet girl in my class this year. She was my highest reader and friends with everyone. Oddly enough her mom had a boy just a few weeks after I had Ramona. It was her last day today because they are moving, so she brought me this awesome bouquet.

Definitely cool and a great, creative idea for Ramona's future teacher appreciate gifts! Way better than a gift card because it shows thought, time, and you can eat it!

Playing with Mommy

I took this video of Ramona this afternoon. She is so close to crawling, but can't quite figure it out. She's at a slight disadvantage because we don't have carpet anywhere so she is rarely put down. I have her on the rug in the gameroom.

We were jamming to Yellow Submarine on Pandora. Ramona loves to dance.

Finally

Ramona officially has her first tooth! She has a tiny tooth on her bottom right. I was beginning to wonder if she'd ever get any teeth. She does not want us touching her gums at all. We can feel it, so we know it's broken the skin. It's just really difficult to see because she doesn't want to sit still long enough to cooperate!

I am a little nervous about how to proceed with feeding her now. I've always said that once she gets teeth then I'm done nursing. I would just pump exclusively. I now have mixed feelings. Plus, I really don't know if she will even let me stop nursing her. Ramona is a bit of a fit thrower already, so who knows.

Letterpress workshop

For our anniversary, Amber signed me up for a letterpress workshop with kim neiman at Studio 204 down the street from us in Arlington. We ended up experimenting a lot with a hand operated press and an automatic one.

We mixed the inks ourselves to make custom colors and inked the presses up by hand with brayers. Then we printed postcards, cut them and made the envelopes. It was a lot of fun, I enjoy learning things like this.

Here are some pictures from Studio 204 and the workshop.

Garage Sale Time

About a month ago, our HOA let us know that there was going to be a neighborhood garage sale. We had been wanting to have one for a while and this was the perfect opportunity. Even though it was our 6 year anniversary, we figured we might as well have it or we may never make time for one.

Amber's mom came over and worked the garage sale with us, while my mom took Ramona shopping.

Overall, I would say it was a great success and we made about $600 on the day. Not too bad!

Family Portraits (well, sort of...)

At the Etsy Spring Bash on my birthday this year, there was a photographer set up with a white background that was taking pictures if you wanted them to take yours. We decided to give it ago with all of us that were there.Unfortunately, Only Allen and I remembered to be goofy in the picture, which made it even more awkward.





And you know we couldn't miss an opportunity to get some shots of the little one.

New Camera WHAT!?!

We're excited that Amber's new camera showed up today. While we love our DSLR, we've been wanting a point-and-shoot for Amber to keep on her at all time. We used some amazon credit and purchased a Canon A3000 IS, a good and affordable little camera.

Hopefully it will mean both of our blogs stay even more up to date!

Sewing lessons

For our anniversary this year, I decided that I would get Amber sewing lessons. We bought her a sewing machine about 4 years ago, and since then has wanted to learn how to use it. She took sewing basics at Make in Oak Cliff, a trendy little joint where they teach all kinds of crafts.


She came home with a purse that she had made and I think it turned out great. Afterwards, she was ready to dig in some more, so we got her some more fabrics form JoAnns in the Highlands.

Another momentous occasion happen today as well, Ramona pull herself up to a stand! Lolli was watching her while Amber was at the class and I was fixing the AC. Ramona was in the pack and play with the bassinet attachment. She just grabbed the side and pulled herself right up. Lolli was shocked. We knew she was close to this milestone. It doesn't take long for her to figure things out.

Happy Mother's Day

Happy Mother's Day Amber! We love you so much!

-Nick and Ramona

First Ranger Game

Tonight we took Ramona to her first Ranger game. We didn't get there until the 9th inning because I was working on the pool pump, and the game was a really short one (only 2 hours and 4 minutes!).

It worked out okay though. Asking a 7 month old to sit through a full baseball game would have been a bit much.




After the game, they had a fireworks show. Ramona loved it!

7 Months

Ramona is 7 months today! She is getting so big. She is a chunk. Her leg rolls are so cute! She weighs right at 18 lbs. and is about 24 inches long.

She has really started to show her personality. It takes her a while to warm up to people that she isn't around every day, but once she is comfortable Ramona will put on a show. Ramona has started bouncing up and down dancing like she is a head banger. It is hilarious. Apparently she is already a trend setter because she's got 2 boys at daycare following her lead and dancing too.

She just started 2nd foods and is doing so much better with eating solids. Ramona still doesn't care for her veggies, but she is at least finishing jars now. I am still planning on making her baby food. I figure I will start this summer.

Ramona has started laughing. I mean really laughing. She loves Lolli and Pop's dogs. They crack her up and interest her more than her own dogs, poor Faith and Sara as if they care. She likes to "kick" the ball to Bridget, a Boston Terrier who never stops playing ball. We just swing her which makes her feet hit the ball. It is hilarious, but honestly we think everything she does is hilarious. I choose to believe it's because it actually is rather than our bias.

Baby R still has no teeth which I am thankful for since I am still nursing. She is a master at sitting up, but she's not really that interested in crawling. She moves backwards sometimes. She would rather pull herself up when you sit by her. She can't pull herself to a stand yet of course but she is getting the hang of it. Maybe she'll just start walking instead. (Also not ready for that.)

Whatever the case our little Ramona is the most precious and undoubtedly the biggest blessing we've ever received. We love every second with her even during those rather occasions when she is fussy. Ramona baby, we love you!

Teacher Appreciation Week

This week is teacher appreciation week at Ramona's daycare. We were encouraged to send our child with a token of appreciation for their teacher.

Keeping in mind our determination to start doing more "crafty" projects, we decided that we would make some fun cupcakes with a message to the teachers.

Amber made the cupcakes and I made the graphics and cut them out. Then Amber put them on the stick and I put them in the cupcakes.



Here is an up close photo of the picture we used for the back side. Of course I photoshopped out the background for the cupcakes.

My berfday

Today was my birthday. We spent the morning at the etsy spring bash looking at all kinds of interesting handmade objects. We purchased a few items including a tee shirt, some letterpress prints, and some headbands for ramona.

Afterwards we met my parents at Tillman's Roadhouse in Oak Cliff and had a wonderful dinner with them, Allen and Sara, and Chase. Then we went to my parent's and had some birthday bread pudding. Overall, a really enjoyable today for the whole family.