Happy Derby Day!

This was outfit #1 that I chose for Derby Day.... I bought it for her last summer, and it was beyond the scope of my imagination that she'd be big enough to fit in it... ever!

It was such a pretty day- We got a chance to hang out with Leah and Parsley- who live around the corner. Parsley is just a few weeks older than Ivy.

Lots of guests wore hats!! We served Louisville Hot Browns, Derby Pie and Kentucky Fried Chicken! Oh, and mint juleps and Ale 8 ginger ale.

Cute hats, ladies!

You can count on Becky to get into the spirit of a theme!

Sporting outfit #2... Ivy is flirting with Tripp!

Some of our Japanese cutie friends, posed for a group picture!

I want Daddy!

She had her own hat... but I forgot to get it out for her.

One of Ivy's many boyfriends... Bowman!

Ivy loves Auntie Jess!

This is "Derby" the baby squirrel who has been hanging out in the yard lately.

Baby's first picnic! We enjoyed a gorgeous day up at Madrona and Placerville- where Ivy totally fell in love with a new baby and a shopping cart and a ball. We brough home the ball.

I bought her this dress for Easter- but it was way not warm enough for it! I do love how her toys match her outfit!

Ivy loves pushing her baby around in the stroller. Actually, she'll push anything... a box, her own stroller, her highchair, a stool.... anything becomes a walker at some point!

Ivy's been eating what we are eating lately... and has transitioned nicely over to milk from formula- no more formula after today! I'm really excited not to be taking all the bottles, formula and jars of baby food on the trip to Southern Ca next week! Yay!! We've been eating dinner outside lately, and she has been roaming the patio freely-- climbing the stairs to the porch... over and over and over. In the last day or two-- in the midst of a crawl, Ivy has positioned her feet as if to stand up... walking seems so close!! We really enjoyed the Derby party with our neighbors- it was a gorgeous day!

Birthday Weekend

Ivy had her first haircut on Saturday at CJ's Cuts for Kids... her stylist Marie was very patient, despite Ivy's tears! She got her hair washed and then cut and styled. We got a before and after picture and some locks to save in her book. We were nothing short of amazed at the difference in her appearance after the cut! She looked months older!

After the cut, we went next door for a "mommy and me" photograph at the Silver Spoon and followed up with some lunch at the cheesesteak place!

Ivy showed off her cool new hairdo and outfit that Daddy picked out in the backyard.

She can kind of ride this bug now... but not totally on her own yet. Note the shoes from Sue Sheperd last summer... they finally fit! Speaking of things that fit and don't. I spent some time in her closet yesterday weeding out the things she's outgrown. I can still get her in some things, but they look funny because she's taller now. So pants become capris and her belly shows with some tshirts. It's like she's a shipwreck victim, but more stylish!

I made her home made strawberry cake for her birthday... yummy!

We headed to the Fountains for lunch at the Sake House. To kill time before they opened, Ivy rode a grass hopper at the playground.

Ivy and Daddy on her Birthday!

Hmmm, what will I have? I think the Salmon Bento Box!

We shopped for a bigger carseat for the tot at Goore's, and decided to wait a bit longer until she can be front facing in the back of my car. Probably June or July will be new carseat month! After a nice long birthday nap, we had dinner at home with my parents and then some friends came over for a piece of cake!

Ivy's opening Auntie Jess' present!

I love the look on her face in this picture... its so classic Ivy.

Yay! I'm one!

This is her little cake that I made for her.

This is a bigger cake I made for everyone else- with pretty but un-tasty fondant topping.

Awwww!

Hmmmm, what do you want me to do with this?

Oh, its tasty!

This is actually the next day... leftover cake... and she got more into it without the audience-- rubbed it in her hair, played with it... it was sticky!

Off to the bath!

Thanks to all our friends and family for the birthday cards, wishes, and gifts. We really enjoyed celebrating with her-- it seems completely unreal how fast the year has flown by!

I'll be honest with you... you may not see another update until the middle of May-- when we go to Disneyland to meet up with the other ATWA families and meet a bunch of other sweet kidlets and their parents. I may try to post pictures after the Kentucky Derby party we are having this weekend- or after (my first!!)Mother's day... but we'll see!

I'm hoping the next time I blog that there is a tooth to display in Ivy's mouth at last... but no promises!

April Showers Bring May Flowers

This is Ivy's new tutu and fairy wings that we had made for her birthday- there will be some better pictures, but we just opened the box and couldn't resist!

For Easter, we headed to Fairytale Town in Sacramento to meet up with Ivy's friend Kristina and her parents. There was an egg hunt scheduled for different age groups and lots of fun stuff for the kids. She liked looking at the animals!

We forgot to bring her Easter basket, but as it happened, Kristina had a spare! I am sure that next year the egg hunt will be a lot more fun- she was pretty fascinated with just one egg... Easily amused like her mother!

Getting all of us to look at the camera is not easy...

Here's Ivy and her Easter swag! Several bunnies, toys, books etc... and chocolates for her parents, of course!

So here's Ivy sitting in her little chair. She can now climb into it and out of it on her own. Oh, and also she can stand up in it!

I'm guessing she's telling the squirrel a story, or maybe a joke.

This is not a great picture of Ivy's fantastic new book case that my dad made her for her birthday!

These days, Ivy likes to share! She keeps trying to share her binky with her babies.... I just hope she doesn't offer it to the cats!

Also she likes to hug and kiss everything in sight... a magazine, a book, a toy, her reflection, a shampoo bottle... she's not picky!

Every morning, Ivy enjoys fruit and buttery, cheesy scrambled eggs! It's not so good when she rubs her hands through her hair before I get a chance to wash her up! Then she's a greasy baby for the rest of the day!

Pre Easter

So busy these days!! This is a picture of Ivy having a playdate with Kristina, her friend from Grass Valley. Kristina is a couple of months older than Ivy and already walking- but they like to play together once a month. We went to Royer park first to go on the swings, and then played in our back yard for a while.

She loves to pull herself up on this toy box in the living room-- its very cute! She has a box of toys in every room, so there's plenty to play with. That doesn't stop her from getting into cabinets and drawers and bookcases that are endlessly more appealing, though!

These next pictures seem like a long time ago! We took Kensuke to San Francisco for a couple of days at the end of his visit-- it was super fun for all of us! Ivy did well on the ferry- and liked looking out the window. Ken really wanted to visit Alcatraz, and we made a point of going there for him, and surprised ourselves by enjoying it! It's an eerily beautiful and interesting place.

I really liked the out buildings and the grounds.

Here's Ivy inside the prison!

Awww, pretty flowers.

Who doesn't like jumping on a hotel bed! Yay! Right after this, we popped Ivy in her carrier and hopped on a cable car to go down to Fisherman's Wharf for dinner. After dinner, we rode a street car to Union Square for some shopping, and then back to our room for bed! It was a long day!

All dressed up in owls for a day on the town! We started with breakfast at Sears Fine Foods for breakfast-- my favorite!

We took an open topped bus tour of San Francisco for an hour and a half- went across the golden gate bridge, through postcard row, Golden Gate Park, etc. It was cold and breezy, but a unique view of the city I'd never seen before!

After the sightseeing bus, we visited Japantown for shopping at Sanrio briefly and then a delicious lunch of Udon! Then we hopped back in the car to drive over to Muir woods for a quick look at the redwoods. The redwoods were delightfully serene after busy San Francisco. This picture is of moss, with Brian, Ivy and Ken in the background.

Ivy really seemed to enjoy the atmosphere of the woods- she just kicked back in her stroller and enjoyed the ride!