We finally had Orson, Lucy and Olivia's first birthday party yesterday. It was their 18 month birthdays and we had an Alice in Wonderland inspired UnBirthday for them instead, at Jamie, Rich and Olivia's house and pool. Jamie, Gina and I had tons of fun planning. We hung up playing cards, Jamie built a little house, and we put umbrellas up everywhere. We also found some fun little tea sets at Target that were a huge hit. Almost all of the mommy clan was able to come (in fact only two families were missing) and the Daddy's got to participate as well. It was so neat to see everyone all together and to get to watch the Dads interact with the babies as well.

If you look closely, the flowers have eyes.

A close up of Gina's adorable, EAT ME cookies and above are the fun colored vanilla and chocolate gluten free cupcakes (orange, purple and green) that I made and the animal shaped jello treats Jamie made.

It was a super hot day (over 100), so even Orson enjoyed the water and didn't complain about getting cold. Plus I think he really enjoyed getting to swim with both Matt and I.

He did still prefer the hot tube though, as did Lucy :)

The little houses were a great hit with the kids.

And the tea sets were the star of the party with all the babies!

Maddox managed to create the best cake face out of all the kids :)

Two of the three birthday babies enjoying a cup of tea (pinkies up Orson).

The day was so much fun, I don't think I have laughed so much, played motor boat so many times (apparently I am the favorite boat in the water with all the kids), had such yummy home made food, and plain old played so much in a really long time.

Yosemite!

We finally bit the bullet, spent more money then we had and enjoyed an amazing weekend in Yosemite. This year the waterfalls are setting a record by still going strong so late into the summer. They were absolutely breath taking. We were told to expect huge crowds and lots of traffic but somehow we lucked out and it felt like some of the trails were all our own. We went with one of the families we have met here in Sac, Alisha, Nick and Linden. Linden is about 6 months older then Orson and very, very verbal. It was so interesting to watch him and Orson interact and play. We rented a cabin inside the park, had amazing dinners and enjoyed what felt like a stolen weekend of fun and relaxing. I think the pictures mostly speak for themselves!

Driving into the park, we got to watch the sunset.

Our first hike on Saturday was out to a look out point. The views at the end were worth it.

This picture made Matt's hands sweat...I thought it was fun :)

The deer were all over and so unafraid, they came right up to our back porch. We also saw a coyote, lots of chipmunk (Orson's favorite) and lots of birds.

And below is maybe one of the best pictures of the trip, Matt hiking, unassisted....I am so proud of the work and pain that Matt has put himself through to get to this point!

My hat was getting blown away by the force of the fall....simply amazing!

Poor tired monkey...no naps and late nights made for a very quiet backseat on the way home.

Such a fun and awe-inspiring weekend!

Orson 17 months

Recently, Orson discovered his happy place....blueberry bushes in Apple Hill. In just a few short minutes, he ate his weight in blueberries and then, joy of joys, he found the raspberry bushes! We got pounds of berries for great prices and straight off the bush, they tasted like fresh home made jam. I can't wait to pull them out of the freezer in the middle of winter to enjoy in muffins, cookies and more!

A mole popped up right next to Orson while we were picking! Good thing it couldn't see very well, otherwise it would have been terrified :)

Summer has arrived in Sacramento, with temps in the 90s to 100s almost everyday. We have been staying busy with play dates, adventures and fun. Our favorite playdate lately has been going to Jamie and Olivia's for swimming on Fridays. Orson enjoys the pool but only for a little bit at a time, he apparently has no body fat and therefore gets cold even when its 90 degrees outside...must take after his mother :) Anyway, here are a few pictures of him and his friends in the pool.

And in our little pool in the back yard, he prefers the water to be hot tub temperature and then he dives straight in, clothes and all.

We have also discovered water parks (there are lots of little ones around town that are free). Orson is not entirely sure if he likes the shooting fountains of doom....he ended up with lots of faces full of water but he sure got out there and tried. It was funny because most of his friends were just plain terrified of the fountains.

Lots of time in the car = mom in the backseat sometimes. Its worth it for a shot like this.

We had a lunch playdate at Whole Foods a few weeks ago. We sat down to lunch and I realized that everyone's mom was MIA! Well my dates were the cutest ones, anyways :)

Orson finished up his gymnastics for the next little bit. It was amazing to see how confident he became over just a few short weeks. Now he loves to spin and jump at home too.

Sleeping has become a new adventure. Orson is getting so big that he has a hard time getting comfortable at night sometimes....I'm not sure how this position ended up being the way to go.

And he finally has enough hair for some real bed head! I love it.

And here are a few of my favorite mug shots from the past month:
Lucy is all grown up now that she has been abroad :)

And Orson