It's Mommy's Turn!

...both to race and to celebrate my birthday! Daddy and I finished the Tim Kerr race together; he won second in his age group, and I won second overall female. I think our great cheerleading squad -- Emily, Marlo, and Danny -- really helped!



We ended the day with my all-time favorite: Mimi's mint chocolate chip ice cream cake. Too bad you all missed out on it!

Nine Months Old

She's still a little peanut -- we put her on the baggage scale at the Vancouver airport, and she only weighed 7.1 kg, or roughly 15 lbs. 10 oz. -- but look how long she is!

Oh, Canada!

What a great vacation! If only it weren't so far away, we could totally see ourselves living in British Columbia. It was absolutely gorgeous.

Aside from the race, some other fun things Emily did:

1. Went to her first winery, the Red Rooster in Penticton:


2. Slept through a boat ride on Lake Okanagan:


3. Stayed awake for her first ferry ride, from Vancouver to Vancouver Island:



4. Slept through her first hike, up Mount Work outside of Victoria:



5. Slept through the whale-watching tour:



6. And, finally, stayed awake for her second hike, down to China Beach:



Sadly, the trip ended all too soon, but we were welcomed home tonight with a nice surprise, courtesy of Momma D:


Thanks to everyone for making it such a memorable trip. I know James is so grateful for all of the support, and of course we both like having a few extra hands to help with Emily!

Go Daddy Go!

Daddy is now a two-time Ironman! He dropped an amazing 1 hour and 16 minutes from his time at Lake Placid last summer. It was a long day, but it went by so fast ... at least for us spectators! We are all so proud of you, James. You are OUR Ironman!

Our Traveling Nightmare

Did you know babies need passports to travel to Canada? I don't know how we missed that crucial piece of information, and we ended up finding out the hard way: at the airport at 5:30am.

Fortunately, we were able to get Emily her very first passport today, and we'll be able to join everyone else in Penticton tomorrow. It was a long day, and my dad and I are exhausted, but Emily wasn't even fazed. Here's her passport photo:

And here she is playing peek-a-boo on the way home from the airport at 7:00am:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vKSrBO9tUao

Birthday Wishes for Mom-Mom

Emily loves playing in the grass, but she loves her Mom-Mom even more. Just look!

Jumping Makes Me Tired

Nautical Baby

More Fun in the Sand

We let Emily loose on the beach today. This girl is not meant to be cooped up in a playpen!

I didn't say it...

Happy Birthday ... Again!

We surprised Rich with a second birthday bash in NYC tonight ... or at least we tried. (We weren't too quiet when he came to Erin's door!) We had a great time, and I was ready to stay out late -- James was more than happy to have the excuse of staying in with Emily -- until I remembered that there's no sleeping in when you're sharing a hotel room with a baby!

Say Goodbye to the Dock, Em...

Cruising

Playing in the Sand

It was our first time on the beach since Memorial Day, and let me just say that Emily really doesn't care for the taste of sand.

Happy Birthday, Richie!

Rich is turning the big 3-Oh this week, and we celebrated with a little dinner on the soon-to-be-demolished dock to celebrate. Happy Birthday, big brother!