Birthday bash

Here are some photos from Josie's birthday party and Memorial day weekend in Portland with the family. We had a nice time, and really enjoyed being with everyone. Josie picked this busy weekend to ditch her second nap, which did cause a little bit of chaos, though she weathered it well.
My mom hosted everyone at the Grompe house. We had awesome food: mom made ribs with 2 sauces, a classic sauce and a watermelon BBQ sauce that was a real hit. I made a chocolate cake, which was so moist and delicious that it had trouble staying upright. Heidi did the cake decorations and streamers.
She LOVED the food, especially the cake, and had a great time unwrapping her presents! She was truly the center of attention. Lucky girl!

Birthday memories

Remember this day last year? I sure do (sort of :-). Here are a few pictures of Josie on the day of her birth. Tomorrow: birthday celebration photos!

POD- sleeper

Some pictures of my sleeping angel... I used to take lots of these when she was a sleepy little newborn, but as she has grown she has gotten sensitive to noises and wakes up so easily that I dare not sneak in to take pictures! These I got in a rare moment when she was sleeping late and I needed to wake her up. So sweet.

Josie's First Steps!!

Today, Josie took 4 steps in a row. She was standing in the bath tub, trying to maneuver her way toward the spout, and just stood up and walked on over to it!
She has taken 1-2 steps a couple of other times, but they have always been steps on the way to a sort of crash landing, and never really seemed all that intentional. So we are counting today as the landmark of FIRST STEPS!!

POD series- Josie has hair!

Josie had a great time trying on some hair yesterday. She looks good with long locks, don't you think? Real hair courtesy of our friend Tiffany :-)

POD- beautiful girl

Mother's Day PODs

Beautiful weekend

Today is such a beautiful day, I can hardly wait to get out in the sunshine. I was scheduled to work 11-7 today, but got a no pay (at least for the first part of the shift... we'll see about the afternoon). Josie is napping, so I am going to head off in search of a craigslist play kitchen for her birthday, and then we'll all go out for an outdoor adventure when she wakes up. Unexpected time like this is such a treat! And, as a treat for you, a naked baby picture :-)

More PODs

Here are a few more of the pics from the last POD series. I decided I like them all, so they get posted!

POD

11 months

Josie turned 11 months old this weekend. We had a nice time in Portland. We went to Heidi's softball game on Friday, Portland State farmer's market and dinner with the Yost grandparents on Saturday, and an outdoor mass in Spanish with a Mariachi band in honor of Cinco de Mayo.
She now proudly sports 6 teeth, stands unassisted, loves to run around with no pants on, and is becoming increasingly insistent on her own agenda. I think she is discovering her independence!
Here are a couple photos of her from this morning, crawling around and over everything like a 4WD.