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Ro has been with us for a year now! We celebrated his first birthday with family and ice cream cake. What a year it has been . . . tonight, just for old times' sake, Mercer & I put on Thriller and reminisced about times spent gently bouncing a screaming, tiny Ro to the beat, 5:20am, before sunrise, staring out the window, seeing nothing. Thinking back to those days, it's hard to recognize the cheery, personable little guy he has become.

We had an awesome birthday weekend (well, hopefully Ro did, 'cause I sure did). Grandmas and Grandpas abounded, as did a Great Grandma and an Aunt Hannah, and others were with us in spirit. Plus, it was downright hot, so we did what we do best: played outside and ate copious amounts of food. R loed his ice cream cake. Okay, so did I.

This past weekend was decidedly less gorgeous. It poured rain, we all went a little stir crazy, so long story short we ended up mall walking Sunday afternoon, which was unexpectly a great idea. What other activities allow you to stretch your legs and laugh at teenagers all at once? Just kidding, I heart teens. In other, even less cheery news, our porch is on the verge of caving in. Long story, but we have been awash in repair estimates. Our life sometimes feels like an instructional manual entitled Don't Do Things This Way. Anyhow, here are some pix from sunnier times:


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