4th of July weekend

The 4th weekend saw a lot of fun activities for the Thomas family. Saturday we went to Red, White, and Boom (a concert done by the Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra @ CMAC in Canandaigua) with the Rochester Thomases and Eric (soon to be Uncle Eric).
CMAC has a lawn behind the regular orchestra seating, so we sat in lawn chairs and on blankets. It was probably the best way to enjoy a concert with a one-year-old because she was still able to roam a little bit. 

They brought a flag balloon for Eleanor to play with.  We weren't supposed to take pictures, but I took a few anyway.

We had a lovely time enjoying the music and watching Eleanor attempt to walk on a fairly steep slope.

After the concert, they provided a really nice (short) fireworks show.  Eleanor was getting pretty tired by that point, but still enjoyed her first experience with fireworks, as long as she was securely on Aunt Liz's lap.

On Sunday we joined the Toevs and some other friends at Hope Lake to give the kids a chance to play in the water.  And to give Eleanor a chance to try out her patriotic bikini (courtesy of Aunt Corey and Uncle Dan).

Eleanor really is a water baby, she was incredibly happy to play in the water for a couple of hours even though she hadn't had her full nap.  What follows are just some cute photos of her (and others).

As Aunt Corey said when she got her a bikini for her birthday, "If you've got it flaunt it!"

Just enjoying the beach

The whole crew, minus Hudson and Ian

Hudson enjoyed the water too

Gotta stay hydrated

Once we got cleaned up, the guys took a trip to the cars and Eleanor played up near our stuff.  She really liked the blanket that Ian and Vanessa brought and flopped on it multiple times.

Finally, once we got home, we brought an exhausted monkey into the house.  She barely stirred when we took her out of the car.  So, she and I snoozed on the couch for half an hour or so. I rarely get snuggles from her these days, so it was nice to get some time with her.

Eleanor's first birthday

Ok, it's official.  I've been meaning to get this blog up and running for over a YEAR now!  I am reminded of this by the fact that Eleanor just turned a year old about a month ago.  This was supposed to be mostly about her development and the fun things that we got to do with her at each new stage, starting at birth....

Oh well, water under the bridge. :-)

June 18, 2011 was a much more pleasant day for me that June 18, 2010.  The weather was beautiful on both days, but the preparations for Eleanor's birthday party were a whole lot more fun for me than the preparations for her delivery.  Cake versus Pitocin?  Cake wins every time.  Especially cute monkey cakes that turn out better than you had hoped!

This picture also shows the monkey cupcakes, which Eleanor got one of as her smash cake.

The party was mostly an opportunity for Ben and I to have people over to our house, but it was a wonderful celebration of the sweet little girl who entered our lives a year ago.  Both of our families joined us for the celebration as well as some of our closest friends from Ithaca.

We started with a wonderful picnic lunch of burgers, hot dogs, rosa marina salad (aka pink stuff), fruit salad, pasta salad, and chips.  Eleanor thoroughly enjoyed her special pasta salad reserved by Grandma Pat before she put the dressing on it so that it wouldn't be too slippery for her to eat as finger food.

After lunch, the birthday girl got a ride in her new wagon.

And then had fun trying out her new pool with her cousins and the other young party guests. (Some of the older party guests enjoyed putting their feet in too.)

Then it was time for cake.  Eleanor picked the Cheerio eyes off of her cupcake first and then ate all of the frosting, but wasn't terribly interested in the cupcake itself.

Here is the end result.

As the party wound down, Eleanor enjoyed a nice break in the grass with Aunt Mere.

Once everyone left, a very happy, tired baby enjoyed her glut of balloons until bed time.

These are the ears that we got for her to wear during the party, but they were misplaced until afterward.  I just thought I would throw a couple of these pictures in because they were cute.

Thank you to everyone who celebrated with us! It has been a wonderful year getting to know our  little monkey and we look forward to many more opportunities to celebrate her life with friends and family.