Mommy's Trip to Minnesota

Mommy went on her first trip without me over New Year's to be the Matron of Honor in Auntie Courtney's wedding. She traveled all the way to Minneapolis, Minnesota on a plane and then drove to Anoka, Minnesota to stay with Courtney and (her now husband) Tom. Here is a photo Mommy took of downtown Minneapolis and another one of the frozen over Mississippi.

Here is the cute little salon where all the bridesmaids got their hair done. More impressive than the hair, I got the cutest pair of wool fleece lined mittens here! My only Minnesota purchase.

From the salon, we went straight to the chapel to get everyone dressed for the ceremony. It was held at the Fort Snelling Military Chapel just outside Minneapolis.

After Mommy and the other bridesmaids made sure that Courtney got hitched, it was off to the reception at a local golf course - like everything else - covered in snow. The high on the day of the wedding was -5, with a low of -18. Below are photos of Mommy posing outdoors (no frostbite!) and sledding in her bridesmaid dress just to show all her California friends and family. Yes, that is her breath in the first photo and she did actually wear long underwear and ugg boots under her bridesmaid dress.

Other than the wedding, Mommy spent most of her time participating in wedding related events (usually eating) or sleeping. She also got to visit the Mall of America, but spent most of the shopping time trying to find a wrap to wear with the bridesmaid dress (and didn't even wear it in the end).

Christmas 2009

Our Christmas this year was very low key - kinda nice! Mommy, Daddy, and I spent Christmas Eve and Christmas morning alone together. I opened my presents before Bubba and Sissy came over from their mommy's house, but really didn't care too much after opening the first one. It made sounds and had flashing lights! Mommy thought I would like just ripping the paper off stuff (she even wrapped up a toothbrush to put in my stocking), but I didn't quite get into it like I did at my birthday.

When Bubba and Sissy came over, they brought back Daddy's Tigger Christmas hat and decided to put it on my head. I promptly pulled it down over my face to hide from the camera.

Halloween 2009

Mommy decided it would be cute to dress me up as a little old man. Unfortunately, due to the bow tie, I look like a drunk little old man. I went to exactly 5 houses to trick or treat (since it was way past my bedtime to begin with).

Maryland Trip (October 2009)

Way back in October, right after I turned 1 year old, Daddy took Mommy and I out to visit Maryland. We were lucky enough to stay with friends of his family in the house right next door to where he used to live! This was in Cape St. Claire right on Chesapeake Bay. I got to play around on the shore with sticks and walked up and down collecting rocks and polished sea glass. We also went out on a boat - I wasn't too sure about it, and hated my life vest, but eventually settled down and enjoyed the ride.

We visited the Naval Academy (where Daddy went to school) on a couple different occasions. The first time, we walked around the campus to see the buildings. The second time we went to shop. Here's a photo of Daddy and I at Memorial Hall.

We also spent a good amount of time eating. Our second night there, our family and the Schneiders (our hosts and their kids and grandkids) had a traditional Maryland blue crab picnic dinner on newspaper and picnic tables. I managed to sleep through the entire evening, but they bought enough crab for another night's dinner so I got to see how it was done. Daddy and Mommy say its a good thing I like seafood!