I had every intention of getting this post up immediately after the conclusion of the weekend, but life got in the way.

Last weekend our little family made a trip back up to the St. Cloud area to celebrate the marriage of my cousin Rebecca to her fantastic now-husband, Andrew. I honestly can’t think of a pair of people better suited for one another than these two. The day was lovely – both the weather and the abundant joy – and we enjoyed every bit of it.

Even the bit when Ada got really wiggly and sleepy and then passed out in the middle of dinner.

Although we don’t have any pictures with the bride and groom, the photos above should be sufficient evidence that we were present. Here’s wishing you all the love in the world, Rebecca and Andrew!

The Sunday following the wedding was another perfect fall day. We spent some good time exploring outside at Oma and Opa’s before making the long (not really) trek home.

If you were to listen to the forecast, apparently Minnesota was blessed with one “Top 10 Weather Day” right after the other this weekend. Unfortunately for me, “Top 10 Weather Day” means above 80 degrees and sunny. I don’t approve of those temperatures in July much less October! Ah well. We got ourselves out of the house early in the day to avoid the worst of it.

Saturday, Ada enjoyed some high-quality shopping time with Mom and Grandma. She was a little trooper, and scored some sweet new duds at Once Upon a Child.

On Sunday morning, we packed up and headed over to the park right as soon as we were all awake. It was Ada’s first time actually testing out the swing and playing at the playground. (As much as one can play when one can’t even really crawl yet.)

Sunday was Aunt T’s birthday. We won’t mention how old she is now. (She’s ANCIENT.) She chose birthday dinner at the Glockenspiel which the family wholeheartedly supported. Even Ada who couldn’t eat the food and just had to chew on a spoon and look awesome in her little sweater dress.

A busy weekend made for a sleepy girl! Thank goodness. Early bedtime made it easy for Dad to enjoy some Space Odyssey and Mom to binge on some PBS with Aunt T and K. Berg.

It’s not often that Steve and I get to go out alone – or go out at ALL – these days. Lucky for us, Grandma agreed to watch Ada into the evening on Tuesday so we could have a little baby-free time together.

The evening ended up being sparse on the photo front. That’s OK. It just means we were spending all of our time enjoying each other’s company (and some excellent service from our favorite Happy Gnome waitress.) Here’s what I did manage to snag:

I love our little family, but I really relish the bits of alone time I get with my dear husband these days. Of course, I’m always happy to see a smiling (or sleeping or shouting) baby at the end of it all.

Ada has a new favorite fall “toy” which keeps her happily occupied in her high chair.

It really is the simple things.

On Sunday we enjoyed a belated celebration of Ada’s existence with the Ruprecht side of the family. It was a beautiful fall day and, despite being overly tired, Ada was a champ. She didn’t get fussy or sassy. The only downside was that she really wanted to eat brats and sauerkraut but wasn’t allowed. (Poor thing.)

All-in-all, it was successful. We’re still recovering (on Tuesday) but it was well worth it for a chance to meet the whole family.

Now we just need to get to work teaching Ada how to write thank you notes for her gifts. Goal: get them out by the end of the week. Wish us luck.

This past weekend the Ruprecht clan tried something that is apparently rather uncommon: tent camping with a 5-month-old baby.

Summer came and went quickly this year, and one day Steve and I looked and each other and realized that we hadn’t been camping at all. Totally unusual for us! After a brief conference, we decided that we must go and that we must take Ada along.

It was a good choice.

Although the rain on Friday night made for a rather restless sleep (Ada did NOT care for the giant raindrops that would fall from the trees and hit the tent loudly in the night), the rest of the weekend was perfect. We went on a couple of hikes, played in the river, swung in the hammock, made friends with some caterpillars and chipmunks, and felt ALL of the flowers and leaves and tree bark.

Would we do it again? Absolutely. Get ’em started on nature early, I say!

On the way home we even swung by Interstate State Park in Taylors Falls to show Ada where Mom and Dad got married. She was fairly apathetic about the side trip. Ah well.

But, you know, not like the scandalous sort of parking our parents did on the outskirts of town back in the day.

Ada and I spent Labor Day morning at the park – Carver Park Reserve to be specific – with Katie and her little boy, Caleb. Caleb is another of Ada’s “friends.” The sort which are forced on each other because their mothers like to spend time together.

Anyway, it was a GORGEOUS day for a walk outside! Especially refreshing after the unbearably hot and humid week we just came out of. As you can see, the kiddos seemed to think our plan was a good one.

After we’d made the long loop around one of the paved trails, we set up camp under the trees and let Caleb and Ada play for a while. Play is a term I use loosely here. It consisted mostly of Caleb talking and wiggling very excitedly while Ada stared at him and then tried to poke his eyes out. Ah, kids!

Hopefully this won’t be our last park outing. It seems like a great destination for some colorful leaf appreciation in the fall.

Last weekend we decided to introduce Ada to an important MN staple: the Renaissance Festival.

As I’m sure you all suspected, she was the most well-behaved child on the premises and loved every minute of her three hours there. (Steve loved it, too. Sort of.)

We started things off by abandoning Ada in the middle of Food Alley to see how she’d handle it. It seems that total apathy was all she could muster.

Our next stop was obviously for cheese curds. While I gorged myself on fried dairy balls, Ada and Aunt T listened to some music. Although her face doesn’t express it correctly, Ada was at least as excited as Theresa was. Probably more. That drum was captivating!

It turns out that some vendors at the festival have a 6th sense. They can just tell when you really need a pickle. This lovely gentleman darted out into our path, insisting that we must have a pickle. Who were we to disagree? He even went so far as to escort T back to his pickle bucket for a crisp treat. This entire interaction was actually Steve’s favorite part of the day. Well worth the $2 price tag.

After we’d all been nourished – the adults by soup and smashed potatoes, and Ada by some milk in the mead garden – it was time to meet some animals. The goat was by far the most interesting. It and Ada became fast friends.

Add a couple more loops around the grounds (and one very unsteady experience in the precarious diaper changing Biffy), and we had one little girl who just gave up. On being awake at least.

Will we do it again next year? Probably. Will Steve come along? Probably not. But that’s OK. It’ll be a most excellent girls’ day out!

Ada has a new favorite song.

And it’s an original courtesy of Steve and me.

(Sung to the tune of “Frère Jacques”)

Baby Ada, Baby Ada

Smells like poo, smells like poo

Maybe we should change her, maybe we should change her

No way, Dude! No way, Dude!

Let’s try it as a round now!

It’s hard to believe that it’s been a week already, but on August 12, Theresa and I ventured down to the new CHS field for the 4th annual Internet Cat Video Festival.

You read that right. An entire festival dedicated to internet cat videos.

Needless to say, we had an amazing time.