Where did Spring Go? A Post by the Real Baby!

Hi!  It's me, the Real Baby of Sheboygan County!  It's been a while, but I've been very busy this Spring!  My Mama has, too.  That's why we've been a little absent from the blog.  She says she'll try harder to stay up to date!  

My cousins, Tommy & Gracie came to visit me for the Kohler Festival of Beer.  We had lots of fun and they taught me how to play bean bags!

They are very fun to play with, and they're coming back for the Fourth of July weekend, too.  I can't wait!

Daddy doesn't realize that I'm a multi-tasker and can handle both his Blackberry & his beer at once.  I almost got away with it, too!

Uncle Wilber & Uncle Enos taught me the proper technique for "tipping back a cold one."  Don't worry, it was milk, and not milk stout, although I heard it was very good, too!

Things got a little out of hand, and I danced on the table.  I'm making the "Loser" sign because I couldn't get Uncle Wilbur to dance on the table with me!  

I met a new friend, too.  My name is Mary-Claire and her name is Claire Marie.  I touched her nose - just like I do all my new friends.  It's sort of like a baby fist bump, but not.

We didn't have much of a Spring, but the few nice days we did have, my Mama let me play outside.  I played in the fountain.

I ran around the neighbor's yard in my new pink tennies - I can run fast in them!

I helped Mama water the plants - sort of.  Paddy likes to help, too!

I played in the dirt.  Herbs smell good!  

I love to swing & slide!  

And I have this new cool water table that I can splash and play in.  I think it's even better than the fountain!  

Now that it's summer, it's done nothing but rain and I've been cooped up inside.  Rain, rain go away, come again some other day!  Or at least rain at night.  Please!

I'll catch you up again soon - I promise!

The Real Baby of Sheboygan County

A Hoppy Easter!

Saturday we were greeted by a surprise visit from the Easter Bunny! Mary-Claire loved it, and I think she thought it was a big puppy dog - she kept patting it. A wonderful surprise from friends that we will appreciate for years!

The Easter Bunny snuck in again and left the little one with a few Easter treats. She loved "shaking" the eggs to see if there was something inside.

We went to Easter Mass, which was followed by an egg hunt, however Dad supervised and didn't want her to mess up her outfit in the wet muck. Good call by Dad, I think. I think she had fun watching the other kids, though.

We followed that with Easter brunch. It was a beautiful display, and again, we saw the Easter bunny.

Mary-Claire had a fancy lunch, and was mostly well-behaved, but then needed to run and play, so off to the croquet court she went.

She tried to make friends with the older girls, but they can be a little "cliquey."

Then back inside to play with the bunny ears

And finally home to dump all the eggs

It was a very Hoppy, Happy Easter!

The Real Housewife of Sheboygan County

The Birthday Party

We celebrated Mary-Claire's birthday a little late.  Hey, she's only 1.  What's a few days, right?  She loved the balloons!

She was mesmerized by the candles on the cake!

She kept saying "mmmmmm" every time she had a lick of frosting or a bite of cake!

She got some new toys (guess I better pack the old ones away for a while!)

And some new clothes

And when she looks back on the photos many years from now, I think she will be able to see that she was loved!

The Real Housewife of Sheboygan County

P.S.  As I write this, I am looking out my window at a big fat robin in the snow.  Yes, I said SNOW.  It's almost the end of April for God's sake.  Please let us have temps in the 60s soon.  Please.

Happy Birthday Mary-Claire!

Amazing to think that one year ago today, I was waiting to have a C-Section at Children's Hospital of Wisconsin and to welcome our little Mary-Claire.  We knew she had a tough road ahead, but both of us are very positive people and knew that everything would go our way.

She arrived at 10:13 a.m. and was shortly whisked away to the NICU to await her surgery.  She had strong vitals, so we weren't concerned.  Perhaps the grandparents were most concerned, but we had faith that she would "Play Like a Champion" through her surgery and recovery.

She was a trouper, and seemed to meet every milestone with ease.  They even let her out of the NICU after 8 days - after cautioning us it would be 3-6 weeks!

She has thrived since then, and we have had many memorable moments.  She loves her dog, Paddy, and I know they will be great friends for many years.

She is happy and goes to any one.   Father Bob says he has never met a baby like her, who is at such ease with anyone she meets.

She will continue to grow and hopefully thrive and meet all her milestones, and we will always call her our little miracle.  Amazing that her dad and I, after meeting in 1986, finally married in 2009, and welcomed her one year ago today on April 6, 2010.

Everything happens for a reason....

Happy Birthday Mary-Claire McBride Richerson,

If you would like, please click below to witness the miracle of her birth - it's graphic, but it does show you just how far this little girl has come!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PApWvefspzw

Much love from the Real Housewife of Sheboygan County and her awesome Husband

Happy St. Patrick's Day! Twice!

All I can say is it's a good thing we had a "trial run" for St. Paddy's Day.  We did a run-through a couple of weeks ago and I got some great pictures.  A few of them are below.

Then, the real day hit.  Mama had grand aspirations of great mother-daughter pics to share with Daddy when he came home from Scotland.

Someone had other ideas.  We had a rough start this morning, starting with our "Little People" parade.

Little Miss Cranky pants just wasn't satisfied with the people on the float, so they all "fell" off.  Kind of like a real St. Patrick's Day parade, I suppose, after too many green beers or Jamesons.  We joke that the one in the green tuxedo is Uncle Wilbur, because he actually does have a green tuxedo from when he used to ride in the Kansas City parade.

We even tipped a cow!

I did get a couple of smiles - finally!

Then we tried a nap and a clothing change.  I thought it would be a great time to get some mother daughter pictures and try out my new camera remote.  All I can say is the camera remote worked great!  The baby, not so much.  Here are my best shots.

So, some St. Patrick's day dreams aren't meant to be realized.  At least this year.  Maybe practice makes perfect.

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

The Real Housewife of Sheboygan County