New Site

We have moved blog spots. Our new blog page can be found here:

http://www.fortneyadventure.com

Bon voyage, Espinozas!

We recently found out that Jon's brother-in-law, Anthony, will be stationed in Japan for the next three years. This Memorial Day, all of Jon's brothers and sisters came over to visit, so we could spend time together before Beth, Anthony, Colin & Ally go overseas. Please keep them in your prayers!

The National Zoo

Jon had a business trip this week in Maryland, so the girls and I tagged along and we all went to the National Zoo in Washington DC. Our friends Monika and Sean went too, and we all had a great time. Lily seemed most impressed by the train ride (the Metro) and the orangutans.

To see some more pictures, click HERE.

To see a video, click below:

A Happy Mother's Day

This Mother's Day was an extra special one for us, as we decided to have Eve dedicated (much like a baptism) on Sunday. Eve behaved really well in church as she got passed around from family member to family member! And her big sister, Lily, had a blast playing with her cousins and grandparents.

Here is a clip from the dedication:

To see more photos, click HERE.

Fun at the Farm

Lily, Eve and I went to a friend's farm recently to play with some animals. Lily got to bottle feed a lamb, and she was very excited about it! Here is a video clip from the day:

Happy Easter!

We hope you all had a wonderful Easter! We certainly did here, starting with a visit from my sister, Tracy, and her family. The kids all dyed Easter Eggs together (and my tablecloth!) a few days before the holiday.

On Easter Sunday, we spent the day at my mother-in-law's house, along with most of Jon's family.

Here are a few photos from the week:

Easter Egg Hunt

Lily had a great time this weekend at a church Easter Egg hunt. Jon and I had a blast watching her run around looking for the eggs. Of course, it wasn't as much fun for us when she ate all the chocolate inside and had a sugar high! Here is a video clip of her expedition:

First Month & First Bath

Eve turned 1 month on March 8th, and she is doing really well. She still only sleeps a few hours at a time at night, but Jon and I are managing to keep our sanity!

Lily has been doing well with her little sister and enjoying helping me take care of her.

We gave Eve her first bath last night. She didn't seem to mind it...too much!

Happy Valentine's Day!

The Fortneys had a quiet, but fun Valentine's Day. Eve enjoyed playing with her new bear from Auntie Monika, and later in the day Jon, Lily, Caesar and I enjoyed some sledding in the snow:

Welcome Eve!

Finally! Eve Victoria Fortney arrived on February the 8th, after waiting for what seemed like forever. She weighed 8 pounds and 5 ounces. The delivery went well, and the baby and I are doing well too.

We were lucky to have Beth, Eve's Aunt, as our nurse after the delivery. It was so special to have a family member look after us (and bring me my pain medication!).



We brought Eve home on Wednesday, and Lily seems to like the idea of having a little sister. We'll see how long that lasts!

To see more pictures, click HERE.

And here is a short video from the hospital:

Still waiting for baby...

Well I am officially two days past my due date and very anxious for the new baby to arrive! Unfortunately, I think she is waiting for the big snowstorm this weekend. In the meantime, I am enjoying my time with Lily. Here are some of our latest videos:

Riding on the carousel with Emma and Henry:

Singing "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star"

A Merry Christmas

Jon, Lily and I had a very good Christmas this year and enjoyed seeing a lot of family and friends. We hope everyone else had a good holiday as well and has a happy new year.

To see photos of all the events (ranging from making Christmas cookies for Santa to opening presents on Christmas morning), click HERE.

To see a slide show of some of the photos, click below:

To see some video clips from the holiday, click below:

A visit with Santa

We took Lily to see Santa Claus this past week and were very happy with the results! Last year, she wouldn't get near Santa without hysterically crying, but this year she was more than happy to sit on his lap and ask for a present. She even told him all about Caesar and Daphne!

Another Wedding Weekend!

The Fortneys trekked down to Georgia this past weekend to attend my sister's wedding to my now brother-in-law, Bill Mallalieu. It was a beautiful ceremony and great reception! Unfortunately, neither my pictures nor video came out great due to lighting issues (and, well, operator error). But you can see some of what I salvaged below.

Here is a video clip from the ceremony, along with some still shots toward the end. Bill's daughter is the one singing:

And here is some video from the reception (mostly of Lily dancing!):

Happy Holidays!

Jon, Lily and I have had a great start to the holiday season, beginning with Thanksgiving. We went to Smith Mountain Lake to spend the day with my parents and Grandma. We had some wonderful food (including, I have to brag, my awesome pumpkin cookies!).

Then we enjoyed our first snow fall, which I think Caesar enjoyed the most:

Jon and I also went to his company's holiday party recently too, at one of the nicest restaurants in Charlottesville. I don't think I've ever eaten such good food!

Finally, we went to church this Sunday at Jon's mom's church, where many members of the family, including Lily, joined to sing Christmas hymns. It was really a great experience to hear them all together. I just hope Lily gets some musical talent from my mother and Jon's, because she is in trouble if she takes after either of us!

Here is a short clip from church. I will have a link to the entire event shortly:

Hunting Trips and Baptisms

I'm getting a little lazy, now that I'm almost 7 months pregnant, so here are two events for this one blog post! The Fortneys have been busy lately. We all went on a hunting trip in Highland County recently with my parents. We had a good time, even though Dad and Jon didn't shoot any deer.

Here are some pictures:






That same weekend, we went to Lily's cousin's baptism. Anna was baptized last Sunday, and she looked adorable! Here are some pictures of the event:

Happy Halloween!

This year, Lily dressed up as a princess for Halloween, and she just loved her dress and wand! We took her to an SPCA event for the day, complete with treats for both children and dogs. Seeing the little puppies all dressed up was probably more exciting to Lily than the candy and games. Here is a picture with one of the dogs:

And here is Lily playing pin the nose on the pumpkin:

And here are some other photos from the day:

Skyline Drive

With fall foliage upon us in Central Virginia, we took our annual trip to Skyline Drive this weekend to see the beautiful changing leaves. Lily enjoyed running around outside and playing in the grass, while Jon and I enjoyed taking way too many pictures with our new camera! Here is a little slide show from the day:

A Fortney Wedding

Just last weekend, Jon's younger brother, Tim, got married. The wedding was absolutely perfect! Christina (the bride) looked beautiful, the weather was great, and the reception was just so much fun.

Lily was a flower girl, along with her cousin Ally, and she did a pretty decent job. I did have to walk her down the isle, but at least there were no temper tantrums!

Click HERE to see some more photos.

Click HERE to see a video from the wedding.