Lily & Jaxx

Here's a set of pictures I find so cute. They're of Lily and her cousin Jaxx when they were both spending time with my parents last month. Watching these two waddle around the house together in their matching glow in the dark skeleton pajamas was a riot. One can only imagine what was going through Lily's mind when this picture was taken. Fear of her finger being bitten off? Concern that her hands were so greased up with butter that she wouldn't be able to hold onto her delicious toast once Jaxx clamped down? I can't tell how big a bite Jaxx was able to get but Lily quickly decides that she deserves some of his toast... And then they finally realize they don't have to fight because great grandma Dona is a pushover and will give them the whole loaf of bread drenched in as much butter as they want because they're cute and adorable and have matching glow in the dark skeleton outfits. She's a good grandma :)

Lily Dancing

Here's a quick video taken last month while Lily spent a few days in Pendleton with my mom. It shows her dancing but I think it beautifully captures her signature move which is a shrug. She shrugs her shoulders, tilts her head to the right, scrunches her nose up and smiles when you say something sweet to her. It's adorable and I hope she does it forever.

Pumpkin Patch

John, Lily and I enjoyed a beautiful fall day at the pumpkin patch this past weekend.

We went to see the farm animals...

...looked for the perfect pumpkin...

...and looked...

...and we found the Great Pumpkin.

We brought her red wagon but she wanted out. While she normally loves wagon rides (who doesn't?) she preferred walking along the long lines of pumpkins.

We ended the adventure with a shared bag of mini donuts. Lily got a rush of independence when she was allowed to hold the bag herself and delighted in the simple pleasure of reaching in to pull warm donuts out one by one.

The Tickle Monster

Watch out for the tickle monster! Lily thinks it's hilarious to sneak up on John and I and give a little tickle. She tickles John's toes every time he lays down without his shoes and if I'm close to the ground at all she'll get the small of my back.

Lily at the Beach

Lily is like a sponge lately and it's evident that she's learning new things everyday. Her personality is begining to shine and she's so much fun to be around. She's always been a content and happy baby full of giggles and smiles but now she's also showing an eagerness to please and make others laugh. Here are a few pictures from this past weekend at the Oregon coast. We took some bread to feed the birds since she's so facinated with them but it turned out she was more interested in eating the bread herself and playing with washed up seaweed.

Look at Me!

I took Lily for her 1 year check up yesterday. For her, it was her 13 1/2 month check up but who's counting? She's now 30.3 inches tall (75 percentile) and weighs in at 20.8lbs (20-50% percentile). She's changing so rapidly I can hardly believe it. She's now saying, "all done", "hi", "cracker", "mama" and "dadee" and walking very well. Here's a short clip we have of her walking. It's not the best quality but it will be a nice treat for those who haven't seen her walk yet. I discovered Lily could drink through a straw accidentally a few weeks back. We had several people over from the neighborhood and I had bought juice boxes for the kids. She was intrigued by the little boxes all the kids were carrying around and when the little boy from across the street left his juice within Lily's reach she snagged it and started walking around the house happily slurping away. We now enjoy smoothies a couple of times a week. Here she is enjoying her first smoothie. I just love seeing her little ruby lips wrap around that straw. Here's a couple of pictures from a weekend trip to the park. She loves watching and being around other kids at the park.

Here she is just after stealing a cracker from the diaper bag. She loves loves crackers so much she's saying the word already. It comes out, "Cra Cra" but with all the pointing and grunting you know what she means. We put her in her cheerleader outfit for the first day of football season.

She still gets excited about picking tomatoes. She does a great job picking them but it's a challenge to get her to put them in the bowl rather than her mouth.

Just a cutie

My best day ever...

This week, we have a special blogging guest, my sexy husband John. Well folks... it's great to finally have a contribution of my own to share. Let me tell you about "my best day ever..." Some would think that their wedding day or even the actual birth of their children would qualify, and I agree they are all remarkable events. I am proud to report that after spending all of last Saturday with my Lillianne, for me, this qualifies as my best day ever.

Amy and Rachel raced off to take a hike around Mt. Rainer so we began the day going to Pike Place Market around 9 AM. I was a little miffed about them taking off earlier than me because they stole the stroller and I was left with the big red Radio Flyer. How was I going to haul this thing around and navigate through the crowds? Well... she had the time of her life in there because she was able to mix it up with the people as well as have some fresh peaches. I don't know what was funnier, watching the people watch her as she mauled the fruit or the fact that she ate the whole thing in less than 5 minutes. There were people from all walks of life present, many of which didn't speak English as a first language. At any rate, we did enjoy going to many of my favorite hang outs there including Beechers Cheese Company. After the market, we took a quick drive down to the Ballard Locks. I usually make a visit or two to this location during the year because it reminds me of the harbor and being close to the ships I used to see in Duluth Minnesota while going to college. The Ballard Locks are the segway for many small recreational craft looking to go from Lake Union in norther part of Seattle to the Pacific Ocean via the Puget Sound. This is also the home to the Northwestern from the Deadliest Catch which makes this shipyard home located within the lock system. Amus and I love Sig and the crew. As you can see... Lily loved to see the fishies as they made their way up the fish ladder. The king salmon are running now and some measured over 3 feet long! She loved to bang on the glass as the fish went by. From here, we stayed in the park for a while and had a picnic. Families were all around so there was plenty to keep Lily busy for a while. I even had an opportunity to meet a family who was visiting the area from Minnesota. Turns out that they were also from Maple Grove and lived within 15 minutes of my parents. After a few hours here, she was ready for a nap. So was I.

We continued our journey northward to the city of Edmonds to take the ferry across the sound to Kingston. We were destined to go to one of my favorite cities in the northwest, Pulsbo. Here, we went to the Dancing Brush to make a gift for Grandma Barney that she'll receive in a few weeks. Lily was hungry so we stopped at one of my most favorite unknown gems, "that's a some Italian Ristorante". It's believed that JFK Jr. made a pop-in at one time. From here, we decided to head home because it was approaching Lily's bedtime.

We hopped on the ferry once again from Bainbridge Island back to Seattle. On the ferry, I quickly learned my daughter is obsessed with flying birds. I, and many others on board, were in stitches as Lily was screaming at the sea gulls as they flew through the air. She became more obsessed as I would shove her up in the air to become closer to the birds. She really felt like she could grab one! By now, it was now 9 PM and she couldn't take it anymore. I hope she had fun. I spent a lot of the down time during the day reflecting on all of the gifts that God has given me and my family. It's quite remarkable to imagine it all. I'm not sure what Lily thought as the day progressed. As for me, I'm already planning for my next "best day ever..."