Sweet Silliness

Lily has a quite a few beautiful dresses that she has received as gifts, hand-me-downs, and even a few that I've bought for her. The truth is we have more special dresses then we have special occasions to wear them. So, I've decided...who needs a special occasion? After all, isn't every day special?!? Breakfast at the diner with Dad Dad was a good enough excuse to break out this pretty little dress.


Here are a few outtakes from our little sweetie's "fashion shoot". Proof that even dressed up Lily is still her sweet silly self! Lily was entertaining herself thoroughly. She would sit up and then say, "Knock over" and fall to one side or the other. She was laughing hysterically and I was, too!

Lily actually wore this same dress to the shower that my mother-in-law's church had for us when we first came home. It didn't seem like it to me at the time but Lily must have been positively swimming in the dress! Check out how much she's grown since then!

Lilypalooza 2

Happy You You to Lily!

To refer to the party we had for Lily as Lilypalooza 2 actually does a great disservice to the original Lilypalooza. However, I think every birthday party Lily ever has will be called Lilypalooza (insert age). Suffice it to say yesterday's party was on a much smaller scale then last year's extravaganza. What did you expect? This time Tony and I hosted it!!

We all had a really wonderful time (despite the heat and bothersome insects) and Lily just loved being the center of attention. Imagine!

For me?

Lily absolutely loves tea parties. When we told Lily we were having a birthday party for her she kept referring to it as a tea party. Whenever Lily mentioned the party she would say things like: "My tea party Saturday", "Balloons at my tea party", "Dad Dad coming to my tea party". I don't mind telling you I was quite pleased with myself when I came up with this idea for her cake:

Get it? Lily's 2...loves tea parties...so, Tea for 2. Okay, maybe if I feel the need to explain it it really wasn't that clever!

We also bought Lily a little separate "smash" cake. Lily was not at all interested in smashing it...or eating it for that matter. She did, however, enjoy sticking her finger in the icing and then going one-by-one to each person and providing them with samples. Ewww...I mean...Yum!

You want some?

Yesterday was so much fun! It was great celebrating Lily's birthday with family. I love to see how much Lily loves everyone and how much they love her. I mean, why else would they eat icing off her finger!! Lily is such an amazing and perfect addition to our family. She brings so much joy and happiness to all of us! I think we all find it hard to remember a time without her!!

Here's a quick slideshow with a few more pictures from yesterday.

Doggy Hurts

Under the Chinese Zodiac Lily was born in the Year of the Dog. Unfortunately, that has not translated to a great love for man's best friend. Lily does like a few dogs...but it is definitely a select few!

Hi. I'm, Jake, one of the chosen ones! Lily absolutely loves me!!

Interestingly, Lily prefers big dogs over little dogs. We've seen Lily walk right up and pet a White Samoyed that she has never seen before and then scale me like Mt. Everest to get away from a Shih Tzu!

Lily is also not fond of loud noises (vacuum cleaner, blender, lawn mower, etc.) So, as you might guess, a small barking dog is a recipe for disaster!

On our recent trip to Maine Sheila brought her dog, Dallas. I'm not sure about Dallas' exact breed but she is some kind of terrier. Dallas is 12 years old and as a result of cataracts is completely blind in both eyes. Imagine a poor, small, blind dog in the same room with an active, noisy two year old! I think it is safe to say that both Lily and Dallas were equally traumatized!

Somehow Lily has picked up the mantra "Doggy hurts, doggy hurts...". I think this must stem from Tony and I telling her, "(Insert dog name here) is not going to hurt you". While we were in Maine Lily said this phrase no less than 1,000 times a day. Tony and I worked with Lily to reassure her that while it is true that Dallas barks...barks don't hurt...and Dallas wont hurt you. At times this seemed to work...but only as long as Lily and Dallas were in the same room. With time Lily even began to pet Dallas if Sheila held her. However, if Lily or Dallas left the room and then reentered Lily began the entire "doggy hurts" thing again. While it was obvious that sometimes Lily did this for effect it was also obvious that Lily has a very real fear of certain dogs.

I love Jake the wonder dog!!

Both Tony and I love dogs...but we both also have severe allergies to animals. So, I don't think Lily will be getting a puppy anytime in the near future! In the meantime we will continue to work with Lily to overcome her fear of dogs.

How does Lily feel about cats you ask? Yikes! That's a post for another day!

See you later Mom and Dad. Me and Miss Mary Ann are taking Jakey and Jessie for a walk!

Grammar Police

If you've read this blog for any length of time I'm sure that you've discovered that English is not my strongest subject! While it is true that English is my native language I can still split an infinitive, dangle a participle, and do a host of other things that would leave my highschool English teacher in tears.

By the way, if my English is bad...my American History is worse! Can you remind me again who won the Civil War...the grey side or the blue side? Seriously, you have to question why my parents invested all that money in a Catholic education!

Now, back to English. Please don't get me started on punctuation. I'm clueless! How exactly is one supposed to use a comma or a semi-colon? I haven't the slightest idea...so; I, just, throw, them, in, from, time, to, time.

While I am apparently barely literate there is one exception. I normally can spot a misspelling from a mile away. They just sort of hop off the page at me. Here's an example. Many years ago my mom and I were in the new Safeway store that opened near her house. As soon as we walked in the store I noticed the large, carved, wooden sign hanging above the produce section. The sign read, "Friuts and Vegetables". Friuts? Huh? Mom and I had a good laugh and went about our shopping. On the way out Mom stopped at the Customer Service desk and let them know what her eagle-eyed daughter had spotted (insert TJ with a red face here). The manager didn't believe Mom at first and actually walked over to the produce section to check it out for himself. Turns out we were right!

So, why am I rambling on about all of this? Because I want to ask you a big favor. If you spot a misspelling or some other way that I have completely butchered the English language please let me know in the comments section. Please.

The other day I happened to re-read the "Sunshine and Roses" post and was mortified to see that I had written "the whole sorted truth". What??? Was I sorting truth like you sort laundry or the mail? Of course, what I meant to write was sordid...not sorted!

Apparently, it is very bad blogging etiquette to modify an entry after it's been posted. Sue me. I just couldn't leave it that way.

Happy You You Lily!

Today is Lily's 2nd birthday! Can you believe it?? Our little girl is 2!! We had a great time celebrating Lily's special day.

For lunch Lily and I met the girls (her aunts and cousins) at Chef P's. We had a lot of fun and Chef P gave Lily a slice of ice cream cake to celebrate her birthday. Turns out our little sweetie is developing quite a sweet tooth!

Tony was able to get off work a little early today. When he got home we gave Lily her birthday present. We guessed right. She LOVES her sand and water table. She had almost as much fun playing with is as her dad did!

For dinner we went to a neighborhood restaurant and ate out on the deck. I had planned to have dinner at home but Tony said he would rather go out. Should I be insulted?!? I'm not! Let someone else do the dishes. Works for me!

After dinner we headed home for some birthday cake. Lily blew out both of her candles on the very first try!! She was so excited and threw her arms straight up in the air. Obviously it was quite an accomplishment! After Lily finished "playing" with her cake I asked her if she wanted a slice and she said, "Yes. HUGE!" Too funny!

We are having a small family party this weekend to celebrate Lily's birthday. Since Nai Nai, Aunt Sheila, and Aunt Mary wont be there Lily opened up gifts from them this evening. Lily loved them all...but I think Aunt Sheila's purple Hollywood's stole the show!

It was really a wonderful day from start to finish!

Daddy's Big Helper

Yesterday we did a little work in the yard. Tony replaced a few flowers that didn't survive the extreme heat we had while we were in Maine and had an unexpected helper/supervisor working with him. No, not me...Lily!

I can't tell you how long the two of them worked together. They just went down the bed replacing flowers, chatting away, and having a great time together. I ran and got the camera and took a few shots without either of them knowing it. Oh, so sweet!

Family Picnic

Am I really related to all these people?

Yesterday was my Dad's annual family picnic. We had beautiful weather and a wonderful day!

I would lie if I told you how long this annual picnic has been going on. All I know is it has been happening as long as I've been alive...so, at least 25 years ;-).

Last year at the family picnic Lily wasn't walking, yet. This year she was running around like crazy and having a blast on the playground, in the baby pool, and playing with all her extended family!

All this playing is making me thristy!

When I see all of us together I can't help but think about my grandmother and all of her sisters. I know they are so happy that this tradition has continued. I can just picture them all sitting together up in heaven drinking a beer and marvelling at how big their families have grown!

I bet Dad Dad is thinking about Granny, too!

Katie Turns Sweet 16

Sixteen years ago today I helped hide Mary Beth from her loving husband, Ed. Why... you ask?? We were at my Dad's family reunion picnic and Mary Beth was in LABOR. Yes, that kind of labor. The kind of labor where you really should be in the hospital preparing to deliver your baby. But, not Mary Beth. No, you see, Mary Beth is a nurse...and you know what kind of patients doctors and nurses make...right?!? In fairness to Mary Beth, she had very long, very difficult labors with Ryan and Jamie. Add to that the fact that due to a previous back injury Mary Beth is unable to get an epidural and you can sort of understand why she was not in a big rush to get to the hospital.

Anyway, I helped to keep Mary Beth and Ed on opposites sides of the picnic until it got to the point where we were going to have to start boiling water on the barbecue grill. Finally, someone told Ed that Mary Beth was about ready to push and off to the hospital they went. The rest of our clan headed to Mom and Dad's to wait for an update about the newest member of our family. And, here she is...

Talk about being worth the wait!!

Katie is as sweet as she is pretty and being her aunt is truly one of the great joys of my life.

Happy Sweet 16, Pinky! We love you more than you know!!

Sunshine And Roses

Yesterday morning Patti, Lily, and I had breakfast with Pam, a childhood friend of Patti and mine. Pam grew up across the street from us but now lives across the country. This was the first opportunity that Lily and Pam had to meet in person... though Pam has been checking in on Lily via this blog from time to time.

When I got to the diner I mentioned to Pam that Lily and I had had a bit of a rough morning. Pam laughed and said she had never read anything like that on the blog. That got me thinking. If you read this blog you might think every day in Lilyland is all sunshine and roses...and for the most part you'd be right! But, trust me, we are not raising the Stepford Toddler!

Can you see my halo?

Princess Perfect (as one of our neighbors who has a more challenging toddler refers to Lily) has her moments I assure you! Thankfully, they don't happen often and when they do happen they don't last long! Thank God!!

Honestly, Lily is an extremely happy, easy-going, little sweetie and that makes being her parent a real joy...99.8% of the time. However, she is also a toddler on the brink of turning 2! Lily likes to test her limits (again and again) and on occasion can be very stubborn and ornery! Now, since I'm spilling the beans...I thought I should tell you the whole sordid truth...our little angel has even been in "time out" a few times!

Time out? Who? Me?? Never!

Happy Fodder's Day

I love you, Daddy!

We had an incredibly lazy Fodder's Day (aka Father's Day) and it was exactly what the doctor ordered! We didn't even go to the diner for breakfast!! For us, that's really saying something!

After being cooped up in the car for 2 days it was nice just to spend the day playing and stretching our legs. It also gave Tony a chance to squeeze in a little more quality Daddy and Lily time before he had to head back to work today. I know both Tony and Lily are going to miss being able to spend all day everyday together!

Tony is a wonderful father and Lily has become quite the Daddy's Girl. One of my favorite things to do is to watch and listen to the two of them together. Whether it is listening to Lily tell Tony he looks handsome on his way out to work in the morning or hearing Tony call Lily his sunshine...or watching Lily run to greet Tony when he comes in the door and seeing the absolute joy on Tony's face...or listening to the two of them carrying on during tubby time like wild hyenas or the sweet sound of the two of them saying "love you" as I put Lily down for the night...all of it is music to my ears and evidence of the beautiful bond these two share.

I am lucky to have a strong and loving relationship with my father. Dad has also formed a strong bond with Lily...and the two of them are obviously crazy about each other!

Lily is surrounded by men who love her and whom she loves...her Daddy, Dad Dad, Uncles, and God Father just to name a few!

Yesterday, Patti hosted a Father's Day get together in the late afternoon. The 3 of us were beat so we didn't stay too long. Still, it was nice to be able to see Dad, Ed, Dave, and Don and to wish them a Happy Fodder's Day!

Patti hosted Father's Day last year, too. It's hard to believe how big Lily has grown since then. To see for yourself check out my post from last Father's Day.

More Maine Musings

The area we visited in Maine was unbelievably beautiful! Here are just a few pictures that explain why we will definitely go back some day!

Gee, I wonder if Tony can get off work next week! Seeing these pictures makes me want to go back right now...but this time we'll fly!

We Really Were There Together

Here's the proof!

While Lily is down for her nap I started going through the pictures we took in Maine. One thing I noticed is that there are next to no pictures of Lily with Tony's family. Yikes!

I think one reason that this may have happened is even though we stayed in the same house and ate our meals together we sort of did our own separate things. With Lily still taking a 2 hour nap in the afternoon and ages ranging from 2 - 82 it wasn't always possible to find things we could or wanted to do together.

We all did go to Winter Harbor together but that trip involved almost 7 hours in the car round trip...and we drove separately...so not a lot of photo ops!

All that being said, we don't see Tony's family often so it was good for Lily to be able to spend time with them.

Me and my great Aunt Mary...she really is great!

Tony's Aunt Mary came up from Georgia. Suzy drove down to get her...and I complained about spending too much time in the car!!

Mary is 82 years old and is about the spryest, healthiest 82 year old I've ever met! When I asked her what her secret is she told me she found it best "not to know nothing". She went on to explain that way you have less to worry about! Mary also told me she chooses not to complain about every ache and pain she feels because..."the day I wake up without an ache or a pain will be the day that I'm dead!". I think I'm going to try following her advice...it seems to work!

Mary is such a colorful character and it was great to be able to spend time with her...and to see how well she and Lily hit it off!

On The Road Again...

We're headed home. We left a little early...but it was time. Right now we are in Waterbury, Connecticut...about half the way home. This way we will travel the rest of the way home tomorrow and Tony will be able to enjoy Father's Day and have a chance to rest before he heads back to work on Monday.

Once again Lily was really great on the ride today. I packed a few different toys and books and between that and some snacks she keeps herself pretty well entertained.

Wake me when we're home!

Playing with Daddy at lunch.

The sun shield on the window isn't enough...

I need to wear all my Hollywood's at once!

I had bought Lily this precious little dress to wear out to dinner in Maine. It's a little white sailor dress with a navy collar and piping and has little fish embroidered on the collar and in the smocking. When I saw it I thought, "What a perfect Maine dress". Lily didn't have an opportunity to wear it while we were in Maine so she wore it tonight. Oh my, did she look cute!

Our Home Away From Home

The home we stayed in in Maine was really beautiful. Located on a dirt road...off a gravel road it was very secluded, private, and right on the water. If you listened really hard I'm sure you could have heard dueling banjos! Seriously though, it was wonderful! The location was perfect, and the view was spectacular. Just sitting on the deck watching the water made your blood pressure drop 10 points!

There were sea otters, ducks, all kind of shore birds, and even bald eagles! It truly was a little piece of heaven.

Like many things do...this place made me think of my mother. She would have loved it here. My family vacations every year in the Outer Banks. However, my mother was much more a cabin in the mountains kind of girl than a beach lover. While it is true this isn't the mountains...and the house was far from a cabin...I know my mother would have never wanted to leave!

Here are a few reasons why...

I hope Tony, Lily, and I can come back some day. If you've never been to Maine...GO! It is so beautiful!

Come On In...The Water Is Fine

Yesterday Tony, Lily, and I visited a small aquarium and the beach.

The aquarium was very tiny...but really nice. It was perfect for little children...very hands on. The staff was terrific and even pulled up a perfect "Lily sized" stool so she could get her hands in the tanks. Lily loved it!

Tony and I had a lot of fun watching Lily exploring everything. Lily is a wonderful mimic and loves to copy people's facial expressions. Apparently this also carries onto marine life. Lily was making all kind of funny faces trying to look the same as the fish, crabs, and mobsters (aka lobsters). It was priceless. I think we may have a budding Marine Biologist or a stand up comic on our hands!

Lily has never met a stranger and the same was true yesterday. A young boy at the aquarium took quite a shine to her. He was showing Lily all the different sea life and asking her if she wanted to touch it and what she thought it felt like. He was incredibly sweet. He would say, "Don't be afraid. Doesn't it feel bumpy (or slimey, or slippery, or whatever)." He was priceless. His mother assured me he wasn't nearly that nice to his little sister but she was enjoying watching him with Lily as much as Tony and I were!

After lunch and a nap we headed to the beach. The beach was located in a beautiful little park and Lily actually got more than just her feet wet! Oops! Mommy hadn't really planned on that! The poor little thing had to drive back to the house in just a dry diaper and a sweatshirt!! There goes my 'Mother of the Year' award...again! The water was pretty darn chilly but that didn't stop Lily or some of the locals. I was shocked to see how many people were swimming in the water. I only went in up to my knees...and that was only after the cold water had completely numbed my feet!

We had a great time at the beach. For some reason Lily decided it would be really fun to rub sand all over Tony's legs. I guess she felt he needed some exfoliation! She did this again and again...rub sand all over Daddy's calves, rinse, repeat. Lily got the biggest kick out of this and Tony was such a good sport!

Yesterday was also my oldest nephew, Ryan's, 22nd birthday. Happy birthday handsome! Ryan recently graduated from college, has a great job, and is living out on his own. All things I guess you would expect a 22 year old to do...but when I think about my little 'Ry Guy' doing it I get a catch in my throat. Ryan, we are so very proud of you and love you more than you will ever know!!