Cousins

There was a time when I was very sad that Lily would not have cousins close to her own age. I have such happy memories of growing up with all my cousins and I wanted Lily to have similar experiences/memories.

We spend a lot of time with family and this week has been no exception. Sunday we had our Finally A Family Celebration and Christina and Lily played together the entire time having tea parties and making forts. Monday evening we visited Jamie at college and had dinner together. Lily loves Jamie and to put it mildly the feeling is mutual! Yesterday we went to Maggie's softball game. Lily loved watching Maggie play and today decided she wanted to wear her hair "just like Maggie does." At first I didn't know what Lily meant, but when she asked me where her baseball hats were I knew just what she wanted!

Do I look just like Maggie?

What I now realize is that Lily may not have the same kind of memories that I have of growing up surrounded by cousins close to her own age, but she will have many memories of being surrounded by "big cousins" that she adores and who adore her!

Celebrating Our Finally A Family Day With Family

On Sunday we had the family over to celebrate the second anniversary of our family day. The weather was perfect, the food was yummy, and Lily loved having a captive audience to share in our "celebration"!

Breathtaking Beauty And A Birthday

Tonight was Sadie and Katie's junior prom. The girls looked ABSOLUTELY beautiful and their excitement was positively palpable! Though I have to admit, I'm not sure who was more excited Sadie, Katie, or.....Lily!

First, Lily and I stopped by Mary Beth's to see Katie before she headed out for her big night. Katie looked so beautiful that it actually brought tears to my eyes!




Then we headed to see the birthday girl, Sadie. It is hard to believe it was 17 years ago today that I saw that beautiful face for the very first time!



I think Lily was a little disappointed when she realized that she wasn't actually going to the prom herself. The good news is she took it in stride and enjoyed seeing her "beautiful cousins".

One Year Down...17 (Or More) To Go!

Today was Lily's last day of 2 year old preschool :-(. Next week we will have an end of year picnic at an area park, but today was the last actual day in the classroom. Click here to see a post about Lily's first day.

Lily's first "school" experience has been wonderful! I love Lily's teacher, Miss Doreen. More importantly, Lily loves Miss Doreen and Miss Doreen loves Lily! Doreen is kind, sweet, patient...but firm. The perfect characteristics for a teacher of 2 year olds!

This school year has been such a fun, positive experience. That's exactly what I wanted for Lily. I was completely turned off by schools that prided themselves on "teaching" the kids. Come on...the kids are 2 years old for heavens sake! Let them have fun, play, be encouraged, and they will learn along the way!

I loved being able to share this first school experience with Lily. We both have really enjoyed the school, the teacher, the curriculum (if that's what you call it), the crafts, absolutely EVERYTHING! I can't believe this year is over, but I am looking forward to next year!

Next year's 3 year old program is a two hour/two day a week program. I will be in the classroom one day of the week, but not the other. At this point, Lily doesn't seemed too concerned about that. In fact, she told me I could "stay home and do laundry" on the other day!

Here are collages from Lily's first and last days of school:





On a completely separate note, today is Mary Beth and Ed's 26th wedding anniversary and would have been my parent's 49th anniversary. Happy Anniversary! We love you!

Trains, Planes, and Automobiles

Yesterday, Lily and I went on a fun outing with our parent group. One of the moms planned an outing to ride the Light Rail to BWI. Once we were at the airport we went to the Observation Gallery to watch the planes take off and land. The kids (and the parents) really had a good time despite the nasty weather!



All the other mothers that came on the outing (4 in total) have boys Lily's age and infants, too. Lily loved hanging out with her buddies and loved their little siblings even more.

Lily enjoyed playing with the babies almost as much as she loved riding on the train and watching the planes. Lily called herself the babies "big sister" or "jie jie" (mandarin for big sister). Could she be any cuter?!?

Checking The Pearly Whites

Lily went to the dentist for the second time today and had another great experience! Click here to read about Lily's first visit.

I love Lily's pediatric dentist! Dr. J is kind, patient, and absolutely beautiful. Suffice it to say she is the polar opposite of the dentist/sadist (with too much nose hair) I visited as a kid!

My Hairdresser

Today was a rainy, miserable, dreary day. You know, the kind of day where you don't want to go anywhere or do anything. Lucky for me my hairdresser makes housecalls!

Who says less is more?

After my session in the salon I removed more than 30 different clips, ponytail holders, etc. from my hair. The good news is I only have a few barely noticeable bald spots!

My beautiful hairdresser

The Most Beautiful Flower At Longwood Gardens

On the way home from Philadelphia today we made a slight detour and visited Longwood Gardens. It's been years since I've been there, but it is every bit as beautiful as I remember!

The weather was perfect and the gardens were amazing. It is breathtaking to see so much beauty in one place.

Our Lily - the most beautiful flower of all!

We also had the added bonus of this weekend being Kite Flying Weekend at Longwood Gardens. This was the first time we've flown a kite with Lily and she absolutely LOVED it!

We did not bring a kite with us (um...we had no idea it was Kite Weekend!). They were selling kites at the garden so we were waiting in a very looonnnnggg line to buy one when the craziest thing happened. A family was trying to cut through the extremely long line to get to the restaurant on the other side and came up to us and said, "Excuse me". Turns out it was our friends and neighbors! They didn't realize it was us at first...they were just focused on getting through the wall of people blocking their way to lunch. Our friends just so happened to be carrying a kite with them! Since they wouldn't be needing their kite while they ate lunch, they asked us if we wanted to borrow it! The other people waiting in line around us were ready to strangle us...but we were very happy for this bit of perfect timing!



With beautiful children's gardens, fountains, topiaries, tree houses, and more it is impossible to take in everything in one visit. We will definitely be back!

Lilla The Gorilla

Okay...maybe as a mother I shouldn't admit this...but...we often call Lily "Lilla The Gorilla". I know, I know...not a very sweet nickname for such a sweet girl. I don't know how we even came up with it...but what can I say...it has sorta stuck! I'm sure Lily will thank me for it when she is older! No. Really. Don't you agree?!?

So, anyway, today we took Lilla The Gorilla to the Philadelphia Zoo. This was not part of my original plan for our trip to Philly, but the weather here was SO amazing we just HAD to do something outside. I'm so glad we did.

To be honest, I've never been a big fan of zoos. You know, the whole idea of wild animals stuck in cages so humans can stare at them just seems really wrong to me. Righteous indignation aside...we had a wonderful day! Even though the zoo is the oldest in the United States most of the exhibits are modern and beautiful.

We started our visit off with a little hot air balloon ride. Okay, to call it a ride is an exaggeration and we all know I never exaggerate! It was more a hot air balloon lift than ride, but either way Lily LOVED it!

After the balloon ride we walked around the zoo and saw all the beautiful animals. Lily's favorites were the polar bears, the primates, and the Big Cat exhibit took a very close 3rd!

After the zoo we took a scenic drive (read we got lost) back to the hotel. The silver lining is that we got to see some beautiful parts of historic Philadelphia and Lily got to take a little nap!

Once we found our way back to the general vicinity of our hotel we stopped for a late lunch/early dinner. After that we headed back to the hotel for a dip in the swimming pool. We had the pool all to ourselves! After initially being a bit timid Lily was jumping off the side in no time!



Once our skin was sufficiently pruney we headed back to our room for tubby time, a little snack, and then off to dream land. Tomorrow we are headed to Longwood Gardens and then...Home Sweet Home!

Here are some fun pictures from today:

Finally A Family...In Philly

Then

Now

Talk about deja vu! Two years ago I was sitting in a hotel room updating our blog while our sweet Lily slept. Tonight, I'm doing the very same thing! Of course, two years ago we were in Wuhan, China and had been united with our Lily girl for less than 12 hours. Today, we are in Philadelphia and celebrating our second anniversary as a family of 3! My, how time flies!

After a crazy tax season Tony and I really felt like we wanted to get away and have some quality family time. I had read about a place called the Please Touch Museum in Philadelphia. The article I read stated that it was the perfect place for children under 7 so we decided to check it out. Boy, was the article right! It's a toddler paradise!! I'm sure older kids would have a ball there, too...as long as none of their friends were watching!

The museum has a grocery store, a shoe store, a Children's Hospital, a "Rhythm Rain Forest", an Alice in Wonderland area, a train station, a city park, a gas station, a craft area, a construction site, a carousel, and the list goes on and on. We stayed there for four hours and could have easily stayed another four...if only Mommy and Daddy hadn't been so tired ;-)

Here is a slide show of some of the fun Lily had today. I uploaded too many pictures to add captions!

Two years ago Lily was "all about Mommy...all the time" and some days she still is. But, today was definitely an "all about Daddy" day! It was so much fun to watch Lily and Tony playing together. They have been missing each other so much. It was great to witness their special Daddy/Daughter bond!

Click here and here for two links from our Finally a Family day two years ago. And, if want to watch the magical moment we became a family of 3 click here.

Below is our only family picture from today. To be honest, I'm a little disappointed. The really sweet woman at the hotel "took" several pictures of the 3 of us tonight before we headed out to dinner. I wanted a few pictures of us in our "nice clothes" with a nice back drop. Well, I'm not sure what button she was pushing, but when I looked for the pictures on the memory card there was nada, nothing, zilch. Oh well, at least we have this one!

Then

Now

It is impossible to believe that just two years ago we held Lily for the very first time. Tony and I were incredibly excited and scared to become parents. If only we could have known what an amazing child God had in store for us. Talk about an answered prayer! Lily is an absolute joy and each day with her is better than the day before.

T.G.T.S.I.O.

That would be...Thank God Tax Season Is OVER!!!!

This was BY FAR Tony's worst tax season ever. The poor thing worked an unbelievable number of hours and is definitely in need of a little down time. So, tomorrow we are headed out of town for a little get away and to spend some quality family time together. I can't wait!

Speaking of not being able to wait...and looking forward to quality family time...two years ago tonight we were half a world away counting the minutes until we could hold our sweet Lily for the first time! Click here and here to read and relive such an amazingly exciting time in our lives!

Tea...Sweet Tea

No, I haven't started drinking sweetened tea...but, I can't tell you just how sweet that first glass of tea tasted on Easter!

I would love to tell you that replacing all that tea I drank with water...lots and lots of water...made a big change in my life. NOT! My skin didn't clear up, my hair didn't suddenly develop a healthy shine, and my sleep habits didn't improve. I honestly didn't notice any change...except perhaps I had a bit more walking around money since I wasn't using it to support my habit!

I think the only person that might notice I stopped drinking so much tea is my dental hygienist. During my next scheduled cleaning I think she will be thrilled not to have to use extra coarse grit sandpaper to remove the tea stains from my teeth!

Even though I didn't suffer any ill effects from caffeine withdrawal I know all that caffeine consumption can't be good for me. In fact, my mother's cardiologist truly thinks that caffeine is the root of all evil and should be a licensed drug only available by prescription. So, for now, I will limit my tea drinking to just those times went I'm out and about and stick with good ole H2O here at home.

Happy Easter!

Hope everyone had a Happy Easter...we sure did! Faith, family, and food...a win-win-win combination! Here are some fun pictures from our day:

Want to see how much our little bunny has grown since last year? Click here.

Look At All The Pretty Colors

What do you do with an almost 3 year old on a rainy, dreary day? Spend the entire day in the kitchen! Lily LOVES to cook...in fact...much more than I do!!

Today we made a chocolate cake from a recipe in a Southern Living Cookbook. The cookbook states it is the "Best Chocolate Cake Ever". We'll have to wait until tomorrow to see if that claim is actually true, but based on how quickly Lily licked the beaters and spatula clean I'd say she agrees!



Lily also helped me make tonight's dinner and a few other dishes to take to Patti's tomorrow. Lily really is a BIG help in the kitchen...even if it takes 4 times longer than if I do it myself!

Lily and I were getting ready to dye Easter eggs this afternoon when Tony called to tell us he would be home in time for dinner. Yippee!! Lily and I decided to wait until Daddy got home to dye the eggs.

Lily was so excited to dye eggs with Daddy...or should I say with Daddy watching. Little Miss 'I Can Do It Myself' pretty much handled the egg dying solo with only one casualty. Not too bad! Tony and my role was strictly to "Eww" and "Ahh" at the appropriate times.

Lily had so much fun. She kept saying, "Look at all the pretty colors" with such awe in her voice. I love seeing things through Lily's eyes. She takes such joy in life's simple pleasures!


You may notice that I am conspicuously absent from all the pictures today...and with good reason! Not only did Lily and I cook today we also played "beauty parlor". Let's just say I am sporting a really special hairdo that makes it imperative that I stay behind the camera and not in front of it!

P.S. - Two years ago today Tony and I were in Beijing moving one giant step closer to bringing our cake baking, Easter egg dying, sweet Lily home.

Random Silly Lily-ness

Our sweet Lily has a great sense of humor and a beautiful, deep belly laugh that we hear many times every day.

One of Lily's favorite things to do is surprise you by putting her cold little hands on your warm back or belly. Lily did this all the time during the winter. I don't want to admit how many times she caught me my surprise. So, now that it's not cold outside anymore we're safe...right? WRONG! Lily has found a work around!

The other day while I was making dinner I heard Lily go into the fridge. I assumed she was getting her drink...silly me! What she was doing was chilling her little hands in the fridge so she could come over and stick them up under my shirt! I yelped so loud and Lily laughed even louder!

Little Miss Lily has found a new way to entertain herself while I'm cleaning the bathroom...horseback riding! Yes, that right...horseback riding. Last week when I was down on all fours scrubbing the bathtub Lily came in the bathroom and climbed up on my back and said, "Giddy up horsey". She thought she was soooo funny and laughed that delicious belly laugh of hers. I couldn't help but laugh, too.

Maybe I shouldn't have laughed. This week when I was cleaning the bathroom Lily came in and "hopped in the saddle" again! Have you ever tried to clean with a 33 pound toddler on your back??? It's quite a workout!

Here are some fun pictures of our silly Lily from the past week.

Birthday Party Scrooge

So, I don't know what my problem is...but, I really, really, REALLY don't like children's birthday parties! Maybe it's some repressed childhood memory, or maybe it's just being in a room full of kids hyped up on too much sugar and no nap, or maybe I've just turned into a HUGE scrooge in my old age! My guess is it's the latter!

I really need to get over this aversion...fast! In the last two months Lily has been invited to no less than 10 birthday parties. No, I'm not exaggerating! Needless to say, I've been getting lots of practice at grinning and bearing it...and Lily has been having a blast!

Today's party had a princess theme. As much as Lily loves her accessories she is not at all into the 'princess thing'. Lily doesn't know one Disney princess from the other. Now, if it had been a Thomas The Tank Engine party Lily would have been in her glory!

Don't get me wrong...Lily loves her Hollywood's, necklaces, purses, and even the occasional boa...but as accessories to her own clothes. Lily doesn't like to play "dress up" in actual costumes. Does that make sense? It didn't matter...dressed up or not...Lily had a lot of fun. Hey, with M&M's, pretzels, potato chips, and cake...what's not to love?

Tea and Eggs

Lily and I had a GREAT day today! The only thing that would have made today better is if Daddy could have joined us!

Lily and Mommy's Tea Party.

After all that tea I'm ready to hunt for some eggs!

Special Visitors

I normally try not to air our family's dirty laundry on my blog, but this was bound to come out at some point. Christina has been struggling a bit in 4th grade and Patti and Dave have decided to hold her back a few years. Well, maybe more than a few years...like all the way back to...PRESCHOOL...starting this past Thursday.

Yes, that's right. Christina and Aunt Pappy came to visit us at preschool on Thursday. Lily absolutely LOVED her new classmate...and Christina had a blast, too!



Christina joined in with all the activities: circle time, craft, snack, play time, and story time. She had so much fun I don't think she'll want to go back to her "boring" 4th grade classroom!



Lily was not the only one that loved having Christina in the classroom. All the other little people, mothers, and Ms. Doreen did, too. You should have seen Lily...she was positively beaming. You could just see what Lily was thinking, "Yup, that's right. She's *MY* big cousin."

Thanks for coming to school to visit us Aunt Pappy and Beanie. We love you!!