Aunt Pappyrazzi

I know I just did a post about Lilypalooza 3 yesterday, but I just had to share some of the precious pictures Patti sent me today.

Like this one...


And then there's this one...


And how could I leave this one out??


And of course I thought you might want to see a nice family shot...


Then I had to include this one just to impress you with Lily's table manners...


Hey, wait a minute. Who let Patti in front of the camera?!?



Thanks for all the beautiful pictures Patti. I love all of them...even the ones I didn't include in this post!

Lilypalooza 3

On Saturday we had Lilypalooza 3 at our house. Okay, if I'm going to be honest, what we really had was a small family birthday party for our big 3 year old girl.

The "theme" for Lily's party was quite eclectic. We had Thomas The Tank Engine paper products, Winnie the Pooh balloons, and a guitar cake. That's what happens when you let your 3 year old call the shots! All that mattered was that Lily was thrilled with her choices.

Mary Beth called Friday and asked if she could steal Lily for a few hours Saturday afternoon before the party. Mary Beth, Katie, and Paul were headed downtown for the Sand Castle Competition and thought Lily would enjoy it, too. I waited until Saturday morning and then asked Lily if she would like to go out with Aunt Baba, Katie, and Paul. Lily told me she would love to but she didn't want to miss her birthday party. How funny is she?! I assured her the party wouldn't start without her and that Aunt Baba would have her home in plenty of time. Once Lily was sure she wouldn't miss her own party she couldn't wait for Aunt Baba to come pick her up!

Apparently the competition was not what Mary Beth was expecting, but Lily still had a great time spending the afternoon with Aunt Baba, Katie, and Paul! I really appreciated having the house to myself for a few hours to do some last minute party preparations (like ice the *@&! guitar cake) without the help of my little assistant.

Speaking of the guitar cake...what was I thinking??? I am not domestic AT ALL. Seriously. As I often say, the only domestic thing about me is that I live indoors and eat with utensils. Period. So, why then did I think I could make a guitar shaped birthday cake?? Good question. I guess the only answer I have is because Lily wanted one.

I cannot tell you how many times Lily said, "and I want a guitar cake for my birthday." I really didn't give it too much thought until the Family Fun magazine Ryan gave me for Christmas included instructions on how to make a guitar shaped cake in one of their issues. They made it look so easy. They lied!

I think by now it's clear that I have issues. Lots and lots of issues. Well, here's a new one to add to the ever growing list - cake decorating. Let's just say I have a new found respect for professional cake decorators! I couldn't believe how hard it was. Who knew trying to draw 6 straight lines (for the guitar strings) could be so challenging?? I won't even tell you how many times I tried, scraped them off, touched up the icing, and then tried again. I finally gave up. Lily's finished cake only had 4 white lines and they looked a whole lot more like an EKG reading than guitar strings! Oh well, Lily didn't seem to mind and I guess that's all that matters!

Okay, enough about the silly guitar cake! Let's get back to the birthday girl. I've never see Lily as wound up/excited as she was about her party. It was really so darn cute!! When I was getting Lily dressed she told me she didn't want to wear a dress she wanted to wear shorts. I asked Lily to wear the dress just until all her guests arrived and then she could change into something else. After Lily put her dress on she took one look at herself in the mirror and said, "Mommy I look so beautiful I don't want to change...EVER!"

Ryan and Clare were the first guests to arrive and they got to see Lily in all her excited bouncing off the walls glory. She was positively hysterical! At one point she ran up to me and said, "My guests have arrived and now my party can start!"

Lily enjoyed all of her "guests", had a lot of fun playing with her rocket balloons, and she LOVED all of her presents especially the Parmesan Cheese from Aunt Baba (Yes, you read that correctly. Don't blame Mary Beth...it's what Lily asked for!), the umbrella and Thomas backpack from Aunt Sheila, the Thomas playmat/rug from Dad Dad, and the Mor-rock-a-na (harmonica) from Aunt Pappy.

The party turned out so nice and we couldn't of asked for more beautiful weather. Lily enjoyed every second of her party and all of us that celebrated with her couldn't help but join in her fun!

Here's a quick look back at Lilypalooza and Lilypalooza 2. Before I know it I'm sure I will be posting about Lilypalooza 4! Until then here are some pictures from Lilypalooza 3.

Mommy, Am I Still 3?

Those were the first words Lily spoke when she woke up yesterday. There was a little bit of fear in her voice...as if she was thinking it had all been a dream and she was really still 2! When I assured her that she was in fact still 3...and now 3 and one day...her face lit up in a huge smile.

To further prove that Lily was still 3 she had her 3 year check up yesterday and passed with flying colors. I know Lily has been growing like a weed, but I was still surprised to find out that she is 38 inches tall and weighs 33 1/2 pounds! In case you are wondering, that puts Lily in the 75th percentile for height and weight.

Lily was absolutely hysterical during her doctor's visit. Here's how the conversation went between Lily and her doctor.

"How old are you now?"
"3"
"Can you show me how many that is with your fingers?"
"(looking at me like the doctor is nuts) See. 3."
"Can you count the fingers you are holding up?"
"(again looking at me like, "Is this lady for real?") 1, 2, 3."
"Do you eat fruit?"
"Yes. I love fruit!"
"What kind of fruits do you eat?"
"Apples, pineapples, blueberries, strawberries, bananas..."
"Okay, great! How about vegetables? What's your favorite vegetable?"
"Spinach. But, I don't like broccoli! You know, Tigger calls them vegebubbles not vegetables."
"(laughing) Alrighty then. Do you like to color with markers and crayons?"
"Sure. But I prefer to write with a ballpoint pen. I can write an "L". Want me to show you?"
"(Now laughing hysterically) Absolutely. Please do."

You get the idea. I really wished I had recorded the conversation. It was priceless. The doctor was very impressed with Lily's verbal skills, reasoning ability, personality, humor, etc. On the other hand I think Lily is afraid that her doctor is perhaps a bit slow. Seriously. Lily was like...are you kidding me??? I'm a big girl now. Let's dispense with this baby talk. Shall we?

I'm still trying to process that Lily is 3. Where has my baby gone? Lily can now reach light switches, turn on the water to wash her hands, buckle up her carseat, and the list goes on and on. I feel like I'm watching one of those time-elapsed photos. Do you know what I mean? Everything is happening so fast. I'm afraid to blink because I don't want to miss a thing!

Now that Lily is 3 it can only mean one thing - the terrible two's are officially over. And can I just tell you something? Not one second of Lily's two's were terrible. Not one. Honestly. I know people think I sugarcoat things on this blog and make like everything is sunshine and roses and it's true. No, not the sugarcoating part...the sunshine and roses part!

Lily is an extremely easy going, sweet, happy, little pumpkin. Am I saying that she has never thrown a fit or been a bit challenging? No. Of course not. What I am saying is that it is not a daily, weekly, or even monthly occurrence. In fact, I can't tell you the last time we've had a "bad day".

Not only is Lily beautiful on the outside, she is more beautiful on the inside...where it matters. Lily has such a sweet personality and temperament. I know this is a strange adjective to use when describing a toddler, but Lily is very reasonable. What I mean is if you tell Lily she can't do or have something she says things like, "Maybe next time I can have another cookie." or "Sometimes it's hard to be a good listener." She is such a wise little soul.

As we were leaving the doctor's office yesterday the doctor stopped me and said, "I know I'm not telling you anything you don't already know, but Lily really is something special." As my eyes filled up with tears I said the only thing I could say, "Yes, we do know." And, we do. Tony and I have been blessed beyond our wildest imagination. We do know just how lucky we are and thank God every single day (in fact, many times a day) for the blessing that is our Lily.

June-a-bration

On Sunday Mary Beth hosted a combination Father's Day, Birthday, and Graduation celebration...a June-a-bration. Like everything Mary Beth hosts it was wonderful and we managed to celebrate Ryan's birthday, Clare's birthday and college graduation, Katie's birthday, and Father's Day all in one fell swoop!

How Can It Be...Our Baby Girl Turns 3!!!

Today is Lily's 3rd birthday! I can't believe it. Seriously. Where is the time going? Doesn't it seem like only yesterday we were celebrating with Lilypalooza?? What about Lilypalooza 2??? Can someone please show me how to get time to slow down...at least a little?!?

Okay, okay. Enough of that! I need to live in the moment...right? And today was filled with lots of great moments!

This morning when Lily woke up I said, "Happy Birthday!" and Lily asked, "Am I 3 now?" When I answered, "Yes!" You could just see the sparkle in her eye! I can't be sure, but I think Lily's feet barely touched the ground from the moment she woke up until she collapsed into bed.

We had a lot of fun celebrating Lily's big day. First, we went to get Lily a big girl hair cut. Well, not really. It was more like a trim...but everything today was "because I'm a big girl...."



After Lily's hair cut we stopped at the Farmer's Market and did a little shopping. Don't tell anyone but Lily got a chocolate chip cookie and ate it before lunch! Craziness!! The things you do to celebrate a big girl's birthday.

Then we met Dad Dad, Mary Beth, Patti, Christina, and Hailey for lunch. Lily was so excited about her big day she could barely eat her lunch. Our girl has a hearty appetite so this is really saying something!! Maybe that chocolate chip cookie wasn't such a good idea.



After lunch Katie and Paul wanted to take Lily out for ice cream. Oddly enough Lily somehow managed to find her appetite again. As the pictures below will prove Lily had a finger-licking good time!



When Tony got home the birthday celebration continued...including giving Lily her birthday present - a new bicycle. Lily loved it and Tony and I just couldn't believe how well she did on it.



Only one thing fell short of Lily's birthday extravaganza expectations...the Chocolate Milk. Chocolate Milk you ask. Yup. Several weeks ago Lily asked me if she could have chocolate milk for her birthday. Lily's never had chocolate milk before and had never mentioned it before. I was a little surprised when she asked and even more surprised when she wanted to wait until her birthday! So tonight I fixed her a glass of chocolate milk to have with her birthday cake. I even went kind of heavy on the Hershey's syrup since it's her birthday and all. I'm a good mom like that. Anyway, she took 2 sips of it and said in a kind of disappointed voice, "This is chocolate milk?" I'm not sure exactly what she expected, but I know it wasn't what she got!



I had planned to bake Lily a chocolate cake last night after she went to bed. Lily loves to help me in the kitchen, but I wanted to make this cake without my little assistant as a little bit of a surprise for her. What I didn't plan for was our power to go out last night a little before 8 pm and stay out until 3:41 am!! There was no time in today's schedule for cake baking so a store bought ice cream cake had to do. Lily didn't seem to mind.

We had such a fun day today and the celebration will continue on Saturday with Lilypalooza 3!

Daddy's Day

One of the unexpected joys of motherhood for me is to be able to witness how much Lily loves her Daddy and how much he loves her.



As a "girl" who is still absolutely crazy about her dad I know how important a father's love is.



Being able to watch Tony and Lily's love continue to grow is truly one of life's simple pleasures. True love is a beautiful thing to experience and to witness.

Pinky

When Katie was a little girl she earned the nickname, Pinky. Well, it's probably more accurate to say that her mother earned it for her. From the time Katie was born right up until she stopped allowing Mary Beth to dress her she was pretty much always dressed head to toe in pink. She always looked so sweet!

Today is Katie's 17th birthday. She may not wear pink quite as often as she once did, but she is every bit just as sweet!

Katie, I know this is going to sound strange...but remember it's Aunt T talking...umm...or should that be typing...anyway...I'm so glad Lily has you in her life. It means so much to me for Lily to be surrounded by such a strong, happy, beautiful, positive, and intelligent role model. Lily is absolutely crazy about you and so am I.



I loved the little girl you were.
I love the young woman you are.
And I can't wait to see the woman you become.

Happy Birthday, Pinky! We love you!!

Going Dutch With Thomas

Several months ago I heard about something called "A Day Out With Thomas" at the Strasburg Railroad. Lily absolutely loves Thomas The Tank Engine and this event sounded like something our train lovin' girl would really enjoy!

Tony and I talked about it and decided to make a little mini vacation out of our trip to Lancaster, PA and planned a visit to Dutch Wonderland, too.

Before we left we didn't tell Lily the details of our little get away in case something fell through. All we told Lily was that we were going to stay in a hotel overnight...and that was enough! She was SOOOOO excited. Our tiny travel agent wanted to make sure that the hotel had a "spinny door" like the hotel we stayed in in "Phil-e-delf-e-a". I tell you that child cracks me up!

The forecast for Thursday...cold and rainy...did not look promising for our trip to Dutch Wonderland. Obviously it was not the weather we were hoping for! Since we had hotel reservations for Thursday night we decided to head up to Lancaster anyway and see what the day brought. The day turned out to be cool and there was a period of torrential rain...but it was the perfect day to visit Dutch Wonderland. We had the place practically to ourselves!

Lily enjoyed her first visit to an amusement park and loved all the rides (except the rollercoaster...see photos below!) and the shows. Since the park was a ghost town we never waited in a line and Lily was able to ride her favorite rides again and again.





After a fun filled day we headed to our hotel. The bad news is that the hotel did not have a "spinny door". The good news is that Lily was able to overlook that shortcoming when she discovered the hotel "looked like a birthday cake", had ducks to feed, a playground complete with a pirate ship, and gave away chocolate ice cream cones in the hotel lobby after dinner!



Thursday evening we had dinner at the hotel and the three of us were sound asleep by 8:15!

Friday morning we headed off to see Thomas at the Strasburg Railroad. I can't begin to tell you how excited Lily was! She was absolutely precious...and boy oh boy was she chatty! She talked non-stop during breakfast and on the drive to the railroad. Here are a few snippets from our conversation:

"Do you know what Thomas's middle name is? It's Lily! Just like me! Thomas Lily Tank Engine."
"Thomas is going to be so happy I'm wearing blue. We'll
match!"
"Are the other engines going to be there, too? What about James? Henry? Percy??? You know, Percy probably won't be there. I think he has to deliver the mail."

Lily positively loved seeing and riding Thomas and she enjoyed riding the other old fashioned steam engine at Strasburg, too. I think our girl really is a hobo at heart!

To end our Day Out With Thomas Lily had an opportunity to meet Sir Topham Hatt. Since Lily tends not to be a big fan of people in costumes I wasn't sure she would enjoy this meet and greet. Silly me worrying. When it was Lily's turn, she turned to me and assured me that Sir Topham Hatt was "just pretend" and away she went.



Lily walked right up to Sir Topham Hatt and shook his hand. Then she turned around with the biggest smile on her face to have her picture taken.

While Lily was with Sir Topham Hatt I noticed she was talking to him. As we walked away I asked Lily what they were talking about. Lily said, "I just wanted to tell Sir Topham Hatt that Thomas did a really great job with all the children today." Could she be any sweeter?!?

Having A Dutch Wonderland...Tank Engine...Time

We just got back from a fun filled two day trip to Pennsylvania. While we were there we visited Dutch Wonderland and went to A Day Out With Thomas at the Strasburg Railroad. Lily had such a great time...and so did Tony and I!

I'm too beat to post all the details of our little get away, but I wanted to share a few cute pictures. I will post more later...after I've caught up on my beauty rest. What? Hey, it's hardwork keeping up with an almost 3 year old!!

Pigtail Princess

It's Summertime And The Living Is Easy...

Summer may not have officially started yet, but it sure felt like it around here!

We had a weekend filled with puppet shows, old friends, beautiful night air, staying up late, lacrosse tournaments, chocolate ice cream cones, car washing, snowballs, bubble blowing, playgrounds, and picnics.

There is even a report of cold pizza being served for breakfast. I will neither confirm nor deny that last one...but I will say...it was a wonderful, wonderful weekend from start to finish!

23 Years Ago

23 years ago today I became an aunt for the first time with the birth of my nephew Ryan. Next to becoming a mother...becoming an aunt is absolutely one of the highlights of my life!

Ryan is an amazing, kind, and loving young man. He is the kind of son every parent dreams of...and the kind of nephew that has made the last 23 years so much fun for this aunt!

Happy Birthday Ryan! We love you!!

That Kangaroo Is Bigger Than Dad Dad!

This morning as I was getting breakfast ready I looked out the kitchen window and there was a HUGE deer in our backyard. We have occasionally had deer in our backyard but this fellow was by far the biggest I've ever seen.

I grabbed one of our dining room chairs and had Lily stand on it so she could look outside and see our early morning visitor. The first thing she said when she looked outside was, "Mommy, that kangaroo is bigger than Dad Dad!" I laughed right out loud and then said, "Kangaroo?" To which Lily quickly said, "Kangaroo??? I meant to say moose!"

Kangaroo?? Moose?? I think it's a good thing Lily and I have been going to these great little "Nature Sprouts" programs at our local state park. The programs are geared for kids 3 - 5 and Lily really enjoys them. Obviously, I need to check the calendar and see if they're doing a program on white-tail deer...soon!

For now, you'll have to be satisfied with these pictures of Lily at yesterday's Nature Sprouts Turtle and Snake Program.

9 Years And A First

Today Tony and I celebrated our 9th wedding anniversary and "celebrated" a first of a different kind, too. This evening for the very first time Lily had a babysitter that was not related to her!!! Not a cousin, an aunt, a grandparent...nope...an outsider!

Well, maybe calling Miss Kahla an outsider is stretching it a bit....maybe it's even an insult. After all, she has been Lily's My Gym instructor for over a year and Lily ABSOLUTELY loves her...and she ABSOLUTELY loves Lily!

When I told Lily yesterday that Miss Kahla was going to come over tonight and babysit so Daddy and I could go out to dinner to celebrate our anniversary she was positively ecstatic! In fact, this morning when Lily woke up one of the first things she said was, "Is today the day Miss Kahla gets to come over? Is today your hand-a-versary?"

Lily literally counted down the hours until Kahla's arrival. All day long she told me the various things she was going to show Miss Kahla and do with Miss Kahla. Trust me, Tony and I would of had to go away for a long weekend for Lily to fit it all in!

Kahla told us that Lily was easily the sweetest child she had ever babysat...and Lily gave Miss Kahla a glowing review, too! Looks like Tony and I can start planning a few more date nights!

What If....

Apparently Lily is no longer satisfied asking simple questions like, "Why?" Nope. Not her. Now Lily is coming up with these elaborate 'What If' scenarios.

Here are a few recent examples:

• Mommy, what would happen if our house didn't have a roof? How would we keep the rain out?


• What if I didn't have any hands or arms. How would I eat?


• What if we didn't have electricity? (Yes, she's not 3 yet and is asking about electricity!) How would we see at night time?


• What if our car didn't have tires. How would it roll?


• What would happen if I drove the car and you sat in my carseat? (Yikes! I better hide the keys!)

You get the idea. I mean....wasn't it just yesterday that Lily started talking and saying words like Me Mom Me and Tank Chew?? Now she's stumping me with questions like, "What if our car didn't have tires?". Trust me a simple, "I don't know", doesn't fly with Lily. She wants details, examples, alternatives...not some lame answer!

This weekend when Lily climbed on to my lap after playing outside and I kissed her sweaty little head it really hit me. She smelled like grass...and sunshine...like a little girl...not a baby. It is all happening so fast!

I have no idea why I am lucky enough to be Lily's mother. What I do know is that I love and am savoring every single second of it!

What if I talked Mommy and Daddy into going out for snowballs. SWEET!!!

Time Out With Aunt Patti

This morning Patti called and asked if she could take Lily out for a little one-on-one Aunt Patti and Lily time. I'm not 100% sure, but I think this is the first time the two of them have gone out alone together. Alone...together...does that make sense?? What I mean is it was just Patti and Lily. No Mommy, no Christina, no Sadie, just Patti and Lily.

To say Lily was thrilled by the prospect of an "Aunt Patti and Lily Date" would be an understatement!! First, she picked out what outfit she wanted to wear...shorts and a sleeveless shirt. Lovely except it was 60 degrees and raining out! She told me she didn't mind she would wear a sweater. When Patti arrived she told Lily she thought she would be too cold and Lily happily went upstairs with Aunt Patti and changed into a warmer outfit.

Lily also had a very specific idea about how she wanted to wear her hair. She wanted a French braid on the side...not two French braids...just one. I wasn't exactly sure what she wanted, but luckily she was pleased with the end result.

Before Patti arrived Lily told me that she was very sorry that I couldn't join them, but she needed someone to stay home and babysit her dolls. Is this child too funny or what??

When Patti came over she asked Lily where she would like to have lunch. Lily quickly answered that she wanted to go to Panera Bread because Thursdays are Black Bean Soup days. Okay, I'll admit it's a little scary that Lily knows what soup is served on what days. Note to self - need to eat lunch at home more often!

Not only did Aunt Patti take Lily to Panera Bread...she took her to Toys R Us and let Lily pick out a toy! Talk about a great day!! Lily chose a kind of "Dance with me" ballerina doll. The doll has elastic bands on its feet that hook around Lily's feet so they can dance together...which they did all evening! Lily even asked Daddy to fly she and her dolly together to get ready for bed. Too cute!

After Patti dropped Lily off I asked Lily to come sit down with me and tell me "All about her time out with Aunt Patti." Her little eyes welled up with tears and she said, "Aunt Patti didn't put me in a time out." Poor thing! I quickly assured her Aunt Patti had told me how wonderful she was all afternoon and I just wanted her to tell me about the time they spent out together.

I had no idea those two words would had such an impact on Lily. I can probably count on two hands (maybe even one) the number of times Lily has ever been in a time out. Seriously. She is just such a sweet, easy going, reasonable little cutie. I guess reasonable is a strange word to use to describe a 3 year old, but it's true. Lily rarely melts down, complains, or whines. Honestly, I thank God everyday that we are so blessed.

Patti thank you so much for treating Lily to such a special afternoon. It was just what the doctor ordered ;-).

What Did She Say???

This morning Lily and I went to her weekly My Gym class. Lily loves My Gym and so do I. We've been going to My Gym for well over a year and for most of that time we have been with the same group of children/parents. In that time we all have become quite close and I think I look forward to going to My Gym as much if not more than Lily.

Each My Gym class begins with circle time. Besides singing the fun welcome song you can see Lily singing in this post the teacher also has the kids introduce themselves and answer one simple question (favorite color, favorite pajamas, etc.)

Today's question was, "What is your favorite vegetable?" When Lily heard the question she leaned over to me and said, "When it's my turn I'm going to say spinach." I said, "That's a great answer.", since she really does love the stuff!

We then sat there and listened to each child introduce themselves and answer the question. I wish I could remember all the answers...they were absolutely hilarious! I mean, who knew macaroni and cheese was a vegetable?!? Or, how about everyone's favorite vegetable...String Cheese?? I think the question should have been what is your favorite dairy product! Anyway, when it was Lily's turn to introduce herself and answer the question she said, "I'm Lily and I'm going to be a big sister!"

Ummm....what??? At first it didn't register. Then I noticed fourteen pairs of eyes turn and look straight at me with huge smiles on their faces. It was at that moment that it sunk in that Lily hadn't said spinach after all! Several of the moms, dads, and Lily's teacher looked more than a little disappointed when I told them that this was all news to me!

I guess I don't need to tell you that right now one of Lily's favorite things to play is big brother or big sister. In fact, that's what she wants to be called, too. So, if you say, "Lily, it's time for dinner." She'll say, "Mommy, I'm the big sister. Can you call the big sister to dinner?" You get the idea.

Here are a few cute pictures of Lily playing big sister. Lily loves to wear the baby carrier and in these pictures she's carrying her little brother (a blue monkey).

How Much Cuteness Can You Stand???

Sunday afternoon Lily was performing her "variety show" for Tony and actually didn't stop performing as soon as he picked up the video camera! That is VERY rare.

As much as our little Lily loves having her picture taken that fondness does not carry over to the video camera. Well, that's not entirely true. The problem is more like...Lily is far too interested in wanting to see herself in the video to actually let you film anything. You know what I mean? You try to capture something on video and all you get is, "Let me see...let me see...let me see." So, anyway, Tony was actually able to capture some really cute video. In fact, if I thought you could handle all the cuteness I would upload the entire 10 minutes!!

Basically, the tape consists of Lily's random stream of consciousness punctuated by a few of her favorite songs! While you're watching be sure to check out Lily's Janet Jackson head set. She just absolutely loves that thing.

In the first clip Lily is singing "Hi, Hi, How Do You Do" which is the opening song at My Gym. In case you can't quite make out what Lily is singing the words are, "Hi, hi, how do you do. Welcome to my gym. We're here for fun and some games now it's time to begin."



In this second clip Lily is singing "Wheels On The Bus - The Winnie the Pooh Edition". Not familiar with it?? We weren't either. In fact, I don't think Lily was until she spotted a stuffed Winnie in the 'audience'.



The sound card on my laptop decided to die while I was trying to edit this video in to little bite size pieces. Sorry if the tape starts or stops at some strange point. I think the clips will still bring a smile to your face. I know they did mine!