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On Saturday morning we had the most gorgeous fox in our backyard. The fox's coat was so beautiful and full.
As Lily and I were watching the fox we noticed that something was wrong with one of his back legs and he was walking with a noticeable limp. Lily asked me who would help the fox take care of his leg.
I told Lily that wild animals don't have a doctor and that they have to take care of themselves. Lily didn't like that answer very much.
All during breakfast (and for several hours after) Lily talked about how she wanted to become a Wild Animal Doctor. It was so sweet to hear her develop her plan.
Lily shared with me that if there was a hurt squirrel or fox or bird she would be able to carry them to a place where she could help them. If there was a hurt deer or bear (yikes!) she would need to find help to carry them because they're too big.
I told Lily that when Christina was little she also wanted to take care of wild animals. Lily was pretty excited by the idea of going into practice with Beanie. After all, she would need help carrying some of the bigger animals!
Lily also told me she would need to get some better shoes to be a Wild Animal Doctor. Something with "better grippers" on the bottom because she would have to walk up and down hills, over roots, and maybe even in some streams.
Lily was working out all the details and was just about ready to hang out her shingle when she hit a major snag..."How would the animals call me? It's not like foxes have cell phones, you know?!?"
I think Lily will have to work out that little problem before she's ready to move into the woods!
I don't have any photos of Dr. Lily - Wild Animal Doctor. So, here's another picture from our trip to Seattle.
Last week the exterminator came by to do his semi-annual termite inspection. Actually, I shouldn't call Rick an exterminator...he is, after all, a termite technician.
I just love when Rick comes by. He takes his job very, Very, VERY seriously. And I think we can all agree that termites are serious business.
When I'm dealing with Rick I always have the feeling that I'm on Candid Camera or maybe just stuck in a Saturday Night Live skit.
Rick likes to hook his thumbs in his belt loops, stick out his chest, roll up on the balls of his feet and says things like, "Listen here Little Lady, termites are serious business. Serious. Business." See, I was right. Termites are serious business! And no, I'm not exaggerating. He really talks like that.
If given the opportunity Rick would talk to you for hours about the life cycle of termites, their mating habits, eating habits. Well, you get the idea.
Can't you see why I love when he comes over?!?
Anyway, none of that had anything to do with the point of this post.
Was there a point to this post???
Oh yeah, that's right....Boy Toys.
So, when Rick was here last week he came upstairs and asked me if we had adopted another child. I said, "No. Why?" I have to be honest. For a brief instant I thought maybe there was another child downstairs. It was a very creepy feeling.
Before there was the chance for my 'made for television horror movie' imagination to get too carried away Rick said he had noticed all the "boy toys" in the playroom.
With a very funny tone in her voice Lily asked Mr. Rick, "What boy toys????"
Rick went on to list: the trains, the race cars and track, the crane, the cement mixer, the tow truck, etc.
I think instead of looking for his beloved termites downstairs Rick was actually playing with Lily's toys!
Lily assured Mr. Rick that they weren't "a boy's toys" they were her toys.
Rick got a kick out of Lily's answer and then noted that Lily was carrying her Ariel doll (which, by the way, has barely left her side since Christmas morning).
Rick then asked Lily if she was half princess and half race car driver. Lily replied, "I like princesses and race cars if that's what you mean."
Rick just sort of chuckled, stuck his thumbs in his belt loops, rolled up on the balls of his feet and said to me, "I think I'm looking at the next Danica Patrick." as he walked out the door.
After Rick was gone Lily said to me, "Mommy, isn't it funny that Mr. Rick called a cement mixer a boy toy. What is a boy toy anyway?"
I have to confess...I love that Lily had no concept of "boy toys" or "girl toys"...just different things she loves to play with!
Oh, and speaking of "Boy Toys"...look what Aunt Baba gave Lily. Lincoln Logs!!!
This morning I did a positively inept job of trying to explain to Lily who Martin Luther King, Jr. was and how he fought so hard to right injustice.
Naturally, I tried to explain the civil rights movement in a way that a four year old could understand. Just when I thought I had lost her completely Lily said, "Well, that's just plain crazy. Mommy, didn't people know way back then that God makes everybody perfect? Different...but perfect?"
If only we could all see each other through the eyes of a child.
Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that.
- Martin Luther King, Jr.
Seattle is an incredibly clean, vibrant, and beautiful city. We would love, love, love to go back and visit again...soon!
In fact, next season the Ravens are playing the Seahawks at Qwest Field. The date of the game hasn't been announced yet, but Tony would love to go.
I'm not so hepped up about going to another game, but I'm sure Lily and I could keep ourselves plenty busy while Daddy enjoyed himself at the stadium. Let's just hope the game is in September and not January!!
While we were in Seattle we didn't just go to the game. We visited the Aquarium, Pike Place Market, the Experience Music Project, the Science Center, and the Space Needle. Yes, we were only there 4 days...why do you ask???
I have to be honest, I wasn't that excited about going to the aquarium. We have one downtown...and once you've been to one aquarium you've been to them all. Right? Wrong!!
The Seattle Aquarium is amazingly "kid friendly". They have touch pools, scuba divers with microphones in their big tanks, and all the exhibits are geared to children. Lily had a blast and so did we!
Pike Place Market is also amazing. Stall after stall of fresh seafood, flowers, herbs, meats, and more. We had so much fun exploring all the different things the market has to offer.
Walking through the stalls made me wish we weren't staying in a hotel. I would have loved to go shopping and buy some of the fresh produce to bring home and make something yummy.
What is happening to me???? I never would have thought like this just a few short years ago!!
Unfortunately, there were no "flying fish" the day we were there. The fish market was temporarily closed for remodeling and won't re-open until February 4. See, just another reason for us to go back and visit Seattle!
Lily really loved the street performers at the market. Since we've been home, Lily has been leaving a hat upturned on the floor when she plays her guitar. Who knows...maybe next time she does it I'll throw in a dollar or two!
Speaking of playing guitar, Lily had a lot of fun in the sound studio at the Experience Music Project. I will not be the least bit surprised when Lily grows up if she is in some type of performing art. Hmm...when she wins some big award I hope she mentions me in her acceptance speech!
We also visited the Science Center. Unfortunately, we didn't have a lot of time to spend at the Science Center because we had lunch reservations at the Space Needle.
It's a good thing we decided to visit the Space Needle. It was by far Lily's favorite part of the trip! She loved everything about it...the Space Needle Noodles...the smoking ice cream...and the fact your table wasn't where you left it when you got up to go to the bathroom!!
The whole spinning restaurant thing took me quite a while to get used. In fact, I wasn't sure I was going to be able to stay. I felt really, really queasy. But, after about 30 minutes I felt better and ended up having a positively delicious meal...with a beautiful view!
We also had another special treat while we were eating at the Space Needle. No, not the Space Needle Noodles or the ice cream served on dry ice...a Bald Eagle was circling outside!! How beautiful!!
Unfortunately, we didn't have the zoom lens on the camera at the time and we had to take the picture through the window...so...forgive the poor picture quality. You'll just have to trust me that it was positively breathtaking in person!
I know I probably sound like a one woman tourist advertisement for Seattle...and it's true! If you've never been...GO! If you have been...then you understand why we're already itching to go back!
Last Friday Tony, Lily, and I headed to Seattle. It was a trip that took months and months of careful preparation, planning, and budgeting.
Either that or I received an e-mail from Seahawks.com on Monday saying there were playoff tickets available...I forwarded that e-mail to Tony...gave him a call...and less than 15 minutes later we had tickets to Saturday's game and were scrambling to make flight and hotel arrangements.
Can I tell you something? We are so not those kind of people. Impulsive is not a word I would use to describe Tony or I. Not at all actually.
Now, I'm not saying we always make the best financial decisions. Um, not at all actually. But, we don't usually decide in a 15 minute conversation to liquidate Lily's college fund and head to Seattle. Of course, I'm kidding...and anyway I'm sure Lily will be perfectly happy at the local community college. If not, I'll just gently remind her of all the fun she had in Seattle when she was 4!
Seeing the Seahawks play at Qwest Field was one of the items on Tony's "Bucket List". Seeing them play in a playoff game at Qwest Field was just the icing on the "Bucket List" cake.
Lily was absolutely incredible on the loooonnnngggg flight out west. We read books, colored, played tic-tac-toe, eye spy, and every other game you can imagine and finally arrived in Seattle late Friday night.
On Saturday we went to Qwest Field to see the Seahawks vs. Saints. It was amazing, loud, exciting, Loud, fun, LOUD and did I mention LOUD? Seriously. You can not imagine the crowd noise. Trust me, it was crazy and deafening.
I was not prepared for all the insanity! Let's just say some people are *seriously* into their football!
I know I've mentioned this before, but I'm not a huge sports fan. It's just not in my personality to get all fired up about sporting events. To be honest, there's a small part of me that is a little envious of people who do. But, the other part of me...a bigger part...just flat out doesn't get it. I mean...really...doesn't get it.
When Tony and I were dating he told me that he wasn't much of a football fan. He lied! Big!! The good news is that Tony is not the kind of fan that lets a bad game ruin his day. Sure he would like to see his team win...but if they don't...oh well..there's always next week.
That was Tony's outlook for Saturday's game, too. He was just THRILLED to actually be at Qwest Field watching the Seahawks play. Now, Tony may not be the kind of fan to let a bad game ruin his day, but he is the kind of fan to go completely CRAZY during a good game.
If you had seen Tony on Saturday you wouldn't have recognized him. I guarantee it! My normally quiet, mild-mannered husband was a hooting, hollering, fist pumping, high-fiving maniac. It was hysterical! Lily kept looking at Tony like, "Who are you and what have you done with my Daddy?"
Tony desperately wanted to get his full face painted for the game. There is a place at the stadium where they do face painting for free. Even though we arrived at the stadium a full 2 hours early, they cut off the line just one person in front of Tony :-(.
Tony good-naturedly settled for having the team logo airbrushed on his face. Lily and I joined in on the fun and all 3 of us sported Seahawks on our cheeks.
We had terrific Club Level seats. We had a great view of the entire stadium and Tony was clearly in heaven! Everything was just perfect until Saints fans sat down right next to us. Thankfully, they were actually very nice...despite the occasional "Who Dat? We Dat!" chanting and I think having them right next to us actually made the game even more fun!
Apparently, Qwest Field was architecturally designed to be the loudest stadium in the NFL...and boy did they get their money's worth! It's CRAZY loud!
The goal of the Seahawks fans is to cause the opposing to team to get a false start penalty. That happened 3 times on Saturday! And if you think the fans are loud trying to create a false start penalty...you should hear them after it happens!!! Oy!!!
You may think I'm exaggerating about the noise level at the stadium. I'm not. Check out this article in the Wall Street Journal about Marshawn Lynch's earth-shaking touch down.
I know I've mentioned a few thousand times on this blog that Lily is pretty sensory sensitive. Saturday was no exception. The noise level was incredible and some of the sights were pretty overwhelming, too! Thankfully, we had earplugs and Lily seemed able to completely disengage from everything that was happening around us.
Almost everyone around us stood up the entire game. When Lily and I stayed seated having everyone standing up around us kind of created our own little cocoon.
While people (including Tony) were going nuts Lily and I played tic-tac-toe and took turns writing the letters of the alphabet. We traced each other hands and then made funny looking animals out of them. We made mazes for each other to figure out and played eye spy. Occasionally, we even watched the game :-)
When the noise got to be too much for Lily we'd just sit back down in our cocoon and find some other way to keep ourselves entertained. I'm embarrassed to admit this, but I actually lost track of the game! When there were only a few minutes left in the entire game I thought it was the end of the 3rd quarter. Oops!
While it's true Lily didn't like all the noise, that did not prevent her from occasionally joining in in a little "Sea dat? We dat!" and "Not in our house!" chanting. Actually, Lily didn't seem to like the 'dat' part and mostly chanted, "Sea that? We're that!" So proper!
Once the game was over and the Seahawks had won it was absolute pandemonium! Complete strangers were hugging and high-fiving, people were chanting, "Sea dat? We dat!" at the top of their lungs, and the excitement and energy were palpable. I've never been in an environment like that. It was thrilling...and a tiny bit frightening.
By the time we got back to our hotel room all 3 of us were completely spent. A combination of jet lag and coming down off the post game high pretty much wiped us all out. We didn't have the energy to go out for dinner, so we had pizza delivered to the room.
While we were eating pizza Lily asked, "So Daddy, did the Seahawks win today?" After Tony almost ruptured something laughing he assured Lily that the Seahawks did, in fact, win. Lily went on to say, "I didn't really like the game that much, Daddy. But I am happy your team won!"
It looks like Lily might have Mommy's sports gene!
...Here's a hint.
If Tony feels older after this past weekend it's not only because...HE IS...it's also because of all the fun we fit into his 3 day weekend!!
We went to see Christmas Lights, celebrated New Year's Eve, visited train gardens, did crafts, and broke in Lily's new Easy Bake Oven. Oh, and did I mention somebody had a birthday to celebrate, too???
Lily made Tony a chocolate chip cheesecake and cooked Daddy's birthday breakfast (not in the Easy Bake Oven!). Of course, I helped...but it's amazing how much Lily can do herself!
I think the best part of the weekend was that Tony and Lily were able to spend some special one-on-one time together. Tax season is fast approaching and Daddy/Daughter time will be in short supply.
As much as I love family time, I also enjoy those times when I can be on the outside looking in. You know what I mean? Like being in the other room and listening to the Tony and Lily laughing hysterically...or be in the kitchen cooking dinner and hear Lily and Tony orchestrating an elaborate car race in the basement...or trying to decipher their special Daddy/Daughter language that includes saying words backwards and using completely made-up words that only they know the meaning of.
There was a time back when we first became a family that I think Tony may have doubted a little bit that he and Lily would someday share such a special bond. It's so obvious now that Tony's patience, persistance, and love paid off!
Here's hoping all (well, at least most) of 2011 will be like this past weekend!
Christmas is so, so much fun with a 4 year old! Or, should I say, with a 4 1/2 year old?
Lily turned 4 1/2 on Christmas Eve and that fact was almost as exciting to her as Christmas itself!
Thankfully, Lily slept in Christmas morning (like she does pretty much every morning). That's a good thing since Santa's helpers were up kind of late on Christmas Eve ;-).
When Lily came down the steps she spied the train that Santa left under the tree and her face completely lit up...
...and then completely fell! Lily recovered nicely, but it was obvious that something was wrong...really wrong.
Tony and I asked Lily if everything was okay. Lily assured us she was fine, but her facial expression told a different story. Not knowing what was wrong we asked Lily if she wanted to open the presents that Mommy and Daddy had given her or the presents from Santa. Lily's smile quickly returned.
Surprisingly, Lily chose to open the gifts from Tony and I first.
We really don't go overboard in the gift department. Lily's preschool tries to teach the kids that if 3 gifts were enough for Jesus...three should be more than enough for them. I really like that philosophy. Now, that's not to say we adhered to it strictly, but I think we did a pretty good job.
Mommy and Daddy tend to buy Lily the more practical gifts...and leave the fun gifts for Santa. One of the gifts we give Lily each year is a piece for her "activity scene". Lily gets surprisingly excited to see which figurine she gets to add to her Nativity Scene.
This year Lily did tell us she thinks it's time she gets the actual stable and could we buy that for her next year? Let's see if I can remember that for next year.
Lily hasn't only learned about Jesus receiving 3 gifts in preschool...she's also learned about princesses...and Ariel in particular.
In Lily's imaginary play she often talks about Ariel and how Ariel needs a stroller when she is on land since she has a fin and not legs.
When we were trying to decide what Santa should bring Lily (since she was absolutely no help) I thought maybe Santa should deliver Ariel and a stroller. One problem...I didn't know if Lily wanted a Barbie-type Ariel or a plush-type Ariel doll. So, Santa brought both.
I don't know if you can tell from the pictures above, but Lily was THRILLED with her Ariel doll and twin jogging stroller. In fact, she said...How did Santa know I would love this???
Truth be told, Lily hasn't touched the Barbie-type Ariel since Christmas day. The good news is she hasn't put down the plush Ariel doll. If only Santa had known she...I mean he...could have saved some money.
After lunch we headed up to Pennsylvania to celebrate Christmas with Nai Nai. As sick as Suzy has been over the last month it really is a gift in and of itself to be able to celebrate Christmas with her!
When we got back home and put Lily to bed she asked if she could tell me something. Lily went on to share that she had been really worried in the morning when she noticed there were no Christmas presents *under* the Christmas tree. Per Lily, Santa is supposed to leave presents *under* the tree. Not *next* to the tree.
I explained to Lily that with the train under the tree there wasn't room for gifts and that must be why Santa had put her gifts off to the side. Lily understood...but assured me again that Santa is supposed to leave presents *under* the tree...not *next* to it! Another note to self...presents under the tree...not next to it.
Then Lily brought up her next area of concern...what had Santa done with our tree skirt??? Lily told me how much she liked that tree skirt and Santa took it!
Santa the thief. Who knew??? I explained to Lily that Santa must have known the train couldn't run on top of the tree skirt and I was sure Santa must have left the tree skirt some place safe. Lily asked me if she and I could look for it in the morning. Of course, I said, "Yes!"
I'm happy to report we found the tree skirt all nicely folded and put away in one of the Christmas storage bins in the basement. That Santa's quite a guy!
There really is nothing like experiencing Christmas through the eyes of your child!
