Botanical Gardens

Lily has just not been herself lately at all. She is only napping sporadically in the car, whining A LOT, and being more shy in public than ever before. I took her to the doctor yesterday to make sure she wasn't sick and he couldn't find a reason for her fever, but thinks it may be viral or teething. I'm pretty sure that its teething though. On an interesting note, Lily weighed (with diaper on) 21 lbs and 6 ounces. Thats close to 2 lbs more since her one year appointment! Glad she's finally putting on some weight!

Lily and I took advantage of the beautiful weather and headed out with Amy to the Daniel Stowe Botanical Gardens. Lily loved the freedom of being able to run around and explore, so most of my pictures involve the back of her head. I think she was a little miffed that she couldn't climb in the fountains.

Birthdays and Boating

For Lily's 1st Birthday, we decided to take a family trip on the boat. In attendence were Devin and I, Lily, My Mom, and Devin's Dad. Needless to say, it was a tad on the chilly side, but we had a lot of fun. Lily wasn't too sure about the whole thing. She couldn't figure out why she had to miss naptime and be bundled up and held hostage in a big life jacket.

She wanted to drive, but she can't reach the steering wheel...

She doesn't look over-enthused, does she?

Afterwards, we ate at Tbone's and the reason that Devin and Lily are standing up is because Lily decided she wanted to explore the restaurant instead of sit in her chair. Devin got quite a workout chasing her around :)

Today Lily had her big One Year Doctor Appointment. I was definately dreading it. Lily did really well, though, for a child who had to have 3 shots and a blood draw. She was supposed to have 2 more shots, but I decided to delay those a few more months because she's already sick and I don't want to overload her poor little immune system. I don't know if that's reasonable rationale or not, but I'm gonna stick with it.

She measured at 19 lbs 12 oz and 30 inches tall. They didn't give me any percentiles on that, but I'm gonna assume that she's tall and skinny. Her iron was 11.1 and the normal range starts at 11.2, so it's a little low, but I'm going to attribute that to her eating nothing but cheese this week (she's been on food strike). She's meeting all her milestones, of course, and the doctor seemed pretty impressed with her vocabulary, so that's good! All in all, it went well and she's up and around and seems to be just fine after all those mean shots :)

The awesome architect I am, I put Lily's new tent together myself! She loves it!

Thanks, everyone, for the wonderful birthday wishes! We had a terrific Valentine's Day and are looking forward to the big party on Saturday. Since I think its gonna get kind of crowded, you are all welcome to park at the Bilo down the road and then we will send the Mom-shuttle to come and get you. If not, park on the sidestreet if you can't find room in front of the house. Also, we have a neighbor who seems to adore trashing his own yard, so if you want to block his driveway, feel free. Okay, I'm kidding on that one! Can't wait to see you and all and lots of love to those of you who are unable to make it. You know I will be posting pics like a madwoman for you to enjoy!

Lily goes to Biltmore!

Lily and I packed up and headed to Asheville yesterday with our friend Cindy to see the Biltmore House. Cindy is a season pass-holder there and was able to bring us as her guests for FREE! As a lifelong North Carolinian, I'd never been to the Biltmore House, but it was definately worth the wait! Unfortunately, you can't take pics inside the house itself, so we missed out on the fun shots of Lily climbing up 2 flights of stairs on her own (we had to leave the stroller, so she just took it upon herself to go up those stairs!) and of Lily riding on Cindy's shoulders. We had so much fun, it was an incredible experience!

Lily looks right at home in front of the mansion!

Her face was almost as pink as her stroller from the cold wind!

Can you see what's on the ground? That's right, it's snow!

Lily touches snow for the first time -- shortly after this picture, she stuck her finger in her mouth to taste it as well.

She kept pointing to this Lion and calling it a "Dah-ee" (doggie) -- close enough!

We definatley had a great time and were so glad we were able to go! Thanks Cindy!!!