Happy Birthday, Westbrook!

Lily's boyfriend, Westbrook, turned one last week and had a shindig this past Saturday to celebrate. The theme was Cinco De Mayo, hence Lily's awesome sombrero.

West enjoyed being hand-fed strawberries by his Aunt Melissa

Mmmm....Cake

Sam shared his ice cream with Caiti

With kids this age, it seems impossible to get pictures of anything besides the back of their heads, doesn't it? Lily and her boys enjoy WB's new toy stash

This is what their butts look like covered (remember the bath tub pic?)

In other Lily-related news, Lily has turned even more girly -- she has been carrying around a babydoll. Lily even "feeds" her baby a bottle or sometimes pretend food with a spoon. My favorite part is that she makes a slurping noise while the baby is "eating." When she woke up from nap this morning, she was standing up screaming for me, with Baby laying gently over her shoulder. I wonder if I teach her to change baby's diapers, perhaps she will learn to change her own. Longshot, huh?

Well, here's to a great weekend and many more birthday parties to come!

Welcome to the World, Leah Catherine!

Yes, that long awaited baby girl is finally here! Lily, Amy, and I got to meet her this morning and she just as lovely as I'd imagined. Congratulations, Beth and Brian!

And my favorite picture ever...

Lily's Party!

I am seriously overwhelmed with gratitude right now! Thanks to all the friends and family who showed up or sent their best wishes, Lily had an AMAZING first birthday party! I still can't believe we packed 35 people into my Mom's living and dining rooms. Lucky that a good number of those people were under 3 feet tall -- we had 10 kids there, the youngest being 2 month old Kayden and the oldest being 6 year old Elizabeth. I was absolutely floored by how well-behaved all of the kids were! Out of 10 kids, you'd expect some kind of disaster, but there was absolutely nothing. It was perfect. I couldn't have asked for a better birthday party for my sweet girl!

I'm sure you all know that you may just be barraged with a lot of party pics, as I get them sent to me from everyone who took pictures over the next few weeks. So prepare yourself for my next 10 posts to be more pictures of Lily's birthday :)

Most of the ones on this post are the ones I took:

The cake was a big hit!

Lily was wondering why all of these people are at her Grandma's house...

Then, she figured it out...they're here for her! Lily was a gracious host, she waved to everyone she saw and said "hi!"

Some of the guests in action

Beth and her hubby enjoyed the cake too (which, if you read her blog, is a miracle unto itself!)

Lily had some help enjoying her gifts!

Amy and Andrew drove all the way from Apex (Durham) to come to Lily's party! We were so happy to see them and Andrew let me plant lots of sugar on him!

This hat was a gift from Caiti, Jen, and Leah and matches an outfit they gave her. I love stuff with ears for babies. Deeply. This is my favorite picture of Lily from her party :)

What do I do with this cake?

OH...I get it!

Daddy, did you want to try some?

Sugar high!

We had a big weekend and were so happy to hang out with so many people that we love. Thanks again to all who came and lots of hugs to those who couldn't make it, you were missed! Also, if anyone wants any leftovers, please feel free to stop by...it looks like we'll be eating veggie tray food and cupcakes for the next month!

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!

Happy Birthday!

Dear Lily on your First Birthday,

Thank you so much, sweet baby, for choosing me to be the mommy you were born to. I can't tell you how much having you has changed my life. The joy of being a parent is simply mind-blowing. Today, you woke up and came into the bed with your Dad and me and we opened some of your presents. Did you know you were the most fascinated with the wierdest one? It's a little monster that lights up, dances, and sings a crazy song. That's my girl!

Your vocabulary at this age astounds me. I had no idea that someone so small could understand so much and communicate so well! You really love animals and love to name them. You have become particularly fascinated with your rubber bath duckies and spend copious amounts of time carrying them around saying "duckie?" and "ka-ka" (for quack, quack). I'm glad to see that you are also a big reader. You sit on the floor for ages, leafing through the pages of whatever book you can find, pointing at the letters, and saying "Oh!" when you see something you like. Lately, if you want to be read to, you will toss a book into my lap and say "Dad-Nu" (your way of saying Thank You). I can hardly turn down your request to read it to you when you are so darn polite!

You are by far my favorite person in the universe and I feel endlessly blessed to have you. Happy Birthday, sweet Lily Pie!

Love,

Mommy

No Autographs, Please

Our kids are famous now!

Lily:

http://charlotteparties.buzznet.com/cat/?id=130453&p=11

Sam:

http://charlotteparties.buzznet.com/cat/?id=130061&p=44