Yo ho mateys, away!

We've been having lots of Halloween fun these days. First, Autumn at the Arboretum is always a good time. Getting pictures of both kids together is not such a good time.

Grandpa helped the kids carve these great pumpkins this year

Josh helped me make witches' hats cookies for school

Josh dressed up as Jake from Jake and the Neverland Pirates while Lily served as Skully the parrot

Finally a smiley picture of Lily

Lily's tail feathers

A 4 year old?

How is it possible that we now have a four year old? We can't imagine life without him, but it's hard to believe that Josh has been with us for four years already.

Here's the big boy excited to help make cupcakes for his class.

Enjoying the best part of helping with baking.

Displaying the finished product.

Mmmm...cupcake

Waiting for Daddy to bring down the next birthday present

which was...a big boy bike!

The pirate ship cake my mom and I made in honor of our pirate themed party.

Cheesing/grimacing for the camera.

He blew out his candles like a pro!

Lily celebrated Josh's birthday in true Lily fashion - by eating. She also sang a beautiful rendition of "Happy Birthday"

We also enjoyed a visit with my parents in honor of the big 4th birthday.

Lily is 1!

Miss Lilian turned one on February 4th. We held off on the festivities until the 25th, but we had a great time celebrating one year with our sweet girl. As I work on this, she keeps walking by and blowing kisses to all of us, complete with loud "Mmmmm-waaaahhh!" sounds.

I took Lily with me to get a few last minute supplies, and plopped this hat on her head. She loved it! The check out lady had to hurry and give it back to her because Lily was grunting and getting visibly upset over the loss of her hat.

Dad surprised us by bringing down this giraffe. It perfectly matched our pink/brown giraffe party theme.

It made an excellent goody bag holder.



The cake. As with all of Josh's birthday parties, my mom's help was invaluable!

The cake in action.

Patiently waiting for her slice of cake. This picture is deceiving because the patience lasted less than 2 seconds. Then she began crying and reaching for her cake. Someone tried to substitute with a cracker, but she was waaaay too smart for that.

Now that's the stuff!

Is a hair bow + a party hat over accessorizing?



Helping with clean up.

Josh was fascinated by the balloons at his first birthday. Lily was borderline afraid of them.

It was such a beautiful day that the kids were able to enjoy some time on the swings at the conclusion of the party.

This may be my favorite picture of Lily to date. I love how it captures her big personality.

Playing Hard

Our big girl is getting more active every day!

This leads to impromptu napping on occasion.

(Lily is almost 5 months old in these pictures)

Which reminds me of another active little baby who used to play so hard he'd play himself right to sleep. (6 months)
(almost 8 months)

Summer Fun

So far we are having a great summer. Both kids are so much fun!

Our little smiley girl.

Trying cereal. Not too sure about it.

Getting some relief from the triple digits.

Relaxing on the patio.

Enjoying a popsicle.

Lilian kept trying to grab my popsicle and jam it in her mouth. That made us decide we should give the cereal another try, and only one week later she LOVED it!

Happy to go visit Grandpa & Grandma!

Showing off the new haircut. Daddy did it!

Ready to hop in the pool.

Practicing her stroke.

Pool time!

Enjoying the shade.

Tuckered out.