11 months

It's hard to believe it's almost been a year since our little lady blessed us with her snuggles, smile, sweetness, and laugh. She's walking a lot with assistance and taking steps on her own here and there though crawling is still her preferred mode of transportation. She loves eating.  Seriously.  If someone in the room is sneaking a bite of a snack, you can bet who will be right at their feet in no time begging (OK, just giving those cute puppy dog eyes) for them to share.  And she is 9 (NINE!) teeth to help her chop up anything we give her.

Likes: Playing with, petting, and laying on my dog, Tyler (this is more of a love), walking with the assistance of a walker or your hand, getting into the cupboards that mom and dad forget to lock from time to time, waving hi and bye, doing 'tricks' so everyone (including me) claps, taking everything out of my diaper bag and mom's purse

Dislikes: Getting into my new, big girl car seat.  Once I'm in I'm happy as can be but the initial process of getting strapped in is not my cup a tea. Laying on my diaper changing table. I'd much prefer to sit or stand up and get into anything in reach.

Best buds sharing Ty's bed

Walking with assistance of a mini-me grocery cart at Trader Joe's

The first of the first birthdays

As you may recall, our niece was born exactly one month before Lilly.  It's crazy to think of our adventures in pregnancy that turned into adventures in parenting.  Watching these two girls grow up side by side has been such a joy.  They're just starting to interact and I have no doubt that will just continue and hope they become the best of buds.  Since we'd be out of town for a wedding the weekend of her actual birthday, Meredith and Kyle were so kind as to move the birthday party celebration up a week so that we could join. They rented a pavilion in a park nearby for a little afternoon soiree.  There were kiddos and food and cookies and lots of toy trains.  Having a party outside always adds a level of stress about the weather.  All week they were projecting rain until they day of when they foretasted nothing but sun and warmth.  It was an absolutely beautiful day to celebrate our beautiful niece's first year of life. She's strong, sweet, smart and feisty.  My kinda gal!

Cinco de Walk-o

Cinco de Mayo celebrations of our past used to entail tacos and guac and margaritas, oh my!  This year's celebration was a bit different.  It included a full day of work followed by a nice family walk outside and dinner on the patio.  Oh, and Lilly's first steps!  That's right, Lill celebrated her first Cinco de Mayo by getting from point A to point B without the use of her hands and knees. When I got home from work, instead of being welcomed with the usual squeals, leg kicks and little person crawling towards me and tugging at my pants, I was welcomed by that same adorable little person taking 5 or 6 short strides to greet me. Best. Welcome. Ever.

We managed to get in one quick video before bath time and bedtime.  More to come I'm sure.

Cinco de Mayo.  The day Lilly took her first steps.

Egg-cellent First Easter

Lilly's first Easter was a beautiful one.  Well, minus the unplanned basket.  OK, truth is it was totally fine but the personalized one I had ordered for her wasn't ready in time and I made a bigger deal of it than I'd prefer to admit.  Not my finest Mommy moment.  Corey made me feel a lot better when he put it into perspective, and followed up by asking Lilly how upset she was about the situation.  Clearly she had no idea what was going on and I quickly remembered that adorable personalized Easter baskets were not what the holiday was all about.  

The weather on Easter Sunday was gorgeous; sunny and warm.  We started the day with a little Easter egg and basket hunt around the house followed by breakfast (a nap) and then a walk up to church.  I just love that we can walk to church.  Just one of the many things we love about our neighborhood.  I digress...  Lilly was great during church; intrigued by all the people watching and singing.  She flirted with everyone in the pew behind us and quickly won their hearts. After church we played for a bit before another nap and then headed over the MawMaw CoCo's and PawPaw Jim's for Easter dinner with cousins.

A day full of wonderful celebrations.

Carter loves his Baby Lilly

Top Chef

I'm no 'Top Chef' but I do enjoy tackling new recipes.  I love the challenge of preparing a new type of food and making use of all those fun kitchen tools we received as wedding gifts, all with the goal of an end result that looks (and tastes!) just like the recipe's drool-worthy photos. Recently some great friends gifted us with a trial of their new favorite service where all the ingredients, in exactly the quantity needed, for 3 meals are delivered to your door step with detailed recipes, complete with pictures, all for a very reasonable price. I immediately became a fan and have since gifted it to two people. I'll be honest that the recipes aren't 'quick and easy', though they do explain the recipe in a way such that you can cook things simultaneously and have everything hot and ready at the same time.  However, not having to figure out a menu for the week and then go to the grocery and stock up on all the necessary ingredients, is an appreciated time saver.  Not to mention, you get try some new recipes that might even make it into your regular rotation. Another plus? There's no set commitment.  Order and decline weeks as you wish.  We'll probably get an order once a month going forward :-)

Pan-seared Hake with Eggplant Caponata & Fregola Sarda

This week's winner: Lamb Kofte Kebabs with Sauteed
Chickpeas and Cucumber Yogurt Sauce

Orange-glazed Chicken Drumsticks with Mashed Yucca and Arugula Salas

10 months

One more month has come and gone in the blink of an eye.  How is it almost May?  Seriously!

Likes: Sleeping on my tummy with my butt up in the air, eating all sorts of yummy foods (turkey, cheese, black beans, mixed veggies, avocado, potatoes, pad thai, etc.), standing up and looking out the window, climbing up the stairs, giggling (I think I'm pretty darn funny), walking all over with the assistance of my walker

Dislikes: Falling down, people eating in front of me and not letting me have some. Yep, that's it. I'm a happy, happy camper.