Thankful, Blessed, Loved, Adored

We celebrated Lance's 2nd Father's day this weekend. Lilah and I are truly so blessed and thankful for him. He is really the very best husband and daddy, and much better than I ever would have asked for.
On this gloomy Saturday we went to Country Village to have a little picnic since I thought a park and the grass seemed inappropriate in 60 (or less!) degree weather. We sat at a little table around the ducks and roosters and ate some grilled sandwiches, chips, fruit and drinks I brought for us. Lance opened his presents and then we walked around...eventually finding what he really wanted, 'Susan's Sweets', for a giant chocolate chip cookie to finish off our lunch.
Sunday was a perfect day for us to dedicate Lilah at church on Father's day! We had a lot of the family there and Lance shared our scripture we had chosen (which we had read in our bible reading evenings weeks before, so it was perfect) - Matthew 22:37-38 Jesus replied: "Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the first and greatest commandment."
We had a bbq (in the rain....ugh) and had the Wileys and my mom over for some family time and celebrating together. So fun and such a nice, relaxing Father's day.

A Summer Visitor!!!

Here's the last picture I had with Emily....so long ago! I was about 7 months pregnant and she was about 5 months pregnant when she visited for my shower. She is one of my very, very dearest friends. We talk nearly every day and are constantly asking advice of one another or calling to vent or share the latest US gossip news. I sure do miss seeing her face. :)
She'll come in just a few weeks in July to visit with her two sweet girls. Belle is the cutest and is so fun and spunky. Luci is only about a month and a half younger than Lilah so they will have the best time. We can't wait!! She has always been very close with my family and is really like a sister to me.
I was hoping for some good ole Vegas photos, but those must be on cds hidden away somewhere, so maybe I'll dig some up soon to put on here (back when we were younger, carefree and baby-less). :)

1/2 Marathon take 2

The Rock n Roll 1/2 marathon is just a week and a day away. I'm a little nervous with a few little weird "tweeks" on and around my knee, but looking forward to this fun run and hoping to run it with all my friends. I've been doing my long runs with Dana which have been so great...well, great to run with her. Today we do our LAST long run (10 miles) and then take next week easy on the running front. I have to say I won't miss those 5 mile runs on the treadmill for sure. :) I'm considering doing the Bellingham Bay 1/2er that we did last September, but I'm waiting to see how I feel after this one. I am hoping I'm not seriously injured, but we'll see how it goes. Updates and pictures to follow!!

Father's Day Prep

Some of our PEPS friends and the two of us (and granny came...thank goodness for her help) went to a little place called Glazed and Amazed in Edmonds to make the daddies some fine, painted pottery. Some girls helped more than others, but we each chose a piece to make for our hubbies from our girls (we chose an ice cream bowl since daddy LOVES his ice cream). I actually painted most of it, except for made Lilah (she did not enjoy sitting down, but loved walking around in her little apron) sit down and help me write her name on it. It's as cute as can be expected, and really the most fun of it was seeing Lilah and Clara and Leah play around in this little shop. Lilah loved walking around (and was such a good girl not grabbing any of the breakable pottery in this place) and holding the paint brushes and pretending to help me make daddy's present. It was a fun little outing and something I hope to do every year (sorry Lance). Prepare yourself for many more mugs, bowls and picture frames. Ha!

Finally....UGH

So, here's my story. I vow to stay up on updating this thing, and do very well for a few months. So all this time leading up to Lilah's big birthday party I made sure to update my blog weekly and add pictures all the time.
Then....her birthday passes and I don't have to keep up on scrapbooks, her baby book, the blog. It's sort of a letdown after all the preparation and work that goes into a big event. Then I take a huge hiatus from all of my projects.
Now, I wonder if everyone gave up on me and the blog, and am I wasting my time by updating? It's like anything - you keep up on it and don't let it all pile up, and you enjoy it. You put it off and then you have much work ahead of you. And isn't this supposed to be fun? I'm so annoyed with myself.
Since I can't do captions for some reason I'm going to put my captions to all the photos here:
* We have had NO days that have reached much past 70 degrees here in the Seattle area, but have had some sunny days. So, I had to get some shots of Lilah in her sunglasses (she loves them), in my sunglasses and in her cute sunhat. She really loves to be outside and finds her top half of her body going faster than the bottom half, which equals many spills and falls (luckily she's quite the tough girl)
* Lance and I took her one day to see Caspar Babypants (former lead singer of the Presidents of the United States of America....think 90s: Lump, Kitty, Peaches). We sat front and center and she liked the music and liked also that she got to entertain many of the kids and parents there. Seriously, what a ham! She loves to wave, giggle and touch other kids. She is definitely NOT shy like once projected by our pediatrician. ;)
* Ravioli with LOTS of sauce...need I say more

Lilah's 1st Birthday WEEK: The BIG Party

Here are some shots of Lilah's outfit and her sweetest, cutest EVER party hat!! Thanks to my dearest friend Emily for helping me with decorations, Lilah's party outfit and her hat, along with SO much more (and all the way from Georgia). I so do love her.
Just in case you're wondering, this truly is the cutest little girl you've ever seen.

Lilah's Big 1st Birthday Bash

So, my cousin Melissa took most of our pictures, so I only have some so far. Here are a few shots with Lilah's cute birthday hat (Emily sent this to me - it's the best). And, our attempt at taking a family photo...not so successful (as you can see).
It was a perfect party for an absolutely perfect princess! The food was good (thanks for our family!!!), the weather was beautiful, and Lilah was in a great, spunky mood. More pictures to come....