Elmo is TWO

Our Elmo party finally arrived this last Saturday. Lilah has talked about it for weeks now and was almost as excited as I was for the Elmo cake and her Elmo party. It turned out pretty mellow and easy - just as I hoped for. We did probably have about 30 people, but just served cake and drinks. Everyone hung out and watched Lilah walk around in her Elmo costume and watch all the other little kids. It's so fun now that they are playing with each other. The weather held off so the kids played outside for awhile, pushing Lilah's new pink, bubble-blowing lawnmower around. We got through I think three gifts before she was so over it, and then took the next day to finish opening them. She can only focus for about two presents or so and then wants to play or do something else. Lilah had a blast and I think the other kids did too - with the running around outside, strawberry cake, chocolate Elmo cake pops, and Elmo party hats - it was a success. :)

Girls Night :)

It seems like I've had a lot of these lately. I am very fortunate to have a husband that doesn't mind that I get a child-free night with girlfriends and is willing to stay home and be home with Lilah. I think I definitely owe him once Mike is home!
We had a little night out with some girls from college and a few post-college friends. We hung out with some wine and appetizers at Sarah's and then headed to Ozzie's for some chatting, singing and dancing. A super fun night with some ladies I've been friends with for over 14 years....wow. And no matter how much time passes, it's like it was just all yesterday and we just act like we did back in our college days and earlier teaching days. Well....sort of...a little different now that we're older, wiser, and wake up at 6am with a baby or babies.

Happy Day to Our Baby

Our big baby...well, I guess our toddler. I look at her so often and think that she is such a big girl now. She has her own little personality and she is talking all the time. We have definitely been blessed with a fun, spunky, silly, friendly, beautiful little girl.
Today was her big 2nd birthday. It wasn't too exciting since we're having her big party Saturday. But, we did some fun things to make her actual birthday tons of fun.
I made us chocolate chip pancakes for breakfast. We headed to the gym, which doesn't seem as much fun for her as for me, but she SO loves it there. She was super excited to see her best buddies, Belle and Luci, and the people at the gym seriously love her. I was almost in tears when the manager surprised us both with a princess balloon for Lilah's birthday. How sweet...they really love her and she keeps them all entertained while she is there. She dances, talks to everyone, and is so friendly and outgoing. I really have no idea where she got that....I was so very shy when I was little.
When daddy got home we went to Red Robin for dinner. Miraculously, she ate most of her dinner (which if you know our daily struggles, you will know how happy we were that she was actually eating a decent meal). She wasn't too sure about the servers singing to her, and didn't even want anything to do with the sundae (I know, she's so strange), but was thrilled beyond belief with the two balloons she got. We now have 6 balloons in our back room.
Lance and I are both so thankful for 2 years with a happy (well, minus her first 3 months of life), healthy, and fun little girl.

Milk Mustache

This is what happens when Lilah drinks milk from a big girl cup.

Ladies Night

Julie, Cori and I got a night out (no hubbies, no babies) this weekend. We made the trek out to Ballard. I love Ballard - it has the most unique, eclectic, trendy, fun places. However, it's pretty much in another state for Julie and myself. But, we traveled to meet Cori out for some happy hour sushi and great girl time and conversation. It was so nice and relaxing to talk without a baby crying, any whining, screaming, or doing something naughty to get your attention. ;) Afterwards we headed over to the Tractor Tavern for an acoustic show with Citizen Cope. It was perfect. If you know me too, you know I don't like concerts. I have actually been to a lot of concerts, but have decided I'm pretty much done with the big venue, packed house, too much time spent watching the opening act. But this was right up my ally. Intimate, up close, relaxing, and seriously great music. Of course with great company it made for a night with lots of laughs.

Cougar Mountain Zoo

Again, I confess that I have been sort of a bad mom. Last weekend was the first weekend we took Lilah to the zoo. In my defense however, I think that she appreciated it much more than if she were smaller. She could walk the entire time, she could talk to and about the animals and was so very excited.
Anyhow, we decided to stick closer to home and try the Cougar Mountain zoo in Issaquah. Lance and I both agreed it was alright, with not a whole lot of animals. However, the person that mattered most really loved it. She was so, so excited all the way there and repeated the word "animals" about 100 times on the way there. She loved seeing and even petting some of the animals. It was one of our very few beautiful days, and was a great way to spend the afternoon outside.

A Cubby Made for a Toddler

Here's where our little Lilah likes to hang out. She pulls out the toys and just sits in this little cubby a lot. She'll bring her baby, or read a book. or play some instruments. Lance and I thought it was too cute to not get at least a few photos of before she can't fit there anymore. Oh, what a sad day that will be...

Chia Bunny

Right before he had to go in the garbage. We were afraid it might start to attract little bugs and critters in his long, lush grass blades.

Picasso

We got Lilah some watercolor paints for Easter. I really have thought that before this she was too young to use the paints. Did you know watercolor painting has THREE steps?
1. Dip paintbrush in water
2. Put paintbrush in color of choice
3. Paint on paper
That's a lot of steps for a child younger than 2! And even now she likes step #1 and #3, and often skips #2. Granny says it's because she mostly likes to "mess", which is completely true.