Brush brush

Five teeth = time to start brushing

You want me to do what with this thing?

Daddy, show me how to do it.

That looks fun. Let me try.

You mean, like this?

Ohhhh, in my mouth!

Best friend

A girl and her best friend.

Party like it's your BIRTHDAY

We celebrated Lily's first birthday surrounded by all our family.

Lily is one lucky gal to have so many people who love her!

Cupcakes and decor

The grub

Not too sure about these cupcakes...

but once the frosting was removed, she dug right in!

Nanny gave me my very own chair...

and I've spent hours climbing in and out of it!

So excited for all her presents. Thank you everyone!

But her favorite might be the basketball goal from her daddy.

This is her new favorite game. Which we do over. And over. And over. Again.

Hitting her limit.

HOT. Get this tutu off me!

And I'm officially over it.......

Thank you for joining us to celebrate! We can't believe our baby is one!

She did it again...

Once again, Maura has blown us away. We are in love with Lily's one year portraits! Thank you so much Maura...you are amazing!

Check out Maura's blog for a few of our favorites!

If you live in the Kansas City area and are in need of an excellent photographer or wedding videographer, we highly recommend Maura Photography!

12 months

May 31, 2010. Happy Birthday Lily….

Weight – 20 lb, 5oz. 45 percentile

Length – 30 1/2 inches. 90 percentile

Head – 18 inches. 70 percentile

~ You are standing all by yourself for 10-15 seconds without holding onto anything.

~ You have taken quite a few steps between the coffee table and the couch, or Mommy and Daddy's arms.

~ You get up on your feet with your knees bent and are so close to standing straight up without pulling on anything.

~ You are such a good eater. A few recent favorites are Mac&Cheese, blueberries, and fish sticks.

~ You have learned the games "So Big", "Where is your nose" (though you point at our noses, not your own), and blowing kisses. You learned all these new games from Nanny and Grandma O when visiting and very proudly showed off for us when we got home.

~ You are such a talker. You put so many sounds together and carry on quite a conversation. Papa Kurt thinks you are moments away from "making some sense".

~ Each day you become more and more cuddling. You prefer to sit on our laps when you play, so will crawl up or pull on our pants legs insisting we pick you up.

~ I've found you on the second step heading on your way upstairs. No grandmother is admitting they taught you that trick yet, but I'm sure I'll figure out the culprit soon. :) Time to install that baby gate!

~ You are learning to 'read' by yourself. You pick up your books, open them, point out the pictures, and narrate the story to yourself.

You have changed so much this month. You are no longer a baby, but well on your way to toddlerhood. It makes us so happy and sad at the same time. We cherish every single moment with you and love the little girl you are becoming.

Crazy month of May

The month of May was a crazy whirlwind of fun travels and beautiful weddings.

May Day Wedding

We started our month of events on May Day with my oldest friend Bryn's wedding. The very first night Ryan and I met her future groom, we were both so giddy with joy for them - we just knew Bryn had found her match! Lovely couple, beautiful spring day, absolutely perfect wedding. And not a single picture to show off as I lost them when our computer crashed. Bummer...

Lily then spent a week in Sabetha with her grandmothers while Ryan and I went off to California.

First, four days in San Francisco with Ryan's company.

Cocktail reception our first evening.

Rainy cold boat ride around the bay. Beautiful views of the city and the Golden Gate bridge.

Sausalito.

Dreamy vacation meal.

Amazing weather. Sweet date.

Mozzarella Salad. A carafe of red wine.

What else could this girl ask for?

Dinner and entertainment at Bimbo's 365.

Dinner club with 'Brat Pack' theme. Wildly entertaining.

We were then joined on the trip by our good friends Walt and Melissa, where we headed north to Sonoma county!

Our bed and breakfast in Healdsburg, CA.

Haydon Street Inn

Enjoying a glass of vino before dinner.

I dream of having a front porch similar to this.

I'm sure either Ryan or Walt just said something very inappropriate...

Porter Creek Vineyards

Amazing dessert at Bistro Ralph

Why do I have so many pictures that look like Ryan and Walt are a couple?

Huh. Interesting.

Forth Vineyards

(That's better. Me and my man.)

The hospitality we experienced at Forth was incomparable to any of our other visits.

(Sharing a small bench? Huh?)

Barrel tasting

We were invited to visit this wine cave....

and sample wines from their Pinot club. Amazing experience.

Thank you Forth/Pinot Club! We promise to come back (and send visitors!)

Memorial Weekend, I headed to Charleston, South Carolina...

Lunch, rooftop, over looking the bay.

Lookin' good Mom and Dad!

Or should I say Super Size and Big Shot?!?!

(Sorry. You had to be there.)

and I thought the humidity was bad in Kansas.

My hair hated me the whole trip (or maybe I hated it...dang those curls)

The purpose of the trip - to celebrate my cousin Jaime's wedding!

Congrats James and Jenn. We couldn't be happier for you!

Whoaa.....enough travels for me. We missed Lily way too much while we were gone and hope to slow down the rest of the summer to enjoy our little family!

Father's Day

We are so lucky to have you in our lives, for so many reasons....

~you create the best giggles and belly laughs

~you are never too tired for one more round of chasing Lily

~you always spend extra minutes just playing during bath time because Lily loves it so much

~you have been so patient and kind this past year while Mom figures out this parenting thing

~Lily calling out da-da might be the cutest sound in the world

~your actions each day show us that we are your number one priority and for that, we will both be forever grateful!

Ryan, we love you more than words. Happy Father's Day!

We're back

This mom has a few new toys - a new camera and new computer. Therefore a new website design seemed to be in order as well. Over the next few days, I hope to catch up on some blogging so check back frequently!

Lily's favorite game at Nanny's house!

Not a very good helper in the kitchen, I'd say.

(Just a teaser blogpost - we are still working on getting our personal computer back!)