Family day at the zoo...

Ryan took Friday off and we planned a fun family day at the zoo.

We were excited for cooler temperatures (in the mid 90s) but didn't account for the high humidity.  

Apparently we have grown accustomed to our dry climate as we were a bit sweaty and hot.  But had a great time, nonetheless!

sporting our purple on game day

For the first time, Lily got to feed the giraffes. Both she and Daddy were excited!

William's first documented slide experience.  

We've been to our local park a few times this week, and he has loved playing independently on the play structures.  

Silly boy thinks going down the slide on his tummy is so much fun!

loving his curls on this humid day

Washing our hands after petting the goats.  It's the little things for a one year old...

We were thrilled Daddy was able to spend the day with us...activities are always better when he is around!

A performance

We've got quite the actress on our hands.  

Lily is constantly breaking out into song and dance.  Making up elaborate performances each day.

Creating new songs, instructing us on how to be her backup singers, telling us when to stop so her voice can be heard.

Today, William and I were treated to one such performance.

I love her creatively and spirit!

(That girl is crazy!)

1st days of school

A sneak peak at Lily's first few days of school (photos from her new teacher!)

Once a week, the class has 'movement' which consists of yoga moves, stretches, and relaxation techniques.  

Lily has loved this class the past three years and often shows off her newly learned moves.  

We have never encouraged princesses and dress up in our house, so I'm always amazed at how inherent this behavior is in Lily.  She is constantly calling herself Princess Lily and putting on her Cinderalla gown at home.  I'm not surprised to see that she does the same thing at school.  

Lily is loving her 4's teacher, as well as her new classroom.

Mom and Dad are loving the fact that she is sleeping in a bit later than normal after a long day of learning!

One year stats

August 10, 2013

Weight - 21 lb, 7 oz. 26 percentile

Length -31.25 inches. 89 percentile

Head - 46 1/2 cm, 54 percentile

~You wear size 4 diapers, 12-18 month clothes, and just outgrew your 9-12 month shoes.
~Your favorite game continues to be catch. When you see a ball (or anything semi round!), you race over and throw it as far as possible.  You also love to sort blocks and put things into/out of containers, etc.  Your favorite place to 'sort' is the pantry.   No worries, I love reorganizing every single day!  :)
~You say da-da, ma-ma, and ee-ee (Lily).
~You race up the stairs to play in the toy room, climb onto the couch, and try to climb up onto our (tall!) bed.  You love to wrestle. You are very physical and constantly on the move.
~You are still the best snuggler.  You also give hugs on demand, especially to your sister.  

~The happiest part of your day is when Daddy gets home.  The moment you hear him, you race as fast as you can, squealing, and pulling on his leg for him to pick you up.  You then give him one of your famous hugs.  You definitely prefer Daddy over Mommy if given the choice.  
~You suck on two fingers and love to cuddle with your blanket.   You go to bed around 7pm and sleep until 6:30 or 7am.  You take two naps a day, but I am in the process of transitioning to one in order to work around Lily's preschool schedule (the life of a second child).  
~You have four teeth (two top, two bottom) and I keep thinking two more will pop through any day.  

~You cruise furniture and are a crazy fast crawler, but have not taken any unsupported steps.  Just this week, you are starting to show interest in standing up by yourself and walking while holding onto my hands.
~You continue to be a good eater.  Recent favorites include ham, peas, string cheese, and mac and cheese.  
~We laugh that you might not be a smart as your sister, as we are terrible about reading you books.  You are so squirmy, you never sit still long enough to get through even the shortest books! 
~We love you more than words and are so thankful you joined our family a year ago.  Your laughs, your smiles, and your sweet personality make each one of us so very happy.    Happy Birthday, William Tommy!

First Day of School

Excited to start our last year of preschool.  Welcome to the 4's class, Lily!

Ava A and Cassidy have been in Lily's class since the 2's and are such great friends!

Lily was beyond thrilled to see her best friend McKenzie in their new classroom!

Drop off went great, with Lily being excited to see all her friends and explore her new classroom.  We shed a few tears when it was time for Mommy and William to leave, but she gave me a brave smile as I walked out the door.  New situations and transitions tend to be hard on Lily and I was so proud of her today.  A great start to a great school year!

Birthday weekend...

We had a great weekend celebrating William's first birthday!

We kicked off with a few special guests...Nanny, Papa Kurt, Auntie M and Casey all came for a visit.

Friday night we hosted a dinner and our Tucson family joined us as well.

(Aunt Mary, Cousin Holly and her daughter Christine, and Holly's godson Adolpho)

It was an awesome night catching up...lots of laughs and great stories!

Saturday night, Uncle Casey made a few of his signature cocktails, and then we adults 

headed out to dinner to one of our favorite restaurants, The Mission, in Old Town.

The rest of the weekend was spent hanging out and watching two crazy kids.

William continues to have a little separation anxiety.

The moment he saw Nanny, he panicked and never really got over it (guess he remembers that we ditched him for a week, ha!).

However, he spent lots of time playing his favorite game with Papa Kurt...catch!

Auntie picked him up one morning, and we assumed he'd start crying immediately.

Instead, he snuggled in and wouldn't let go for at least 30 minutes.

This continued all day...I think Nanny was a tiny bit jealous!
The birthday boy has a new favorite person.

We are very thankful for the special guests that helped us celebrate our sweet boy!

Happy Birthday

Happy Birthday to our sweet boy. 

Turns out he's a big fan of chocolate, just like his big sister.

Love these two ornery kiddos.

William's big present was a glider bike.   He was pretty excited when Dad pushed him around the yard.

And not so excited when it was big sister's turn to try it out!

We love you more than words, William Thomas.

Happy Birthday!