our ward had an easter egg hunt on saturday (the day before easter). it started at 8 am and was over by 8:05 am. the "three and under" set had their own section in the playground while the older kids ran rampant over the rest of the park. it was glorious. lily picked up on the concept pretty quickly, and did pretty well finding the eggs and placing them in her basket. And afterwards, when she found out there was candy in the eggs? oh, man, she was even more excited.
the next day, after church, my parents arrived from eureka and my bil & sil (dan & jackie) arrived with their son, Levi, and we had an egg hunt in the backyard for the two cousins. again, the knowledge of candy in the eggs was a great motivator. plus, they were so stinkin' cute trying to find eggs around the backyard. i'm really looking forward to next year.
ward easter egg hunt; aka the practice run for sunday
she did good!
the backyard hunt
cousins! lily and levi (they were excited about it, i promise. they just haven't quite mastered smiling for the camera)
sassy poses.
busted! caught sneaking the candy behind the flowers.
we headed to sausalito last saturday to try out the kids discovery museum. this place is amazing. it is situated in historic fort baker and is one of the most incredible examples of adaptive reuse i've ever seen. plus, the view of the golden gate bridge from the museum was incredible. i might have geeked out a little bit about what was there (original windows, original flooring, original siding...omg, i was in heaven). and lily had a great time, too. all in all, a successful family outing and adventure. (side note: if you are looking for a place to eat in sausalito, i highly recommend hamburgers. it is a tiny place, but makes the most amazing hamburger of my life. and kevin's life, too. lily loved the french fries. seriously worth the trip, just for the burger alone.)
get your burgers, go across to the marina, eat and let the kid run around and watch the boats.
the view of the golden gate from the discovery museum parking lot. the parking lot!
the officers quarters and offices at historic fort baker (it's now a hotel, and judging from the number of bmw's, lexuses, and mercedes' we saw there, it will be a very loooong time before we can afford a stay-cation there).
the enlisted men's barracks. and stables and armory. each building now houses a different section of the kid's museum.
for some reason, lily thinks she's a dog and (tries to) drinks like this from every body of water we come across. it's disconcerting, to say the least.
lily pads for the lily (haha)
geek out warning: original window, siding, flooring. amazing.
thumbs up for adaptive reuse and historic restoration!
it was a perfect day, sausalito. we'll do it again, soon!
i spent a very enjoyable and relaxing weekend with my long beach girls at the beach house in aptos. we were sadly missing two of the bunch, but were able to welcome the second generation with sarah's daughter, winnie. so many good times, and i can't wait for our next gathering.
don jose's chips & salsa made an appearance, much to patty's delight.
a perfect day at the boardwalk in santa cruz
go to lunch, see a mariachi band randomly perform. also, o.d.'s kitchen is *amazing.* if you are looking for a good place to eat in gilroy, check them out. seriously.
winnie was our photographer for the group shots. she did an amazing job (seriously, every single photo she took turned out great. kid has skills.)
not too long ago someone said some not-so-nice things to me about my beliefs. they assumed they knew about my faith because they had seen the broadway play "the book of mormon" and thought i was brainwashed because, to quote a song, "i'm a mormon, and i just believe." i've been mulling over what this person said to me, and the response i wish i had been eloquent enough to say came pouring out of me this morning.
i'm a mormon, and i don't "just believe." I have faith that has been earned and built up through study, prayer, acting upon principles of the gospel, and going through trials and coming out the other side with a greater understanding and knowledge of Christ's atoning sacrifice. i don't "just believe." i believe because i have been through the refiners fire; i have been comforted when at my lowest and have seen the miracles of God's blessings unfold before me.
i am a mormon, and i don't "just believe." i believe because i have listened to the the counsel of living and past prophets and apostles, and have put that guidance to work in my own life and have seen the benefits and blessings that come from following that counsel.
i believe because i have chosen to make covenants with my Heavenly Father and have felt myself draw closer to Him and have seen the blessings that come from honoring my covenants and knowing that Heavenly Father is only wanting to continue to pour more blessings into my life as i continue to honor and live up to my promises and covenants.
i am a mormon and i don't "just believe." i have faith that has grown because of the work that i put into my belief. i have studied, i have prayed, and i have taken the Lord, the prophets, and apostles at their word and followed their counsel. the result? i am blessed beyond measure in so many ways.
i believe because i put in the work and make the effort. i don't "just believe" because someone told me to. i have earned my faith and belief in the gospel and have learned for myself that i am a beloved daughter of God and that i have a purpose on this earth. i have learned for myself that Joseph Smith was a prophet of God, that Thomas S. Monson is the Lord's living prophet on the earth today. i have learned for myself that the Lord leads and guides His church and i know that my family is eternal. i have learned for myself that Christ atoned for my sins, and knows me, personally.
i have learned the gospel for myself and know it to be true. it is not mere belief. it is faith and knowledge in the Lord's resurrection and atonement that makes everything possible.
for how much i count on the Lord to support me and sustain me during the hard times and the good times, i cannot afford to "just believe." i have to know it for myself. and i do.
lily reached the 18-month mark and started growing by greater leaps and bounds. here are a few updates.
lily is great at helping clean up her messes. (seriously, a drop of milk spills out of her cup, she goes and finds a towel, and wipes up the "spill." i need this to continue.) she is very good about putting her toys and books away in their appropriate bins, and always puts her shoes away when we ask her. i hope we can keep this trend going.
lily has learned the fine art of eyeliner. you're never too young to start.
she still loves maggie. a lot. maggie...well, maggie does not have the same level of love for lily. unless there is cheese involved. maggie can hear string cheese opening at a hundred paces and will come running, and follow lily around until she has gained a piece.
a love of ice cream cones has been developed. french fries and ice cream. i'm pretty sure this girl would live on those two staples forever if she were allowed.
lily has made friends with a stone statue of a little boy sitting on a bench in the backyard. it is a daily thing for her to go out there, sit on the bench, and put her arm around him. sometimes she gives him kisses. sometimes she tries to feed him rocks. it's all about the love, though, right?
mama's shoes have become a hot commodity around here. she's figured out that she can wear them, and keep them on if she shuffles veeeeerrrrrryyyyy carefully.
entertaining herself with random objects around the house happens a lot more frequently. and mama's shoes are still a hot commodity.
the swings at the park are her favorite thing. lily can sit and swing forever. the higher she goes, the better she likes it. her giggles are infectious, and i love the pure joy and total bliss of her.
she has been showing signs of getting ready for potty training. while i spend a weekend at the beach with my lbc girlfriends, kevin is taking one for the team and will be spending the weekend potty training lily. we'll see how that goes.
lily lives for our walks so she can hold maggie's leash.
maggie is ok with it as long as we're moving.
besides, if lily is holding the leash, she isn't showing her
boundless affection to maggie, which is all maggie really cares about.
plus, maggie lives for our walks, too.
also, i'm in love with lily's giggle.
lily hears the frozen soundtrack at her sitter's a lot. and she loves it.
lily will randomly sing "let it go, let it go" or sometimes just "go," and
has even woken up and started singing it. we bought her the soundtrack
and have it on pretty much constantly around here (luckily it's good and
kevin and i enjoy it, as well. and we're not sick of it. yet.).
however, i've been trying to capture lily singing for about two weeks now,
and was finally able to catch it.
our lily bean is getting more and more verbal every day, and is able to do more every day. it constantly amazes me how much she changes. i'm loving this stage, and just love our little family and the place we're in right now. it's pretty much perfect for me.
an interaction with lily while driving home this afternoon (we are stopped at a red light):
me: rummaging around looking for something behind me
lily: go!
me: glancing up oh, i guess the light is green now.
this has happened a few times now, if we don't start driving as soon as the light turns green (sometimes we're behind other cars and have to wait our turn), she tells me to "go." so, she knows at least one color (by sight, anyway), and knows that it means we're supposed to drive. good looking out, lily.
on friday (a cold, wet, and windy day--yay!) we took lily up to berkeley and went to habitot (a kid's discovery-type play place) and let her roam free. after a couple hours she had exhausted all the options and we were hungry, so we moved on to lunch at the cheeseboard. it is seriously the most amazing pizza ever. so good. after that we moved on to urban ore, quite possibly the biggest thrift store ever. if you need anything for your home, it is there (furniture, doors, windows, hinges, knobs, etc.). i'm in love. through it all, lily was an absolute gem and a delight to be with. it was a wonderful day with my little family. quite possibly the most perfect day in the last 18 months. i hope we get another one soon.
starting to discover her artistic side
finishing her masterpiece
i'm pretty sure this was her favorite part of habitot
practicing her makeup application skills
learning to drive the spaceship. and super happy to be behind the wheel.
this city knows how to do a public library
admit it; you've always wanted a lavender toilet. especially a historic 1920s kohler toilets. available at urban ore!
