lily updates

lily is now 13 months old (which doesn't seem that much different from 12 months, but people are making a big deal at the distinction, so i'm just rolling with it.  who knows?  maybe they see something i don't see in the 30 seconds they interacted with my child at target?) and thinks she is quite the grown-up.

-playing with keys (real car/house keys--not the plastic "baby toy" keys.  please; how childish) is one of her favorite things.  they've become her new favorite toy.
-she loves pushing the shopping cart in the store, and gets mad if she sees one of us touching it.  she's a big girl, and can do it herself.  obviously.
-she's figured out how to unlock the ipad.  dang it.
-when we go on walks, she doesn't want to be in her stroller.  she wants to walk.  on her own.  without holding hands.  and she wants to hold maggie's leash.  because that's what a big person does.

basically, if the grown-ups are doing it, she wants to do it.  she loves hanging out with older kids and following them around.

who knows?  maybe i'll try to use this "more mature" attitude and get her into the nursery early.  church would definitely become a more peaceful place.  for me anyway.  i don't know about the nursery folks.  but definitely for me.  which is all that matters, right?  right.

labor day weekend

for labor day, we decided to spend the weekend at the beach house, relaxing and doing absolutely nothing.  vanessa, robb, and ren joined us, and it was nothing but good times.  we watched movies, read, went berry picking at gizdich ranch, and were just plain lazy.  and loved every minute of it.  

this is the view that welcomes us to the beach house.  every. single. time. 

our bounty! these are the best strawberries i have ever had.  ever.  

lily and ren; best buds.

helping mama pick strawberries.

she was very careful pulling the berries off the plant; it was hilarious how serious she was about it.

taking a break and enjoying the fruit of her labors.  

this sunset. it was the most amazingly beautiful thing.

just watching the world roll by.

uss hornet

i found a killer deal for tickets to the uss hornet on groupon, so we took a day and went on a tour.  it's been on our list of things to do for awhile.  it's a huge ship that was part of world war ii, picked up the astronauts who first walked on the moon, and is now a floating museum moored in alameda.  it was pretty interesting, and lily loved running around the lower level of the ship.

the uss hornet

there were "women's restrooms" when the ship was in use.  when the ship would put into port somewhere, they often hosted balls for the men and people from the local area.  

bunks for the enlisted guys

lily's great-grandfather (and kevin's grandfather) slept on one of these in the 1950s.

oh, you know, just hanging around a torpedo.

the laundry room; dryer on the left, washers on the right.

officers had slightly better accommodations. 

surgery

kevin had a cyst removed from his right wrist a couple weeks ago.  he's doing lots better, and (almost) has full range of motion back in wrist.  he gets the stitches out tomorrow and cannot wait to have the bandage off and the whole ordeal over.  and i'm excited he finally gets to help with some of the stuff he hasn't been able to do for a couple weeks; like change nasty diapers, give lily a bath, dishes, etc.  it will be nice to have things semi-back to normal.

all set to go under the knife (in a stunning off the shoulder gown, no less!)

 

changes in the wind

as many of you know, kevin was actively searching for a new job (preferably somewhere outside of california; like seattle).  while we worked diligently at it, nothing came to fruition.  so, i continued my own job hunt locally.  and...i was hired!  i will be an office management assistant at sandia national laboratories, starting on monday, august 19th!.  i'm super excited, and this job is an answer to many prayers regarding our family and our situation.  while it is not in my field of education and previous experience, it is great money and literally five minutes from home.  sandia also shares a campus with kevin's workplace (llnl), so we can carpool and stuff.  a friend in our ward is watching lily, and we are so grateful to have found someone who we trust and know will be wonderful with our little bean.

it feels a little surreal to be employed again.  after five years of job hunting, countless rejections and demoralizing blows to my ego, someone finally said yes!  it is a perfect situation and i am grateful that everything has fallen into place so quickly and for the confirmations that have come along the way.  i am feeling incredibly blessed.   

first birthday party

i do not kid myself that we had a birthday party for lily's benefit; it was purely about me wanting to throw a party and celebrate surviving year one.  but a grand time was had by all and lily was showered with love.  i am a little disappointed that she was so dainty with her cake.  i was hoping for some grand smashing with cake and frosting all over her face and hair.  ah, well.  maybe year two.

my elves putting the finishing touches on the birthday cakes and cupcakes.

lily's smash cake (my mom decorated it to match the plates/decor; it is a level of skill that i do not possess).

ice cream cone cupcakes.  mom made these for our birthdays when i was little.  i loved carrying on the tradition.

seriously, dainty about her eating.

birthday girl in her party outfit!

one year old--we made it!

we made it!  lily is one year old today, and the three of us are still alive, happy, and (semi) sane.  i'm grateful to have hit this milestone, and look forward to all the others yet to come.  i had a little project where i took photos of lily next to a stuffed rabbit my mom made for her.  i missed a couple months with the rabbit, but got most of them.  it's pretty fun to see the changes and growth over the past year.  

one week

four months

five months

six months