Our Mini Vacation

I have a pretty short summer but we wanted to make sure that we got out of town at least once. Rene went on Priceline and got a great deal on a room at Paradise Point. We had a super mellow time. We didn't worry about keeping schedules or setting agendas. The weather was nice and it wasn't crowded at all.

My grandpa recommended the aquarium at UCSD. It was pretty cool. There were plenty of hands-on areas. Lilly had a great time. It is not huge though. It is probably a third of the size of Aquarium of the Pacific. They did have tide pools, but Lilly was having no part in them. She has finally developed a mild fear of the unknown. As a mom, I think that is a good thing. It will keep her a little safer.

We brought the bikes and there was a beach 50 ft on one side of our room and a pool 50 ft on the other side.

P.S. We are sorry we didn't call anyone in the area. We decided we would just keep it the three of us for this trip.

UnCUTEd

Notice a similarity?

I did not think that it was possible but I might have uncuted Lilly. I mistakenly thought that I could handle trimming up her bangs. Once you make one single cut, it is all over

Of course she is still cute, but this hair cut is rough. I am just glad she doesn't have to take it to school with her. The Loyd-Do isn't exactly hip.

'Matoes!

The Gardeners

For quite a while Lilly has been hearing, "Don't pick them until they are red." She knows it so well that she tells people that when they come over.Today she finally got to pick and eat some tomatoes.
The cherry tomatoes are good to go. We are still waiting on the Super Steaks, Heirlooms and the Yellow Pears (tomatoes). "Num, num, num," as Lilly would say.
Oh man, they were delicious! Many of them are going to be ripe at the same time so be prepared to help us eat them.

Ice Ceem Cone, Peeeeese?

Well, she said please. I have never before noticed these miniature ice cream cones. They are the perfect size for Lilly. The summer has begun and what better fun than ice cream in a teeny cone. We are thankful that she has no clue what the ice cream truck is. That stinker is up and down our block every day. It is only a matter of time before she figures out that he brings more than just annoying music.

Lillys's comment on this picture: "Ohh look at my cheekies!" (as she pats both of her cheeks with her hands).

I am amazed at how fast she is growing. Look at the length of those gams?!

Trip to the Steely's

It's great. Lilly is finally at the age where she can go outside and play with Robin without me having to hover over her the entire time (I did sneak watch from the window). It is nice that Robin is old enough to come tell us if Lilly tries to eat dirt or something like that.

Lilly hasn't quite gotten the hang of the push Popsicle. She popped it out of the sleeve multiple times until it finally just melted all over her, as you can see.

This is Baby Murphy, or as I like to call him, Papa SMurphy.

So What's Lilly Been Up To?

Alpine Village for some German face stuffing. Strudel!

We were a lot disappointed that the band did not play The Chicken Dance. Lilly was looking forward to shakin' a tail feather.

I couldn't resist posting this picture. She looks so cute in her first Big Girl panties. They have little Dora heads all over them. For those inquiring, potty training is coming along. She likes it, but only when she likes it. She is getting much better at telling us when she needs to go. But if she has got a good play session going on, there is no chance. Thank goodness for Pullups!

This was at Easter. I just thought it was a cool pic of her and her Uncle Steve.

Sassy

She makes the silliest faces.

We had a little fun in the rain. She LOVES this umbrella and wants to take it with her everywhere we go. Fun.

Quite a feat!

Easter

Elmo Party

We had an Elmo themed party. She's nuts for Elmo. That little guy mesmerizes kids somehow. It must be the voice and fuzziness.

Rene and Dinorah hosted the event and really knocked our socks off. They know how to throw a PAAAARTAY!Bev, the cupcake angel, helped me with the cupcakes. They are missing the Oreo cookie mouths in this picture. I am in love with how they turned out! Freakin' adorable. Rene came up with the genius idea of adding coconut to the icing for his fur. That saved us hours of work and I think they look better than they would have if we starred each one. The coconut also helped mask the bitter flavor of the red dye.
This is Robin (Nikki and Ryan's) and baby Donovan (Jen and Dashan's)
The Kiddoes
There was no hope of getting a picture with all of them smiling. After several attempts, this was the winner.

So cute!

I don't know how she fit it all in her little tummy, but that kid ate until the cows came home. Candy does weird things to Little Miss Lilly. But I will not squash the spirit of the post by getting into the details.

Steve and Jessica did a phenomenal job of decorating and game planning. I am forever grateful for their generosity and impressed with their creativity. Steve, in case you didn't know, is an Energizer Bunny and made the party a hit. The kids loved it (Yes he can be rented out for your parties and is willing to dress up in costumes).

Both pinatas were fantastic (yes, there were two!). It always amazes me that in the frenzy, no one ever seems to knocked out.