Wrapping Up the Summer in Style

On Wednesday Lila had her 18 month check-up (about a month late - oh well!) She weighed in at 23 lbs, 2 oz (24th percentile) and she is 2 feet 8 inches tall (48th percentile.) Her noggin is a whopping 47 cm (57th percentile.) She got three shots and had a blood draw, all the while she was hungry and tired since her doctor was running late at the end of the day. Needless to say, it wasn't the most enjoyable visit ever, but she's healthy and strong and that's what matters.

We've been keeping busy over the past few weeks. On Labor Day we headed to a local park for a bluegrass festival and some sightseeing. Lila had a ball leading Daddy around the park.


We enjoyed the sights as well as the sounds. Such a great spot for a concert!



After Lila's appointment on Wednesday, we met up with friends for a picnic dinner. Playtime - and hunting for crab apples - took Lila's mind off of her earlier woes.


Today we had a bunch of errands to run and along the way we stopped in to PetsMart so that Lila could visit all of the animals. This is one of her new favorite things to do. She tried to convince her daddy that she needs a hamster. No dice.


She loved the birds...


She then moved along to choose a fish for herself.

Again, no dice. We're so mean.


Today I broke one of my cardinal rules about grocery shopping with my child - using the tacky, filthy kid carts. We spotted it right away when we walked in the door and Lila's eyes lit up. Ed swabbed it down and Lila hopped in. It was worth it. :) She had a ball!


It has been hot the past few days, but things are supposed to cool down significantly this week. I can't wait! Fall is my favorite time of year. We're looking forward to apples and pumpkins and trick-or-treating!

Best Friends

Tomato Love

We've planted a garden every year that we've lived in our house - 5 summers now. Last summer we were sure to include Lila, tiny as she was, in the planting and harvesting of the food. This year we've done the same thing and it's extra fun because she's old enough to pick and really eat and enjoy the food we grow. We hope that gardening at home and cooking with fresh, homegrown food will instill a love of such food in our girl.

This evening we headed to our neighborhood farmer's market for some extra veggies for some canning fun with friends on Saturday. Lila headed straight for the tomatoes and began loading them into her bag.



The girl knows what she likes!

Busy Girl

It was a very busy weekend for Lila (and her mom.) We hardly stopped moving all weekend.

We started out the weekend with breakfast and a playdate, and the rest of the weekend was more of the same. Good times!

On Sunday morning Lila and I walked with our neighbor buddies to a great local bakery and then took our treats to the lake to enjoy. Of course the kiddos wanted to visit the art installation/dinousaur in the water.

Hello, Dinosaur!


This guy has been making his way around the city, popping up in a different lake throughout the summer.


We spent quite a bit of time at Lila's favorite park this weekend. She couldn't be bothered to slow down for a picture. :)

On Sunday we joined our friends for Family Dinner, a monthly get-together that we started this past winter. Our three families have children right around the same age, and none of us have family in town. We all wanted a "Sunday dinner" of sorts with our kids and lots of family around the table, so we decided to create our own Family Dinners. We have dinner together once a month, rotating hosting responsibilities between our homes each month. There's something wonderful (and chaotic!) about three toddlers and six adults around the dinner table together!

Ed has been out of town for the past few days, so last night Lila and I headed out for some much needed family time last night. To say that the kids had fun is a huge understatement. They spent the better part of the evening after dinner running the length of the house, laughing and screaming and claiming hugs along the way.

Here's a rare picture of the three wild children standing (almost) still.

Lila (almost 19 months), Grayson (almost 22 months), and Hudson (almost 27 months.)

Not surprisingly, Lila slept like a log last night - and I did, too!

Movin' On Up

Today was the first day of Lila's two week transition to the toddler room at daycare. She will spend half of her days in her old room and the other half of the day in Toddlers A. After two weeks, she will begin spending the whole day in Toddlers A.

When I arrived today to pick up Miss Lila, they handed me her very first craft project - a tissue paper school bus mounted on a popsicle stick. She carried it proudly to the car with her and I cried. She is so grown up! Where has our baby gone?


With the transition to Toddlers comes new, more extensive, tasty food choices. Here's today's menu. YUM!


After lunch the kiddos have yoga class. Yoga and homemade, organic, free-range food followed by a nap? Sign me up! I'd like to be a toddler, please!

Sunday...that's my fun day.

Today was another good day. We started out the morning by walking to the farmers market with our neighbor buddies. After buying veggies and enjoying a few mini donuts, we walked across the street for coffee and breakfast. There's an art studio behind the coffee shop that has all kinds of fun outdoor artwork. Lila and her buddy enjoyed taking in the exhibits.


After nap time, we met back up with our neighbors and walked to a festival not too far from out house. There was a reggae band, corn on the cob, hot dogs, bouncy houses, face painting, and a trip to DQ on the walk home.

When we arrived at the festival, much to Lila's buddy's delight, we saw a fire truck! Lila wasn't as enthralled with fire truck as her friend was, but she obliged me and let me take a picture of her in the truck.


She enjoyed the puppet show, complete with kazoo sound effects!


We got home and all of the neighbor kids were out playing. The bigger kids have started finding creative ways to earn spending money, including lemonade stands and car washes. They begged me to let them wash our car...it didn't take much convincing.


It was a very good - and very busy- weekend! I think that we'll all sleep hard tonight.

Tomorrow is Lila's first day transitioning to the toddler room at daycare. Finally! Pictures to come.

On a sunny day in August

Lila and I went with our friends to the park. It was a perfect day... sunny and in the mid 70s and no humidity. We slid on the slide, swung (swang?) on the swings, dug in the sand, and then strolled over to the lake.

We visited the ducks.




















The kids ran wild on the outdoor concert stage, stopping to admire the gorgeous view of the sailboats on the lake.







































We came home and ate spaghetti and meatballs for dinner, and I just pulled two loaves of banana bread out of the oven.

It has been a very, very good day indeed!

Buddies

Lila's new favorite thing to do is walk her dog, Wally.
























Wally's pretty happy, too.

Harvest

Lila has started saying, "cheese!" when I point a camera at her.

Here she is with the tomatoes we picked from our garden last night. CHEESE!

Time Flies!

Lila is so busy these days! She is walking and running everywhere, and she is saying new words every day.

Her favorite words are agua (water), Wally, hi!, mine, apple, ball, book, car, bus, truck, outside, shoes, and Saul, Alma, and Harper...all buddies from daycare. :)

The weather has been hot and humid for the past month, so when there's a reprieve from the heat we head straight outside. Lila loves going to the park and splash pool near our house.


Digging is serious business!


If we're lucky, we wear her out. :)

On the MOVE! She walks with such determination and purpose. It's adorable.

Last weekend we went to the Children's Museum. Lila had a BLAST. There were so many things to touch and do, and she soaked it all up. I had to drag her away after 3 hours to eat lunch and head home for a nap.

BALLS! They're all MINE!

Jumping on a lilypad in the toddler "pond."

We have dinner with our neighbor friends at least once a week, and last week we had a picnic dinner at the park. This picture makes her look so grown up! Where has my baby gone?

Yesterday we went shopping and out to dinner, and on the way home Lila wanted to hold her shopping bag. We bought her a work bench with tools and she didn't want to let it out of her sight, even for the ride home!

Lila is more and more fun every day. She certainly has her sassy moments (18 months going on 18 years...) but overall she is my favorite age so far every month from about 12 months forward.