sand and surf

This past weekend (that'd be March!) we were treated to terrific spring weather. Saturday morning saw the Houston Rodeo roll into town. We headed down to watch the trail riders, floats and marching bands parade through downtown. Lilly was unusually quiet, probably a bit overwhelmed by the scene, but seemed to really like it. No pictures, as the camera was safely on the kitchen counter.

On Sunday, we had a family fun day down in Galveston. We got up and managed to get ourselves together in record time. 45 minutes later, we were nearly the only people on the beach--too cold for all of those native Texans!!! No wading was had due to tons of portuguese man-o-war littering the beach. We thought they were normal jellyfish...except they were blue....until we got home to do some internet investigation.

We saw possibly the scariest playground there--the salt air and had ravaged anything metal and left the plastic brittle and cracked. The little niblet was going nowhere near it, even if she was clad in steel toes and Carhartts, much to her disappointment. Luckily there were birds, helicopters and doggies to keep her otherwise occupied.


a bird...no a plane....




not many shells on this beach, but Lilly manages to find one herself!


family photo-op


one of the many washed-up nasties

curry in a hurry!

A recent lapse in grocery shopping left us digging through the freezer for Lilly's dinner....and turned up a frozen curry meal from Central Market. Incredibly hopeful, I heated it up and filled her little bowl with sticky rice and chicken korma and stood back. The fervor with which she ate the curry was unbelievable!! She gave many "more" signals until she plowed through the entire dinner.

We also found out that Lilly prefers to eat her yogurt with a straw rather than a spoon. She thinks this is quite hilarious and giggles when she sips. Also new is the "surprise" face--big eyes, mouth agape--when she is excited, especially when drinking from her straw.

domestic diva

Helping out in the kitchen is her newest thing. We made bread this past weekend while Cory was out of town....lots of flour made its way to every nook and cranny of our kitchen.

working the salad spinner

mixing up something good for sure

wiping up the condensation off of the glass...an every day occurrence

we're back!

Hiya friends and family! Life is just trucking along down here in H-town. We're busy, Lilly is BUSY, and the weather is good...for now. Just finished out a string of sunny days in the low 70's....I know that many of you are enjoying a snowy, cold winter. Must admit, the fact that Madison is having the snowiest winter in a while makes us sad not to be there.

Not much new to report with Lilly other than she is picking up words at a rapid pace and eating with utensils, at least some of the time. She's also really starting to act inquisitive, test her limits and give us an inkling of the terrible twos. Imitation is big on her list--dancing, football referees and house chores are pretty high up there. Our most recent purchase for her was a small plastic broom which she wouldn't let go of all weekend. Literally, it came to a friend's barbeque with us where she tried to sweep the lawn.


looking like a girl...at least when she is patient enough at school to get piggies

strapped in tight! we're not the worst parents ever, we swear! Lilly has recently figured out how to wiggle out of the seatbelt and stand up in the highchair. note that these are our belts.

workin' the spoon

the broom in action!

someday I'll eat with chopsticks

We went out for sushi the other night with some friends. Lilly joined us, behaved relatively well and was the hit of the place when she picked up the chopsticks like an old pro. Thank goodness for cell phone cameras...

papa!

The language explosion has begun! It seems like every day Lilly has a new word she is blurting out. We are up to 14 now.

Before the family came out for the holidays, we were looking at pictures trying to teach Lilly everyone's names. This daily lesson usually occurred before dinner. Scrolling through the pictures, Lilly burst out with "papa" when she saw a photo of my dad. We were impressed. This was repeated upon their arrival, to much delight. However, just today, I walked into Lilly's classroom to see her on the toy phone ordering "papa". Confused, I asked her teachers. "Papa" turns out, doesn't just mean dad or grandpa, but food. No wonder she would persistently say "papa" when snacks were about.

Sorry Dad, but you and food hold an equal footing in Lilly's mind.

happy new year!

We spent a decidedly boring, LAMP-esque New Year's Eve at home. Friends out of town, overcooked beef stew for dinner, bottle of good wine finishing with a typical 10:30 pass out. I woke up at midnight hoping to see the ball drop in NYC, only to realize that we are in the central time zone and that I had missed it. Oh well.

Today we watched Wisconsin blow the possibility of a win despite hanging our Bucky flag proudly from our porch. Even Lilly got into the action sporting her "Sconnie" t-shirt. Boo. At least she looked good.