Tuesday, July 31, 2012

...for it's root root root for the Rangers.

Ever since the first game, Lils has talked about going to the "Rangers" ever since. One day she was walking around with a play purse and I asked her where she was going. She said, "to see the Rangers play!". I told her we couldn't go because we didn't have tickets. She then proceeded to reach into her play purse and pull out some play money. "I have tickets right here, mommy!". So we figured it was time for a repeat. My dad has season tickets so we decided to add on a few tickets and we would go. He had to trade his in for seats all together but other than that, it wasn't a problem. This time daddy would get to go and we would get to see the jumbotron. So fun. This time, we lasted all the way to the 7th inning stretch. I wanted us to stay long enough to sing her new favorite song. She was not ready to leave but all of us were tired and it was past her bedtime. So we said goodbye to the rangers and were on our way.

Monday, July 30, 2012

Year three.

What a difference a year makes.

Take Me Out To The Ball Game

Lil's first baseball game happened in June. We had seats right behind the bull pen. It was a shaded area and it was down low. Only big problem, it was directly under the jumbotron, so she didn't get to see that. She enjoyed watching the "boys throw the ball" and play but she got bored pretty quickly and she only stayed through three innings.
Grandpa had the best time showing her the ropes at the game. They ate cotton candy and ice cream and had an awesome time.

Sunday, July 29, 2012

Just for the record:

I interviewed Lil on her birthday and asked her a few questions (21 to be exact!) and here are her answers:

1. What is your favorite color?  blue
2. What is your favorite toy? my princess shoes (she had them on at the time!)
3. What is your favorite fruit? strawberries (true.   In the past few months, she has stopped eating watermelon and blueberries.  Not sure why)
4. What is your favorite tv show? Blue's Clues.  (my little note... she also loved Mister Rogers till the dog fell off the ladder and that freaked her out)
5. What is your favorite thing to eat for lunch? chicken nuggets
6. What is your favorite outfit? pajamas (oh lil, me too! she also hates socks and is pretty unhappy when she has to put shoes on.)
7. What is your favorite game?  Hi Ho Cherry O
8. What is your favorite snack? raisberries (no idea) and gummies (gummy bears)
9. what is your favorite animal? giraffe (funny thing, on zoo trips, she could care less about the giraffe)
10. What is your favorite song? Chicka Chicka Boom Boom (for the record she also loves Bad Romance by Lady Gaga.  I blame her daddy)
11. What is your favorite book?  Pigeon doesn't want to go to sleep (Don't let the Pigeon Stay Up Late)
12.  Who is your best friend? Ellie
13. What is your favorite cereal?  Lucky charms
14. What is your favorite thing to do outside? plant (garden) and run
15. What is your favorite drink? water
16. What is your favorite holiday? no answer
17. What do you like to take to bed with you at night? Kitty and Cat in the Hat
18. What is your favorite thing to eat for breakfast? eggs and pancakes
19. What do you want for dinner on your birthday? cupcakes
20. What do you want to be when you grow up? (her first response was fireman but changed it soon after) I want to work in a castle.  Me: what will you do in a castle?  Lil: I will drive in a truck like daddy's to the castle and be the cooker.
21. What is your favorite place to eat? Jason's Deli.  They have ice cream.



The test....


So about Monday or Tuesday of the last week, Kayla let us know that in order to "pass" the class and move on to becoming a Clown Fish (this is the Tadpole class), she would have to keep her head in the water for more than 3 seconds and also swim a little bit by herself.  Stress!  She was in no way ready for that, or so we thought.  But Kayla kept working and we did a little bit of "homework" in the bathtub at night each night.  She learned how to hold her breath and keep her head in for 3 seconds.  She was becoming a pro! 

By the end of the week, she was ready!  And she did great.  

We had heard rumors that after the "test", the kids would get the opportunity to jump off the diving board. What a big deal!  We were stressed and excited but Lil just acted like it was no big deal.  She got in line with the rest of the kids and waited her turn.  
Had I been a betting girl, I would have bet money that she would chicken out and not go, but she walked on that diving board like a champ. After she jumped and Kayla caught her and brought her to the side of the pool, she was ready to go again and was mad when we told her that there would be no more jumping, the line was too long!  

The rest of the kids in Lil's class did not jump so happily.  They needed lots of coaxing and support.  I am so proud of my little girl.  For being the youngest one in the class she was the toughest one at the end. And she proved she could do anything the older (by 4-5 months) girls could do!

I was one proud mama. 

Jumping

At first, she was really scared to jump but like I said, Kayla is the master of developing confidence. She was jumping like nothing in no time!

My Little Swimming Diva


Swimming, Part 2

Each day got better and better. There were three kids in her class, so the kids got lots of attention and support. The two other girls were older than Lilly and at first, that seemed evident. But later on, she was just as big as the other girls. Ms Kayla was awesome. She did an amazing job of staying calm while kids cried, danced, and talked about poop (ok so maybe just my kid) and she really was great at gradually developing their confidence!

Swimming Lessons

Nana signed Lil up for swim lessons. Two full weeks, from 10:00-10:25 every day. We were expecting to get to be in the water with her so we all wore our suits. When lessons began the first day, we quickly realized that lessons were "kid only" lessons and that mommies were not invited to come. This did not sit well with Lil and she spent the first 15 minutes the first day of swim class crying. So much do that we had to go to the other part of the pool do as to not be seen by her. Once she stopped crying, she refused to put her face in the water and blow bubbles. We really were worried for the rest of the time.
Day two, she did much better. She sat for a while in her little beach chair before class began, just soaking it in.

A Seussical Party!

What a fun party we had.  It was so great to see friends and family and for Lil to get to play with her friends.

Due to a lack of nap on Friday, Lil slept pretty late on Saturday morning, which was nice because then we could get last minute stuff done.  Since the party was brunch, it would begin at 9.  Why in the world did I think 9 was a good idea?  Note for next time, 10:00 is better! But I think I wanted it to not be so hot, so I made it at 9.
Oh well.  Anyway, as soon as Lil woke up, she ran in and saw all the balloons and decorations and said, "It is my birthday!" followed by, "It is so pretty in here!!!"  She was pretty excited.
She loved the blue balloons with white polka dots the best and demanded that I blow all of them up before I did any red or white ones.  Blue is her favorite color!

Nana and grandpa came over around 8 or so to help with set up and cooking and then the party began.
I will tell the rest through pictures...

 Lil helped get the pool ready for the fishing game.  One fish, two fish, let's all fish!
Never mind that they were fishing for ducks.  Whatever.
 Look, I caught a duck!

 A week before the party, Lil instated a no babies rule.  I have NO idea where that came from but she was holding to that rule.  I told her that we had invited several babies to which she replied, "I sent another message that said, "No babies!"  The babies we had invited were not going to be able to come, so we thought we were in the clear.  Then Sarah let us know that she wouldn't be going out of town after all.  So Lilly and I had to have a talk and amend her rule just a bit to include at least one baby.

 Today was the official first day of the 2012 Olympic games.  Saba and Dan decided they needed to keep up with Team USA by installing the Olympic Apps on their phones.
 Here is Pawpaw!  So happy he and Shirley could come to the party.  :) They drove from the lake to be with Lil.  Sad we didn't get a picture of Frances.  She wasn't feeling well and left early.
 Billy... telling some story. :)

 For some reason, Gail claimed that she had never before tasted Spinach salad.  So she had the chance this time.  Mom and I bring it all the time to gatherings.  Maybe she wasn't interested before.  either way, she loved it.

 Nana is amazing.  She made food for the party and help set up and keep things flowing. ;)

 Lil was really happy to have her friend Anetka at her party.  They played toys and had a good time.

 Oh the photo booth!  It was so fun!!!
Here are the rest of the pictures from the photo booth!


 Zayd and Lil
 Anteka


 Oh Owen.  You ARE the Cat in the Hat.  A little mischievous, and a lot of fun.
The Vlach family got into the act!
Miles, you are so funny.







Ginger and Miles... such good sports. 

Here is Lil with her cupcake.  I think it was the first time she actually attempted to blow out the candle. I had to help her, but she got the idea.

Lil gave hugs to all gift givers. :)


Lil and her new guitar.  Anetka borrowed her other guitar and thus a band was formed.



My thoughts exactly, Miles.  These kids are just too much! :)

In all, we had a great time and I think Lil really felt that she was being celebrated, which was what it was all about.

:)
Happy Birthday, my beautiful girl.  You are smart, funny, and just so darn stubborn. :) Stay that way.

Saturday, July 28, 2012

Adventures in party planning...

I am not a party planner.  For reals. As a matter of fact, for months before July, my friend Saba tries to engage me in party plans for Lil's birthday.  I never bite.  I just don't want to think about it!  So it should be no surprise that I put things off until the very last minute once again. Well maybe not last minute, but I waited long enough.

Lil loves her cat in the hat doll.  He is her usual pick when she chooses to take a "friend" somewhere. And Lil loves books, so I thought it would be fun to add those things together for a Cat in the Hat themed party.

I love me some themed parties!

So it began with the invites.  I wanted to cut out a Cat in the Hat hat but just wasn't sure what to do next.  I didn't want it to be just an ordinary what: where: when: kind of invite.  So I made up this silly poem/story thing in the style of Dr. Seuss and we were good to go!

So invites were sent!  Now to plan the fun.  My pinterest search then began.  My friends who follow me on facebook were instantly aware that I was planning a Seuss themed party since everything I was pinning had to do with Dr. Seuss.  I got some great ideas and set to work.  Photo booths are so fun and all the rage at the cool kid parties so I HAD to have one.  Off to Amazon to order some props! While shopping on amazon, I found Horton and Cat in the Hat plates and cups that were a reasonable price but would have cost me $18 just to ship!  So I decided to go for plain boring red and white plates and maybe make it fun with some crazy straw cups. 

Had I wanted Crazy Straw cups in the middle of summer, I would have had no problems.  However, they are a seasonal item.  And in July, as people are putting away swimming stuff (crazy) and putting out School Supplies (even crazier) it is impossible to find a funky cup.  Not being able to find them made me even more obsessed about said cups.  I dreamed about them even!  I was determined to find me some cups!  15 dollar stores, two Wal-Marts (not to mention my hatred for Wal-Mart), and several grocery stores later, I had only procured 4 cups.  Ugh.
I was even ready to send my mother on a shopping trip out of town if necessary!

After swim class, we set out in search of cups and my mom suggested we look in the Albertsons by her house.  I was sure Albertson's would not have what we needed, but there, in the seasonal section that had not yet been put away, were cups!  I am pretty sure I heard angels singing at that moment!  I was so happy I cried.  Mission complete!  

So then it was on to the main event.

Here is what we ended up doing. :) 

 The dessert table... because that is what is important right?  Hat was marshmallows, oreo, and lots of red and white candy melts. Fun but messy. :)
 See? Boring plates.  Oh well.
 I had every intention on using more of those puffy things to make Truffula trees but yeah, they were a pain and made me frustrated, so we had no forest of truffula trees.

 Treat bags for the kids.  Inside: Swedish Fish, bookmarks, Cat in the Hat hat to wear, pencils, silly bands in the shape of Cat in the Hat, glow sticks, paints, and a star sneeches ball... so fun!


The cups!  With my attempt at the Lorax lemonade container.
 Made egg, bacon, cheese thingies.. Horton's Egg Nest.  I came up with that myself.  Yep.
 Fruit from the Truffula Trees.

 Our Photo Booth... ready for takers!


A close up of the cupcakes.

Coming up... What happened at the party! :)