So creative...

Well, it's back to school time. One of my favorite things to do when I was little was to take a new box of crayons and sort them all by color. So now that Lily is into Play Doh, I have to relish the brief moment when all the colors are in their respective jars.... because the first thing Lily loves to do is to take two colors and mash them together. Observe. She has finally mastered the noodle-making type tool in her playdoh set. She looks up with an expression of sheer delight and says, "Mommy!! I make spaghetti!!"
Yesterday, she put this on her nose and yelled, "I'm an elephant!"
Henry had to get in on the action, too...

Regression?

Our pediatrician told us to expect some form of "baby-ish" behavior from Lily once her little brother arrived. I was just telling a friend the other day that she has really embraced the big sister/big girl role in our family... and then I turned around and saw her doing this! Made me laugh...

Big Girl

Doesn't she look so grown-up?

Happy Birthday, Anastasia!

Lily's friend Anastasia had her second birthday party this weekend. Lily was so excited to go!

Here she is coloring with the birthday girl...
... and playing with Annie's dog.
Yup, she likes cake.

Groundhog Day...

... but in a good way! During our Peace Corps days, Lily's daddy and I used to joke that we felt like our lives were like the movie "Groundhog Day," but not in a good way. During vacation, our days were largely the same... but we weren't complaining!

Wake up and head to the beach...
Play in the sand...
Splash in the water...
Head home after a fun day...
... for combination popsicle/cocktail hour!
We had a great time... it was hard to come back home!

Kay-Kay-Shun

Lily couldn't quite get out the word "vacation," but she was pretty psyched to leave for "kay-kay-shun," as she called it, last Friday. Some highlights of our wonderful and relaxing week at the beach...

Hanging out with Uncle Mikey and Aunt Sarah


Lily loved the rocking chairs on our back porch!
She had a blast at the beach... isn't this a great photo of Lily and Daddy?!
Playing in the sand with Mommy.

Popsicles! Of course, she still wanted to hold Noah whenever we'd let her...

A just-about perfect day

So chances are, if you're looking for us on a weekend - we are at Sidamo. Today started off really well in that we coordinated our breakfast with Anne, Alan and Josie. Granted, we showed up an hour early... but after heading to our house for playtime, we were able to finally get breakfast. Onto the Farmer's Market...
After enjoying our 'hood on foot, we decided to get in the car for a day trip to Annapolis. The last time I had been there was during a college crush on a midshipman. Sad to say that when I did the math, it had been 10 years since my last visit...
Put Lily in front of water of any form and she's happy!
Lily, with her Daddy, in her combination "No Paparazzi, please/Luke, I am your father" pose. I have such love for the book Roots. When I went to Annapolis while at GW, I knew who Alex Haley was but hadn't read the book and didn't pay much attention to the Kunta Kinte memorial. But as a Peace Corps volunteer in The Gambia, it became a way of life. I meant to read it before leaving but the first time I actually read it was in village. The first three chapters, even though they took place in the late 1700s, were a picture-perfect description of my life at the time. Naming ceremonies, women named Jankeh (hi Jaime!) pounding rice and corn, etc. etc. The final portion of the memorial is a series of 10 plaques with quotes from the book... below is my favorite. I remember the exact moment when I first read it in my hut. Anyway, all I kept thinking as I walked around and read the plaques today was... I cannot wait until Lily is old enough to discuss all this during a day trip to Annapolis.

Do it up

Lily's hair is getting out of control. Here is a photo of the one time in like two weeks that she's kept a ponytail in. Honestly, she fights me even to comb it. And even when, once every few days, she will actually consent to a ponytail - she yanks it right out. So... unless something changes, all of our blog readers should prepare themselves for a drastic hair cut in Lily's next photos.

(Very) Abstract Artist

Lily is very into art projects lately...when it's too hot outside, we're usually painting, making a collage or doing some type of crafty project (definitely not my forte, so I'm learning too!).

Daddy's Helper

Lily's daddy makes the best omelets, and lately she likes to help!Not quite understanding that the cheese is for the eggs...