Rain Boots

Lily has been asking for rain boots for a very long time, and she was so happy to receive a pair for a birthday gift! And this is why.  I won't let her go outside to play in the puddles in her "nice" shoes because they'll be wet and yucky for wearing them anywhere else.  But with RAIN BOOTS, there is no reason at all why she can't go tromping through the mud puddles we always have when it rains.  Except that she doesn't just get her feet wet.  She was literally soaked from head to toe after this!  She sure did have fun though.
 

 

Baby Snake

I do not like snakes.  But this little teeny baby snake was actually kinda cute.  I was still glad to see it go back outside, though.
 

 

 

Lily Loves This Tree

Lily loves to climb this tree.  Almost every time she's outside in the backyard, she pushes the cozy coupe car over to the tree trunk, climbs on top of it, and gets into the tree.  She hangs out up there, picking a few leaves and then calling for me to help her get down.  I have visions of her sitting in the tree reading a book in a few years.  She's very peaceful and happy in the tree.
 

 

 

Jumpin Jacks Birthday Party

Lily's birthday party with all of her friends was two weekends after her birthday this year, at Jumpin' Jacks. It's a bouncy house place with a humongous inflatable slide, obstacle course, regular bouncy house castle things, and even a rock wall.  The kids played for over an hour and then had pizza and cake in the party room.  Lily wanted a princess cake again this year, so we put a few princess figurines on top of the cake and cupcakes.  What sticks out the most about planning this party was that Lily was very adamant that ALLLLL of her friends be invited to come play.  And I do mean ALL.  And Lily's definition of "friend" is very broad.  It basically encompasses everyone she has ever met on the face of the planet.  Sweet girl just wanted EVERYONE to come play for her birthday! She really had a great time. And now I'm left to deal with the fact that my little girl is growing up much too quickly for my liking.  Has it really been FIVE YEARS since she was born?!
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Birthday Gifts for Lily

Some pictures of Lily opening her birthday presents from Mommy and Daddy... She loves her fancy dress!
 

 

 

 

 

 

Thanksgiving 2011

I can't remember if I already posted these... Here are a few pictures from Thanksgiving 2011 in Branson. We stayed at "the Lodge House," as Lily calls it. We had a great visit with family!

Mommy's 10K

On February 25th, Daddy, Lily, and Dylan came to watch the parade when Mommy ran her race! The ConocoPhillips Phillips Rodeo Run kicks off the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo Parade each year. In 2011, I ran the 5k fun run event, but this year I was encouraged to do the 10k. Running more than 6 miles was a huge accomplishment for me, and I am very proud to have met my goal of finishing within an hour (my time was 59:36!). Many people who run 10k races go on to run half marathons. Not this mom!!! I'm very happy with the 10k. It took considerable effort to get ready for it, and I was pleased with the discipline and consistency it required. But I don't have time to run any more than what was necessary to get ready for 10k. More than double the distance for a half marathon would mean a lot more training time, and I just don't have a desire to do it. So I'll plan on running another 10k race sometime in the coming year!

Birthday Cupcakes

Happy 5th Birthday! We had cupcakes for Lily's real birthday, and her party was a couple weekends later.
 

 

Lily's Birthday Breakfast

Pancakes and eggs, complete with candles for the birthday girl before she headed off to school.