Hold! Hooooold!

She balanced for about 3 seconds when I took my hand away from her a few times today. After dinner, while she was trying to climb into the dishwasher (a new favorite challenge), she stood up completely on her own! And then slowly crouched back down after a few seconds, as if she had just realized that she wasn't holding anything.

Saturday enjoying our home

This morning, I was able to shower and dress completely before Lilly woke up, which rarely happens. Shawn surprised me by getting up earlier than usual, but he entertained himself while I got ready.

We had pancakes for breakfast and then we played with Legos in the basement. Lilly showed off some dance moves to a musical airplane toy and worked hard to join in Shawn's Legos (or taste them). 

http://youtu.be/ADhAsPG1FaE

While the kids played, I hauled out a bin of Shawn's old 12 month sized clothes to see what Lilly might be able to use. I got really nostalgic seeing his old stuff and a bit emotional at the realization that my baby girl is turning 1 tomorrow! 

I'm not ready for this.  Sigh.

Later, Shawn asked if he could take a bath during Lilly's nap!? So, he tested the jets in our tub for the first time. Just a couple squirts of his regular baby shampoo/soap foamed up great. The water looked a little discolored once the tub started to fill up, but not as bad as the first time I turned these faucets on. (The water was so brown then that I didn't feel comfortable having Shawn bathe in it - he definitely would not have gotten any cleaner!) Raj and I agreed that it's probably a combination of those pipes not being used in at least 3 months (probably more) and simply being well water. (Even the cement on our front walk is slightly discolored orange in some places due to the well water.)

This afternoon, we took advantage of the sunshine and played outside. Even though it was still chilly, it was one of the nicest days we've had this year! A neighbor even came over to introduce herself and welcome us to the area. I wonder how many people we'll meet once the weather improves even more! 

It's so nice having a yard of our own to run around in. Raj and Shawn even played basketball on the driveway. Lilly loved going down the slide on the playset, though we're anxious to get it fixed up and in better shape with safer construction. (There's rust and rotten wood.) Baron was thrilled to spend so much time outside without getting too cold, though he was visibly sore when we came in. 

This evening, Lilly hit it right on the nose! Our noses, actually. She was pointing out our noses on command over and over. Her face showed her pride and excitement. We didn't even mind getting poked in the nose repeatedly!

 

 

Sweets for the sweet: success

We got a cake. Phew! We went to The Sugar Path in downtown Geneva. (Tina, a harpist friend from U of I, plays there for special events and gave them a raving review when I put a message out on FaceBook asking for bakery help.) We'd been there once before and were deliciously pleased with our treats. It has a display case of very unique cupcakes. For example: the Beer & Pretzels cupcake (chocolate cake infused with stout beer, topped with stout beer infused buttercream and pretzels) or the Pancake Cupcake (buttermilk cake topped with maple swiss meringue frosting and bits of real bacon). Not your typical bakery! Plus, they get their fruits from local farmers (and probably other local ingredients, too), which I'm happy to support.

Lilly's first birthday cake will be pretty, yet simple, since it's hard to tell what her 'likes' are yet. (Shawn was mesmerized by airplanes by his first birthday, so I happily ran with it. Lilly is still discovering her preferences.) It'll be a round cake with white & chocolate layers, buttercream filling, and buttercream frosting. It'll be pink & yellow with "Happy First Birthday, Lilly" written on it. They said if we want to bring in decorations to go with the party theme, they'd be happy to add them, but they don't provide that sort of thing. I'm fine with that. They said they'd make it pretty and "Spring-y." It all sounds simple enough, but I really have no idea what it's going to look like! They're the experts and, from the treats we've had from there, I trust it'll be great. I'm sure that, while I didn't select extravagant flavors, it'll be perfectly tasty.

We couldn't possibly leave empty handed, so we brought home a Black + White cupcake (moist chocolate cake filled with dark chocolate fudge topped with creamy vanilla frosting and drizzled with chocolate sauce), a Peanut Butter Cookie cupcake (peanut butter cake, frosted with peanut butter frosting and garnished with pieces of homemade peanut butter cookies), and a PopCorn cupcake (buttermilk corn cake, frosted with a honey infused buttercream and adorned with popcorn). As we paid, the girl behind the counter complimented Shawn & Lilly's patience and politeness while she and I were figuring out the cake. Shawn beamed. Me too.

Dinner was pretty blah compared to the decadent desserts we shared afterwards! I'm ok with that, too. They were amazing.