Lilah's Ladybug 1st Birthday!

Our sweet little "Lilah-bug" turned 1 year old on June 24th!  I never thought it was possible for a year to pass by so quickly! 

 

We had a delicious spread of food thanks to my talented and creative dad!  He made beef tenderloin with horseradish sauce, stuffed mushrooms, devliled eggs, ladybugs on a cracker, chicken salad, salami and cream cheese appetizers, sub-sandwiches, cucumber salad, and spinach dip.

We celebrated with lots of loved ones! We want to thank all of our family and friends who helped us celebrate! And, we were so happy that some of you were able to travel so far to be with us on this special day.

4 Generation Photo

Our big girl was not much on her cake. I've mentioned before how dainty she is. She is not one to get very messy.  She got a small taste and was pretty much done after that.

After cake and a quick bath, Lilah opened all of her presents. She got so many awesome toys! It was like Christmas in June.  Some of the things she got were: Little Tikes Cozy Coupe, a swing,  Motorized Disney Princess 4-wheeler, Radio Flyer wagon, ladybug musical instruments, adorable clothes and shoes, stacking blocks, books, and so, so much more!

Again, BIG THANK YOU to everyone who came out to celebrate with us! We had so much fun! We love all of you and it means so much to us that you were able to be there. And, to those who were unable to attend--we missed you and we love you too!! :)

Happy, Happy Birthday our sweet Lilah Belle!!

Lilah's 1st Birthday: School Celebration

Today Lilah celebrated her birthday with cupcakes and cheese puffs with her friends from school.  

My little heartbreaker was seated between the only two boys in the class. I don't think her Papa would be very happy about that.

All of the kiddos did so well sitting around the table stuffing their faces with cupcakes. It was so funny to watch how differently each one would eat. Some ate only the frosting, while others just took huge bites. 

My little dainty one, the birthday girl at that, had the cleanest face of them all. She hardly had any frosting on her face. She may be like her mama and prefer savory over sweet!

Just sitting around chatting it up with her friends.

Happy 1st Birthday, my sweet baby girl! I love you so very much!!

Lilah's First Birthday: A Polish Tradition

My Grandma shared with me the1st Birthday Polish Tradition of laying out a shot glass, silver dollar, and rosary in front of a baby.  Whichever one the child picks, will determine what they will be like in the future.

I did a little research online and found out a little more about the meaning of each of the items:


Shot Glass:  Out-going (Great socializer, people-oriented) 
Coin:  Prosperous (Ambitious and driven, business-oriented)
Rosary:  Religious (Spiritual, awareness-oriented)

I had to modify some of the items because I couldn't find a silver dollar and I don't have a rosary. So, we used a half dollar and necklace with a cross. 

And...what did Lilah go for first????
The shot glass!

 Her second choice was the coin.

And, finally she grabbed all three items!

 According to the tradition we will have an outgoing, prosperous girl on our hands who will also be spiritual. What a well-rounded girl you'll be Ms. Lilah Belle! :)


Stay tuned for a big post on Lilah's Ladybug 1st Birthday celebration!!! Lots of pictures to come!

Mommy and Me Fitness

Lilah and I got our workout on with Allison, Madeline, Amy and Lillie at Mommy and Me Time Fitness. Let me just say-- this workout was intense!  I got home and showed Jep some of the exercises we did and he was quite impressed what I learned.  I'm trying to get him to tag along with us next time.  I doubt he'll take us up on that offer. He thinks he's far too advanced for this class.  I think he is just scared! :)

The girls warming up before we got started.

My little squirmy worm trying to escape my grasp.

Cute, cute picture of these two!  Madeline definitely wins for best dressed!

Post workout shot! Way to go us!

 Looking forward to the next class!

Blueberry Jam!

Last week, one of my co-workers, Bart, brought me a jar of blueberry jam that he made.  It is so good! And, Lilah loves it!!

Thanks Bart!! 

Blueberry Face

From the Ground Up: Garden Edition

This week's view of the garden. So far, we've been able to eat the lettuce and a cucumber. Very good! We have so much lettuce, so we've been enjoying lots of salads.  I can't wait for the tomatoes to be ready so we can make some BLT's! YUM!! 

Our cherry tomatoes are getting closer to be ready for picking!

 

Tiny gardener-in-training.  (Nice socks Jep!)  Hehe!

Brother & Sister

Over the weekend Lilah and Dread had a lot of playtime. :)

Our sweet boy, Dread, took a little turn for the worse on Sunday evening. Please keep our little buddy in your prayers.

Bouncing Buttercup

Today, Lilah graduated from the Tiny Tulip class to the Bouncing Buttercups! 

It was a very emotional day for this mama.  

Cute Story: 

The Tulip and Buttercup classrooms are right next to each other. While I was signing Lilah in for the day, Ms. April (one of Lilah's former teachers) came out to say how much she was going to miss my sweet girl. She held Lilah for a little bit while I got things settled in the new classroom. While I was talking to Ms. Tiesha (new teacher), Lilah comes walking around the corner into her new classroom all by herself! It was that moment when it took everything in me to not break down in tears! It was a precious moment!

Papa stopped by the school to drop off some swim diapers. It was also a great opportunity to check up on the latest Buttercup. He got a good report from the teachers. She looks like she fits right in with her fellow classmates! :)

And...just because I take pictures of everything! Here are the teacher gifts for Lilah's very first teachers. Each teacher got a personalized pail with a Pink Tulip candle and hand sanitizer from Bath and Body Works. 

 I just had to document her first teacher gifts. I know...I need to get a life! 

 

Lilah: One Year Pictures

We met up with Emma from Emily Dean Photography last weekend at Railroad Park for Lilah's one year photo shoot. We chose Railroad Park not only because it had a lot of great "photo op" shots, but also because Jep played a part in the construction of the park. His company was a subcontractor in the project and Jep oversaw the pouring of the concrete at the park. We thought it would neat to be able to take some pictures downtown at one of Papa's previous job sites. :)

Here is a little sneak peek of some of the shots Emma got. I am in LOVE with them!! She did such a great job capturing our little angel. I was worried because Lilah was not in the best mood during the photo shoot. It was a hot day and she was not feeling the whole picture taking thing.  Though, you would never know it by these great pictures!!  Thanks so much, Emma!! Can't wait to see the rest of them.