Happy Birthday Miss Lily

It's hard to believe I was finally getting to hold my little girl around this time last year. It was such a crazy delivery, and disappointing to not have her immediately on my chest like I did with my son. It was torture watching everyone else get to hold her but me, but we survived and now I can't put her down ;)

I took today off to spend with my little girl. What a treat. We had our check ups (I've had alot of issues post surgery) and she's doing well at 21 lbs and 30 inches. Me? I still have a ways to go, my iron and blood count have barely improved, no wonder I'm zonked all of the time. We then picked up some stuff for her upcoming party this Saturday, scooted over to the school to pick up Alex and had a nice quiet afternoon napping. We followed that up with a couple presents, some cake and a nice family trip to McDonald's. She loves slides and it was getting cold so eating with the indoor playground was a must.

I think she had a pretty good day, but I'll let you decide based on some pictures ;)

We Survived!

Day one of back to the real world, that is. Sadly maternity leave is only a memory. Lily did fantastic at Tracy's and well, work wasn't so bad. Having a new project to look forward to helps alot! Five years of working on the same project left me feeling a little pigeon holed, but now I get to do a new project and work with some new people and needless to say I'm excited. However I'm beat! Taking Lily in today was kind of a moving day for her, the playpen, bedding, extra diapers in case her cloth supply runs out for the day, food...was a lugging experience to say the least that I'm glad I don't have to put up with tomorrow.

Momentarily I'm going to put my feet up and stitch a special secret project that I'm aiming to have done by the end of the school year and catch up on some tv with the hubby. But first some pictures of Lily's first day at daycare.



Lily all set in her big girl car seat

Lily and Tracy, the fantastic sitter who took care of Alex for 10 years. I would have taken another picture of her actually looking at the camera, but I was too excited to get her back in my arms.

It's Time To Party...Almost

T-minus 1 week until Lily's first birthday bash. Needless to say I'm more than a little excited. Not necessarily about the absolute migraine juggling guest room arrangements can be. The little nut's birthday is actually Wednesday, which I'll be taking off work. Needless to say I'm pretty sad about starting back Monday, I adore my little girlie and love spending time with her (and her brother too when he's not to preteen hormonal ;)) We decided on a mid afternoon event to give people that need to travel time to, and to give the little miss a chance to nap.

The most exciting part? The menu... Not because it's stellar but in my blogging absence I tore off the wallpaper border in my kitchen, got over my previous failures in painting, went through 5 test pots of paint and now I have a kitchen closer to the way I imagined it. The crappy floor is still there, however it's a bit less noticeable now IMO. I feel so recharged when I go in there now and inspired to cook again. I even did a little reorganizing to make working in the kitchen flow better. U shaped kitchens look cool but it takes alot of organizing to make them practical IMO. Now back to that menu of fantastic finger foods...

Buffalo Chicken Egg Rolls
BBQ Chicken Egg Rolls
Cheese Puffs
Jalapeno Poppers
Bacon Wrapped Water Chestnuts
Smoked Salmon Devilled Eggs
Extraordinary Cheese Dip and Fritos Scoops
Stuffed Mushrooms (surprisingly simple with herb and garlic cream cheese and bacon bits)

And of course the usual assortment of
Veggie Tray
Fruit Tray
Shrimp Ring

A Children's table of
Sliced cheese cut into adorable shapes
Chips and cheesies and crackers
Toddler friendly treats
and either Rice Krispie squares or Jello Jigglers (haven't quite decided on that one)

Oh...and an Elmo cake from Monkey Cakes. It wasn't my original plan for a cake, I was thinking more princess themed but little miss Lily picked Elmo invitations right off of the shelf when we were shopping and declared her plans for a party theme. It'll be quite the treat after my first week back at the office.