We finally have a REAL backyard...

thanks to the visionary talents of Mark A. James, landscaper extraordinaire.  Jeff is really great at MOWING our yard... I mean really...he does angled lines and everything... but he'll be the first to admit that we both know nothing about plants.

My brother in law, former neighborhood yard of the month winner, is naturally talented and comes from a long line of green thumbs and was so nice and volunteered his Saturday to not only draw a plan and tell us which plants to get... but also brought his  talent, tools, and yard shoes to do the manual labor aspect, too.  I probably would have faked an injury like I used to do on running day in middle school p.e.... which just shows Mark's a bigger person than me.

We've been spending a lot of time in out there since the installation of Lily's swing and favorite thing in the world.  Now, I LOVE sitting on our back porch and feeling a since of completeness with our two new flower beds and several areas around the yard that will (with growth time) give some definition to our FENCELESS yard.  (Note: Jeff HATES that every home in Texas has a fence... thus we are the ONE house that doesn't)

So...thanks Mark!

BEFORE

 

 

 

 

 

 

AFTER

 

Looks like it's time for Spring cleaning...

 

 

because Lily's crawling "for-real" now!   This is her reaching for a lint ball behind the dryer while Jeff and I sat down to eat dinner.

 

She never has to sit and whine for me again!

 

Our Easter was great! We went to church and kept Lily with us.  Between Dad, Mom, Nana, and Granddad and a bag full of snacks, we kept her entertained and (pretty) quiet.  She wore her cute new dress... but unfortunately had to have a (non-matching) long-sleeved onesie and tights under it... as Easter had to be the one day this week below 70 degrees. We had an Easter egg hunt at Mom and Dad's house with the whole James family... wish the Olsons could have been there too.

Here are some photo highlights from the day:

We've had a busy week...

with Nana having her spring break, despite Lily being sick. It has been fun to have someone to do things with everyday... and by 'things'... I mean go shopping with. We had trouble thinking of much else to do.

We did go visit my grandparents and squeezed in a trip to Underwood's, of course.

We also took Lily's first boat ride since about a week before she made her debut here. Just like me as a kid, it put her right to sleep.

Had to include this great picture captured at just the moment I spotted a huge spider dangling from the bridge we were about to go under.

After 3 days of shopping, I have Lily's Easter Sunday outfit completed. I bought the dress at Marble Falls Market Days from this place. I had been wanting a pillow sack dress for her for a while and this lady measured and made one just for her. I bought a few of her bows and wish I would have bought them in every color. They have a special strip that helps them stay in Lily's hair.


Last Saturday, we went to a wedding after a crisis here. Jeff tried to use brute force to get over a snag in the defective zipper on my dress and ended up splitting it in half. I put on the ONE other dress I have and Lily spit up carrots on the shoulder. With some perseverance and a little super glue... Jeff got my zipper somewhat together and safety pinned the rest. Mark and Suzanne watched Lily during the ceremony and we took her to the reception.

It was all worth it to see old friends, especially the Watson family. Lily and little Jack got some much needed playtime!

After posting all these pictures... I'm confident that, even after a haircut, I am in DESPERATE need of a mom-makeover. Somebody send me in to Oprah please...I promise I'll act surprised.

**I've updated our Project 365.

What did I do...

in the days before I had a cute baby to take with me everywhere?  It makes even the little outings fun!  I made a new scrapbook page about one outing to my mom's school bookfair last Monday.  Lily was just too adorable with her first real bow and her new trick. 

She's really getting a little personality and I think she's going to be JUST LIKE HER DAD.  She's quiet at first around new people... then warms up.  She's ALWAYS quietly listening and observing when people are around.  She really likes when she makes me laugh.  She has a new trick... but only likes to do it if it is HER idea.  I'm sure we'll see a little of ME in her SOMEDAY.

(click on the photos to make them larger.)

I just have to laugh...

when stuff like this happens.

I was making banana pudding to take over to my parents' house for dinner with my cousin Kris and his wife, Denise. I guess I set the cool whip lid within Lily's reach accidentally and fortunately for her, it had some stuck to it... LOTS actually. I should have noticed that she had stopped saying Da-da-da-da-da. Call me a bad mom for instead of taking it from her-- running to get the camera... but it was just too cute. I see pie-eating contests in her future!

My friend, Laura's, blog reminded me of this. On days like today, when I'm busy and Jeff's been gone for 3 days... and there are so many things that I need to do and want to do that seem so important today... I need to remember that this time is a gift and enjoy every moment with this PRECIOUS baby.

Lily's on the move...

She somehow gets all around the house without crawling and getting into some tricky spots.  The coffee table has become her nemesis.

I watched today from the shower as she scooted her way in between the toilet and the trash can backwards.  I'm going to miss the days of watching her sit quietly on the bath mat with her nose pressed up against the glass trying to get to me.

This mobility thing is going to be opening a whole new can of worms in motherhood.