Library Day!!

Auntie Marnie had an afternoon job today which meant she got to help me take Lily, Andrew and Taevin to the library for story time.


In typical me-with-three-babies-in-tow-fashion we arrived too late for the infant class and thought we were just going to have to be satisfied with chewing our stories today...


But then we had the bright idea of attending the toddler class instead and we had a LOT of fun! Lily actually stood up and took a few steps without coaxing from me or Auntie Marnie because "everyone else was doing it." Yay for positive peer pressure!




After a brief pitstop for snacking...


...we began the ride home. Thanks to Grandma Armke, Mommy and Auntie Marnie have a new and perfect accessory to our tri-baby wagon transit system...a bumbo! It fits perfectly in the middle of the wagon, allows the babies to see a little better, and helps Taevin practiced using those ab muscles...when he's not snoozing in the sunshine of course...

Cookie Monster

While the boys distract Mommy...








Lily goes for the no-bake chocolate cookies...









Little Cookie Monster says, "mmmnnnnnn good..." just like her daddy!

In Style

Lily likes her sunglasses she got from Aunt Marnie:

Lily visits the Zoo

Tonight was ACU's fall family night at the Abilene Zoo. We took the opportunity to take Lily out to see the wildlife. Lily loves animals and, naturally, really enjoyed herself.

Now, time for the obligatory Wizard of Oz reference:

OH MY!!

...and there were plenty of other animals to see.

And as is required as the Abilene Zoo, Lily had the opportunity to feed the giraffes. Naturally, we got this on video:

Ding!! LVL 1!!!

It's scary...quite scary. Lily is, in fact, more than one year old. I am no longer the father of an infant. I am the father of a toddler. Both of which is far less scary than the future: being the father of a teenager.

Anyway, enough lamenting. For her birthday, Lily made a trip up to the family cabin with Mommy, Daddy, Aunts Marnie, Kayla, and Melissa, Uncles Chris and Toph, Grandma, Grandpa, and Great Grandma and Grandpa C.

(Quick note: Since this post is longer than most, I made the pictures smaller. You can always click on a picture to see it full size)

Like any good birthday, there was cake. Lily's first cake was a series of cupcakes, in the shape of a caterpillar. Here is Lily with her cake and presents:

The cake was decorated and signed by family:

Before presents, Lily got to take the first taste of her cake:

Needless to say, she enjoyed it:

Then on to opening presents:

 

Then, naturally, one must play with all of them at once:

Also, during the weekend, it was a good time to get outdoors and go for a walk:

 

And play in the stream some:

And finally, pose for a lot of pictures. This one, specifically, contains four generations: Grandma, my father, myself, and of course Lily.

Overall, it was an incredible weekend. It was great to see family and share Lily's first birthday with them.