Our fourth 4th

Our growing family

You can barely see her but She is such a big girl pulling her wagon. She almost got run over by big kids a few times so I had to walk right next to her the whole time.

Our sweet angels in their 4th gear! (thanks to Stacey!)

Lilly wasn't sure about touching the bunny at first but she really wanted me to hold all of the animals.

This 4th of July was the fourth one that Ziff and I have spent together. It was a pretty fun on considering that the actual 4th of July was rained out. On the 3rd we went to a pancake breakfast with our ward family. It was a really hot morning. At 9 am it was already in the mid 70's. By 10 it was in the mid 80's. Regardless of the heat though we tried our best to enjoy ourselves. We attempted to eat some breakfast but Lilly was to excited by everything else going on. They had a small area where there were kittens and bunnies to hold and pet and they also had a dog, but Lilly was more thrilled about the bunnies. They had face painting and a few fun games for the older kids and they also had a bike parade. Since Lilly is to small for a bike we decided to decorate her wagon so she wouldn't feel left out and she pulled her wagon until she got tired and then I pulled her. After the church get together we ran a few errands and then spent a lovely lazy afternoon at home together playing. It doesn't get much better than time with your family! I can't wait to see what our 40th 4th holds!!

Lions, tigers & hippos Oh my!

As a special treat for Lilly's birthday this year we went to the Zoo. It was our first time as a family going (besides the trip to see the Christmas lights which was at night). I was so excited and so was Lilly. The whole car ride there she kept talking about what animals she was going to see. I was so fun to go this time because she knew what each animal was and she could spot them on her own. I was so impressed with how grown up she has become. She walked around the entire Zoo for 2 hours and didn't ask to be carried or get into the stroller.

She found one of my old disposable cameras and she decided to bring it with her to the zoo and take pictures of ALL of the animals. It was quite cute to watch her. I assume she has learned from me because I always have the camera and am taking pictures constantly.

She LOVED the penguins! I think we had to stand there for about 10 minutes before we were able to pry her away...literally she was hanging on to the rail. Whats funny was that the whole time she kept asking to see the owl and then when we were at the penguins and the owls were in the building right nest to them she said she didn't want to see them.

We took this picture for grandma. We have one of Lilly in front of the antelopes (her favorite animal) but we needed on with Kyle. Although Ziff was hot and in a hurry so he didn't try to wait for Lilly or to make sure you could see the antelope. So I'm sorry grandma I tried!

I love this picture! It just makes my heart all warm and fuzzy.

Milk & cookies

This summer the local farm has added milk and cookie story time to its program. With the weather being fantastic the kids and I ventured out to the farm for some fresh air. Lilly had a great time and the whole car ride there she was chattering about all the animals she was going to see. I think she was a little excited about getting out of the house and getting to see animals. It was a double win day for her.

They have a little stream there that feeds into the pond where the ducks swim and Lilly and her friends decided it was a great place to cool off.

Lilly was so excited to see all of the animals. It has been a couple of months since we had been and she felt she needed to say hi to each and every one. This is apparently how she talks to chickens.

Our friends decided to make a playdate out of it. We all managed to find some shade to sit in and we enjoyed our cookies and a little bit of story. Lilly surprisingly drank most of her milk. She has been drinking it from her cereal bowl in the mornings because she sees me do it, but I thought she still wouldn't drink it plain. Maybe we have finally crossed that hurdle and can finally drink milk from a cup :-) Fingers crossed

Anyway, It was a fantastic morning and I think we all had a good time.

Snacks

Leave it to Lilly to be a creative one. We were playing with her stuffed animals the other day and I asked Lilly what her little brown dogs name was and she told me his name was "Snacks". (I double checked with her just to confirm that's really what she wanted to name him and she really wants his name to be snacks) It made me laugh, now it is confirmed that's what is on her mind all the time.

Keeping busy

With Kyle here and summer upon us, we have ventured back out into the world for some summer fun. We have been staying busy going to the park, visiting the farm, walking in the garden, going for strolls, playing at the pool, splashing in our porch pool, and digging in the sand. It has been a pretty fun couple of weeks so far and I think Lilly is having a pretty good time.

P P

I can't believe I forgot to blog about Lilly's big break through. About 2 weeks ago Lilly went pee pee on her potty. HUGE deal since she has only ever sat on her potty and jumped off every time she was about to actually go. On this night no one had prompted her it was all on her own free will. She was in the tub and suddenly she crossed her legs and put her hands over her legs and I asked her if she needed to go potty and she quickly said yes and I asked her if she wanted to get out and she pointed to her potty and told me she wanted to sit on it. Shocked I sat her on it and after a minute or 2 I heard the tinkle. I was so proud! I think it was a big step in the right direction. What makes me even happier is that our method of letting her be the guide of when she is ready seems to be working. We haven't put any more pressure on her since then but have tried to remind her more that the potty is available if she wants to sit on it. She is very aware of when she is going potty. When we were at the pool the other day she went pee pee and the swim diaper didn't catch it and standing there she was very discreetly trying to tell me she was going potty and that it was going down her leg. She has also started changing her own diaper so I am thinking she is more than ready and we are on the brink of potty training!!!!

Summertime!

It's officially begun! Although summer started 3 weeks ago, we have been somewhat slow to get out there and enjoy it. The city decided in an effort to save money they would not turn on the water features at our parks, so I wasn't as excited to get out there and play with Lilly, it's just to hot sometimes...but the great news is that New Belgium Brewery (which is local here) and the Hockey team donated funds to have the water turned on!!! So in celebration we went out today and celebrated by playing at the Oak Street Plaza. It was a little chilly because it was all shaded but so much fun! We will definitely be having more summer days filled with more water play.