Graduation Weekend

We spent the weekend in BSL celebrating Adrien's graduation with the family. Cassidy was sick the first day, but begged to go to Grandma's anyway. She quickly revived and we had a wonderful weekend of fun!

Lily and Whitney

Cassidy caught her very first fish this weekend using her new Disney Princess fishing rod!

Daddy was SOOOOO proud!

Daddy and Lily fishing together

Yes, I got in on the action too. The Disney Princess rod must be special because I caught 21 fish...

....and Joey caught 11 using an adult-sized rod! :)

Cassidy all dressed up for the graduation party

Does anyone see a fish?

(Connor, Lily, and Cassidy)

Lovely Lily

Watching the Water

Jarrett, Connor, and Cassidy

Playing chase (and football) with Hunter and the big boys

Jarrett rounding up the girls for dinner...they LOVE him!!!

The Cousins
(Back Row: Katie, Adrien, Hunter, Lily, Brittany, Connor, Jamie
Front Row: Cassidy, Jarrett, Jeremy, Whitney, Jon-Jon
Absent: Katy and Kimmie)

Cassidy showing off the veggies she picked from Grandma's garden. She dug potatoes and picked radishes.

Cassidy catching her first fish. She got startled and ran away when the fish grabbed her line, so Joey had to do the reeling for her! :)

Connor, Lily, and Cassidy dancing on the dock

2 Year Stats

Lily Anne Walls

26 pounds, 5 ounces (50th percentile)

33 1/2 inches (45th percentile)

Cassidy Grace Walls

28 pounds, 9 ounces (75th percentile)

35 1/4 inches (85th percentile)

Lily's Birthday

Yesterday, we had some friends come to play for Lily's birthday. We first played outside in the pool, on the slip-n-slide, and on the swing set and then moved indoors when the heat became unbearable. Aunt Jessie, Will, Sydney, Jake, Miss Caroline, Cole, Keeley, Miss Yadi, and Anya were able to join us for our day of fun. I made homemade pizzas for lunch and then we all enjoyed some birthday cake. All in all, a very relaxed and fun day for Miss Lily Anne!

Lily and Jake playing blocks. She took his hand and said, "Come on Jake. Let's do it!" She LOVES him and was so excited that they got to play!

Cassidy, Lily, and Sydney had a princess tea party.

Lily's Cake

I had an icing fiasco while I was making it...the flowers that I was trying to make in icing all over the cake were literally melting off before I could rush the cake back to the freezer to cool. So at 6:45 p.m. on Sunday I went flying out the door to Michaels to try and get something to salvage the cake. I was hoping for some pretty premade sugar flowers, but all they had were the Tinkerbell candies and some colored sugar sprinkles. I was disappointed, but Lily loved it so I guess that's all that matters! :)

Happy Birthday to You...

One Happy Girl

She was so pleased that everyone was singing to her!

She had a little trouble blowing out the candle. :)

Opening birthday presents...yes, they are wrapped in Christmas paper!

A Bear in the Big Blue House cup with a straw

Cassidy was helping.

She was not particularly interested in the Tinkerbell costume we got her...go figure!

She was WAY more excited about the Bear cup that cost all of about 50 cents! :)

Happy Birthday, Lily Anne!

It was 2 years ago today at 5:03 a.m. that Lily Anne Walls first graced us with her presence. Lily has always been a surprise...from the moment we found out she was on the way, to the wild doctor's appointment that led to her birth, to this very morning when she insisted on taking a shower with me instead of watching "Blue's Clues."

Lily, I love your daily surprises, your contagious smile, the way you throw your head back with wild abandon when you laugh, your unmistakeable southern accent, how hard you try to imitate Cassidy and yet are completely different from her in almost every way, how you volunteer to pray with enthusiasm, the way you sing (on key!) with your heart, your love for snuggling, that you confess that you are "brave" every day, and how you express your love through hugs, kisses, and "Mommy, you're the best!" You will never know how much you have blessed our lives with your light. I pray that God blesses you abundantly in the coming year. I love you my sweet girl. You are God's best!

Lily's 2-Year Portraits

Today we had Lily's 2-year portraits made and also got some photos made of the girls together. They did a fabulous job of following directions and smiling for the camera...probably because I said that everyone who did a good job would get jelly beans after the photo shoot! Whatever works, right?!?!

Lily's pictures were all so lovely, I had a hard time choosing. In fact, we ended up purchasing 9 different poses by the time all was said and done! :)

Sassy

Little Lady

This was the last picture of the photo shoot. I think the photographer would have tried a few more, but she had the "I'm finished" pout on.

My how she's grown!

Our Little Princess

Bunny Love

Sweet Girl

LOOOOOONG Lashes

We got the BEST smiles today!

There's nothing like having a sister.

Shhhh, Cassidy.

"Ring Around the Rosey"

Busy doing their own thing

Love ya, sis!

Eskimo Kisses

Happy Birthday to Me!

Joey had planned a simple family dinner for my birthday, but Cassidy had other ideas. She insisted that I needed a birthday party, complete with decorations, party hats, and party favors. The following is completely her design:

Lily in her party sun visor and lei. She was boogeying to the Hawaiian music CD that Cassidy chose for the party.

Cassidy shaking a leg...literally!

Me in my visor and special Birthday Girl Necklace

Some of our party decorations

The biggest birthday balloon in the world!

We even had streamers! Seriously, I think this is the most decoration I've ever had at my birthday party! :)

And what birthday would be complete without a Carvel Snickers Ice Cream Cake? (Ooops, I just drooled on the keyboard a little!) Apparently we did not have any candles, so I had a birthday match instead. Everybody sing fast!!!

Happy and Full

Besides birthday cake we had Julie Canavin's famous lasagne...Joey made it, but it's her recepie...SO YUMMY! Also, lots of french bread and salad and homemade lemon-limeade. Then it was time for presents. Joey let the girls pick their own presents...I was a little nervous. Cassidy bought me a nightlight for our bathroom (she wanted to buy me a giant green one, but Joey talked her into a small, white one) and Lily gave me a tall Mickey Mouse mug for my hot tea (she actually wanted to give me a Mickey Mouse ring, but they couldn't find one, so Joey was able to talk her into a slightly more practical gift). The new baby gave me a copy of the book "Horton Hears a Who" and Joey bought me two books, "Mommywood" and "The Duggers: 20 and Counting." Talk about being spoiled!!! The best part of it all was that my sweet family put a lot of thought and love into every part of the day!