July started off with a wonderful trip to New York to visit our families. Our first stop was in Hamilton! I was so excited to be back in my hometown for the Fourth of July.
The festivities always start with the parade in the morning. It wasn't the nicest day for a parade (you can see I was being a wimpy southerner and keeping bundled up!), but Mom and Dennis made sure we had plenty of umbrellas and seats for everyone, so it was still a lot of fun.
I think Lilly's favorite part was getting the candy that some of the parade floats passed out :-)
After the parade and quick walk through the market, we spent some time as a family at Mom's house. It was wonderful to see Lilly bonding with her cousins. We get to see them so infrequently, but she warmed up to them quickly this time.
No Fourth of July would be complete without fireworks! Mom and Dennis live within walking distance to Colgate (where they set off the fireworks), so we grabbed some chairs and blankets, put Lilly in the backpack and set off. Dennis and Mom bought blow necklaces and wands for the kids, which were a huge hit. They all played together on the blankets and entertained themselves until the fireworks started.
I think the clear winner for Lilly's favorite place in Hamilton was the playground. It's funny because I had some bitter feelings about this playground since the town had torn down the wooden one I grew up with (and that my dad helped build) to put up this new one; however, seeing how much joy it brought Lilly helped to push those feelings aside quickly. We went to the playground at least once a day while in Hamilton (sometimes twice a day!) and Lilly just ran and ran and had an absolute ball!
We went out to dinner one night to Ray Brother's BBQ, which is owned by one of my good friends from high school and his brother (their mom was actually my first grade teacher). It was great to see them and share in their amazing success, and introduce them to Lilly and Darren. After eating, Lilly explored the outdoor stage they had set up and put on a little show for everyone there :-)
Back to the playground!
Oooh! A ladybug!
The kids did a great job taking turns on the trampoline so Lilly and MyMy didn't get bounced too high or too hard. Lilly has a small trampoline at home, but it's tiny compared to this one! She loved it.
I can't remember exactly how this came about, but we were all playing inside and Lilly found the toy toolbox. She decided to use the saw to chop off Anthony's leg! I think it was funny at the time...writing it now, it seems a bit weird!
Our last night in Hamilton, we took the kids to the playground (go figure) and it was hilarious! Lilly and MyMy were literally doing laps around the playground and going down the slide, then running around to get back to it. Every time she got to the bottom of the slide, Lilly pumped her little fist in the air and squealed, "Whoo-hooo!" They must have done this for 20 minutes straight and we laughed the entire time.
After leaving Hamilton, we headed to Tupper Lake to visit Darren's parents. Lilly was immediately completely enamored with Grandpa John's boat and could not get enough of sitting in the "captain's" seat and beeping the horn.
John took us all out for a boat ride on our first evening there. Darren's mom had bought Lilly a special life vest since the one we had last time (when she was a year old) was far too small now. Lilly was incredibly excited to be riding in the boat!
I love this picture of the two of us :)
Barb let Lilly play with the stuffed animals and dolls she had in the house and then she remembered she had a baby carriage in the storage shed and as soon as she took it out, Lilly was hooked. She needed to take her babies on a walk right away :-)
It was a big day for us when I finally gave in and after 3 years and one month of rear facing, I finally let Darren turn Lilly's seat around. It was truly time. She rode all the way up to New York rear facing and on our way to Tupper she was complaining that her legs hurt. I felt so bad and agreed to turn her around the next day. She was SO excited to sit in her "big girl" seat :-)
It's no secret that I like ice cream, and I passed this love down to Lillypad. There is an ice cream place in Tupper Lake that I LOVE called Skyline; they have black raspberry soft serve that is amazing. We, of course, made several trips there while on our vacation and introduced Lilly to this amazing ice cream experience.
We had some fun with the little bear cut out one night...
Lilly also liked climbing on the old fashioned car and pretending to drive.
This was a different night. We didn't realize how BIG a small ice cream cone would be!
They also had a huge Adirondack chair that Lilly enjoyed climbing into.
We decided one day to take a family boat ride, just the three of us. There is something so peaceful and relaxing about riding in a boat on a beautiful day. Darren definitely made Lilly's day when he let her sit on his lap and drive the boat.
Lilly loved watching the wake and the bubbles from the motor of the boat. She was just tall enough to peer over the back gate and see the water behind us. She looked so small and so big at the same time.
Pure joy!
Darren REALLY made her day when we got out onto the pond and there were hardly any boats out, so he let her actually drive the boat herself!
One moment that stuck with me from this trip was when Darren and I went to the store to pick up lunch for the road and Barb offered to have Lilly stay with her. When we got back. Lilly had set up circle time for her dolls and stuffed animals and reading books to them (along with the dog). Barb was sitting with her and you could just see how much she loved Lilly and how excited she was to get to spend that time with her. It wasn't a "flashy" moment from the trip, but it's one that I remember very vividly.
Darren's parents have a membership to the local museum called The Wild Center, so we went there with Barb one day to check it out. The indoor exhibits were neat, and we were able to see some otters playing in the water (though Lilly was not interested). But the real treat was the new outdoor Skywalk they built. It was like a playground at Disney World! The detail was amazing and it was a really cool way to experience the Adirondacks.
On our way to the Skywalk, you could stop at a "hands on" exhibit and build your own lean-to or tepee. Lilly was determined to make one!
Darren had Lilly and I pose in front of the moose antlers outside of the Wild Center. :-)
This is a shot of the Skywalk. It was amazing!
On our way back from the Skywalk, Lilly got a huge kick out of just walked on the tree stumps they had set out. At first she wanted me to walk with her, then just hold her hand and then she wanted to do it herself. She played on these for at least 10 minutes. It was hilarious that we just left this play area, and Lilly was most interested in the tree stumps. It reminds me of when kids are more interested in the box than the toy inside :-)
It wouldn't be a true trip to Tupper Lake without climbing a mountain. We chose to climb Coney Mountain this trip since it's a relatively small mountain and Lilly isn't quite ready to climb on her own. Darren was a real trooper carrying her in the backpack the entire way up! I was so impressed.
When we got to the top, Darren had his good camera, so we took a lot of great photographs. There was a huge group of tourists from Russia and Ukraine on the summit as well, so it was a packed house. One of the gentlemen offered to take our picture for us so we could have a rare family photo :-)
Lilly's queen of the mountain!
We packed lunch to have a picnic. Darren and I had Darren's absolute favorite subs from Shaheens (these subs are epic), and Lilly enjoyed a classic PB&J. I just love her sweet little smile here as she finished her apples. I will never, ever get tired of making this little girl smile and I will work every day to keep her smiling.
After lunch and enjoying the view, it was time to make the trek back down the mountain. Lilly was all ready to get back into her backpack...but was Darren ready??? ;-)
One of Darren's favorite spots in Tupper is the Bogg River Falls. We can take the boat to get there, but it's takes a lot of time (and gas) so we decided to drive. We hiked down to the falls and got some great pictures.
We attempted to use the timer setting, but it was hard to get a great shot that wasn't too far away.
There were a few chipmunks living in the trees and in their little tunnels in Barb and John's backyard. Lilly absolutely loved going to find them and we made a game out of it. It was a great way to play outside and keep her occupied.
We had such an amazing visit to New York. It's a long trip to get there, but fun and wonderful visits like this one make it completely worth it!
When we got home, we were excited to spend the last of our track out at home together. The town had just opened the new Splash Pad, so we decided to take Lilly for the first time. It was really busy, so she was a bit hesitant at first. I wore my suit and a cover up, so I took her hand and lead her through some of it to help get her more comfortable. After a few minutes, she was off the races on her own and having a ball!
It is rare when we are home that Lilly is not wearing some sort of dress up dress. She absolutely loves dressing up. She actually has developed a very good sense of style because she picks all of her own clothes now and, I am embarrassed to say, she sometimes picks cuter outfits than I would have picked!
Darren started his other job at White Rabbit and he was gone one evening, so Lilly and I decided to have some special "Mommy/Lilly time" and go to (where else?) the library! Lilly was in heaven surrounded by all of the books and immediately began making a pile to read and a pile to take home. I think we read at least 10 books while there and took another 12-15 home. She is truly her mother's daughter :-)
After the library we went to one of Lilly's favorite places: Harris Teeter. This store has two things going for it: the cookies and the little cart. Lilly actually ASKS to go to Harris Teeter when we are at home and trying to decide what to do. It's adorable. She only hit me in the back of the ankles a few times, so we're getting better with the little cart ;-)
A lot of the kids in our cul de sac are very into riding their bikes, so Lilly wanted to get in on the fun with her tricycle. She hadn't shown much interest in riding a bike last summer, so I was glad to see her excited to do it this summer.
No track out would be complete without at least one trip to Sunni Sky's.
It's so nice to have a beautiful lawn, a fun swing set and outdoor toys for Lilly to play with! Our old house had SUCH a tiny yard, it barely fit her toddler swing set. Now we have so much room we could practically have a baseball field. I am so thankful for our home and where we will. I really can't say that enough. We are very lucky.
We had out annual staff picnic at the end of the month at the Bob Barker retreat. Last year it rained and this year it was very, very hot. Our staff members have a lot of young kids, so it was great for Lilly to have a lot of friends to play with. One of the kids' favorite activities was the tire swing. Lilly loved swinging on it with the "big girls" and they were so sweet to her.
You can see the absolute joy on her face in this picture. It was so much fun to watch.
Lilly loves Kristin so much. They were playing together and Lilly was being so careful of Kristin and making sure that she was having fun. I love how nurturing she is and the love she shows for her friends.
Summer would not be complete without many (many!) trips to the pool! We don't get a lot of pictures at the pool since water and phones do not mix well, but when Lilly put on Darren's sunglasses, I had to snap a quick picture. We thought about putting Lilly in swimming lessons this summer, but she has been doing so well on her own, I am glad we decided to wait. She has become so much more adventurous in the pool, and while she loves her puddle jumper still, she always wants to spend time without it so she can practice swimming with us and jumping in.
Lilly and Miles were playing at Addy and Zoey's house and decided to take the Jeep for a spin :-)
It's hard to put into words how much I love this little girl. It's the kind of love that you can physically feel in your heart. I know some people probably think the blog is a bit overkill or people get sick of seeing so many pictures of people's kids on Facebook, but the truth is that your child literally becomes the center of your world and it's hard to NOT gush about them and want to share how sweet and cute they are. Don't get me wrong, Lilly has her moments when she drives me crazy and I want to change my name, but it's amazing how quickly those moments pass and how motherhood completely changes you for the best.
The neighborhood in which we live is a family and we are so thankful to be a part of it. When you can walk out your door and have friends to play with, it's such a blessing. I grew up in a small town and was very close to the kids who lived right around me, so it's special for me to see Lilly getting the same small town experience though we live in a MUCH bigger town than where I grew up.
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