Walk On

Busy, busy week. We were on vacation this past week, hence the late update but we make up for it with volume. Marcy and I decided to see how relaxing a vacation we could have with our little almost one year old ball of energy. We had a lot of fun but not much relaxing.

We left Thursday morning on the 6:30 flight to Oakland on JetBlue. This is a great airline and in the future I am sure the television service (live DirecTv) will help distract Lily more than it did this time. We were lucky and managed to travel on two not full flights and Lil managed to get her very own seat both ways. We got to San Francisco around 9:30 am PST and were able to check in to the hotel early.

We then walked over to Aunt Kelly's office and lunch with her. We got to see her office and visit all her friends and co-workers at AOL. Then we took a cab back to the hotel (the walk was long enough one way) and tried to nap. Let's just say that Lil was not so cooperative and did not let us sleep despite our two hours of effort. Aunt Kelly was kind enough to babysit and Marcy and I went out for dinner with a friend of mine from law school.

Too many details and too much typing so here is the rest of the week in summary -
Friday - Sea Lions at Fisherman's Wharf, Golden Gate Park, Pacific Ocean visit, carousel and playground. Dinner at the Stinking Rose (a garlic oriented restaurant).
Saturday - S.F. Giants game, Lil sleeping through the last three innings, Crissy Field, Ghiradelli Square.
Sunday - Muir Woods, Lily's first step (among the tall trees), Gold Gate Bridge viewing area, Aunt Kelly and her roomate Joanna babysitting so Marcy and I could have a dinner alone.
Monday - Suasalito, Lily's second step (by the Bay), a cable car ride along California Street, excellent dinner at the Slanted Door on the Embarcadero.
Tuesday - Fly home. Lily got her own seat. Not quite as quiet or patient on the way home.

Wednesday was back to normal. Lil went back to school today but to her new classroom - the Bear Toddfant room.

We managed to catch Lil's first step on video and I will load that video over the weekend. We had a great trip but it is good to be home. Thanks to Aunt Kelly for all the help and tour guiding.




Getting ready for take off with a little muffin. Lil was great on the plane ride out.

Lil checking out the sea lions on Fisherman's Wharf.

Alcatraz

Lil's first look at the Pacific. It was a little too cold for a dip.

Riding the carousel at Golden Gate Park. Both Marcy and I wanted to ride so Lil got two turns. Here we are on a frog.

Diaper changes on the road can be so humilating - especially in the trunk of the rental car.

Enjoying the San Francisco Giants game.

Checking out the Golden Gate Bridge with Mom and Aunt Kelly.

On the beach at Crissy Field.

Snoozing in the car seat. Lily loved sitting forward. After her birthday she will get to turn around her seat at home.

Just a cute smile.

Hanging out with the tall trees in Muir Woods.

...

"This is a big tree."

This is her new thing -- the two finger point.

Big smiles.

Lily almost inside a big tree.

A close up.

Concentrating on some Cheerios.

Lil and the Bridge.

In Sausalito.

Taking her second step.

Trying the walking thing with Aunt Kelly's help.

Riding a cable car on Aunt Kelly's lap and hanging on tight.

Twisting by the Pool

As we jet towards a one year birthday, Lil continues to grow in leaps and bounds. We are officially off formula and on to milk and Lily chows down on real food now. On Friday night we went out to dinner and she had her first kids' meal - quite a milestone.

She is getting much firmer on her legs but still no first steps. Perhaps while visiting Aunt Kelly in San Francisco this week. We fly out on Thursday morning -- hopefully, we will have a well behaved baby on board (please, please, please).

We saw our friends John & Michelle and their children Cole (picured below as Spiderman and Darth Vader) and Hayley who is having her first birthday in two weeks. Lily always has a good time playing with Cole and Hayley and all their fun toys.

Pictures and video are below. We should have some west coast pics for next weeks viewing pleasure -- although probably not until Tuesday or Wednesday.


Lil tapping out some e-mails.


Playing in the pool.


Getting some sun.


More pool video.


Lil hanging out with Spidey aka Cole.


And Darth Vader Spiderman.


Getting a closer look.


Lil trying out the Darth Vader helment on for size.


What more can I say?

Diamonds on the Soles of Her Shoes

Another week of milestones in Lily World to report. Let's see what happened this week ... more standing up and getting stable, formula is on its way out and milk is on its way in and Lil got sized for her first pair of shoes.

We had a fun weekend - Lil go to to play with a lot of other little kids as we went over to our friends Amy and J.J'.s house for dinner and Lil got to play with Jack and Grace and our other friend's children Reid and Riley. She seemed to have a good time and loved all the new toys to play with.

On Sunday Lily got sized for her first pair of Stride Rite shoes - 4 wide. Now she is all set for walking around. She is an excellent crawler and she loves to stand but she is just afraid to take that first step. On the other hand, she loves to climb the stairs (with supervision).

Grandma Phyllis and Grandpa Maurice came over for dinner last night and with all their traveling it was the first time they had seen Lily in a few weeks. Needless to say, they seemed amazed by how much she had changed.

That is about all for this week. Next week we head off to San Francisco and then Lil's birthday is right around the corner. Many fun pics and video to come. Have a good week.


Lily at school with her pal Gavin.

Lily chowing down with her friend Reid.

Lily with Reid's sister Riley.

What a face.

Lounging around.

A series of Lil by the window ...

...

...

...

Lily in her fancy new sneakers chasing down a pacifier.

Stretching before a run.

Upside down.

Look at that hair.

A Day in Life

A year ago next week, Lily's Pad had its first posting. Since then Lil has had over 4100 visits - only 3900 of which are Aunt Donna - and over 7,500 page views. So far it looks like it has been a pretty good way of keeping all the "distant" relatives apprised of the goings on in these parts. It has been a lot of fun and we will keep on going until Lil is old enough to tell us to stop or we get really tired of doing this.

Anyway, another week in the books and no major milestones to report. Lil continues to improve her balance and her teeth are coming in fast. She continues to eat well and is excited to be getting off formula in a few weeks. Milk is right around the corner and walking is probably not very far behind.

Lil had a play date with her friend Brendan this weekend ... pictures below.

That is about it. Have a good week everyone.



Lily showing off her balancing skills by dropping things and then picking them up.

Someone is very happy with herself.

Lily's friend Brendan making an inappropriate move.

Playing crawling "chicken" with Brendan.

Lily in the headlights.

The obligatory eating picture.

Showing off more balance skills.

Some teeth brushing.