Sunset at Mukilteo Beach

We are feeling the end of summer coming closer, and trying to squeeze out every last precious moment! Last weekend we decided to hit one of our favorite beaches, Mukilteo, for a picnic and sunset.

 Lily climbed this play structure at least 20 times. She figured out how to do it with almost no help, and looked so proud every time she got to the top. "Look Mommy and Daddy, I'm high, I did it!" And then did it over and over and over......

2 1/2 Birthday!

2 1/2 birthday:

- Lily is a big girl now, just ask her! "Mommy, I'm a big girl, right? 2 1/2 birthday, mommy! I'm a big girl!"

- When we ask how old she is, she says, "2 1/2 birthday!"

- We went to Lily's "2 1/2 birthday" pediatrician appointment last week. She has finally passed 25 pounds (25 pounds, 6 ounces!) and has moved up to the 13th percentile! She was also 33.5 inches (9th %ile, she stood and was measured like a kid for the first time!), and didn't have to get any shots!

Big Girl Bed:

- Well, we left Lily in her crib the other day, and 2 minutes later she came walking out of her room. We'd been debating converting her crib anyway, so this was just the sign we needed to go for it! Lily was super excited to help with the construction (ha!), mostly by bouncing on the bed a LOT. Last night was her first night in the toddler, bed, and she slept until 7am without a peep! Hopefully we will continue this way!

"Oh my gosh!" and other expressions:

- Lily is really into expressions right now. She's been working on "Oh my gosh," "wow," and "whaaaaat!?" She also loves to say "No WAY!"  It's pretty hilarious.

"That One:"

- After at least 4 days all together in Montana, Tessa was riding in the backseat with Lily. Lily was naming everyone in the car: Mommy, Daddy, and....."that one." We were laughing so hard. "That one" is named "Tessa!"

- We switched our gymnastics class last week, so we had a different teacher. When Lily spotted her regular teacher, she whispered to me, "Look Mommy! That one!"

"My Special Gymnastics:"

- Lily is loving her gymnastics class at The Little Gym! She wears her purple leotard to every class. She climbs, swings, and jumps like a monkey! She sometimes has a hard time listening because all the equipment is SOOO tempting, though she does love to try out the new skills they are teaching.

"I'm the Lost Princess:"

- Lily has discovered two movies this summer: Ratatouille and Tangled. She constantly tells us that she is the lost princess, and sometimes goes running for her crown. Remember the tower that Papa made her for Christmas? Yup, that's a tower for the Lost Princess. "I'm a lost princess."  "I love my tower."

Basically, we are having a ton of fun with our big 2 1/2 year old chatterbox Lost Princess! We love summer!!

5th Anniversary at Alderbrook!

We can't believe this was 5 years ago today!! Relive the day with Kate's slideshow here. 

We celebrated by an overnight trip to Alderbrook Resort on Hood Canal and it was awesome! Lily spent the night with Grandma, Grandpa, Great-Grandma and Great-Grandpa (thank you!!!).

 Jason arranged a private, one-hour sailboat cruise on a replica 1850s fishing boat. He's pretty proud of himself since the 5 year anniversary gift is "wood." When we boarded there was wine and cheese waiting for us, and gorgeous, perfect weather!

Our trusty crew.

 There's our room! Top floor.

 We got to go to the bar and have drinks while we watched the Seahawk preseason game (a BAR!! We haven't done that in....2 1/2 years!) and then had dinner at the Alderbrook restaurant.

We were treated to an amazing sunset...

...and then hit the road for a drive-in we spotted on the way in to see Lucy. We got back to the resort just in time for a midnight swim in the pool.

In the morning we had a great time doing NOTHING! We ordered breakfast in bed, read our books, lounged. No one said "FOOD!" or "downstairs, mommy not daddy, daddy not mommy!" etc etc. Ahhhhh.

 

Meanwhile, Lily was at the Grandparents playing to her heart's content, sliding into the pool, enjoying delicious steak dinners and entertaining the grandparents with Tangled the movie. She slept great (or so they told us!) and loved Grandpa's french toast and bacon in the morning. She took all 4 of them to her music class (or "Sing Sing Class" as she likes to call it), and then we met up in Edmonds where we found the Taste of Edmonds (which has good food but more importantly a big slide, bouncy houses, and a booth from The Little Gym where we got to say hi to Teacher Linda!). 2 1/2 is a rough life!