Lillian and Turner...

Lillian will surely miss her best friend

Turner 

when we move away.

They have such a great time together....

Riding to the Dairy Godmother to get frozen custard.

Hanging out with Daddy in Turner's chair.

Hanging out with Turner at the park

where you can watch the airplanes

 landing at Reagan International.

Lillian was not very fond of the planes.

They were very scary.

She did not let me go the entire time.

Now I know where to take her when I need a hug...

Turner took full advantage of Lillian's fear.

Notice the snacks he is eating,

they belong to Lillian :)

Reston Zoo...

Lillian, Meredith, Turner and I went to the Zoo today!

We went to the Reston Zoo 

which is a petting zoo.  

We had so much fun.

Lillian called all birds Quack Quacks

and all four legged animals arf arf.

Looking at the "buh  knee"

"Oink Oink"

Turtles

Hmmm I am not so sure about this one...

Mama helping me feed the goats.

It was a little scary at first.

Then I got the hang of it myself.

"QUACK QUACK!!!"

"If I could just get under this rope I could get to them."

Maybe if I squat I can get them.  

Is anyone looking?

Ok I'm under here I come quack quack!!!

Why hello there Mr. Lllama.

Lillian was in heaven there were ducks and geese EVERYWHERE!!!

Lillian and her best friend Turner.

Turner loves to try to hold Lillian's hand.

But her Daddy has taught her well...

What a wonderful day...

Balloons, Balls, Boons...

Lillian loves Sundays

 there are open houses everywhere

As we drive around she shouts

"BALL BALL"

That is what she calls balloons.

Last Sunday we had yet another an open house.

The agent left the balloons 

so we decided to have some fun.

Needless to say Lillian LOVED them...

I miss the days when I was this easily amused.

Best Mom...

When Chris and I were sitting around on Sunday he said
"you are the best Mom thank you".

Ever since he said that I have been thinking about

what makes a BEST Mom...

I do not think there is such thing 

you just have to do the BEST you know how

and lead by example.

So then I thought what kind of Mother do I strive to be?

What will Lillian remember about me and her childhood?

What will she share with her family?

What will she say about me?

Will she remember the trips we take

 the crafts we make

 the dances we dance

 the laughter we share

 the sweets we make

 the tears we cry

 the flowers we plant

the holidays we celebrate

I think some of those things will stand out
but that is not what I want her to take from me.

When she thinks of home and family I want her to think of the words: 

comfort, laughter, love, happiness

As much as I want to make my family happy and safe 

I know that it is not my job to MAKE her these things 

it is my job to show her
and to teach her what these words look like 

in hopes that she can create

 comfort, love, happiness, and laughter
in her life.

I can show her how to be happy.

How to be safe.

And patient.

And courageous.

And positive.

And kind.

And to never give up.

And to believe in yourself.

I can show her how to be healthy

by eating well and exercising. 

I can show her confidence.

And empathy.

To always be respectful and polite 

but stand up for yourself.

That the smallest things mean the most.

I can show her how to LOVE.

by how I love her
and her father

her family

animals, friends, strangers, nature, music, and the arts

I can show her how to love herself by loving myself.

I can show her that sometimes even though we have the best intentions
we slip and fail to show our best self
but when we do we
learn, grow and change 
and never expect more than the best for and from ourself.

I can show her that sometimes
you win
and sometimes
you lose
but you are always a good sport.

The day I became a mother
I felt overwhelmed with emotion.
I have to be the example of the person I want my daughter to be.

I can show her how to be happy

by being happy.

Lillian changed my life.

Wonderful weekend...

I want to start by saying I have had the best weekend filled with family and friends...

Friday...

Lillian and I picked up Daddy at the airport around 4pm on Friday 

we were so happy to see him!

Then stopped by Serenity Day Spa to pickup the hour long facial and bag of goodies

 I won in their "Best Mom" contest!

Next we were off to Old Town water front via Starbucks for some coffee...

We watched the ducks and listened to Lillian YELL "QUACK QUACK"

I will be so sad when this obsession has passed.

After the ducks we had a fun dinner at The Fish Market and learned that

Lillian LOVES fried fish and shrimp (who doesn't)

We ended out day in Del Ray where we met up with the Sawyers

Lillian and Turner rode in the wagon up to the ice cream shop 

and then we raced home to beat the rain.

Saturday...

We made blueberry waffles 

topped with the yummy syrup Uncle Johnny gave us.

Chris gave me some beautiful peach colored roses. 

 I had the best pedicure ever.

Then we went 

and sat by the river and had lunch.

Later we went to

Haley, Whitaker, and Mary Chandlers.

They grilled out burgers and we watched the Kentucky Derby.

We ended our day with a visit from JJ some wine and basketball.

Sunday...

We laid around the house all day being lazy.

Around 5pm Tom, Meredith and Turner came over.

Chris and Tom made us a delicious Mother's Day dinner!

We had chicken parmesan, pasta and chocolate soufflé.

Monday...

Sad we had to say goodbye to Daddy again

we can't wait until Friday...

We are looking forward to Nonnie's visit tomorrow.

Ragged Old Flag...

I was reading a friends blog today and she had a lot to say.

Her husband is a Marine.

This is just an excerpt for the post

I swore then, that if I was ever blessed with children, I would teach them about real heros...about real bravery and real sacrifice. And I will. You can count on that. 

If everyone felt this way what would America look like?

I think it would be a beautiful place.

I vow to follow her lead...

"I am proud. I love the red, white, and blue. Period. And my babies will too." 

Fly on, ragged old flag!