Sweet Lily

 Baby Lily's pictures are very similar to Vi's ultrasound pictures.  She has the same full cheeks and lips.

Hey, it's fun in here!

Sleepy girl.

Only a few more weeks to go until we get to meet her in person and we can't wait!

Staycation celebration!

We had a BIG staycation weekend that involved making the rounds at some of our local tourist pit-stops that we had never visited, along with some classic favorites.  Our first stop was a visit to the top of Lookout Mountain via the TN incline railway.  This ride is very steep, and the temperature at the top was about 10 degrees cooler than when we first started riding the incline - what a nice surprise!

Conductor Vi and family spent the night at the Chattanooga Choo Choo and had a very own Victorian rail car to call home.  There is so much to do at the choo choo!  One thing that we all loved was the model railroad museum - very impressive!

The rail car was very spacious and had enough room for a queen size bed plus this daybed.  We also had a bathroom and flat screen TV.  I could travel anywhere in these conditions!  The lobby was open and beautiful with a domed ceiling.  Vi felt like a princess and did some poses for me.

Our next stop, Rock City!  Have you seen Rock City?  If not, you should.  The barns all over the southeast tell you that it is awesome, and we agree.

Our last favorite place is Dollywood!  Vi loves to cruise and sing "Lollipop" on the antique cars.

Dolly's Imagination Library was awesome featuring Ladybug Girl and Bingo.

Vi had a playmate on this trip.  They enjoyed having their faces painted and playing games at the end of the day.  This was an extra special trip to Dollywood because we got to spend the day as a family, and several of our favorite people joined us (Mamaw, Paw, Grandma, Grandpa, Allyson, Skylar, and Taylor).  We can't wait to go back again soon.

Winners!

Princess for a day

Vi got to attend a special Princess birthday party for a friend.  Some of the highlights of her princess day were:

selecting the Merida costume (Brave) from a giant closet of princess dresses

receiving a princess hairstyle, glitter included

nails & makeup

tea & cupcakes

lots of twirling and dancing to Disney Princess music

playing Princess games

Although she lives in her own little princess world each and every day, it was fun to share it with her friends and get the royal treatment.  We love our Princess Vi!

Ahhhh the lake

SWIMMIN', CRUISIN' & FISHIN'

all weekend long!

It's a girl!

Here are baby girl's strong legs at 24 weeks.  She was in a breech position which would explain why my bladder feels like it is being jumped on like a trampoline.  We got a really good anatomy shot to confirm that baby is 100% girl, but I'll spare her the embarrassment and intimate details.

Space is getting tight.  Can you see her squishy little smashed up face?  Cute!

We are so thankful for a good report from our appointment and a healthy baby girl.

The Swan

The big ballet recital The Swan finally came to pass this weekend.  Vi has been looking forward to wearing her baby swan costume since she received it a few weeks ago.  The little girls were precious, of course, but they also did a spectacular job dancing together on stage!

Vi's "concentration" face

Mom and Vi backstage

The ballerina princess with Mamaw and Paw

More admirers: Grandma and Grandpa (and Uncle Bini!) showed up for the evening performance.  Vi was elated that her favorite people came to see her perform.  She told me that she would just pretend only they were watching her on stage instead of all those other people so that she wouldn't be scared.  We are very proud of our little swan and the excellent patience and devotion that she has shown with ballet practices this year.

Destin 2013

Our family had a great trip recently to Destin.  The month of May always brings mild weather, beautiful water, and lots of sunshine!  It's always a nice way to end our school year, too.

Vi has an easy ride back and forth to the beach since she still fits nicely into the beach buggy.

We always spend a day on 30A browsing around.  This time we stopped in at the Seaside Chapel where Vi prayed for everyone.  If you are reading this, then she probably prayed for you!

Our family - thanks Mamaw and Paw for a great week at the beach!

Mom and Dad in the absolutely gorgeous, calm water!  We love the Emerald Coast.  On a few of the days we had green flags at the beach, so it was perfect for swimming.  On the yellow flag days, sometimes there were too many "big kahunas" (AKA strong waves) for Vi, but she had fun playing in them all the same.