Lily hangs with Maam-maw

Lily hangs with Maam-maw, originally uploaded by mdwinell.

This is one of my favorite pictures of Lily with Grandma Gail taken in King's Canyon.

Our King's Canyon Trip

This past week we took a trip to King's Canyon National Park with Darren's family. What a gorgeous place it is. It was great to get away and enjoy the beautiful surroundings there. Lily really enjoyed the camping experience. She learned new words like "Blue Jay" "Mountain" "River" -- and enjoyed playing with (second?) cousins Marissa and Brody.

We stayed at Stony Creek Lodge on Saturday night and then met up with the family on Sunday. We stayed at the Sentinel Campground which was quite nice and had a little "beach" by the river side for the kids. The views of the Canyon were just breathtaking!

Thanks for a great time!

All of the pictures can be viewed at our Flickr site.

Lily hearts Woodseys...

I sit here watching Lily play with our beloved Woodseys. Woodseys were probably our favorite toy growing up. Natalie and I definitely spent many hours of our youth playing with them! Only 2 of them are able to squeak anymore, but they certainly have not lost their appeal. As I speak, Lily tries to defy all spacial limitations by fitting her foot in the tiny Woodsey bucket. She is certainly a determined individual!

View Lily's photos at: Flickr

Nat's Airport Cafe

Nat's Cafe 2, originally uploaded by mdwinell.

Today we took a trip to Nat's Airport Cafe at the Hawthorne Airport. Lily enjoyed this experience very much and the food was quite good. Very diner-y fare, and some dishes had a Mexican twist. One family had a plate of nachos for breakfast. I couldn't bring myself to do nachos for breakfast, but man they looked good.

Lily enjoyed screaming "AIRPLANE!" at the top of her lungs throughout breakfast whenever one happened into sight. I am sure they are used to this there as there were lots of customers in the under 5 crowd.

It was a good time!

Hearing Test results

Dr Office, originally uploaded by mdwinell.

Lily scored 30 dB on her Hearing Test at the ENT today. Normal is below 20 from what the Dr. says, but because of her age, the test is not always 100% accurate. The good news is the Dr. didn't push to get her in for ear tube surgery. He said we can wait it out and if she is ear infection free over the next few months, we may opt to skip the surgery. Hoorah!

Now I am really glad we went for the second opinion...

Puzzled

Lily and her fishy puzzle..., originally uploaded by mdwinell.

We trekked to the Kettle for an impulsive Saturday morning breakfast. I had never actually walked in Manhattan Beach and been to the pier, so finally getting to go was fun for me. Lily really enjoyed the little aquarium at the end of the pier. Upstairs they have all kinds of activities for kids. She has been getting really great at puzzles... and as you can see, she is so proud of herself when she gets it right.