spring, is that you?

yesterday was the very first day of spring (did you hear me, winter?! i said it! dont you dare tell me otherwise.). we enjoyed a nice walk around town in the morning time, i got an iced coffee and proceeded to walk swiftly about as willow wanted her morning nap. i went to the library to sip that coffee (maybe read a chapter of something?) while she slept, but when i got there she wasn't asleep yet!  but it was a great and happy coincidence anyway, because unbeknownst to me, there at the library, every tuesday morning from 10:30-12 there is a parent and toddler play group! and surely there was no sleeping to be done then, as she jumped right into the vat of toys and tried to steal all the little snacks. pure happiness on that girls face. we left after a while, as our parking was about to expire.

we stopped at the store on the way home, had a nap and some lunch (her first pb and j!), then hit the grass outside. but when i say "hit the grass" i mean, stay on the quilt which lay on the grass because for some reason, willow is terrified of it. i mean, she will hardly touch it. it took a lot of coaxing and showing just to get her to touch (and mayyybe pull) the grass. i couldve taken a whole nap, knowing for darn sure she wasn't going to go anywhere (ps, i restrained myself). and ohhhhhh my goodness, it was nice. and no wind! which meant lovely lovely rays of warmth hitting our skin uninterrupted! BUT the inevitable happened, and some clouds rolled in after a while, plus the wind started to pick up, so we headed back inside.

pb & j success! no hives to be seen!

see what i told you about wanting to take a nap? but there was no possibility. 

hands up from the evil evil grass!

also, clay came home a bit early to take advantage of the lovely weather and do some fishing. we joined for about two seconds on the beach, but willow felt the same about sand as she did about the grass, maybe even slightly more passionate.

she cried the whole time. mostly because the evil evil sand stood between her and her dad, and some because she did not appreciate his coming home early to fish and not spend time focusing solely on her. this was a hard lesson to learn for such a small child.

but before you get too excited about the gorgeous weather we had yesterday, know thats its raining now, and the forecast says it will continue to for the next three days. but i will take one day like yesterday and three days rain, its better than none!

willows first birthday

my goodness, willows first birthday has come and gone! it was a great day, and to be honest im kinda glad its over. shhhh, dont tell anyone! 

anyways, the morning started off with getting the room all decorated and set up, we had it in a classroom thats a part of the church offices. we invited everyone from the church, so we were expecting a crowd. and boy, we weren't disappointed! there were a few hiccups though, willow had missed her afternoon nap, and my chocolate chip cookies were about the only thing that got her through, i hadn't washed my hair in weeks (and for some reason wore it down?? come on lady!), clay was wrecked from helping set up and studying for easter service the next day. BUT all in all it was a lovely day, with loads of kids and snacks and crafts and fun to be had. 

the theme was hot air balloons, since willow has this love relationship with balloons, and needs to have them in her hands if they are anywhere in her presence. (even if that means dangerously balancing in clays hands to grab the one stuck in the ceiling, or walking into mcdonalds and grabbing one without buying any sort of happy meal). 

so we set up this hot air balloon photo booth, for kids to jump in the basket and have their picture taken, and boy did they come out cute! thanks for the idea pinterest, but i think we one upped you in the awesome department...sorries!

and here are some more photos of willow and the rest of the days events...

(she WOULD NOT eat her smash cake. not even after tempting her with the cream cheese frosting. maybe it was all those chocolate chip cookies?)

(well, it was all lovely and great, but im glad her next birthday is a year away....!)