Sweet Lily Girl is 7

Today is one of my favorite days to re-live, and celebrate- the birth of my beautiful first born!

it was funny cause this weekend i was talking with my girlfriend Cindy, and we were telling Lily that this weekend, 7 years ago, we were walking around the zoo just waiting for her to fall out! and that didn't happen. cause of Eve. and the need for labor. boo...

anyhoo, so today was lily's birthday and she had the day all planned out: breakfast at IHOP, go to school, get picked up, hang out, have mc donalds for dinner.

admittedly, two days ago, her birthday plan was a little simpler (and cheaper) because she said she wanted Costco pizza for dinner. and that's why i said we could go out for breakfast because her dinner choice was SO CHEAP. and because chris was pretty sure he was going to miss dinner, and he wanted to take his special girl (and the rest of the family) out for at least one meal on her birthday.

fortunately, chris ended up eating just as many meals with lily today as i did.

here's lily at IHOP:

she ordered raspberry blintzes, and they brought out a little ice cream sundae for her afterwards. nothing gets you ready for school like a little ice cream sundae for breakfast!

she really wanted her greatgrandparents to come to breakfast with us, but poor GG has shingles!

we really never go to IHOP without chris' grandparents, and even little mia was looking around for them when we walked in, and sat down.

get better soon grandma!

lily loved her gifts of clothes, toys, and books!

all of which i got on sale and have been hoarding away since post-christmas.

then lily went to school, and then i picked her up and she said she wanted donuts and then to hang out at a park.

if you start off your day with a little ice cream sundae, obviously the next right move is to eat donuts (did i mention she also brought cookies to her class to celebrate her birthday?).

mother of the year right here folks.

it's only your birthday once a year.

and you also only turn 7 once.

and how can you say "no" to this face?:

                                                  that's right. you can't. so donut time it was!

we went to a new park that they built near the new spring-training facilities they just built for the Cubs. it's a gigantic, beautiful, and BUSY park. the kids definitely burnt off all the calories they consumed today. mostly by posing for all these crazy pics: 

and then we went to mc donalds up in Scottsdale so that chris could join us for our last unhealthy meal of the day. we got home, bathed, got ready for bed, and read books until 9:02pm, which is when lily was born, seven crazy years ago.
i know everyone says that time flies by when you have kids. and i didn't believe them at first, especially when lily was a baby- and then i had another babyrightafterthat.
but it is true!
time is flying, i am aging even more rapidly than my kids, i can't remember anything, and i wish i had taken videos of every moment of every day that my kids have been alive.
but alas, that's why i still have my blog, though i write as inconsistently as i do.
i need to remember these days. cause they are so precious, so beautiful, so fleeting.
i can't thank Jesus enough for the wonderful gifts that He has blessed me with, that i do not deserve in the least bit.
today, my favorite blessing, that started off as an innocent 8 lb 3oz (or was it 2oz? it may as well have been 20oz. man she was huge!) though destructive (i had some wine tonight as i remembered birthing her) sweet little baby, is now a sweet, sassy, kind, smart, caring, funny, and beautiful seven year old girl.

love you Lily Jaye Nara Watson.

ps. get ready to eat nothing but celery tomorrow. ;)