We Love Lily

My sweet little niece Lily belle is getting blessed this weekend. She really is so, so sweet.

And since here mommy was sick with vertigo in the final throes of pregnancy and is just as camera crazy as I am, I figured he might like to see pics from her baby shower—just days before her little gal joined our family.


It was a whole lot of fun to put together, and since I love a good party and am also super geeked when things turn out as I imagine them to be (this does not happen often with me and crafty things—I tend to bite off more than I can chew and eventually give up), I thought I'd share a few pics. Though my own baby shower days are long passed, this is how I would have imagined my dream baby shower, so I am so glad my sister-in-law and I have enough in common that I could play pretend with her life. Thanks, Mariah!

The invitations.

I found the perfect old early reader at a thrift store for $3 that yet again reminded me that I wish I had been alive in the days of bobby socks and saddle shoes (those dresses!), debated framing each sweet illustration full of the retro pinks and turquoises and yellows I love, took a deep breath and then started ripping that book to shreds. Only for a sister would I make such a sacrifice.

I did, however, save a few other retro treasures for safe keeping after using them as decoration.

We also hung baby pics of both the daddy and mommy, which was a last-minute idea that turned out to be one of the favorites.

Included in the library-themed invitations were instructions for guests to bring their favorite children's book, in lieu of a greeting card, to accompany their gift. We then had book plates on hand at the party for guests to inscribe their books for Baby Lily's memories.

If you want some of your own, check Martha Stewart.com

I also took a note from my pal Jaime who threw my own baby shower for Porter six(!) years ago and had thank you notes on hand so that guests could address their envelope in advance. If you are throwing a baby shower, do this. New moms have a whole lot to think about; tracking down addresses should not be one of those post delivery to-dos.

 Keeping with the book theme, we also went with paper flowers and tissue paper poms hanging from the ceiling, as well as a garland of alphabet flashcards (which I, sadly, did not get a picture of).

As far as the food went, I thought about doing thematic food that could be tied back to children's books, but my mom talked some sense into me and suggested we just ask Mariah what sounded good to her. Glad we did, because it turns out she had been craving one of my all time favorite dishes: thai peanut salad.

Please note: While my mom and sisters slaved away in the kitchen, I pretended to help by organizing and reorganizing piles of baby shower stuff and running through overzealous lists to  bemoan all that we still had to do. In fact, if you have seen a party on this blog, it is safe to say my mom has helped with it (with the exception of the dinosaur party, which I still have no idea how I pulled off solo). I did rally in time to help with desserts, though, if only so that I could sample as we went.

As for entertainment, Mariah requested no games, so guests completed an add-on story all about Lilybelle instead. Each guest wrote one sentence into Lily's adventure. There were also mad libs on hand, where guests gave the parents-to-be their best baby advice.

Though, to be honest, these two probably didn't need much advice.

They have been the world's coolest aunt and uncle to several lucky little kids who've come before Lily. In fact, it was Mariah who stopped an overly tired and partied out three-year-old's tantrum mid-scream with a simple offer to let her help open presents. Why didn't I think of that?

The favor bags were filled with bookmarks, bookplates and some reading snacks.

And Goldilocks finger puppets for the little ladies in attendance.

Speaking of little girls in attendance, when she wasn't throwing  a fit because I wouldn't give her another pink cookie, my own little girl spent the party singing Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star to her other new cousin, Amelia.

Isn't she sweet? Nora asks me almost every day when we can go visit Lily and "Camelia" again.

Ring of Fire

Our little town was the world's prime viewing spot for last night's eclipse, and it was a great excuse to gather with friends and make something special out of a sleepy Sunday evening.


 

After being prepped with instructions about not staring at the sun without his glasses for fear of blindness and headaches and anything else I could think of to get him to listen, curiosity got the best of a certain six-year-old, who repeatedly snuck glances with just a portion of one eye after suspiciously eyeing the crowd to see if anyone would notice.



And if a once-in-a-lifetime natural wonder weren't enough reason for out of the ordinary partying on the tail end of a busy weekend, a whole bunch of little people jumping up and down while excitedly screaming "Ring of Fire! Ring of Fire!" as the moon eclipsed the sun was all the affirmation we needed to relax and enjoy. They loved it.

Our two little people and their pals also sang Johny Cash's "Ring of Fire" in near unison as it blared over the car stereo, courtesy our neighbor's sweet eclipse mix, and I am still wishing I would have brought the camcorder along.

Suffice it to say, I was warm and fuzzy and may have choked back a tear or two as I thought about how grateful I am to have found our way all the way from Toledo, Ohio to this neighborhood full of friends in southern Utah. So grateful the sun and moon (and stars) aligned.

I didn't have a filter for the camera, so this is as good as I could get with the viewing glasses as a make-shift lens.

The Mom's Heart

Though this is not my original find (Thanks, Chelsea), I loved it too much to forget it:


I myself am made entirely of flaws, stitched together with good intentions. (Augusten Burroughs)

Anyone else feel like this most of the time?

Speaking of good intentions, I was yet again reminded that my kids don't need much to be happy (and that I all too often trade simple joys for over-the-top hoopla) when, after a great night at the carnival with good friends and cotton candy, Porter asked if we could just play at home with our family tomorrow. Earnestly striving to simplify; why is it so darn hard to do?

In other news, Porter joined me at work for a little while the other day and worked up this post-it note montage. I am one lucky lady.

In his words: "Here we are in love...I am yawning with my teddy bear and you are singing me a bedtime song."

"And this is us at Easter. I gave you that big chocolate bunny because I love you the most."

A Pretty Good Good Enough

Why, yes, those are Easter Bunny ears.

I know, I know, I'm late. Story of my life. But this week is gonna be a whole lotta catch-up. Because we've done some fun things and taken some cute pics, and I am grateful to be able to look back on a spring that, while crazy busy on the work side of things for both the mister and I, was also fulfilling on the home front.

The other day, a man I work with who also has young kids asked me how I manage being a working mom, since it seems like a full-time job for his own stay-at-home wife. Without even thinking, I actually came up with something pretty profound: I have come to accept that I will always be letting someone down.

It sounds a little bleak, I know, but it is actually pretty liberating for a perfectionist like me who is sure I'd be happy if I can only get everything in my life just so.

I will do my best, but it will not always be pretty and it certainly wont be perfect. BUT, I will do my best, and that will be good enough.

And though I am actually really bad at letting it be good enough in my own mind, it was liberating in that moment to realize that it might be starting to sink in. Because we are human and imperfect, and no matter how hard we try, we will always let people down. We will run late or forget about carpool or snap at our kids simply because we are tired and stressed. We will show up late to early morning meetings (have I mentioned that I detest 8 a.m. meetings?) and still duck out early to pick up kids for swim lessons. We will wish someone else was working through lunch simply so there would be proof that we are, actually, doing our best. We will live by the skin of our teeth and the fierceness of our hearts, and we will try again, every day, to do more good than bad. But even in our very best efforts, we will still not be perfect and we will, more often than not, let someone down.

So yes, I am about a month late in chronicling some memories, which makes me a bad blogger. And I was going to just file these pics away for the photobooks without ever sharing them because it makes me look a bit flighty to talk about Easter when everyone else did that at 10 o'clock at night on Easter Sunday. But we had fun, and I am grateful that we are creating traditions. And I am grateful for the little people who remind me how magical traditions can be. So, albeit belated, I think that's worth talking about.

I am pretty sure we should make them hunt for their Santa spoils, too, given the whoops of glee and ongoing enthusiasm when they finally found their loot.

This one has a sweet tooth the size of Texas and had polished off all of her candy before I even thought to set some aside to meter it out. Andy said I have conditioned her to ask for forgiveness rather than permission when it comes to candy. He's probably right. Here she is squirreling it away in her cheeks. So proud she pulled one over on the uptight parents.

Is it just me, or does Easter feel like it is just days after Christmas? We opted for books over toys (with the exception of a few Legos and Littlest Pet Shops) this year, and they seemed just as happy to curl up with a handful of candy and some new books for an afternoon of family story time.

We also held off on baskets until after church (the Easter Bunny was kind enough to leave us new church clothes and a reassuring note overnight, promising that he would return with our baskets while we were at church). We ate monkey bread while reading about the resurrection before church and then returned home to a trail of eggs that led us to the rest of the Easter fun. It felt like a nice balance for us.

Post church, pre baskets...super excited to be taking pictures instead of hunting down their baskets.

And the rest of the day was pajamas and playtime. Here's Nora teaching her daddy how to change baby Molly Lou's (or Teresa, depending on the day) diaper.

Not to be outdone, our Easter Saturday was no less magical, thanks to friends who substitute as family. Which brings me to: How grateful I am for good friends. I know I've said it a lot, but we just feel so lucky to have met, over the past few years, warm, caring, fun families who make a town with no other Burts feel like home.

Any guesses on Nora's eggs?

 

Last but certainly not least (it's actually been my favorite part of Easter ever since my mom pulled off an obstacle course egg hunt for the entire Reece clan when I was nine), the egg hunt, complete with youngest to oldest entry onto the field of play...

 

And Porter lucked out this year when he found the golden (actually purple) egg with a dollar bill inside, though he did have to recruit help to retrieve it.

 

Check, off the list. A day late and a dollar short, but no less happy to have a had a really great Easter this year.