2009 Daffodil Parade

This morning we packed up the kiddo and headed to Puyallup's Daffodil Parade. Chris and I hadn't been since we were in high school. We meet a few of my girlfriends and their kids and spent the afternoon enjoying the SUNSHINE! Finally, some spring weather! A little strange this year not having any Puyallup schools marching, since the district is on spring vacation. We heard every other high school and junior high band around the area though...it was a long parade!

The girls caught sight of the princesses and had to say hello. 

Leila, Kaitlin and Mackenzie with Princess Belle and Princess Aurora. 

This flag was Leila's approval rating system. Each time something that she liked would march by, she would wave her flag. 

This year's Daffodil Queen is from one of the high school's in our school district. 
Franklin Pierce High School's marching band. Took this picture for two reasons:

1. This is Papa Mike's alma mater.

2. We live really close to the high school, so we felt like we should support it! 

Go FP!

Leila was a trooper! The parade was 2 hours. She enjoyed it, but it was right during her usual nap time. By the time we made it on the freeway, she was OUT. I could hear her snoring over the freeway noise!
I know she is tired when she sleeps without a binkie. 

Some Recent Pictures

Our spring break is coming to a close this weekend. We had the worst weather ever! It felt like winter vacation the entire week. The cold and rain didn't stop us from playing outside a bit though. Leila got a new car and she had to try it out! 

Before we headed outside...

Leila insisted on wearing her Mariner's hat (because Daddy's hat had a bill on it) and carrying her purse outside. A purse is always needed to shoot baskets and ride cars, right? 

Laundry Lady

We have a new activity in the Tavern house...well Leila does anyway. She likes to play dress up with the laundry. These pictures were taken over three nights...yes, my clean laundry sits in baskets for a LONG time before it finally gets put away (this is a post-Leila habit). In fact, I think part of it is still in the basket on the dryer...at least it is folded, right? 

We did not help Leila one bit with the costumes below. They were all her doing!

Dressing up as Daddy. Love those shorts!



This reminds me of the cover picture for the book "Three Cups of Tea" (great book by the way!). 

What other costumes can I find...?

Our Girl

I took these pictures last weekend...too precious not to post. What a beautiful girl Leila is. She is so happy and has quite a sense of humor. We are blessed to have such an amazing daughter! Leila is 18 months-old today. Where did the time go?

Thunderbird Hockey

This year, Chris's parents and us split season tickets with one of Shawn's coworkers for the Seattle Thunderbirds. We have been going to the games since October, but I only remembered the camera for the first time this Sunday. 

Leila and Grampa during the starting line-up introductions...



Leila and Grampa got to high five the players right before third period began.

We have learned to bring color books and stickers to the game...necessities for third period!
What a night! The Thunderbirds defeated the Chilliwack (is that in Canada???) Bruins with a score of 3-1. Go T-Birds!

Backyard Additions

A morning ritual in our house is to check outside for birds. When we had all the winter flooding in January, our backyard became the hangout for all of the neighborhood birds due to all the worms that had surfaced. Ever since then, Leila is thrilled when she spots birds in the yard. Thanks to Gramma and Grampa's Valentine's gift, our backyard and the birds now have two new feeders. Leila is eagerly awaiting the birds' discovery of the new feeders. She had quite the afternoon helping Daddy put them up. 

Fort Tavern

A few evenings ago, Chris made Leila a fort in the family room. We all had a good time climbing under the blankets. It was the perfect spot for reading some of Leila's favorite books.