One Month Old.

Lily Ruth turned one month old on Thursday. Every day with her is a blessing. How much she changes from one day to the next. Look how our little angel has grown!

All photos courtesy of cousin Wes.

More Lily.

A smiling Lily.

Aubri is having some fun with her. When she is in a good mood, she is quite content and fun to play with.

Lily was so excited by the Olympics that she wanted to partake.

Equestrian events also appeal to her.

Lily is now sleeping in her crib during the day. She has some room to grow, as you can see.

I'm sure glad I don't have to wear outfits like this. But she can't say no and Aubri is taking full advantage of that fact.

Salsa.

We decided to make salsa to use up all tomatoes we are getting now.

A neighbor gave us jalapeno, Banana, and anaheim peppers. We supplied tomatoes, onions, and bell peppers. Another resident let us pick cilantro from their garden. Besides the garlic everything was pretty much home grown.

After spicing it up with jalapeno seeds, here is the finished product. It is excellent. By my count we have eaten 2 pounds of chips in the 3 days since we made it. We should make some more in the next day or two.

Another Parade and More Excitement

Here we are lined up in the village of Rosalie, which is substantially smaller than Bancroft. They have an annual Old Settlers' Parade through their downtown. I knew close the 40% of the attendees by name I would guess---so it was a local affair.

Here is some of the entertainment, our Bancroft-Rosalie school band. Behind them is an old combine. There were plenty of tractors, old cars, and even more risque floats (ask an attendee). Most threw candy or popsicles to us. The big city folks were surprised at what you can get away with in the boondocks. Last year a bar handed out cans of bud light. We had prefect weather and a good time was had by all.

Lily got out of the stroller to see the Parade up close.

Here is arguably one of the biggest events of the weekend. I WON LAWN OF THE WEEK!!! My careful mowing and the tender care I bestowed on my grass finally paid off. This sign, along with a write up in the paper, goes to the best lawn in Bancroft. Truly a great and memorable day.

This should be a separate post, since it is momentous as well. Our first homegrown watermelon from the garden. We were not sure whether it was ripe, but we decided to pick it while we had all the company. Notice the pride of the grower, something I lack with a store bought melon.

It was sweet, red and juicy---an excellent watermelon. The first of hopefully many to come this summer. Aubri had been craving waermelon and this certainly hit the spot.

Baptism

Lily's Baptism was on the 17th of August. She did well during the Baptism. She acted surprised when the water hit her, but she didn't make a sound. We are happy God has welcomed her into His kindgom. We are proud parents.

Here are the sponsors and us. Weslie Odom and Tim and Linsay Hale spoke for Lily.

Here is the whole crowd. We were blessed to have so many relatives here. Maybe they just wanted to have a vacation excursion to scenic Nebraska and Lily was just an excuse. It's hard to tell. From L to R, back to front: Scott, Weslie, Cecelia, Neil, Tim; Wesleigh, Ruth, me, Aubri, Lily, Verna, Lindsay, Meredith, and Nikki. Thanks for coming everyone, we enjoyed have a crowd for the special kingdom.

A kind lady from the congrgation made a fancy cake for us.

Eli, Lily's cousin, showed some interest in her. But he is forceful and a bit rough (kind of like her father). So my dad is warding off the little guy who doesn't know that babies don't roughhouse.

One of the few moments Lily wasn't held. She is preparing herself for the next relative to scoop her up.

First Sunday.

A happy Lily.

A sad Lily---at the mercy of everyone around her.

Lily likes to hold on to her daddy.



Lily after her first church service. She will be baptized next Sunday, the 17th. I hope she likes her pastor.

County Fair

This fair was ok, but no midget wrestling this year (unlike last year). Still Aubri had her first excursion without Lily. She missed Lily a lot she said, but it was nice to get away.
No fair is complete without a demolition derby. Unfortunately, it ended as we were walking to to it. Still the smoke and engine sounds were cool.

Grandma Cecelia

Wednesday Cecelia arrived. I have not seen my daughter since it seems. Grandma likes her, even when she is fussy. We have to fight to see her now.

At times Lily does smile.

She is mostly happy. Lily is pretty good too. Seriously though, it has been helpful to have some help with the little girl.

Garden Update

I know you have been anxious to hear about the garden. I'm sorry Lily has been dominating this blog. Eat your heart out.

The garden is coming along. These onions are drying in the garage. They turned out very well. Half are yellow and half are huge white onions. The watermelon is coming along nicely. Hopefully in a week we should have a ripe one to eat.

Settling In

Lily is finally eating enough, so she is much better. After crying much of the night the last few days, we found out she was just hungry. A satiated Lily is a happy and sleepy Lily. And kinda cute too as you will soon see.

After eating she is content.



Aubri had to play dress up with Lily. This was her dress originally.






Aubri is glad Lily has hair and she is a girl. Her first barrette and pigtail. I had no part of this.





Lily's second bath. She didn't cry, but had a concern about what her parents were doing to her.


Lily's shows off her long legs. By the way she pooped and peed on me right after this. I had no idea a baby could hold that much liquid. Perhaps she was paying me back for this embarrassing picture.

Harvest Time!

My sweet corn had some problems, but the later planting came through ok. If you've never had fresh sweet corn it tastes like candy.

Our first tomatoes are ready. It took quite a while in this cooler climate. We are going to have a lot very soon.

My helper at harvest. It's nice to have someone to share the hard labor with.

Photos - old and new

A content Aubri at the hospital.

Miss skinny legs on the way home.


Someone made sure the whole community knew we had Lily.
It is still a mystery as to where it came from (the stork that is).

Lily is learning to sleep and here is getting some practice on a harder mattress.

Despite her intense screams when she is upset, she can also be cute. It is a good thing she can't read yet.