September 19

Today is Lily's 14-month birthday, so we celebrated with balloons and candles.

Kidding - kind of. Tonight happened to be the Balloon Glow, and the weather was perfect, so despite my anxiety about the chaos of parking and traffic, we packed up a picnic and headed out. Chris and I used to love to go to the Balloon Glow before we had kids, and we even tackled it twice when Caleb was little. In fact, I found the blog post from the last time we went - Caleb was 14 months old, and we were newly pregnant with Daisy, but hadn't shared the news yet.  Bonus: the post also has pictures of Caleb's first Balloon Glow, when he was only two months old. 

What's especially funny is that somehow, without even planning it, we ended up at the exact same spot tonight that we were at four years ago, and five years ago. Wild!

Goodness. This girl. She spent a good part of the evening in my lap, snuggling me. I loved every moment of it.

Look at our big girl! Can you see the little sandals she's wearing? When we were getting ready to go to the Balloon Glow, I offered her a different pair of shoes. She shook her head no. Then I got out those little sandals, and immediately a grin spread over her face and she snatched them from me. I guess I know which shoes are her favorites! 

I think she's trying to share her cookie with Daddy.

My handsome boy. He was really whiny and emotional, until we fed him dinner. Perhaps he just gets sensitive when he's hungry?

I do know that when he comes home from school, he needs lots of loves. We didn't have time for an after-school snuggle today, so he asked for a hug as I buckled him into his car seat. Once we finally found a picnic spot at the Balloon Glow, he climbed into my lap and smothered me with kisses.

We fed Lily some watermelon. It was a joyous moment for her.

Seriously. This girl. And her little feet with those little toes? I know it's strange, but Daisy's toes are one of the things I love most about her. That, and her impish grin. And the fact that she's suddenly so talkative! All the time!

That, my friends, is 17 weeks worth of baby belly. 

Once they started filling up the balloons, Lily was fascinated! She kept pointing and squealing.

She particularly liked the bunny.

Lily had a prime perch up on Daddy's shoulders. Lots of people like to go up to the balloon field and wander amongst the balloons, but we prefer to spread our blankets outside the chaos and enjoy the view from afar. Maybe when the kids are much, much older we'll hazard a visit to see the balloons up close. For now, the crowds make me feel itchy. No, thanks.

Oh, yeah. We brought glow bracelets. I still had some left over from last Halloween, so we were glow-tastic.

The balloons were glow-tastic, too!

Caleb's glow ensemble, in the dark.

Doesn't Chris look lovely in his glow glasses? I love Lily in the foreground, pointing at him. Even she knew he was being silly!

This boy was so happy, until a vendor came strolling through with blinking, flashing, electronic glow toys. Then he was a little bit sad.

Lily thought the glow glasses were so funny!

Eventually, it was time to head home. I was right: parking and traffic were chaotic and insane. But all in all, it was worth it. I wonder if it will be worth it next year, with a 6-month-old added to the group?