{pretty, happy funny, real}

{pretty} 

Joining my parents on their nightly walk in our suburb of Orlando where I grew up. That mulberry tree in the second picture is still a favorite of mine - I have eaten mulberries for years and even made a mulberry pie! If I can beat the birds to the harvest, they're one of my favorite twice-yearly treats.

{happy} 

Zuzu was re-united with one of her best friends, Nala, at a splash pad last week in Orlando. Her joy at their meeting was really wonderful to behold! Even though they are complete opposites in personality, they love one another so and had a great time playing Ring Around the Rosy and ignoring all the other kids that were there. 

{funny} 

Ever know someone who makes funny faces when they're trying to smile for the camera? Zuzu inherited it from Tom, unfortunately - but at least their faces when caught candidly are exceptional! ;) 

{real} 

This cake, although lovely, is the Pentecost cake...that I finally got around to making on Tuesday! 

I had gotten all the ingredients and planned to make it on Sunday for dinner, but once Zuzu got sick, all of my time with hands not filled with children went out the window. I actually baked the cake on Monday, but then had to put the layers in the fridge because I ran out of time to make the frosting and assemble...so this is the cake that was four days in the making! 

Even more {real}, I wasn't totally happy with the results. Anybody have a really good yellow or white cake recipe? This was Betty Crocker's standard and I was unimpressed. 

{Pretty, Happy, Funny, Real}: Life Lately

Joining the lovely ladies at Like Mother Like Daughter to 'capture the context of contentment' in my everyday life! Be prepared for picture overload...there's just a lot of goodness to savor right now.

{pretty}

We're spending the week in Orlando with my parents and siblings - a long-overdue visit so my siblings can meet David, and Zuzu can spend some time with her cousins. 

You know the best part about Orlando with toddlers, don't you? Tons to do - including Disney water parks! 

Enough hair for hairstyles! Finally! 

I am struck over and over again by how beautiful my daughter is! How did we get such a darling (and precocious!) towhead? A good friend of mine said it best as she remarked, "as soon as you bring home that second baby, you're amazed at how big your firstborn is!" And that is the truth - when did my little girl get to be so...big? 

Enjoying morning snuggles in Mama & Daddy's bed - one of my favorite times of day

{happy}

Thanks to some generous friends who gave us a very nice gift card, we attended the children's matinee at the Naples Philharmonic - a performance of Peter and the Wolf, with live animals! It was our first big outing as a family of four and couldn't have gone better. Zuzu is a true daughter, and granddaughter, of musicians - some of her favorite books are about opera houses and her favorite car ride music includes 'Ride of the Valkyries.' 

Few things are better than getting to see your family love on your children - and few families love newborns like MY family! And since I'm the only one still supplying those, my children will never suffer from a lack of attention. David was passed around a good deal at our 'girls night' the other night - no one wanted to be left out of loving on our sweet boy. Isn't my mom so sweet holding him?

{funny}

I captured the exact moment that David had a blowout on Auntie Kim's lap! It was pretty impressive and very, very funny.

Girls night May 2015: I can't tell you what joke I made here, but it was reeeeally funny. We have a nearly identical picture from my wedding. Amidst all the hilarity someone said, 'wait, where's the baby??' We were having so much fun and he was so quiet, we forgot all about him - but he was sitting right there in his car seat on the sidewalk, looking like this - 

A bit bewildered by all these shrieking women, I think.

{real} 

After several days of non-stop fun, I caught this one of the Zuzu-girl last night. Waterlogged from so much fun, a bit fuzzy from a very late nap, she went to bed happily - and even went down for a nap today at her 'regular' time. Vacations, and family, are great for wearing out active toddlers!