Halloween Kitty

Miss Lily got dressed up in her best kitty cat costume for a night of Halloween fun at the Mall of America last weekend. We went to the "Nick or Treat" Halloween event at Nickelodeon Universe theme park in the Mall.

Of course, the snap on the headpiece of her costume was broken so it wouldn't snap on her head - and Lily hates hats or anything on her head so she would pull it off whenever we put it on. (All hats or items on Lily's head simply MUST be securely fastened or they will be removed within seconds!) So we only have a couple pictures of her with the hat on, but of course she was still cute! :)

After taking in the sights and sounds of the amusement park for about an hour, seeing the Nickelodeon characters and all the other kids in costumes, our little kitty was just exhausted and needed a "cat nap". She fell asleep just as we bought tickets to ride the merry-go-round. Oh well, we will return to the mall for a ride on the merry-go-round another day!

Lily's Impromptu Photo Shoot

Tom was hired to do a photo shoot for a local high school senior last Tuesday. I needed to deliver some photo supplies to Tom, so Lily and I stuck around and watched the shoot. When the photo shoot was done, Tom still had the studio reserved for another hour so of course he snapped a few shots of Miss Lillianna Mae!

These were just some quick shots, but we couldn't let the studio opportunity go to waste! (Also, Tom hasn't had a chance to touch these up yet, but I couldn't wait to put them online. My photographer husband will probably shoot me for displaying the untouched photos. Oh well!)

We're going to plan a longer, scheduled studio session after her birthday. Wow...that's so strange to say...her birthday! She can't be almost 1 already?!?

Ladies and Gentlemen, Miss Lillianna Mae Archibald...

Happy Birthday Tommy!!!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!

Tom celebrated his first birthday with Lily today ... well not HIS first birthday but the first one since Lily was born .... okay, it's late, you get what I mean! You'll have to ask Tom what birthday it REALLY was, I don't know if I should reveal the secret (hint: look at the cake picture below).

Mommy and Lily spent the day running around town getting cake ingredients, some decorations, wrapping paper and, of course, the gift.

Being that I am completely inept at anything requiring the smallest amount of creativity or artistic talent, I decided to attempt to make a "camera cake". After completely destroying the kitchen and being up to my elbows in cake, frosting, food coloring, fondant, icing - and trying to entertain Miss Lily at the same time - the final product SLIGHTLY resembled a camera. I made the camera out of one cake (cut it up into several pieces and "glued" it together in the shape of a camera and lens using frosting and covering it with black-tinted fondant) and then put the camera on a separate round cake with white whipped frosting and red icing around the edge. It wasn't as pretty as I had hoped, but hey, at least it didn't completely collapse and looks a teeny bit like a camera...maybe??? Okay, not really - it looks like a big black blob on a white cake. It still tasted good!

After the cake, it was gift time. Ladies and Gentlemen, we have a new rock star in the making ... or should I say a "Guitar Hero" in the making. Lily and I decided to do something a little crazy and bought Guitar Hero III for the Wii. Lily was just as interested in the new toy as Daddy was. Somehow I think she will master the art of Guitar Hero before we do!

WOW - Mom, have you SEEN this?!? It ROCKS!!!

Lily is already learning the art of playing the guitar with her mouth - rocker chick!!

Lily Has a New Toy!

Now that Lillianna is standing on her own and likes to "walk" with help, Mommy and Daddy went shopping after church today to find a new walking toy. We found it! Lily LOVES to walk behind her new toy, pushing it across the living room. Daddy says he's getting her prepared to mow the lawn next summer!

Uh-Oh ... look out Bella! Kitty tails are no longer safe now that Lily is mobile!

And back to some more crawling and posing for the camera. She KNOWS when a camera is around and likes to smile and pose. What a ham! Now who does she get THAT from?!?