Ah, sweet victory!

Ever since June, when I signed Liliana up for Tiny Tots tumbling class, we have been anxiously awaiting the classes to begin. I just knew for sure that she would absolutely love it and have the best toddler time ever! The first class was last week. And it was terrible.

First of all, Jason and I had both acquired St. Charles county's worst head cold ever. We were practically teetering on the edge of our deathbeds (minor exaggeration) but were determined that the tumbling show must go on! Our patience was spreading pretty thin even before we got inside the tiny little building. We made it inside barely in time for the beginning of class. I got Liliana inside her classroom, gave her a kiss on the head, told her to have fun and turned to leave. That's when she started screaming. And clinging to my leg. And screaming. I thought maybe she'd calm down and join the class once she saw how much fun they were having so I stuck around for a few minutes. While she continued to scream. At that point I was embarrassed by the disruption we were causing and I was ready to leave (5 mins into the class). Jason had been watching from outside the room and must've seen "that look" in my eyes because he quickly swooped in and tagged me out. He sat with Liliana in the class for the rest of the time. It was one thing for her to refuse to participate but screaming and crying the entire 30 minutes was a little much. I left feeling really frustrated, disappointed, and mostly sick.

Later that evening, we talked to her about her behavior and explained that it would not be acceptable. She agreed that she would do better next week. In fact, she assured me several times over the last week that she was going to be good in the next tumbling class. Still, I will admit I was pretty nervous walking in those doors last night. Here's a snippet of what happened this time:





o

She did *awesome*!! I was so proud of her behavior and her mad tumbling skilz! *That* is the kind of fun I was expecting. Now I can't wait for next week!

While the King is away, the Queen and Princess will play

While Daddy is out of town on business (we miss you!), Liliana and I have indulged in some shameless pampering and princess fun.  

Tonight consisted of shopping (we *mostly* just looked) then jumping on the trampoline instead of doing yucky ol' chores.  That was followed by green beans and popcorn (we compromised, okay?) for dinner.  We've taken to calling each other Princess Adele all night.  Ya, it's a little weird that we have the same name and could be confusing if there were a third person involved but it's just us so it's fairly easy.  

Liliana enjoyed a relaxing soak in the tub while I took a steaming hot shower just like I like it.  Finally, I showed her some essentials of skin care which included applying a revitalizing mask in order to gain a more youthful appearance.

Her mask worked.  Mine must've been defective. 

Bigger Than We Expected

We were honored to attend Brian Witt and Kristin Golwitzer's wedding this weekend in Gurnee, IL.  Liliana had been recruited as the flower girl (thanks Mr. and Mrs. Witt!), so we were all anxious to arrive on time for the rehearsal on Friday night.

The church where they were married is beautiful!  The chapel has been there a while, and has beautiful stained-glass windows and apparently lots of bats in its belfry.  It also has really really high ceilings, and the HVAC system was hard-pressed to keep the temperature down as we rehearsed.  Friday night went well; Liliana and her cousin Brayden (the ringbearer) did a fine job practicing their walk down the aisle.

We attended the rehearsal dinner afterwards, and Katie was recruited as a bridesmaid when it turned out that one of them would be unable to attend.  Kudos to the bride: Kristin didn't let the changing plans ruffle her one bit.  Fortunately, Katie was the same size as the original bridesmaid.  The dresses were an amazing shade of blue that suited Katie so very well - she looked amazing!  Friday night is also when the general yuckiness I'd been feeling since Wednesday turned into a raging head cold...  Ew.

The wedding was as beautiful as the chapel.  Liliana initially resisted (that means she threw a huge fit) when we tried to put on her dress, but we squeezed her into it and then distracted her.  Brayden very nearly opted out of his role as ringbearer, but when his mom produced a Lightning McQueen PEZ dispenser, he was eager to get going. 

I saw them start down the aisle as the guests rose to their feet, and I waited for them to appear at the altar.  There was a loooong pause, and then some laughter from the guests... and then there were still no kids.  The organist ran out of song, and began to crank into the wedding march.  Still no kids.  I had to figure out what was going on!  I ran to the end of the front pew and looked past the photographer who was furiously snapping pictures while everyone laughed.

Lilie had stopped about halfway down the aisle.  She was crouching next to her basket, holding it with one hand while she used the other to scoop out handfuls of flowers onto the floor.  Poor Brayden stood patiently next to her, clearly a bit confused and worried.  Lilie was in her 'flower girl zone', however, and it took a bit of time for me to get their attention.  They eventually abandoned the flowers and headed down the aisle.  The rest of the ceremony went as smooth as silk!

We attended the reception at a dance hall in Viking Park.  The park is really cool - awesome trees and great play equipment.  The hall was neat, too.  We had a wonderful time, although Lilie's fatigue began to show shortly before she crashed at around 11.  I wasn't feeling well, so I thought I'd take her and the diaper bag and crash in the car with her until the party was over.  I got to the car, but couldn't find the keys in the diaper bag.  I went back inside, but couldn't find the keys on the table.  Then I couldn't find the keys in Katie's purse, and couldn't find the keys under our table.  I still didn't find the keys in those places after checking each a second time.

We called the Gurnee police department.  The kind officer couldn't reach the locking mechanism with his slim-jim, so we ended up calling Kia roadside assistance.  They arrived after the hall had closed - and after the bride and groom had forfeited their car to us so we could all get home in case the keys didn't turn up (did I tell you how awesome this couple is?).  The locksmith opened the van, in which there were no keys.

We ended up rolling into bed at around 1:30AM...  We attended a breakfast with the newlyweds, then bought some gloves and trash bags and headed back to the park.  OH YEAH we went dumpster diving!  I was prepared for the stink, and even for *some* of the stuff we saw, but I didn't anticipate the bees (yellow jackets maybe?).  There were lots of them, and they really didn't like us being there. 

Katie and Brian G. and I were about 12-15 bags into it when Katie shouted and did a happy dance while shaking out a tablecloth!  Not only did we find them, but it wasn't my fault they were lost!  Turns out that someone had been in a rush to clear the tables, and in their haste took our keys too.

What a wild weekend.  Here are the pics: