Adventures in Lilylandia

Ever since Lily was an itty-bitty newborn a year ago, Jeff has referred to Lily's "Adventures in Lilylandia." They would take place with The Bub (Mama) and The Beard (Dada), and, apparently, they were going to be epic.

Fast forward to Lily's first birthday. In addition to "giving" Lily a year-long membership to Chibis, an indoor playground near us, we also wanted her to have something lasting. Enter the toy box.

I found this one at Bare Woods Furniture; since we Jeff didn't have time to build one, it was a good option that even included a slow-close latch. And Lily clearly approved! So, a few weeks later, we purchased it and started planning.

First, Jeff did some hard work with painting and "antiquing" it--he was worried it looked too much like it belonged at the beach, but I love it.

And then came Lily's birthday. We asked everyone who came over that weekend--and we will ask all those who we love who will be visiting in the weeks and months to come--to add a bit of themselves to a toy box that will take Lily to all the destinations she can possibly imagine.

Jeff started with "Lily's toy box," and it grew from there. On one side, came Lily's southern godfather's (which is really her godfamily's) hometown.

On the other side appeared Mommy and Daddy's hometowns.

The front got additional embellishment. From Lily's fairy godmother came Baltimore, FD (FairyLand), and, for some of our dearest friends across the pond, Jeff added London.

By the time we were done, Lily was more than ready to put our hard work to good use.

Now, for those of you lamenting, it's not finished. It's clearly missing Canada, her godmother's Virginia hometown, and several others. So, when next you visit, just remind us to hand you a brush and some paint, and it's all yours!