best buds

One of the many things we will miss about living here is our friends as well as the little buddies Lily has made in her short (almost) year and a half of life. The friend we tend to do the most with and is definitely Lily's best friend is also named Lily, and it's been so much fun to watch these two grow this past year. Her mom was an acquaintence of mine growing up and someone I happened to get in touch with through facebook when we moved back, and she has since grown into one of my closest friends.

The Lily's have been playing together since they were just a few months old and are only a few months apart. We are often asked if they are twins, even though my Lily is a little bigger than the other Lily, even though she's younger. We've done lots of play dates at each other's houses, lots of pool time this summer, story time at the library, tailgating, dinner dates, birthday parties, time at the park, met for walks, nursery together at the gym and MOPS, and so much more.

It's been fun to watch their little personalities develop as they learned who each other actually was :) and to watch their excitement now when we tell them they are going to play with Lily! They have very different personalities but really do play well together and always seem to have fun.

One of the perks of working part time while living here, and now staying home full time, has been the flexibility to do these type of things. I often think about how different our year may have been if I were working full time. I definitely wouldn't have had the time to develop relationships and new friendships like my friendship with Danielle. She is just one of those people that is so kind and selfless the instant you get to know her. I can't tell you how many times she's offered to watch Lily, and now Preston, for me to run an errand or go to an appointment, or whatever it may be. She's the kind of friend that brings gifts and a meal when you have a baby and just calls or texts to chat. She's someone I have found myself being so honest with and often times after I say something thinking, "did I really just say that/tell her that even though we've only really been friends for a year?" (haha)! 

Those kinds of people and friends are rare and I know I will miss her immensely once we move. Luckily she also works part time, limited hours, so we've already agreed to day trips for them to Ankeny and us back here for the girls to play and for us to catch up. They will have a busy year ahead of them and it makes me sad to think about the things I will miss during our time in Ankeny but I know that our friendship, and the friendship we've started amongst our girls, will be a long lasting one! 

just this summer playing at the park

swinging together

check out the john deere tractors downtown waterloo

chugging their juice 

playing at the rec center indoor park last fall

water table fun

and the only one i could find with danielle! this was at lily garvin's 1st birthday party!