Grandpa + Lilly's tree

I'll start this one off with a little backstory.  When I was growing up, my dad & I planted a tree in the yard of my childhood home.  It was a teeny tiny tree when we planted it, and we watched it grow over the years.  After we moved away, we would still drive by every now and then to see how tall it was getting.  In fact, I've driven by that house recently and it is a full grown tree now.  It was just a small little thing we did together, but it was something I always remembered, and something we still talk about to this day.

So, with that in mind, we came up with a great idea for my dad's birthday gift this year.  Lilly got a tree for her Grandpa, that he can plant and they can watch grow together.

We even let her choose which tree to get, with a little help from the Grass Pad guy, of course.  We gave it to Grandpa on his 60th birthday, and he had it planted the next day.

Lilly came naked, ready to help, but then decided she didn't really like the idea of standing naked by a tree.  But it was still cute to have a photo of her and Grandpa on the day they planted their tree. {ok, Grandpa planted it, and Lilly showed up right when it was done, but still.}

A few weeks later Grandpa had some rocks laid around it, and it really fit in with the rest of the yard.  The leaves had started filling in, too, looks like it will be a good, strong little guy!

When Father's day came around, we had the perfect gift idea that tied in with the new tree.  A personalized plaque of course!

I ordered the stone from Etsy (find the shop here), and I could not be happier with how it turned out.  It is just so cute!!

So here is Grandpa & Lilly's tree, as it stands now.  I am so excited for Lilly to watch it grow and help Grandpa take care of it.  So many learning opportunities, and a great way to foster her love of nature. :)  Also, just a cool memory!  She stays at Grandma's house every day while we're at work, so she gets to see her tree on a daily basis, and will get to watch it grow for years to come.  And of course, the photographer in me is excited for the yearly photo of Grandpa & Lilly with their tree. :)