Our Little Singer

Lily loves to sing!  I love how she ends each song with "Yea!" She really enjoys talking on the phone too. She will see Ryan's phone and ask to call someone so she can talk. She has called me at work a few times which is great, and I think her grandparents enjoy getting a call too!

Sweethearts

I know I say this almost every post, but Lily just cracks us up. Her current catchphrase is "oh my goodness!" A funny example of this was last week we were coming inside from playing because I needed to cook dinner. I told Lily what I was going to make, and she exclaimed "Oh my goodness, that smells tasty!" We also hear "Oh my goodness, that is so silly!" a lot.

Our friend, Chris, and his daughter, Peyton (who is one month younger than Lily), came over to play with Lily, Mia and Ryan last Saturday while I (and Chris' wife Hannah) went to work. It was a pretty day so they played out on the playground for awhile, and then they came in to play on the inflatable bouncy. It was great for Ryan and Chris to catch up, and I think Peyton and Lily had a great time together. Lily was funny though because I told her Chris was Peyton's daddy, but she kept calling him "Miss Chris." She was trying to be polite!

Lily loves being a big sister to Mia, but I think she is anxiously awaiting Mia being able to do a little more. Mia sits up well and laughs at Lily a lot which is great to see. Lily will ask if Mia can do something (walk or eat chicken for instance), and I will say not yet. Lily always says "get a little bigger." So, whenever Mia does something that Lily sees as "getting bigger" (rolling over for example), she gets so excited. She claps her hands, then raises Mia's hands up and down as she says "Hoo-ray Mia! Hoo-ray Mia!" I truly hope they will be great friends as they get older.

Last Sunday the girls looked so cute in their little outfits, so we took tons of pictures. I put a few here for you to see. Aren't they adorable?!

The Girls

Here are a few recent pictures...

Lily is trying so hard to be a big girl. There are so many things she wants to do "all by me-self!" Right now she loves to dry her hair after her shower. Thankfully she lets me do it for a few minutes before she asks to. She's getting the hang of it though!

Concentrating really hard...
Maybe we have a future chef on our hands? Lily loves to watch us cook and "help." She made and tried this little concoction with our dinner tonight...cheese quesadilla, sour cream and strawberries. Hmmm, no thanks.

She was so tired before her nap last Saturday that she fell asleep while watching Dumbo. How cute is she? When she woke up, she looked up and said "Mommy in shower" which is what I was doing before she fell asleep. She apparently didn't realize that over 45 minutes had passed!

I love those big blue eyes!

4 Month Check-Up

Ryan took Mia in for her four month doctor's check-up yesterday. Can you believe how quickly time is flying? She now weighs an even 14 pounds (70th percentile) and is 24.5 inches tall (60th percentile) which is consistent with her prior growth marks. Dr. White noticed she had a little fluid in her ears from the cold she had last week, but it didn't seem to be infected or to bother Mia which is good news. She said she seems to be right on track; she is rolling over from her back to her tummy, smiling, laughing and cooing a lot, holding her head well and is starting to sit up well with some support. Even though Dr. White didn't actually say so, I'm pretty sure she was thinking "this is one of the most beautiful little girls I have ever seen!" We are so blessed to have two healthy, sweet, precious little girls!

Silly Girl

When I came home for lunch today, Mia was sound asleep in her crib so Lily and I went outside to play together; it's a beautiful day! We had so much fun picking flowers (aka weeds), playing chase, counting rocks and playing on the playground. It amazes me everyday how big Lily is getting. What happened to my baby? When did she become a little girl?

Lily has started calling a lot of things "silly." For instance, there was a bee flying nearby, so I asked Lily if she heard the bee. She listened and then said "yes! Buzzzzz!" When I told her that was right, she said "Bees so silly!" Later, we were watching a cartoon and one of the characters sneezed. She said "That dog so silly!" I guess she picked this up from me telling her she is a silly girl when she does funny things. I hear and see myself in her all the time now!

I made the mistake of leaving my McDonald's sweet tea out while we were playing. She ran over and brought it to me; I didn't ask her too, she was just "helping." Anyway, she asked what it was so I told her tea. She thought for a minute and said "Me try tea." I let her have a sip because she is just so stinkin' cute! She took a little sip, thought for a second and said "That a good drink!" I couldn't help but laugh because I am totally addicted to their sweet tea! I gave her a few more sips but then had to hide it until she went down for her nap. I have a feeling I will have to careful with my tea in the future!

On a sweet note, when I came home and Kim had just left, we were sitting on her playroom floor. She took my hand, smiled at me and said "Glad you home Mommy." It melted my heart!

About a boy

As I was waiting in the carpool line to pick Lily up from school today, her teacher came to the car with the sign-out sheet. As I was signing her out, she said "Lily and Caleb were quite the item today." I just laughed and said "Oh really?" She replied, "During story time, Caleb was kind of reclining back a little so Lily just laid her head on his chest. They stayed like that for several minutes. Then while we were playing in the gym, they went and sat by the wall and talked for a little bit. It was really pretty cute." I couldn't help but laugh! On the way home I asked Lily about her day, and asked her if she had played with Caleb, to which she just said "Ah-ha" and kept telling me about coloring the shamrock green.

When we got home, I told Ryan about it. As we were all eating a snack together he asked Lily about playing at school with Caleb. She said "He a boy. He very, very, very nice." She agreed that they had a lot of fun together. Then as she walking around the table, Ryan asked if she liked to play with any of the other kids. She replied "Aiden. David. Three boys." She couldn't tell us the names of the other two little girls in her class. Hmmm....

My Birthday Weekend

So this weekend was a big one for me...that's right, I turned the big 3-0 on Saturday! Ryan asked me several weeks ago what I wanted for my birthday. I told him quite honestly "two Tylenol PM." Tax season (along with two young girls) is really taking a toll on me this year. Lucky for me, Liz was willing to come over for the weekend to give me (and Ryan) a chance to relax.

On Friday night, Ryan and I had dinner at South City Kitchen with our good friends, the Henderson's and Rohan's. I enjoyed my appetizer of She-Crab Soup and dinner of Fried Chicken, mashed potatoes and green beans. It's not Meme's friend chicken, but it's in second place. After dinner, we went over to my Mom and Dad's house to have birthday cake and Dom Perignon champagne (thanks to David and Jan for that!). It was a wonderful evening and a great way to end my twenties!

On Saturday, I decided to take the day off from work and enjoy my family (though Liz played with Lily to let us sleep in a little). We had a great morning playing, reading and eating together. About 2, Ryan and I left for the High Museum to see an exhibit on China's Terra Cotta Army. The "soldiers" were really impressive to see. The exhibit is closing next month, so I'm really glad we had the chance to visit. After that we checked into the Marriott Marquis downtown, and then walked a couple of blocks over to Dailey's for dinner. It was fantastic. I enjoyed a pecan-encrusted shrimp appetizer and then a filet with a garlic demi-glaze, asparagus and au gratin potatoes. Ryan loved his strip steak with homemade steak sauce and mashed potatoes. Then we split an warm apple tart with vanilla ice cream...yum. It was a delicious dinner, and it was really nice to sit down and enjoy a conversation without being rushed or trying to help a two year old eat. We walked back to the hotel and enjoyed a bottle of our favorite wine (Inniskillin Winery's Vidal icewine). While Ryan watched tv, I was able to relax with a magazine. A little while later, I got my birthday wish and took two Tylenol PM. We were both out a few minutes later!

We woke up about 10:45 this morning. I honestly can't remember the last time I slept in that late. It was wonderful! The night before we had talked about how excited we were to order room service breakfast because they had some delicious sounding items. Unfortunately, they stop serving breakfast at 10; oh-well, it was worth it! We waited a little bit and then ordered room service lunch instead. After lunch we got ready and headed out about 2. We made a quick trip to Target, and then came on home. Lily was very excited when we got back to tell us about her trip Ikea yesterday. "I go IKEA!" is what we heard several times.

This was a great weekend, and a great way to start out my 30's. I can't wait to see what the next decade holds!

Positive Attitude

We have noticed recently that Lily seems to have a very positive attitude. Everything is "the best" or "the biggest" or "the prettiest" item "EVER!" For instance, she asked if she could eat a strawberry, so I agreed. As I cut it up, Lily said "Biggest strawberry EVER!" On the way home from the grocery store, she saw the moon which was especially big and bright tonight. She pointed and exclaimed "Prettiest moon stars EVER!" I think she gets this from her great-grandmother, Meme, who says something is the prettiest she has ever seen (though she doesn't usually say it with as much gusto as Lily!). I hope she will always be a glass half-full kind of girl.

The Singer

Lily has become quite the singer over the last few weeks. "Old MacDonald Had A Farm" seems to be the current favorite, especially when he has ducks. We were playing this afternoon, and she was marching around in circles, singing Old MacDonald and flapping her arms like a duck. When she first started "singing" this several months ago, she would wait for her cue to say "O!". Then, for a couple of weeks she would say "E-I-E-I-E-I-O." Now she correctly says "E-I-E-I-O" and sings most of the other words properly. She also really likes "Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star" and "All Aboard the Choo-Choo Train" (those of you who are familiar with Playhouse Disney will know that one). She is also working really hard at learning the ABC song. She has A through F and Q through V down pretty well; the rest of them are coming along though. Today, she was watching a video she received for her birthday that has a bunch of young kids singing and dancing; she loved it. She would try to dance like them and sing along when she could. She kept saying "Mommy look! Mia look!" to make sure we were paying attention.

Also, after our shower tonight, Ryan came to help her get ready for bed. She said "Daddy dance on knees!" so he turned on "their" song ("Cinderella" by Steven Curtis Chapman), and they danced together. Ryan gets on his knees, holds one of her hands, put his hand on her back and she puts her hand on his shoulder. They sway back and forth, and he helps her spin around. It's absolutely the sweetest thing ever. Tonight, for the first minute of the song though, Lily was smiling so big and just singing "LA LA LA LAAAAA LA LA LA LAAAA!" She was loving it!

Bless her little heart though. As much as loves to sing, she has apparently inherited her mom's singing voice...

New Pictures

Here are a few pictures from the last few weeks around the house...

Mia is getting bigger by the day! She really enjoys playing on this little mat that dangles a couple of fish and a beach ball above her.

Lily had a great time visiting with Grandpops a few weeks ago!

Grandpops with both girls. Ryan and Lily putting together the big puzzle from Granna. Lily loves this puzzle and asks to put it together several times a day. Each time, she points out new items she discovers. She loves pointing out the different shapes, the colors and the animals that she sees.

Lily loves to lay down next to Mia.

What a precious little one!

Lily was having fun watching Mia in the mirror. Mia seemed to enjoy it too!

Lily loved playing with our 3-D glasses!

Snow Day Pictures

A few pictures from our snow day...

Our back porch around mid-afternoon.

Lily loved being on the inside looking out.

Ryan wrote on the patio table to mark the day.

No playing on the playground today!

Being careful not to step in the snow.

Ryan made a little snowman. It had to be little and quick because he had taken his mittons off.

Big hug for Mommy!

Making sure to stay on the sidewalk with Daddy.

Hi Mommy!

About to throw a little snowball at Mommy!

Weekend Fun

Last weekend, some Birmingham family came to visit and keep the girls so I could try to catch up on some of my tax work; Ryan is wonderful to help me with the returns too. In addition to helping with the girls, they were kind enough to do a lot of laundry which was such a tremendous help. Lily always loves a visit from them. Bama brought a couple of presents for Lily which of course, Lily loved. One of the gifts was sidewalk chalk. Lily had a blast playing with that outside! She has asked for it just about every day, but unfortunately, it's been too cold to play outside. We're supposed to have good weather this weekend though so hopefully we'll be able to go out some and play with it some more. They also took the girls to Home Depot Expo for a little bit. While there, Lily saw something and exclaimed "what in the world?!" I guess I shouldn't be too surprised since this is a phrase I say a lot!

Bama and the girls after bathtime.

Speaking of the cold weather, we had a nice little snowfall on Sunday. It came in around mid-morning and lasted until late in the afternoon. When it snowed last year, Lily loved it and kept wanting to go play in it. We felt sure she would love it again. We were wrong. She was so excited to get bundled up, put on her boots, hat and mittens. Then, we took one step outside onto the back deck, and we hear "No like snow!" She wouldn't go any further on her own. We carried her down but she didn't want to be put down. She liked watching Ryan make a little snowman, but she really didn't like being cold and wet! As soon as we came inside, she immediately started asking to go back out. We decided to try the front yard, but she still wouldn't walk in the snow; she just stayed on the sidewalk. She had a lot of fun throwing the snowballs at me that Ryan made though!

We also had a visit from my Uncle Randy and his friend Georgia on Sunday. He called to see if they could come by because they had a little present for Lily. She was very excited when she saw the Disney store bag. She was also very excited when she opened the bag and there was a stuffed Dumbo in it! When we were in Florida last July, Lily and Ryan rode Dumbo and Lily told Randy all about it. Ever since then, he has been on the lookout for a Dumbo doll for Lily and Georgia found one. It's adorable too. Randy showed Lily how to make him "fly" around the room with his big ears, and they played hide-and-seek with him. Lily had a great time. Since then, he has joined her bedtime entourage, but he gets special treatment and gets to be tucked in under her blanket with her each time. She has become very attached to him. Thank you Randy and Georgia for thinking of Lily; she really loves it!

On the Move

Amelia is officially on the move! For over a week now she has been lying on her back and rolling onto her side. Tonight, just a little before bedtime, she finally made it all the way over onto her tummy! Ryan and I started saying "Yea Mia!" so Lily came over and started clapping, jumping up and down and cheering for her too. She acted so proud of her baby sister. Watch out now world, she's on the move!

She made it!