Daddy with his two girls.
Mommy and Mia
Check out Mia's sad face. Can you see how far out she sticks that bottom lip?! And those big tears...it breaks a mom's heart!
Saturday, November 21, 2009
Miscellaneous Pictures
Mommy and Mia Check out Mia's sad face. Can you see how far out she sticks that bottom lip?! And those big tears...it breaks a mom's heart! Thursday, November 19, 2009
One Year Old
I can't believe it, but yesterday was Mia's first birthday. This year has absolutely flown by. She has been such a blessing to us, and a wonderful addition to our family. We can't help but love this little girl!
While Ryan took Lily to school yesterday, Mia and I played and read books together. She is really starting to enjoy books which makes me so happy! She is such a happy girl. She laughs often, smiles a ton and is just generally happy. She went back down for her nap and slept well for about an hour. We got her up as soon as she started making noise and got her dressed. Then Ryan and I took her out to have some time, just the three of us; talk about a special treat for Mia!
First we went to J. Christopher's for brunch. Mia enjoyed eating some of her cheese toast and my breakfast potatoes. She had a great time watching the other customers too. Then we took her down to the Georgia Aquarium. She loved it! When you first walk in, you walk through a hallway that has fish tanks on both sides of it. Her eyes got so big; she just stared at it. Then we visited the other exhibits, and she seemed to enjoy all of them. Ryan and I really liked watching the scuba divers in the biggest tank, and listening to them talk about the fish and sharks around them. However, I think Mia enjoyed watching the people and walking around more than watching the fish! She had a great time wandering around. She would walk right up to someone, pat their knee and smile. Of course, she's adorable so it didn't seem like the strangers minded. We stayed for about an hour and a half, and I think Mia loved all of it. As we were leaving, we decided to buy her a little stuffed penguin because she really had fun watching the live ones jump around. We named it "Eins" which is German for "one" (Lily had received on her first birthday at the Aquarium a whale shark named "Uno" which is Spanish for one).
When we got home, Mia drank her bottle and then went down for nap. My mom had picked Lily up from school, so she was there to stay with the girls for the afternoon. When Ryan and I got home from work, we made Mia's birthday dinner: sauteed chicken, brown rice, green beans and peaches. She wasn't much of a fan of the chicken, but she loved the sides. She's enjoying getting to try lots of new foods these days. We also let her have whole milk for the first time. She took one sip of it, and immediately spit it out. I think she was expecting water in her sippy cup, and it threw her off. However, she tried it some more and seemed to enjoy it. I hope she will quickly grow to love it.
After dinner, we let her open a couple of birthday presents. I say "let her open" but she didn't want to pay too close of attention. She liked the bow from Grandma Jan and Grandpops' present, and she liked pulling the paper off a little, but she didn't quiet seem to get it yet; she did like walking around with the cards. Anyway, Grandma Jan and Grandpops gave her a beautiful sterling silver Christmas ornament (we collect Christmas ornaments) which will always commemorate her first birthday. We also gave her one of the presents from us. It's the Cedermont Kids Christmas Carols DVD. Both girls love these DVD sets, so we thought this would be a good one with the upcoming Christmas season. Bama had given her a present last weekend while she was in town (for her cancelled party); she is having so much fun with the Little People Circus Train push and ride-on toy they gave. We have a few more presents that we're saving for her to open at her rescheduled birthday party which is supposed to be tomorrow evening. I don't think she understands why she is getting these things, but I think she likes having them!
After the presents, we watched the new DVD for a couple of songs and then had birthday cake. Actually, we had Publix petit fors. Mia immediately started playing with the icing and loved it! She scooped up and ate every ounce of icing and got lots of it on her face which was adorable. I then cut up the cake part of the petit for to give her and she loved it too. She was quite upset when it was all gone! I think she'll be happy to get her cupcakes which are bigger than the petit fors at her birthday party!
We took lots of great pictures during the day's adventures, but unfortunately, our computer is having some problems uploading pictures right now. I hope to be able to resolve this issue this weekend so I can get them uploaded soon. I want you to see how adorable she is these days!
While Ryan took Lily to school yesterday, Mia and I played and read books together. She is really starting to enjoy books which makes me so happy! She is such a happy girl. She laughs often, smiles a ton and is just generally happy. She went back down for her nap and slept well for about an hour. We got her up as soon as she started making noise and got her dressed. Then Ryan and I took her out to have some time, just the three of us; talk about a special treat for Mia!
First we went to J. Christopher's for brunch. Mia enjoyed eating some of her cheese toast and my breakfast potatoes. She had a great time watching the other customers too. Then we took her down to the Georgia Aquarium. She loved it! When you first walk in, you walk through a hallway that has fish tanks on both sides of it. Her eyes got so big; she just stared at it. Then we visited the other exhibits, and she seemed to enjoy all of them. Ryan and I really liked watching the scuba divers in the biggest tank, and listening to them talk about the fish and sharks around them. However, I think Mia enjoyed watching the people and walking around more than watching the fish! She had a great time wandering around. She would walk right up to someone, pat their knee and smile. Of course, she's adorable so it didn't seem like the strangers minded. We stayed for about an hour and a half, and I think Mia loved all of it. As we were leaving, we decided to buy her a little stuffed penguin because she really had fun watching the live ones jump around. We named it "Eins" which is German for "one" (Lily had received on her first birthday at the Aquarium a whale shark named "Uno" which is Spanish for one).
When we got home, Mia drank her bottle and then went down for nap. My mom had picked Lily up from school, so she was there to stay with the girls for the afternoon. When Ryan and I got home from work, we made Mia's birthday dinner: sauteed chicken, brown rice, green beans and peaches. She wasn't much of a fan of the chicken, but she loved the sides. She's enjoying getting to try lots of new foods these days. We also let her have whole milk for the first time. She took one sip of it, and immediately spit it out. I think she was expecting water in her sippy cup, and it threw her off. However, she tried it some more and seemed to enjoy it. I hope she will quickly grow to love it.
After dinner, we let her open a couple of birthday presents. I say "let her open" but she didn't want to pay too close of attention. She liked the bow from Grandma Jan and Grandpops' present, and she liked pulling the paper off a little, but she didn't quiet seem to get it yet; she did like walking around with the cards. Anyway, Grandma Jan and Grandpops gave her a beautiful sterling silver Christmas ornament (we collect Christmas ornaments) which will always commemorate her first birthday. We also gave her one of the presents from us. It's the Cedermont Kids Christmas Carols DVD. Both girls love these DVD sets, so we thought this would be a good one with the upcoming Christmas season. Bama had given her a present last weekend while she was in town (for her cancelled party); she is having so much fun with the Little People Circus Train push and ride-on toy they gave. We have a few more presents that we're saving for her to open at her rescheduled birthday party which is supposed to be tomorrow evening. I don't think she understands why she is getting these things, but I think she likes having them!
After the presents, we watched the new DVD for a couple of songs and then had birthday cake. Actually, we had Publix petit fors. Mia immediately started playing with the icing and loved it! She scooped up and ate every ounce of icing and got lots of it on her face which was adorable. I then cut up the cake part of the petit for to give her and she loved it too. She was quite upset when it was all gone! I think she'll be happy to get her cupcakes which are bigger than the petit fors at her birthday party!
We took lots of great pictures during the day's adventures, but unfortunately, our computer is having some problems uploading pictures right now. I hope to be able to resolve this issue this weekend so I can get them uploaded soon. I want you to see how adorable she is these days!
Monday, November 16, 2009
Lily Cleans
On Sunday, Lily ran out of the living room while we were playing. I assumed she was going to her room to get some toys or maybe to use the bathroom. She came back several minutes later and handed me something: a huge wad of very wet paper. I looked at it and asked Lily "what is this?" She sweetly replied "I cleaned the potty Mommy." I really wasn't sure what to do...thank her for her efforts at keeping her potty clean or describe to her just how disgusting the potty is and she should let me clean it. I think I said "Oh!" We walked back to her bathroom, and I asked her to show me what she had done. Apparently, she took out about a dozen wipes, dunked them in potty water (which I am just hoping was not used), wiped the seat, wiped the lid, took down the basket on top of the potty, wiped the top, replaced the basket and then brought the used wipes to me. She was so proud of herself, especially because she put the basket on the floor, wiped the top and then replaced the basket. I decided to thank her for helping me keep things clean, and I reminded her that I will happily help her clean the potty in the future; just let me know. Then we washed our hands REALLY well and went about our day.
Saturday, November 14, 2009
Not the Party We Imagined
We were supposed to have our family birthday party for Mia today. We had the food ordered, cupcakes made, presents wrapped, house cleaned...it was going to be fun. Unfortunately, Mia had other plans.
She started running a low fever and coughing yesterday. We decided to keep an eye on her. However, she didn't sleep well last night and this morning, she just didn't look or act like herself. While Ryan took Lily to her friend Peyton's birthday party, I called our pediatrician's after-hours line. They connected me with a nurse from Children's Hospital who walked me through lots of questions. She concluded that we didn't need to go to the ER, but it would be a good idea to go to an immediate care facility. Her fever is slightly higher today than yesterday, she has a runny nose and sounds like a little old smoker man when she coughs. Liz and I took her up to the Childrens Immediate Care on Barrett Parkway. Ryan and I decided to cancel the party once we realized we needed her to be seen by a doctor.
We only had to wait about 25 minutes to be seen first by a nurse and then a doctor immediately afterwards. The nurse took her temperature (100.8), weighed her (21 lb, 3 oz) and took her oxygen level (99 - fyi, 93-100 is normal). Her heart rate was a little high, but she said that was normal with a fever. Oh, we had given her Tylenol before leaving, and I am certain that brought her temperature down to the 100.8; she was burning up before we left (we couldn't get a good read with our thermometer).
The doctor then examined her and decided she is in the beginning stages of RSV, and she has an ear infection. He prescribed an antibiotic for the infection and an inhaler for the RSV; we'll see how giving her an inhaler goes. He also said to alternate between Tylenol and Motrin to keep the fever under control. Thankfully we caught this early because RSV can lead to hospitalization. She is resting now, and we hope she will get better very quickly. The party will go on another day!
She started running a low fever and coughing yesterday. We decided to keep an eye on her. However, she didn't sleep well last night and this morning, she just didn't look or act like herself. While Ryan took Lily to her friend Peyton's birthday party, I called our pediatrician's after-hours line. They connected me with a nurse from Children's Hospital who walked me through lots of questions. She concluded that we didn't need to go to the ER, but it would be a good idea to go to an immediate care facility. Her fever is slightly higher today than yesterday, she has a runny nose and sounds like a little old smoker man when she coughs. Liz and I took her up to the Childrens Immediate Care on Barrett Parkway. Ryan and I decided to cancel the party once we realized we needed her to be seen by a doctor.
We only had to wait about 25 minutes to be seen first by a nurse and then a doctor immediately afterwards. The nurse took her temperature (100.8), weighed her (21 lb, 3 oz) and took her oxygen level (99 - fyi, 93-100 is normal). Her heart rate was a little high, but she said that was normal with a fever. Oh, we had given her Tylenol before leaving, and I am certain that brought her temperature down to the 100.8; she was burning up before we left (we couldn't get a good read with our thermometer).
The doctor then examined her and decided she is in the beginning stages of RSV, and she has an ear infection. He prescribed an antibiotic for the infection and an inhaler for the RSV; we'll see how giving her an inhaler goes. He also said to alternate between Tylenol and Motrin to keep the fever under control. Thankfully we caught this early because RSV can lead to hospitalization. She is resting now, and we hope she will get better very quickly. The party will go on another day!
Friday, November 13, 2009
Gulf Shores Trip
What a great long weekend! Our family went to Beach Club in Gulf Shores with the Henderson family. We always have so much fun together, and a weekend getaway is always nice. The Hendersons left at bedtime Wednesday night, and we left about 2 AM Thursday morning. We had a pretty good ride down; both girls slept well until we exited the interstate around 6 AM (CST so 7 AM "our" time). We got to the condo about an hour later, and Parker and Jill were awake and ready to greet us. Lily was so excited to see them! We unpacked our stuff and then Brian and Macey came out. Ryan went to lay down and rest for awhile since he had been up driving for awhile, and Mia took a nap too. We really just took it easy the rest of the day. After the kids went to bed we watched Jim Gaffigan's new stand-up act; he's hilarious!
On Friday, I stayed in the condo while Mia napped and everyone else went to the pool which you know Lily loves. After lunch, it was nap time and then Ryan, Lily, Brian, Jill and Parker went to the beach for awhile. They had a great time playing, finding seashells and building sand castles. Mia and Macey napped which meant I had the chance to relax and read magazines - yea! Once they came back up, we all got ready and went to The Hangout for dinner. One of the coolest things about this restaurant is they have a HUGE sand pit for the kids to play in while we wait for dinner. Lily and Parker had a great time playing in this while Ryan and Brian watched. Jill and I enjoyed getting to talk with one another while Mia and Macey enjoyed hearing the band play. It was a pretty good cover band playing; Mia sat in her seat clapping, laughing and watching them. An older lady at the table next to us came over at one point and told me how much she as enjoying watching Mia watch the band; her son was the lead singer/guitarist, and it made her happy to see how much she liked the music. We then enjoyed a delicious and fun dinner together.
Saturday was another beautiful day. Lily, Jill, Parker, Brian and I played out on the beach most of the morning while Ryan stayed in with the napping girls. It was so fun watching Parker and Lily have fun together. They played soccer together, helped Brian fly our Nemo kite, ran around and just had fun. Lily also enjoyed burying my feet in the sand, collecting more shells and helping me build sand castles for all her princess friends. While the kids napped that afternoon, Brian and I relaxed on the beach, and then Ryan joined us a little while later. Once the kids woke up from their naps, we all got ready and went to Tacky Jack's for dinner and to watch the AL/LSU game. One of the nicest things about going to Gulf Shores this time of year is how uncrowded everything is; we were the only people in the restaurant for quiet awhile! It was another nice dinner and then it was time for bed.
The Hendersons pretty much got up and headed out Sunday morning, but we hung around a little longer; we wanted to time part of our trip with the girls' afternoon nap time. We actually left just before lunch, so we could stop at Milo's; this was definitely a treat for Ryan. After lunch we walked around the outlet mall for a couple of hours. I find it very hard to resist Carter's! We hit the road, and both girls slept well until Montgomery which is about half-way home. We stopped there for dinner and let the girls run around a bit. Mia was pretty unhappy the rest of the ride home, and we think she was just unhappy to be back in the car seat. She would go in and out of sleep, but cry when she was awake. Lily did great though. We got home about 8:30, so Mia immediately went to bed. We unpacked the rest of our stuff and then put Lily down about 9:30. We put our stuff up and then went to bed too; it's amazing how riding in a car can be so tiring!
This was a wonderful trip, and I am so thankful we had the opportunity to go. It was great to get away from the house, and just relax with our friends and kids at the beach. I hope we can make this an annual trip!
On Friday, I stayed in the condo while Mia napped and everyone else went to the pool which you know Lily loves. After lunch, it was nap time and then Ryan, Lily, Brian, Jill and Parker went to the beach for awhile. They had a great time playing, finding seashells and building sand castles. Mia and Macey napped which meant I had the chance to relax and read magazines - yea! Once they came back up, we all got ready and went to The Hangout for dinner. One of the coolest things about this restaurant is they have a HUGE sand pit for the kids to play in while we wait for dinner. Lily and Parker had a great time playing in this while Ryan and Brian watched. Jill and I enjoyed getting to talk with one another while Mia and Macey enjoyed hearing the band play. It was a pretty good cover band playing; Mia sat in her seat clapping, laughing and watching them. An older lady at the table next to us came over at one point and told me how much she as enjoying watching Mia watch the band; her son was the lead singer/guitarist, and it made her happy to see how much she liked the music. We then enjoyed a delicious and fun dinner together.
Saturday was another beautiful day. Lily, Jill, Parker, Brian and I played out on the beach most of the morning while Ryan stayed in with the napping girls. It was so fun watching Parker and Lily have fun together. They played soccer together, helped Brian fly our Nemo kite, ran around and just had fun. Lily also enjoyed burying my feet in the sand, collecting more shells and helping me build sand castles for all her princess friends. While the kids napped that afternoon, Brian and I relaxed on the beach, and then Ryan joined us a little while later. Once the kids woke up from their naps, we all got ready and went to Tacky Jack's for dinner and to watch the AL/LSU game. One of the nicest things about going to Gulf Shores this time of year is how uncrowded everything is; we were the only people in the restaurant for quiet awhile! It was another nice dinner and then it was time for bed.
The Hendersons pretty much got up and headed out Sunday morning, but we hung around a little longer; we wanted to time part of our trip with the girls' afternoon nap time. We actually left just before lunch, so we could stop at Milo's; this was definitely a treat for Ryan. After lunch we walked around the outlet mall for a couple of hours. I find it very hard to resist Carter's! We hit the road, and both girls slept well until Montgomery which is about half-way home. We stopped there for dinner and let the girls run around a bit. Mia was pretty unhappy the rest of the ride home, and we think she was just unhappy to be back in the car seat. She would go in and out of sleep, but cry when she was awake. Lily did great though. We got home about 8:30, so Mia immediately went to bed. We unpacked the rest of our stuff and then put Lily down about 9:30. We put our stuff up and then went to bed too; it's amazing how riding in a car can be so tiring!
This was a wonderful trip, and I am so thankful we had the opportunity to go. It was great to get away from the house, and just relax with our friends and kids at the beach. I hope we can make this an annual trip!
Ready with her tools
Lily and Macey...beach beauties!
Tuesday, November 10, 2009
Lily's Class
Last week, the directors at the Mommy Morning Out program asked us if we minded if they moved Lily up a classroom level. Because her birthday falls in October, she misses the date cut-off by just a few weeks so she was in the "older 2's" classroom which had kids who turn 3 before December 31 in it. The directors said they thought Lily would do well in the class with other 3-year-olds, so we agreed to let her move up. This past Monday was her first day in the new room, and she did great. She was so excited telling me about her new class. She probably asked me 5 times that night "Do you know what classroom I go to today?" I would respond "which one?" and she would excitedly say "Ms Jodi's classroom!" One time I even said "Ms Jodi's class!" and she said "No Mommy, not Ms Jodi's class. It's Ms Jodi's classroom." Sorry, my mistake. They made a scarecrow that she told Ryan all about, and she is simply having a blast there. She can't wait to go back tomorrow. She even told both of us this morning "I get to go to school tomorrow." I love seeing her this excited!
On a related note, we discovered that some of her friends from last year are in this class. She specifically mentioned she was glad to see a little boy named Caleb. I will never forget last year Lily telling us about her classmates; she got a serious look on her face and said Caleb "is very, very, very nice." He better still be nice to her!
On a related note, we discovered that some of her friends from last year are in this class. She specifically mentioned she was glad to see a little boy named Caleb. I will never forget last year Lily telling us about her classmates; she got a serious look on her face and said Caleb "is very, very, very nice." He better still be nice to her!
Tuesday, November 3, 2009
Generous Lily
Lily, Mia and I were eating breakfast together this morning while Ryan was at Bible study. I decided to get Lily's help with a decision. I love the organization Samaritans Purse. Every Fall they send their gift catalog which shows some of their major projects that help people around the world. As Mia munched happily away on Cheerios, Lily sat down next to me. I told her how we are so fortunate to have so many nice things like our house, our toys and our food, but not everyone has these nice things. We were going to pick some things in this catalog to send to kids around the world to help them. She looked through the whole catalog, noticed what all the pictures were and picked two projects to give to: milk for children and little chicks for a family. I wasn't surprised by these items knowing how much Lily loves milk and animals though I was a little surprised she didn't pick the books for children. Of course, she has no idea the cost of these items or their value to others. For only $4, milk can be given to a child for a week, and for $14, a dozen chicks are given to a family that will produce hundreds of eggs for them to eat, share or sell. It's truly amazing to me how something so small can help so much. Lily was so excited about picking gifts to give to others. I hope this generous spirit will continue to grow.
Monday, November 2, 2009
Halloween Fun
We had a wonderful Halloween and hope you did too! Saturday morning Ryan and Lily went with Chris and Peyton to Chuck E Cheese for a few hours. They had a blast playing together and collecting tickets. Lily was able to buy a necklace, ring, twirly straw and lollipop with the tickets she won; talk about exciting! I stayed home while Mia took her nap then she and I went to Toys R Us to get a little Christmas shopping done. She was very content to look around at everything and eat her Cheerios. She didn't grab for toys, and she smiled at everyone; it was an enjoyable trip. We both got home for the girls' naps, and we took naps too; I love it when that happens. We had planned on going to a local church's Trunk or Treating Festival, but it was rainy when nap time was over. Since the girls had already worn their costumes several times and don't really understand trick or treating yet, we decided to just go out for a little family dinner instead. We went to Little Azio's which everyone loves. When we got home, we just enjoyed playing together and having fun as a family. It was a pretty low-key day, but it was wonderful!
Lily and Mia in the adorable Halloween outfits Grandma Jan and Grandpops bought for them. It was a perfect day to wear them since it was too rainy for trick or treating in their costumes.
Boo Mia!
Lily's shirt is right; she is definitely "Too Cute To Spook."
Sweet kisses!
The pumpkins the girls decorated at school.
Lily and Mia in the adorable Halloween outfits Grandma Jan and Grandpops bought for them. It was a perfect day to wear them since it was too rainy for trick or treating in their costumes.
Boo Mia!
Lily's shirt is right; she is definitely "Too Cute To Spook."
Sweet kisses!
Wednesday, October 28, 2009
Boo at the Zoo
We decided to take advantage of our new Zoo Atlanta membership and take the girls to Boo at the Zoo Saturday morning. It was a lot of fun! The kids all dress up in their Halloween costumes, so we took our two little Minnie Mice (who were so adorable; see the post below this for pictures). Everything was decorated in a cute way for Halloween; they weren't trying to scare anyone which I appreciated. We had a great time seeing all the costumes and watching all the animals. Mia stayed awake the whole time, and she enjoyed looking around. The gorillas came and sat up against the glass wall, and Mia loved being that close to them. It was also fun to watch the lionnesses who were having fun. Two of them were playing chase; man they're fast! Another one lay staring at something for a few minutes and then pounced; that was pretty cool to see. I think Lily's favorite part was all the little stands set up around the zoo that was handing out candy. She received two suckers and loved it! It was such a fun outing!
After the zoo we stopped by Meme's so she could see the girls all dressed up. Randy and Georgia were there too, so it was fun to visit with them. I always have fun visiting with all three of them. Lily of course immediately asked for crackers; she knows that Meme has the ones she likes! Meme was really glad to see the girls; we have been so careful around her for the last few months as she has been in chemo. With a weakened immune system, we didn't want to get the girls' germs around her (Mia seems to have a perpetually runny nose). However, Meme has finished all of her treatments, and we received word yesterday that the cancer is officially gone; she's in remission! What a blessing!
After the zoo we stopped by Meme's so she could see the girls all dressed up. Randy and Georgia were there too, so it was fun to visit with them. I always have fun visiting with all three of them. Lily of course immediately asked for crackers; she knows that Meme has the ones she likes! Meme was really glad to see the girls; we have been so careful around her for the last few months as she has been in chemo. With a weakened immune system, we didn't want to get the girls' germs around her (Mia seems to have a perpetually runny nose). However, Meme has finished all of her treatments, and we received word yesterday that the cancer is officially gone; she's in remission! What a blessing!
Halloween Sneak Peak
Last Saturday we took the girls to "Boo at the Zoo." All the kids dress up in their Halloween costumes. Here are some pictures of our girls as Minnie Mouse and Mini Minnie Mouse.
She talked up a storm about it!
Lily LOVES her costume!
Lily is really getting into dress-up now, so she had a ball dressed up as Minnie.
Mia wasn't really sure what to think about her costume.
She talked up a storm about it!
Lily LOVES her costume!
Lily is really getting into dress-up now, so she had a ball dressed up as Minnie.
Fun times
A few fun pictures.
Mia loved playing in the jumpy!
Talking away!
Peyton and Lily were very sweet to jump carefully near Mia. She had a blast playing with them.
Lily having fun on her little keyboard.
Mia loved playing in the jumpy!
Talking away!Peyton and Lily were very sweet to jump carefully near Mia. She had a blast playing with them.
Monday, October 26, 2009
Recent Pictures
Here are some miscellaneous pictures taken around the house over the last few weeks.
Lily dancing in the outfit of her choice: white socks, a pink tutu and a new Thanksgiving bib that was actually a gift for Mia but Lily wanted to try it out first. The girl loves to dance!
Our sweet Mia walks all over the place these days.
Lily showing off her new Sleeping Beauty nightgown. We actually told her it was a dress she could play in, so she doesn't know it's a nightgown. Lily moves so much during her sleep that I think it would become really tangled and wake her up.
Sweet baby girl after bath time.
Busted!
But guys, this is my new favorite activity. Let me just bring some of it with me, okay?
Lily had a blast putting all the random shoes, socks and toys that were laying on the living room floor onto Daddy. Maybe this will be a reminder for all of us to take our shoes to our rooms!
Over the last couple of weeks, Mia has finally mastered picking up food and putting it in her mouth! For a couple of months she would pick it up and hand it to you to feed her, but she refused to put it in her own mouth. Meal time is so much easier now!
Lily is so proud of her new monkey slippers.
Aren't they cute?!
Mom, Lily, Mia and I took Mama Lottie to lunch at Steak and Shake for her birthday. We had a great time. Mama Lottie kept my brother and me when we were really young. She is almost like another grandmother to us. She still calls me "her baby."
What a fun lunch!
Don't you just love this face? 
I love these big blue eyes!
Lily dancing in the outfit of her choice: white socks, a pink tutu and a new Thanksgiving bib that was actually a gift for Mia but Lily wanted to try it out first. The girl loves to dance!
Our sweet Mia walks all over the place these days.
Lily showing off her new Sleeping Beauty nightgown. We actually told her it was a dress she could play in, so she doesn't know it's a nightgown. Lily moves so much during her sleep that I think it would become really tangled and wake her up.
Sweet baby girl after bath time.
Busted!
But guys, this is my new favorite activity. Let me just bring some of it with me, okay?
Lily had a blast putting all the random shoes, socks and toys that were laying on the living room floor onto Daddy. Maybe this will be a reminder for all of us to take our shoes to our rooms!
Over the last couple of weeks, Mia has finally mastered picking up food and putting it in her mouth! For a couple of months she would pick it up and hand it to you to feed her, but she refused to put it in her own mouth. Meal time is so much easier now!
Lily is so proud of her new monkey slippers.
Aren't they cute?!
Mom, Lily, Mia and I took Mama Lottie to lunch at Steak and Shake for her birthday. We had a great time. Mama Lottie kept my brother and me when we were really young. She is almost like another grandmother to us. She still calls me "her baby."
What a fun lunch!
Don't you just love this face? 
Thursday, October 22, 2009
The Lizard
This morning, Liz was helping Lily get ready while I got Mia ready. Lily proceeded to tell her a story about a little lizard that was playing on her umbrella and how it scratched her finger. She went into a lot of detail with this story. Now, Lily has a great imagination, but this seemed a little odd. Liz brought her into me, and Lily told me the same story. To be honest, I didn't pay much attention because Mia is a squirmy little thing on the changing table, and I thought Lily had seen a little lizard through the window on the deck. Thankfully, Liz was paying closer attention. She asked Lily to show her where the lizard was. A minute later I hear "Allison, she's right!" Sure enough, in the girls' playroom near the toy kitchen (just a few toys down from the umbrella Lily mentioned) was a lizard that was probably about 3 or 4 inches long. GROSS!!!
Liz and I just stared at it for a minute not really sure what to do. Liz then grabbed a towel from the kitchen, and I got one of Lily's smaller storage boxes. We stared at it some more trying to figure out what to do next. We decided we would trap it under the storage box until Ryan came home from getting his hair cut, and he could take it back outside. Lily sat on the back of the couch ("so I can watch better" in her words) while Mia walked around behind us thankfully oblivious to the lizard. Liz swatted at the little guy so he would run towards my storage box trap. Funny thing though...lizards are really fast! He ran right past us both (I'm sure the yelping and jumping around frightened him pretty good) and under the couch. Great, now what? Liz thought to get the broom and push him out which seemed like a great idea but he ran out the front of the couch instead of the side where I was. I tried to chase him a few steps across the room but again, lizards are really fast (and we have a ton of toys in there). He made it behind the chair. We moved the chair and he was standing against the wall (with his color having changed which was kind of cool). So, what did we do?
We stared at him again. We realized that if we watched him, he didn't move; this is a little freaky because that means he was watching us too. Liz decided she would be brave (seriously, I would never have volunteered for this) and pick up lizard with her towel. I went and unlocked the door so she could take him outside. "I'll keep the girls out of the way." We were just about to do this when we decided maybe Ryan's hair cut was almost over and he could come back and do this. We called and our hero came and saved the day. He was able to use the towel to trap the lizard into the storage box and take him outside. Yea for Ryan!!!
By the way, Lily does appear to have a very tiny scratch on her finger, but I'm honestly not sure if it's from this lizard; I think he would have left more damage than that. But, we put antibiotic cream and a Hello Kitty band-aid on it to help it heal. What a way to start the morning!
Liz and I just stared at it for a minute not really sure what to do. Liz then grabbed a towel from the kitchen, and I got one of Lily's smaller storage boxes. We stared at it some more trying to figure out what to do next. We decided we would trap it under the storage box until Ryan came home from getting his hair cut, and he could take it back outside. Lily sat on the back of the couch ("so I can watch better" in her words) while Mia walked around behind us thankfully oblivious to the lizard. Liz swatted at the little guy so he would run towards my storage box trap. Funny thing though...lizards are really fast! He ran right past us both (I'm sure the yelping and jumping around frightened him pretty good) and under the couch. Great, now what? Liz thought to get the broom and push him out which seemed like a great idea but he ran out the front of the couch instead of the side where I was. I tried to chase him a few steps across the room but again, lizards are really fast (and we have a ton of toys in there). He made it behind the chair. We moved the chair and he was standing against the wall (with his color having changed which was kind of cool). So, what did we do?
We stared at him again. We realized that if we watched him, he didn't move; this is a little freaky because that means he was watching us too. Liz decided she would be brave (seriously, I would never have volunteered for this) and pick up lizard with her towel. I went and unlocked the door so she could take him outside. "I'll keep the girls out of the way." We were just about to do this when we decided maybe Ryan's hair cut was almost over and he could come back and do this. We called and our hero came and saved the day. He was able to use the towel to trap the lizard into the storage box and take him outside. Yea for Ryan!!!
By the way, Lily does appear to have a very tiny scratch on her finger, but I'm honestly not sure if it's from this lizard; I think he would have left more damage than that. But, we put antibiotic cream and a Hello Kitty band-aid on it to help it heal. What a way to start the morning!
Wednesday, October 21, 2009
Especially Thankful
Each night before we say our prayers, I ask Lily if she is especially thankful for anything that day. I'm trying to teach her that prayers are not just memorized and recited but a way of talking to God and thanking Him for our blessings. This is how our conversation went today:
Me: Is there anything you are especially thankful for today?
Lily: No.
Me: Are you especially thankful for your new friend Nin (a new friend at her school)?
Lily: No.
Me: Are you especially thankful for Ms. Danielle (her teacher)?
Lily: No. I am extra thankful that Bama came home today.
Me: That is definitely something to be thankful for. We love it when Bama comes home don't we?
Lily: Yeah!
I thought it was so sweet that Lily was "extra thankful" that Bama had made it safely to our house today. I think you all know, but Ryan's mom (aka Bama) comes over from Birmingham every Wednesday evening and keeps the girls all day on Thursdays and Fridays. This is awesome for many, many reasons, but mostly because this allows the girls to develop a wonderful relationship with Bama that they will always treasure.
Ryan and I feel "extra thankful" for both of our moms. Not only does Ryan's mom keep the girls on Thursday and Fridays, but my mom keeps them on Monday and Wednesday after school (plus all day on Tuesday during tax season). I absolutely love that Lily and Mia get to spend so much time playing and bonding with two of their grandmothers; they are both amazing women, and we truly appreciate all that they give to help us with our girls.
Me: Is there anything you are especially thankful for today?
Lily: No.
Me: Are you especially thankful for your new friend Nin (a new friend at her school)?
Lily: No.
Me: Are you especially thankful for Ms. Danielle (her teacher)?
Lily: No. I am extra thankful that Bama came home today.
Me: That is definitely something to be thankful for. We love it when Bama comes home don't we?
Lily: Yeah!
I thought it was so sweet that Lily was "extra thankful" that Bama had made it safely to our house today. I think you all know, but Ryan's mom (aka Bama) comes over from Birmingham every Wednesday evening and keeps the girls all day on Thursdays and Fridays. This is awesome for many, many reasons, but mostly because this allows the girls to develop a wonderful relationship with Bama that they will always treasure.
Ryan and I feel "extra thankful" for both of our moms. Not only does Ryan's mom keep the girls on Thursday and Fridays, but my mom keeps them on Monday and Wednesday after school (plus all day on Tuesday during tax season). I absolutely love that Lily and Mia get to spend so much time playing and bonding with two of their grandmothers; they are both amazing women, and we truly appreciate all that they give to help us with our girls.
Monday, October 19, 2009
Feisty One
Yesterday afternoon we all went to our friends' house to celebrate their little boy's 2nd birthday. Nathan is one of the cutest little boys I have ever seen; his smile is just precious. Anyway, most of the people at the party were family of Nathan's, so we didn't know a lot of them. I would say 6 or 7 of them described Mia as being "feisty." All I could think was "That adjective has never been used on Lily!" It's so true though, and it's so funny to me how different Lily and Amelia are. Here are a few examples just from the party yesterday:
1. We get there and head out back to talk to our friends who are grilling dinner. Lily asks me to hold her the whole time. Mia immediately wants to get down and start exploring.
2. Their sweet dog, Lucy, comes by to check everyone out. Lily's eyes get huge because she is scared of dogs. Mia walks up to Lucy, starts petting her and doesn't mind getting licked in the face.
3. We go inside to a room filled with toys. I sit on a chair; Lily insists on sitting on my lap. She starts sucking her thumb if anyone speaks to her. Mia walks around, kicks balls, bangs on toys, smiles at everyone, let's people she has never met before pick her up and generally has a great time.
4. The Henderson's arrive, so Lily quickly warmed up to playing with Parker and talking to Jill; still wouldn't talk to anyone else. Mia walks over to a 4 year old little boy and takes the toy he is playing with. Thankfully, he just laughs and follows her around the rest of the time; he thinks Mia is hilarious.
I'm not saying one personality is better than the other. I think both of my girls are absolutely precious, and I love them for exactly who they are. It's just really funny to me that already it's apparent how different they are. I think Ryan and I are going to have to evaluate our parenting techniques for Mia because I have a feeling that what works with Lily won't work for her. The other funny thing is that I have heard so many people say that when they have two girls, they are just like this: the first is fairly quiet and reserved while the second one is outgoing and a "drama queen" (I'm amazed how many times that term has been used!). I love seeing the girls' personalities develop. So, only time will tell, but I think the story is already unfolding.
1. We get there and head out back to talk to our friends who are grilling dinner. Lily asks me to hold her the whole time. Mia immediately wants to get down and start exploring.
2. Their sweet dog, Lucy, comes by to check everyone out. Lily's eyes get huge because she is scared of dogs. Mia walks up to Lucy, starts petting her and doesn't mind getting licked in the face.
3. We go inside to a room filled with toys. I sit on a chair; Lily insists on sitting on my lap. She starts sucking her thumb if anyone speaks to her. Mia walks around, kicks balls, bangs on toys, smiles at everyone, let's people she has never met before pick her up and generally has a great time.
4. The Henderson's arrive, so Lily quickly warmed up to playing with Parker and talking to Jill; still wouldn't talk to anyone else. Mia walks over to a 4 year old little boy and takes the toy he is playing with. Thankfully, he just laughs and follows her around the rest of the time; he thinks Mia is hilarious.
I'm not saying one personality is better than the other. I think both of my girls are absolutely precious, and I love them for exactly who they are. It's just really funny to me that already it's apparent how different they are. I think Ryan and I are going to have to evaluate our parenting techniques for Mia because I have a feeling that what works with Lily won't work for her. The other funny thing is that I have heard so many people say that when they have two girls, they are just like this: the first is fairly quiet and reserved while the second one is outgoing and a "drama queen" (I'm amazed how many times that term has been used!). I love seeing the girls' personalities develop. So, only time will tell, but I think the story is already unfolding.
Saturday, October 17, 2009
Upcoming Holidays
Lily and I went to the grocery store this morning. We were talking about Halloween as we got out of the car. As we walked to the car, Lily was holding my hand (which I love), and this was our conversation:
Me: Do you know what holiday comes after Halloween?
Lily: Ummm, no.
Me: It's Thanksgiving.
Lily: What Thanksgiving?
Me: Do you know what Thanksgiving is?
Lily: No. What is it?
Me: It's a day to tell everything we're really thankful for.
Lily: Oh. Like our prayers?
Me: Yeah, it's kind of like our prayers.
I thought that was so sweet that she put that together. Every night as we say our prayers, we thank God for all our blessings, especially our family. Each night we also say one thing we are especially thankful for that day. We're trying to teach her about gratitude and how truly blessed we are, so hearing her make that connection made me proud. What a sweetheart!
Me: Do you know what holiday comes after Halloween?
Lily: Ummm, no.
Me: It's Thanksgiving.
Lily: What Thanksgiving?
Me: Do you know what Thanksgiving is?
Lily: No. What is it?
Me: It's a day to tell everything we're really thankful for.
Lily: Oh. Like our prayers?
Me: Yeah, it's kind of like our prayers.
I thought that was so sweet that she put that together. Every night as we say our prayers, we thank God for all our blessings, especially our family. Each night we also say one thing we are especially thankful for that day. We're trying to teach her about gratitude and how truly blessed we are, so hearing her make that connection made me proud. What a sweetheart!
Friday, October 16, 2009
Disney On Ice
Ryan and I treated Lily to a special evening out last night...Disney on Ice! We thought this would be a fun way to have some time with just the three of us. We came home from work, and Lily was looking adorable in her Minnie Mouse fleece; she was so excited and ready to go. We told her we were going to a special place for dinner called "The Food Court at CNN." She was totally excited about it! She loved her Gorin's grilled cheese sandwich and chips; what a great way to start the evening. Then she was ready to see the show.
We had told Lily earlier in the day she would get a surprise while we were there. Of course, she wanted to know what the surprise would be. We told her we didn't know; it might be a cup, a spinner or something else but we would have to see when we got there. Her response was "How about a cup AND a spinner? Two things. One for each hand. Okay? How about that?" As we walked over to our section, we saw a souvenir stand, so we stopped by. We told Lily she could pick out one surprise, and it could be whatever she wanted. She pretty quickly fell in love with the Minnie Mouse spinner. "It's pink like my jacket!" So that's what she got, and we had a very happy little girl on our hands. You can see it in the picture below as she was showing it to me in our seats. You push the button and all the little pieces spin around and light up; she loved it.
We went in and found our seats which were pretty good. They were about 12 rows up on the side; we were near the end so we could look and see everything in one direction, plus there weren't a ton of people around us which is good for Lily since she can get overwhelmed by crowds. We had enough time to enjoy a cookie before the show started.
Right as they started to dim the lights, Lily climbed out of my lap and lay down on the floor. We decided she was scared because this let her stay under both of our legs, but she was able to peak through the seats in front of us to see what was happening. We think she was just unsure of what was going to happen. She stayed under there for a few minutes while the first few characters came out, but as soon as she heard Mickey Mouse she got up on her knees to find him. I picked her up and sat her back on my lap and she didn't move for the rest of the show. She really seemed to enjoy it.
Of course, Disney's theme this year is all about celebrations, so after the intro with a lot of the characters, they had Alice, the White Rabbit and the Mad Hatter come out to show Mickey and friends how to have an "un-birthday party." It was cute, but Lily doesn't know who Alice and those characters are. The party left a big pretend mess, so all these neon brooms came out to sweep it up under the direction of Mickey the Sorcerer. This was my favorite part of the show, and Lily really seemed to like it. She sat up straight in my lap and kept pointing to them and laughing. They did a lot of synchronized skating, and the neon light costumes they were wearing looked great in the dark arena.
After the brooms cleaned everything up, Disney decided to celebrate Halloween which is of course only a couple of weeks away. Unfortunately, the brought out the Pumpkin King and many of the villains from their movies: Cruela deVil, Jafar and Snow White's witch to name a few. Neither Ryan nor I cared for this part. Lily didn't seem particularly scared, but she sat back against me and sucked her thumb. Honestly, it was a little darker than necessary I thought.
After Halloween, they moved on to Valentine's Day. Cinderella's fairy godmother came out to answer Minnie's question on how you know "he's the one for you." Thankfully the fairy godmother called on many princesses who knew exactly how to find their prince. Each princess and her prince came out came out as a couple and was spot-lighted as they skated together for a few minutes. As I have mentioned before, Lily is really starting to get into princesses, so she loved this part. She sat up, pointed out each one of them, laughed and enjoyed them. We saw Cinderella, Snow White, Jasmine, Mulan, Aurora, Ariel and Belle. Disney is also pushing hard their newest princess, Tiana, and her movie which is coming out soon, so she was introduced with her prince.
After Hawaii, Mickey ended up in Rio where he danced in a Carnival parade with some brightly costumed people. Minnie ended up in Japan in a quiet tea garden where the skaters used pretty fans to help them dance. Mickey then went to China where he saw Mulan. Finally they came together in New Orleans, home to new princess Tiana. They had a lot of fun skating to the jazz music. Lily seemed to enjoy all of these.
Once Mickey and Minnie were all together again, it was time to celebrate every child's favorite holiday: Christmas! Mickey, Minnie, Donald, Daisy, Pluto and Goofy (dressed as Santa) were the focus this time, but they were joined by the cast of Toy Story as music played "The Toys are Back In Town." They had a little toy troll skater that was one of the funniest things I have seen! After a few minutes with the Toy Story cast, all the princesses, princes and other fun Disney characters (like Tinkerbell, Lilo and Stitch, Tweedledee and Tweedledum, Jungle Boy and Baloo for example) came back out for one last skate together. It started to snow on them as they skated and then it ended with some small fireworks.
We had told Lily earlier in the day she would get a surprise while we were there. Of course, she wanted to know what the surprise would be. We told her we didn't know; it might be a cup, a spinner or something else but we would have to see when we got there. Her response was "How about a cup AND a spinner? Two things. One for each hand. Okay? How about that?" As we walked over to our section, we saw a souvenir stand, so we stopped by. We told Lily she could pick out one surprise, and it could be whatever she wanted. She pretty quickly fell in love with the Minnie Mouse spinner. "It's pink like my jacket!" So that's what she got, and we had a very happy little girl on our hands. You can see it in the picture below as she was showing it to me in our seats. You push the button and all the little pieces spin around and light up; she loved it.
We went in and found our seats which were pretty good. They were about 12 rows up on the side; we were near the end so we could look and see everything in one direction, plus there weren't a ton of people around us which is good for Lily since she can get overwhelmed by crowds. We had enough time to enjoy a cookie before the show started.
Right as they started to dim the lights, Lily climbed out of my lap and lay down on the floor. We decided she was scared because this let her stay under both of our legs, but she was able to peak through the seats in front of us to see what was happening. We think she was just unsure of what was going to happen. She stayed under there for a few minutes while the first few characters came out, but as soon as she heard Mickey Mouse she got up on her knees to find him. I picked her up and sat her back on my lap and she didn't move for the rest of the show. She really seemed to enjoy it.
Of course, Disney's theme this year is all about celebrations, so after the intro with a lot of the characters, they had Alice, the White Rabbit and the Mad Hatter come out to show Mickey and friends how to have an "un-birthday party." It was cute, but Lily doesn't know who Alice and those characters are. The party left a big pretend mess, so all these neon brooms came out to sweep it up under the direction of Mickey the Sorcerer. This was my favorite part of the show, and Lily really seemed to like it. She sat up straight in my lap and kept pointing to them and laughing. They did a lot of synchronized skating, and the neon light costumes they were wearing looked great in the dark arena.
The brooms skate around the ice and drop from the ceiling.
Watching the brooms intensely.
After the brooms cleaned everything up, Disney decided to celebrate Halloween which is of course only a couple of weeks away. Unfortunately, the brought out the Pumpkin King and many of the villains from their movies: Cruela deVil, Jafar and Snow White's witch to name a few. Neither Ryan nor I cared for this part. Lily didn't seem particularly scared, but she sat back against me and sucked her thumb. Honestly, it was a little darker than necessary I thought.
After Halloween, they moved on to Valentine's Day. Cinderella's fairy godmother came out to answer Minnie's question on how you know "he's the one for you." Thankfully the fairy godmother called on many princesses who knew exactly how to find their prince. Each princess and her prince came out came out as a couple and was spot-lighted as they skated together for a few minutes. As I have mentioned before, Lily is really starting to get into princesses, so she loved this part. She sat up, pointed out each one of them, laughed and enjoyed them. We saw Cinderella, Snow White, Jasmine, Mulan, Aurora, Ariel and Belle. Disney is also pushing hard their newest princess, Tiana, and her movie which is coming out soon, so she was introduced with her prince.
The princesses at one point sat around the fountain which was driven around the ice so each little princess in the audience could wave and see them well.
All the princesses and their princes skating around the ice. 
After Minnie found her prince in Mickey, it was intermission. Lily looked like she was having a great time. She played with her spinner some more ("I show it to Bama when we get home!" is what she said many times) and waited patiently for the next part to start. She posed for a picture with me too.
After Minnie found her prince in Mickey, it was intermission. Lily looked like she was having a great time. She played with her spinner some more ("I show it to Bama when we get home!" is what she said many times) and waited patiently for the next part to start. She posed for a picture with me too.The show started back as Mickey and Minnie wanted to go on vacation; they would travel by means of a nifty gadget Mickey had but he couldn't figure out how to use it. They ended up getting separated, and they traveled the world looking for one another. You know how Lily loves her geography ABC board in her room, so she loved seeing all the places they went. They started out in Hawaii where they ran into Lilo and Stitch; this was actually a pretty fun part of the show; you can see one of the pictures below at a time when they lit the ice on fire.
After Hawaii, Mickey ended up in Rio where he danced in a Carnival parade with some brightly costumed people. Minnie ended up in Japan in a quiet tea garden where the skaters used pretty fans to help them dance. Mickey then went to China where he saw Mulan. Finally they came together in New Orleans, home to new princess Tiana. They had a lot of fun skating to the jazz music. Lily seemed to enjoy all of these.Once Mickey and Minnie were all together again, it was time to celebrate every child's favorite holiday: Christmas! Mickey, Minnie, Donald, Daisy, Pluto and Goofy (dressed as Santa) were the focus this time, but they were joined by the cast of Toy Story as music played "The Toys are Back In Town." They had a little toy troll skater that was one of the funniest things I have seen! After a few minutes with the Toy Story cast, all the princesses, princes and other fun Disney characters (like Tinkerbell, Lilo and Stitch, Tweedledee and Tweedledum, Jungle Boy and Baloo for example) came back out for one last skate together. It started to snow on them as they skated and then it ended with some small fireworks.
Lily watching Mickey and friends prepare for Christmas.
All the characters during their Christmas skate. It's difficult to see the snow in this picture, but it looked pretty cool while it was happening.
Fireworks ended the show and Minnie and Mickey rode out on a sleigh.
The show ended at about 9:15, and we got home about 9:45. I couldn't believe it, but Lily was wide awake. She played with her spinner on the way home, showed it to Bama as soon as we got home, drank a little milk and seemed to be pretty awake. We let her stay up until 10, but then got her ready for bed and she zonked out quickly. I think she had a really great time, and I am so glad we were able to take her. Last year when we took her, she didn't seem to have much fun (granted, she had the beginning stages of the flu which we didn't realize at the time), but that's because she really didn't know any of the characters other than Mickey and his clubhouse friends. Now she knows pretty much all the princesses, and she was able to really sit and watch the show. It was such a fun time for all of us, and I can't wait to go again!
Wednesday, October 14, 2009
Lunchtime Treat
Yesterday we had a lunchtime treat: Grandpops came to visit! We love that David has lots of business in Atlanta that brings him down from Chicago pretty often (though we wish Grandma Jan could join him more!).
David flew in Tuesday mid-morning, and we met him at Little Azio's for lunch before his afternoon meeting. Lily walked right up to him and gave him a big hug before we went into the restaurant. We all had a delicious lunch, and David was able to witness just how much pasta Lily can put away. Both girls did great while we were eating, so it was an enjoyable and relaxing lunch. As we were leaving Lily gave Grandpops a big hug around the legs and said enthusiastically "Thank you for lunch" (with only a small reminder from me). We had some extra time after eating, so we stayed outside to let the girls play around the fountain. Mia impressed David with her walking skills while Lily entertained us all with her galloping and renditions of "The Ants Go Marching One By One...Hurrah! Hurrah!" I think Lily's favorite part of the day though was getting coins from David and tossing them into the fountain. See the picture below of the three of them having fun together.
A few minutes after this picture, Mia took a little spill and bumped her forehead on the concrete; she was not a happy camper. About 2 minutes after that, Lily took a big spill and scraped up her knee and forehead so she wasn't terribly happy either. After a good cry, she sobbed out "I need medicine!" She had stubbed her toe earlier while running around, so she commented that "I have three boo-boos but Mia only has one. I have three boo-boos because I am three years old." By this point, nap time was drawing very near so these falls made it clear it was time to go home so the girls could rest. It was so wonderful to visit with David though for a couple of hours. We all hope we can do it again soon!
David flew in Tuesday mid-morning, and we met him at Little Azio's for lunch before his afternoon meeting. Lily walked right up to him and gave him a big hug before we went into the restaurant. We all had a delicious lunch, and David was able to witness just how much pasta Lily can put away. Both girls did great while we were eating, so it was an enjoyable and relaxing lunch. As we were leaving Lily gave Grandpops a big hug around the legs and said enthusiastically "Thank you for lunch" (with only a small reminder from me). We had some extra time after eating, so we stayed outside to let the girls play around the fountain. Mia impressed David with her walking skills while Lily entertained us all with her galloping and renditions of "The Ants Go Marching One By One...Hurrah! Hurrah!" I think Lily's favorite part of the day though was getting coins from David and tossing them into the fountain. See the picture below of the three of them having fun together.
A few minutes after this picture, Mia took a little spill and bumped her forehead on the concrete; she was not a happy camper. About 2 minutes after that, Lily took a big spill and scraped up her knee and forehead so she wasn't terribly happy either. After a good cry, she sobbed out "I need medicine!" She had stubbed her toe earlier while running around, so she commented that "I have three boo-boos but Mia only has one. I have three boo-boos because I am three years old." By this point, nap time was drawing very near so these falls made it clear it was time to go home so the girls could rest. It was so wonderful to visit with David though for a couple of hours. We all hope we can do it again soon!
Lily Today
I want to make a post with some of Lily's favorite things now that she's 3. I know this is more than a week after her birthday, but things have been pretty busy this last week and a half. This helps give me a written record too so whenever I get back to my scrapbooks, I can remember what's going on, so here we go:
Favorite Toys: Books, Princess Castle, Little People sets (especially the princess carriage), Toy Kitchen and all its accessories, Toy Lap Top, Cinderella dress, T-Ball Set. She is really starting to hit the princess stage full-speed now so just about anything princess-related, she loves.
Favorite Books: Rhyming books like Dr. Seuss and the Llama, Llama series. She also enjoys the Search and Find books (especially a princess one we have). She likes reading Mia's books to her as well which is really sweet.
Favorite Games: Playing outside (especially with her t-ball set and on her playground), spinning around (she thinks becoming dizzy is hilarious), singing (she loves "Away in a Manger" and making up her own songs to tunes she knows), throwing balls, playing chase. She is having lots of fun with arts and crafts type things too: coloring, stickers, play-dough, gluing (she loves her purple glue stick).
Favorite Shows: Charlie & Lola, Little Einsteins and the Cedermont Kids sing-a-long DVDs
Favorite Movies: Nim's Island and Dumbo
Favorite Foods: Pasta (especially alfredo sauce over penne or tortellini), carrots, bananas, strawberries, goldfish, steak, chicken, grilled cheese sandwiches, rice, Chex Mix and quesadillas. She is not a big veggie eater (other than carrots), but she is a very good meat and fruits eater. She loves to drink milk but she has recently discovered "red apple juice" (actually Strawberry Banana juice) and "pink apple juice" (Fruit Punch juice) which are both Motts for Tots drinks.
Clothes: She wears almost all 3T now though some of her summer 2T things still fit. She wears a 7.5 or 8 shoe. She loves the new pink tennis shoes and brown slip-ons with pink dots that Molly gave her as hand-me-downs recently. She wears her big girl panties most of the time now though she still sleeps at nap time and bed time in a diaper. She is hit or miss on going poopy in the potty, so sometimes we put a diaper on her so she can do that.
Sleeping: Lily goes to bed about 8:30 each night, and she usually stays in bed until about 7:00. She still takes one nap a day at 2:00; it's about an hour long though I think she is in a little growth spurt right now because she has been napping about 1.5 hours for several days now.
She has become a little negotiator recently too. She gets you on the hook of letting her have something and then she tries to switch it around on you. Here's a brief conversation for an example:
Lily: Mommy, I am thirsty.
Me: Okay, do you want some milk?
Lily: Yes. Go get my milk.
Me: How do you ask nicely when you want something?
Lily: Please go get my milk please.
Me: Thank you. Hold on and let me get it.
Lily: Ok. Mommy...I know! How about a special treat? How about I get red apple juice instead of milk? Please.
Me: No, it's almost nap time, so let's get milk. You can have the red apple juice after nap time.
Lily: But I want it!
Me: You can't have it right now because it's almost nap time. You can have milk though, okay?
Lily: Ok. I get milk now but I have red apple juice after nap time okay Mommy?
Me: Ok Lily. Here you go.
So that's Lily in a nutshell. She is so much fun to be around and play with. She has a great imagination that is fun to watch. I love hearing her sing songs (especially ones she has made up) to her stuffed animal friends. These posts on this blog really just hit the highlights of life with her. She is an awesome kid!
Favorite Toys: Books, Princess Castle, Little People sets (especially the princess carriage), Toy Kitchen and all its accessories, Toy Lap Top, Cinderella dress, T-Ball Set. She is really starting to hit the princess stage full-speed now so just about anything princess-related, she loves.
Favorite Books: Rhyming books like Dr. Seuss and the Llama, Llama series. She also enjoys the Search and Find books (especially a princess one we have). She likes reading Mia's books to her as well which is really sweet.
Favorite Games: Playing outside (especially with her t-ball set and on her playground), spinning around (she thinks becoming dizzy is hilarious), singing (she loves "Away in a Manger" and making up her own songs to tunes she knows), throwing balls, playing chase. She is having lots of fun with arts and crafts type things too: coloring, stickers, play-dough, gluing (she loves her purple glue stick).
Favorite Shows: Charlie & Lola, Little Einsteins and the Cedermont Kids sing-a-long DVDs
Favorite Movies: Nim's Island and Dumbo
Favorite Foods: Pasta (especially alfredo sauce over penne or tortellini), carrots, bananas, strawberries, goldfish, steak, chicken, grilled cheese sandwiches, rice, Chex Mix and quesadillas. She is not a big veggie eater (other than carrots), but she is a very good meat and fruits eater. She loves to drink milk but she has recently discovered "red apple juice" (actually Strawberry Banana juice) and "pink apple juice" (Fruit Punch juice) which are both Motts for Tots drinks.
Clothes: She wears almost all 3T now though some of her summer 2T things still fit. She wears a 7.5 or 8 shoe. She loves the new pink tennis shoes and brown slip-ons with pink dots that Molly gave her as hand-me-downs recently. She wears her big girl panties most of the time now though she still sleeps at nap time and bed time in a diaper. She is hit or miss on going poopy in the potty, so sometimes we put a diaper on her so she can do that.
Sleeping: Lily goes to bed about 8:30 each night, and she usually stays in bed until about 7:00. She still takes one nap a day at 2:00; it's about an hour long though I think she is in a little growth spurt right now because she has been napping about 1.5 hours for several days now.
She has become a little negotiator recently too. She gets you on the hook of letting her have something and then she tries to switch it around on you. Here's a brief conversation for an example:
Lily: Mommy, I am thirsty.
Me: Okay, do you want some milk?
Lily: Yes. Go get my milk.
Me: How do you ask nicely when you want something?
Lily: Please go get my milk please.
Me: Thank you. Hold on and let me get it.
Lily: Ok. Mommy...I know! How about a special treat? How about I get red apple juice instead of milk? Please.
Me: No, it's almost nap time, so let's get milk. You can have the red apple juice after nap time.
Lily: But I want it!
Me: You can't have it right now because it's almost nap time. You can have milk though, okay?
Lily: Ok. I get milk now but I have red apple juice after nap time okay Mommy?
Me: Ok Lily. Here you go.
So that's Lily in a nutshell. She is so much fun to be around and play with. She has a great imagination that is fun to watch. I love hearing her sing songs (especially ones she has made up) to her stuffed animal friends. These posts on this blog really just hit the highlights of life with her. She is an awesome kid!
Saturday, October 10, 2009
Always Paying Attention
Liz was playing with the girls on Friday, and they were having fun with Lily's new tea set and food. We have set up a little table in the playroom so Lily will have a place to spread out the food she cooks, her pans, tea set, etc. Liz was sitting in one of the chairs, and Lily was across from her; some of the food was on the floor. Liz told Lily she needed to pick up the food if she wanted to play with it. Lily responded "You pick it up." So Liz responded that she had put it on the floor and she needed to pick it up if she wanted it. They went back and forth a couple of times and then Lily said "You're smart Bama. You can do it." I guess if bossing someone around doesn't work, try flattery!
This afternoon Lily was playing at her table and she said "Come here Mommy." I told her to hold on a second (the UT game was on). She held up her hand and started motioning me over to her while saying "Come here Mommy, come here." She said it and did the hand motion in the exact same way I had called to Mia just a few minutes before.
Both of these stories remind me that Lily is always paying attention to the things we are saying and doing; she imitates us often! I now completely understand what people mean when they say that kids are like sponges.
This afternoon Lily was playing at her table and she said "Come here Mommy." I told her to hold on a second (the UT game was on). She held up her hand and started motioning me over to her while saying "Come here Mommy, come here." She said it and did the hand motion in the exact same way I had called to Mia just a few minutes before.
Both of these stories remind me that Lily is always paying attention to the things we are saying and doing; she imitates us often! I now completely understand what people mean when they say that kids are like sponges.
Wednesday, October 7, 2009
Three Year Check-Up
Yesterday was Lily's three-year-old check-up visit with Dr. White. At home, Lily seems to adore Dr. White. Sometimes she will get a bump, and she'll say "I go see Dr. White." She then pushes her little car to the door, plays for a minute, comes back and says "I went to see Dr. White. I all better now." Aunt Kendall gave her a play doctor's kit for her birthday, and Lily loves it. So for a couple of days, I had been telling her things like "Dr. White has a stethoscope like that" thinking it would make the visit easier. Lily was very excited as we pulled into the parking lot and as we waited. We arrived about 10 minutes early, so she watched some of the movie that was on, we read a book and she literally ran circles around the table. Then she said "I need to go potty," so I told the receptionist we were going to step into the restroom. Right then a nurse came out the door and called for Lily. It was all downhill from here.
The receptionist looked at the nurse and said "She needs to use the potty" to which the nurse replied "Oh that's good because we need a specimen." Are you kidding me? Lily just learned to use the potty a couple of weeks ago, and you want me to get her to pee in a cup? No way, but I told the nurse I would try. We went into the bathroom and Lily climbed onto the potty and then I said "I'm going to put this little cup under you, and I want to see if you can pee-pee in it." Lily immediately started saying "NO! I no want to pee-pee in the cup!" I tried one more time, saw it wouldn't work and put it down. Lily then decided she didn't want to use the potty at all now. Bribing her with pretty pink soap made her think twice, but she still refused. Oh well, at least she was calm.
We walked back out, and I told the nurse it didn't happen. She said "No big deal, let's just step on the scale now to see how much you weigh." Lily's response: "NO! I NO STAND ON THE SCALE! NO! NO! NO!" I'm pretty sure she then proceeded to cry out about a pound of tears. I tried to tell her she just had to stand there right next to me; she didn't have to do anything and the nurse wouldn't touch her. She didn't care. Apparently to her, this was the worst thing ever, that is, until the nurse said "I've got a good estimate on her, so let's just let her stand next to the scale so we can see how tall she is." Apparently, standing against a wall is worse than standing on a scale. "NO! NO! NO! I NO STAND BY WALL! I NO SEE HOW TALL I AM!" You have got to be kidding me. I cannot even begin to tell you how frustrated and angry I was at Lily right now. Sure, pitch a fit at getting a shot; I understand that. But all she had to do was stand there - come on!!! Finally I pretty much had to push myself against her and hold her head back to see how tall she was. For the record, she is 32.6 pounds (75th percentile) and 36.5 inches (50th percentile).
We went into the little room where Lily calmed down while the nurse was away getting a little gown. She liked the "pretty pink dress" she brought back, and we had fun practicing with the blood pressure cuff. We read a couple of Disney books, and I thought "Alright, she'll be fine now." Then Dr. White came in and said "Hello Lily!" Lily immediately stuck her thumb in her mouth and buried her head into my arm. She refused to answer any of Dr. White's questions about her birthday or birthday party. I tell you, Lily does this often and it is so frustrating to me. I know she is such a smart little girl who is pretty good at telling you what she wants/feels/needs/etc. but when you get her around someone unfamiliar, she totally clams up. I feel like Dr. White thinks I'm lying about her (not that she has ever given me reason to think that she would think that).
Anyway, Lily refused to talk, so Dr. White washed her hands and said "Okay Lily. I'm going to look at your pretty eyes and ears." Care to take a guess at Lily's response? Yep: "NO! I NO HAVE PRETTY EYES! NO LOOK IN MY EARS!" So again, I had to force Lily's head to look one way so she could look in her ears (which she has some fluid build-up; more about that in a minute), but I couldn't force her to open her eyes. It was easy for Dr. White to get a good look in her mouth though. She said her mouth and teeth look just fine but she really should see a dentist by now. I said "I know, but I'm afraid of this meltdown happening." Dr. White laughed and said "It probably will, but they can usually handle it" and handed me a sheet with several local pediatric dentists on it. She finished the rest of the exam, asked some questions about her behavior and routines (sleeping, exercising, eating), reminded us that she shouldn't see tv for more than an hour a day (which I'm pretty sure she sees more than that because she LOVES to watch the sing-a-long dvd's and a couple of shows plus we like to have the background noise; we need to be more mindful of that though), explained some basic nutrition things I asked about and then we talked about her hearing.
I have a little concern about Lily's hearing. She will often ask me to turn up the volume on the dvd's she is watching. Also, we'll be sitting close to each other and she'll say "What you say Mommy?" I'm not sure if she literally didn't hear me, or if she just didn't understand what I was trying to say. Dr. White recommended a couple of ENT doctors who could test her hearing once she saw there was some fluid in there. Of course, Ryan has always had lots of problems with his ears and hearing, and we have concerns about Mia's ears for several months, so I'm not terribly surprised by this recommendation. Now comes the fun of figuring out which doctor to see and what our insurance does and doesn't cover.
Oh, by the way, Lily cried the whole time Dr. White and I talked. I have to say this is one of the reasons I really like Dr. White. Not only do I of course think she is a very smart doctor who is more than capable of dealing with my kids' health, but she never makes me feel rushed even when I have a SCREAMING child sitting in my lap; she simply talked louder so I could hear her. I appreciated that. I apologized to her as she walked out of the room, and she just kind of laughed and said not to worry about it. I'm sure they get crying kids throughout the day, but I hate it when it's my kid.
After Dr. White left, Lily started saying she wanted to go bye-bye, but the nurse walked back in. She convinced Lily to put the blood pressure cuff on which Lily did without crying. The nurse then whispered to me "I'm so sorry because I feel like I got some trust there, but now she gets her flu shot." I had to hold Lily down while she got the shot, but she stopped crying after about 10 seconds after it was over. We got her dressed (though she said she wanted to wear the pink dress home), and I told her it was time to go. She perked right up, opened and held the door for me and we walked back to the reception area. The receptionist gave her a little cookie, and we chatted for a second about how awful it is to have a kid that screams the whole time (the receptionist is a family friend of ours, fyi). She said some kids start screaming as soon as they enter the parking lot so not to worry about it. It made me feel marginally better.
Lily ate half the cookie and said she was going to save the rest to show to Daddy. She held the other half in the car and just kept looking at it as if deciding did she really want to show it to him or give in to the temptation and eat it. Lucky for her, the doctor's office is literally two minutes from our house, so she didn't have to wait long. She ran into the house and this was her conversation with Ryan:
Lily: Look Daddy!
Ryan: Oh you got a cookie! Did you have a good visit with Dr. White?
Lily: Yeah!
I just stood behind her shaking my head. Really, does she consider that good? In my book, that's about the worst it can get. Miserable.
The receptionist looked at the nurse and said "She needs to use the potty" to which the nurse replied "Oh that's good because we need a specimen." Are you kidding me? Lily just learned to use the potty a couple of weeks ago, and you want me to get her to pee in a cup? No way, but I told the nurse I would try. We went into the bathroom and Lily climbed onto the potty and then I said "I'm going to put this little cup under you, and I want to see if you can pee-pee in it." Lily immediately started saying "NO! I no want to pee-pee in the cup!" I tried one more time, saw it wouldn't work and put it down. Lily then decided she didn't want to use the potty at all now. Bribing her with pretty pink soap made her think twice, but she still refused. Oh well, at least she was calm.
We walked back out, and I told the nurse it didn't happen. She said "No big deal, let's just step on the scale now to see how much you weigh." Lily's response: "NO! I NO STAND ON THE SCALE! NO! NO! NO!" I'm pretty sure she then proceeded to cry out about a pound of tears. I tried to tell her she just had to stand there right next to me; she didn't have to do anything and the nurse wouldn't touch her. She didn't care. Apparently to her, this was the worst thing ever, that is, until the nurse said "I've got a good estimate on her, so let's just let her stand next to the scale so we can see how tall she is." Apparently, standing against a wall is worse than standing on a scale. "NO! NO! NO! I NO STAND BY WALL! I NO SEE HOW TALL I AM!" You have got to be kidding me. I cannot even begin to tell you how frustrated and angry I was at Lily right now. Sure, pitch a fit at getting a shot; I understand that. But all she had to do was stand there - come on!!! Finally I pretty much had to push myself against her and hold her head back to see how tall she was. For the record, she is 32.6 pounds (75th percentile) and 36.5 inches (50th percentile).
We went into the little room where Lily calmed down while the nurse was away getting a little gown. She liked the "pretty pink dress" she brought back, and we had fun practicing with the blood pressure cuff. We read a couple of Disney books, and I thought "Alright, she'll be fine now." Then Dr. White came in and said "Hello Lily!" Lily immediately stuck her thumb in her mouth and buried her head into my arm. She refused to answer any of Dr. White's questions about her birthday or birthday party. I tell you, Lily does this often and it is so frustrating to me. I know she is such a smart little girl who is pretty good at telling you what she wants/feels/needs/etc. but when you get her around someone unfamiliar, she totally clams up. I feel like Dr. White thinks I'm lying about her (not that she has ever given me reason to think that she would think that).
Anyway, Lily refused to talk, so Dr. White washed her hands and said "Okay Lily. I'm going to look at your pretty eyes and ears." Care to take a guess at Lily's response? Yep: "NO! I NO HAVE PRETTY EYES! NO LOOK IN MY EARS!" So again, I had to force Lily's head to look one way so she could look in her ears (which she has some fluid build-up; more about that in a minute), but I couldn't force her to open her eyes. It was easy for Dr. White to get a good look in her mouth though. She said her mouth and teeth look just fine but she really should see a dentist by now. I said "I know, but I'm afraid of this meltdown happening." Dr. White laughed and said "It probably will, but they can usually handle it" and handed me a sheet with several local pediatric dentists on it. She finished the rest of the exam, asked some questions about her behavior and routines (sleeping, exercising, eating), reminded us that she shouldn't see tv for more than an hour a day (which I'm pretty sure she sees more than that because she LOVES to watch the sing-a-long dvd's and a couple of shows plus we like to have the background noise; we need to be more mindful of that though), explained some basic nutrition things I asked about and then we talked about her hearing.
I have a little concern about Lily's hearing. She will often ask me to turn up the volume on the dvd's she is watching. Also, we'll be sitting close to each other and she'll say "What you say Mommy?" I'm not sure if she literally didn't hear me, or if she just didn't understand what I was trying to say. Dr. White recommended a couple of ENT doctors who could test her hearing once she saw there was some fluid in there. Of course, Ryan has always had lots of problems with his ears and hearing, and we have concerns about Mia's ears for several months, so I'm not terribly surprised by this recommendation. Now comes the fun of figuring out which doctor to see and what our insurance does and doesn't cover.
Oh, by the way, Lily cried the whole time Dr. White and I talked. I have to say this is one of the reasons I really like Dr. White. Not only do I of course think she is a very smart doctor who is more than capable of dealing with my kids' health, but she never makes me feel rushed even when I have a SCREAMING child sitting in my lap; she simply talked louder so I could hear her. I appreciated that. I apologized to her as she walked out of the room, and she just kind of laughed and said not to worry about it. I'm sure they get crying kids throughout the day, but I hate it when it's my kid.
After Dr. White left, Lily started saying she wanted to go bye-bye, but the nurse walked back in. She convinced Lily to put the blood pressure cuff on which Lily did without crying. The nurse then whispered to me "I'm so sorry because I feel like I got some trust there, but now she gets her flu shot." I had to hold Lily down while she got the shot, but she stopped crying after about 10 seconds after it was over. We got her dressed (though she said she wanted to wear the pink dress home), and I told her it was time to go. She perked right up, opened and held the door for me and we walked back to the reception area. The receptionist gave her a little cookie, and we chatted for a second about how awful it is to have a kid that screams the whole time (the receptionist is a family friend of ours, fyi). She said some kids start screaming as soon as they enter the parking lot so not to worry about it. It made me feel marginally better.
Lily ate half the cookie and said she was going to save the rest to show to Daddy. She held the other half in the car and just kept looking at it as if deciding did she really want to show it to him or give in to the temptation and eat it. Lucky for her, the doctor's office is literally two minutes from our house, so she didn't have to wait long. She ran into the house and this was her conversation with Ryan:
Lily: Look Daddy!
Ryan: Oh you got a cookie! Did you have a good visit with Dr. White?
Lily: Yeah!
I just stood behind her shaking my head. Really, does she consider that good? In my book, that's about the worst it can get. Miserable.
Tuesday, October 6, 2009
Sweet Lily
It makes me feel good when I get dressed in the morning and come out to hear Lily say "Oh, I like your new sweater Mommy!" It makes me wonder though if I really wear the same few things so often that she actually can recognize when I haven't worn something before...hmmm.
Monday, October 5, 2009
Phone Call
I am at work right now, but I just got a phone call from Ryan. He immediately said "Lily wants to talk to you" and handed the phone off to her. This is part of our conversation:
Lily: Hi
Me: Hi big girl!
Lily: Mommy, I went poopy in the potty!
Me: You did?!
Lily: Yea!
Me: Yea Lily!!! I'm so proud of you! Great job big girl! I can't wait to get home to give you a big hug!
Lily: Yea!
Here's hoping she will continue this!
Lily: Hi
Me: Hi big girl!
Lily: Mommy, I went poopy in the potty!
Me: You did?!
Lily: Yea!
Me: Yea Lily!!! I'm so proud of you! Great job big girl! I can't wait to get home to give you a big hug!
Lily: Yea!
Here's hoping she will continue this!
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