Happy Birthday To Me

Today is my 31st birthday. I love celebrating birthdays. Don't get me wrong, I love celebrating holidays too; however, everyone celebrates a holiday at the same time. A birthday, though, is special to each person. Sure you share it with some people, but not everyone. I just like to think that everyone has their own special day.

I love how we celebrated my birthday this year. On Friday evening, Ryan and I met my parents at The Georgian Club. It is such a treat to get time with them where the girls are not with us. I think we all had a great time. Mom, Dad and I enjoyed the lobster bisque (one of my favorite things to eat) while Ryan started with Caribbean Chicken Kabobs. For our entrees, I had a delicious flank steak with bordelaise sauce, Ryan had a panko-encrusted rack of lamb, Dad had balsamic glazed duck and Mom enjoyed a sampler platter of small portions of steak, chicken and shrimp. For dessert, Ryan and I shared their famous praline basket with ice cream and berries while Mom and Dad shared a Macadamia Nut Pie slice. It was all delicious! My mouth is watering just thinking about it! I am so thankful to have such wonderful parents, and I am so grateful for all they have given and taught me. I love them very much.

A picture of me with the girls on Saturday morning.

I really wanted to spend some time with the girls and Ryan on Saturday morning because I had decided I would take the whole weekend off from work (a treat in the middle of tax season!). We decided to take the girls on a trip to Imagine It Childrens Museum. Lily loves the museum! When I told her where we were going, her eyes got really big, and she broke into a big smile; she said "Really? Yea!!!" Mia has been once before, when Grandpops and Grandma Jan visited, but she was only a few months old, so this was the first time she could go and actually play; we knew she would love it. We were very excited when we found out that Brian, Parker and Macey would join us. This is such a fun place to visit with kids!

Mia and Macey had a good time in the area designated for the under 2 set.

Mia had a fun time climbing in and out of the tubes.
Trying to learn how to play the piano. Mia loves music!

Lily had fun grocery shopping and then going to pay for them at the cash register. I handed her each item, and she would ring it up. A small item would get one small number while larger items would receive several numbers. She then put each item back into the baskets; she wouldn't let those baskets out of her sight for most of our visit there.

Ryan spent most of the museum visit with Mia and the Hendersons while Lily and I spent time together. As attached to me as Lily is, Mia is attached to Ryan!

Brian, Parker and Macey had fun together too.

Lily, Mia and I enjoyed playing with the moon sand together.

Just before we left, Lily painted which she has never done there before. They have a big white wall, and they give the kids a brush and three colors of paint. Lily painted a few lines and liked seeing how the colors mixed together.

Each time we go to the museum, something different holds Lily's attention which really fascinates me. This time she loved "driving" the big bus. I was a little surprised by this because there isn't much to it. It's a big grocery delivery truck, and it only has a wheel that turns; it's not like there are a lot of bells and whistles on it. However, she kept going back to it again and again. She would look through the window, and if someone else was sitting in the driver seat, she would say "Let's sit on the bench Mommy and wait our turn. We'll wait til he's done and then it will be our turn, okay?" I was impressed with her patience because that is not one of her usual virtues. She also had a lot of fun with the trains which have never really interested her much before. I thought it was funny at one point, there were about 10 little boys playing with the trains...and Lily. She didn't even notice that a bunch of boys were around her because she was having a great time pushing the three magnetic train cars through the tunnels and over the bridges. She amazes me.

After the museum, I wanted to go to The Varsity for lunch; what a treat! It was really crowded but we managed to find a table to hold all of us. Lily wolfed down her hot dog and some of my onion rings while Mia preferred to stick with her graham crackers. Parker and Lily were thrilled when we got ice cream after lunch. I know this food isn't good for you, but I love it; it was the perfect place to have lunch!

We got the girls home after lunch then it was time for naps. After we put the girls down, Ryan and I quickly packed and headed out.  Our Birmingham family had come over to keep the girls for us. We headed to the Marriott near Lenox Mall. We were both exhausted from all the work we have been doing during tax season; we really wanted a chance to get away so we could rest. We used Marriott points to stay; a free hotel room is always nice! We had planned on ordering room service (always my favorite meal), but really, the menu didn't sound that great. We decided to go downstairs to Shula's instead. I am something of a club sandwich connoisseur, so when I saw that on the menu, I had to try it (I was still pretty full from lunch so a big steak didn't sound appealing). It was one of the best clubs I have ever had. It was on chibatta bread, and it had this spicy mustard-mayonnaise spread that was fantastic. Really delicious. After dinner we went back upstairs and watched our Netflix rental which was a 45 minute stand up comedian named Brian Regan; it had some pretty funny moments. We both took Tylenol PM and were out by 10PM. I didn't wake up until 10:30 Sunday morning (really 9:30 if you don't consider the time change). It was awesome! I felt so rested; this was definitely needed.

We thought about getting room service breakfast, but decided it didn't look great and was overpriced, so instead, we went to Lenox Mall to California Pizza Kitchen which was yummy. We then shopped for a little bit, stopped by Target and then got home. The girls were sleeping when we got home, but I was so surprised to walk and see this...

Liz told me how Lily picked out all the decorations. They had picked a Happy Birthday balloon that matched the paper products, and then Lily saw a princess balloon. She told Liz "I'm sure Mommy will like this one too." How funny is she? We rested for a little while until Lily woke up from her nap. She came in and immediately said "Mommy, come see your surprise." I followed her into the dining room and she said "Ta Da!" She was so excited and proud of what she had done! She told me about going to The Dollar Store and picking everything out...the plates, napkins, streamers, balloons, party hats and my personal favorite: "honky horns." They are the noise makers that you usually see at New Years, but I thought it was hilarious that Lily called them "honky horns." Cracks me up. Here's a picture of Lily showing everything to me.

Lily loved the party hats and insisted we all wear them!

Mia however wasn't so sure about the hat.

Ryan and Mia were ready for the party.

They had also picked up Jim and Nick's for us to have for dinner and a cake from Publix which is always good. They make the best cakes there. Lily was so excited about the cake and couldn't wait for it! We were really glad that our friend, Kyle Kline, was driving through Atlanta this evening, so he stopped in and had dinner and dessert with us. It was a treat to catch up with him.

Here's a picture of us in hats and with honky horns before the cake.

Blowing out the candles on my cake. We borrowed Lily's 3 and Mia's 1 candles; they didn't mind.

Thank you to everyone who made this a wonderful birthday! I am so fortunate to have so many wonderful family and friends. This was a great celebration weekend!

Recent Pictures

So I have gotten a little better about taking pictures of everyday events instead of just special events. However, I have not taken the time to upload many of those pictures. I have a little extra time this evening, so here are some miscellaneous pictures taken over the last few weeks. Enjoy!

How's this for an outfit? Lily put a pink tutu over her black pants, Clifford the Big Red Dog ears on and her Chicago Cubs hat over the ears. I know I'm not the most fashionable person, but surely I am teaching her better than this???

Mia has finally learned how to climb up onto Dusty by herself. She loves that she can rock back and forth! She is becoming such a big girl!
Mia was so proud of herself for putting Lily's shoes on. It didn't bother her that they were on backwards. She loves putting on shoes! When she is getting dressed each morning, she will put up a fight to put pants on, but she holds still and holds her feet in the air so we can put socks and shoes on.

How sweet is this face? Mia and Lily love to eat muffins; really, they love almost all breakfast foods. Almost every week, a friend of Liz's in Birmingham, Mr. Ron, gives her a big blueberry muffin or two to bring over to share with the girls. They both love these muffins and look forward to it. Thank you Mr. Ron!

Taking a big bite!

Josh and Amy came over to visit last weekend. The girls were a little shy at first, but once they warmed up, they had a great time. Lily loves that Uncle Josh is a fireman. Anytime we see a fire truck or fireman in a book, she points out that is what Uncle Josh does. They also love that Josh is a great guitar player; they had so much dancing when he would play songs for them.

Mia rarely holds still these days. Ryan would have let her lay against him and hug him for hours!

Mia is quite proud of herself for putting on Lily's dress-up princess shoes. They have little heels on them, so they are more difficult to walk in, but she likes to try.

Lily and Bama have a great time making craft projects together. Lily loved her princess tiara (or "tee-tara" as Lily still calls it). They make all sorts of cool things with paper, stickers, pipe cleaners, crayons, etc. Liz's experience as a kindergarten teacher is one of the many great points for her keeping the girls. She knows how to actually teach them things, and she does an awesome job at it!

Lily knows she isn't supposed to get out of bed at night, and most nights, she stays there once we put her down. One night though, everything was quiet, so I thought she was still in bed. I happen to walk by her hallway, and the picture below shows what I saw. I couldn't help taking a picture before putting her back to bed.

Ryan's Zoo Trip

Last Tuesday, Ryan took the girls to the zoo; it was a beautiful day. They had a great time! Of course, they enjoyed seeing all the animals, but this time they spent a lot of time playing on the big playground. They loved it! They also did really well in the petting zoo area. Here are some of the cute pictures Ryan took.

Lily enjoying a snack break.

Mia enjoyed her snacks too.
Daddy and the girls in front of the panda bear exhibit.

Mia had fun on the playground bus.

Lily told me many times about going down the "silly slide" which went around and around. She loved this!

Climbing up onto the playground together.

Mia loves to test her skills on stairs.

Lily petting some sheep.

Mia prefers to see the goats.

It was a fun-filled, exhausting day!

Why She Comes With Me

Thursday night, Ryan, Liz and I took the girls to Ruby Tuesday's for dinner. Lily kept calling it "Scooby Dooby's" which made me laugh. I love to have their broccoli cheese soup and salad bar for dinner. When I got up to go to the salad bar, Lily said she wanted to come too. As we were walking towards it, Lily said "Do you know why I want to come with you Mommy?" so I said "Why?" Lily replied "Because I love you." It melts my heart every single time I hear her say "I love you!"

My Big Helper

Lily wants nothing more than to be a "big girl" these days. She wants to attempt many things by herself, and she tries to "help" us often. Last night was a great example of this. She and I went to Publix together after dinner. She loves the grocery store, and I like getting to spend a little alone time with her because we talk the whole time. It's also a great learning experience because we look at the numbers (i.e., prices) together to see which one is less and we identify colors, shapes, smells, food categories, etc. She also loves to look at the cakes in the bakery. Anyway, on our way into the store, she was pretty adamant that she was not going to ride in the buggy; she wanted to walk with me, so she could show me where the Nemo vitamins were. I told her she could walk but she had to stay with me the whole time, and if she walked away from me, I would put her in the buggy; she agreed.

She did great for our whole hour visit! Normally, it doesn't take me an hour at Publix, but it took a little longer because Lily wanted to put "her items" on the bottom of the buggy; that would be vitamins, Cheerios, Rice A Roni...basically anything that was not in a flexible package. She agreed to put the bread, refrigerated and produce items inside the buggy. She was so careful in arranging everything on the bottom rack; she wanted to make sure that nothing fell through the cracks. She said she was making a big square. She walked right beside me most of the time "helping" me push the buggy, but towards the end she got tired, so she stood at the end of the buggy and let me push her. She would squeal "wheee!" with delight each time we turned a corner. The best part was when we got to check-out. She pulled each item out from under the buggy and loaded it onto the conveyor belt. It was actually very helpful. When we got home, she pulled each item out of the bag so she could show Ryan. She was so proud of herself, and I have to say, she was a big helper!

One Sentence; Two Smiles

I put my mom on speakerphone this evening, so Mia could hear her voice; she gave a big smile when she heard her. Lily was also near me, so she started talking to mom (aka, Granna). One of the things she told Granna was "We just ate dinner and my best friend Mommy brought me Chick-a-lay." First, I LOVE that she called me her best friend; how sweet is that? Second, I love that she still says "Chick-a-lay" instead of "Chick-fil-a." Cracks me up.

Confession

I have a small confession to make. I have always said I don't like to be woken up early. Now though, I like it, no...I love it, when Lily comes into our room about 7 in the morning. She comes directly around the bed to my side, and I pick her up so she can lay down with us. For awhile she would stay right in between us. A few months ago though, Ryan and I got out of bed and she stayed there sleeping. We were in the other room when we heard a very sad sounding "Mommy?" I went back to our room, and Lily was sitting up; she said "I couldn't find you!" with tears in her eyes. Ever since then whenever she lays down with us, she has some part of her body touching me. Usually she puts her foot over my leg, but occasionally she snuggles right up next to me with her foot over my leg and her hand on my shoulder. At first, this annoyed me a bit because I couldn't move without waking her up; now though I love that this comforts her, and she sleeps soundly. We usually sleep for another 30-45 minutes like this, and then Lily wakes up and asks to watch cartoons. She enjoys being right there next to me while we watch cartoons for a few minutes before Mia gets up and it's time for breakfast. This is now a great way to start the day!

ENT Visit

As noted in the blog before this one, we went to the pediatric ENT this morning for the girls' follow-up visit after their ear tubes placement surgery in January. They both did great! Yea!


They had fun playing in the waiting room for a few minutes, and then they called us back. They wanted to weigh both girls which made me a little nervous. Do you remember the screaming episode at Lily's 3 year check-up when the nurse wanted her to stand on the scale? I do. However, this time she stepped right up to admire the stickers that were on the scale; she held my pinkie finger too, but I figured that wouldn't matter. She was 34 pounds. They asked us if Mia would stand on the scale too, but we figured though she could, she wouldn't stand still long enough for it to read. We put her in the carseat-like scale instead; she looked terrified, but she didn't cry. She weighed in right about 24 pounds. Of course, their clothes add a little bit of weight, but it's always good to know approximately what they weigh.

Next we went into a little room to wait for the physician assistant. Both girls quickly realized the little round stool can spin really fast. I helped Lily up and spun her around; Mia started banging on the chair a minute later. Thankfully, Lily readily agreed to share, hopped down and helped me spin Mia. We alternated a few times until the PA arrives. Both girls did very well while they were examined. She looked at Mia first and said it looked like the far end of the tubes might have a little bit of dried blood on it, but because of it's location she couldn't tell if it was on it or in it. She said a quick puff of air test conducted in a few minutes could determine that. She also looked in her nose and in her throat and said everything looked good (minus the runny nose Mia is currently sporting). Then she looked at Lily's ears, and said they looked perfect. She checked her nose (perfect) and her throat. She noted her tonsils looked swollen which made me nervous because I had just been reading about how many kids have their tonsils taken out unnecessarily. Then she looked in the chart and determined it was most likely a temporary thing from a cold because her tonsils had been very small at the pre-op visit. What a relief.

After seeing the PA, we went to the hearing test room. The doctor ran the puff of air test on both of them, and said the results were really good; air is going completely through all tubes which means any fluid in there is draining properly. Then Lily and I went into the sound-proof booth where they ran the same hearing test as before on her. She wears a set of earphones and when instructed, she puts a peg on a board and builds a tower that way (Lily always loves to build tall towers). They did this for awhile and she was done. The doctor said she did great! Then Ryan and Mia went into the booth where they ran a hearing test on her. They make various noises and watch her reaction to them. She did well too! The doctor then told us the tests prove there is a big improvement in their hearing; Lily is now in "normal" range at all levels and Mia passed her test too. Since Lily could wear headphones, they determined that her hearing is good in both ears. Mia is too young for the headphones, so they cannot determine definitely that both ears are good, but they think they are because she was responding appropriately to the sounds coming from different parts of the booth.

Since those results turned out great, we were ready to go. Lily was very excited to pick out a sticker from their basket at check-out for her and for Mia (she referred to this in her song on the car ride to the doctor...see previous blog entry). They had lots of different ones to pick from. She picked two Bob the Builder characters. I don't think she has ever even seen Bob the Builder, but whatever, she thought they were cool. Then she changed her mind and said I could pick one for Mia instead. I decided on a Mickey Mouse one; this made Lily put hers back, and she ended up with a Cinderella one. By the time we got to the car, she had switched them and taken the Mickey Mouse for herself, but she pulled the Cinderella one off the paper for Mia to play with. Who knew one (or two) stickers was such a great reward for behaving well at the doctor's office?

Even though we can definitely see a difference in the girls, and we felt like the tubes were working great, it is such a relief for the doctors to confirm it! We are so thankful that Dr. White referred us to Dr. Baktha's office, and that he successfully placed the tubes in their ears so they can hear well. What a wonderful blessing to know that our girls can hear!

Lily Stories

Lily cracked me up several times today. Here are a few stories all from this morning while I was helping her get dressed.

1. She was doing a really good job of brushing her teeth, so when she finished I said "You are such a big girl! When did you turn into a big girl?" Lily looked at me and said "Thursday. I turned into a big girl last Thursday." Okay, good to know.

2. The finishing touch on her outfit this morning was her bracelet that she got at Chuck E Cheese a few months ago. She said she wanted to put it on "so I can be pretty like you." That made me feel really good!

3. Ryan, Lily, Mia and I went to the pediatric ENT's office today for their post-op follow-up. For about 5 minutes, Lily was singing a song; we tried listening, but she was singing softly; it was hard to hear everything she was saying, but what would I have given to had my video camera then! I wish I could remember everything she said. However, these were the (remembered) lyrics we heard her say in a very sing-song kind of voice. Oh, I have titled the song "Train of Thought..."

Mommy, Daddy, Mia and me are in the car. We all got dressed, and I have a bracelet. We are going to the ear doctor. My ears feel good. Mia's ears feel good. I will get a sticker. I like Charlie and Lola. I like Little Einsteins. We are all wearing coats because it is cold. Mommy's is black, Daddy's is brown, Mia's is pink and mine is ladybug. We are all in the car.

She says her coat looks like a ladybug because it is bright red with black buttons on it. When she finished she asked if we heard it, and of course we said how great it was. She said "but I couldn't finish it because I don't have a rhyme!" You couldn't tell from this song, but she loves rhyming words, and often tries to come up with rhymes. So we came up with "So we are in the car so we can drive really far" as the ending of her song. She loves music and really enjoys making up her own songs. She often makes up new songs to the tunes of familiar music which is fun to hear. She's a pretty creative little girl! I love her!

Precious Amelia

I absolutely love Mia's newest habit. She blows kisses whenever you're leaving or she's going to her room to go to sleep. It is simply precious. She gives the biggest smile, puts her hand against her mouth, makes a kissing sound, throws her arm up and smiles again. She does it again and again and again because she sees how happy it makes us. She knows if she sees me getting my coat on to blow me a kiss; she then often picks up her little coat and hands it me for help putting it on. When I say "No, you are going to stay here and play," she blows me another kiss.

She knows how to give a real kiss too which is great. She'll give them to us, but she really loves to kiss the prince in the Little People set...watch out boys, here she comes! I could eat her up she's so adorable!

Mommy Guilt

According to dictionary.com, guilt is "a feeling of responsibility or remorse for some offense, crime, wrong, etc., whether real or imagined." The imagined part is what gets me. I think just about all moms understand the concept of "mommy guilt." It's agonizing over so many decisions that affect your child and your family, and it often strikes on the smallest of details because you want to make sure you are doing everything just right for your family. Should I let them eat that? Is this the right kindergarten to consider? Should she wear the pink shirt or yellow shirt today? Moms are often pulled in a million different directions at the same time, so we're constantly making judgement calls on what the best decision is. I am so lucky to have lots of friends who are in the same boat because we all have young kids; it's nice to know you're not alone in what you feel.

Work is what typically causes my guilt to come out. Don't get me wrong, I absolutely love owning my own CPA company, and I honestly think if I won the lottery some day, I would continue to run it (with a few tweaks). I love helping people navigate their way through our complex tax code though I'm not a fan of the code itself. I am proud of the fact that I worked hard to earn the CPA designation, and I get to use it doing something I enjoy. Being a full-time stay-at-home parent is by far the hardest job imaginable; I had a taste of it for the first two years of Lily's life, and I know it would be a hundred times more difficult with having Mia there too. I have a lot of respect for the parents who do stay at home because I don't think I have it in me to do this. By being my own boss though, I have a very flexible schedule allowing me to play with the girls during the day and take them to the doctor or on "field trips." During most of the year, I can just decide I don't want to go work because I want to hang out with the family; I don't have to call that in to my boss. However, for about 12 weeks out of the year, I have to deal with tax season and this is when mommy guilt strikes. I'm in the midst of it right now, and it's hard. I am able to play with both girls for a little bit before I leave for work in the morning which is nice. I try really hard to be home between 5:30 and 6 during the week so I can cook dinner and play with them again before bed time. If I have to return to work after they go to bed, so be it.

Last night though broke my heart. I knew I needed to work late to catch up on some things, so I talked to Ryan. He and the girls came to pick me up and we went to Chick-fil-a for dinner. We had a lot of fun talking and being together. I love time with my family! We were gone for about an hour. When they dropped me back off at my office, I turned around, looked at Mia and said "Night-night Mia. I love you! I'll see you in the morning." She gave me a big smile and blew me a kiss which in turn melted my heart in the freezing cold. Then I looked at Lily who immediately started this conversation:

L: You going back to work Mommy?
M: Yes, baby. I need to go back to work for a little while longer.
L: But you're not supposed to go back to work!
M: I know sweetheart, but sometimes I just have to.
Lily is staring me down.
M: I love you Lily. I'll see you in the morning, okay?
Lily tightly closes her eyes, puts her thumb in her mouth, shakes her head back and forth while saying "uh-uh."

Sigh. It's not that I wanted to go back to work at night, but sometimes we have to things we don't want to do. I think it's difficult for Lily because I don't do this very often; if this were "normal" for us, I don't think she would have made that comment. I know in the long run that Lily won't remember this evening which is a little bit comforting. Most of the time I feel like I'm a pretty good mom, but events like this bring the mommy guilt on hard.

Happy Valentine's Day

I hope everyone had a lovely Valentine's Day today. We started out our day at church. Since we had nursery duty at 8:15 (we volunteer on the second Sunday each month), we knew we had to leave a little bit earlier than usual. Of all days, Lily chooses this morning to sleep in, so we actually had to wake her up to get her ready. Mia woke up at 7:00 because of her very dirty diaper (in case you are wondering, her rash is getting better though). We managed to get out the door and at church on time; we enjoyed our time with a bunch of 18-month-olds and then our Sunday school lesson.

When we left church, we decided to drive a little bit and go to Taco Mac so the girls could rest. Mia fell asleep almost immediately; Lily didn't sleep but she was pretty quiet and rested. We had a good lunch, came home and then it was time for presents. Granna, Papa and Meme had stopped by yesterday and delivered Valentine's gifts which the girls loved; they each had a bag full of cool goodies. Lily adores this little pen that has a light-up heart on the end, and we all enjoyed the cookies that were included for both girls! When we got home though, we let the girls open their presents from us (an ABC puzzle for Lily and an animal flap book for Mia) and cards from Granny. They also had great gift bags from Grandpops and Grandma Jan. Lily was so excited to pull out each gift; it took many reminders for her to let Mia open her bag. The funniest thing to me was Lily pulled out a My Little Pony horse; I didn't even know she has ever played with one before. She immediately exclaimed "Ah! A My Little Pony! Mommy, look, it's a My Little Pony!" After pulling out all the gifts, she wanted to open the pony first. She said "Mommy, do you know what this is? Say it like me." And then she had me repeat "My. Lit. Tle. Pony. My Little Pony." Two of Mia's gifts were new books which we read to her over and over; she loves them.

After playing for a bit, it was nap time. We all four took naps which was a treat; unfortunately though, Lily woke up early and Mia never fully settled down. Since they woke Ryan and me up early, we were all a little grumpy for the next little while. However, I got a grocery list together and Lily and I went to the store. She loves going to the grocery store and "helping" me pick out items that we need. We actually had a lot of fun together on this trip, and we talked almost the whole time. Lily also serenaded me with lots of songs from The Little Einsteins; it was pretty cute to hear her singing songs to the classical music they play. After we got home, the girls ate some dinner, and then Lily helped me make a special batch of brownies. I have a heart-shaped pan that I thought would make a cute dessert; I was right, the brownies looked (and tasted) delicious. Lily always enjoys helping me cook, so this was a fun and quick activity. After that, we played for a little bit and then it was bed time. Both girls went down a little early tonight with the early morning and short naps; neither fought it. After they went down, Ryan and I started our Valentine's dinner. Ryan grilled a couple of delicious filet mignons; we also had some baked potatoes and baguette bread with our delicious EVOO and garlic dip. It was very yummy!

Overall, this was a long and pretty ordinary day (with the exception of opening presents), but it's special that it was Valentine's Day. Lily has been having so much fun making Valentine's card all week. She would give me cards throughout the week and say it was "because I love you." I love hearing her say those words. I know it's a little cheesy but we definitely have a house filled with love for one another. Valentine's Day is a great day to celebrate that!

Here are a few pictures from yesterday and today.

Mom helped Mia open her goodie bag. Mia loved her little teddy bear, and this "A" cookie looked really good to her.

Mia showing off her new teddy bear to Papa.

Mia couldn't wait to show Meme her new bear too.
Lily showing off her "L" cookie. She thoroughly enjoyed it!

Lily was excited about her new ABC puzzle we gave her. She is getting really good at putting puzzles together, and she enjoys it too.

Mia reading her new Animal book that we gave her.

Lily showing off her new My Little Pony. She has been having a blast with this!

Lily showing me all the gifts from Grandpops and Grandma Jan. She was so excited about Snow White's "magic wand." They gave Lily and Mia a matching set of adorable socks. Lily insisted on wearing them the rest of the day. She said they are warmer than any of her other socks, so they are better for wearing during nap time and bed time. She cracks me up.

Mia and Daddy reading one of the new books from Grandpops and Grandma Jan. It's a cute lift the flap book that ends with a mirror. Mia seemed surprised and happy to see the cute baby looking back at her.

Snow Days!

We have been having so much fun with the snow that came through town yesterday! It started about 3:00 Friday afternoon. It was so pretty to watch as it came down. It came quickly and starting sticking immediately. Ryan and I left the office about 5:30, and even though we took main roads home, we slid a couple of times. We had a difficult time getting up our driveway too, but we made it safe and sound. Once we got home, Liz, Ryan and I got the girls dressed appropriately, and we all headed outside. Let the fun begin!

Our family ready to start playing.

A little snowman made by Bama. Lily loved it.
Mia loved the snow! She immediately wanted down and wanted to walk everywhere. She didn't mind if she slipped and fell; she was just having fun.

Lily loved it too! We were a little surprised given how she was so hesitant in Tennessee at Christmas, but she wanted to run out into it from the start. She was so excited to show us the snow as soon as we got home, and she and Bama had been making and drawing snowflakes. It was great to see her having so much fun!

The girls having fun together.

We had a fun little snowball fight on the playground. Here's Liz getting a good one at Ryan.

On Saturday morning, we all got ready to go out first thing. Unfortunately a few minutes into playing, Mia fell down face first into the snow. Here's a picture of that result...she wasn't happy. From this point on, she wasn't very interested in playing in the snow.

Bama knew how to make Mia feel warm and better. She is so good with the girls.

Looking through the trapeze towards the house.

Looking through some of the trees. Saturday was a beautiful day!

Some of our backyard trees. The blue sky looked great against the white snow.

Our backyard when we woke up on Saturday.

The front of the house on Saturday morning.

Lily wanted her sunglasses for a few minutes; we thought it was pretty cute.

Liz and Mia watched the playground action from the window after Mia fell down.

Lily and I had our own little snowball fight on Saturday afternoon.

Lily throwing a snowball at Ryan. She was so proud of herself for making snowballs all by herself and throwing them around.

Ryan marked the date on our outdoor fireplace.

Time with Aunt Kendall

The girls had a great time visiting with Aunt Kendall last weekend. Here's a cute picture of the three of them. It was wonderful to see Kendall, and we all hope she comes back really soon!

15 Month Check-Up

Friday was Mia's 15 month check-up with Dr. White...wow! Ryan and Liz took her, and I took some time off from work to play with Lily; it's busy season, but I thought we could both use some one-on-one time. Ryan had actually just taken Mia on Tuesday to see Dr. White because of her diaper rash. It was AWFUL. I have never seen a diaper rash like this before. There were big red raised bumps that would start bleeding; Mia would scream and kick anytime you needed to change her. We felt so badly for her. On Tuesday, Dr. White gave her a prescription cream to use to try to make it better. Unfortunately, it didn't seem to help much by her appointment time on Friday; also, she had started to have a really runny nose, and her diarrhea was still continuing (it's been going on a week now). I apologize if that's too much information to share, but I thought you should know the whole story.

They said Mia did well for most of her appointment. She weighed in at 22 pounds, 5 ounces (40th percentile) which is a few ounces less than on Tuesday; that's not surprising since she seems to have lost her appetite. She is 30 inches tall (also 40th percentile), and her head is 18 inches (50th percentile). She's apparently an "average" girl but only in regards to physical size! They told me that Mia gave Dr. White her patented staredown throughout the appointment. She wouldn't turn her head away from Dr. White, but would only glance away momentarily. Dr. White said her tubes are doing their job perfectly; there's no fluid which is great. Of course, we can tell that because the difference in her speech skills over this last month is incredible.

Ryan said Mia even did well while Dr. White examined the diaper rash. Dr. White decided that since the cream didn't seem to be helping and Mia had developed a terrible runny nose, a virus is actually the culprit of the diarrhea which causes the diaper rash. Of course, if it's a virus, there's not much we can do but let it run its course. She suggested we cut all sugary fruits out of Mia's diet until it clears up because those can irritate the rash. This is unfortunate because this makes up a large part of Mia's diet, but of course we're going to follow this recommendation. She also said if the diarrhea didn't stop soon, she would suggest we switch from regular milk to soy milk because this could be temporary lactose intolerance. I'm really hoping it doesn't come to that. She said to put Neosporin on the rash but not on the open wound areas and to keep the diaper rash cream on. I'm telling you, it's bad. We started all the recommendations immediately, and we saw a little bit of improvement today. Here's hoping this continues.

Other than the diaper rash, Mia is doing great. Now that the tubes are in, her speech is getting better everyday. On the list of "normal development" things that "you might see your child doing between the ages of 15 and 18 month" the first thing listed is "avidly explores everything." This perfectly describes our sweet Mia! She wants to check everything out and discover everything in her world. She loves music and books, and she is learning to play with Lily very well. She is such a precious little angel. We are madly in love with her and so thankful that she is in our lives!

Beatles Music

Last night as I was putting Lily to bed, she said she wanted new music. I took out the CD she typically listens to and told her about a different CD I had for her. It's called "Rockabye Baby: Lullaby Renditions of the Beatles." I told her that tomorrow was Grandpops birthday, he really likes the Beatles and she could tell him about it when she called him to wish him a happy birthday. She said okay and went on to sleep. This morning when she got up I asked her if she liked her music last night, and she said she did. I asked if she remembered who made the music; she thought for a minute and then said "The bug group." I thought it was pretty funny that she couldn't remember The Beatles, so she called them the bug group.

She then told us that she wanted a Beatle toy for Christmas. Ryan thought for a second and then remembered he had a Paul McCartney figurine, so he grabbed that from downstairs and gave it to her. She said she had a Paul Beatle figure, and she loved it! She even took it with her to Dr. White's office today (Ryan took both girls because Mia has a diaper rash that is terrible and bleeding; she now has prescription diaper cream to make it better). Dr. White thought it was pretty cool. Lily has been having fun with it all day.

What A Great Night!

Ryan and I were treated to a great night last night (Friday night). On Wednesday afternoon, we were given tickets to hear the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra.  Kendall even called to ask if she could come over for the weekend, and she would be glad to keep the girls for us; perfect!

We decided to have dinner at South City Kitchen, and as usual, it was wonderful. They have the best Maryland She-Crab Soup that I get every time I go; I can't resist it. It was delicious!  Ryan and I always love to go down to Symphony Hall to hear their concerts. Tonight, the ASO was featuring Michael Feinstein and his Sinatra Project. It was awesome! The orchestra was perfect, and Feinstein was amazing. He sounded great while singing, and I could have listened to him play the piano all night. He started out with my favorite Sinatra song, Luck Be A Lady, which was cool. We didn't recognize most of the songs he played after that because they were more obscure Sinatra songs, but they were great. Of course, at the end of the show, he played some of Sinatra's most famous songs which was cool. It was wonderful!

The Store

Lily loves to know where things come from. She will ask if things (like a book or game) came from the store or a catalog. If I say "the store" she will ask if the store is just the down the street or far away. She then asks if I mean the "grocery store" or the "Target store." Give you an idea on where we typically go? Well yesterday she started telling me about new stores while we were playing in her room. Here's what we said:

L: (pointing to her Mickey Mouse pillow) Do you know where this came from?
M: Where?
L: The Mickey Mouse store! (points to her little polka dot pillow) Do you know where this one came from?
M: Grandma Parkinson made that pillow for you.
L: No! I want to tell you the store it came from.
M: Okay, where?
L: The polka dot store! (points to the little princess pillow) Do you know where this one came from?
M: No, where?
L: The...princess store!
M: Where did the big pillow on your bed come from?
L: The polka dot store too. (It has several big dots on it).

She did this same routine again tonight. She cracks me up!