Three Is the Magic Number

Letters

2012-01-04T16:42:00.000-08:00

Of course she is brilliant. :)

2012-01-01T19:33:00.001-08:00

December

2012-01-01T19:09:00.000-08:00

All through December we played Christmas Music, watched as more and more lights came up on houses, decorated our own Christmas tree, talked about Santa, watched Frosty the Snowman movie a million times, and in general just enjoyed the season. Last year, we did the same things, but this year she really had the vocabulary to show us that she understood what was going on.

December 2011 was the year of the Frosty the Snowman. Everything she talked about was Frosty. Everything she watched had Frosty in it. She loved Frosty. Our new car is named Frosty. Surprise, surprise.
I am hoping that now that it is the new year, we will be able to STOP talking about Frosty, but I doubt it.

Ever since she was little, we have gone to see the very same Santa at Lincoln Square. He is so kind and really silly. It is fun to be an adult around him and listen in on what he has to say about things to kids. Last year, we heard him talk to some kid about green bean casserole. This year, he spent what seemed like forever talking to a little boy about one of the reindeer. Seems that this reindeer (not sure which one) is getting old and has arthritis in his hip so he won't be making the flight this year. He was hoping to sit beside Santa in the sleigh but Santa and Mrs. Clause think there isn't enough room for the reindeer, what with all the toys taking up all sorts of room.
We waited about 30 minutes, which was a blessing and a curse all at the same time. The wait was forever and there wasn't much available to occupy her time. The up side to the wait was that we had plenty of time to talk to her and get her excited about sitting with Santa and talking to Santa. We were really hoping that by doing that, she wouldn't be as scared of Santa as she was last year.
We had also packaged some hershey kisses for Santa and Mrs. Clause, so that was going to be our icebreaker as well.
Right before she was to be called, she told us she needed to go potty. The times when she tells us are few and far between, so when she tells us she has to go, we listen! She and I raced into the potty only to notice that not only had she already gone in her diaper, she had also soaked through her pants. Oh great. So replace the soaked diaper, try to dry off the pants and hurry to sit on Santa's lap. He was going to love that! We walked out of the potty and they called our name to see him.
After we gave him the bag of candy, Santa and I decided to have her sit on arm of the chair instead of on his lap. (I am sure he gets this a lot... but still, his shift was far from other that day!)
She freaked a little, but did ok as soon as she warmed up to him. He asked her what she wanted for Christmas and she had no idea what to tell him. He could have been speaking another language as far as she was concerned. She ended up telling him "HO HO HO" and he laughed a big belly laugh and cracked her up.
The next day was Christmas Eve and we talked all day about how Santa was coming to our house and how she needed to go to bed early. Problem was, she wanted Santa to come and play and couldn't understand why he wasn't coming over to play.
The next day, she was thrilled to see Santa had brought her a doll house and some "friends" (Winnie the Pooh and Tigger dolls) in her stocking. She wanted so much for Santa to come over then so she could tell him thank you.

That kid played and played and played and played with her toys and was really ready for round two of playing when Grandpa, Frances, Papa, and Nana came over for Christmas day lunch.

Such a fun time we had. All along, she looked and looked for Santa and talked about Santa coming over to play with her.

It has really been a great Christmas. One I will never forget. I know that as the decorations come down and the blow up Frosty and Santa in the neighbor's yard get put away, she and I both with have some Christmas time withdrawals. Here's to next year, Frosty and Santa. Rest up in the mean time. Lilly is going to be ready to play!

Elf on the shelf

2011-12-13T19:19:00.001-08:00

A sweet Santa friend gave us an elf and book. We have really been enjoying Shermie the elf. Lil loves to read to him every night. Can't wait to see where we find him tomorrow. He is a tricky little elf!

Christmas Traditions

2011-12-11T05:37:00.001-08:00

I can remember baking cookies with my mom all the time growing up. That might be why I love to bake so much. I also remember making homemade ornaments with mom. I am beginning that tradition in our family now. We got our Christmas tree last night. Since we hadn't ad a Christmas tree in several years, our ornament supply is sparse. I could go to the store and buy fancy ornaments or we could make ornaments and memories at the same time.

We had a great time making cinnamon ornaments for our tree. Lils is a natural cookie cutting genius. She knew just what to do!
Our house smelled so good cooking these cinnamon goodies. Can't wait to hang them on the tree once they are cooked and cooled.

Prayers

2011-12-09T18:39:00.001-08:00

Lil got ready for bed and decided she would not say prayers tonight. Got into bed and tried every avoidance tactic she knew. Needed juice, then water, then a different blanky. Needless to say I got frustrated. A little while later when I thought she was asleep, I heard her call for me. She was out of bed and sitting on the floor. I got so grumpy with her for getting out of bed. She looked up at me and said, "mama, I need to say prayers!"
How can you be mad at that?

Sent from my iPhone

Hohoho.

2011-12-09T17:03:00.003-08:00

2011-12-09T17:03:00.001-08:00

And more sugar induced dancing.

2011-11-06T03:41:00.000-08:00

What happens when sock monkeys have too much sugar

2011-11-06T03:40:00.000-08:00

Halloween Adventures

2011-11-06T03:39:00.001-08:00

Lil had a nice time on Halloween. It was the first time she had officially gone trick or treating. She had gone to a trunk or treat at my school the week before but this was the first time to go to houses. We went to Nana and grandpa's neighborhood so that she could help pass out candy after she finished. Going to houses was a little too scary. She only went to a few. But she had a great time sitting outside waiting for kids to come.

We got to ride the train at the zoo.

2011-10-08T11:24:00.001-07:00

Lil loves to feed the birdies at the zoo.

2011-10-08T11:23:00.000-07:00

Chillaxing.

2011-10-02T06:04:00.001-07:00

Happiness is a daddy hammock.

Playing with pumpkins is fun.

2011-10-01T14:56:00.001-07:00

Playing with pumpkins.

2011-10-01T13:32:00.001-07:00

These boots are made for dancing.

2011-08-16T18:35:00.000-07:00

Dancing boots.

2011-08-16T18:34:00.000-07:00

First Trike Ride

2011-07-27T15:40:00.000-07:00

Two years of greatness.

2011-07-23T14:42:00.000-07:00

Fixing the sprinkler

2011-07-14T17:33:00.000-07:00

Fixing things for daddy is hard work. Thank goodness for hugs and pony
rides when it is over.

2011-06-11T15:51:00.001-07:00

Buddies stay up with you when you have insomnia.

Buddies clean spaghetti off each other's faces

2011-06-11T15:50:00.001-07:00

Buddies take a break from yardwork to read books together

2011-06-11T15:49:00.001-07:00

Buddies laugh at each other's corny jokes

2011-06-11T15:47:00.001-07:00

Buddies hang out at the pool together

2011-06-11T15:46:00.001-07:00

School is out for summer!

2011-06-04T15:50:00.000-07:00

Well, not entirely. I am teaching Summer School this year so Lil will be going to daycare in her new big girl class on Monday. But we will totally hang out during July! We might even go out of town on a little mini vacation. Stay tuned for that.

So, since it is soo hot outside, we decided to go play outside in the sprinkler. Lils loves ousside. And Lils loves the water, so this is a perfect adventure for her.

Here are a few pictures of some "ousside fun"

Dancing

2011-06-04T15:48:00.000-07:00

Cheese

2011-05-08T16:43:00.000-07:00

First Car

2011-04-12T18:14:00.000-07:00

My new favorite picture

2011-04-11T18:21:00.001-07:00

The Lils loves to read books!

Aaarg!!!

2011-03-27T15:22:00.000-07:00

Reading Tough Boris. Sorry the video is so dark.

Our big girl

2011-03-20T16:33:00.001-07:00

Spring Break

2011-03-20T16:22:00.000-07:00

This is the last day of Spring Break and I am feeling a little sad about it all. We really had a great time together hanging out and playing. We went shopping, played in the park, and even got to go to the zoo.

I continue to be amazed at what a big girl she is becoming. So full of personality. So full of life and happiness.

At the park, she insisted on sliding by herself without me. As a matter of fact, she told me to "moof" as soon as I got in her way. She is becoming more and more independent every day.

And her words are incredible! She is stringing more and more words together which just amazes us. The other day, she said, "daddy, shoes, outside, go go go!" She knew she needed to get some shoes on in order for her to go outside with daddy. So fun.

And the biggest thing about her getting bigger is her newest interest in the potty! We purchased a little potty for her a while ago with the idea that she could at least sit on it when she insists on going into the bathroom with me while I potty. The last few days, right before the bath, she has wanted to sit on the potty. The other night, she sat on it and actually went to the bathroom in it all by herself. Then today, she told daddy "potty" and he helped her get the diaper off and she sat down and did it again.
She really has a great idea of what all that means!

We are ready for routine again this coming week, but I sure will miss spending this time with my girl. It really has been fun. :)

The new water/sand table.

2011-03-17T15:14:00.000-07:00

2011-02-27T16:21:00.000-08:00

2011-02-27T16:20:00.000-08:00

iPad fun.

2011-02-04T15:38:00.000-08:00

2011-02-04T07:17:00.000-08:00

I like to go sledding!

2011-02-04T07:16:00.001-08:00

2011-02-04T07:16:00.000-08:00

Seriously, two years in a row for snow in Texas. Maybe Lils is a good
luck charm?

BEEP!

2011-01-23T08:36:00.000-08:00

Did you know that when you press them, belly buttons make noise?

Bath time

2011-01-18T17:03:00.000-08:00

Life with Lils

2011-01-03T18:24:00.000-08:00

I made it my new years resolutioin to try to be better about keeping up with Lils through the blog. There are so many things to say. So many ways in which she blesses our life every day. Here are some things that she loves, along with a few stories all about her.

Lils loves to clean. She will grab any paper towel or baby wipe, or whatever and wipe down anything she sees. She cleans her doll, her toys, the floor (not very well), her face, all sorts of things. And she loves loves loves water. If she sees running water, she says, "wash" and wants to wash her hands.

She has a cabinet in our room that is all hers. I guess it is inteded to be a dirty clothes hamper, but we don't use it as that, so it is empty. I don't know how she discovered it, but she did one day and from then on, it has been her little place to go. Her club house. Her special space. Strangely enough, she can sit in the cabinet with the door clothes for a long time with no lights at all. We wonder if she is going to Narnia. Sometimes she goes in with her favorite toy of the day, her blankie, and a paci. Sometimes she just goes in all alone. Maybe then, the adventures in Narnia aren't as scary. I guess we will never know.

Lils loves outside. Every time she sees someone go outside, she demands to go "side" with them. She loves to play in the leaves and pull grass and run in the grass. Every once in a while, she will get in her swing and play, but mostly, she just likes to run around "side" and feel the wind and look for the moon. She must have some fantastic eyes, because this kid can spot an airplane from far far away. And she loves to find birds and point to them and say, "bird".

Lils loves peas. The kid could eat a million peas if we let her. She also loves pasta, spaghetti, ravioli, lasagna. Her daddy has taught her how to be an adventurous eater, and she will eat just about anything we put on her plate because of it. We love that she isn't a picky eater and will try things quite a bit.

The biggest thing Lils loves is "baby". Oh does she love "baby". She demands it.
One day mom and I were at a craft fair and we ran into this lady who was talking about sign language for babies. Billy and I had already talked a little bit about our desire to teach her sign language, so she could communicate with us better during those terrible twos. So at the craft fair, I purchased two BABY SIGNING TIME videos. oh my goodness. I never would have figured how much she would love these videos. The kid can sit and watch with full attention for 30 minutes to this thing, soaking it all in. She rarely does the signs while the video is on, but that evening, before bed, she will surprise us with new signs for the night. This kid is amazing! And because of the signing, her vocabulary has increased quite a bit. She now is able to say words that I never thought she would be able to say. Here are a few of my favorites that she can say, sign, or do both...

ball, baby, apple, kitty, Annie (our cat, while making the sign or cat), dog, boat, wash, cracker, water, juice, more, bird, moon, outside, mama, dada, (she is beginning to get Nana and Grandpa), tree, sleep, bed, hi, bye bye, shoes, socks, hat, peas, cookie, diaper, potty, bus, car, airplane, go, stop, eat, drink, brush, (I am trying to think of all of them! There are so many, )

I would highly recommend Baby Signing Time to any parent or grandparent. But be prepared to have to watch them over and over again. And be prepared to secretly sign all the songs when no one is looking or listening.

2010-12-22T16:08:00.000-08:00

Toes are yummy.

2010-12-12T17:13:00.001-08:00

Night night stories.

2010-11-29T20:02:00.000-08:00

2010-11-28T15:00:00.002-08:00

2010-11-28T15:00:00.001-08:00

More dancing

2010-11-21T17:18:00.000-08:00

Lils loves to dance.

2010-11-21T17:14:00.000-08:00

2010-11-20T15:30:00.000-08:00

And she'll have fun fun ...

2010-10-09T14:37:00.000-07:00

Playing outside

2010-10-09T14:36:00.000-07:00

Spaghetti

2010-09-08T18:01:00.000-07:00

First time for spaghetti. Party in my tummy.

2010-09-08T17:56:00.000-07:00

What happiness should always sound like.

story for the Lils

2010-08-02T08:14:00.001-07:00

Once upon a time in a hospital not too far away, a mommy and a daddy had a baby. Her name was Lillian Elizabeth and she was the most beautiful thing anyone had ever seen. Her Grandma and her Papa and her Nana and Grandpa were there too see her, along with all kinds of friends. And after a few days in the hospital, she got to come home.
There she stayed and played and played and played and grew and grew and grew. She began as a teeny little thing who had to be burped and only would drink Mommy's milk. And she grew and grew and grew and one day, she crawled, and then walked!
Next thing mommy and daddy knew, she was a big girl, who could sit up in her big girl chair and eat blueberries and yogurt and drink water and whole milk. And she turned one and everyone came to her house and said Happy Birthday. They were so excited for her. They gave her lots of presents and lots of love.
She was the luckiest girl in the world to have so many people who love her so very much.
And she still is...

To be continued.

A year of Lilly...

2010-07-31T18:37:00.000-07:00

Eating Birthday Cake at Nana's house!

2010-07-28T17:27:00.001-07:00

An Open Letter to my Daughter on Her 1st Birthday

2010-07-28T03:18:00.001-07:00

Lilly,

Today is your first birthday. While you are too young to understand what we are celebrating, and will not have any recollections of this day, let me share what it means to me. One year and one day ago I had no idea what was about to come into my life. Sure, I understood a baby was coming, that my life would change, and that I would love you. What I didn't know was how it would change me. I knew how much I loved your mother, and that I would gladly do anything for her. She was, and is, my whole life. I never could have expected this new love. It fills me with the greatest joy and the greatest fear all at the same time. I did not expect this to be so strong, so total.
Everything I do is with you in mind. I constantly worry that you are happy, that you are content, and that you are safe and feel safe. If I can do it for you, then consider it done. And through this year it has made me a more compassionate, empathetic person to those around me. I feel that you have made me better. I learn from you each and every day.
You were a tiny helpless little thing when we brought you home. You are now our little girl, full of your own personality and more than a touch of attitude. While you still need us, you have an independent spirit that will serve you throughout your life. Keep being your own person and let no one change who you are. You are a smart, beautiful, and unique girl. I am so proud of you already.
While I love watching you grow, it saddens me that you are growing so fast. I don't mind so much when you want to play at 2 AM, to me that's more time without distraction that I get to spend with you. Each moment is a precious treasure that I never take for granted. No matter how big you get, you will always be my sweet baby girl. I love you so much I cannot describe it.

I promise to be always try and do best for you, even though I will make mistakes.
I promise to always be there for you, although I know at times I will be selfish.
I promise to always listen to you, although sometimes I may not hear what you are saying.
I promise to always try and be the best father I can.

Enjoy your birthday, and know that Daddy will always love you.

Happy Birthday, Lils!!

--
Peace,
Billy

Having a Drink with Grandpa

2010-07-15T08:35:00.000-07:00

Gerber Baby Contest

2010-07-10T20:06:00.000-07:00

Just in case you have nothing better to do, click on this link and vote for Lillian as the cutest baby ever. :)
She already has 150 votes. Go friends on Facebook! :) You rock.

Vote HERE

We are now a Toddler

2010-06-29T19:08:00.000-07:00

Not much, but about 10 or 12 steps. It was with a purpose and she did great.

Happy Sunday Morning

2010-06-27T09:13:00.001-07:00

Peace,
Billy

Sent via Blackberry

Banana Stealer...

2010-06-23T18:38:00.000-07:00

So not so long ago, my dad was holding Lilly. He reached for something in the fridge, closed the door, and realized that Lilly, in a moment's notice, had stolen the wasabi from the door of the fridge. Since then, she has been called Wasabi grabber by my dad.

Now, she needs a new name.

I sent a banana to daycare with Lils today. Well, I sent a cut up banana to daycare yesterday and it was so gross by the time the decided to feed it to her that they assured me if I sent a whole banana, they would be happy to cut it up for me.
So I did.
When I got there to pick her up this afternoon, she was sitting in her highchair, eating crackers and refusing the newly cut up banana. I gathered her things and took the rest of the banana with me.
On the way to the car, she grabbed the banana out of my hands and started gnawing on it... peel and all. So I peeled a little of it and gave her the whole banana to eat. Once we got her buckled in the car seat, I took the banana away and set it in the daycare bag that holds bottles and dirty dishes.
We headed to meet our friend Saba in the Highlands for some tea.

When I pulled up to the Highlands, i happily got out and opened to the door to get my baby out. But what I saw would have frightened even the biggest horror movie lover! Banana was everywhere! All over her legs. All over her arms! In her hair! In her ears! between her toes! It was as if she had taken a bath in banana. Needless to say the carseat was also filthy.
What to do? We were supposed to meet Saba in a few minutes and I had no washcloths or anything with me.

I remembered that there was a fountain at the Highlands that is just a piece of sidewalk that has places where water squirts out. That would at least be a good place for her to rinse off!
So I drove to the fountains, quickly threw off my shoes and undressed her as much as I could.
She and I hopped into the fountain and got soaking wet! That child had banana pieces in her diaper, on her chest, attached to her earlobe!
We finally got her clean and dressed in new clothes and headed off to find Saba, no worse for wear.

When we got home, for a second, I thought about eating one of those delicious looking bananas on the counter, but then my thoughts came back eyelashes caked with nasty banana and I started to smell it all over again. No bananas for me for a long time. And I am going to make sure I keep them away from her! Banana Stealer!

PS. had I been in my right mind, I would have taken pictures of the progression. Be glad though that I didn't take a picture of her covered in banana. It would ruin your image of her.
:)

Walking and Big Girl Food

2010-06-20T09:12:00.000-07:00

In March, Lils started crawling. Full on crawling. Mostly to chase the cat. Now she crawls all over the place. She still chases the cat, but now she crawls to run away from us when we are trying to get her dressed after her bath. She crawls around to get to her favorite toys, and she crawls around to get into things she shouldn't. But now, she would much rather pull herself up and toddle around the coffee table. She is itching to walk!

It won't be long now till she gets enough balance to walk around all on her own. And then when that happens, let the fun begin! Well, if nothing else, mom and dad are going to need oxygen from chasing her around.
OH BOY.

And we have been enjoying the baby food since she was about 7 months old, but now Lils is more interested in eating big people food. She and I spent the morning eating eggs. She sat in my lap and we ate off of my plate together. She is certainly more interested in people food than she is in baby food. Her favorites so far right now are cheese, crackers, bananas, grapes (peeled of course) and mango. What a big girl she is! So much growing so fast! I just can't believe it!

Slackers? or Just Busy?

2010-06-20T09:05:00.001-07:00

I am trying to figure out which it is. I think a little bit of both. sorry for not posting as often as we should. Things are pretty busy around here for us.

The Lils' Nana and Grandpa moved to Arlington! That is a huge thing! They moved here to be with her. No, the move wasn't fun for them and I am sure my mom will be missing her Brownwood friends for a LONG time, but they are here now. Hopefully, mom will be able to make new friends and start getting involved with a new church family.
Change is hard!

But I have to say, as hard as it has been for them, it has been awesome for us. Now, when Lils gets sick, I can call them and ask them to pick her up from daycare. They see her all the time now, and it is nice to have them sooo soo close by! We love it.
I think Lil will be really thankful later on to have them so close by.
Since Lilly is trying out regular food, my dad has gotten her addicted to Ritz crackers! She could eat a million of them if we would let her. One in each hand, for sure. And she loves Nana's Jello. Oh the things Grandparents do!

One cool thing, I am teaching summer school (that isn't the cool part) and so Lils has had the chance to go to Kindermusik with Nana and Grandpa. They will take her every Monday for a month and will get to sing, play, and use musical instruments. What a great bonding time to have with them.

So, Nana and Grandpa, thanks for uprooting your life. Thanks for being willing to be a part of Lils' life. Thanks for loving her and wanting the best for her always. :)

First Reunion with McKinsey and Presley

2010-06-19T16:46:00.000-07:00

More Standing Around

2010-06-13T15:00:00.000-07:00

She's a Blackberry Girl!

2010-06-08T17:47:00.001-07:00

Peace,
Billy

Sent via Blackberry

Signing

2010-06-08T17:38:00.001-07:00

Lils has learned how to sign for Milk and for More. We're amazed.
Peace,
Billy

Sent via Blackberry

Now We're Standing on Our Own

2010-06-08T17:35:00.000-07:00

Sent via BlackBerry by AT&T

This Will Be Used as Prom Night Blackmail

2010-06-04T06:20:00.000-07:00

Sent via BlackBerry by AT&T

Playing with her Elephant

2010-05-30T12:07:00.001-07:00

Nothing Better than Mommy

2010-05-29T16:35:00.001-07:00

pictures!!!

2010-05-23T20:13:00.003-07:00

Here are a few of my favorite pictures from the photo shoot of her at 9 months.

The daycare issues...

2010-05-23T20:03:00.000-07:00

Yep. It was hard, but we had to make the decision. Lilly was the oldest one in Ms Myrtle and Ms Paula's room. She was crawling and all the other kids were still pretty immobile. She was getting into everything and it was time to make the choice to move her to another class. There was a space available, so we did it.

Tough decision, for sure. I wasn't excited about it, since we love love love the teachers from the infant room, but we were willing to give it a chance, knowing that it was what was best for Lilly.

Two days later, Lilly was bit twice by two different boys at daycare.
TWICE! In one day. I was upset, to say the least. Here I had trusted the new room with my little one and she came back with a big bruise on her arm. It hadn't broken the skin, but still, it was not good.
As mad as I was, I didn't call. I didn't complain. I didn't say a word.
I just asked some questions of the teacher the next morning and very much got the impression that the reason my child had been bitten twice was because the teacher's backs were turned.
No good.

So that day, after talking to her new teacher, she came home free of any bites whatsoever.
But the next day, however, was a different story. Another boo-boo note. Another bite.
My child must be so yummy.
Bit again! This time, mommy wasn't ok. This time mommy hit the roof!

I had a chat with the director of the school and really felt like she listened to my concerned and she said she would do her best to get things figured out.
I gave them another shot. Another chance to make things right.
Things have been better and no more bites. Thank goodness! I might just flip my lid!
I understand this sort of stuff will happen. I even expect my child to at some point, be the biter, not the bitee. but still... three times in less than a week? Just too much!
So I am working hard at making sense of this and feeling ok about my decision to move her to a big girl room. It really is what is best for her, they just needed to be ready for someone so little joining this mix of kids.
Lilly seems to be standing tall and finding her way in the room.

I will keep ya posted. Till then, I have to trust that the school is as great as I once believed and that they are working hard to make things better.

:)
And I can put crazy psycho mommy away for a little while longer.

Catching up...

2010-05-23T19:53:00.000-07:00

Yeah, we have been slackers. We know. Things go so quickly and we get busy.
Thanks, loyal readers for sticking with us.
We love you for it.

Lilly would like all of her adoring fans to know how excited she is to have her Grandpa and Nana close by. They have moved officially to Arlington and it has already been so nice to have them so close. The saved her last Friday from daycare when she was feeling so puny and took her to their house to take care of her. What a life saver that is for us!
Tomorrow, we are headed to the zoo. Mommy is taking a day off and Daddy has a week off, so we are all heading out to the heat of the zoo.
Lilly loves loves loves any kind of animals but she especially likes kitty cats! Another thing about my parents moving to Arlington, when she gets tired of torturing Annie, our cat, she can then go to Nana and Grandpa's house and torture their cat, Kitty Hawk.
She is really good at saying "kitty kitty" when she sees a cat or when she hears one in another room. Not sure if we could consider that her first official word or not as she already is saying "mama" and "dada".

This summer, Mommy is teaching summer school, so Lils will get to spend time at daycare. There will be a few days, I am sure, when she will forgo daycare to play hooky with the grandparents. I am signing her up for kindermusic, and they will be taking her every Monday morning, so I would be willing to bet that the rest of the day each Monday will be adventures with the grandparents.

Lils is already pulling up and doing lots of standing. She is working on balancing herself and is beginning to walk around the coffee table like a pro. It will be no time before she actually starts walking, I am sure of it.
Our little girl is getting so grown up!

I will (hopefully) post some pictures of the zoo adventures tomorrow. Till then, thanks for being patient.

At Veterans Park with Grandpa

2010-05-23T08:51:00.000-07:00

The Lion and the Lamb (and the laundry)

2010-05-16T10:46:00.000-07:00

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hanging with Auntie Saba

2010-04-24T03:06:00.001-07:00

2010-04-24T02:48:00.000-07:00

Next week, our little girl will officially be 9 months old! I can't even believe it.

She really is growing up too fast.

And on her 9 month birthday, Nana and Grandpa hopefully will officially close on their house here in Arlington and will begin their move here. We are pretty excited about it all.

I think it will be such a great thing for Lils and for us as well.

The only problem will be getting Grandpa to pace himself with her. :)

He likes to be around her ALL the time even if that means sitting in the back seat with her and letting me be his chauffeur.

We are getting ready for Lils to move to a bigger girl class. Mommy isn't really excited about it, but I also know that it will be the best thing for her. More kids her own age to play with, more toys, more space to move around. I think in all, it will be a very good thing.

Mommy will be sad to leave Myrtle and Paula.

We can still visit, right?

We are already planning for the summer. We are hoping to take a Kindermusik class, along with maybe LOTS of visits to the Science museum in Fort Worth. Anyone with other suggestions for fun stuff to do, let me know.

We were talking about swim classes, but Billy read articles that said all that chlorine is bad bad for babies. So maybe we will stick to playing in a little baby pool instead.

Thanks for keeping up with us. I know it sometimes takes a while for us to update. I will try to do better. :)

At the Park

2010-04-23T16:31:00.001-07:00

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Swinging with Mommy

2010-04-23T16:16:00.000-07:00

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Now We're Standing

2010-04-21T19:04:00.001-07:00

We have a new talent.

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girl on the go...

2010-04-17T18:51:00.000-07:00

Lils is a crawling machine! She started crawling right after Spring Break and hasn't stopped since. She is a nut! And what does she crawl to the most? The poor poor cat. Annie doesn't know what to do about it. She doesn't run and hide, but she also doesn't stick around long enough to let Lilly pet her. I think Annie thought she was hiding on the chair. But Lilly was too smart for that!

Too many toys!!!

2010-04-17T18:38:00.000-07:00

Yep. She has too many toys. This basket of toys was under the crib and she discovered it today. Lils is really good at taking things out of baskets. Now we need to learn how to put stuff back in!

Ah! They are all out! My work here is done!

Oh wait! I think I see a few more!

Oh wow! A bunch more!!! Mommy will be happy that I got ALL of them out!

Gee, guess what we learned to do today?

2010-04-17T17:25:00.000-07:00

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Justa swangin'

2010-04-10T07:12:00.001-07:00

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Some more firsts...

2010-04-06T03:31:00.000-07:00

For a while now, Lils has been saying "dadadada" but never "mama". This weekend, she started saying "mama". Needless to say, I am thrilled. But now, she is saying "mama" every time she is hungry, so we don't know if she really wants me, or food. Oh well. We are still working on it.

Since Lils is crawling and now pulling herself up, we have moved her mattress down in her crib. This wasn't such a big deal to her but a huge deal to us! Our little girl is growing up TOOOO fast!

Pretty soon she will need a new car seat! wow! Too fast!

Adventures!

2010-04-04T07:51:00.000-07:00

Since we had Good Friday off, we decided to have an adventure. We wanted to go to the zoo (don't tell Grandpa since he wanted to be the first one to take her) but it was rainy and gross outside, so we opted for the Dallas World Aquarium.

I guess everyone else on the planet had the same idea because it was PACKED! Lots of field trips and lots of parents just hanging with their kids. We had to be really careful with the stroller as to not run over people. (sometimes we wanted to run over them when they continued to get in our way, but we didn't!)

Lils didn't really seem to care one way or the other about most of the birds or other animals at the rainforest part. I think they were too far away and she wasn't sure what she was supposed to be looking for. But she LOVED the fish. She and daddy spent lots of time looking at big big fish and turtles.

Looking at fish with Daddy

Turtles are cute!

Afterwards, we went to our friend Saba's favorite place to eat in Dallas, La Duni.

Too bad she was out of town, or she could have joined us.

The food was really good and Lils made (of course) lots of friends at the restaurant.

This was our appetizer! yummy!!!

The Best Thing at The Science Museum

2010-03-27T17:11:00.000-07:00

We had to ride the elevator over and over and over.....

Bubble Tubes at the Science Museum

2010-03-27T17:03:00.001-07:00

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That's a BIG Cow

2010-03-27T17:02:00.001-07:00

At the science museum.
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Seeing All the Puppies at the Dog Show

2010-03-27T17:01:00.001-07:00

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Bunnies!

2010-03-24T18:22:00.001-07:00

or maybe just one special bunny!

Mysterious basket o' Bunnies

2010-03-20T12:34:00.000-07:00

Yesterday, coming back from the movies, we drove into the driveway to discover a mystery basket o' Bunnies.
Yep. All pink and fluffy and cute. There was a card that wasn't signed and had some money inside.
Wow. The Easter Bunny went a little crazy!
We found out rather quickly that Frances, Billy's aunt had delivered said bunny haul for the Easter Bunny. Guess he was busy getting those eggs dyed.
Thanks to Frances, by the way!

The money in the card has sparked some good conversation though, about what to do with money given to Lilly. She certainly doesn't have a purse or need for money. (that will come soon enough, I am afraid but for now...)

So we went down to the bank today and got her a savings account. Yay. it was funny, when I told them I wanted to start an account for my daughter, they didn't seem to blink an eye. When asked how old she was, I answered "almost 8 months" and there was definitely a strange look.
We have her all set up for a savings account and we will set it up that money from our savings account will go into her savings account on a monthly basis. Yay for Frances who got us started on this and yay for teaching her at an early age what it means to save money.
All because of a mysterious basket o bunnies.

Crawling!!!

2010-03-20T12:26:00.000-07:00

Well, she officially took those first crawling steps today! So exciting! And so scary all at the same time.
Now we really have to get some cleaning done in the house and move LOTS of things!

We have been working on getting her to crawl for a little while now. She has been ready, just couldn't coordinate it quite yet. Each time, we would put her favorite blue ball or stuffed bear just a little out of reach and let her try to get it.
It would frustrate her more than anything else.

This morning, I was pumping and letting her play on the floor and it happened. She didn't go toward Beary, her favorite bear, or the blue ball, or anything else that she loves to play with. She went full speed toward the container of baby snacks. As if she was on a mission! Crawling over bunched up blankets on the floor. Crawling over other toys. Just to get snacks.
Yep. That is my child. It is all about the snacks.

And of course, at the time, I didn't have the video camera. (new rule of thumb, keep the camera at our side at all times!)
And of course, since then, we have tried to video her crawling several times after and she just gets tired and flops down and gets cranky. Full force crawling for snacks takes it out of a baby!

So now she is asleep on Daddy's shoulder. Hopefully she is dreaming about all the great things she can crawl and get now. Knowing her, she is dreaming about snacks. And the stuff she can now crawl to get that is not for babies. Yep. That's my girl!

Big Girl Room

2010-03-20T12:15:00.000-07:00

My parents came into town at the end of this week and we decided to go see Avatar in 3D. This meant leaving Lils at Daycare for a few hours while we went to the movies. (she was anxious to play with Ms. Myrtle and all her friends)
I guess many of the parents of the kids at the daycare are teachers. They were having Spring Break as well and they decided to keep their kids home. Since no kids showed up that morning from Lilly's room, they sent Ms. Myrtle home.
When we showed up at noon, they asked us to take Lilly to the Crib One room. OH WOW. This room is quite big and different from the room that Lils has been in. It is the room that she will eventually graduate to when the time is right.
The room is much bigger and has LOTS of bigger baby toys, stuff Lils was quite interested in. I could tell she was going to really enjoy being in the room and playing with stuff.
They had three other babies in there, all taking a nap at the time Lils came in, so I knew there would be some fun friends to play with once they woke up. I wasn't sure, however, about how she would handle not having Ms. Myrtle or any of her other regular teachers around. She doesn't seem to handle strange grown ups well unless Mommy and Daddy are there. She seemed to, however, do really well. They all knew her and had seen and played with her before, so that made a big difference.

So while at the movies, I worried and felt guilty about leaving Lilly with people who weren't Mommy, Daddy, or Ms. Myrtle. I worried that she wouldn't eat well, nap well, or be happy there.
As soon as the movie was over, I called the school. They were happy to report that she was doing well and was flirting with a boy named Gram. Yep, Daddy would be thrilled to hear that news!

As soon as the movie was over, we rushed back to the school to pick her up. (I missed her too much, and the baby hog Grandpa needed to get his fill) She was just as happy as could be there at the school, eating and playing with Coleman and Gram. I worried for nothing.

All that playing and big girl room made her pretty tired though. As soon as we got home and got settled, she was fast asleep. I tried to wake her up around 7 to eat and get pajamas on, but she was having none of that.
Just more sleeping. Poor little girl slept till 7 the next morning.

Being in the Big Girl Room can take it out of a person.

I hadn't been too anxious to move her to the big girl Crib one room, but if it will wear her out and get her to sleep through the night better, I might just be happier about it.

:)

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

2010-03-17T04:32:00.001-07:00