Elf on the shelf

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

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

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.

And more sugar induced dancing.

What happens when sock monkeys have too much sugar

Halloween Adventures

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.

Lil loves to feed the birdies at the zoo.

Chillaxing.

Happiness is a daddy hammock.

Playing with pumpkins is fun.

Playing with pumpkins.

These boots are made for dancing.

Dancing boots.

First Trike Ride

Two years of greatness.

Fixing the sprinkler

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

Buddies stay up with you when you have insomnia.

Buddies clean spaghetti off each other's faces

Buddies take a break from yardwork to read books together

Buddies laugh at each other's corny jokes

Buddies hang out at the pool together

School is out for summer!

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

Cheese

First Car

My new favorite picture

The Lils loves to read books!

Aaarg!!!

Reading Tough Boris. Sorry the video is so dark.

Our big girl

Spring Break

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.

iPad fun.

I like to go sledding!

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

BEEP!

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

Bath time

Life with Lils

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.