Holiday Baking

Ok, I admit it, I'm not in the Christmas Spirit this year. The past few months have been really tough on me at work and then having to nurse my back didn't help either. So I tried to do some holiday baking. Every year I try new recipes and I look forward to adding a new cookie to my list of favorites. This year I've only tried one.

Lilly wanted to help fill the cookies with the peppermint cream which did not turn out to be very helpful. But she was fun to watch. And then she decided to taste it.

And look at this happy face! The cookies, weren't really that good, but having the time in the kitchen with Lilly was worth it!

Bump in the Night

Recently, the bump in the night was our daughter leaping from her crib to the floor. Fortunately, she landed on her feet every time, but she would then start screaming and crying because she couldn't figure out how to get back into her crib. So we converted the crib to a toddler bed the next morning and nap time and bed time just hasn't been the same since. In fact, it's been rough. We go in and check on her periodically to see where she is. One time she must have been really mad at us because she was blocking the door, sleeping on the floor. Her most recent place is her rocking chair.

Charlie Brown Christmas

Ok - so I cannot wait to get past this back injury. I'm so behind on everything! Laundy, shopping, wrapping, decorating for the holidays... So instead of the traditional tree and all the holiday toys, we are using Lilly's miniature pink tree.

I don't remember how old we were when Mom started letting us help decorate the tree, but I'm now sure it wasn't at 2. I'm smart enough to use non-breakable ornaments.

And I really confused her with this garland. She carried it all over the house. It makes a great boa.

But seriously, Lilly - put it on the tree!

Oh Where?

oh where is our BFF, Brooke? We haven't seen her for days! I guess she is still recovering from her Thanksgiving feast, but we miss her! Lilly has been begging to ride in her Jeep, but Lilly is still too short to push the pedal. And I hated to tell her Brooke wasn't home (again). In walks Joey. Joey is our five year old neighbor. You've met him before in a previous post - he was her beloved Shrek for Halloween!

Joey was so sweet to drive her in her pink Barbi Jeep. I even told him I was taking pictures!

These will come back to haunt you in approximately 8-10 years buddy! Don't make me use it!

Thanks for stepping up Joey. Lilly really enjoyed the ride. Maybe next time she'll stick to the sidewalk chalk or the more manly wagon ride!

Lilly turns 2!

We had a small family party this year for her. And rather impromptu. When Britanie and TJ were small my family always hoped to give the favorite gift. Aunt Cathy's adorable fairy house drew her attention and seemed like it may be the winner.

But then she opened the shopping cart from Uncle Scott. She pushed it all over the house while we kept saying "but there's more to open!" Scott seemed like the apparent winner.

But then finally (FINALLY!!) she opened her Elmo gift from Mommy and Daddy. And this was sure to be the winner!

But no. Wait! It can't be. Is that a ribbon?

Pure Joy. That's what that look is. And yes, she put all the ribbons in her shopping cart and pushed them everywhere. Here it is, Sunday - three days later and there are all her ribbons in her shopping cart. Unbelievable. And I can't even believe the video I still need to upload for you!

Peanut Butter Pie

I've never had it either, but it sounded good. Lilly wanted to try some so Aunt Patty very willingly shared her piece with Lilly.

Lilly responded favorably, by taking control of the fork.

And then proceeded to finished Aunt Patty's pie.

Why the sad face Lilly? You ate it all! And it wasn't even your dessert! Poor Aunt Patty is what you should be thinking...

Aaah Technology!

Technology is not my friend. For some reason, I can't answer my cell phone. I dont know how to fix it. At work, I do not know how to program the fax machine. Our on-hold music isn't right and I can't fix it. Technology and I have an understanding.... I need certain basic things in life, give me those items and I will not bad mouth you Mr. Technology. I feel technology has gone too far! My niece, Britanie doesn't wear a watch. She doesn't need it because she has her cell phone. My daughter has no idea a mouse is a rodent! Kids watch movies in cars on their way to school. Really? I always vowed I would not need a tv or dvd player in my car. Lilly and I can play road trip games. So far, Lilly is not excited about traveling bingo or counting all the blue cars! And she let us know it while traveling to see Aunt Kelly. So for the ride home, Uncle Chris and Aunt Kelly had a brilliant idea.

This is Lilly watching Shrek on a portable DVD player attached to my headrest. Pure amazement. Pure joy... Unfortunately, the last hour was still not pleasant, but it can only get better. Right? I promise to try to be nicer to you Mr. Technology... some day.

Little Rock

We went to Kelly's house, in Benton, AR last week. She and Dylan hung out at the park and out front practicing their graffiti skills.

There is a little park area in the subdivision just down the street from Kelly's house and Lilly seemed to be the only child in the area interested in playing on it. She was a little unsure about the tire swing. We did not spend much time on it.

We crossed the bridge and checked out the trail. She saw berries, leaves, rocks, and even a creek.

So happy just swingin'!

Scaredy Cat

So I had this idea... And of course, it involved a tu-tu. The original plan was for her to be an adorable witch! I was going to make a hat. But thanks to things beyond my control at work, time just got away from me. So I changed the plan to a scaredy cat which was still going to require some crafting on my part and a tu-tu.

Fortunately, I found a cat bag for Lilly to carry all her candy in at Target and this wonderful t-shirt that already had a cat on it and said "Scaredy" on it. Thank you Target. Unfortunately, my tu-tu was already finished and was originally black and blue so I had to buy some more tulle and re-work that masterpiece!

This is our neighbor Joey, aka Shrek, aka Lilly's favorite ogre in all the land! She was happy to have him in her entourage up the hill. So happy, in fact, she managed to take his pumpkin filled with his candy.

This is our bff, Brooke. They look so cute together!

By the end of the night, she had trick or treated Brooke's house three times and our house at least 10! She helped hand out candy to one group of small kids. One got several pieces and one got none. The other - lost his pumpkin. Guess who had it! She did great!

Pumpkin Patch 2010

This digital slideshow customized with Smilebox

Batty for Daddy!

We went to Little Rock to hang out with the family and visit the pumpkin patch! Last year, Lilly wasn't really aware of the pumpkins, the animals or even the large green tractors. This year was a whole different visit! There was a hay bale play area that included a lot of hay (hello allergens!) an under-hay tunnel and Lilly's favorite - a slide.

She had a great time talking to, petting, and feeding the animals. Well - there were a lot of animals to show some attention to but Lilly was only aware of this one little goat. He was really sweet.

We finally made it to the pumpkin patch. She was not impressed with the big ones. We showed her the pie pumpkins and she fed them some corn to help them grow! It was all we could do so we could take some pictures.

She loved being pulled in the wagon and took great care of this tiny gourd. I'm ashamed to admit there were pig races. I'm happy to report Lilly was not impressed by them.

Goose and Lilly

Goose has been a wonderful dog and part of our family. He's always been so good with Lilly even when she's not so nice to him. He gets ignored all the time and he knows who to blame for it, but he doesn't. He's just so sweet. Lilly has recently begun giving him commands. One day we were riding in her cozy coupe (ok - she was riding while I pushed) and she noticed Goose was not with us so she got out of her car and went over to him and commanded he "come." He had some trouble deciphering her word and I understand. Most recently she has told him to "sit, stay" and then today she played ball with him. She tells him to "drop." The only command that sounds right to him is "sit" but he tries. Here they are learning to play ball together.

Timeshare

We've talked about buying a timeshare many times. We want it to be someplace nice, within driving distance. Some place we can all enjoy. We finally found the perfect place! And it is so close. It is 2 lots over from our house. And it is Brooke's slide. Probably not our best investment.

Lilly's First Black Eye

It was bound to happen... I assumed it would be in a few years on the playground by some mean bully. Instead it happened tonight by our bff, Brooke. In Brooke's defense, she tried to tell Lilly to let go of the glider. But in Lilly's defense - she's not even 2 yet and has no idea what you are talking about Brooke!

She only cried a little and then was back up and at 'em.

After our bath, we continued our first aid efforts.

Sympathy Pains

Somehow Ernie managed to "kick" a desk at work and hurt his big toe. And it's pretty bruised. He then managed to hurt it again a few hours later while vacuuming. I'm still unclear how he hurt it in the first place. Some may think I was very unsympathetic to his pain. But where I lacked sympathy, his daughter definitely made up for it!

Since Ernie was sitting with an ice pack on his foot, guess who needed her ice pack!

I was waiting for her to demand a band aid...

Papa and Mimi

I remember how excited I got when I got to go visit my Papa and Mimi or when they would come see us. They always played games with us and Papa always let us win. Mimi taught me how to do crossword puzzles. Papa would just hang out with us and let us climb on him. They were good to us. I want Lilly to have those fun memories with her grandparents.

Papa and Mimi came to visit recently and Lilly wasted no time making some memories! She took Papa to Little Gym (and check out the hat she picked out!). She showed him her balance beam skills and almost jumped!

She took them to the park where she ran into her friends, Emily and Hailey. She played in the tunnel, on the slide, and swings.

She met a new friend, Mia. And even more importantly, she was nice to her and shared with her!

She showed off her mad painting skills!

Papa and Mimi left so they could recover. We'll see you soon!