No Peeking!

OK so I admit it - I opened all my presents early. I still do it and I still re-wrap them and act surprised. I just can't help myself. And I'm not upset that Lilly did this at such a young age. I am appalled though at her lack of creativity and how brazen she is with such an act!














OK - what is it?














a scarf and a hat from Ms. Bonnie! Very nice of her.














What? not what you expected? I guess you'll have to open another one.

Feeding Woes

Lilly's Aunt Kelly got her some dishes for her birthday and I thought it was a great idea. See? A plate with bananas, pumpkin bread and some carrots. I know she doesn't really know what to do with spoon or fork, but really expected her to appreciate the plate and eat it all eagerly.

Do you see the plate?

Lesson learned! And check out the floor! Thank goodness for Goose! Unfortunately, Goose just went to the vet for his check up and shots. Looks like Goose has gained 5 pounds. We are pretty sure it is because Lilly keeps feeding him.

Lilly Meets Santa!

Cindy, a co-worker, hosts an annual open house featuring Santa! I've always thought it was a great idea and so this year I invited Lilly! The theory: Santa can be scary so the kids need to be comfortable! She had cookies, punch and other appetizers along with paper and crayons so kids could write letters to Santa or draw him a picture. And as if that isn't enough, she collects new, unwrapped toys for Toys for Tots!

This is Lilly with our wonderful host.

and this is Lilly with the jolly fellow! She wasn't excited about him. So we decided to let her walk around and explore and see if she could get enough courage to try it again.

This is Santa's Room. Lilly watched him closely when she wasn't trying to play with the antique tea set.

I really thought we were making progress here. She seems comfortable and interested in him.

After about an hour of holding a cookie and exploring Cindy's beautiful home and waving to Santa, we tried again unsuccessfully. Guess we will try again next year!

The Good Stuff

I cannot wait until Lilly can sit on the counter and help me bake chocolate chip cookies! I usually make lots of cookies on Thanksgiving weekend and take them into the office for our clients to enjoy. Our clients now expect goodies and I still don't have anything made. My annual Holiday Cookie Exchange is on Friday and although I know which cookie I am going to bake, I haven't started them. Lilly loves to share and was gracious enough to share her germs with me so I've been fighting this cold since Thanksgiving. She and I are finally feeling better so we decided to do some baking! We tried a new recipe. Orange Batons - a shortbread cookie that should be sprinkled with powdered sugar, but Lilly likes them without so we are doing without the powdered sugar.

We read directions for the breadmaker and although it says "made in New York" as Lilly pointed out, our bread was really made in a little place we'll call "Mommy's Kitchen."

We also made praline grahams, but they didn't really turn out so good. Like any good cook, we got rid of the evidence quickly!

All this cooking tuckered poor Lilly out!

The Good Ole Days

Back in the day it seemed I was sick a lot. I was easily spotted in the Christmas snapshots because inevitably, the photo was taken just as I was sneezing or blowing my nose or something else sickly. The great thing about that though (sometimes you have to look really hard for the silver lining) was Robitussin! Mom always had it on hand and I enjoyed taking it! A lot can be said for codeine. I miss being able to buy it OTC!

Lilly is very good at sharing and shared her cold with me which turned into a horrible cough that only a deaf person (ie Ernie) could sleep through. I finally gave in and went to the doctor who lovingly gave me a prescription for robitussin and a z-pack. I am most thankful for the robitussin and the extra generous refill!

So I'm feeling better today - finally. I got up with Lilly; fed her; played with her; consoled her every time she whined as she woke up on the wrong side of her crib today. More importantly - I took a shower. Yesterday was a rough day.... so today was already a huge improvement. I even went to the grocery store. I was feeling very accomplished until I got home and walked in the door. Ernie asked me if I was ok. I said yes. He responded with really? And then told me how bad I looked today and he couldn't believe I went to the grocery store "like that." And I thought I was off to such a good start....

The Most Wonderful Time of the Year!

I love Christmas! Always have. I love to drive around and look at the lights. I love to go shopping even though I'm already done to watch everyone else hustling and bustling. I love the Christmas music! Yes, I listen to the Christmas station!! And yes, I start playing Christmas music in my CD player and on Pandora well before Halloween and sometimes in July! I hope to share this love with Lilly. I really want her to enjoy it, but I feel like we may need to set some boundaries. For starters: Hey! Stop breaking the ornaments! I put some ornaments that I thought could not be broken on some lower branches anticipating her wanting to touch and play with some of them.

So far - she's broken 2 of them. One belonged to my mom's mom. It was 3 red wooden bells. I remember my first tree out on my own. I was 20 years old and had only a few ornaments. I couldn't afford to buy anything and was complaining about it to my mom. Mimi was living with mom at the time and must have felt my heartache. She came out with a box of her ornaments. She told me she didn't need them and would love for me to use them! I still hang remember that night fondly as I hang her ornaments on my tree. The other one was a Santa face my paternal grandmother gave me not too long ago. It was probably one of the last gifts I received from her. She probably couldn't tell you my name anymore thanks to Alzheimer's. I thought the Santa face was plastic and "safe", but apparently, if one slams it down hard enough on a hard-wood floor, a resin Santa ornament will break.

See those red bells? Yep - gone! She just pulled them apart like warm string cheese.

And Ernie is always telling me how I spoil Lilly. I let her get away with everything and "it's ok to tell her no." Yet look at the evidence I found on his camera recently. Looks like he not only "allowed" her to play with the tree, but he also documented it!

Black Friday

Last year, we spent a very quiet Thanksgiving at home with a very tiny newborn. Unfortunately, I was sick as a dog and could not take anything for it. I was told we needed a cool mist vaporizer to relieve my symptoms and protect Lilly from my preferred OTC drugs. Ernie was so sweet when he said, "I'll go get something tomorrow." I thought ok, but I knew it was best to prepare him for the chaos of Black Friday. He quickly changed his mind and said something along the lines of "sorry for you!" But - I thought of everyone I know and only one of my local friends is crazy enough to go out in that! Yes, Anita has even waited on Starbucks to open! Really? Anyway - fast forward to this year. My sister, Kelly and her family, came to visit Lilly and she really needed to get all her Christmas shopping finished while here. She thought I would want to go with her. Not really. But here she is showing Lilly the ropes...

"First, you have to have a plan Lilly!"
"And then, we have to organize our.... Ok - Lilly - we have to get ORGANIZED!"