No Real Subject Matter

Princess Tiana / Tinker Bell (depending on the moment)

Leaving cookies and "cow milk" for Santa. She didn't think he'd like her soy milk.

Christmas Morning

Thanks to Daddy for doing the heavy lifting on our snowman.

I am sitting on the side of the tub with my yoga (or everyday during pregnancy) pants rolled up around my growing and swelling thighs, balancing the laptop on my lap while Lily goes back and forth between talking to her bath toys and "washing" my legs. This afternoon she is in character as the whale who swallowed Jonah. Not Jonah of course ... the whale. This morning, she was briefly "Mother Gothel" from Rapunzel before heading off to Mother's Day Out. I surely hope she became herself before she told anyone at school that her hair was fixed like Mother Gothel - which is what I told her to convince her to let me pull it back out of her eyes. She wouldn't let me put a bow in though b/c of course, "Mother Gothel doesn't wear bows."

I've been thinking today about how our daily routine has changed as she's grown and how much more it will change come March 19th - or there-a-bouts - when baby #2 arrives. When Lily was born I felt an overwhelming urge to not be at the house for more than a few hours at a time. I would go completely stir crazy if we had not left the house by noon and had to make sure I had plenty of "errands" or plans to fill our days. That certainly kept us busy and she always traveled well and seemed to love being out and about - taking after her momma and grana.

Now that Lily is older and has an INTENSE imagination, we never seem to run out of things to do - whether we have  plans or not. I am curious/anxious about how this will change when baby girl #2 arrives and how I am going to adjust. Lily on the other hand will be fine, she is ready and waiting with her baby doll stroller and doll clothes and diapers. New baby beware... your big sister has big plans for you!

Wrapping Up... the gifts, the year, the old way of life (hopefully)

I am already getting a little sad that December is quickly passing away. I have always loved the Christmas season... the traditions, the food, the lights, the music, the decor, pretty much all of it (except for the mass over-spending - more on that later). Having a small child multiplies it all immeasurably.

Everywhere we go, Lily, with a Christmas song on her lips, excitedly calls out "look a Christmas Tree, look there's Santa Clause," etc, bringing to my attention just how fun it all really is. I have also really enjoyed sharing old traditions with her as well as beginning new ones. One thing we are doing this year to get in the spirit is to make our own wrapping paper out of Lily's paintings on her easel. I adore them and am still not sure how I am going to feel when they are inevitably ripped apart. Here are a few we have done so far:

We are also trying to teach Lily that Christmas is more about remembering Christ and helping others than Santa and toys, but of course this is a tough lesson for any child, much less a 2 1/2 year old. We were on our way to a drive through nativity the other night and I was trying to explain to Lily why we were about to look at people dressed up as Joseph and Mary and baby Jesus. At the end of it all she was quiet for a few minutes the said, "Hey Mom, do you know what Christmas is all about? Toys!!!" To which I replied, "But more than that isn't it about helping other people?" She paused and said, "Nope, just toys." Oh well, we'll keep trying.

Thinking about the mass commercialization and over-spending of Christmas leads me toward what has really been on my mind lately and what is to be my #1 resolution for 2011. To figure out how we (as a family) can really be different. How we can truly be more like Jesus and fulfill our purpose on this Earth. I think the answer is different for everyone and while we don't have our exact game plan mapped out yet, I am thankful to be having the discussion in a real way and prayerfully working toward that goal.

While I don't have the answer for us yet, I do know what it is NOT. It is not living the daily life that I have been... comfortable in my environment, giving without really sacrificing, not making any real attempts to bring others to Christ, consumed with my physical feelings and desires, and the list could go on. I know without a doubt that we have been called to do more than that and I am just praying my eyes will be opened and we can seize the opportunities that God will bring us.

Another, somewhat related, but less important resolution I have is to quit doing things that really don't matter out of a sense of guilt or obligation. One of these things is feeling like I have to document every holiday and activity on this blog. Confession: I only enjoy blogging some of the time. So that is when I am going to do it ... some of the time. We have plenty of photos and videos and that document our lives for our grandkids without me organizing and narrating every little detail. (i.e. there will be no Thanksgiving post, but photos are on FB if you are interested: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=570511&id=757975653&l=c15cefd626)

Another one of those things is reading the news. As someone with a PR background, I should love the news and want to read several versions of it to keep up with what is going on in the world. Truth is I don't. I try to enjoy it, but have decided to quit wasting my time and just let my news-hungry husband fill me in on enough tid-bits to keep me from looking like a complete idiot in the outside world and leave the regulatory reading to those who really enjoy it. I would like to develop a small, but great blog list to check periodically though, so if you have any that you relish, send the link my way.

An ongoing, recent resolution of mine is to buy organic whenever possible. This doesn't exactly fit in with our attempt being "gazelle intense" (dave ramsey-ism) but I think it is well worth the money. If you have not seen Food Inc., you owe it to your body, your kids, your spouse, etc to check it out. For a long time I had the attitude of just being content in ignorance, but I cannot ignore it any more. If you are interested in moving this way, I suggest just replacing your milk and hamburger meat with certified USDA organic (not "natural") products. This is where the bulk of the growth hormones lie from my understanding.

That is all I am going to say for now b/c my daughter is ready to play.

If you give a...

I can't tell you how many times (even in my pre-mom life) I have made the comment, "Well, if you give a mouse a cookie..." in response to a situation where one thing leads to another, and another, and another. The quote of course is in reference to the popular children's book series, If You Give a Mouse a Cookie, If You Give a Pig a Pancake, etc.

I have recently been thinking about how indicative it is of human nature, not just children, and the other day read a random blog post of a mom writing one about her teenage son. I could easily write, "If You Give a Pregnant Lady a Present" (or pancake for that matter!), "If You Give Your Husband a Hobby," and a host of others, but for now, I am going to stick with the following, "If You Give My Two-Year-Old a TuTu."

If You Give My Two-Year-Old a TuTu

If you give my two-year-old a tutu, she'll think it makes her look beautiful
and she'll want to twirl around.
She'll ask you to turn on some music to dance to.

Dancing will remind her that she doesn't really have any "dancing shoes"
so she'll ask you for some.
You'll search her room and come back with several choices.

Disappointingly, she'll inform you that none of them
are like Annie's or like princess shoes.

Talking about princess shoes will remind her
of her new Snow White dress
and she'll put it on instead.

Her blue Keds work just fine as Snow White shoes
so she proudly put them on all by herself
and run to look in the mirror to see how pretty she is.

Looking in the mirror will remind her
that she needs some make-up and she'll ask for some.

You'll grab her compact of assorted eye shadows
and let her put them on herself, then of course on you.

Eye shadow always make her think of Halloween when she was Cruella DeVil
so she will want to change into her Cruella coat and wig.

Being Cruella will make her want to watch 101 Dalmations,
so you'll pop it in for a few minutes.

When she watches a show,
she always wants a snack, and you'll suggest a popsicle.
You'll let her choose which color she wants
and she'll likely pick purple.

After she eats the popsicle, she will have a sticky purple mouth.
You will laugh and tell her that her mouth would match her purple tutu.

And chances are, she'll want to go put it on.

If She Doesn't Scare You, No Evil Thing Will

Lily's obsession with Cruella DeVil began about a month or so ago when she wanted to read a 101 Dalmatians book that I had picked up some time back at Savers. When we got to the page where Cruella makes her debut, Lily's eyes got wide and she said in awe... "who is that lady mommy?" From there I began singing the song, we rented the movie and the rest is Disney history. I hesitated to go all out with a costume, since it was still 3-4 weeks from Halloween, but as time grew near, her love did not fade.

Here is what being Cruella means to Lily...

1. Each morning when I went into her room, the first thing out of her mouth was, "I'm not Lily." To which I would say, "Okay Cruella, let's get up." 
2. When watching the movie, it is imperative that you see Cruella through rose-colored glasses. Lily would say things like, "those puppies need to find Cruella, or she'll be sad."
3. In her mind, she IS Cruella and out of the blue one day she said, "Hey mom, remember that time my eyes were on fire and I broke my red car?" It took me a little while to realize she was referring to a Cruella scene in the movie.
4. She insisted that everyone, including our children's minister at church (who thought she said gorilla) call her Cruella and not Lily.

Now that the trick-or-treat season is safely behind us, I am going to try and wean her out of this weird phase. She is leaning toward Snow White some, so we'll see where that goes...

Cruella, Roger and Anita

 

Kiddie Karnaval at church

Getting ready to Trick-or-Treat

 Miles the Skunk, Carson the Monkey and Cruella

The Ever Classy... San Diego

After taking several trips without Lily, we decided it was her turn to have some travel fun. We first looked at national parks out west, but then realized, there was not too much out there to offer a 2-year-old and thus, would not be much fun for anyone. Since Lily LOVES animals, we settled on San Diego and planned a trip that included seeing just about every living animal God's created. I am sure there are other things to do in San Diego ... when you are not at the Zoo, Wild Animal Park or Sea World ... and if I ever get the chance to go back, I'll be sure to check them out.

See pics at: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=521644&id=757975653&l=1b2929a820

5:30 a.m. in LR airport: "Hi Grana and Granddad, I'm so excited!"... "going to go see animals!"

"I wanna go see stuffed animals."

Bye Bye Summer... Hello Baby!

This summer is pretty much a blur to me. We began by hitting the pool almost ever other day, flunking out (or I guess I should say dropping out) of swimming lessons and then with the rising heat, came the news of baby number 2 and it seems like we've been in hibernation ever since. I've been sick - a little worse than with Lily, but it's getting more manageable - so other than several trips to Searcy, we've really not done much of anything the past couple of months.

Now that the heat has eased, Blake says my number one goal is to re-acclimate Lily to life outdoors. Our child who used to live for the playground, backyard and campsites, now says things like, "it's too hot to walk, will you carry me?" I'm afraid I've created a monster.

She seems pretty excited about the baby though, which is good news. She of course assumes it is a girl and told me the other day that she would push the baby in her toy stroller and "she wouldn't fall out" and also that when the baby gets here, she and mommy and daddy will take care of her. I think the best baby comment occurred one night as she was saying her prayers. We were praying for all our friend's new babies and I was prompting her to say their names (i.e. thank you for baby Kennedy, baby Luke, etc.) and when I whispered "mommy's baby", she said "thank you for..." then leaned over to me with her little hands still folded and whispered, "what's your baby's name?"

For the sake of posterity (and those who appreciate a little bathroom humor) here are a few pregnancy/nausea-realted Lily comments I think are pretty funny:

1. We were in Searcy and Lily tells my mom, "Mommy says (insert coughing sound) and then her food goes in the potty."
2. I am in the midst of getting sick and feel a little hand begin to pat my back. Then Lily says, "It's okay Mommy" and later, "thank you for throwing up."
3. One day I was just sitting on the edge of the tub try to decide what was going to happen next and Lily come in the bathroom and says, "Hey Mommy, are you going to open the potty?" To which I say, "I'm not sure yet." Then she says, "You open the potty and then say (insert coughing sound) and then I'll go in there with Daddy."

Summer Time Pics

Reading the Bible to Baby Lucy

Sweet PaPaw gets in on the fun.

Hirscheider Cousins

Lily LOVED fishing at the Hatfield's cabin and kept saying she caught a hook.

Griffin & Lily in the sprinkler.

Baby Luke

Going to Uncle Randy's game with Granna and Grandad.

Lily LOVES/stalks the Panther!

Baby Kennedy.

Putting makeup on Baby Lucy.

Lily and friend Caden look like a little old couple.

We told Lily and Hayden to put their arms around each other. Lily didn't quite get it.

Blue slushy high.

4th of July Parade with Granna, Grandad and Braden.

Playing house with Griffin.

Catching Up

The first part of May we went camping with some great friends and a good time was had by all... especially Lily.

We are so blessed to have friends who are not only lots of fun, but who love Lily so much and are great encouragements to us.

After a 3 hour nap (unusual but welcomed) I heard Lily talking in her bed. When I opened the door she was sitting up, with her Bible in her lap, "reading 'bout Jesus." She stayed in there for a while just turning the pages and describing what she saw.

Poor Coop gets left out of most of these posts, so here he is looking pretty good. Pics were courtesy of our good friend Jason. He and his sweet wife, Crystal were kind enough to take Coop in when we went to Alabama to see Bear and Lauren get married. Such a good trip... we spent time with great college friends and had a blast with Jessica, Grant and Jessica's cousins, who took us in for the weekend and make us feel like a part of the family.
I think Lily would have been just fine to stay there and let us all go on home.

These are from the strawberry-picking outing mentioned in the potty post. Needless to say, it was a bit muddy that day.

Lily and I were working in the garden one morning. I looked up to see her holding a handful of potting soil and saying, "Yummm... cupcake!"

Playing in the dirt at Noah's baseball game.

On Memorial Day weekend, we went to the lake with the Eli and Amie and Peyton and Ashley.

Lily was a little hesitant in the water and did not want anyone to ski, but all in all she did great.

A few shots in the backyard, pool and playing with "Little Mrs. Betty" the turtle, who Lily affectionately named after her favorite babysitter from church.

Watching Toy Story with Gracie, Isabel, Enid and Silas.

Hanging out with Reese and Micah at Chuck E. Cheeses.