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.

Hello Summer... Bye Bye Diapers!

Soon after Lily turned 2 we began with potty training. This was something I had been dreading but was urged on by Blake who insisted that she was ready. Turns out he was right. After just a few days of going commando around the house, Lily was ready to take on the outside world in her Minnie Mouse panties. After that, we just kept to a pretty strict bathroom schedule and I carried her "potty duck" (a seat that goes on the big potty) around in a bag for about two weeks until she got more comfortable. We thought we were home free... until now.

The last few days has been like we're back at square one. I blame her setbacks on my potty pride - that must be what I get for bragging so much. I am sure we will get back on track soon, but in the meantime, I will just reflect on some of the funnier moments this stage has provided.

1. Day one of going commando: Lily is playing outside in her playhouse and says "I potty right here." She walks off and sure enough, has left a present on the patio. The worst part about this is that while I was inside cleaning her up, Cooper made her accident his afternoon snack.
2. A few weeks in she insisted that she had to go while we were driving home from church. I stopped at the nearest (and only) gas station which was absolutely disgusting. She must have sensed my hesitation and fear as I was wiping everything down and wishing for a hazmat suit and said reassuringly, "Mommy, you have my potty duck?" Sadly, I did not.
3. Lily had only been in panties a few days when Blake and Nana took her to pick strawberries. They were out in the middle of the field when Lily announced that she had to go. Blake, being the resourceful Dad that he is, took her in in the woods, and with her back against his chest, he held her legs in the air and let her water the brush like a fountain. I was REALLY impressed and sure that if it had been me, we both would've ended up needing a change of clothes.
4. Lily was in the bath and I was sitting next to the tub working on the computer. Out of no where she says, "Here Mommy, put this in the potty." I look up confused to find her holding a #2.