Happy Birthday Daddy!

Dear Daddy,

Mommy said it was your birthday today and that makes me so excited. I can't wait to eat birthday cake and watch you open your presents. I hope you have a happy day and know how much I love you even though I can't talk yet. I try to show you everyday by being a really nice baby, give you good burps like you like, sleep really good, laugh a lot and smile really big when you walk into a room because I know how happy that makes you.

You are such a good daddy to me because you always want to spend time with me, tickle me, give me fun baths, go swimming with me, feed me, read me books, call me funny nicknames, talk to me in silly voices and take me for long walks.

I love being with you because I always feel so loved no matter what we're doing. Happy birthday daddy. I know you waited and prayed for me for a long time; I think this will be your best birthday ever because we're finally together!

Love,
Lily Grace (aka "Little Person")



I also like when you pretend like I'm a boxer when I'm in my bath towel and announce "in this corner-weighing in at 14lbs..." and say funny things about me. It always makes me laugh. Mommy too.





I love when you read books to me and use silly voices. I'm sorry that you hurt your right elbow from carrying me. I think your arm brace you have to wear is kind of cute.

Aren't you proud of me that I voted today? (see my sticker)




I love when you call me "Little Person". I sure look little in this picture. It was kind of hot outside in my long sleeve shirt, but wanted to get just the right shot using good lighting like Nanny K taught mommy.






Mommy is a counselor so I know it's good to say nice things about myself and be confident. I think I'm pretty cute, but not in the braggy way. What do you think daddy?



Oh and btw, I'm trying really hard to say "Da-Da" like we've been practicing, but don't get your feelings hurt if I say "Ma-Ma" first because she and I have been training a little harder on the side. ;)

I love you daddy!

Thank you for always filling up my love cup.
Mommy's too! ;) xoxo

Time Machine

I don't know about you, but Lily sure had fun in her time machine!

Here's what she would look like if she was around in 1956

She is really creative with her hairstyles in 1962

What beautiful hair she had in the year I was born; 1974

WOW! She had some crazy days in 1978

Lily, love you and all, but ever heard of a pik in 1980. I think I see one in the back.




She must've spent a lot of money on hairspray in 1984. She's going to jazzercise after this photo was taken in her legwarmers (not pictured).




I like what she's doing with her bangs in 2000; little too much poof, but they're very even.

I really could've done this all day with pictures of Lily and others, but she woke up and wanted to play...in the present.

Wanna take a trip in your own time machine? Check out www.yearbookyourself.com for some serious belly laughs and thanks to Meagan for finding this hilarious site!!

Be Thankful!

I read this inspiring blog Kelle found and can't get this family out of my mind!! It's a blog written from the dad's perspective, raising their sweet little girl, Madeline who just turned 5 months old.

Check it out and read the link, "If you haven't been here before" first on the upper right panel.

http://www.mattlogelin.com/


Makes you thankful for the little and big things going right in your life! I told Lily she is a "Troubleshooter"; meaning she shoots all troubles away with her smile, giggle and just her spirit.

Life is good! xoxo

Look-alike Meter

Look at this fun site Allison found....I tried a lot of different pictures and it kept saying Lily looked more like David by 3-5%. Most people say Lily looks a lot like David, but I dont see her looking like either of us. I think she's too cute to look like either of us! lol.
I'm not usually good at seeing that in babies/kids anyway.

Try it out and let me know what you find....

MyHeritage: Family tree - Genealogy - Celeb - Collage - Morph

Btw, photobucket has suspended my pictures because I used too much of their memory this month! Oops! I guess they don't love Lily as much as I do. My pictures will be back online on the 27th when it resets for next month. I have a VERY large post coming up about her hats that'll explain why they kicked me out of their club for a few days!!

Polls are Open!!

Need your help!! We're going to enlarge a picture of Lily for her nursery, but can't decide from all the goodies that have been taken; especially from the ones Kelle has taken!! It's going to be super big!! Please comment or email me (kelster5@aol.com) which one you think we should choose!! We could've chosen a million more for the "playoffs", but here are some we're choosing from. This is harder than picking out names!!

There are no ties, but you can rank them if it's too hard to choose just one. I may order a few large prints and rotate them in the frame.

(avoid reading the comments first because you may be swayed) :)

The number/title is above each picture....




Picture #1: Lily Grace









Picture 2: Miracle









Picture #3: Bonnet Baby










Picture #4: Looking Up









Picture #5: Close Up









Picture #6: Present










Picture #7: Lily Pie










Picture #8: Cherries










Picture #9: Blueberries

4 Months

We took these on August 4th and Kelle reminded me this is kinda like her golden birthday because she's 4 months old and was born on the 4th. Allison loved celebrating my golden birthday when I turned 17. Right Allison? teehee

Ok, technically, her golden birthday is when she turns 4 years old, but this is close.







She looks like a french painter here...









Big thank you to Stephanie!! Steph let me borrow this Inspi(red) shirt and I wore it to difficult doctor appointments when going through IVF. It helped to give me strength and push through the tough times. I knew somehow, some way, somewhere, we'd have a baby at the end of our struggles. I just didn't know how.

Look what I found for Lily to wear too. :)

















And in honor of her 4 month birthday, guess who wanted to celebrate?




I love those ruffle bloomers and wish she could wear them everyday.

I can't remember a 4 month span in my life that has made me happier. She is magical to be with.

Life is good.

Really good. (happy sigh)

Hyatt

I could live at this place! It seems to have 200 pools and there's a scenic area everywhere you turn! There's hammocks, waterfalls, sweet smelling aromas in every lobby, and things to do for anyone at any age. I even took Lily down the lazy river and she smiled the entire time!!














She's showing her hippy spirit.







She LOVES to stand up and smiles so big that it's like her whole body is smiling and her face is taken over by the joy!








We had a night out on the town and was neat to "stroll around" with her while after a full meal. Please excuse the chocolate ice cream on her headband David accidentally got on her. lol. I even have some on my lower lip if you look close enough. David let me know about 30 minutes after this picture!!!






This place is beautiful!!

















I think it's cute that David (and Lily) had to tell the receptionist to put "mommy" on the gift certificate. This was one of the best massages I've ever had!!





What a cute face!! How is she ours?





We went to Bice at Coconut Point for dinner. I was trying to talk David into splitting something with me to save money because this was a "special occasion" restaurant we don't frequent often. As we were going over the pricey menu trying to be frugal, the manager came over to our table and guess what he told us???????



He said it was our lucky night because he wanted us to order and drink whatever we wanted because he wanted to pick up the bill!! The entire bill!! We looked around the restaurant looking for someone we knew thinking it was a silly prank. Then I thought maybe we were on Dateline and John Quonies(sp?) was going to come out with "What Would You Do?" scenario.



We were looking for strings.



Turns out there weren't any strings!



We asked our server more about it and she said the manager does it every once in awhile and said it's good PR and we looked like a nice family!! Us!??! A nice family!! Needless to say, we had fun ordering appetizers, drinks and individual entrees!! $80 later, we took this picture with the super friendly manager!! So, if you're in the area, check out Bice at Coconut Point!! Great ambiance. Super service. Amazing food. Maybe you'll be chosen for Candid Camera like we were!!




We were all smiles ordering away...










Lily even had her own crib provided by the Hyatt. She slept great! The only problem is that she looked like she was doing time in the slammer!!







She spent most of the time in shade and covered like she was going to do some lawn work!!




She loves standing...









All smiles...





I love the rocking chair in the background...

























Ready for some fun in the sun...



Life is good!! xoxo

Lily Pie

Someone whose name rhymes with silly loves her Baby Bjorn! It's like we gave her Tylenol PM after being in this for a few minutes as she usually falls asleep... no matter how bouncy the ride is!












She looks like she's either going to a hip hop dance, join a gang or go to the gym in this outfit! I can't get over what a happy baby she is!!






Don't worry...I was close by for this picture so she didn't roll off, but I just couldn't get over how small she looked asleep on the big couch!



Do you read multiple blogs per day? If so, plug them all into the "Google Reader" and they will monitor them all and let you know when there is a new post! This has been a HUGE timesaver for me because I don't have to check every blog I read to see if there is a new post. Thanks Jen for finding this timesaving lifesaver for my blogging life!!

I haven't talked about going back to work on the blog because I think a part of me is in denial (big time!) and it seems so far away, but September is starting to creep up on me!! It causes me a lot of stress (tears, lost sleep, denial, etc) to think about being away from Lily when I'm back to work and I'm trying to focus on the present and not fast forward too much.

Good news is I just found out this week that Kelle wants to watch Lily this year!!!! That makes my heart SO happy to know how loved she is by Kelle already and she'll be marinating in this love everyday! Not to mention her daughter Lainey is such an incredibly sweet girl and an awesome role model for Lily!! It'll still be incredibly difficult to be away from Lily, but this helps to soften the blow tremendously!! What a blessing that someone who is like family will be with Lily everyday!! Happy (and scared) sigh.

PS There is an highly sought after opening at our previous planned sitter's house who is INCREDIBLE! She came HIGHLY recommended by so many people and is extremely caring and loving. She treats her babies/kids as her own. I taught her daughter years ago and she is such a sweetie! Email me if you know anyone interested at Kelster5@aol.com ....you won't be disappointed with Dawn!

David, Lily and I are off to the Hyatt this weekend! This was Lily's gift to me on Mother's Day. I can't wait as this is my favorite place on earth!! I love everything about it!! Especially the short drive home on Sunday!! I would've chosen to go there on our honeymoon if I knew about it 7 years ago....that's how much I love it! I'm sure I'll have lots of pictures when we return! Lily also bought me a massage for when we're there so that should be heavenly!! Carrying her and that awkward carseat can really twist things up in my neck/back. She's so thoughtful! ;)

Friends Forever

You know those friends who you don't see for awhile, but when you do, it's like you picked up right where you left off and no time has passed?

Years could go by, but when you are with them, it's like you saw them just yesterday?

The friend you can tell anything to, be your quirky self and they love you no matter what?

The friend who knows everything about you and cares about all the minute details of your life?

The kind of friend who makes you laugh so hard, your stomach hurts, eyes water, and almost pee your pants?

Well,

this is that friend!!




Allison and I met in 6th grade in 1986 and have been best of friends ever since!! We were INSEPERABLE in middle and high school together!! Her little boy Chase is SO adorable and she is such a good mommy to him! She has a little one on the way in just 7 more weeks!! The gender is still a mystery!! It was neat to see her as a mom!





I think Lily and Chase had just as much fun as their mommies did!!




As teenagers, we used to sit around talking about "10 years from now" and guess who'd get married first, how many babies we'd have, talk about them playing together and names we liked for our kids. We changed our last name to hear what it sounded like with our latest crush. It was so neat to finally be at that place in our lives...last name changed, babies in tow and still best of friends! I'm a better person for knowing Allison!!





Thanks for making the trip to meet Lily; the baby you prayed for for so long!! We BOTH love you lots!!

Until next time...HUGS!!