A Girl and Her Ball

This girl can give a lot of love to a ball! She treats all of her balls like her friend. She plays tag with it, laughs with it, chases it, plays peek-a-boo, squeals with delight when it's around, and even hugs it. She acts like Tom Hanks in Castaway with his volleyball named Wilson. Although she hasn't given it an offical name, I think they're going to trade be-fri charms soon!





















Oh, the sweetness of those eyes; one of my favorite pictures taken by Jen when she was with Lily. What in the world is Lily thinking about? World hunger? War in Iraq? Economy? Soaring gas prices? Hmmmmmmmm...


I think not...she's probably thinking about where she can find her next ball to play, giggle, and run! At 13 months old, she is wiser than me and puts everything in perspective about living, laughing, and loving. She makes everything in life so simple!! Thank you Lily for being wise beyond my years! I love you!

Life is good! xoxo

Milestones Galore...

Some of her milestone pages from April for her "book after she turned a year"...doesn't that sound better than her "2nd year book"? lol


Thanks Jen for some of these amazing shots when you watched sweet Lily!! YUMMY!!





Here's a video I found in my drafts,which blows my mind because she looks so wobbly and younger and it was just a few weeks ago...she claps all the time now and points to everything with an "uh-uh-uh" after it wondering what it is. And I mean everything. It's so stinkin' cute to see her ask what something is with those big blue eyes and after we tell her, she replies with her eyes saying a big thank you and relief like "phew, thanks mom, I was wondering what that was". She must be getting the inquisitive mind from all the Curious George books we read to her!





I've been getting a lot of questions about this program and yes it is worth every penny! Here are some of my thoughts:

*A lady at work gave us the videos so we don't have all the supplementary goodies, but I just got the word cards off of ebay and wasn't impressed with them because I could make them myself on cardstock in a flash. We only have the videos which I've seen on EBay sold separately so you don't have to buy the whole kit. Not sure about the other items that come with the package, but the sliding word cards look enticing, but can't seem to find those sold separately.

*We watch and interact alongwith her and it holds her attention for the entire 20 minutes. There's songs along the way and her face lights up and she swings her head around to look at us when they start with a big smile like she's saying "now we get to sing together guys".

*She was starting to get squirrely after about 2 weeks with volume 1 last week so we moved to volume 2 and she's entranced all over again. They're so basic, but there's something about them she just loves and has learned SO much!

*We tried the videos around 8 months old and she had no interest in them. We tried at quieter times like after a bath or before naptime and that seemed to do the trick.

*They are applicable for any younger aged kiddo for different reasons. Our goal isn't to have Lily reading now obviously, but to understand more of what we're saying. Douglas, 5 and Grace, 3 watched them this weekend and were soaking up like crazy!

*She can point to her head, ears, tongue, teeth, diaper, knees, bellybutton, head, eyes, chin, fingers and will point, clap, shake head, kick, wave, put arms up, arms down, stand up and hug when prompted... all since starting these videos. Not that we tried to do any of these things in an organized way, but it's still crazy!! It has been a huge 'corner-turner' for her and for us. I feel we unlocked a little magical part of her brain that we didn't know existed and can interact with her SO much more! We're so awestruck by her little brain growing everyday!






On another note, today in the pool, I said, "Give mommy kisses" which we've asked a million times to no avail, but this time and she turned and gave me the biggest, sweetest open mouth kiss on my nose that I almost collapsed in the water! It was her first time giving kisses after getting about 5,587 kisses from us! She did it over and over! What a sweet tender moment! I'll never forget it.



Oh and she also is doing this like Forest Gump and I shake my head in amazement when it happens. ...

Life is oh so good!

"Is She Walking Yet?"

"Is she walking yet?" is a question I get a lot; almost as much as "when ya gonna have more kids"? (sigh), but everytime I get the walking question, I always 'him and haw' and respond with some nonchalant answer because I'm not sure what to say.

I feel like a fraud if I say yes and then I feel like I'm not properly representing her latest developments of 3-4 steps then crash if I say no.

When do I say yes confidently and officially put it in her baby book? After just a few steps or when she's doing the full-on Frankenstein walk like Samantha or Leah ?(which is too cute for words)

Here's a picture for you to judge for yourself. No, we're not starting to potty train her yet, but she's wearing her new cloth swim diapers and I was trying to get a picture in them because they are too cute and just love them!! They work great, come in adorable prints, and I never have to buy another bag of swim diapers! Ya!
As I was snapping away, she decided to take a few steps to show off in her new diapers! My favorite picture is the bottom left where she looks down like "what in the world just happened and how did I get here??" (thought Darius Rucker's song was appropriate for this post-sniff, sniff)




And here's a video trying her new skills. It blows my mind everytime I see it. She LOVES to play peek a boo and "where's lily?" around this corner so I was trying to get that on video when she surprised me with a few steps.
Warning: Turn your speakers down. I tried not to scream too loud because I realized the mic was so close!


So there's your answer to the daily question of "Is she walking yet?".

You be the judge! Either way, it's cuter than my little heart can handle!!

Life is good!!

Giggle Juice

Sometimes Lily starts giggling and just can't stop! She laughs so hard that she gets the hiccups. I wish I could fill out a survey and put laughing as one of my hobbies. It's one of my favorite past times so I think this is one quality she gets from her momma. Here she is with Aunt Molly just after she drank her giggle juice.






Here are some videos in my drafts from February (hence the sweater dress), but oh so cute! She looks so bald and little in some of these compared to today, just 3 months later.




This is the first time (in Feb) she learned how to play peek a boo by herself with Aunt Jennifer, but does it all the time now; especially behind corners which rocks our world!




Working on her (stutter-stutter) 2 year old book checking it off one month at a time... thanks to Kelle for so many of these great shots...the one by the wall still is one of my favorites! (page 2)








She's growing and learning so much lately and her receptive language is just EXPLODING lately because of her age and also because of this program which rocks her world! Ours too!! If I could get commission for selling these, I'd be a rich woman standing on the street corners and sell it like a car wash ... it's that amazing!

Life is Good!

Happy Mother's Day

There are so many wonderful mothers in my life that teach me, inspire me and nurture me to be the best mom I can be. Happy Mother's Day to all of you and to our very own mothers who have marinated us in love our entire life to pass the baton of unconditional love to our little ones. It's the gift that keeps on giving. I am a better mom because of all of you.

Lily, 3 months old :)


Dottie, thank you from the bottom of my heart for being such an amazing mom to David his entire life. He such a strong person because of your love. You are a dream MIL and even dreamier Grandma.




And you read a mean version of "Mommy and Me" that leaves Lily on the edge of her seat.



Everyone knows what a good cook you are and even Lily likes to lap up your gourmet dishes...



And to Thelma who brings peace, love and comfort to anyone who meets her. God gave you an extra chromosone of the nice gene because it's exuded from your every pore.







And to our mom who is an incredible role model of unconditional love and showing it everyday of your life with your fun spirit, genuinely interested in every exciting and boring detail of our lives, and always filling up our love cup. Being a mom myself gives me a deeper appreciation for everything you feel as our mom. We love you so much!






You 2 make an awesome team...






And mom if you weren't past your child rearing years, I think some may mistake you for the mom of your grandchildren instead of grandma because you love them with every fiber in your being. Our happiness = your happiness



Lily can't say it yet, but she says it with her smile that beams from ear to ear when you walk into the room. Her face and heart light up when she sees you.




And to my sweet, sweet, Lily Grace. I think you knew was Mother's Day today because when you woke up, you pointed to our special chair telling me you wanted to snuggle extra in the rocker, laying on my chest with your chubby little fingers playing with your special taggie blanket, breathing your heavy breaths telling me you weren't ready to tackle the day just yet.

And if that wasn't enough, you decided to fall asleep on my chest for over an hour on the beach under our rainbow umbrella, as the wind blew and baby waves crashed. That was all I needed on Mother's Day. Just you. Your life is my gift that I get to enjoy everyday of my life.

In your petri dish, I think they added a little extra dose of sweet, special sprinkle of love, and touch of fun to make me the happiest mommy because you have exceeded any expectation of what I thought it'd be like to be a mom.

Not only did you make my dreams come true, but you have enriched my life in ways that my dreams couldn't even imagine. Even though today is supposed to be the day you thank me for being your mom, I hope you know it is because of you I can celebrate this special day.

Your smile, your spirit, your energy and your happiness is so contagious as you fulfill my life in ways you'll never know and want you to know I love you to the moon and back.

And back again.


Happy Mother's Day to all of the beautiful moms and moms-to-be out there. It's a beautiful day to celebrate you and all the love you give to your children everyday.

And to the moms fighting the painful fight to become moms, keep the faith and hope that it'll happen and all of the stinging pain you feel on days like today will disappear into thin air and it'll be like it never happened. Although you and your spouse will very well know it happened and make your appreciate your miracle that much more.

I promise you that.

Life is Good!

A Little Bit of SC...

Found these priceless pictures in my draft posts! Only a month old, but still very near and dear to the ole' heartstrings.


There is nothing like being with other people who love your baby as much as you do. Lily is so lucky to have MANY friends who are like family and a family who marinate her in love everyday. She doesn't have enough fingers and toes to count them all! She had love flown in special delivery from SC and I think I started to hear Lily babble with a little bit of a southern accent. (she's looking a little "doll-like" in this picture-lol)






She was all smiles being loved by David's parents and she instantly reached out to them when they arrived; like she knew they were extra super special people who flew a long way to see her! Thank you SO much for flying the turbulent flight to see your youngest grandchild we know you love so much!!





So many tender moments and not enough memory on my memory card to capture!





Storytime with Daddy brings me to tears almost everytime. She listens intently on every page and turns them wildly when there is a slight pause. She's becoming extra snuggly lately and we are too!





And one more (for now) from her bday that is one of my favorites; she's always had a "scrunchy smile" since she was born and continues to show it off at a moment's notice. God do I love her!


Life is good!