race day

Lily woke up early and put on her Sunday best to go cheer on her Grandpa today.




It was a big day for him. She had lots to cheer for because check out her cool Grandpa!!!



For this something-0 th (rhymes with beventieth) birthday in August, we surprised him with a NASCAR driving experience where he got to zip around an official racetrack and look like the real mccoy. We did it through this company which was incredible if you ever want a great gift for someone or if it's on your bucket list (hephermgail). :) As excited as he was when we gave it to him, it was now time to pay the piper and not time for cold feet.





I still can't believe that's my sweet little daddy. He looks so tough and mean...
Thumbs up!


with a bum (yet recovering) knee, the dive into this car wasn't pretty, but once he was in safe and sound, he looked like the real deal,,,




and then he zooooomed 153 miles per hour around the track...
yes, 153 miles per hour as in 153 miles per hour. not a typo.





153



wow.

Katie thought it'd be neat to have the number 70 on his car instead of 68. teehee



and Lily cheered all the way...



and even got down low for a better seat...



but Katie took her by the hand to find the best seat ever...



dad was all smiles before, during and after the race...here he is giving his post race play-by-play







his paparazzi is hanging on his every word. (the earpiece is my favorite accouterment)



we were all so proud of him...





as he had the loudest cheering section in the bunch





I think dad was a little envious of Lily after the race; actually a lot envious.




Happy Birthday (again) Daddy! We hope all your wishes come true. You are so loved.

Jan in the Box

Who knew a jack in the box given to her last year from my Godmother Jan would still bring her so much joy?

Then we get to enjoy her face lighting up so it's like the gift that keeps on giving. Hope it's a gift for you too. :)

Popcorn

I'm on another video kick so sit back, grab some popcorn and enjoy the show(s). Lily is obsessed with the If You Give A Mouse a Cookie series and she says BOO everytime on this ghost page. I love the way she is so sunk down in the couch looking so comfortable.

if you can't see the video, click this link: http://s649.photobucket.com/albums/uu216/stoutie18/vids/?action=view&current=20months-December200948.flv

And the big tricycle moment. Santa coughcoughgrandpacoughcough wrote poems with a trail of clues where to go next and her big present was in David's closet. As they were heading that way, I zipped in front of the racing around pack, hid in the closet myself to get her reaction on camera. I've never seen her make this wide-open-mouth-face before this very moment and it was priceless.

if you can't see the video, click this link: http://s649.photobucket.com/albums/uu216/stoutie18/vids/?action=view&current=20months-December200976.flv

Nobody Puts Baby in the Corner

Nobody Puts Baby in the Corner....

except Lily does it to herself.

all. the. time.

She comes home from school and acts like she has homework because as I'm unloading the (million) bags from the car, she goes straight to the corner. We bought her a new chair for her reading corner, but she wanted nothing to do with it and loves to sit on the floor while reading. I could wallpaper the house with all the sneak-up-on-Lily-pictures-and-she-never-looks-up-while-reading-unless-i-call-her-name-50x-pictures. (she's actually kissing the book on the bottom)






and this is one of my favorites...she propped Mouse (Mou) and Snowman in his lap and sat them just so for a solid minute before nuzzling into the not so soft carpet for a good tale...



Then she saunters over to the other corner of our bedroom to put shoes on and off. Actually, she can't put any on and can't take them off, but she tries and tries. She puts them on for about 2 tries each foot, then hits them on the ground 3 times to try again like something is wrong with the shoe itself. Then she's on to the next shoe. Rinse. Repeat. Love her persistence.

Can I get arrested for spying? If she looked up, she'd see only an arm around the corner with a camera attached to it while I peek through the door crack. Is that legal? If not, I'm going straight to the big house.

Enter evidence A:


I can't tell you how long she does this.



and we think she has Daddy's clean gene because she'll put them all back into the basket when she's finished. If only she could mop.




and when she's not in the corner, she's holding multiple things around the house like she's preparing for a business meeting and needs them with her at all times. You don't see an empty-handed Lily zipping around the house very often.

Still hard for me to comprehend that she's here and ours to raise, love, while adding this giant ray of sunshine into our house so I stop trying to comprehend it all and just enjoy our little miracle who has touched our lives in a big way.

Thank you Lily for being you. I feel honored to be the one chosen to be your "mommy" .