5

I can't believe I'm titling a post about Lily turning 5.  I remember begging God for a baby just like it was yesterday and then in the same breath it feels like 100 years ago because we can't imagine life without her.  And then she came and our lives have never been the same since.

Our Little Miracle.....she had to overcome so many obstacles to be here and we remind her everyday what a special miracle she is and thank God everyday that she is here.

It is so beautiful to watch her blossom into this little girl who is so enjoyable to be around, incredibly funny, so kind, and oh so loving.


She loves princesses, Tinkerbell, baby dolls, coloring, and going to new playgrounds everyday.


and of course Dora is still a fan favorite.



4 has been such a wonderful year for the Lillers.  2 and 3 were a little rough around the edges, but things started to turn around at 4 and we can't wait to see what 5 will be like.  Some things to remember about our little (clearing throat) 5 year old....

~She insists on waking Grady in the mornings and after each nap. 100% of the time she is there.

~She likes to open the garage door every morning and is super bummed out if someone else does it instead.

~She's worried what will happen to her birthday parties after she turns 100.


~She is terrified of dogs.  All of them. For no apparent root cause.  Terrified they'll lick her.  Just the idea of a dog licking her sends her into a tailspin.

~She doesn't like any nicknames I give her.  Even if I say it jokingly she lets me know her name is Lily.


~If she opens a bag of crackers, she ALWAYS gives Grady and me the first one. She reprimands me if I don't do the same starting off with "mommy, you did something naughty..."

~She sleeps with her taggie blanket made my Grandma and Cotton Candy or Rainbow Bear from Build a Bear every night and nap.

~She still loves to sleep. I have visions of her asleep at the lunch table in kindergarten.

~She always asks me for stories about when I was naughty at age 4 or when I did something dangerous. She interrogates my dad and mom too about things I did wrong when I was little. INTERROGATES.


~She loves to help me pass out coupons as random acts of kindness when we're at stores.

~Grady only got one egg in his basket during a hunt and when she found out, she took out half of her eggs and put them in his without any prompting from anyone.



~We were watching an ant pile the other day and there mustve been 5,000 ants scurrying around while we watched wondering how they made the mound and she says "I think all those ants are how many people that love me."


~I was watching Housewives of Whatever County after she went to bed and she came out unexpectedly with a bad dream and saw the ladies doing pole dancing for exercise and she says "Mommy, that looks tricky. I dont think I could ever do that, but I bet they're getting good exercise." and sallied back to her room.

~She loves to have sleepovers or go to them.  Asks regularly to host and/or attend them.

~She was wondering the other day why the cookie monster sings "C is for cookie. That's good enough for me." and she thought Cookie Monster was lying because cookies are not healthy or "good enough for me."

~She likes to have her hair done in funky ways or like mine.  The other day she chose a style unlike mine and said "even though our hair is done differently today, our hearts are still the same".

~Lily and I were alone driving in David's car the other day and the song "Unwritten" by Natasha Bendingfield came on so I blared it and we had an impromptu dance party scream-singing smiling and giggling at each other.  It was a memory for sure...especially because that was the song that was playing just after our IVF procedure when we got pregnant with Lily and I thought it was a sign that we were pregnant after hearing that song.

~David was changing all the batteries in the smoke detectors and she came running out "Daddy is holding God. Daddy is holding God" and then she explained that the smoke detector is God watching over her while she sleeps.  It has a green light on that protects her at night because it's God looking down on her from heaven.  When it blinks red, then he is talking to her.

~ She insists on rocking with Grady before bed every. single. night.  Naps too.  She hasn't missed one in a year.


I wing it a lot with Lily and do a lot of on the spot parenting and think back later about things that went well and other situations I could've handled differently so I know there are hits and misses with her, but the resounding feeling I want her to grow up feeling is that she is loved....she is special...she is a miracle...she was wanted by so many people before she was even born...she is beautiful and she is celebrated....especially on her birthday.  When we do prayers at night she always gets to do the last prayer and 10 times out of 10 she says "Thank God for this beautiful life"  I couldn't agree more Lily.




We became a family because of you just 5 years ago and made all of our dreams come true.  I can't believe I'm saying it, but Happy FIFTH birthday Lily Grace!  You are loved beyond measure.



To see some other celebrations that lead her to this day...
Lily's First Birthday
Lily's Second Birthday
Lily's Third Birthday
Lily's Fourth Birthday

and a BIG thank you to Allison Laney Photography for this precious images we will have forever.