Hot Volcanos and a Nice Fairy

Driving the other day Lily says from her carseat "Mommy, I'm wooking and wooking and I can't find any volcanos anywhere!" I told her that there are no volcanos in Michigan, but there are some in Washington State. She said "Oh no, that's not good. The melted rock is hot to the touch!" (She has been watching The Discovery Channel with Jay.) This made me laugh, but didn't really surprise me. She is always sponging up information and then spitting it back out at us when we least expect it. But lately she has been doing the "pretend thing". I read awhile ago that age 3 is when kiddos have imaginary friends and get very into pretend play. Well, up until quite recently I hadn't noticed much of that going on with Lil. I mean, Spot is her best friend - she treats stuffed animals and other inanimate objects (like balloons) as if they were people. But, the other night while we were out to dinner with my parents she climbed under the table...when I asked her to get back up on her seat she said "I can't, I'm scared of the fairy. She is gonna turn me into somefing" As she is saying this she is looking into the air at said "fairy". I convinced her that the fairy was nice, and wouldn't turn her into anything. This seemed to ease her mind and she decided that yes, the fairy WAS nice. So nice that she came home with us. She didn't drive in the car with us but flew ABOVE our car. We gave her a name. Lucy. (Lily wanted to name her Lily, but I told her that might get confusing.) Lucy even slept in Lily's bed with her that night. The next morning I went up to Lily's room, sat down next to her to say good morning and I was accused of sitting on Lucy! Oops. Silly me. Apparently I didn't smoosh her completely cuz she was fine all day and even went to dance class with us last night. Lily was introducing her to the other moms in the lobby...have I mentioned lately how much I LOVE age three??? So much fun.

Staying Happy

What's keeping us happy? Well, every Wednesday it is a "party" with Payton!

Lots of toys to keep us busy.

We finally had a playdate with our good friends that live across the street!

We have purchased several Pre-K workbooks from the Dollar Store and Lily really enjoys doing her "homework". (practicing her letters, shapes, etc)

Got another fun pressie in the mail. Gee Gee made Lily this beautiful princess pillowcase - and Lily adores it. Can't ya tell? Tonight after she went to bed she yelled after me "Mommy, you forgot to pway!" So, I went back up, apologized, and prayed with her. Then she said "Repeat after me..."God, Lord, Jesus"...and she proceeded to name our family members to be prayed for (plus Spot and Bella), oh, and our church. Then said "I'm all done pwaying now. Goodnight (hugged me), stay happy mommy."

And, that is what I intend to do.

Movie Monday

So, as you know, we have been spending a lot of time indoors. Our newest activity is tic-tac-toe...I thought with as bright as Lily is - she would be great at this game. Nope. She just doesn't grasp the concept of getting 3 'O's in a row. I let her win occasionally, but usually it's a cat's game or mommy wins. She cried about it at first - big, alligator tears..."I don't wike to wooze. I wanna win, mommy! It's not fear(fair)!" I had a long discussion with her about how sometimes ya win, and sometimes ya lose, but it is just a game. No need for tears. She seemed to understand - but when I got up from the table for a minute, I came back to see that she had CHEATED! That's when I decided to get my little Cheater Peter Pumpkin Eater on tape!
Oh, and the picture is just something that I found to be funny. The white cardboard piece was sitting on the floor after Lily received one of her many bows in the mail - she looked down at it and (out of the blue) said "That wooks wike Utah!" So, I ran to her puzzle to grab the Utah piece, and sure enough! Amazing little memory she has.
Happy Monday!

Li-Ly the Ballerina

More videos, cuz I just can't seem to stop myself. (Lily hasn't taken the tutu off in about a week!)

Blessed Again!!!

So, I told you there was more than one package at our door the other day! Lily was also blessed by Kim with some lovely and thoughtful gifts. Now, let me just start by saying that I love this woman. She is someone that I have mentioned in conversation to my husband and my daughter on more than one occasion. She is someone that I "chat" with most every day. She and I exchanged Christmas cards. I cried when her grandpa passed away. My heart aches that she has to wait so long for her sweet daughter, Isabella. I care about the big and the little things that are going on in her life - she is my friend. I am so happy to have "met" her here...and I do SO hope that someday we are able to meet face to face. I am blessed by her friendship, and I am touched to the core at the way she loves my Lily. She not only sent bows, stickers, and Pez (Lily's favorite)...she also sent the kindest note telling Lily how proud of her she is. It meant sooo much to Lily (and her momma)! Thank you, Kim...for everything! XO

Our Family is growing!

Well, we are just THRILLED to announce the newest member of our family...no, I'm not pregnant. And we have not begun the adoption process again. We received some wonderful presents in the mail today from Annslee (and her mom). They sent a beautiful pink bow with ballet slippers on it AND they sent a stuffed ballerina bear! Lily loves her, has given her a name, and Spot is happy to have a sister. Can't you see him smiling? I am constantly amazed and overwhelmed by the kindness, thoughtfulness, and generosity of the people I have met here. Thank you soooo much, girls! You made our day. (and expanded our family)!

XOXO

*Lily also loves the tattoos you sent. She now has a flower on her hand and can't wait to put another one on tomorrow.*

And, if you can believe it: these were not the only presents that Lily got in the mail today. She is getting lots of love from bloggerland! (More to come...)

Other conversations that took place today:

Lily (to Spot): Spot, say hi to our new fwiend Bewwa...

Lily (to Bella): Bewwa, do you wike my new earrings?

As she took Bella to her ballerina bar to "teach" her some dance moves I asked if Spot was also a ballerina. She said "NO! He's a boy!" So, I asked if he was a hip hop boy. She thought for a minute, said "Yeah, maybe...Wait, no. Spot doesn't go to dance pwass. He's a stuffed adimal."

Big day out!

I know that the pictures (and video) tell the story...I'll just add a few things. Lily did SO well getting her ears pierced. We waited in line behind 2 five year olds (who both chickened out, by the way)...Lily just hopped into the chair and showed them how it was done. She asked the lady exactly what she was planning to do, so she explained it to her step by step. Lily responded by saying "OK, I'm gonna sit real still." And that's what she did. After the first pinch, Lily chuckled. After the second pinch, she said "Thank you. I wanna see myself in a mirror."

And, yes, I let her dress like that in public...Jay was so embarrassed, but she really wanted to wear her tutu and if it isn't hurting anybody I don't argue. She also had her sunglasses on for awhile - you can imagine the staring, pointing, and comments that were flying! But, we couldn't be prouder of our superstar ballerina with pierced ears! She's pretty proud of herself too - the first thing she said when she woke up this morning was "Mommy, my earrings are still in and they sparkle in my nightlight!"

Photo-shoot Friday!

Lily can't do much of anything without me turning it into a photo-shoot. She was just having fun playing peek-a-boo through the flowers and I kept snapping away. I'm her personal paparazzi. But, in my defense, it is her own fault for being so stinkin' cute.

We had a great day yesterday. The two of us went shopping for Valentine's pressies for her friends at dance class, then we went to lunch at our favorite Mexican place. She must have kissed and hugged me about 100 times...even asked to hold my hand at lunch. She wished anyone and everyone a Happy Valentine's Day...the girl knows how to celebrate a special day. Wait, who am I kidding? She knows how to celebrate EVERY day. She makes me a better person, that is for darn sure!

Jay and I have a date tonite...we're going out to dinner with my sis and brother-in-law. I'm really looking forward to it, because we hardly ever get to spend time together, just the FOUR of us. adults. no kids. You know, my sister has THREE kiddos. So, this is a rare treat.

Hope you all have a wonderful weekend...

Winter (thru her eyes)

New Bows for Lil!

I was encouraged to step out of my comfort zone and participate in a "bow swap"...Lily received her first bows yesterday. Pretty cute, huh? Lily thinks so. Thank you, Cyndi!

That sums it up!

Those photos sum it all up...The first represents their relationship in the past and the second picture shows how Lily and daddy feel about each other now. She now realizes that he is just as fabulous as mommy (insert laughter here) and can do all of the tasks that once upon a time HAD to be done only by me. Hallelujah to that. Life for our family of three is pretty sweet these days. I love age 3. It kicks age 2's butt - and I REALLY loved age 2. I did. But 3 is wonderful and independent and even mature. Gone are the days of temper tantrums and hard headed stubbornness. Instead we have a girl who will often say "I'm happy. I don't wike to be sad." And "When you get upset, you just need to take a deep bweath." And she does! When she starts to get agitated/excited/upset about something she will stop and take a deep breath. Then she usually giggles. I love that. I don't even have to interject! My "job" has gotten a whole lot easier these days. And the fact that she sleeps by herself all the way through the night now!? I cannot even begin to describe how that has changed my life. I'm a new woman.

Oh, and here is another funny conversation we had the other day:

Driving in the car Lily asks me to drive faster...I tell her I will once I'm on the expressway. Once there I speed up and she says "Don't go too fast, mommy, I don't want to get a ticket fwom a poweece officer. Papa D used to be a poweece officer... Booma D. used to be a Dentist." I said "That's right, he did. And Booma D. STILL works for a Dentist. Very good. Now, do you know what mommy does?"

Lily's response: "Ummmmm....you bwush my teeth."

And that about sums THAT up.

Lil Tidbits

Conversations that have taken place lately with my girl:




Lily: "I wanna be an astronaut when I brow up, mommy. What do YOU want to be?"




Fabulous question, Lily. Mommy is still trying to figure that one out. I'll get back to you.









I was watching TV while Lily was in the kitchen coloring...two of the characters on the show were arguing - Lily looked up from her project and yelled: "Hey! Talk nicewee people!"









Lily asked me for a cookie...as I was retrieving said cookie from the fridge she asked me AGAIN for a cookie. I looked at her and said "Lily, I am in the process of GETTING your cookie!" And she said, "Oh!! Thank you for being such a good wistener!"









We are practicing her letters. She is very receptive to this - she tries very hard to pronounce her words correctly, but she still has a lot of trouble with several letters. She is currently working on her L's...She can say her name correctly (if she concentrates) and is now LiLy instead of YeeYee. I think she has mastered the tr sound. Treat is now Ta-reat instead of pweet. And truck is ta-ruck instead of pwuck. "But I still gotta pwactice the Ta-ricky wetters, I mean Letters!"







Random funny: Driving in the car she tells me from the backseat "Turn this song off mommy, it makes my eyes water!"




This morning she woke up to the sound of Jay scraping our cars in the driveway..."Momma, come pwick! Wook! Who's outside!?" I came upstairs to see only her bootie hanging out from behind her window shade. I looked out with her and saw Jay standing there waving. Lily asked me what he was doing. I told her he was scraping the snow off our cars..."But I don't want daddy to do that. I want the snow on EVERYTHING...it's so pretty."








And I'll end with this: While we were playing with her sticker book she put a sticker in its proper place without me telling her where it went - I asked her "How did you know the sticker went there?" She said "Cuz I'm smart."




Me:"Lily, did you know that your momma loves you?"




Lily:"Yes. Did you know that I really love you too?"




Me:"Yes, but I still don't know how I got so lucky."




Lily: "Cuz I love you?"




Me: "Yeah, how did I get so lucky?"




Lily: "Cuz God gave me you."




So, as my sappy eyes start to fill with tears I see her grab one of the three tic-tacs I had given her and pop it into her mouth...then she looks back at the remaining 2 tic-tacs and says "I'll eat you in a second."




She melts my heart and then cracks me up...over and over and over again.

Happy Chinese New Year Everyone!!!! Did anyone else watch "Kai Lan" on Nick Jr? Lily was counting to three in CHINESE at dinner tonight because of that sweet show. She's like a Chinese Dora. Love it!

Passed gas and Party shoes

Just a little extra footage from our "party"...I'm adding it for Christine's "Weird Wednesday"!

Party Time!

You might not know this about us, but we are an incredibly cool family. We are the kind of peeps that throw a party on a MONDAY! Yeah, you heard me right. I even have the pictures to prove it. In an effort to keep Lily in her own bed, and keep me in MY own bed, I told her that if she managed to sleep BY HERSELF IN HER OWN BED FOR FIVE NIGHTS IN A ROW that we would have a party. We kept track with smiley faces (that she decided needed bodies and clothing colored by her.) Artists we are not. Anyway, it made every morning fun! She woke up the FIFTH morning (Monday) and the first words out of her mouth were "Five nights in a row! Yay! Party!!!" So, I asked her what she would need for said party. Her response: "Ta-reats...suckers, m&m's and smarties." Hmmm...I told her I would take her shopping and we could figure it out as we went along. So, off we went. I managed to avoid the candy aisle and opted for party hats and blowers, balloons, and a cake. She was beyond excited. We had to wait for daddy to get home from work to get the party started, and truth be told, it only lasted about 15 minutes. But, she was happy as a clam. We are proud of our big girl. She has come a long way, baby.

And, she hasn't gone back to her old ways now that the party is over. (that was a fear of mine)

Party on!!!!

Movie Monday: Splish Splash Dance Class

I took my camera with me to Lily's dance class Thursday night where we were able to see the girls practicing for their recital. Lily is so excited to perform on stage...she practices at home and then will come to me in the "audience" and ask for her flowers. (Everyone knows that a good performer is rewarded with flowers, right?) I love that her class is so small...Lily does too. She loves all the attention she gets from Miss Amanda. (There are actually 4 girls in her class - one of them was sick this evening.) Sorry this is taken from BEHIND the girls, but until June it is the only view we get! Lily is the one in the middle, if you can't tell.

Oh, and here is a bonus video...this was "take one" of their practice. I posted it cuz it shows some close-ups of Lily's cute, little face (in the mirror)...it is soooo obvious that she loves her dance class.

Happy Monday everyone!

Trapped indoors

Just thought I'd show you all how Lily and I have been passing the time lately. We have been indoors A LOT (a WHOLE lot) because of the nasty weather AND the nasty bug that bit all of us at one point or another. Thankfully, Lily really doesn't need much at all to be completely entertained. She will play on my computer for hours - I have to drag her away sometimes. I mean, she has to take a break from it sometimes, right? Otherwise, how will I ever check my blogs?
She is also very "crafty"...don't you love what she's done with the toilet paper roll? I thought it was pretty creative.

She does still love her own computer too. She'll kick back in her favorite chair and have a great time! Oh, and she is always entertaining mommy. "Funny faces" are her specialty.

Lily is such a cool kid. Of course she is excited to go out when we have plans, but she is very happy just to stay at home and chill. I love this girl. Even being trapped indoors is OK when she's here to keep me company.

That's all for now.

Tune in for Movie Monday...I video taped Lily's dance class on Thursday. Major cuteness.

My Practice Princess

Before I was a mom, I practiced my mothering "skills" on several unsuspecting kiddos. There was my niece Logan - my first love. My nephew Braden - my first real experience with a baby of the MALE gender...and there was my god-daughter Sydney. I began watching her when she was about 3 months old every Wednesday so her momma (my friend since childhood) could go to work. I did this until Sydney was 2 years old. *stopped a few months before traveling to China* I learned A LOT from this girl. She tested my patience when it came to nap time, but she wowed me with her humor and smarts. I remember looking thru a sticker book with her when she was about 18 months as she pointed to a strange looking sea creature and stated (clear as a bell) "puffer-fish". I'll never forget it. In a lot of ways she prepared me for what was to come. She is a princess thru and thru. Loves to dance and sing and show off for the camera...sound like anyone else we know and love?

Anyhoo, I don't get to see her as often as I'd like - her mom and I have very conflicting schedules. BUT, we did have a little get-together a couple of weeks ago and had a blast. It came as no surprise to us that Sydney and Lily hit it off. Sweet and spicy princesses with the outfits to match! They performed for us...each singing their own song at the top of their lungs - at the SAME time. (Neither one was real eager to give up their stage to the other.)
Ah, gotta love a life surrounded by royalty. I'm just a humble servant.

Some updates:

-Lily is feeling much better. I, however, am feeling like junk...can't get rid of this nasty sinus headache and chest congestion. It's keeping me up at night.

-I cleaned my house today. I mean, REALLY cleaned it. It felt so good. Lily was on the computer playing "Little Einsteins" for over an hour. Never heard a peep out of her. It was perfect.

-I am so ready for spring...and we're supposed to get a BOAT LOAD of snow tonight. Oy.

-Lily is doing really well with her new schedule of no nap and early bedtime. It has given Jay and I our evenings again and it is really nice.

That's a wrap. Happy Weekend, all.