Christmas 2007

Lily's 2nd Christmas was a big success! Since I had to work a half day on Christmas Eve and then had to be back at work the day after Christmas, we were hard-pressed to fit all of our family events into a day and a half and boy, was it exhausting!

Our fun started on Wednesday night when Devin's sister, Deanna, flew in for a few days. She was sweet enough to stay home with Lily on Thursday. Lily loved "Deeena" and it worked out well since she was suffering from a cold still.

My camera has not been getting very good pictures lately, it somehow catches everyone with their eyes half closed or the picture is blurry, so I apologize for the lack of pics of pretty much everyone that we spent the holidays with (and for ending my sentence with a preposition).

On Christmas Eve, my Mom hosted dinner for us, the siblings, and Devin's mom and my aunt Linda. Since Melissa and Devin thought it'd be hilarious to make stupid faces in almost every picture I took, I only have this one to offer of my bro and sis at the dinner table:

Christmas morning was spent at our house again, with Devn's parents and then later, my mom and sister and brother. Check out what St Nick left under our tree:

One of the first presents Lily found was her Little*People Circus -- I'm glad she liked it because between Fed*Ex and *UPS*, it sure was a pain to get here on time!

Devin got Lily her first Barbie (Island Princess) and Devin's Mom (Gramma) got her first Cabbage*Patch Doll (who even has pigtails just like Lily's). Devin's Dad got her a new swing for the front yard!

The fold-out "Princess" couch and the Dora crocs were a big hit!

Daddy and Lily doing Letter Flashcards

Lily loved her wooden blocks from GG (my Mom)

A big wheel from Daddy and a cute light-up helmet from my Mom (which has its own matching trike for her house!)

One of my fav gifts this year was the homemade ornament from my sis. This cheesetastic creation even sports mini lights and a gorgeous open-mouth pic of my favorite sister. Do ya love it?

After our small family Christmas, we travelled to Clover to my grandparent's house to spend a few hours with my Dad, his wife, my stepbrother and my grandparents. By this time, Lily was long overdue for nap and lunch, both of which she outright skipped in all her excitement. She did great though, and patiently waited her turn to open each of her gifts. Here's the family pic:

Enjoying the only thing she would eat for lunch...pie :)

Another Christmas with funky headgear...

Worn out after a long day!

On a sadder note, my Mom's cat of probably 10 years, Emma, died on Christmas night peacefully in her sleep. We are sad to see her go, especially after losing our dog Hank earlier this year. I can only take comfort in the fact that both of them lived a good life.

In other news, I wanted to note Lily's first day of her new daycare. I switched her because the last one she was in just didn't quite feel right and I didn't feel like she would learn as much as the new place I've found for her. The transition went seemingly well, with tears still in the morning, but she seems to be doing well there. The teachers noted how smart Lily was and said they think she's gonna be good for the other kids in the class (WOW).

Her language and play skills have really taken off lately. She plays a lot of imagination games, which I love watching. Today, I spied her playing with her three baby dolls. She picked each one of them up and asked "What's wrong, baby?" and then patted them on the back. Sometimes, she'd give on a sucker or tell one to "be quiet" and then told them all "Good night" and laid them down to sleep. Oh, and she pretened to change one's diaper and said "Poo-ee!" and waved her hand in front of her face like the doll made a big poop! It's so amazing that she can comprehend all these things! She is also getting pretty darn good and recognizing a lot of her letters and colors as well. I cannot get over the fact that she pretty much talks in full sentences now.

With this growth, comes the birth of the terrible twos. I think I've heard "No!" and "Mine!" and "Dat's Lily's ____ (insert noun here)" more than I ever thought possible. She has started swatting and kicking when she doesn't get her way and it has gotten old...quickly. I am struggling to not lose my temper sometimes and to not indulge her in attention for her bad acts, but its challenging sometimes. For now, I'm sticking with ignoring, redirecting, and then maybe time-out when it gets bad enough.

Her other "new" thing is an obsession with singing and songs. She is currently in love "The ABC song" and with "We wish you a merry Christmas" and "Jingle Bells" as well as a song about counting snowmen from a website we love, and of course, "The Itsy Bitsy Spider". She even gets most of the lyrics right!

It won't be long until my girl turns 2 and of course, I have not planned anything for her birthday party yet. Any and all ideas are welcome! We hope everyone had a great holiday season and we wish you a Happy New Year!