Hola Amigos :)

It was a very wet Memorial Day Weekend around here! On Friday, Lily and I joined Caiti at her apartment's pool for our first swim of the season. Of course, I forgot a swimsuit, so Lily had to swim in a shirt and a very full diaper. We found a pool chair just her size...


We spent Sunday on the boat on Lake Wylie with Amy and Brendon. Devin pulled everyone on the tube, which was so much fun. Brendon and I even took a turn on the tube together. While I was screaming that we were going to die, Brendon was telling me to "remain calm."

Here's Brendon watching his mom:

Lily loved having "Mamy" and "Ben-don" hang out with her for the day!

Don't lie -- I look hot in a lifejacket.

After a long day of fun in the sun, Lily nestled up against "Mamy" and passed out.

Also, Lily said her first sentence, when she's looking for things, she says "Where are you?" Actually, she kind of sings it. She walks around the house singing "Baabbyy, weh aaaahhh you?" Its so sweet!

Miss Us?

Well, I can't possibly top my last entry, so I won't even try. Nothing like pumpkin suits and DJ Kool, you know? Sorry for the lack of posting, Lily and I have been basically taking it easy since we got back from our road trip to Delaware. Both of us had an ugly case of the sniffles, so we thought it best to stay home. We are planning to be more active this week, I'll let you know how that goes.

Here is a picture of Lily showing off "Dangerous Mimicry in Action" -- she watched my Mom put on eyeliner and now if she ever finds a pen, she tries to color on her own eye. Nice.

We did manage a quick visit with Amy and Brendon on Friday because Lily and I picked up Brendon from school. Lily loves Brendon, she hopped right in a very surprised Brendon's lap. As much as he may play 'cool,' he loves the attention from the little one. Witness the evidence:

This is what my car looks like on some Friday afternoons when we pick Brendon up from school -- he makes farting noises and she thinks its hilarious! In this particular picture, Brendon was farting along with the beat of Justin*Timberlake's "Sexy*Back." Lily was dancing, it was great!

Lily loves our new front yard tree swing (Thanks, Aunt Carol!)

Some of you may roll your eyes if you know me particularly well, but I'm going to *attempt* cloth diapers. We have many on order, so hopefully we will have more to work with that the one cover pictured below. So far, Lily really likes to cloth diapers and they're a lot easier than I thought. I will still probably use disposable at night and when we are out and about, but I figured while we are at home, she should wear cloth. We shall see, but we are excited for now!

In less than one year...

We went from this...

To this...

I love how her face in the second shot totally sums up her attitude lately. Farewell to my little, happy-go-lucky, good-sleeping baby. Hello to my tantrum-throwing, picky-eating, nap-boycotting little booger. I'm hoping those darn molars make their appearance soon, because we are both bordering on looney tunes.

Transitioning to toddlerhood comes with a whole new set of expectations. We are still doing formula, because Lily *hates* milk -- I've been spiking it with Ovaltine to convince her to drink it. Milk also comes with a lovely side effect -- constipation. So, I have to give her juice to offset it. Either way, I'm stuck with a nasty poop diaper.

It also marks the end of an era for the pacifier. A week before she turned one, she started refusing it at naptime and bedtime, so all of our pacifiers now live in a small pile behind the crib where she threw them. I will clean them up one day. Maybe.

Food is another big change. I have to keep on my toes about feeding her finger foods that she will actually eat. I try to give her whatever I'm eating. Note to self: Baby is not interested in Thai food -- she prefers canned peas and sliced cheese. Or cookies. Or anything that she threw off her highchair the day before, which landed in a dust bunny that the broom missed.

Sippy cups. Do you know how many brands, shapes, sizes, colors, textures, etc there are of cups? Holy hell, there are tons! You can have rubber spouts, ones with straws, disposable ones, and the list continues on to infinity. If you find one the kid actually likes, then you have a 99% probability of never finding one exactly like it again. Lily's not too fond of sippy cups yet. What she IS fond of, however, is tossing them over the edge of the highchair, rupturing the seal and causing chocolate milk to careen across my hardwood floors. Don't worry, I swiffer.

And lastly, naptime. At some point around a year (give or take), babies can transition from two naps a day to one. Lily has been protesting naps lately, so I can't figure out if she's just teething and refusing to nap OR if she's actually ready to cut down to one nap a day. I'm hoping we'll figure that one our sooner than later. Before. I. Lose. My. Mind.

Lily is still a fun kid, just going through a weird stage right now. As exhausting as it is, it's still fun. Being a stay at home is by far the hardest job I've ever had. But at the end of the day, lying in bed and catching up on the shows I DVRed three weeks ago, smashed peas on my shirt, and ovaltine crusted in my hair -- I can honestly say: Its worth it.

See? She's irresistable :)

Rough Week

I'm not even sure where to begin. There were some definate ups and some definate downs during this past week. The major down happened today, we had to put our family dog, Hank Snow, down. I got to spend some one-on-one time with him before we took him in and I'm so grateful for that. Agreeing to let him be put down was the hardest thing I've had to do and was excrutiatingly painful. I picked him out of the litter when he was a pup, I've cried many tears on his coat, and he has been part of the landscape of not only my mother's home, but of the past 13 years of my life. Rest In Peace, Hank.

My other down came on Saturday. I've spent the past week in pain from what I thought was TMJ, but ended up being a tooth abcess. The abcess was causing pressure on my nerves, which resulted in shooting pains across the right side of my face. Ouch. I had to get an emergency root canal on Saturday night. Luckily, I have the world's most amazing dentist, who stepped off a plane from vacation and postponed a date with his wife to come to my rescue. It's a good thing, because I was literally in the ER parking lot, debating whether or not to go in, when he called back and offered to see me right then. That was the best root canal of my life!

Our final down is Miss Lily herself. She's had a fever for the past few days and been extraordinarily whiny. Either she's cutting her molars or she caught Strep Throat from my brother. Or Both. Which is why I intend on taking her to the doctor in the morning.

On the up side, we had a good time at the park last week with Amy, Brendon, Marissa, and baby Kayden.

I also go to reunite with my high school friend, Gail, which was really exciting. Lily loved hanging out with Amy, Gail, and the ducks :)

Happy Birthday!

Dear Lily on your First Birthday,

Thank you so much, sweet baby, for choosing me to be the mommy you were born to. I can't tell you how much having you has changed my life. The joy of being a parent is simply mind-blowing. Today, you woke up and came into the bed with your Dad and me and we opened some of your presents. Did you know you were the most fascinated with the wierdest one? It's a little monster that lights up, dances, and sings a crazy song. That's my girl!

Your vocabulary at this age astounds me. I had no idea that someone so small could understand so much and communicate so well! You really love animals and love to name them. You have become particularly fascinated with your rubber bath duckies and spend copious amounts of time carrying them around saying "duckie?" and "ka-ka" (for quack, quack). I'm glad to see that you are also a big reader. You sit on the floor for ages, leafing through the pages of whatever book you can find, pointing at the letters, and saying "Oh!" when you see something you like. Lately, if you want to be read to, you will toss a book into my lap and say "Dad-Nu" (your way of saying Thank You). I can hardly turn down your request to read it to you when you are so darn polite!

You are by far my favorite person in the universe and I feel endlessly blessed to have you. Happy Birthday, sweet Lily Pie!

Love,

Mommy

One year ago...

I went into labor and spent the entire day having contractions while cleaning my house. I was getting ready to meet the greatest love of my life!

This picture was taken on my due date, February 11th 2006. That was one huge belly (ok, let's be honest, the entire body was huge, but the belly really stood out!)

And one year later, this is my messy girl:

I can't believe that Lily's first birthday is tomorrow! This year just sped on by! The sad news is that Lily is very stuffy, so I'm afraid she'll be sick on her birthday. Keep your fingers crossed that she'll be better by her big party!

Dear Westbrook,

My dear, darling Westbrook. You cannot imagine my pain when I saw the pictures of you playing with that other baby. Sure, she's got dimples and is a darling girl, but honey, we've been betrothed since our mommies were pregnant! You can't walk out on that kind of commitment! Allow me to take you on a walk down memory lane...

I cuddled with you when you were inside your mommy's tummy:

We met face to face the day after you came into the world...

I loved hanging out with you!

I even let you ride in my pretty pink stroller...

And let you play in my jumperoo!

One of my favorite times with you was that romantic hayride we took in the fall...

I've been chasing you from Day One ...

You're my best guy and I don't want to lose you :)

I love that you are trying to prove yourself to me, it's how any good woman should be treated! Please keep it up! I can see us having a lifelong relationship and I'm so glad our mommies are friends. Please come over and hang out more often...oh, and wear the bear outfit. It's totally hot.

Love Always,

your Lily-Pie