Merry Christmas

Kids say the darndest things

If you have children, at some point you have heard someone say "write that down so you don't forget it". Well, I've been doing a lot of writing lately. Lilly has been saying some of the cutest, funniest and most off-the-wall things lately. Here are just a few of them:

- While listening to Dave Ramsey (Financial guru) on the radio he is kindly telling this lady she needs to clean up the mess she has made. From the backseat of the car Lilly starts singing "clean up, clean up everyone".

- While in the midst of playing on the floor Lilly walks over to me and says "you're wonderful".

- While taking a bath - Mike: "Lilly, are you about finished"? Lilly: "few more minutes".

- Me: "Lilly, how big are you?" Lilly: "45". We still have no idea where she ever heard let alone came up with that number.

- Found Lilly sitting in the corner and when I asked what she was doing she said "naughty, timeout". We still have no idea what she did to put herself in timeout.

- While getting Lilly ready for bed she starts jumping in her bed while shouting "trampoline, trampoline".

- While praying before bed - Mike: "Thank you for our family". Lilly: "For our family". Mike: "Thank you for our home". Lilly: "For our home". Mike: "Thank you for our money". Lilly: "For my bunny".

Such a little lady

Fun at home

On the move

The last few months have been busy, busy. We moved into our new home the first week of October. Unfortunately our carpet was delayed multiple times so just last weekend we were able to move everything in. Needless to say we are excited to be in our new home and look forward to the memories to be made in the years to come.

This year we enjoyed Thanksgiving at my aunts house. The last few years Mike and I have hosted at our home for his side of the family the weekend after but with the recent move we decided to postpone until Christmas.

On Sunday we had the privilege of lighting the first advent candle and presenting the reading at church. It was fun getting to take part in the celebration as a family. I was a little worried about Lilly wanting down or causing a scene but luckily we packed her blanket and she was more than content.


On Monday evening we finally got around to putting up our Christmas tree. It was fun being able to put up the tree as a family. Last year Lilly wasn't even crawling let alone showing an interest in the activities. This year she enjoyed pulling things out of the box. playing with the decorative balls and even helped daddy hang her first ornament.

Where in the world...?

When Lilly was a newborn we started reading books to her. At about 10 months we started introducing flashcards. We have several sets of them and she knows most all of the colors, shapes and pictures and recently has gotten bored with them. So, last week I decided to buy a puzzle. Of course she can't actually put it together yet but I thought it might be fun to challenge her little mind in a new way. Little did I know that she would surprise me yet again. This video was taken less than 2 hours after introducing the puzzle to her.

Since then she has learned where Utah, Florida and Oregon are. Only 44 to go!!

Yesterday the weather was so beautiful that we decided to take a family trip to the park. We are fortunate to have a park right around the corner from our house so we were able to walk. As we were walking I turned around and started taking this video of Lilly. Apparently she's never seen anyone walk backwards before so she thought she'd try it out. It was really funny watching her try to figure it out and obviously we need to keep practicing.

Friends

Last night Lilly's friend, Alea, came over to play while her parents enjoyed an evening out. The girls had a lot of fun and kept me quite entertained the entire evening. I'm so glad that Lilly has friends to play with and I'm reminded how thankful I am for the friends God has blessed Mike and I with too.

Ladybug

Last weekend our church had a Fall Festival Celebration for the kids. We didn't really do anything for Halloween last year but decided the games and activities at the church would be fun and suitable for Lilly. A friend gave us this costume so we decided to dress Lilly up. On Halloween evening we went to my grandma's to help her pass out candy. Lilly really enjoyed seeing all the people and costumes and would make her way to the door each time someone new walked up. We love spending time with our little girl and big memories or small ones we feel blessed to be her parents and to have the opportunity to be a part of her life.

Who knew ladybugs could fall asleep standing up!

Backyard Fun

Looking for the puppies...I can hear them but I can't see them.

Where is the plane?...oh, there it is!!


Swinging like a big girl!

Pumpkin Patch

The weather was gorgeous on Saturday so we decided to visit the KC Pumpkin Patch in Gardner. After arriving we soon realized that the activities they had were much more appropriate for older kids (3+). Even at that, we still enjoyed being outside and walking around. Lilly loves being outdoors and is easily entertained by new surrounding and the opportunity to run and explore. It was great having my friend Carla with us too!

New backyard

It's been two weeks since we moved into our new home. Today the weather was beautiful so we headed out to the backyard for the first time. I have a feeling we will be spending a lot of time there in the years to come.

18 months

Ravioli

Another stroll in the park

A little this...A little that!

The last few weeks have been busy, busy. Two weeks ago we were blessed to have my brother return home for a few days. He and his wife are currently stationed in Guam where he serves in the United States Air Force. They recently learned that they will be moving to Anchorage, Alaska in March of next year. Wow, what a change from the tropical island of Guam but I'm already looking forward to a visit.


This last week I had the pleasure of attending "Sundae Training" at church. In the coming year I will be working in the 4 yr. old classroom again. What an awesome opportunity to teach children about Christ and help them become more like Him. After getting home from the training I told Lilly that I was at church learning more about Jesus. My heart melted when she walked away and for the first time said..."Jesus, Jesus"!! I'm pretty sure that will be the most important name she will ever learn.

Also during the week Lilly and I enjoyed several playdates with friends. The weather has been absolutely wonderful.


Over the weekend I traveled to Des Moines to visit a dear friend from high school. We enjoyed stamping cards (one of my most favorite hobbies), watching a movie and going on a trail walk. Although we don't get to talk or hang out as much as I would like to it's always fun knowing that when you get together you can pick up right where you left off.

This week we completed the summer reading program through our local library. After reading 100 books from the library we received 4 free books and an artist set. Although we have a lot of books it's always nice getting to read something new. A few books I enjoyed so much that I went out and bought for our own collection.


Yesterday Lilly had her 18 month check-up. Here are her stats:
Height: 31.75 inches (50th percentile)
Weight: 22 lbs 5 oz (21st percentile)
She passed all her routine exams and questions with flying colors. Although we opted out of two of the suggested vaccinations we did have to get one. It's never fun holding down your child knowing what is about to come but luckily she only cried for a few seconds. On a brighter note it made for a very sleepy baby which resulted in a 3 hour nap.

Home Away from Home

I absolutely love going back home. The serenity and beauty of being in the country is not like anything else you'll ever experience. Here are a few pictures I captured during our weekend escape.