This past Saturday marked five months ago when three lives were changed forever and we couldn't all be happier about it! We've seen so much change in Lily the last 5 months it's just crazy. It's hard to remember not having her with us. She has so much love to give that's it's sad to think she spent 24 months without a family to share her love with.
Sweet, sweet girl
In keeping with the format of my other monthly updates, here we go:
Sleeping - check
Eating - check
Attachment - check
Playing - check
Communicating - check
I could stop right there as truly, everything is just falling into place!
What's this thing called break every hour at the pool????
Lily is sleeping and eating like a champ. She now let's me brush her teeth also without any fussing. Yea!!!! Sometimes she "brushes" her puppy dogs teeth while I brush hers. Whatever it takes! She's had a few late nights this month (by our choice usually) and if she had her way, she'd sleep from about 11 at night til 9:30 in the morning. But alas, her mommy doesn't like that schedule so much! So on a "normal" night, she sleeps from around 8:30pm to 8:00am.
Lily reading to herself one night. She's saying Goodnight to you (from one of our songs) and Mama Deer and Baby Deer
Pretending to sleep on the bathroom floor with a hand towel for a blanket!
Lily still has a great appetite and eats a wide variety of food - we are still working on veggies though.
Yogurt - to eat or play with??
While Lily is definitely in her comfort zone with us she is beginning to be comfortable with others as we are around them. I so want her to open up and share her personality with all our friends and family and in time, she is beginning to!
A day at the pool
Lily with her Daddy on Father's Day
This past month Lily has really gotten in to playing with all of her toys. Her favorite right now are taking care of her stuffed animals and dolls. She likes to get them all lined up and put blankets on them to go nite nite. And, you better not try to move them because you'll get scolded!
A typical day in our playroom
Some of her favorites "corralled" together on her table
Playing with my swimsuit one night, Lily was cracking herself up!
Playing with her Daddy on the couch
Lily's verbal skills have really taken off this past month. She's stringing several words together to say phrases now. Some of her favorite things to say:
Lily do it
Lily funny
I sorry
Cow tail, pig tail, horse tail, etc. (she likes tails I guess!)
Daddy work
Thank you
You're welcome
Library book
Lily wet
Let it dry (whenever she spills something on her)
You're OK (this is what we were telling Gracie while on a recent vet visit. Lily now says this to the puppy dogs when we leave. She'll also say it to herself if she's in a new or different situation.)
I love to hear her talk! I love when she learns something and then uses those words at the correct time.
Since breakfast is the most important meal of the day, we try to have a healthy breakfast for Lily. Her favorite right now are some scrambled eggs, fruit and milk.
But the other day, her Daddy suggested beignets and I was all in - trying to hurry Lily and our puppies into the car before we changed our minds. A new place recently opened up in the area and it was pretty yummy. Maybe not New Orleans but Lily certainly enjoyed the treat!
And if you don't know what beginets are, I'm sorry. Very sorry because you are missing out on the fried dough and powdered sugar. Served along side a cup of hot coffee it's just pretty darn good! So hurry to New Orleans to try some or come visit me and I'll help you out!
A little powdered sugar on your lap makes for some yummy licks from the puppy dogs!
When you have to use your fingers to push in all the remaining powdered sugar!
Happy girl but wondering why the beignets are all gone and why we don't just go in and get some more!
When the lab takes the front seat on the way home and Mommy gets to ride in the back with Lily and the terrier, where else should she put her coffee? Lily's car seat cup holder worked great! No, Lily didn't get any coffee - she doesn't need any!!
Six weeks after surgery and we are good to go swimming! Yea for us and Lily. We took our first trip to the "Big Pool" a few days ago.
Dressed and ready to go!
Following her Daddy in...
Lily loved swimming at the pool we went to. It has a huge splashpad area where the water isn't too deep. She loved seeing all the kids and being in the water. I see us going to the pool several times a week!
A few little clips from our fun...
During one of our breaks out of the pool, we pointed out the moon in the sky. Lily has seen this in several of our stories so she enjoyed seeing it in real life!
We tried a little deeper water with the floats
A family picture on a fun day
When we were getting ready to leave and dried Lily's hair, this was the result...
I love watching Lily and her Daddy together. It's one my favorite things in life right now for sure.
What does Lily think of her Daddy?
In the mornings, Lily likes to tell him to "get up". She also likes to tell him where to sit when she's busy playing with all her stuffed animals and dolls. She loves when he lets her fall down on all the couch pillows. She likes getting down from the table when she's finished and going over to sit in her Daddy's lap for a few more bites of food. She likes how silly he is when changing diapers. She loves to push buttons on the keyboard if he does anything on the computer. She loves to "help" him put on his socks and shoes. She likes to watch "more Lily" pictures and videos with him on his phone.
She loves him so very much!
First time to meet - January 25, 2016
Enjoying a bottle the weekend we came home from China
What does her Daddy think of Lily?
He loves how she runs through the house. He loves when she says puppy dog. He likes to listen to her sing. He likes when you ask her if she wants to go somewhere and her eyebrows go up, her eyes widen, she nods her head yes and says OK. He likes how she has to gather up her bag and toys to go anywhere in the car. He loves how messed up her hair now gets in the back especially in the mornings. He likes how she holds onto her cup with the straw and walks around with her cup without her hands. He likes how she makes him laugh.
He loves her so very much!
Doing a little reading
Taking care of his sweetie
Having some fun!
These two have a very special relationship and a love for each other that's undeniable. She is a highlight in his life and vice versa. They completely love each other and the time they get to spend together!
A true talent that some people have. Not my husband or I, that's for sure.
Nor anybody in our family that I know of.
But now, that may change. Lily is a singer. Quite possibly the sweetest singer I've heard!
She loves singing in the car, around the house while we play and before going "nite nite". Her favorite songs change from time to time but right now one of her favorites is Tomorrow (from Annie). When listening to the words of this song, it's amazing how she likes this one so much.
One day, as I was changing her diaper, I began to sing this song to her and she was just in awe. Probably because of my horrible sound! So I helped her out a little and pulled it up on YouTube (What did we do before the internet??? Poor kids just had to listen to their parents sing and think that's how songs were suppose to sound!!) so she could see and hear the real deal. Now when we go to sleep, this is one song she always asks for.
Singing Tomorrow before going to sleep
Singing I Love You to her animals one morning which she covered up with blankets and then laid next to them on the floor. Shortly after singing however, I think she just decided to become a kitty cat! :)
Watching her iPad and beginning to sing to her other favorite bedtime song, Goodnight Song. This is a sweet animated video with a Mama Bear and Baby Bear getting ready to sleep. Not a lot of words but a sweet song to watch. I love the look on Lily as she watches this sweet "movie".
So happy that summer is here and Lily is getting into the summer fun!
First up, a little baseball game. Bonny and I took Lily to her first college baseball game. Aside from being a little early (2 hours - don't ask!!) and then having the park emptied out before the game ended due to lightning, it was a fun time!
Loves her Bonny
Always with a puppy dog close by
Being the first ones there, Lily had time to explore!
Lily and I planned to go out shopping one day for a few things. It now takes quite a while to get out of the house as I have to get my bag ready and Lily has to gather up her things.
Going out for a little shopping, a girl has got to have all her stuff!
One purse is never enough - tell me about it.
One purse will never be enough Lily.
On a hot day doing errands, it's always a good idea to stop for some chicken tenders for Lily and a cold drink for Mommy.
I feel very proud here in this picture - Lily enjoyed chicken tenders in her car seat. Woo hoo - successful parenting right there!
We enjoyed lunch the other day with Bonny and Robert at a cafe and Lily loved shelling the peanuts.
That's a good Texan girl for you!
Summer means lots of snowcones and we found the perfect place.
Loving some snowcone on a hot summer day
While at Bonny's one day Lily decided to play on the piano (along with a stuffed puppy dog beside her of course).
How cute is that??
Of course, there's always time for a little walk outside...
Summer means lazy mornings too. Lily is currently enjoying putting her animals to bed with these little covers. This morning, she covered up her puppy dog and her kitty cat (along with her broom since you never know when you may need to sweep) and began to sing the Barney I Love You song. Not quite finishing the song, she changed into being a cat.
Sometimes it's just hard to stick to one thing at a time
What have been your favorites lately? My favorites always include Lily and I love that about my life!
ONE Lily's smile. It melts my heart every time I see it. I don't think I'll ever get tired of seeing this sweet smile.
She's beginning to "get" to stay still and smile for a picture. Sometimes. There are many pictures that aren't blog worthy. :)
Getting ready for a little swim makes this girl happy!
TWO Seeing Lily and her Daddy together. These two love each other so much and always have fun together.
Cleaning up from a little fro yo THREE My daily walks with Lily and the puppy dogs.
Still working on taking a selfie. As much as Lily likes to look at pictures of herself on my phone, you would think she would have selfies perfected. FOUR My view getting out of the shower one morning. Lily has this part of our day down now. She knows when I say I'm going to shower that we gather up a few toys and a computer and head to the bathroom. While I shower, Lily plays and watches something (usually Barney).
Lily had a picnic set and ready for us! FIVE This sweet girl "napping" in the car with her new toy, Tiny. We figured we had enough named Puppy Dog and needed a new name.
Looks like she's posing. So precious! SIX Driveway playing - always a fun time!
SEVEN My friend came over one day to see us and visit. She also took some great pictures. Thank you Jill!
EIGHT She took her big puppy dog to bed this night and this is how she ended up sleeping for a bit. Good thing the flash doesn't wake her up!
NINE Lily loving on Gracie and Gracie being so good about it. This time Lily was singing the Barney I Love You song to Gracie. I mean, how sweet is that?!?! I love you, you love me, we're a happy family... How many of you will now have that song stuck in your head today? You're welcome.
TEN Lily keeps us laughing A LOT around here. This night, she was getting ready for a bath and was running around CRAZY. She gets herself laughing pretty good too.
Life lately here has been dodging a lot of rain to get in some fun!
Now whenever it's raining, Lily says "Rain, rain, go away"
During the storms, these two stay close!
Sometimes you just have to get out and play a little even if it is raining. Yes, we let her play in the rain. No, it wasn't storming, just rain.
She had so much fun!
To piggyback on the previous post about Lily liking things lined up and in order, here are a couple of recent examples:
She was giving breakfast to her "friends" as I was making hers. We left the kitchen to go change a diaper and when we came back, the banana bread was gone and Gracie was getting a drink of water. The look on Lily's face was hilarious - she just couldn't figure out where her bread went!
Her animals and her people. She's really getting into playing and it's so fun to see her use her imagination.
Lily's current phrases we here a lot of are: "Lily do it", "Lily did it", and "Good job Lily". She's quite independent and likes to "do" herself.
Proud of herself after doing a puzzle!
We've had a couple of visits to the library and Lily loves it! I see this as a weekly outing from now on.
Besides getting new books to read, there are lots of things to play with
We took lunch to the teachers the last week of school.
When you get a new pair of shades and can't wait to get home to cut the tag off before you wear them.
By this trip, we had the tag cut off of the glasses. This girl loves her stickers!
Sometimes on an afternoon walk when it's still hot and humid you just can't stay awake for the 10 minute walk around the neighborhood.
A fun little movie using the slow motion - is she practicing her dance or gymnastics routine possibly??
