We got to celebrate Mimi's birthday earlier this month! Lily was VERY excited about it all and even sang "Happy Birthday Dear Cake..." over and over...

For Aunt Ha-Ha

Encouragement

For those of you that don't know: Lily does not enjoy my singing. She gets upset when I sing with music or by myself, loud or soft, silly or serious...she just doesn't like it. Well, recently I've been telling her that it hurts my feelings, b/c I really do like to sing. I didn't think we were making any progress until the other night; I started singing in the kitchen while I was doing dishes and heard this spontaneous comment from the living room. (We made her do it again...)

"Good singin' Mama, GOOD!"

An Illinois Christmas

We had the best Christmas EVER in Illinois! Lily was in heaven the whole time at Grandma and Grandpa's house - she even had her own room decorated with princesses!

The car rides went surprisingly well. We broke up the trip both ways. Here is our group of friends that we got to see in Lexington on the way up.

Lily with her new purse. She holds her arm straight up to keep the purse on! So cute...

We started a new tradition (thanks Lisa for the idea!) of throwing out "reindeer food" on Christmas Eve. Lily thought it was pretty fun.

Eventually, she figured out that the reindeer food (rice crispies) tasted pretty good...

We got to spend some time with Granny and Gramps (above) and Grandma Judy and Grandpa Kenny. Lily loved all the attention, of course.Just a little Christmas morning dancing for you.

On Christmas morning, opening her loot!

Playing with Uncle Jonah and Kelsi!

Dancing in her new "cupcake hat".

Eating at her little table with Eddy looking on.

We got a HUGE snow while we were there. It was too much for Lily to walk in and too powdery to build a snowman, so she only lasted outside for a few minutes.

Grandma and Lily

As you can tell from this smile, she was one happy girl while we were there!

Eating a piece of Christmas candy

So excited to be eating an EGGLESS cookie that Granny baked for her!!

These next few videos are some of my favorites ever. She kept all of us entertained with her Christmas caroling and unintentional comedy for a long time.

"Joy to the World"

"We Wish You a Merry Christmas/Jingle Bells Medley



"Silver Bells"

As you can tell, we had a great trip. I am disappointed in my lack of documentation (through pictures), but this should give you an idea of what a fun time we had!

the Singer

I don't know how these things happen, but it was like a switch turned all of a sudden and Lily realized, I CAN SING! It has been the most fun. Luckily, I had my camera with me for her very first song (aside from Happy Birthday). This is one of my favorite songs EVER by the Wailin' Jennys. Lily started singing it ON HER OWN before i even put the cd in!Then we realized she can sing a whole lot more than "Hallelujah!""Amazing Grace"

Cuteness Happens

Lily has been learning to count recently - now she can count to 10! (She still doesn't count objects.) Also, this is her new favorite game - "Hide & Peek" with da-da!
Lily LOVES nursery rhymes and has several memorized including "Little Miss Muffet" and "Bat, Bat, Come Under my hat"
Can you tell someone was excited about all the hoopla surrounding her birthday??
It's a new dance, finally! Thanks for the great card, Liz and Dave!Lily has been trying to whistle on this ocinara for a year now, and FINALLY she learned how to blow in it. You can hear her helping it out with her voice too.

UPDATE, its about time!

It's been forever since I've taken the time to write a quality update on what Lily is doing, learning, saying, etc. So, instead of trying to catch you up, I'm just going to tell you the latest!

She has become very compassionate and loving to her babies, stuffed animals, and bath toys. Her sweet hugs and kisses show no difference between doll or animal, foam block or rubber ball. They are all loved by Lily.

Mimi and Papaw got her an aquarium for Christmas and last week, we got it up and running! Here is Lily's first glimpse of her new pets, which Jeremy and I have named, "Uh-oh" and "Ball" (so that Lily can say their names). :)

She also loves peek-a-boo (still) and this video shows her latest version - the eyesclosed way.

Here is a brief video of Lily singing.

She is saying new words* every day! Here are some of the latest: chair, table, clock, block, pot, bread, glove, coat, shoe, snowman, potty...to name a few. She is obviously very verbal and less athletic. We've noticed when she is around other toddlers that she is less active than they are - less of a climber, more cautious in general, and content to watch. It's so interesting!

(*it is understood that only her parents can understand these words, right?)

Also, I just want to say a BIG thank you to everyone who sent us Christmas cards and gifts! Lily received so many special presents from friends and family this year, and we are so grateful. Thank you ALL for caring about us and loving us. We are so grateful for you.

Cute Videos

I realize this is an onslaught of videos, but I am getting so far behind, and there will be so much more to report after this weekend! Today is Lily's precious Da-Da's birthday! He is 29!! It is also Halloween, but I dont think we are going to be doing anything this year since we dont have a costume (Unless anyone has any ideas of costumes I can make with a paper sack....) Kale and Julie are coming into town to celebrate Jeremy's bday with us and lets be honest...to see their granddaughter. :) Anyways, enjoy all these videos if you have the patience to watch them all!

Dancing Lily:Lily's fun shoulder/peek-a-boo gameLily loves this bear that her Great GREAT Aunt Martha gave her! She turns it on and off and dances with it all the time!She also has figured out how to make this tractor from Granny and Gramps go! These videos dont show it, but she can ride it and make a "Tractor noise" at the same time! Lily has pretty much mastered Facial Features 101. She can point out eyes, ears, nose, mouth, teeth, hair, etc on our faces, dolls, and in books!Jeremy and I have been trying to teach Lily to sing for a few weeks and I finally caught a little snippet on video!!