3 Year Portraits

The coolest thing ever happened this weekend...

They opened a M*nkee Joe's less than a quarter of a mile from our house!!! We can walk there. And to an almost-three-year-old, this place is heaven on earth:



Here's the Bug, jumping & sliding and generally running a muck:








So much fun... And so close! This is the new best thing about where we live!

Train time...

Check out what Lily & Daddy built this afternoon:

Too Funny...

Great question:
Daddy: Lily, this weekend I'm going to have to clean the gutters.
Lily, pointing out the window: "Da ones on da top of da house?"
Daddy: Yes.
Lily, after some consideration: "Are you goin' to climb our HOUSE?!?!"


Some options:
Lily, at the dinner table this week, with no provocation: "Okay Mommy, I'm gonna give you some options. You can sit on da extra chair, you can wash your hands, or you can look at your computer. Dose are your options."

I guess I might occasionally use this technique to move her along!



Gosh, how I love to hear my words come back to me:
Mommy, at dinner another night this week: Lily, I need you to take another bite of your sandwich.

Lily, with a little bit of disdain in her voice: "I will be happy to do that, but you need to ask NICELY."

I forgot to say please.

For History's Sake

Lily probably won't remember the inauguration today... she's too young, and from her perspective, it couldn't have been that interesting. But someday, if someone asks her where she was or what she was doing when President Obama was inaugurated, she will be able to say "That was the first thing I ever watched on TV." Because we thought it was important enough to break the rules.

After about 20 minutes of sitting (mostly) quietly, Lily was all done and ready for lunch. When she started to whine a little and I shush-ed her, telling her that something important was happening, she replied "I'm cryin' because I don't like what's important!" Fair enough.

Snow Fairy

We headed back out to play in the snow some more this afternoon. Much to Lily's disappointment, it was not good snowman-building snow. So we had to find other ways to amuse ourselves...

Like making a snow angel on Grammy's car!



The finished product:


And wearing a fairy costume in the snow...



And more sledding!



This is the first snow that Lily was old enough to enjoy, and maybe remember. And it was a perfect day!

Winter Wonderland!

The most amazing thing happened last night... it SNOWED! In Raleigh!

See how pretty our house looks:


And we have gotten a fair amount - close to three inches, and it's still coming down!

Lily was so excited to see the snow when she got up this morning. She ran from window to window throughout the house saying "Oh my! There's snow on the trees / grass / rocks / street / Daddy's car!!" at each one - genuinely surprised at each new thing that was covered in snow.

However, when it came time to actually go out and play, she was not so sure. There were tears. There was much crying over each layer of clothing. And then, there was flat-out refusal to leave the comfort of the garage. In fact, Lily seemed perfectly content to sit in the back of Mommy's car and just watch us play.

After a few minutes of that, I carried her out into the yard, figuring that maybe once she was out there, she'd be okay. At first, that didn't look like it was going to work:

But then Scout remembered how much she loves to play in the snow and became a wild dog, and Lily realized how much she wanted to chase her, and then all of the sudden, playing in the snow was the best. thing. ever.

She did some exploring:



She made snowballs:


And threw them at Scout:

And sat in our new chairs:(Side note - these are the new chairs and "coffee table" that Daddy made from one of the big pine trees that fell in the back yard recently. They are so cute!!)

Lily even climbed a tree in the snow!

Daddy demonstrated the best method for making a snow angel:

And then Lily (sort of) gave it a try:

And then we went sledding - this is North Carolina, though, so while Daddy rode on his snow board, Lily went sledding on a boogie board!






And then Lily & Daddy went down the big hill together:





And of course, nothing completes fun in the snow like a nice mug of hot chocolate!!

"It's weally, WEALLY good!"

There is now about 4 inches on the ground and it's continuing to come down. Daddy has a snow day from work and Grammy is here visiting, so we're going to enjoy a quiet day at home... maybe watch the inauguration and probably head out for more playtime later. Lily REALLY wants to build a snowman! Happy Snow Day!

Baby Sister

Lily is getting ready! She talks about "baby sister" all the time. She wants to feel her moving, she wants to listen to her heartbeat, and she wants to hold her - she does his by lifting up my shirt, scraping her hand across my belly and then cradling an imaginary baby sister in her arms, cooing at her. She wants to talk to baby sister all the time, and give her kisses too.

Lily has been to all of our doctor's appointments. She has not been terribly impressed with the ultrasounds, but she always gasps and smiles when we hear the "heart beepin'!", and gives me lots of doctor's appointments at home, where she listens to the baby's heart beat and measures my tummy "To make sure dat baby is growin'."

She's also doing LOTS of practicing with her baby doll. She pushes her in the stroller, nurses her, dresses her, changes her diaper, puts her to bed, and carries her in her sling:

If anyone asks me about the baby, or comments about my belly, Lily will chime in "Dat's my baby sister. When it's March, I will get her out. When she cries, I will get her up and give her to Mommy and she will change her diaper. I will hold her berry gently! Yeah." We haven't told her any of these things - except that she will get to hold the baby. It's all just stuff that she's picked up on, or come up with on her own. It's really amazing to see how her little mind is connecting the dots and preparing her for the seismic change in her life that is coming!

She does seem genuinely excited...





It's hard to say how excited she'll be once the little interloper actually arrives, but I believe that she is going to be an amazing big sister.



See how much she loves her already!

Recently heard...

Lily: Is Daddy coming home for lunch today?
Mommy: No, not today, but he'll be home for dinner.
Lily: Let's have dinner!


Lily, to Daddy, as he was leaving her room at bedtime: Don't walk backwards!
Daddy: What???
Lily: Don't go backwards down the stairs, okay?


Some trees in our yard got blown down in a big storm last week. It was just before dinner, but already dark outside and really loud. Not surprisingly, this has been very. very. traumatic. for the Bug. So now, every time we put her to bed she ends by asking "Are no more trees going to fall?"


These are pictures of the ballerina/fairy/carpenter/doctor/angel ensemble that Lily created last night!

Ready or not, here I come!

Hide-and-Seek is a little tricky... I don't think she quite gets it yet!!

Marbles and Dragons and Blocks - oh my!

It's been ages since we went to Marbles... Lily had lots of fun with her usual favorite things - the school bus, baby dolls, grocery store, water tables & pirate ship. But she also found some new "fun things!!"

Like a dragon costume...


Which she even wore while playing with the trains!

And giant blocks...


Great for fort building!


As the Bug would say, "Good times, good times!"

Uh-oh...

So, Lily's been in her big girl bed for about a month now, with no issues. Except for the one time when I got her up from her nap and she told me "It's okay if I fall out of bed sometimes!" She did seem okay, and there's been no more talk of falling since then.

But she's been contained, as though she didn't know she could get out of her bed. She would even cry for help when her pink blanket or a friend fell onto the floor.

Until today. When I went to get her up from her nap, she had in the bed with her the book that we read when I was putting her down. The book I know I had set on the floor next to her bed. So I asked the Bug how it had gotten in her bed.

Her answer? "Like I climbed down and picked it up and den back onto my bed. Dat's how it got here!"

Oh dear... I don't know what concerns me more - that she can get out of her bed, or that she began a sentence with the word "like".

"Daddy's fwiend Dave!"

Daddy's friend from elementary school, Dave, and his girlfriend Chelsey were here for a New Year's visit. We had a really nice couple of days visiting with them. Lily's met them once before, and was really, REALLY shy around Dave. Not so much anymore!

Here's Lily getting a piggy-back ride from "Daddy's fwiend Dave" (As she referred to him the whole time he was here!):


And here she is tickling his toes...


...She even gave hugs when they were leaving! Such progress for our shy girl!

Such a good helper...

Helping Daddy sweep the lawn...


...She loves to ride the mower, as long as it's not on!