Overheard today, from the sweetest girl:

• "I love you Rory! You're my best baby sister!"
• "I'm her big sister, so I can do things for her..." (as she replaced the pacifier that had fallen from Rory's mouth)
• "You're my BEST Mommy!"
• "You're the best Daddy in the whole wide world!"

Some days are just incredible.

Lily's Trip to Charlotte

Unlike her sister, Lily doesn't mind a ride in the car, even while sitting next to a crying baby. And she too had a blast visiting Auntie's house, where there's a pool...




And Lily loves Grammy & Bumpa's house, where there are toys and books and ice cream and a computer...

And blueberries...

And Aunties...

And where there was Uncle Mike, willing to play all kinds of games and read stories:


I think Lily wore him out!

Lily & Bumpa's Day of Fun

This post is long overdue... Two weeks ago, Grammy & Bumpa were in town, and Daddy was hard at work on the screened-in porch, so Lily decided a trip to M*rbles was in order. And since Bumpa has recently acheived "best friend" status, it quickly became Bumpa & Lily's Day of Fun.

Here they are, getting ready to try out every. single. thing. in the place:

First, they went for a drive:


Then Dr. Lily had to give her baby a check-up:

And then Bumpa needed a check-up:



Then a baby cow needed some cuddles:

And there were packages to be sorted:


Meanwhile, Rory was asleep in her sling, with Grammy:

And then there were trains to play with:

And groceries to buy:

And meals to serve:

Plus, there was a whole "Under the Sea" world to explore:

Including strange species of fish:

We searched for buried treasure...


And Grammy painted Lily's face:


There were drums to play:

And then a rest was required:

For everyone...

But then there was work to be done:

And trampolines to try out:

And tu-tus to try on!

Ballerina Girl:


There were craft projects to be done:


The finished products:

And, finally, there were rocks to climb and jump from:

After all that fun, Bumpa treated Lily to lunch at her favorite restaurant, including an ice cream cone!

I think it's safe to say the Bug had the best. day. ever!

Bathing Beauties!

While at Auntie's house, we realized that we hadn't brought a bathtub for Rory, so Lily finally got her wish and they got to take a bath together!

Lily was so excited, but Rory was a little overwhelmed at first.

Lily happily volunteered to was Rory's belly button:
And then gave her some bathtime snuggles!


Exactly how many people does it take to wash one wiggly baby?

Christmas in July

Spent the morning listening to "Jingle Bells" and the like because Lily was "pwe-tendin' it's cwiss-mas!"

Serenade

Lily singing "Tomorrow" and then "The Rainbow Connection" to Rory, who was fussing in her swing...

She grants wishes!

"Lily-the-Fairy"

Faces

Swim Lessons (Part 5 of 5)

Class canceled due to lightning. Many tears. But at least we got this:

Swim Lessons (Part 4 of 5)

"I'm swimming wif-out Daddy!"


"I swimmed all the way to the other end!"



The life jacket was a big, BIG hit!

Swim Lessons (Part 3 of 5)

Today was a better day - Lily really likes her teacher, Miss Laura, and she was much more willing to listen to both her and Daddy. She even put her face in the water a little bit! I think she was showing off for Grammy, who's here visiting.

She was yelling "Look at me swimmin', Grammy!"

And also "I went all the way to the end!"

The noodle was a big hit...

A blurry photo, but she was doing a pretty good job of floating on her back:

The water is COLD! A snuggle break with Daddy was needed.

Swim Lessons (Part 2 of 5)

Ah, there's our girl... she was excited to get there, couldn't wait to jump in and swam happily for a minute or two.

Then, the nice teacher tried to get her to do some new things and she started refusing. With some encouragement from Daddy, she made it through the class and even a little out of her comfort zone.

Oh well, tomorrow is another day.

Swim Lessons (Part 1 of 5)

Lily is taking swim lessons every evening this week. We've been talking them up for awhile now, not sure how she'd react. But she sure showed us! All day she was saying "I'm so ess-cited about my swimmin' lessons!" And she was...

When we arrived at the pool, Lily suggested that we "Wait for Daddy in the 'waiting' pool!" Smart girl! We played for a bit and then Daddy arrived and class started:




After class, Lily told me that they had played "Captain", but what she meant was Simon says.

They also practiced jumping into the pool:



As we were getting into the car, Lily said, unprompted, "Thank you for my swim lessons!" And then at bedtime, she announced, "I love my swim lessons!"

The artist at work...

Lately, Lily is all about having me draw a picture so that she can paint it.

She takes it very. very. seriously.

Here's her latest masterpiece... a turtle, angelfish and swordfish:

Time is a tricky thing

LilyBug has always been really good about staying in her bed until we come to get her, in the morning and after her nap. But the past few days, she's been YELLING when she wakes up (wonder who taught her that trick?). So this morning, when I went upstairs, I tried to explain "7:00" and told Lily that in the morning, she can get up as long as the first number on her clock is a seven.

Fast forward to this afternoon, at the end of naptime. I go into the Bug's room and find her at the end of her bed, staring at her clock. She looked up at me in surprise and said "It doesn't say seven yet!"

I laughed and told her that at naptime, she could get up as long as the first number was a four. Lily looked at her clock, which read 4:38 and announced "It says four... E... sumpin!"

I guess we'll keep working on it.

Smarty Pants

Lily, noticing a sign while we were walking around at a shopping center: "Does 'T - O - Y - S' spell toy store?"

Close enough!

Summer Break '09 (Woo Hoo!!!)

We are so very lucky, me and my girls. We just had Auntie at our house for two whole weeks. There are no words that could adequately express how much of a help she was, or how much fun we all had, but I'll try.


On the first night of her visit, after Lily had chosen Auntie to put her to bed, I overheard her saying "Auntie, you're my mommy!" I suppose that should have hurt my feelings, but honestly I'm just surprised it took this long for Lily to come up with that one. She loves her Auntie so much! And honestly, Auntie is like her third parent. I think there were maybe two nights during her visit that she didn't bathe Lily & put her to bed, and most of those days she also got Lily dressed, helped her brush her teeth and put her down for her nap. Given the choice of Mommy, Daddy or Auntie, Lily will choose Auntie every single time!

And no wonder... Auntie comes up with the best games! She taught Lily how to build a fort out of the couch cushions. Lily decided that this was her "new pack 'n play" and spent countless minutes pretending to sleep in there, after having Auntie read her a story and sing her a song. They must have repeated this routine 100 times in two weeks.

Rory got in on the fun too:

Auntie also invented "Lamies 'n gemmel-men", a game in which Lily's every move is narrated in an announcer voice (Ladies and gentlemen, what is she going to do next??). Lily never gets tired of this.

Auntie also introduced Lily to the joy that is M*ry Poppins and to "Pigeon games", based on some of her favorite stories, on the computer.

Not to be outdone, Lily came up with some good games to play too. Like when she decided to be a one-woman band, like in one of her Olivia books:


Or when Lily decided that she wanted to be Marley (From Marley & Me - she has a children's book based on the movie). This game involves Auntie walking "Marley" on a leash, Marley repeatedly fetching a ball in his mouth, and Marley being put in his "crate" (the loft) for barking. Who knows why this is fun, but Lily couldn't get enough!

Lily also showed Auntie how to play her favorite up-on-the-loft game, which she calls "Cover your face". Can you guess how you play?

We tried to do as many fun things as we could. There was a trip to M*nkey Joe's, a few T*rget runs and a particularly hilarious trip to H*me Dep*t to pick up some things for Daddy. Lily & Auntie went to explore the garden center, while Rory and I found the tool that Daddy needed and went up front to pay. Afterward, I called Auntie's phone because I couldn't find them, and Lily answered. I asked her, "Where are you guys?" And she answered, with total disdain, as if I should know better, "We're at L*we's!" I can't really blame her, that's usually Daddy's home improvement store of choice, and they do look almost the same inside. But the truly funny part came later, when we were telling Daddy the story, and Lily jumped in at the end with "And appa-went-ly, we were at H*me Dep*t!"

Besides all our errand running, we also took Auntie to "the train park" to play one day.
Lily took Auntie for a ride on the train, and half way through turned to her and said "I hope you don't fall out!" Then she held her hand the rest of the ride, just to make sure.

Lily and Auntie also rode the carousel:

And fed the ducks:

Lily played on the swings:


Lately nothing is more exciting than a drink from a water! fountain!


Rory chilled in her stroller for most of that day:

I call this one "Best Friends":

At Lily's request, we ate lunch at Ch*ck-Fil-A that day. Lily was clearly starving because she ate all of her food in about 10 minutes, instead of picking at it for 20 minutes and only finishing half, like she normally does. The prize in the kids' meal was this silly plastic cow (which she now insists on sleeping with). Lily asked what was written on the cow, so Auntie told her "Eat more chicken!" Lily got really upset and replied "I don't have any more!"

We went to a local storytime one day:


Where Lily tried out all the backpacks and stuffed animals:

We also went to an outdoor concert where Lily & Daddy danced and played with hoola hoops:




And Lily got a free pinwheel:

And where Lily "rocked out in a tree!"


Rory and Auntie had some good bonding time too. Rory, like her big sister before her, thinks Auntie is the funniest person she's ever met! She smiled, cooed and giggled whenever Auntie was nearby.


Over the weekend, we left Rory home with Daddy and went out to buy some new sneakers for Mommy. While at the shoe store, shy little Lily was more than happy to talk to the salesmen, telling one, "I like to try on shoes!" as she tried on every shoe she could reach. When another one told her that he liked her shoes, she informed him, "No, they're flip-flops!"

As we left the shoe store, Lily caught sight of the golf store that Bumpa likes to take her to, and she asked if we could go there "to drive the carts and play with the rolly things." So we walked over there and on the way Lily was singing, "We're goin' to Bumpas's favorite store. I hope Bumpa's there!" She had Auntie and me cracking up the whole time.

Auntie & Lily baked cookies one day...


They were pretty yummy! And don't you love Lily's oh-so-appropriate baking ensemble?

For our last day, we went to the pool. Lily had fun in the splash park:




And Rory had fun cuddling with Auntie:

But we spent most of our time in the wading pool.





Lily mimicked the big kids and tried to swim.





But, since it was 75 degrees and overcast, the Bug kept having to curl up in her towel to warm up. Poor kid had purple lips by the time we left!


We had so much fun. Last night, upon hearing that Auntie would be going home today, Lily announced "I think I'm gonna cry after my nap." We all miss her already.

My three favorite girls!

What happens when Daddy gets her dressed:

She ends up in a Halloween costume made by Grammy, for Mommy, circa 1980. She makes a cute clown though!

A story

Yesterday afternoon, Lily & Daddy were playing outside when there was a knock at the front door. Standing on the porch was LilyBug with a handful of flowers. "These are for Mommy. We love you!" So sweet.

I asked her, "Where did you get these?" And she replied, "The ditch!"
(I just love ditch flowers!)

And then I asked her, "Do you know what kind of flowers these are?"
"No," she answered.
Well, they're lilies..." I told her.

(Pause for consideration)

"Well, I gave them to you!"

Okay, I guess they're mommies then!

Just us girls

Holly's Visit

Sure, Grammy & Bumpa were here too, helping Daddy build the screened-in porch and helping take care of Rory, but Lily was most thrilled that she got to hang out with her buddy Holly...

You know, cuddling, playing and chillin' on the loft:

And playing outside, which led to a bath for Holly:

(Lily insisted on wearing her rain boots with her dress, in case she got wet!)

And then a fancy bubble bath, with mommy's bath crystals, in the big tub, for Lily, to "cure" her mosquito bite:

(Bug bites are very traumatic around here! Luckily, bubbles solve almost all problems.)

Snuggling

Whether Rory wants to or not!

Lily & her babies...

Attitude.