Flint Children's Museum and Potty Chair

Mary and Brian's Wedding

Crayola Factory

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Lilly and I were in the St. Patrick's Day Parade in Clare on Saturday but I didn't take any pictures of that. She wasn't feeling the best and was being very quiet and sorta whiney. I tried my best to take some pictures of her outside today since it was such a nice day. However, you will notice that most of the pictures are "action shots" of her running away. She really is enjoying being able to run around outside. I bought her a big red ball and she's having a blast chasing it through the yard and street (yes, I let her play in the street because there are zero cars and any that do come can be seen as soon as they enter the subdivision). This is the first time she has really been able to discover the outdoors because she didn't walk until almost Thanksgiving.

I bought a tiny bit of play-doh and let her play with it at the table. She only tried to eat it once! She really seemed to enjoy the container and lid just as much as the play-doh.She discovered that the dog treats are where she can reach them in the pantry so she decided to give Dozer a treat. I really don't think Dozer minded because I'm pretty sure he ate at least half the bag of treats. Lilly was forcing them in his mouth before he could chew up the last one. I like how innocent she is trying to look in this one!

I pulled Lilly's hair up into ONE big girl pony tail. She had some whispies and I had to clip up the back. It all fell down within about an hour...... But doesn't she sure look like a big girl?!?

Lilly has had a cold for about a week and a half. I think she's over the worst of it by now. I had tonsilitis (let's just go ahead and call it Strep Throat because that's what it turned in to) and missed Monday and Tuesday of last week. I lost my voice too so that was a lot of fun. We are headed for Pennsylvania for a quick weekend trip to go to Levi's cousin's wedding. We're excited to get outta town. This will be Lilly's first long car ride so we'll see how it goes! Look for pictures of this even early next week!

I Knew It Was Coming.....

The following words came out of my mouth this afternoon: "Nooo, we don't eat dirt!!!!"

I've been letting Lilly walk around the car and climb up the two steps into the house when I pick her up after school. Today was really warm so I set her down and went out to check the mail and bring in the garbage can. The driveway was mostly dry so I just let her run around. She followed me out toward the mailbox, stepped off the driveway and fell directly into a mud puddle. Nice. So I walked her inside, stripped off the muddy stuff and took her in to clean her up and put on dry clothes. Then we proceded back outside to go for a walk and get some much-needed fresh air. When we came in, her muddy shoes were still by the back door. I sat down on the couch and, not two seconds later, she came running to me holding a muddy shoe with dirt in her mouth!

So this got me to thinking about all the other unbelievable things one might find herself saying as a mom. Like, I know I've said, "Noooo, we don't poo-poo in the bath tub!" And "Nooo, we don't play in the toilet!" I was wondering if anyone remembers saying anything unbelievable like this. Maybe it could be like a preface as to what might be coming to me as Lilly enters her "terrible twos." I can only imagine what I have coming to me!

Feel free to leave me a comment as to what things I might be saying to Lilly some day. Even if you aren't a mom, I'm sure you can take a guess.

18 Months Old

Lilly turned 18 months old on February 23rd. I'm a few days late on this post. Honestly, I didn't realize she was 18 months old until the 25th when someone asked how old she was now. I said, "She'll be 18 months on the 23rd." The person responded, "Of March?" Ooops.
Anyways, she is definately a toddler these days. She is exploring her independance. She's thrown a few minor fits if she doesn't get something she wants; sits down on the floor and kicks her feet. She rarely sits still and is always on the move. She's pretty good at following directions now so I can get her to throw stuff in the trash and take off her hat and coat, etc. She likes to undress herself in the car. I usually have to put her hat and shoes back on everytime I get her out.

Exploring her creativity with fingerpaints. Daddy looks forward to matting and framing her latest creations. She really prefers blue. And she is certainly a "righty" as evidenced by the abundance of paint on the right side of her paper.

Yogurt is her new favorite food. She likes it too much to actually use the spoon. She prefers to dip her whole hand in the yogurt cup. She got mad last week when I wanted to avoid the mess and feed it to her. We compromised. I got a spoonful of yogurt on her spoon and then handed her the spoon. I cleaned up the highchair and put it in the garage. She is just sitting at the table in her booster seat now. She really likes it. One small step to "Big Girl Land," one giant leap for mom-kind. (Only my third graders would laugh at that joke...sorry.)

Happy Valentine's Day!

Love,
Lilly, Levi, and Sarah!