I'm Baaack!

I've finally made the time to meet a few of your requests and update you on our comings and goings. I know most of my friends don't even bother to check anymore but I love when people ask me about this blog and so for you, I am going to make a conscience effort to be better with keeping you informed. Here are some highlights from the last few months.

Our Princess

Lily loves all things princess and dress up and I am loving every minute of it! From the time she was born, I have said that every new stage/age is my favorite but seriously - two is the BEST! She has developed her own personality and her communications skills keep things interesting. Lily definitely tests the boundaries but her goofy personality and fun loving take on life make up for all of it!

Spring 

We have been enjoying the spring weather, rain or shine. Pat prides himself on a nice yard so we only have a few areas with flowers (aka weeds) to pick but Lily managed to find them all. She is also a lover of the rain. Her reaction to waking up on a rainy day, "Mommy, it's a rainy day! I need my boots!" Any given rainy Saturday, you can find her dancing and playing in puddles in her nightgown.

Easter

We enjoyed spending spring break with our cousins (their spring break that is)! The week included lots of play time, dying eggs, Easter egg hunts, the lake, and most importantly Easter Sunday! Lily enjoyed dying eggs more than I expected and her hunting skills are on point. (Just last week I gather up the last of the eggs and baskets. As cute as it was to watch her scurry around to find/hide them, I started to cringe when I would hear, "I'm ready!".)

The apron Lily is wearing was mine when I was little!

My Little Helper

If there is one thing I have taught this little girl, it is that we don't like dog hair! It was unintentional but with 2 dogs in the house I am in a constant battle with the stuff. The positive side is that Lily is enjoys "helping" me clean. I get a lot of joy out of watching her 'vacuum' up dog hair. (Even though it means I have to come behind her to actually clean it up) She is also quite a big help in the kitchen. Surprising, I have learned a few things from her. One being, flour is, "Really tasty"! Yuck! Speaking of tasty. The kid loves dog food, double yuck! This is probably the main reason she has taken on the responsibility of feeding Maggie and Molly. She knows which bowl goes with which dog, whose gets what food and how much to give (with a little monitoring). I am sure by the time she can truely help around the house she will no longer be interested so for now I am letting her help all she wants.

Funny (and disgusting) story: The other day Lily was playing outside with Pat and unbeknownst to me he sent her inside to me to go potty. She went into our room to look for me but I was on the other side of the house in my favorite place, the laundry room. (sense my sarcasm?!) As I was finishing up I heard a faint voice talking about potty. I followed Lily's voice to the bathroom. I found her standing in front of the potty. As I got closer I realized her hands were in it! "I clean panties!" she proudly announced. She was doing just as she has seen me do, cleaning them in the toilet. (Keep in mind I used cloth diapers so putting my hands in the potty or poop for that matter is nothing to me). My gut reaction was to yell "STOP! " but my pride quickly took over. She did what she knew needed to be done and did a pretty good job of it. I got her cleaned up and back on the potty to finish what she had started, then I explained that it would be best to get mommy next time she has an accident. LOL!!

Clowning Around

Like all toddlers, she provides us with so much entertainment. She is constantly making me laugh! The more her personality emerges the more obsessed with her I become. I love hearing the things that come out of her mouth. The stuff kids pick up on! 

These Two

I have blogged about it before but I can't get enough of this duo. Lily is a good combination of both of us but I think many of her personality traits come from Pat. In certain circumstances, she may start off  shy but it never lasts more than a few minutes. I hope that never changes about her. I was a very shy child and looking back I think I missed out on things because of it. 

And these three

Lily might have Pat's personality but she gets her vocabulary from me. I love to hear her use phrases she hears me say. When we come in at the end of the day she calls, "Two silly puppies!?" Any time she drops food, if they aren't already waiting at her feet, she calls them. And my favorite, "I go outside to play with puppies."! They don't always love each other but when they do it's the best!

More cousins

Weekends and visits with cousins are always fun! A month ago Shelly and I took the girls on a photo shoot...with a unicorn! They got to dress up and even had their hair and makeup done! They ran and played and squealed while we waited an hour for their turn then--the smiles stopped and the pouting and crying started. This is foreign to me. Lily has always been up for anything but we have never had profession pictures taken before. All she talked about leading up to the shoot was riding on the pony and when it came down to it she wanted nothing to do with it. Unfortunately, she wasn't the only one that acted like a toddler, I also acted extremely childish and lost my patience when she wouldn't cooperate. Luckily, Shelly was there to encourage me to walk away and help Lily come around. We still haven't gotten our proofs back but I'm not setting myself up for more disappointment so I am keeping my exceptions low. But overall we had a great time! Those two girls get along so well and Lily adores Anacapri.

The Lake

We have been spending some of our weekends on the lake. Lily insists on swimming even though she is left purple lipped and shivering. Her favorite thing to do is go to "Grammy and Paw's brown house", their lake house. I think they enjoy it too!

Butterflies!

Baby Number Two

Come Septemember, Lily is going to be a big sister! There is a little confusion about who is carrying the child. My waistline is the one expanding but Lily insists she has the baby in her tummy. Although, a few weeks ago when my stomach really "popped" she looked at it, pulled on it and asked to open it! She also quite frequently reminds us that she is a big sister and that she would like a sister. We try to talk about brothers as well to hopefully reduce any risk of disappointment when the time comes.

This pregnancy is progressing so well, normally actually! I underwent a preventative procedure at 12 weeks to help avoid the issues I had with Lily and started meds for the contractions at 16 weeks. I have weekly checks which is slightly inconvient but extremely reassuring. And so far I have left the office with a smile on my face every time!

And with that I will say goodbye until next time....hopefully it will be soon than later!