SNOW!!!!

There was a very slight chance that we'd get some snow this morning, so I've been hoping all week that it would finally snow for us here. In fact the first thing I asked Chip when I woke up was, "Is it snowing?" But it wasn't. Then about 10 minutes later I got up to take Lily to the bathroom and I pulled back the curtain, just to see, and it was snowing!!!!! At first Chip didn't believe me, but I grabbed Lily, her jacket and some random warm looking clothes for me and headed outside!!!! It was our very first snow in Texas (we didn't get any last winter) and Lily's first real snow. She has been in flurries a few times (once in the Grapevine when she was 6 weeks old, once in Tennessee when we were visiting in Jan '08 and once last year here in Texas), but this was the first time she actually got to touch and play in the snow!!

Chip enjoying the snowfall in the backyard.
Me in my random pajama pants and sweatshirt. I was so exhilarated and excited, that it didn't even feel like 34 degrees out!

Lily, on the other hand, was not so happy.

She had heard me talking all week about the possibility of snow and was all ready to go see it, but when it came time to go outside she was terrified at first.

I finally coerced her to come out, but she only agreed if I would carry her.

We were the crazy neighbors from California who had to go out into the front yard to see what the house looked like in the snow. Lily actually liked it better out front since there is a small porch that shielded her from the snowfall.

Our house in the snow!!

I felt stupid out front, so we went out to the back yard again where I made Lily her first snowball.

Even more snow is falling. At first I wasn't sure how long it would last, which is why I ran out so quickly. But it ended up snowing for about an hour and a half straight.

Still super happy about the snow!

Back out front since Lily really really really wanted to go out front again. I was bending down making her more snowballs.

Another snowball.

The street covered in snow.

It wasn't cold enough to stick on the roads or sidewalks, only grassy and elevated areas.

Lily finally ventured out into the snowfall!!

Surprisingly, I still wasn't too cold yet.

Touching the snow.

(check out my crazy extension cords for the Christmas lights -- I need a better system)

Now that she wasn't scared anymore, she wanted to go play in the snow in the backyard.

We made a tiny snowman.

Catching snowflakes.

She loved to walk and make footprints in the snow. She walked all around the backyard for over 30 minutes, until there was no where else to walk since her footprints covered the whole yard.

She was LOVING the snow by now!

I finally got cold and had to get some gloves and a hat! :) Lily is showing off big chunks of snow she found.

She'd pick up snow and make little snowballs to throw.

Sadly, it did not last too long. By 10am this is what the yard looked like:

And now it is completely gone. It sad since it was so pretty, but I prefer it that way. I could not live somewhere where it snowed a lot. I think it would be too much for me. But this little snow was so much fun!!! It is such a nice treat to get every once in awhile!!! There is a chance for more on Friday morning, I hope it comes!!!

Here is a short video of Lily sorta throwing her first snowball, some of the snowfall and Lily walking through the backyard making footprints:

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Tis The Season

Just taking care of holiday business here. Sunday after grocery shopping I finally got Lily to (reluctantly) agree to pose for a Christmas Card photo. Yes, I finally had to give in and bribe her with a small gift which was originally intended as a stocking stuffer. But I got it done and ordered and should hopefully have my cards mailed in the next week or so! Woo-Hoo! Monday Chip had school business and studying to deal with on his day off (just 2 more weeks and this semester is over!), so Lily and I put up the Christmas lights. Since our house is so tall and steep we decided last year it was too hard to put them along the roof. It totally bums me out, but eventually some day we'll expand and make it better. However since they are only in the bushes, it is easy for Lily and I to get the job done. Now all we need are our trees up! We are definitely waiting for Chip to do that. The plan is to get our real tree on Friday night and hopefully also get the large artificial one up in the front window too! Then all the decorating will be done.

Here are some photos from the last couple days:

Lily dancing with Santa.

She thought she was so cute, she said "Mommy! Get your camera and take pictures."

My little helper outside working on the Christmas lights.

Playing with the Santas on the stairs -- again, she asked me to take her picture. Maybe she is finally just giving in and accepting that I will constantly be taking her picture for the rest of her life. :)

It's Beginning To Look A Lot Like Christmas!

The Christmas season has officially begun!! Lily was all ready to go -- as soon as she woke up from her nap on Thanksgiving she said, "Thanksgiving is over. It is Christmas time now." and wanted to color her Sleeping Beauty ornament that I got at the Target Dollar Spot awhile back:

Friday Lily and I actually did a little shopping. I think it was the first time ever I have gone out on Black Friday. We just went to Toys R Us where I got her the princess chair she wanted for $2 (it was market down to $12.50 and I had a promotional $10 gift card) and then we went to Bath and Body Works and I got 8 lotions for the price of 3! We were only out for about a half hour, but that was enough for me!

Saturday morning we played with play doh, and our Christmas spirit came out then too! :)

I had every intention of waiting until next weekend to decorate for Christmas, since it is not even December yet! But since everyone else I knew was already decorating and we are all ready for Christmas I figured I'd give in and start early. So yesterday morning Lily and I got all the boxes out of the garage and got busy.

She had the most fun playing with all the Santas!

And she helped decorate the kitchen tree. We haven't gotten the real tree or put up the lights outside yet, we are waiting for Chip to help with that. Hopefully tomorrow!! But Lily is SO excited!! It is so cute. This is going to be the funnest Christmas yet. Even last night as we were driving to get dinner (I can't take anymore turkey leftovers) she was so happy to see all the Christmas lights up. She kept saying how beautiful they all were and wanted to keep driving to look at more! I have been playing her Christmas music too and she loves it -- she can already almost sing all of "Jingle Bells". I love Christmas time!!!!

I Love Lily!

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Happy Thanksgiving

Last night Lily and I made pumpkin pie. It was my first time ever making it (not that it was very hard since I just made it from the canned pumpkin) and Lily was a great helper. She loves to help me cook and was so excited to make pumpkin pie. In fact she is really excited about Thanksgiving since they have been talking about it at school. After we cooked my pies, we had to go into her little kitchen and cook more pumpkin pies -- she got all the ingredients ready and then let me pour it into the bowl, just like I do with her -- SO cute!

Adding the spices!

Stirring them together.

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When she woke up this morning she was way too excited that it was Thanksgiving. I kinda felt bad since I don't know what she was expecting and I know she wasn't really going to eat or like any of the food. But she was happy the big day was finally here and wanted to start off with green beans for breakfast! So I let her eat green beans for breakfast and she felt very festive. :)

Watching the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade with Chip and her binoculars.

Me and my baby.

Lily and her Thanksgiving outfit.

Being Silly.

She was in a really really good mood all day!

She wanted SO badly to help me with everything. It was so sweet. So I gave her a Gerber baby knife and let her help me "peel"potatoes.

Years ago my Mom messed up her sink and garbage disposal with potato peels, so I knew they were not to go down the drain and I threw the majority of them away in the trash can. However my little helper gave me a few more potatoes to peel after I was done and I figured the small amount of peels wouldn't really be a big deal. Well, I was wrong:

Oops. Chip had to take the pipes apart to clear the drain. The plunger and Drain-o did not work. In fact, it is still not cleaned all the way out, but he said he'd finish the job after the Cowboy game. So I had to rinse dishes, clean up and drain cans of green beans in the bathroom sink!

Gross.

Lily couldn't wait to eat! She kept saying "I'm hungry! I want turkey and mashed potatoes and green beans. I'm hungry!" Of course I knew it was too good to be true.

Chip carving the turkey! Paula and Frank came over to eat with us and they brought the turkey, stuffing, cheesecake and pudding tarts. I made green bean casserole, mashed potatoes, corn, gravy, biscuits, cranberry sauce, pumpkin pie and bought a cake. Also, my friend Patti brought over some sweet potato casserole for me since I said I wasn't making it because I was the only one who liked it. It was delicious and SO nice of her!! Totally made the meal complete. Although it was a lot of food for 4.5 people! We have SO much leftover -- Chip is stoked! :)

Everyone enjoying the yummy dinner.

Lily asked for turkey, green beans and the mashed potatoes, which I thought she'd eat since she helped make them. Nope. She looked at it all on her plate and asked for biscuit after biscuit -- I think she ate 4 biscuits!! Good thing she had vegetables for breakfast!! Then after we were all done she wanted a piece of the cake that she picked out yesterday at the store. So I gave her a piece thinking she wouldn't eat it since she normally doesn't eat cake, she only asks for it. But she ate it all! She was such a good and sweet girl all day, I couldn't deny her bread and cake for lunch. :)

Happy Thanksgiving!!!!

Our Wednesday (so far)

This morning we work up and continued on the cleaning spree I stated yesterday, but still have yet to complete. We vacuumed and dusted and paid bills which were a huge clutter on the kitchen counters. I am currently in charge of my parents mail and bills while they are in CA, so I have twice as much junk mail and bills to sort through.

Lily wanted to help me pay bills, so I gave her all the empty envelops and inserts to write on.

Then we went to meet Patti and Emily and Courtney, Trent and Elise at the park. We won't have playgroup on Friday and Patti and Emily are going on vacation for a few weeks so we had to get a last day of play in before they left. After the park Lily and I had to run to the market to grab paper towels and a cake for tomorrow. I am making pumpkin pie tonight, but wanted to get an extra dessert for those who don't like pie.

I had seen the tiny carts before at the store, but have always managed to keep Lily away. Of course today she spotted them right away and just grabbed one without even asking. So on the Wednesday before Thanksgiving when the market was super crowded and it was hard to even walk though, Lily pushed her little cart like a pro. It really was pretty cute. I made her go through the wine section since it was empty to snap a quick photo.

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After the store we came home for nap time. Lily was a little wound up from the day we had so far, so I gave her a few minutes to play and run around my room. Little did I realize that she was taking all the diapers out of the box I just got and making herself a play to sit.

She was very proud that she was in the box and actually asked me to go get the camera and take a picture!

Silly Lily.

School Work

It's time to post some more of Lily's school artwork!

Pumpkin Pie
Square Collage

Lily's Thanksgiving place mat -- it is laminated and all ready to use for years to come.

"Making Green"

Yellow + Blue = Green

I was impressed with this one and the fact that she grasped the concept.

Picnic at the Park

Today after school we all drove thru Chick-Fil-A and had a picnic at the park with Courtney, Trent and Elise. It was nice and sunny out, but windy and kinda cool.

Lily and Elise dancing.

(Elise spilt her sauce from her nuggets all over herself, that is why she looks so messy.)

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Last night I went to my 3rd spin class and really pushed myself. I totally feel stronger than I did the first week and I can tell that I am doing more since for the first time my legs are killing me today!! This morning while Lily was in school I went to Toys R Us to help Santa out and pick up Lily's new bike. I had coupons and figured I'd grab it now, and if for some reason I found a better deal later I can just return it. Well, I am so glad I didn't wait any longer -- they were nearly all sold out. At first they told me they were sold out (after I paid for it -- apparently they couldn't find any in the back) and refunded my purchase. Then thankfully they found a couple! What is even harder to believe is that they aren't planning on getting that many more in stock! It isn't even December yet and all the bikes are sold out!?! It is weird that we haven't even had Thanksgiving yet -- so many people have their Christmas lights up already (including our neighbors) and Santa arrived at the malls last weekend!! They don't mess around here in Texas! :)

School Pictures

Since I couldn't get the scanner to work, I just took pictures of Lily's school pictures. It is probably better anyway since it will be a higher resolution when I go to reprint it in my blog book. The original picture has the name of her school on top and all the kids names listed below which is nice. And we were lucky since her entire class was present on picture day -- so this is all of them!

Just in case you can't tell -- Lily is in the middle row, on the right, totally not smiling. :) And yes she is only one of 4 girls in her class.

Here are the proofs from her picture. They send you the proofs before you have to pay anything which is great! I think it turned out pretty good (it is the same photo with different backgrounds). I am not sure why she is grabbing at her dress, but at least she is smiling!

Bed Bug

Lily hasn't slept more than 9 hours at night in weeks. She usually gets between 8.5 and 9 hours which really isn't enough, but at least she'll nap 2-3 hours in the afternoon to make up the difference. No matter what time we put her down, she wakes up between 6:50 and 7:20 in the morning. We have tried putting her to bed earlier, but she just sings and plays in her crib -- sometimes as long as 2 hours!! This morning when she woke up at exactly 7, I brought her into my room as I always do to take off her diaper. She laid on my bed and rolled over, so I laid next to her and she snuggled in and fell back asleep until 8:20. I couldn't believe that she laid with me and slept that long! It was so nice to sleep and cuddle with my baby. She is a restless crazy sleeper and I haven't relaxed and slept with her since she was a few months old. Chip was still here at first and took some pictures with his phone, but boy was Lily sad when she finally woke up and Daddy was already gone to work.

I know she kinda looks like she is fake sleeping ( I think I was in the first photo), but she was out -- totally snoring and all!
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In other random bedtime ritual news, here is a story that I just want to record and remember. Sorry if it is too much information:

Lily has been awesome at potty training. I still put pull-ups on her when we go out, but she has never ever gone in a pull-up (I just like to be safe, it is easier to carry pull-ups with me than a change of clothes). She started out going poo in the potty with no problem, but then once awhile back she had to go in the middle of a meal and didn't want to sit and wait on the potty to be finished -- she kept running to the bathroom, going a little, saying she was done, going back to her food and then having to run to the bathroom again. She just didn't want to sit for a few minutes and complete the task. I was calm and cool about it all, but she traumatized herself and ever since then she'll wait all day and go in her diaper immediately after I put her to bed. I mean immediately -- sometimes I barely close her door and she is yelling "Mommy, I pooed in my diaper!" I've tried to grab her (since I know it is coming) and put her on the toilet, but she won't go. She'll just sit there and it just prolongs bedtime that much more. So we talk about it, but I figured I'd give her some time and we'd try again. Well the other night before her bath before bed, she headed to the bathroom and said she had to poo. I got up to help her and she stopped and said, "Um, actually I think I'll wait and poo in bed." I encouraged her to go and she did and she was so proud of herself!! But since then we are back to going in her bed in her diaper again. She is a character! I just wanted to jot all this down so in the future when she is potty training her kids, I can tell her what I went through with her! :)

Our Weekend

Finally -- here are some pictures from the last couple days:

First, as much as I hate to admit that Lily isn't rainbows and lollipops all the time, she is definitely a 2 year old! The tantrums are usually daily and sometimes only last a second or two and sometimes are a lot lot worse. What they all have in common is the fact that they are set off by something totally ridiculous. Friday night she initially got upset because she couldn't get her socks on, so she screamed for my help. Then she got mad since I couldn't understand exactly what she wanted through her screaming. When I finally got that she needed help with her socks, I made her ask nicely and got one sock on and then she freaked out and wanted it off. I was done -- so I let her get it all out while I snapped some pictures (which by the way really pissed her off!)

good times.

Below is a much happier Lily playing with her dolls on Saturday morning:
And finally, a picture from Makayla's 3rd birthday party last night at Gymboree:
I didn't take many pictures at the party since I don't know Makayla's parents that well. But it was so cute to see the preschool clique all stick together and play together at the party as if they have been friends forever (rather than only 2 and a half months). Makayla loves Lily and apparently talks about her all the time, so it was very sweet when we arrived and Makayla ran over to Lily and they hugged. All those kids are so sweet and cute together!! Plus it was fun just to be back at Gymboree!!

Just A Quick Update

Sorry Mom (and anyone else who reads this) for the lack of updates lately. Nothing too exciting going on here. Lily had school on Thursday. Thankfully the water heater inspector came first thing in the morning, so I didn't have to wait around for him all day!! So we got some errands done on Thursday too. Yesterday we had playgroup at Emily's house. I had to drag Lily out of there. It was kinda cute she was screaming "I want to stay and play with Emily" and reaching out to her friend while Emily was screaming, "No, Lily don't go!" and reaching back. Such drama queens already! :) Today we've been playing at home and cleaning up and getting ready for a birthday party tonight at Gymboree for Makayla, a girl in Lily's class. I am excited to go back to Gymboree since we haven't been since August! That's about it!! I did get Lily's class photo and proofs from her school pictures back. They all turned out really well -- but I can't get the scanner to work! It worked the other day, but now I keep getting an error messages. It is frustrating. I've been trying for days to fix it, but can't seem to figure it out. Unplugging it and plugging it back in isn't working and that is my main focus of expertise. :)

I'll try to be back tomorrow with something more exciting and some pictures!

Waiting For A Water Heater

We had to stay at home all morning and miss a class social for Lily's school while the plumber installed a brand new water heater. Our old one (which was original to the house -- so a good 14 years old), finally died. I knew the end was near, so I extended our home warranty insurance when it was up in May. Boy, am I glad I did -- it saved us about $1000 (including the cost of the insurance itself). The only crappy part is now I have to stay home again tomorrow from 8-5 while I wait for a city inspector to come and check out the unit. So Chip will have to be late or take Lily to school and come home for 10 minutes while I pick her up! Annoying. But apparently if they show up and you are not home, they fine you $50!! What a joke. I am going to try to call in the morning and see if they can narrow that time frame down a little for me.

I had Chip clean out the area in the garage near the water heater so the plumber would have a little better access. We have not touched most things in the garage since we moved in. Take for example the bench to the piano -- when the moving truck got unloaded it somehow got left in the garage and has been there ever since! Cleaning out and organizing the garage is a big item on our to-do list, but Chip only has one day off a week and that never seems like a fun or relaxing way to spend it!! But I did bring in the bench (since it happened to be one of the items near the water heater) and cleaned it off. Lily was really excited to have a place to sit and play the piano!!

She also discovered that the bench opened and was filled with all the sheet music from my Grandma's house! I have no idea how she knew what to do with the sheet music, but she is the one who pulled it out and set it up on the piano like that! Such a smart girl.

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Once the plumber came, shy little Lily ran to hide. She laid in her house like this most of the time he was out in the garage working. She actually likes it better when her house has collapsed around her.

Finally out of hiding, we painting a little to keep ourselves busy while we were stuck at home.

Mellow Monday

Our lazy days continue. Yesterday was Chip's day off work so we relaxed at home most of the day. We did take a break to go to lunch and stop by the Coach store to see if I could find a new purse for Christmas. I have been using my diaper bag for almost 3 years now, and I am looking for something new -- a real purse!!! Of course, still large enough to carry my camera and snacks for Lily. :) Surprisingly, I didn't find anything there that I loved, so the search continues. Since Chip was a very good boy while I dragged him around Coach, we also stopped at Best Buy so he could browse for Christmas presents where, no surprise, he founds tons of possible gift ideas! :)

Lily playing with her felt boards. I got these at a local toy store awhile back for $3. They are a huge hit! She loves them and it is fun to see her imagination at work. Sometimes the most simple and old fashioned toys are the best.

At Best Buy.

Lily really wants "Rock Band". She saw the drums and got so excited! (so maybe sometimes new and fancy toys are pretty great too!) :)

It would be fun to play as a family -- maybe in a few more years! :)