Beep Beep!

This is a picture that John snapped on our way to Pendleton this past weekend. We were stopped near the top of the Snoqualmie summit while the road was cleared of an accident. It was snowing and Lily would reach her hand out the window to catch the falling flakes she'd never seen before. On the trip back home we made a pit stop along the way. John got Lily out of her car seat because she had spilled crackers all over herself and while he was cleaning up the mess she sat on my lap in the driver's seat and played with the steering wheel and all the fascinating buttons. It took all her might but she was able to figure out how to honk the horn. I know she was impressed with her accomplishment and her proud giggles were contagious. She was not happy when it was time to go and she had to get back in her seat. For the next several miles her hands were extended to an imaginary horn in front of her and through tears of frustration we heard, "BEEEEEP!", "BEEEEEP!"

Where do I Start?

I've neglected this blog for so long that memories, events and milestones have piled up. To be honest, I find being this behind more overwhelming than 15 loads of stinky laundry. Since the task of re-creating the last six months of memories would be a tremendous undertaking, I'm just going to start with where we're at right now.

Lily is now 20 months old. We visited the doctor earlier this week for a check-up. She's 24lbs, 32.5 inches tall and the definition of average in terms of height, weight and head circumference as she ranks in precisely at the 50th percentile in each of these categories.

Lily is doing and saying something new every day and John and I find ourselves more and more smitten with her charm. We are giggling, hiding, seeking, hugging, kissing and running here and there all the time. We are cherishing every moment, every new word and every funny thing she does. Lily is determined, independent, filled with wonder and wants to participate in the world around her. I've found that she likes it best when she's helping so we've been giving her tasks to complete when we can. I have her help me in the kitchen quite a bit. She's great at putting the already cut ingredients for her fruit/veggie salad into a bowl and at helping make oatmeal. Since one of her favorite foods, and mine, is oatmeal, we make it together for breakfast all the time. She'll get the pot out of the cupboard, bring it to you and say, "a-meal!" when she's ready for breakfast. Then, she sits on the counter with the pot between her legs and helps pour in the oats, water and raisins. She even reaches into the little salt bowl I have sitting out, grabs a pinch and sprinkles it lovingly over the oats. Years from now I want to remember these small and simple ways in which her individuality developed more than the places we've been or the things we did. I want to remember the cute way she sticks her tongue out when she says, "hello", "yellow" and "pillow" in an effort to make the words sound right. I want to remember how she runs to our bed after her bath, snuggles into the pillows and asks for her blanket and then her nook because she needs both to be truly cozy. I want to remember how she can't wait for either John or I to get out of the shower so she can rush over to offer a towel... A few days ago as I carried her up the stairs to bed and as she cuddled into my shoulder with her favorite blanket she said, "I uv ewe" without any prompting or me saying anything at all. It was the first time she made that statement and I cherish it more than her first step.

Lily & Jaxx

Here's a set of pictures I find so cute. They're of Lily and her cousin Jaxx when they were both spending time with my parents last month. Watching these two waddle around the house together in their matching glow in the dark skeleton pajamas was a riot. One can only imagine what was going through Lily's mind when this picture was taken. Fear of her finger being bitten off? Concern that her hands were so greased up with butter that she wouldn't be able to hold onto her delicious toast once Jaxx clamped down? I can't tell how big a bite Jaxx was able to get but Lily quickly decides that she deserves some of his toast... And then they finally realize they don't have to fight because great grandma Dona is a pushover and will give them the whole loaf of bread drenched in as much butter as they want because they're cute and adorable and have matching glow in the dark skeleton outfits. She's a good grandma :)

Lily Dancing

Here's a quick video taken last month while Lily spent a few days in Pendleton with my mom. It shows her dancing but I think it beautifully captures her signature move which is a shrug. She shrugs her shoulders, tilts her head to the right, scrunches her nose up and smiles when you say something sweet to her. It's adorable and I hope she does it forever.

Pumpkin Patch

John, Lily and I enjoyed a beautiful fall day at the pumpkin patch this past weekend.

We went to see the farm animals...

...looked for the perfect pumpkin...

...and looked...

...and we found the Great Pumpkin.

We brought her red wagon but she wanted out. While she normally loves wagon rides (who doesn't?) she preferred walking along the long lines of pumpkins.

We ended the adventure with a shared bag of mini donuts. Lily got a rush of independence when she was allowed to hold the bag herself and delighted in the simple pleasure of reaching in to pull warm donuts out one by one.

The Tickle Monster

Watch out for the tickle monster! Lily thinks it's hilarious to sneak up on John and I and give a little tickle. She tickles John's toes every time he lays down without his shoes and if I'm close to the ground at all she'll get the small of my back.

Lily at the Beach

Lily is like a sponge lately and it's evident that she's learning new things everyday. Her personality is begining to shine and she's so much fun to be around. She's always been a content and happy baby full of giggles and smiles but now she's also showing an eagerness to please and make others laugh. Here are a few pictures from this past weekend at the Oregon coast. We took some bread to feed the birds since she's so facinated with them but it turned out she was more interested in eating the bread herself and playing with washed up seaweed.