Lily's first day at Parents Day Out!

Today was Lily's first day at Parents Day Out. It was a little sad for me because I was worried that she would miss us, but I was also excited for her because she just loves being in social situations! For months we've been contemplating part time care so Lily could be around other kids and just recently, everything fell into place. We picked the PDO program because its at Tara's church and she used to take Parker there when he was Lily's age.

Lily was there for about 4 hours and Ms. Debbie said she did very well! We figured she would start to pick up things from other kids after a while, but she already came home with something new: This evening Lily started saying, "No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no..." while shaking her head.

I wonder if that's something she picked up from the teachers or another toddler???!!

A lovely day!

Today we spent the afternoon at the Nelson...well, kinda. While Israel and Marissa walked through the museum, Eric, Lily, and I played outside. It was THE PERFECT day!

Welcome, Israel!

Tonight our cousin, Israel arrives for his first visit to Kansas City and we are super-excited to have him here! It's amazing that he still decided to come...he was originally supposed to arrive yesterday, but that's a long story...

update...continued...

Lily's speech abilities seemed to have increased significantly in the last month! She is such a great little communicator, she just rambles on in her own language--while she interacts with us, and even when she's talking on her play cell phone! The most incredible part is her vocal expression: Her tone gets higher & lighter at the end of a question, she pauses for responses during a conversation, and she raises her voice for added emphasis to her stories!

Lily has been humming along to music for a while, but she now also sings "Ding, ding, dong" during Are You Sleeping? And just last week, she called out "Mama, where are you?" as she searched for me after I left the room!

One of the most fascinating parts of this development stage is seeing all she's learned, just by observation. Lily brushes her own hair as well as others', she knows that make-up brushes are for the face, and she wants to dry her hair after baths, using the blowdryer, UNassisted!

Oddly, Lily does not like to have messy hands after meals; She does not like unabsorbed lotion on her hands; And she hates if one of my lost hairs gets stuck on her fingers. But she LOVES playing in the dirt outside or with spilled liquids inside, and she likes to collect rocks.

She's such a wonderful, unique little person!

Happy 21st Birthday to Auntie Marissa!

Today we had a mini-celebration for my sister's 21st birthday, complete with decorations, cupcakes, and Las Mananitas. As you can tell, Lily was thrilled to share in Marissa's special day!

Play time!

Today we took Lily to the playground at Zona Rosa where she was exstatic to be around other kids!

Update

It's been a while since I've taken the time to write a detailed update on Lily, although she continues to change in so many ways! We are getting ready for our cousin Israel to visit this month, and also for Marissa to return to Washington. Lily continues to keep us entertained and amazed at all she's learned:

She recently increased the difficulty of her climbing abilities. Instead of just climbing on the couch or chair, she wants to stand on the arm of her mini-chair, as she reaches for the light switch! And although she doesn't really like being in her crib, she is in the beginning phase of scaling the front side. She grabs the wooden slats on the adjustable side and puts a foot on the bottom wooden rail, but she hasn't been able to stand up and support her weight yet (thankfully).

Not surprisingly, Lily is very affectionate and loving! It makes me so happy to see that she has so much love in her heart, she just has to share it. Last week at Target, she walked up to another little toddler and gave the girl two big hugs! At home she gives out lots of kisses too!

When Lily wants to look at her books, she brings them to Eric, Marissa, or me and then sits right down on our laps. Its funny because she delivers the book, then turns around (facing away) and backs up, just like she was going to sit in a chair. She's our cuddle bug!

During play time Lily loves being chased and she plays Hide & Seek very well! Hiding is her best skill...she will hide behind the couch or a corner and much to our surprise, she will NOT give up her location, it doesn't matter how much time has passed!! When it comes to seeking, she has a little routine of places she looks, and even if she gets surprised during the game, she doesn't get scared, she just giggles!

I can hear Lily upstairs calling for me, so this post will have to be continued...

Happy Halloween!

We spent the evening with our friends, the Webbs. We both have busy schedules so it was good to catch up and watch the girls play. Lily and Alexa get along very well! I had not planned on Lily having candy this Halloween, but that didn't last long, so we made sure to brush her teeth extra clean before bed.

Lily and Alexa enjoying Halloween treats!

This good little witch had a long day!

Time to brush the sugar buggies away!

Its the Great Pumpkin...

Sadly, we never made it out to the pumpkin patch this year! We didn't even carve pumpkins! Lily isn't dressing up for Halloween, but she does have a few accesories to carry around. I'm not a huge fan of the holiday, but I do look forward to making it fun for Lily as she gets older!

One day I hope we can experience my ideal Halloween: A trip to the pumpkin patch, apple orchard, petting zoo, and corn maze...A family celebration carving pumpkins with the Charlie Brown special playing the background...Sipping apple cider and hot chocolate as we stand back and admire the lit pumpkins...and taking the kids around the neighborhood, Lily dressed as a Disney princess...

Silly girl

Lily playing in her laundry basket

Auntie M and Lily were so happy to be reunited after a week apart, they decided to coordinate outfits!

This was the shortest trip we've taken back to Washington, but we had a wonderful time!

On the plane ride home, Lily received extra attention from the flight attendants--they even took her up to meet the captain! She was such a great little traveler!

Being home again is always a relief after living out of suitcases and sleeping in our own bed was nice too! We really missed Marissa, who stayed in KC while we were away. She and Lily were happy to get back to their silly shenanigans!

Cousins!

Time for jammies!!

We had to leave very early this morning for our flight back to Kansas City. We will miss everyone in Washington, but we look forward to being home in Missouri!

Good bye!

Before we return to Spokane, we were fortunate enough to have Grandma Minnie make breakfast for us this morning. This is a picture of her and Lily together as we left.

Our time in the Tri-Cities was much to short, but we had a great visit! We didn't get to see everyone we'd hoped to see, but we are grateful that our families live within driving distance from each other!

House full of kids!

It's our last night in the Tri-Cities and we had an unexpected visit from the Escalera's and the Gomez Family! Lily just loved spending time with the kids! Seeing them all together was such a sweet sight!

Lily and Olivia

Lily with Blaise, Gavin, and Olivia

Lily with Baby Sophie

Baby Dedication

*More pictures will be added as they come in via email*

Today was Lily's dedication at church. Eric and I are members of an amazing church in Liberty, but we really wanted to our families to participate in this special day, so we decided to have Lily dedicated at Eric's home church. Pastor Gary also married us, so it seemed natural to have him present Lily.

During worship, Lily fell asleep in her grandpa's arms and she slept through her dedication and nearly the entire service! She woke up refreshed as the last prayer was said and was in a great mood for her lunch reception. She spent time chatting with the ladies before heading downstairs with the guys to watch the Seahawks play.

Lily playing outside before church

play time

While the guys were out chopping firewood, we braved the cold weather and took the kids outside to play. It was so fun to see them laughing together. Days like these make us wish we lived closer to our families!

Back to Washington

Today we arrived in Washington where we were welcomed by 34 degree weather! Its chilly here, but we look forward to a great visit!

After four years of making this round trip nearly quarterly, all the experience paid off and we enjoyed a pre-planned, stress-free departure! This time, our biggest concern was keeping Lily entertained on the plane, but with all the extra prayers, the flights went very well!

Lily sat in the seat between us and listened to Jack Johnson until she fell asleep. Once we arrived at the house she was so happy to see her Grandma & Grandpa, Uncle Landen, Aunt Carli, and her cousins, Caleb & Halle! We really missed Auntie Kristen, but she was able to join in on the fun via Skype!

"...you're only a day awayyyyyyyy..."

Eric really wanted to take Lily to the pumpkin patch today, but the rain has ruined our plans. I guess that just gives us more time to get ready for our trip! Packing, cleaning, developing a strategy to keep Lily entertained during the flights now that she's mobile...

Its hard to believe that we leave for Washington tomorrow...we are very excited about seeing everyone!

Pleasant surprise!

When Lily was about a week old, I found this adorable jacket at Macy's. Not knowing what size she would be during the winter, I bought it in size 3-6 months. Then winter came, and the jacket didn't fit--It was much too big! It stayed hanging up in Lily's closet, with the tags still attached, for more than a year.

Recently, I rediscovered the coat and was bummed that she never had the chance to wear it! I also had to laugh because the jacket was $42.00 (but I got it for 15% or 20% off) when I purchased it...but now I would never spend that much on a white coat--knowing how quickly kids grow and how easily things get stained! Ah, what a difference a year makes in the life of a new parent!

As I moved her outgrown clothes down to the basement for storage, I took another look at the jacket and decided to try it on her. Much to my surprise, it fits perfectly!

The leaves are falling

I just love the smokey smell in the air and the sound of leaves crunching underfoot...Fall is here! It was extra chilly tonight, but we still spent time running around in the back yard.

Its hard to believe our trip to Washington is coming up this week! We are so excited to see everyone! I'm sure our families are going to be surprised with just how much Lily has changed.

She has become such a big girl that when we woke up this morning, she actually said, "Potty." So I put her on the little seat and she was right--she had to go potty!

Lily started waking up dry when she was seven months old, but a few minutes later, she would have a really full, wet diaper. So when she turned eight months old we went to Babies R Us and let her pick out a potty chair (Yes, she picked it out after we let her sit in a few different ones.) We brought home the cutest pink Baby Bjorn potty seat and she used it the very next day!

Since then, I put her on the seat after she wakes up every morning and in five months, there have been only a handful of times that she hasn't used it. Just recently, she also started giving us occasional signs when her diaper needs to be changed throughout the day: Sometimes she points at it, a few times she actually brought me a diaper from her bedroom!

I never wanted to rush Lily into potty training, so our approach has always been relaxed. I guess now we just need to incorporate her little seat into our day more often. I think we're going to keep things simple, like adding it right before bedtime and see how that goes. Its crazy to remember what life was like a year ago and compare it to our life now...Lily is not the same baby she used to be!