This year has flown by!
Wednesday, May 11, 2011
Wednesday, May 4, 2011
11 Months
I have again gotten caught up in life and lost track of time. My baby doesn't seem to be baby like any more, Lily Jean is 11 months old! Her birthday party is in the works!
Her perfect little personality is coming out more and more every day! She likes to lay back and put her feet up.
She has also become extremely mobile. She doesn't seem to know that she can walk, so she won't take those first steps. But she crawls like a champ and very fast!
She is always into everything! You can't keep anything away from her.
She has also grown to love being outside as much as her brother does and will spend hours in this swing if we let her.
Samantha comes to visit us once a week, so we get an entire day with her! And Lily LOVES her. She sqwells and jumps when she sees her and is always pulling herself up on her, which Sammi could do without.
Like I said, she is into everything and one of her favorite toys is this laundry basket! She is in and out of it all day long, I don't have the heart to put it away, since she loves it so much.
I feel like Lily is so unique. Every day is a new adventure and she remains as the happiest baby ever! She goes and goes without a second thought. She is also the wigglyiest baby ever, she is NEVER still and the only time she will cuddle is in the middle of the night.
There is nothing she can't eat, even with only two little teeth. But she LOVES bananas and hard boiled eggs. The pediatrician gave us the go ahead to start letting her ween, which is great becuase she has very little interest in bottles or formula any more. She will suck on it for a few minutes but never takes in more then a couple of ounces. So we are offering her a sippy of Organic milk at each meal and water or juice sippys in between. I only give her a bottle is she is fussy and I think she needs the comfort to help her sleep. She still hasn't gotten the hang of sippys and will suck out too much water into her mouth and then it ends up all over the front of her. We keep trying different cups, she will get the hang of it.
I am always looking for the words to descibe Lily Bean Jelly Bean. She has such energy and spirit. She smiles at every single person she sees and if they don't see her or don't smile back she makes cute little cooing noises and smiles more to get their attention. No matter what she is wearing (though Mommy still loves dressing her up for any occasion) she is the center of every room and has compete strangers ohh and ahhing over her. I wish I could record the hundreds of people who tell me how beautiful she is.
Beauty and shear adorablness are not Lily's only gifts. She is also so so so smart, she is almost too good to be true. She tries to repeat every word she hears. And can say Momma and Daddy and knows who we are. She also says bye bye very clearly and waves to go along with it. Conventional toys do no interest her, but give her a piece of paper and she is completely happy. I can see her, and this perfect little blessing, I have to take a step back and wonder how I was so lucky to be so blessed with such an easy and happy child, again!
Her perfect little personality is coming out more and more every day! She likes to lay back and put her feet up.
She has also become extremely mobile. She doesn't seem to know that she can walk, so she won't take those first steps. But she crawls like a champ and very fast!
She is always into everything! You can't keep anything away from her.
She has also grown to love being outside as much as her brother does and will spend hours in this swing if we let her.
Samantha comes to visit us once a week, so we get an entire day with her! And Lily LOVES her. She sqwells and jumps when she sees her and is always pulling herself up on her, which Sammi could do without.
Like I said, she is into everything and one of her favorite toys is this laundry basket! She is in and out of it all day long, I don't have the heart to put it away, since she loves it so much.
I feel like Lily is so unique. Every day is a new adventure and she remains as the happiest baby ever! She goes and goes without a second thought. She is also the wigglyiest baby ever, she is NEVER still and the only time she will cuddle is in the middle of the night.There is nothing she can't eat, even with only two little teeth. But she LOVES bananas and hard boiled eggs. The pediatrician gave us the go ahead to start letting her ween, which is great becuase she has very little interest in bottles or formula any more. She will suck on it for a few minutes but never takes in more then a couple of ounces. So we are offering her a sippy of Organic milk at each meal and water or juice sippys in between. I only give her a bottle is she is fussy and I think she needs the comfort to help her sleep. She still hasn't gotten the hang of sippys and will suck out too much water into her mouth and then it ends up all over the front of her. We keep trying different cups, she will get the hang of it.
I am always looking for the words to descibe Lily Bean Jelly Bean. She has such energy and spirit. She smiles at every single person she sees and if they don't see her or don't smile back she makes cute little cooing noises and smiles more to get their attention. No matter what she is wearing (though Mommy still loves dressing her up for any occasion) she is the center of every room and has compete strangers ohh and ahhing over her. I wish I could record the hundreds of people who tell me how beautiful she is.
Beauty and shear adorablness are not Lily's only gifts. She is also so so so smart, she is almost too good to be true. She tries to repeat every word she hears. And can say Momma and Daddy and knows who we are. She also says bye bye very clearly and waves to go along with it. Conventional toys do no interest her, but give her a piece of paper and she is completely happy. I can see her, and this perfect little blessing, I have to take a step back and wonder how I was so lucky to be so blessed with such an easy and happy child, again!
Monday, May 2, 2011
Proud to be an American
I want my kids to remember today,
I want them to be proud to be Americans,
proud to be the children of soldiers
"Today, at my direction, the United States launched a targeted operation against that compound in Abbottabad, Pakistan," Obama said. "A small team of Americans carried out the operation with extraordinary courage and capability. No Americans were harmed. They took care to avoid civilian casualties. After a firefight, they killed Osama bin Laden and took custody of his body."
Osama bin Laden is dead! At the hands of U.S. Special Forces justice is served. 10 years after the attack on the American way of life which started this war that their Daddy has fought in twice. The leader of Qaeda and organizer of the 9/11 attachs on the New York Twin Towers.
Remember children what occurred in your life time and what made Mommy and Daddy's generation who they are.
I want them to be proud to be Americans,
proud to be the children of soldiers
"Today, at my direction, the United States launched a targeted operation against that compound in Abbottabad, Pakistan," Obama said. "A small team of Americans carried out the operation with extraordinary courage and capability. No Americans were harmed. They took care to avoid civilian casualties. After a firefight, they killed Osama bin Laden and took custody of his body."
Osama bin Laden is dead! At the hands of U.S. Special Forces justice is served. 10 years after the attack on the American way of life which started this war that their Daddy has fought in twice. The leader of Qaeda and organizer of the 9/11 attachs on the New York Twin Towers.
Remember children what occurred in your life time and what made Mommy and Daddy's generation who they are.
Monday, April 25, 2011
Easter with Our Family
There are few things more important then family, especially during holidays. As a military family we are more then blessed to be living less then a half an hour from our family. We know there will be years that we won't get to spend Easter with them, so we saver each moment of the years that we are together.
After baskets and breakfast we got all dressed up and headed over to Grams and Pops' house to take them to church. We have been planning Lily's First Easter outfit for months! I think she is beautiful and she makes the dress perfect. Mommy knitted her sweater and made her bow, because I love making her cute stuff.
Lily's cousins have the same dress as Lily, so that they can all match and be even more adorable!
"Aunt Nenni" also made Sammi and Ella's sweaters and bows, why not?
While we where at Grams and Pops' house they gave the kids their Easter gifts. Johnny was so sweet and excited.
That is my handsome perfect little boy. He got a St Christopher medal. St Christopher is the patron saint of children and travelers, so perfect for an Army brat. It is a tradition in our family, Papa has one and gave one to me and my brothers each at a special time in our lives. Papa gave me mine when I started a new high school in a new state in my junior year. It is a memory I treasure, just like Johnny will treasure this special gift.
Lily got a bunny purse that held a tiny silver bracelet
strung with her birthstone (pearl) and engraved with her name.
Her little bracelet is so precious, I hope that at her birthday pictures we can get some adorable pictures of it, since I didn't get a great one.
These kids just love their Grams and Pops, I don't know what we would do without them. They make these holidays so special and enrich the kids lives every day!
Lily also has a thing for their beast of a dog, Brutus. She spent the morning chasing him around the living room as he tried to escape her, she was sure it was the best game ever.
I have come to truly enjoy church, especially on these holy days. We attended mass at St Margaret's Mission. It was hot and crowded, but I enjoyed the sermon about fresh starts in this Easter season and spring.
After mass we headed outside and found these great flowering trees to take some pictures under. It was close to 80 degrees! So everyone stripped down a layer to be more comfortable.
Johnny loved being in the tree, I think he felt big, looking down on all of us. But no one was comfortable with him up there, hence Daddy's arm under him at all times and in every picture.
Johnny has also started a new thing of picking flowers for the women in his life. He picked some and right away wanted to give them to all of us, then he wanted to give some to Samantha and Ella, but they were not with us. So we took some home for them. He is the most loving child I have ever known.
He also loves his little sister so much!
She is just so beautiful!
We took off her tights, sweater and shoes to help her cool down, and I think it makes her look even sweeter!
Later in the afternoon everyone headed to our house for an egg hunt and dinner. This is our third year hosting and I love it, we get better every year. All the girls where great in their matching dresses. We did really miss Wyatt and Piper who stayed in Ohio this year. Wyatt has a little suit just like John Roberts and Piper has a rose petal dress too.
This pictures makes me tear up a little, he is just so handsome! Old and sweet, my big baby boy.
The sweet boy who loves his cousins was very happy to hold every one's hands. His best day is when he has his cousins around him to play.
You get the best pictures when they don't know you are taking them. As soon as we sat down to take the picture Ella asked to hold Lily. She is an amazing big cousin, always taking care of the little ones.
After a quick wardrobe change the kids descended on the back yard to hunt out the Easter eggs. The Easter bunny was asked to really hide the eggs this year so the kids had to look for them and not just pick them up.
The Easter Bunny also told Mommy and Daddy that he wanted to get the kids a swing set, but that it wouldn't fit in a basket. So Mommy and Daddy handled that for the Easter Bunny and found a great swing set that they got a great deal on. Of course now nothing else fits in the yard.
I always forget just how old Ella is. This year she will be 7 and headed into first grade!
It felt so wonderful to watch the kids running around and hearing them giggle and yell out every time they found an egg. They shared with each other and pointed out the easier ones for the smaller kids. It felt perfect.
Samantha didn't care so much for the egg hunt after just a few minutes , when she saw the swing set!
Eventually Sammi got down and gave Lily Bean a chance to swing, I think she liked it just a little :)
Dinner was wonderful. Ham, potatoes, home made mac and cheese (my Gramma Nancy's recipe), fresh green beans, and crescent rolls. We all just ate and talked, even after we had finished eating some people got up and some of us stayed and talked and people just came and went and it was relaxing.
While the adults had home made apple pie home made carrot cake (Natalie made them from scratch!) Lily got to have her very first chocolate! I like making these things special by including them in a holiday, Johnny had his first chocolate on his first Valentines Day. At first Lily did know what to do with it, I had to put it in her mouth and let her taste it before she dove in.
It didn't take her long and she completely devoured it! I was worried she would get a tummy ache, but she is my daughter and was more then fine.
While Lily was eating chocolate and the adults where talking, the other three kids just played together, no problems, they where just happy to be together and needed nothing else. They played waiter for a while, serving these cupcakes to everyone.
Another holiday behind us and some more very precious memories made!
After baskets and breakfast we got all dressed up and headed over to Grams and Pops' house to take them to church. We have been planning Lily's First Easter outfit for months! I think she is beautiful and she makes the dress perfect. Mommy knitted her sweater and made her bow, because I love making her cute stuff.
Lily's cousins have the same dress as Lily, so that they can all match and be even more adorable!
"Aunt Nenni" also made Sammi and Ella's sweaters and bows, why not?
While we where at Grams and Pops' house they gave the kids their Easter gifts. Johnny was so sweet and excited.
That is my handsome perfect little boy. He got a St Christopher medal. St Christopher is the patron saint of children and travelers, so perfect for an Army brat. It is a tradition in our family, Papa has one and gave one to me and my brothers each at a special time in our lives. Papa gave me mine when I started a new high school in a new state in my junior year. It is a memory I treasure, just like Johnny will treasure this special gift.
Lily got a bunny purse that held a tiny silver bracelet
strung with her birthstone (pearl) and engraved with her name.
Her little bracelet is so precious, I hope that at her birthday pictures we can get some adorable pictures of it, since I didn't get a great one.
These kids just love their Grams and Pops, I don't know what we would do without them. They make these holidays so special and enrich the kids lives every day!
Lily also has a thing for their beast of a dog, Brutus. She spent the morning chasing him around the living room as he tried to escape her, she was sure it was the best game ever.
I have come to truly enjoy church, especially on these holy days. We attended mass at St Margaret's Mission. It was hot and crowded, but I enjoyed the sermon about fresh starts in this Easter season and spring.
After mass we headed outside and found these great flowering trees to take some pictures under. It was close to 80 degrees! So everyone stripped down a layer to be more comfortable.
Johnny loved being in the tree, I think he felt big, looking down on all of us. But no one was comfortable with him up there, hence Daddy's arm under him at all times and in every picture.
Johnny has also started a new thing of picking flowers for the women in his life. He picked some and right away wanted to give them to all of us, then he wanted to give some to Samantha and Ella, but they were not with us. So we took some home for them. He is the most loving child I have ever known.
He also loves his little sister so much!
She is just so beautiful!
We took off her tights, sweater and shoes to help her cool down, and I think it makes her look even sweeter!
Later in the afternoon everyone headed to our house for an egg hunt and dinner. This is our third year hosting and I love it, we get better every year. All the girls where great in their matching dresses. We did really miss Wyatt and Piper who stayed in Ohio this year. Wyatt has a little suit just like John Roberts and Piper has a rose petal dress too.
This pictures makes me tear up a little, he is just so handsome! Old and sweet, my big baby boy.
The sweet boy who loves his cousins was very happy to hold every one's hands. His best day is when he has his cousins around him to play.
You get the best pictures when they don't know you are taking them. As soon as we sat down to take the picture Ella asked to hold Lily. She is an amazing big cousin, always taking care of the little ones.
After a quick wardrobe change the kids descended on the back yard to hunt out the Easter eggs. The Easter bunny was asked to really hide the eggs this year so the kids had to look for them and not just pick them up.
The Easter Bunny also told Mommy and Daddy that he wanted to get the kids a swing set, but that it wouldn't fit in a basket. So Mommy and Daddy handled that for the Easter Bunny and found a great swing set that they got a great deal on. Of course now nothing else fits in the yard.
I always forget just how old Ella is. This year she will be 7 and headed into first grade!
It felt so wonderful to watch the kids running around and hearing them giggle and yell out every time they found an egg. They shared with each other and pointed out the easier ones for the smaller kids. It felt perfect.
Samantha didn't care so much for the egg hunt after just a few minutes , when she saw the swing set!
Eventually Sammi got down and gave Lily Bean a chance to swing, I think she liked it just a little :)
Dinner was wonderful. Ham, potatoes, home made mac and cheese (my Gramma Nancy's recipe), fresh green beans, and crescent rolls. We all just ate and talked, even after we had finished eating some people got up and some of us stayed and talked and people just came and went and it was relaxing.
While the adults had home made apple pie home made carrot cake (Natalie made them from scratch!) Lily got to have her very first chocolate! I like making these things special by including them in a holiday, Johnny had his first chocolate on his first Valentines Day. At first Lily did know what to do with it, I had to put it in her mouth and let her taste it before she dove in.
It didn't take her long and she completely devoured it! I was worried she would get a tummy ache, but she is my daughter and was more then fine.
While Lily was eating chocolate and the adults where talking, the other three kids just played together, no problems, they where just happy to be together and needed nothing else. They played waiter for a while, serving these cupcakes to everyone.
Another holiday behind us and some more very precious memories made!
Easter Morning
As usual I have taken far too many pictures so I will have to split up our Easter into a few different posts. Prepare for cuteness over load!
The Easter Bunny tried to down grade the amount of toys and candy this year, but couldn't. Maybe next year we can stay inside the basket (which you can barely see here)
Johnny was very excited and a little surprised. Each and every item he pulled out of the basket was the most exciting item he ever saw.
It also took Lily a few minutes to realize what was going on and what was for her.
The Easter Bunny got Hungry Hungry Hippos just because, but it turns out that he had wanted it forever!
It was after Johnny had pulled out a few of his toys that Lily dived into her stuff.
And first was this ceramic cupcake topped with a bunny.
Dinosaur train!
At this point it was all just a jumble of the kids playing with their new toys. I was very proud and happy to watch them enjoy Easter. Johnny took out one toy at a time, showed his excitement, put it gently to the side and moved on.
Mommy and her camera are always interesting and must be investigated.
He was very interested in what Lily got and helping Lily look through her basket and keeping her interested. He is a great big brother!
They shared a lot of what the other got. Lily got four containers of bubbles each one smelled like a different fruit.
Three foot long gummie snake! He got TWO!! The day after Easter he ate entire one so quick we had to serach the house to make sure he didn't just leave it some where.
This was the moment that he realized there was a lot of candy in the basket. This bag of bunny shaped mash-mellows was the greatest thing EVER!
Then he started to bring Mommy all of his and Lily's candy, for "later."
Lily's "big" part to her Easter basket where these cupcake matching shapes. The top and bottom are a certain shape, like star, moon, circle...
She thought they where very yummy, Silly Lily those aren't real cupcakes!
I swear that I did not stage this picture! Lily got a bunny bowling set, here she was sucking on some bunny ears and holding the bowling balls....she is just a little strange and a LOT cute!
Peeps, that was the one candy he chose to eat, and he scarfed it down.
YUM Animal crackers help her not to realize that there are fuzzy ears on her head.
The morning felt like it was over quick, but both beautiful children loved their baskets and Mommy and Daddy beamed while watching them and sharing these wonderful moments of memories made.
And then we got dressed for church....many many more pictures to come!
The Easter Bunny tried to down grade the amount of toys and candy this year, but couldn't. Maybe next year we can stay inside the basket (which you can barely see here)
Johnny was very excited and a little surprised. Each and every item he pulled out of the basket was the most exciting item he ever saw.
It also took Lily a few minutes to realize what was going on and what was for her.
The Easter Bunny got Hungry Hungry Hippos just because, but it turns out that he had wanted it forever!
It was after Johnny had pulled out a few of his toys that Lily dived into her stuff.
And first was this ceramic cupcake topped with a bunny.
Dinosaur train!
At this point it was all just a jumble of the kids playing with their new toys. I was very proud and happy to watch them enjoy Easter. Johnny took out one toy at a time, showed his excitement, put it gently to the side and moved on.
Mommy and her camera are always interesting and must be investigated.
He was very interested in what Lily got and helping Lily look through her basket and keeping her interested. He is a great big brother!
They shared a lot of what the other got. Lily got four containers of bubbles each one smelled like a different fruit.
Three foot long gummie snake! He got TWO!! The day after Easter he ate entire one so quick we had to serach the house to make sure he didn't just leave it some where.
This was the moment that he realized there was a lot of candy in the basket. This bag of bunny shaped mash-mellows was the greatest thing EVER!
Then he started to bring Mommy all of his and Lily's candy, for "later."
Lily's "big" part to her Easter basket where these cupcake matching shapes. The top and bottom are a certain shape, like star, moon, circle...
She thought they where very yummy, Silly Lily those aren't real cupcakes!
I swear that I did not stage this picture! Lily got a bunny bowling set, here she was sucking on some bunny ears and holding the bowling balls....she is just a little strange and a LOT cute!
Peeps, that was the one candy he chose to eat, and he scarfed it down.
YUM Animal crackers help her not to realize that there are fuzzy ears on her head.
The morning felt like it was over quick, but both beautiful children loved their baskets and Mommy and Daddy beamed while watching them and sharing these wonderful moments of memories made.
And then we got dressed for church....many many more pictures to come!
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