Every year we take a huge family trip with my family to West Virginia. Last year and this year we took a little prerequisite trip to Western Maryland with just my parents! Lily got to see her first snow last year and spent much of her time being held by Grandma and Poppop.
This year was even bigger! Lily got to play in a foot of snow, go sledding and try talk a walk on the slippery side.
Lily and Poppop sleeping on the way!
Lily loved the loft...
...she liked to throw things onto our heads below!
Getting her Spartan WOD in ;)
Sleeping with Poppop
Trying on her snow boots (my baby is a giant!!!)
Trying to sled on her own...
It was a little scary!
Sledding with Daddy
Then with Mama!
The snow went up to her knees!
Snow Angels were NOT her thing.
Even when Daddy did them with her.
She wiped out a few times. We thought it was because it was slippery... really she had an extra sock in her boot !
We love snow!
There was even a park!!
New spokes-baby for Maryland State Parks!
With Grandma and Poppop
Poppop saves the day!
My little country girl on the way home :)
It was a fun trip filled with lots of yummy food made by Grandma, a warm fire made by Poppop and more than enough love!
From the beginning Mama and Daddy wanted you so much! We kept trying and trying but every month we found out the same thing, you weren't here yet. Finally on one cold January morning we found out the wonderful news, we were having a baby. As the months went by Mama researched the best of everything and Daddy went to work on making your room PERFECT. We were so anxious to meet you! The first time we saw your face we new we were in love. You were so beautiful and spirited. That night you cried most of the night. We were exhausted but loved you so much it didn't matter. Every moment we spent with you made us love you a little more! You were such a sweet newborn. You didn't cry much, you loved to cuddle and smiled all the time. From the moment you took your first breath, you had a fan club. Your grandparents, aunts and uncles, cousins and friends all loved you!
Now as each day passes, we realize how cherished those memories are. You will never be a newborn again, but you will always be our baby. Each and every day you amaze us. Nothing could exemplify Jehovah's wonderful creation more than you. We love you more than anything in this world and can't wait to see you grow each and every moment.
On this day last year I had the most amazing, life changing experience. I had my beautiful little girl. It's hard to believe she is already one year old. Oh man, I am the mom of a one year old, how did that happen?!?!
On this day last year I gave birth to a little girl who was so headstrong, she wouldn't sleep in the bassinet the hospital insisted we use. Instead Barry, Lily and I curled up on the (tiny,broken) hospital bed and cuddled all night. That's when we knew she had some real personality. She started grinning at 7 weeks and imitating us at 10! The next week she started rolling and laughing. Then at 13 weeks she started scooting in circles. I loved seeing her scoot around the floor like she was on a mission! At this point, I felt like we had a REAL baby. She was showing so much personality and keeping me on my toes. Then came 19 weeks... she started sitting and diving into the floor to get a toy. She also started walking with the help of our fingers. By this time Spring had come and she loved to play outside. She was a real dare devil!! By 8 months (33 weeks) she had started crawling and then at 9 months (36 weeks) she was pulling herself to stand and furniture walking. This became a real treat because she could stand up, move around, but didn't know how to get down! She was begging for help every few minutes!!
That brings us to now. At 12 months (Oh man) I have a real kid. She is such a big girl now! She can entertain herself, throw fits, let us know what she wants (or doesn't want) and is absolutely HUGE. Ok not really, she is a little girl but to me, she is huge. She has grown so much. It's such a bitter sweet feeling! She enjoys anything that isn't meant to be played with (by her). For example:
Yo-yo's
Dishes
Cups, ESPECIALLY cups
Phones
Paper
Dogs (mostly biting them)
Laundry
Daddy's computer wires
Anything on the couch
Opening the kitchen gate
Doors
Grass
Curtains
The Treadmill and weight bench
The Weights
The Scale
This list could go on forever. She has so many toys that we rotate each week, yet she would rather play with everyday items. When she does play with her toys she plays with them in her own way. She fills her stacker cups with smaller toys and shakes them. Inventive! She climbs up and down anything on different levels for hours. Loves to learn! She reads her books in bed when she wakes up. Smart! As I type this she has the string of the yo-yo in her mouth and she is walking away, watching it roll behind her. Curious. She loves looking at pictures, reading books, dancing, clapping, and babies. Yes babies, I think I'm going to have a jr. mommy on my hands!
When my sister and I were little, my mom recorded herself singing a special song on cassette for us. We would listen to it all the time! Since I don't have the voice my mom has (or do I? /*breaks window whilst singing*) nor do I currently have the means to convert cassette audio to mp3 (this will be happening soon though!!) here is a video dedicated to Lily and my own mama (thanks for the memories!).
Every year we attend a three day bible based convention. This year was Lily's first!! She spent some time with Grandma and Popop, Uncle Nathan and Aunt Olivia and her cousins James and Lindsey.
Reuniting with Popop
With her grandparents
The Original Clan, plus one.
Our Family :)
Love her little double chin!
Demanding Dinner
And getting some....
These people are crazy!
Aunt Olivia
Uncle Nathan
Daddy
Pretty Eyes!
Showing Love to the camera!
Every time everyone would clap, or music would come on she would scramble to the edge and get SO excited!
She enjoyed meeting so many new friends and seeing some old ones, but in the end she was exhausted.
Overall. I think Lily had an amazing weekend (and so did we hehe)
When we got home it started storming and Lily found her favorite place in the house!
It was a good weekend with lots of fun!
Pin It Now!
I know, I know it's been awhile. Be prepared for some Lily spam and fun pictures!
First things first, Lily went to the beach for the first time!! Not just a beach to walk around on, like Oregon Ridge. Lily got to get all dolled up in her rash guard and sun hat, played in the ocean and was buried in the sand. She loved it. When we first arrived we buried Lily up to her waist in sand. She would pull her leg out and stare at it like it was a foreign object. It started to grow on her a bit and she would pick it up and toss it over her shoulder. She also got a few good mouthfuls (of course). We decided to venture in to the water on that 74 degree day and shockingly, the water was warm! At 68 degrees we WANTED to be in the water versus on the beach with the cool breeze. Lily loved it! We would lift her over the waves and she would start laughing and screeching. We'd set her down in between and she would jump/splash in the water. It was really rough though so we stayed up toward the beach. After Lily turned purple we wrapped her up and cuddled on our beach chairs. Lily would rest her head on my chest and lick the sand off of my neck, yes she liked the taste of sand. Such an odd child. Sadly, I forgot my camera :-O. So instead, here is a picture of our nakey baby in our indoor beach :)
The next day Lily was able to meet a little one her age! She has met and played with tons of children, but never one her age (and almost size). They were a little shy at first.
But then they started to get a little curious.
Then Lily's friend got her a drink, well kind of. One minute they were laughing, then Lily told him a bad joke (woops!).
From there they got to meet a couple doggies. Lily loves dogs and cats. Apparently so did her new friend!
