Nine Months And Thankful

Lily is 9 months old on this Thanksgiving Day! Nine months later Lily Elizabeth:

~Has TWO teeth! Front bottom gum, one right after the other. Shortly after the arrival of the first we had a pretty rough weekend as the second made itself at home, but once the teething pains cleared Lily was proudly sporting her stunning new pearly whites! Tres chic!

~Crawls! Kinda. It's more of a step-and-scoot maneuver. Not officially "crawling" but getting around nonetheless. Her preferred method of transportation is still carriage.

~Gets really bored REALLY fast! This little bit likes to go go go. Putting her in one place for too long results in a shame fest.



~Pulls Up! On everything! Tables, chairs, legs, you name it - she climbs it.

~Is no longer a snob to strangers! The Stranger Anxiety has passed making Lily a little social butterfly and hostess with the mostess when we have visitors. However, she is in a bit of an "All Mommy, All The Time" phase, making things a little hard for Jason. Can't say that I mind too much...

~Thoroughly enjoys playtime in the kitchen! She's discovered the pots, pans and spoons, y'all! Luckily, today being Thanksgiving, we've spent a lot of time cooking!



Thanksgiving this year started yesterday with a pie-baking fest. Pecan pie was the treat du jour and Lily and I had fun messing with recipes and making them our own. This morning we began the festivities with Grandma, Grandpa, Aunt Heather and cousin puppy, Tally. Pie in hand, we completed the menu for an early Thanksgiving brunch!

A quick costume change later we grabbed another pie and headed off to have dinner with Kiki, Po, Aunt Brenna, Uncle Will and Great-Grandpa. Dinner was absolutely amazing and we all went home feeling like this:


This Thanksgiving we have so much for which to be thankful. Our beautiful daughter is a happy and healthy little girl. We have a difficult time separating our family and friends because the wonderful people in our lives often play both roles. We are so very blessed and lucky for too many things to number. Here's to tipping the glass and the scales....Happy Thanksgiving, y'all!

Leapin' Lily!

My oh my, Lily fans, November is turning out to be a stellar month for updates!

This morning, as usual, I woke to Lily's gentle call and went to greet her. What I found nearly stopped my heart. There, with the concentration of the finest athlete, was Lily standing and poised to swan dive right up and out of her crib with this crazy look in her eye like I get when I smell a funnel cake. My reaction? I think it's this kind of moment we hear about when a mother sees her child under a car and lifts the thing with one arm and uses the other to pull the baby to safety... 'cause it felt like that. I gave the most adorable shriek and swooped the little lady up into my arms before any harm was done.

Tonight, as I rocked her to sleep, I remembered the incident and my earlier vow to lower the crib mattress to a more secure setting. Pushing the thought aside (it's been a long day, y'all) through some mildly stretched logic I put her down and didn't think much of it. And then she woke up about thirty minutes later.

Answering her gentle call, I skipped upstairs and what do I see? The Leaping Lizard strikes again! Again, my precious little scream and about five minutes later I had a party with a wrench, some screws and a can-do attitude.

As I write this, the little lady is still trying to adjust - after all, I did interrupt her beauty sleep. At this point I don't even mind the tears - as long as they're sobbed from inside the crib.

Clear As A Bell

So tonight Lily looked her doting daddy straight in the peepers and proclaimed him "Dada". Naturally we all pitched a giddy fit and frightened the little angel to tears. It's like the man who lights a match for the first time and upon jumping for joy at the achievement the fire is blown out. Lesson learned. We'll see if it happens again in the next 8 months...

Up And Out!

Dear Lily,

Today before I left for work I spoke to your Kiki about my concern for your lack of teeth. I was doubting that they would ever come. We have seen hints of teeth for months - just the tippy tops of one or two - but none had yet to breach the surface...until now.

In a matter of hours, you have willed your first pearly white into existence - I am not surprised. You have always done things your way in your own time- I fear you are far too much like your mother - and this is no exception. From now on, darling girl, I, to the best of my ability, will try to always remember that you need your time and space. Some people are easily molded and influenced- you are not. No amount of coaxing has ever gotten you to do something before you were ready; whether it be crawling, sleeping, even your first breath on this earth - all of it was achieved by your own will. I will remember that though I want many things for you I cannot force them into being. I will try to always remember that you will do as you see fit, and that the best I can do for you is be a set of arms to help you as you rise, catch you if you fall, hold you when you hurt, embrace you when you smile, and hopefully, let you go when you are ready. I'm sorry I ever doubted you. It will never happen again, darling girl.

Get ready for a world of toothbrushes, toothpaste, floss, dentists, and one very special little fairy. You sure are growing up fast.

I love you. Always
Mommy

My Fair Lady

This past weekend, Lily and Braidan continued their courtship with an outing to the North Florida Fair (and yes, I've been planning the title of this blog since the dates of the Fair were announced last month - guilty). I have always loved the fair and last year I was not able to really partake in the fun (eating the supremely nutritious food, riding the calming and therapeutic coasters, socializing with the lovely, well-mannered and soft-spoken gentle-carnies...) so this year I was all too excited to introduce Lily to the carnival atmosphere! With Mommy, Daddy, Ms. Elise and Mr. Mike along as chaperones we all headed to the Fairgrounds to take in the festivities. The weather was perfect, the food was fatty, and we all had a fabulous time!

Petting Zoo is a must!

Not too sure about the Alpaca

All is well in Daddy's arms

A girl's first experience with deep fried Oreos! A big day for Lily...

MMMMM Sugar!