Some firsts...

Gratuitous cuteness in the PJs that I picked out myself and brought to Mom and Dad's bed where they change me after my bath. (Clearly she is becoming more confident and secure.)

Yesterday we had several firsts for Lily. In the morning while I was making myself a coffee, I turned around to check on Lily and there she was swaying back and forth in her high chair, humming/babbling along to a John Mayer song. Then that evening was her first real temper tantrum. Oh my. Daddy had to pop into work for a few minutes, she decided she wanted some frozen yogurt in the deep freezer in the garage, but she had just had a bedtime snack so I said "No". Then she wanted to go down the basement to play with some of her toys and again I said "No" because it was actually past her bedtime. That is when the feet started to stomp and the crocodile tears started. Luckily it ended fairly quickly when I ignored her and then asked her if perhaps we should called the social worker who did our home study to report me...I know I should not be using sarcasm with her already I am suppose to be the adult. Next time I will refrain from using sarcasm - I hope.

Things that crack me up:

Lily`s new chair, just her size. Before we get to the fun stuff, Lily wants some folks to know that she includes them in her nightly prayers. Wishing for good health.

The following is a list of things that I love about Lily:

- How she walks around with a purse/bag on her arm like Sophia on Golden Girls.

- How she wants to change her shoes at least twice a day.

- How we have to look at the clothing in her closet once a day.

- How she snuggles as close as physically possible when we nap (which is not everyday - sigh).

- How she sleeps so well at night. I was hesitant to include this one in case I jinx it...

- How intelligent she is, no fooling this girl, she sees everything.

- How she loves to play peek-a-boo.

- How some evenings she will go to the back door grab her father's coat and her coat, without being able to say the words she clearly tells us she wants to go outside or for a car ride.

- How some folks are tickled pink when she blows them kisses.

4 months almost...

Daddy and I, a self-portrait.

The odd time I am just too tired to make it through lunch or sometimes dinner.

It is hard to believe that Lily has been home with us for almost four months. The other night she and Dale were playing, they were chest to chest and he was sitting on the edge of the bed then would rock back till he was laying down, saying "weeeeeeeee" the whole time. Her laughter was so pure it stopped me in my tracks, she was so happy, brought tears to my eyes to hear that laughter.

The father and daughter bond is sealed for life now, the other evening Dale was singing away (no surprise to any of his co-workers if they are reading this) and Lily started to dance. My first thought was that this is truly a match made in heaven. Of course, he is tickled pink to finally have someone appreciate his vocal talents.

This evening we went to The Man Store (aka Canadian Tire) on the way out as we were putting on our jackets at the back entrance Lily reaches up grabs Dale's baseball cap and passes it to him, then grabs her little knitted cap, small things like that are just so funny, so out of the blue. It is normally a battle of wills to get her to wear a hat.

It has only taken us four months to figure out that a sure fire way to get her to eat two veggies at most meal time is to she is distract her with toys. Meal time is still a very slow process but so worth it to see her eating healthy, nutritious food (most of the time it is healthy - the odd chicken nuggets are served too).

Happy New Year To All

Christmas eve in my fancy gold dress and sparkly shoes.

My first pair of jeans. Thanks Meme & Pepe.

The Christmas holidays were very special this year. At the Christmas eve potluck and gift exchange Lily was the main attraction, she opened a few presents and was thrilled with her Smurf and Mega Blocks. She was more fascinated with Cousin J.'s iPhone and ended up calling one of his buddies in Alberta, our girl is a technical whiz. I am not kidding, I have discovered a few tricks/functions of my laptop from her constant playing with the keyboard while watching her Baby Einstein dvds.

There were a few times during the holidays when she was overstimulated and did not nap well, pretty sure she was not the only toddler out there that was a bit cranky and whiny by times. Having said that it was wonderful to finally have Lily with us at Christmas.

She is now 19 months old and has started to show us affection by kissing us and blurting our bellies, really very funny. When we are in the master bedroom Dale will ask her: "Where are Meme and Pepe?" She points to my family photos and blows them kisses, not sure what we laughed at before she came into our lives.

All the best in 2010. N