Andy's 40th

On Thursday, January 17, Andy turned 40! He happened to be off work on that day due to an appt he had so we got to celebrate with him. A couple friend's stopped over to say hi and we had cake and gave him our gifts (a suit from me and a shirt and some goodies from Lilly). Of course I wasn't able to make his real birthday that special since I had a surprise party in the works for 2 days later. I tried to make his actual birthday good but it was so hard! I didn't want to spend anymore money and I was running myself ragged trying to prepare and plan the big surprise.

As Saturday rolled around I had no clue if he knew or not. I was hoping I could actually pull off a surprise, knowing that he's never been surprised in his 40 years of life. I got him out of the house, dropped Lilly off with a friend, and ran around getting all the food and preparing the house. By the time Andy walked in at 7:15pm approx. 30 close friends and some family were all waiting with a loud, "SURPRISE!" and guess what? He WAS totally surprised. It worked.

What didn't work however was my video camera... I had been so busy I didn't think to check the battery (it never dies on me) and lo and behold I stood armed and ready and as he opened the door I hit record and it immediately died. And as for catching any of it with my camera... Well we all know my camera difficulties. That was one of the days where all I had was a broken camera that wouldn't even turn on.

I did borrow someone's camera but she has yet to send me the pictures. I think I'll flip her an email now.

So happy birthday old man... Here's to another 40 (at least). The fun has just begun!

Up and Running

Yeah! I have a new (refurbished-surely-will-soon-break) camera and feel like myself again! Woo hoo!

Here's a Lilly update:
*She is growing like a weed! I'm not sure how tall she is (I want to measure her tonight) but she's outgrown all her winter clothes in length (not waist) so we're piecing together outfits to get us to spring. I can't buy new winter clothes now! I noticed at school today that she's one of the tallest kids so I assume she did have a growth spurt.

*If I w0uld put a tiny bit of effort into it she would be potty trained but I just can't get up the energy and don't want to stay home for days and clean up accidents. Lazy, I know. But many experienced moms have told me when she's really ready she'll basically train herself. We have bought panties (sooo tiny and cute) and she does use the potty often but she's not yet telling me she needs to go. I will get into this soon, I promise.




*She is so happy and loves to play with friends. She has made many new friends. I was just thinking the other day - we have so many new friends to our house to play and she just plays with them even though some of them she has never met. I was wondering what she thinks when a new child walks in and I say, "Go ahead and play!" and she takes them over to her babies to play... Kind of funny and surely strange to her but hey, she's social. I am enjoying many new mom friends (not to replace ANY of my long-time friends that happen to also be moms!!). It has been nice having them over for bagels, lunches, and great conversations.

*Lilly's behavior has improved immensly - we think that the very rough patch we experienced was due to the inhaled steroids she was taking in her nebulizer during a bout of bronchitis. The doctors have confirmed that this was indeed most likely the case. Shwew!

*Lilly takes music (since she was 10mo), attends nursery school with me on Fridays (Sept-May), and is starting gymnastics (she loved her first class - we just haven't decided which program we'll be signing her up for) and loves all that each activity brings. She really is a bundle of happy, electric energy that everyone feels that knows her.

I'm glad to be up and running again. Love to all. XOXO

Abandoned

Did you think we were gone forever? Well, there's so much that's been going on. I surely could have fit in blog entries however my 3rd camera from Canon broke so I've been without a camera for basically 3 weeks. And I can't live without my camera.

Unfortunately my original favorite Canon camera broke in October. I called Canon and asked about repairing the camera. The guy told me that they could repair it for $80 or upgrade me to the next model (refurbished - remember this word) for $180. We opted to get the newer version refurbished (a $450 value). Well, that was a mistake. I am on my 4th, yes F-O-U-R-T-H, refurbished camera in 3 months. They all arrive with issues and eventually break within a week or two.

I am so fed up with this. I called today to tell them I just want my money back to put toward a new camera and they told me, "No". Not a sweet kind "no"- a very rude and nasty "no". In fact, when the lady was reading me the same script I've heard 4 times about how the cameras are put through an arduous regime to make sure they meet new Canon quality I said to her, "Well that has not proven to be true" (or something like that) and she said to me, "Do you want to let me finish or do you want to interrupt me again?" Needless to say I am now dealing with corporate and someone is reviewing my case and getting back to me. I don't think they're going to let me out of this "program" but I'll go down fighting. In the meantime, the witch said, "A new camera will arrive tomorrow" right before she hung up on me.

Niiiiice.

Where's Lilly?

It's quite often these days that I realize just how independent Miss Lilly is. On one hand it makes me very sad to think she's really not a baby anymore and on the other hand I'm thrilled to have a child that knows what she wants and is determined enough to get it. If Lilly's feet are cold, she goes and gets socks; if she wants her shoes on she puts them on; if she's tired she gets her lovey and binky and lays down on the couch under a blanket; if she wants to watch TV, she turns it on; if she's hungry she takes her stool, positions it, and helps herself (usually with Mommy intervention). On this particular day I guess she had a hankering for Daddy's Doritos. And I assume she knew Mommy wouldn't give her Dorito's and that's why I found her hiding behind the chair and shoveling them in as fast as she could.

I love my Lilly girl so much.

New Year's Eve

You know you're getting old when you have NO PLANS on New Year's - not even any within our own little family! I had all intentions of putting Lilly to bed and settling in with my book and Andy was going to do some work! At least Carla, Jeff, and their boys were eating dinner nearby and I told them to stop by afterwards and they did or else we really would have been lame. They came over until about 9:15pm and the kids played. So it was a party indeed for the children. By 8:32 Andy, Carla, and Jeff made a toast with hot champagne that was left near our boiler thingy and New Year's was over.

But I was not upset. I was happy to be home surrounded by my husband and daughter and able to share a few hours with good friends. What else could I ask for?

Happy New Year

We're officially back to our normal lives! Andy went back to work, the Christmas decorations were put away, and the house is quiet with only Lilly's laughter and the sound of her toys.

During the winter vacation we took Lilly to the Philadelphia Zoo. We had a great time. It was a spontaneous trip. We decided at 9:15a.m. to go and Lilly naps at noon. We bought a zoo membership last March so we can go and park for free for a year (and only $89!). So we had to agree not to shower so we could leave right away. We threw clothes on, jumped in the car, and were there by 10a.m. It was perfect! It was a warm (55 degrees) rainy day so we were practically there by ourselves. Lilly is totally obsessed with Curious George, or "monkey" as she calls him so she L-O-V-E-D the monkeys and the zoo has plenty of them in all shapes and sizes. I especially liked the grown male Chimpanzee. So human-like sitting there holding a brown paper bag and pulling out veggies and eating them. But he did look sad and the more I got to thinking it is sad that they're locked in such a small space...

We had a wonderful time and I really enjoyed having our family all together for the holidays. But it was time for Andy to get back to work... ;-)