Leopard

Little leopard girl. I think Sherry gave this outfit to Lilly. It makes me laugh. I think it's cute. Ella liked it.

Gnawing on a hunk of bread.

I thought of giving this picture its very own blog entry. How lovely is this? Lilly was doing some artwork at the table and Ella worked her way over to see her. Lilly kept working while gently stroking Ella's cheeks. It was the sweetest thing ever. So unassuming. Lilly never even looked down at her. And look at Ella... I could look at this picture for days.

It doesn't really count but Ella took a step while I was taking this picture. I think it was a step to gain balance but it was a step. I love her double chin.

Ella loves the witch's hat and the orange berries. They match the huge spaghetti sauce stain on her cheek. If you're on the blog, click to see the big version.

On a totally different note and with no photographic evidence, Lilly rode 1.3 miles on her bike today. Every day she asks to go bike riding. Andy usually takes her in the later afternoon and I sometimes push Ella in the stroller while she rides during the day. Today we headed out and she wanted to go up a very very big hill. I agreed and she did it. She stopped halfway up the hill and told me her legs burned! The she laughed and kept going. I was very impressed!

T.O.

Ella is happy.

Something Ella sees is making her oh so happy and it's not the mulch on her chin.

She wants it. Big time.

She patiently awaits.
One sock on, one sock off.

He's heeerrre!

Don't let the action shot fool you. Or scare you.

She's really not scared. She's happy. He's happy.

His name is T. O. (I'll forgive his owners) and he's very friendly or Mama Bear wouldn't have allowed this interaction.

Ella flaps her arms and says, "D, d, d, d" when she sees dogs. I distinctly remember Lilly loving dogs at this age as well. And she still adores them.

Bring on the panic mail.

Pre-walking

Ella loves pushing a baby stroller that we have. In the video the 2nd clip shows her walking downhill hence the trouble she had keeping up with the stroller! Enjoy the video.

*You need to visit the blog and you do not need to turn down the music. It's nice with music!*

Hip Hip Hooray!

A house project...

I love quick house projects. They make me giddy. I love having a handy husband. I love sitting on my lazy ass behind and watching our house transform. Lilly is now old enough to help. She loves helping Daddy. Can you guess what this project is?

It's an expansion of sorts. Here are the girls during construction.

Lilly the big girl helper!

This is your last chance to guess...

We needed this big time. My friend Kristen had this done in her home years ago. We stole the idea. Andy knocked it out in 2 weekends without stress and while still logging many family hours.

Meet my new baby our new "coat" closet!

Isn't it a beauty?? Andy added a bunch of extra space, put up new drywall, added recessed lights, and painted. We will store blankets, coats, childrens' shoes, and Lilly's crafts (tons and tons of art supplies), puzzles, toys... You name it, it's going in this here closet. And I am so very excited! Andy picked out this shelving and installed it very quickly. He's a stud.

We have more to add along the back wall (think basket drawers and the rest of the floor!) but for now I'm thrilled and can't wait to start loading it up!

Here's the stud himself. Nice work closet man! And no, you can't hire him.

Special Day

Today Lilly is getting married. She's also wearing a bra. And her wedding shoes.

I know this because she told me so.

She picked out her outfit and announced it was her wedding day. Then she proceeded to put on her bra, dress, and wedding shoes.

I wonder if Jordan's aware of these plans??

Bike Riding Ballerina

Lilly loves to dance. She loves to spin, twirl, and leap. She also loves to play outside and ride her bike. Today she hung out after dance class on the sidewalk chatting it up with anyone who passed by. She is Miss Social.

Of course I did make her put her helmet and shoes on.

Agony

These are the things I agonize over. I'm sure it's an illness of some sort.

I stressed over which color sock looked better with the dress. We were almost late over it. In the end, I let Lilly decide because really, I was stumped. Which would you have chosen?

And why do I have a headless picture of the whole fiasco you ask? BecauseI took the picture of her feet so I could view it on the computer to see what it would look like to someone else. Yes, it's an illness. I already disclosed that.

Sleep

Today both girls got flu shots. They did not cry. They did not flinch. I was shocked.

I'm not sure if the flu shot effected Ella in any way but she did not want to go to bed tonight. She wanted to play. I think she wanted to play alone without her big sister around. She played independently for almost an hour.

Ella's been trying to climb things. She's not a very sturdy climber but she enjoys it. Tonight she was successful in climbing on top of a box (thanks Krissy for the clothes!).

She played with her house.

She made music with her push toy.

She opened and closed a book on her music table.

She dug through her toy box.

Finally, after rocking, crying, rocking, crying, rocking again, and some Tylenol, she fell asleep. Not sure what our night has in store for us. I'm slightly scared.

Talking and Driving

Lilly has picked up many of my not-so-attractive habits. Andy pointed out to me that she now yells to cars driving too fast, "SLOW DOWN!" and she also is a talker which I guess I can be too. It seems she has a penchant for talking on her phone while driving too. Oops.

Papaw called to talk to Lilly about her dance class. She took the phone outside, started her Jeep, and took off while talking to him. He said he heard a lot of static and didn't know what was going on, lol. She drive circles while shouting to him on the phone.

Once I got the phone back she had some more fun in her Jeep. Like her dance outfit she picked out last week? The skirt is from her recital. She even wore a special necklace.

*No babies were harmed in this stunt.

Hiking Take 2

Today we went back to Barclay Farmstead without the double stroller! It was a picture perfect day and we had a wonderful time. Andy wore Ella which made the "hike" drastically better than the last time I went alone.

Lilly decided that she would smile for the camera. She was very proud of herself and I was so excited!!! Woo hoo!

Heading into the woods. Lilly loves nature.

Ella kept trying to reach out and touch things so Andy made pit stops to let her explore various things on the trail.

I love this picture. How cute is it that Lilly is standing the same way Andy's standing? And poor Ella! You can hardly see her eyeballs, lol.

When we came out of the woods Ella wanted to be free. The girls spent some time playing on the ground. I love this picture too. I think it's the jowls that melt my heart.

Lilly sat amongst a bunch of wild flowers and picked a bouquet for me.

We had a great time. I love fall. I love fall so much I want to shout it from the rooftop. "I LOVE FALLLLLL!!!!!!!" Fall weather puts me in the greatest mood. I feel like I can conquer the world when I wake to a crisp, cool, fall morning.

Happy 10 Month Birthday Ella!

Ten months ago at this exact minute I was giving birth to this precious baby girl.

Now she can communicate, stand alone, wave, clap, kiss, smile, laugh, and play. Absolutely amazing what can happen in such a short amount of time.

Ella is starting to explore. She's still not getting into things the way Lilly did but she's definitely showing us that she can be somewhat willful. She, like Lilly, likes to go into the fridge. But Ella's not (yet) a climber and she's a few inches taller, so she's content to keep both feet on the floor.

Lilly at 11 months checking out Daddy's stash of brewsky.
Wasn't she tiny?

Ella's after the pizza.

Lilly's after the beer.

Time is flying. It makes me sad but also excited to see what's around the corner.

Quirk

The other night I was helping Lilly get ready for bed. She was standing next to me and then she was gone. That's not unusual. When I finished what I was doing I called her to come in and brush her teeth. She didn't answer. Again, not unusual. I went into my bedroom expecting her to be on the bed watching TV. She was not there. I called her name again and she didn't answer. I spent a few minutes looking around but was really baffled because Ella was asleep and I knew that Lilly wouldn't venture down toward Ella's room. The baby gate was locked at the top of the stairs so she hadn't gone downstairs.

The hamper looks very unassuming don't you think?

I was looking in the closet for something to wear the next day when...

I love this kid.

Goods

Even bus drivers trash pick.

First Day Alone!

Today was Lilly's first real day of school. She was to go alone today and I was sick to my stomach! I didn't expect to feel that way. But it was short-lived. Lilly was happy.

Heading to her class.
*I switched her socks to lower ones in case you are super observant.*

Carrying snack for her class.

She went all alone and did a fabulous job! She gave me a kiss and hug and went inside. I was so relieved and proud of her!

Ella hung out on the bench and watched kids come in. She wore the exact outfit Lilly wore on her first day of St. Andrew's when Lilly was 18 months old and attended the Parent-Toddler class. I was feeling nostalgic.

Lilly and me on her first day at St. Andrew's 2 years ago. She never has looked at the camera.

When I picked Lilly up from school she was sitting nicely in the class circle waiting for me. She gave me a little wave with a big smile. When she came out of the classroom she was very happy and told me all about her day. She even sang a new song she learned.

I am thrilled this is a good experience and it made me realize something about last year's horrible experience... There was no introduction to the classroom or the teachers last year. I literally walked into a new building and left Lilly with 2 strangers whom neither of us had met. At pick-up not a word was spoken about how she did. There was also no communication about Lilly's day or what they were doing in the class for 3 hours. This year the teacher called our home to get to know Lilly a week before school started. We were in the classroom for a total of 3 hours the days leading up to the first day. They shared the class schedule and there has been constant communication. What a difference that all makes!