O Christmas Tree

As the Christmas holiday is approaching, Adam, Lily and I took a major first step in family tradition-making.  We put up our first Christmas tree!! Since this is the first year we are not traveling to see extended family over the holidays, we decided it was time.  Also, since this is our first home, we don't have enough decorations to make me feel really Christmas-y. And the ones we do have are glass and therefore not the best idea with a climbing, throwing toddler around, so they will remain in boxes or on shelves out of reach. So the tree is pretty much our little corner of Christmas joy. Baby steps...

Lily now loves to say cheese! when we take her picture.  So here is her cheesiness with her new favorite toy! Aren't those footie jammies so cute?! I keep finding them on sale, so she has more than enough, but at least they all are darling.  These particular ones have a monkey on the side, and when Lily notices it, she will walk around saying, "Ooh ooh ahh ahh." Highly endearing. I'll record her version of animal sounds one day.  Wait 'til you hear the penguin....

If you notice, Lily has successfully managed to pull all the ornaments off the tree in the areas she can reach.  Probably better that way... Luckily (since she enjoys throwing the gold things around the house), they are plastic and not breakable.  She did grab one that was glass and of course it shattered into a million pieces; I had the pleasure of cleaning up. Good thing she is so lovable.

When we were trying to get her to stand by the tree to take a quick picture (cuter/more Christmas-themed ones are coming - I promise), she kept backing into the tree and it was poking her. So she would turn around, bat the branch, give it a glare and then look back at Adam and me to say, "Did you see that thing get me?"

Anyhow, here it is in all its simple glory.  No star on top, but that will be another tradition for us to start someday when our girls are both here!

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Adam

Now normally I don't do posts like this because I think they are a little cheesy and sometimes TMI for the general public.  However, this morning I am feeling a bit sentimental and decided what the heck. 

I am so very lucky to be married to a wonderful guy.  Adam has been so helpful during my pregnancy and doing all the things I am not the biggest fan of.  For example, he gets Lily out of bed every morning when she wakes up, changes her nearly exploding diaper and sends her in to give me loves.  He cleans the dishes I leave in the sink (and occasionally on the counter) and takes me out to eat places I like (think BBQ).  He works a ton and still manages to spend time with us. He indulges me with my near-nightly bubble baths.

I love him.  Lily does too.

Ok I'm done. 

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Because

We love her. 

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Stubborn?

As Lily ages, she seems to not only display more and more of my physical characteristics (pretty much everything except the curly hair), but lately, similar personality characteristics seem to be emerging as well...

The most recent example is Lily's fascination with a certain item of clothing.  Last week I put a little red hoodie on Lily because the weather has been a bit nippy here.  Since I put it on Friday night, Lily has worn it everyday.  And not with my encouragement.  She merely sees it (or any other item of clothing) and immediately asks for her jacket. Short of hiding it from her, I can't keep her out of it.  I guess there could be worse things.  If you ask my mom, I was obsessed with nylons.  I put them on all the time, over pants, dresses whatever I had on.  Now I can't stand to wear them. 

So what if my kid eats, plays and sleeps in the same clothing for a week straight?

See how happy she is? Who am I to ruin her childhood dreams? Maybe the best option at this point would be to pick up a few more hoodies and see if we can at least rotate colors.

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Halloween

Once again, this holiday began with drama.  If you remember back, last Easter Lily had a morning freak-out about the bunny ears or whatever I tried to do that she didn't like so much, and then last Halloween she hated her costume and ended up being a UNLV cheerleader (not really a costume).  Naturally, this time around I should have expected something similar, I didn't. Thus, at 3:30, an hour and half before we were supposed to be to Grandma's for Trunk or Treat, I was scrambling.  Its not as though I wasn't prepared for a costume change.  I had last year's failed costume (that still fit), a football outfit from Grandma Hales and a Snow White dress from Nana Dunlop.  All had been favorites earlier in the day, and I just needed to pick one.  Ha. Lily threw a fit every time a new outfit came on.

What is a mom to do with no costume, but a baby who loves to carry around her pumpkin and knock on doors? Why, improvise of course.  I found some stuff I had lying around the house and whipped up some magic in about an hour.  Thank goodness for stitch witchery (no sew hemming tape) or Lily would have had NO costume. So keeping all that in mind.  Here she is!

OK, so not the greatest costume ever, but she made a cute cat. We even got her to say "meow" a few times.  But mostly, she loved to wave good-bye to people after they gave her candy. Lily had a blast walking around knocking doors.  We only took her a few before the Trunk or Treat, but she L.O.V.E.D. it. Although she didn't quite understand what was going on, since after she knocked on the door(one of her favorite things to do - my poor neighbors always see this little girl knocking on doors for no reason when we go for walks), she walked right into every home, as if saying, "Ok give me a tour and let's see what this place looks like."  Luckily everyone thought she was so cute, they didn't mind and even let her see their dogs/cats/decorations and of course, gave her more candy.

By the time we headed over to the Trunk part, Lily's pumpkin was pretty full, so I happily relieved her of some of the better candy.  The parking lot of the church was packed! I couldn't believe how people came.  Lily had so much fun walking around and holding out her basket for people to fill.  She raced around and saw all the Jack 'O' Lanterns people decorated their cars with.  Her little treat holder was so full and heavy, but she wouldn't let anyone else carry it! So we had to forgo a few of the aisles and head back home.  We ended the night with pizza and hiding the candy from Lily.  Lucky for me, she is too little to eat most of it.

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Officially Official and More

A few weeks ago we had the "big" ultrasound and found out baby number 2 is officially a girl! Since all previous ultrasounds were leaning in that direction, it was more a relief to know than a big surprise.  Now we are in a serious name dilemma.  I admit, I was planning for a boy, so names were more along the male gender lines.  With Lily bug, we pretty much had her first name the whole time. I, of course, had to go through several other options before finally deciding to go with it.  Adam loved Lily the whole time. And we are out of girl names.  Suggestions are strongly encouraged and appreciated.  In fact, we may have to have a vote later on! Ha ha

In other news, we are all still settling into the new house and new routine.  Adam has been really busy at work, (getting home at 2 or 3 in the morning!?), but things have slowed down so its nice to see him a bit more - not to mention no more waking up in the middle of the night thinking he crashed on the way home or some other nightmare.

Lily is getting old.  She no longer seems like a little baby, though I still spend lots of time snuggling and kissing her when she will let me.  She is quite the talker.  Most is still unintelligible, but she says lots of "real words" too.  Its so amazing to watch her grow and learn everyday.  She is so independent and funny.  She can break out the whiny scowl in a heartbeat when things don't go as she pleases, but can giggle and perform silliness just as quickly.

I am getting really excited to have two little girls in our home and can't wait to meet the new addition!  I am slowly trying to get our house decorated and unpacked, but between Lily and being pregnant, I admit my motivation level is pretty much nil.  I have decided if I can just get the baby's room done before she comes, all will be well.  Other than that, my walls, floors, kitchen and pretty much every other room will remain blank (and very boring) slates to be filled at a later date. No judgment please...

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Imagine

Adam and I were invited to go to an event sponsoring the Blind Center of Nevada! We had a fun time getting dressed up and attending one of our first formal functions together. 

The night started off with a silent auction where we won tickets to Le Reve, a show at the Wynn Hotel and dinner at a fancy steakhouse! It will make a perfect anniversary date.



The current and former mayor of Las Vegas (they are husband and wife) made an appearance, sadly they were serving drinks, so we didn't have a reason to go over to their table.

One of the former American Idol finalists, Scott McIntyre, who happens to be blind, performed at the event, along with some other famous people, including a chef (who cooked, not performed), who are also blind. 

We ate dinner at the top (yes the very top, which looks really high in this picture but really is only 16 stories) of the World Market Center. Our table looked down over the "Old Strip" and was a spectacular view!

We were right by the window and got to see all the lights below.  It was pretty exciting for us, since our dates usually consist of taking Lily bug to Taco Bell.  Ha ha now that she is mobile and VERY active, we don't get out as much as we used to.

We had a great night and are grateful to Adam's cousins for taking on Lily for the evening so we could go out!

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Quick Updates

We have had a few things happen over the past weeks that failed to make it into the blog.  Here is a short attempt to get them in!

Our first niece was blessed in the middle of August.  Since Lily is a little baby-crazy we got some shots of her interacting (mauling) her cousin Ava.

Next we had our friends Ben and Heather come for a long weekend.  They also have a little one, so once again Lily had a great time playing big sister.  She is going to either love or hate our own little baby in a few months!

This final event probably deserves its own post, but since I only managed to get two pictures, I'll add it.  My family is moving up to Idaho, so we had our very last trip to Arkansas.  Since my little brother is leaving on his mission at the end of the month, all the siblings went out to say goodbye to family and friends and to hear his final talk in our home ward.  It was a bittersweet trip.  On the one side, I am sad that I won't be going back to my hometown, but on the other, its great to have my family closer!

Lily and Ethan had a blast together and spent the time playing outside and with the dog.  Poor little dog.

So farewell to Spencer (almost) and Arkansas!!!

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Someday, Maybe, We'll Figure All This Out

So these last few weeks have been full of craziness.  Let's see if I can remember everything that has been going on. 

First, we bought a house! Now this in and of itself constitutes immense amounts of change in our lives, but throw in a few other things and craziness ensues... 

Second, we bought a car.  We once again are a two-car family.  I love being able to go wherever, whenever. Not that I ever really go anywhere.

Third, we are having a new baby! She should be arriving in March so we will have two little March babies! I say she, because my last ultrasound at 13 weeks looked like a girl.  The tech said she can't sure since its still pretty early, but for right now we are going with it!

So I think that about sums up our life.  Someday, I'll figure it all out.  For now, my house is still full of unopened boxes, half finished rooms and no decoractions.  Its cool.

Also someday, I'll get decent looking pictures up.  Until then, this is as good as it gets.

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Maui 2

Here is the completion of the Maui trip! Lily, Uncle Justin, Papa Bob and Grandma Gaylynn spent many hours playing in the sun, sand and water. She loved being chased all around, actually, much of the day she insisted on being chased.  All the while she batted her eyes and flirted with Justin and every other boy who walked by.

Naturally, Lily loved the spa.  I was worried about her little organs getting cooked, so she was only allowed to spend a few minutes in at time. Of course she would speed off to the water any chance she got, so I was constantly getting in and out of the hot tub.  Ha ha I guess there are worse things in life.

We ate at Cheeseburger in Paradise.  It was yummy.  And crowded.  Once again, there is nothing better than eating on the water.  Especially when it involves french fries.

The Marriott has a few canoes made by masters of the trade and Lily had a good time exploring them with her grandparents after dinner.

We found a little playground and Lily spent many hours climbing up the slide and going back down. And she didn't want ANY help.

There was this neat pirate ship - aptly called the "Yo-Ho-Ho" by one of Lily's friends.  However, it was surrounded by little pebbles, perhaps to give the "real feel" of a docked ship.  Lily hated the rocks.  Her little swim shoes (that she never wore) had holes, so the rocks would get in and poke her toes.  She had to be carried all around the pirate ship but liked to play once she was out of the rocks.  Except for these pictures.  The whole time she kept using the two signs she knows.  Please and all done. So she kept signing "please all done, please all done." Over and over.  We got the point, but not without forcing her to take a picture on the turtle and with her grandma first.

We took a walk down the beach and swam in the ocean together.  Lily loved jumping over the waves, but did not like the taste of the salt water in her mouth. So she kept her little lips sealed.

Adam got to play some golf and had a marvelous time.  He played the Plantation at Kapalua twice, some other course I can't remember and played over on the Lanai island.  On Lanai there are two courses he played back to back called The Challenge and The Experience.  One is at the top of the mountain and the other looks over the ocean.  Here are a few pictures from his trips.  I'm not sure which courses these are from, but all look amazing! Adam was so happy to play - in his mind there is no better addition to a vacation than a few rounds of golf at what he calls "the most beautiful courses in the world."

Here is Lily reading to her baby, although she looks angry that the baby is doing nothing but sitting there.  I can just see her little mind saying, "Well at least pay attention to me since you don't even do anything.  I'm trying to read to you."

And the final picture. It basically summarizes the trip.  Lily sitting on her sidewalk with a mischievous look...

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