I Was Thinking I Could Clean Up For Chirstmas

So Hannukah and Christmas are over and Lily has cleaned up. We are back from a couple of nights at Grandma Gail's and Grandpa Tom's and we are off to Florida tomorrow for a little vacation.

It was a busy week with Lily's winter lights celebration at school - all the kids in her class dressed up as snowmen and had a fun party on Friday.

On Saturday we went over to Grandma Phyllis' and Grandpa Maurice's house for dinner and some Hannukah presents. Lily met the TMX Elmo and was more than a little afraid - we think she will have to grow into it.

Sunday and Monday were spent at GG and GT where the Chrismakah spectacular continued. Christmas Eve was spent at Great Uncle Carlton and Great Aunt Jenny's house, and Christmas Day was spent at the grandparents house. Lily visited with her Aunt Kelly, Aunt Tracy, Uncle Stan, and all of her great aunts and uncles. She also saw her cousins Alli, Davis, Alex, Sarah, Valerie, & Bill. Along with spending lots of family time together, Lily received some fun presents such as an infant cabbage patch, bath toys, and lots of materials to dress and doll herself up.

Anyway, on to the pictures.


Dressed as a snowman.


Lily coloring with her red snowman nose.


Meeting Elmo.


With her pearls.


Playing with Cousin Allie.


Opening presents.


Helping Great Grandma Katie open presents.


Playing on her new bean bag chair.


With Aunt Kelly.


This is what happened every night after we finished lighting the Hannukah candles.

Great Indoors

Happy Hanukuh!! It is the fourth night of Hanukah and Lily has been lighting her very own menorah (assisted by Dad, of course) - she loves the candles although was a little confused that she wasn't supposed to blow them out.;) Lily has opened four presents, courtesy of Aunt Donna and Uncle Stephen. So far she has received lots of fun presents such as books, a Dora purse, bracelets, stickers, and a Dora magnet puzzle - obviously there is a very specific theme and we suspect that will continue through Christmas.

Earlier in the week, Grandma Gail and Grandpa Tom came over to babysit so Mom and Dad could attend some holiday parties - she apparently got in some playground time and ate like a champ.

Friday, Lily finished her swim lessons, and is looking forward to showing off her skills in Florida - she is getting pretty good at floating on her back.

Saturday night Mom and Dad went to a Christmas party, and it was a big first as Lily was babysat by a non-family member, a local au pair from Brazil. It only took a few minutes for Lily to warm up to Regina, and the rest of the evening was spent with Lily showing off all of her toys and books. Apparently she went to bed pretty well with only a few calls for "Mommy." Mom is happy that the babysitting venture went well as there were definitely some nerves on her part leading up to the big night, but we are encouraged and look forward to some more adult nights out in the near future!

Sunday brought beautiful weather, so we took a long walk with Gypsy, and spent a good amount of the day on the playground, kicking the ball, and playing in the sand.

This evening, it continued to be pretty warm, so we ventured out to the playground and Lily surprised Mom by hopping onto the first monkey bar all by herself and hung for about 30 seconds before Mom ran over to catch her. Lily did it a second time and actually requested that Mom step aside and not hold onto her - suspect she doesn't understand yet what it feels like should she let go, but hopefully we won't find out right away. ;)

We anticipate a big post next week as we are finishing up with Hanakuh, Lily has her holiday party at school on Friday, and of course Christmas, so until then...

P.S. Potty training continues to go well and Lily is definitely enthusiastic - as Zoe (Sesame Street) and Lily both say - it's 'POTTY TIME'!


Playing with blocks.


Post nap relaxation watching Diego.


Showing off new jungle gym tricks.


Lil is still working on the fact that you don't blow out the Menorah candles.


After the candles come the presents!


A sweet Dora purse with lots of Hannukah gelt inside.

What Will You Say?

The week was pretty uneventful, she had a fun week at school playing with all of her friends and preparing for a holiday lights celebration next week. The weather was pretty mild so we did get out for a wagon ride earlier in the week.

On Friday, she did a lot of kicking and playing at swim class, and swam a bit with her friends, Brooks and Isabelle. Saturday, we went to visit with Cole and Hayley and took a car ride to see the holiday light show sponsored by the local hospital.

Although we won't go into specific details (as we don't want to embarass her too much when she looks back at this in her teenage years), potty training is moving along slowly but surely. Lily has used the potty successfully three days in a row at home, and made an attempt today at school. Lily has specifically requested that we close the door so she can have a little time to herself - so we end up having to peek through the door to check on any progress.

Until next week...


Getting ready for a walk.


Not looking too happy.


Back home.


Watching Diego -- tv is so mesmerizing - this was earlier tonight.


Dancing to Jingle Bells - accompanied by Auntie Donna on the phone - this was also today.

Out In The Cold

As some of you may remember Lily balked (no pun intended;)) at wearing her chicken costume for Halloween, and refused to wear the hood...well times have changed!! Last Monday, Lily and her cohort Emma apparently dove into the dress up clothes for the first time since they moved into the new classroom. Lily began the week dressed as a unicorn, the next day she dressed as a princess with a purple felt hat, and ended the week as a frog. Although Emma and Lily love the princess dresses, apparently they don't always have their pick as the boys also love the dresses!!! Needless to say it is hilarious to walk into school each day because you never know what each kid will be wearing - today Lily was back to being a unicorn.

Friday brought another round of swim lessons - she is the first one in the water and the last one out. This week she wore goggles for the first time, and we are working on the concept of looking at objects underwater.

The weekend was relatively quiet, although she did get a chance to visit with Grandpa Maurice and Grandma Phyllis Saturday night, and attended her friend Ian's 1st birthday party on Sunday.

As you will see from the pics below, Lily enjoyed playing dress up with her hats and gloves this weekend, thus she was ready to bundle up for the chilly weather today.


Lily in her new hat and gloves.


Lily really liked wearing them.


Playing around with the frog chair.


Lying around in the ball pit


Have a good week.