"How to Make your Mom's Day" by Lily Johnson

Step 1: "Go # 2 in the tub", 9:00 a.m. (I'll spare you a picture)

Step 2: "Remove diaper during "nap" and go 'tinklepotty' all over your bed", 11:00 a.m.

Step 3: "Since diaper has duct tape now and won't budge, pour your bottle all over your only remaining clean sheet", 11:15 a.m.

Step 4: "Since Mom still thinks this nap is actually going to happen show her who's boss by taking a nice good bite out of your crib", 11:25 a.m.


All this and it's not even noon...


{I love love love this kid, but gosh she is crazy mischievious!}

"cheese!"

"yucky, Mom"

Oh no you don't!

Oh yes she did! And have I ever told you about the time I left her eating in her high chair for like 10 seconds and when I walked back in she was standing on the kitchen table, at the edge, holding my heavy centerpiece bowl in her hands? (I don't want to think about the number of ways that scenario might have gone awry)... or the time we were driving down the street going 40 or so and she figured out how to unlock the door and open it? I know, I know, it's called childlock people!! I try to stay a step ahead but sometimes the stinker gets the best of me...aaahhhh!

"Snow! Awesome!"

That's all Lily could say yesterday when we received the first snowfall of the year, "Snow! Awesome! Snow! Awesome! Snow! Awesome..." She was purely delighted with everything about snow: touching it, eating it, throwing it, walking in it-- and it was purely delightful to watch her discover it! It brought back such vivid memories of being a kid. I love those moments where I forget about laundry and messes and what to make for dinner and just bask in her pure innocence and joy...those moments where I get a little teary-eyed because everything comes together and I stop and remember what life is all about--sorry to get cheesy on you here. (Note to self: have more of those moments) You may be able to tell from the pictures that she did a lot of eating the snow. Someone taught her that that's what you do...(Not thrilled about that one Chris)

 

 

 

 

Lily's latest love...

...is shoes. It cracks me up to watch her line all of our shoes up and then try each pair on. And my favorite is watching her throw a tantrum when the shoes are too cumbersome to walk in and she falls over (I love the kid, but some things are just funny)

Summer Favorites

Lily has been a blast this summer. I know I always seem to mention her delightful, not to mention dramatic personality but she is just a complete crack-up and I sometimes just don't know where she gets it. She walks around ( or I chase her) and she asks the same question over and over and over and over, while pointing her finger at different things, "shat?" I listen to our conversations and laugh to myself...

"Shat?"
"That's a stop sign."
"Shat?"
"That's grass."
"shat?"
"That's a booger."
"Shat?"
" That's chapstick."
"Shat?"
"I don't know probably a tree...what are you even pointing at?"
"Shat? Shat? Shat?"
It really never ends. I love her curiosity and her courage and how determined she is to discover every inch of her surroundings. This kid is funny!

Word!

Some favorites that Lily has picked up recently:

mow (as in rhymes with cow) = cat. Supposedly lives under all beds and tables and any piece of furniture. Lily checks several times a day, calling out for the "mow."

coke = what Mom is always drinking, i.e. the drink that you aren't allowed to taste

shat or zat = "what is that?" She points at anything and everything and asks us "shat?" At first Chris thought I had taught her a naughty word.

beebee = blankey. She literally lights up and fills with pure joy at so much as the sight of her "beebee."

guy = her weird three eyed dog, alien looking stuffed animal, which she sleeps with. I once asked her "who is this weird guy?" and it stuck so now she calls him "Guy." It cracks us up at night when she starts asking for "Beebee and Guy."

She is literally picking up a word or two every day and it amazes me that half the time, they are words I didn't directly teach her. I love watching her grow and learn and develop her own personality traits and preferences. This kid cracks us up!

 

Taking After Dad

Everyone says that Lily looks like her Dad and I can already see her personality starting to follow him as well. She, unlike her mother, is the opposite of cautious. I have a dare devil on my hands and I fear that there will be a fair share of bumps, bruises and stitches in her future. I also fear that Chris will teach her backflips on skis and any other number of dangerous stunts all the while saying "shhh don't tell Mom." These photos are of her finding her way onto the top of her play bench and of her and I playing "tunnel." I'm sorry to say that the shot of her standing on the toy bench was quickly followed by a faceplant, and then followed by a brief crying spell and then she wanted to do it all over again. Her favorite game is now "climb-up-on-the-couch-and-then-climb-back-off. We have hard wood floors and she has fallen a few times but will not quit. I'm afraid that although she can't walk yet that I am going to come in and find her standing on the kitchen table---she has a major knack for climbing! I feel sad that she's not a baby any more but a little pre-toddler and a really independent, stubborn, and strong willed one at that! Hmmm....who does that sound like?

 

 

 

 

Easter!

Here is Lily making a mess in her Easter Dress! I could have refilled the basket with the paper grass and let her empty it ALL DAY! She couldn't get enough. She thought the grass was more fun than the stuffed animals inside it...

 

 

 

 

Little Lil is Growing Up

Our Little Lilly Pill ( her most used nickname, and for a reason) turned 1 on March 2nd!
Her personality has Chris and I laughing our heads off and quite worried for her teenage years. She is super dramatic, but soooooo fun and delightful! I have learned to keep EVERYTHING that I don't want her to see and/or hold far from her sight because if I have to take something from her hands-she will throw herself on the floor in full tantrum and scream bloody murder until I return the item, then she'll smile and giggle with delight--yeah, so quite the drama queen! Although not walking yet she is very physical and loves climbing over things, under things, being tossed up in the air, being hung upside down, climbing up the stairs over and over and over, dancing, etc., etc. Her activity level is off-the-charts. I thought girls were supposed to be more mild mannered and boys were the ones with this kind of energy?
I was recently looking at pictures from a few months back and I was shocked at the transformation she has undergone that has brought her from being a "baby" to a little toddler (almost)! She's getting around the furniture and walls easily but insists on being on her tippy toes. I thought she would be walking by now, but she just will not put her heels down so...maybe a few more months? I will post a video of her soon so you can see her in action. We love watching her learn and try to communicate with us. We have "conversations" all day long.

Steep Learning Curve

= FREEDOM


Disclaimer: This post is all about babies and nursing. After 10 months of fussing/bottle-REFUSING, cutting date nights short, phone calls from a stressed Daddy or Grandma, excessive night wakings, etc. etc.
Lily just spontaneously decided to take a bottle about a month ago...
...and it has changed our lives!
I am not trying to bash nursing, because I believe in it and I will try to nurse all future children... and I am definitely not trying to bash my child, but I will just say that some things have a very steep learning curve and for us keeping Lily happy and satisfied via nursing has been one of them. It all started making sense to me ( the way-too-frequent feedings, inability to nap, slowed growth) and I have come to the frightening conclusion that she has been borderline starving for the last 10 months. She's been eating solids since 4 1/2 months, but she eats like a bird and her weight percentile has been steadily decreasing since her 4 month appointment--definitely a worry since she was a peanut to begin with. I think she just never got enough milk. I literally tried the bottle weekly and sometimes daily...to no avail for 10 whole months!! THAT STUBBORN LITTLE BUGGER!!!
I'm not really even sure why I am posting this except that it has been this huge life-altering phenomenon as a fairly new mom to be able to leave for longer than an hour and a half and know that my child will be happy and full; to actually be able to go on a childless date with my husband- heaven forbid; to be able to go to my hair appointment and not have to leave the chair in a frenzy with wet hair when I get a frantic text!
My sister tried to drill the concept of getting a nursing baby on a bottle asap so you aren't stuck as her only source of nutrition/comfort... and I just didn't listen. I'm sorry Whit! (boy am I sorry...)

Anyway...I truly feel like Lily's whole temperament has changed this past month...not even kidding. EVERYTHING is now better, easier, less stressful and less dramatic than it used to be. I guess you have to learn some things the hard way...

Our Very Own Randy

Yesterday's weather prompted the purchase of this cumbersome, way-too-big-but-we-think-she'll-grow-into-it ensemble, dubbed the "randy."

Tolerating it mildly.

I left the room for a second and heard sounds of struggle...

Followed by crying...well Lil was crying, and call me mean, but I was laughing my head off.

All very reminiscent of my favorite Christmas movie.
I LOVE winter, and I am already excited for Christmas!

Buddies

I came downstairs to this cute scene last Saturday. It is so fun to see Chris interact with Lil. She really hams it up for her dad. She seems to understand that Mom meets most of her needs, but Dad is more fun, a.k.a. he is the guy that'll throw you up in the air or hang you upside down (not my favorite trick of theirs.) And he is the guy to watch the Utes win with!

Life these days...

Hello Readers...assuming we still have any. I am finding it harder and harder to update this thing these days, for lots of reasons--3 in particular by the names of Lily, Ruby and Rex. But I am not ready to pull the plug on blogging and I still love reading all my friends' blogs so here goes...


This is my adorable girl doing her most recent trick- sitting up! I am loving every minute of being a mom. I can't believe that she is now 7 months old. It is a blast to watch her personality coming out. She is a sassy little drama queen, full of funny faces and pterodactyl-like noises. She is close to crawling and I am bracing myself for life to get even crazier when she becomes mobile!

This is our newest family member, Rex. He is a very sweet boy and we are glad Ruby has a playmate--although I must say that I feel very much like the mother of three children. These dogs are high-energy! They follow me around the house and can't bear to be apart from the rest of the family. Wherever I move throughout the house, I can be sure to have 8 little legs (soon enough it will be 10 little legs!) following close behind me.

Playing in the Pack n' Play

Lily in my favorite little yellow dress of hers.

This is our cute house. I'll post a picture of the front, but the inside still needs pictures to be hung, and lots of furniture to be purchased, etc. etc. We have moved into a wonderful neighborhood and ward, with no less than 21 babies having been born in the past year. We are finally settling into home-ownership. The idea quickly got knocked off it's pedestal in the 2nd week of living here. I will just say the modern-day-convenience gods had conspired against us...Things went something like this...closed on our home. Moved in. Washing machine broke-fixed it. S's car required very expensive repairs-fixed them. Broken sprinkler-fixed after three weeks of tinkering. Broken dryer-had to get that fixed too. C's car bites the dust- I mean completely. Sayonara '99 Subaru. Broken lawn mower- still in need of fixing. So all in all things are good now, but for a while we felt like the butt of a very mean joke.