Well ... it is finally here - Lily Kate is TWO years old!! It's hard to believe that it has been two years since the Lord blessed us with our precious daughter. I love thinking back on all the fun and eventful times we've had together. The past year of her life has been SO much fun because she has been able to interact and communicate more and more as the year has gone by.
She never ceases to make us laugh every day - and now that her vocabulary is growing it is happening more and more. She loves to tell me when we are getting ready to go outside that she needs her "coak" (coat) because it's cooooolllddd outside - her mouth forms this perfect "o" when she says "cold" and she holds out the word for so long.
She can be so loving at times ... and other times not so much! ha!! While we were shopping in Target a couple of weeks ago, she looked at every, and I mean every, person that walked by us and told them, "No." It was SO embarrassing. But, as I was bending down looking at something on the bottom of a shelf I heard her say "boo boo" and then start making a kissing sound. So - I stood up and looked at her and she was kissing the cart because it had rust on it and she thought that it was a "boo boo." So - she can be mean to people but kiss a shopping cart's "boo boo."
She loves, loves to read books and always tells me "Momma, sit, read." So we love to read books in her room all the time. When we get to the end of the book she'll say "The End." She loves her "
Busy Bible" that I got for at one of my baby showers. My favorite page we get to is the one with Lot's wife on a popsicle stick. One side she is "normal" and the other side is all white from where she turned to salt. So, when Lily Kate turns the stick to the white side she screams at the top of her lungs because that what I did when we talked about that story.
I know that she's going to be my little helper because she wants to clean all the time. She'll get her little broom & mop and "clean" my bathroom floor while I'm getting ready. And she has to have a dusting rag with Pledge on it every time I dust. She got her own little cleaning set for Christmas and she is all about cleaning her play kitchen. And ... she also has to make sure the water is "turned off" in the sink every night before she goes to bed!
We've been working on potty training and she is great about telling me when she needs to go potty ... but normally either
a- she has already gone and she wants me to clean her up or ...
b - she wants me to turn on the light in the bathroom so she can sit on her potty fully clothed, potty in her diaper, and then get up and ask me to wash her hands or ...
c- she says she has to potty so she can get naked from the waist down and sit on the potty!
And of course after a,b, and c she always asks for some candy! :)
We just put her in a toddler bed last week and she has done so, so good in there. She loves it! The only bad thing is that she wants to jump in there all the time. And the only time she has gotten out of it was the first night she slept in there - Stephen went in to check on her about 2:30 am and she was in the corner ready her Elmo potty book ... maybe Elmo can teach her what I can't!!
Her
Her favorite person in the world is still her boyfriend, Noah. She asks where Noah and his parents are at least 10 times a day. Whenever they are together, Lily Kate already tries to boss him around - she'll tell him to march or "get in there" or "sit". It's so cute ...
I love it when I ask her for a kiss, she leans her head forward for me to kiss her on her forehead. She has only given me & Stephen just a few "real" kisses. I'm hoping that this habit will continue on through her teenage years ... :)
She loves, loves, loves Dora. Most mornings, I let her drink her milk and eat a poptart in bed with me while watching Dora. I love that part of the day. When "backpack" comes on she will say, "no, no, no" to all the items that aren't the "right" ones. And when "map" comes on the screen she YELLS "Map" and then of course, her favorite time is when Swiper comes because she can yell "NO!" We are doing her 2nd birthday party in Dora everything and I can't wait to see the look on her face!!
She is such a Daddy's girl and asks about him all throughout the day while he is at the church. So, whenever she asks about him and I say, "He's gone" or "He's working" , she'll say "Soon?" and I say, "Yes, we'll see him soon." And when I ask her "Where is daddy?" she'll always say, "Bus, drive" because he does the bus route on Sunday and she thinks he does that every day. Stephen said she's going to grow up thinking he's a bus driver. :)
I've been working on her learning her colors for a LONG time now, but she is very stubborn and everything in her "color world" is either blue or pink. We go over colors all the time but when I ask her what color something is she always answer "Blue" or "Pink." And I love how excited she gets when she says it like she's right!
Lily Kate - I can't even express how much love & joy you have brought to my life in just two short years. Your smile makes me smile, your cries make me want to cry, your energy forces me to have energy, your unconditional love makes me want to love even more ... You have caused me to evalute so many aspects of my life on a daily basis because I know you are watching me so closely. I cherish the days that we get to spend together and I pray that you will realize one day what they mean to me. I love watching you grow and learn and love - and I can't even imagine what this next year will hold for us. My greatest desire for you as your mom is for you to love the Lord with all your heart and share His love with others. I know the Lord has some great plans for your life, my sweet girl, and I look forward to seeing how He is going to use you.
Happy Birthday Lily Kate!!! I love you so much!!!!!
We had a picture table with different pictures of Lily Kate I took on her birthday in a cute Dora shirt. The Payne family helped me paint the Dora & Boots, the backpack, and a big Dora sign - they were such a BIG help. 
Cake table
A sweet lady, Mrs. Laura, from our church did Lily Kate's cake ...she had a cake shop in our town for a long time and her daughter is the one who did all my cakes for our wedding - it was SO delicious!!
Everything is ready for our guest!!
Lily Kate and her BFF - Noah ... holding hands - how sweet :)
Lily Kate and her Nonna - she was ALL about her Nonna this weekend!
Lily Kate and all her friends ... I'm so thankful for the friends that Lily Kate has (and all of their parents that are our friends!! :) )
Present time!!
Yay for ... chapstick - her favorite present of the day! Ha!!
A rolling Dora backpack - oh yeah!
A Dora bike!!
Cake time!!
Our little family with Stephen's parents & brother, Nathan
Our little family with My parents, Grandparents, and Josh & Juli
Happy Birthday Lily Kate ... I'm so thankful for you and I hope that you loved your party!! I know that I did ... :)
