Lily Kate is TWO!!!

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!!

HerHer 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!!!!!

Lily Kate is 23 Months!!!

Short little update on my big 23 month old ... with no pictures. :(
Lily Kate's newest thing is saying "Ooooo, that's pretty" or "Ooooo, that's funny" all the time! Last night we were at some friend's house and she had a thing of Vaseline and she told me it was pretty. :) She has loved our Christmas trees in our house. She asks for the light on as soon as we get home or as soon as she gets up in the morning. We have been working on potty training and she almost always tells me she has gone "potty" after the fact - so we are still working on that. She loves to sit on her potty but I'm thinking that's because she gets some candy afterwards. Ha! I can't wait until Christmas and seeing her reaction to all her toys. I feel like I'm a kid again because I'm so excited about it! :) I can't believe in 1 month I will have a big TWO year old!!

Lily Kate is 21 Months!!!

One year ago ....

my little brown-eyed ...

two-teethed ....


non-crawler ...

turned nine months.

And today ...

the same little girl ...

still knows how ...

to make me laugh ...

and bring joy to my life and the lives of others....

I can't believe Lily Kate is 21 months!

LilyKate is starting to wear size 6 shoe ... she weighs 25 pounds ... is so petite that I'm having a hard time finding 18/24 month clothes to fit her properly ... and is talking SO much!!

She has started saying her words so much more clearly this past month. Alot of the words up until this month she would say the first syllable but now she is saying the 2 syllable words so well! She also has learned to turn the door knobs so she can open the door this past month. Not cool!!! She wants to open & close the doors 1001 times a day and tell me "bye" like she's leaving. She loves playing in the sunroom and asks to go in there all day. Once she gets in the sunroom she wants to play the piano or sit on the couch and look outside at the dogs & birds. We sing all the time ... especially songs with motions and she will imitate whatever I do. But, the past few days whenever I start singing with her she will say "Momma, Momma" and try to say "Zaccheaus" because that is the only song she wants to sing right now. I've tried SO many other songs for her to like but right now she is stuck on "Zaccheaus." The past several days when she gets up from her nap she will ask for her daddy, then Pops, and then "Maymie" (Amy) and "Doah" (Noah). Pops, Amy, & Noah are her favorite people right now. I can't believe how much she is changing ...

Lily Kate - It seems like you have grown up so much over this past month. It's just a reminder to me of how quickly time goes and that I need to make each day count. I truly want to raise you the way the Lord would have me to and I pray that you will grow up to love God & serve others. I love you! Momma

A quick update with no pictures :(

Well ... our past few days have been quite crazy - here is a quick recap and unfortunately there will be no pictures. I know, who wants to read what I have to say, it's all about the cute Lily Kate pictures! :)

Last Friday morning we went first thing to the doctor and got Lily Kate's flu shot. I am so glad to have that over with and we are looking forward to a healthy fall/winter! :) After the doctor's office I ran to Target to grab a couple of items before going to the library for story time at 10:30. I realized after I left the house that I had forgotten my camera and so my dear, sweet, adorable husband (who was enjoying his day off) brought me my camera so I could get some good pictures of Lily Kate at her first day of library.
We met Jenny & David, Rosa & Sophie, and Becky, Makayla & Carter at the library. I was so excited about our story time that -yes, I forgot the camera my husband had so sweetly & willingly brought me in the car. haha! :) I was so mad at myself!! It was "Fire Safety Day" and so there were stories, songs, puppets shows, etc all about fire safety. Of course, Lily Kate had no desire to sit with or beside me. She was more interested in sitting on the front step with her boyfriend, Carter. She wanted to "rock rock" in the rocking chair up front that held the "library frog." It was all I (and Becky) could do to keep this from happening! She didn't enjoy story time alot because the woman took forever showing the kids the pictures in between her reading the pages - Lily Kate just lost interest. But, when it was puppet time she was so excited! The first puppet was the bear which Lily Kate continually said "grrrrr" - letting me know "Mom, do you not realize there is a talking bear up there?!?!" Then there were songs with all kinds of movements and such - at one point Lily Kate & Carter were laying in the floor on their bellys watching the puppets. It was just too cute and right now I am so mad at myself again for not getting pictures of our time. It was so, so enjoyable and we are looking forward to Friday library time!!
We had some great friends, Stephen & Heather, over for dinner Friday night. They have agreed to be connection group leaders and help us with the teens. We are so excited! We love & appreciate the wonderful helpers that the Lord has given us to help us with the kids. We unfortunately just lost some of our great helpers, Brian & Keri, since they decide to leave us and move back to Washington! (just kidding Keri-miss you!! :( ) God has blessed us with 3 wonderful couples who come alongside us as we minister to & encourage the teenagers and we couldn't be more thankful for what they do (in helping the teens AND us!!).
Friday night & Saturday the student leaders from Southeastern were at our church for some leadership training. So, we kept Bro. Ron, Josh (my brother), Nathan (Stephen's brother), and Will (a family friend from Alabama) at the house. It was so much fun to have all of them in the house! Lily Kate enjoyed entertaining them Saturday morning. :)
Saturday night was the Alabama/South Carolina game. We just stayed at home and watched it by ourselves because of our busy schedule this weekend. Let's just say that it didn't end well and that from now on Lily Kate is not allowed to be around her Daddy while Alabama is playing-he was NOT happy during this one!!! :)
I was so looking forward to church on Sunday but Lily Kate & I had to stay home because she was having some "stomach issues." I will leave it at that ... ;) She is much better now though and I am thankful it didn't last long!
A couple of cute things that Lily Kate has started doing ...
-She LOVES pumpkins. Wherever we are she has to point them out - she calls them "pump". I have some on the front porch and she loves to pick up the smallest one and try to carry it around. I also have a pretty mum on the porch and she'll point to the mum outside the door and say "flower" and then put her nose up to the glass door and try to "smell" it. Too cute! :) Lily Kate now calls apples pumpkins too - Stephen brought one home Sunday and put it on the kitchen table and Lily Kate picked up the apple and brought it to me and said "pump." It was so cute!
-For the majority of Lily Kate's life she has not been interested in TV at all. Well, she is now making up for that! There are only about 4 shows that she likes to watch: Mickey Mouse Clubhouse, Sid, Dora, & Sesame Street (but only the Elmo's World part-the rest of it she doesn't like-haha!) So, she is always asking to watch TV and she will list 3 out of the 4 of her shows everytime. It goes like this ... "Momma" "Yes, Lily Kate" "Dora" "No, Lily Kate, we can't watch Dora right now." "Sid?" "No, Lily Kate" "Mo-Mo" "No, Lily Kate, we can't watch Elmo." (2 seconds later )"Momma" "Yes, Lily Kate" "Dora" "No" "Sid" "NO" "Mo-mo" "No, Lily Kate, they have all gone nite-nite and don't ask again!" (3 seconds later) "Momma, Dora?" ... and so this goes on & on & on ALL DAY! Yes, I do let her watch them sometimes but I love how she asks for just those 3 shows back-to-back-to-back .....
Ok-that's it for today. I promise to charge my camera battery and have pictures of my priss pot on here tomorrow! :)

Shopping with Papa & Gran :)

Yesterday Lily Kate and I went on a little shopping trip with Papa & Gran. Lily Kate needed some closed-toe church shoes & church dresses-so we headed to H Stadium. I was so excited ... I always love going there to look at all their beautiful clothes and we hadn't been since the summer so it was about time!
Lily Kate & Gran cutting up in the back seat-I pray that I will always be able to remember my Gran's laugh. When I was growing up I can think of so many times that we could get Gran laughing so hard and we would always say, "Uh oh- here she goes ..." But I just love hearing that laugh! Lily Kate sat in the back with Gran while I drove. She read all the books to her (even sang them to her-ha!). It was so funny to hear them back there.

Of course the day wouldn't be complete without lunch at Chick-fil-A. Lily Kate just HAD to eat her chicken nuggets with a fork. That's been her "thing" for a while-eating EVERYTHING with a fork.

We enjoyed our day with Papa & Gran so much! I can't even begin to express what my Papa & Gran mean to me ... yes, they have spoiled me since birth BUT they mean so much more to me than that. They are special people that love me unconditionally and always know how to bring a smile to my face. Since my brother & I are their only grandchildren, we have always gotten to spend a lot of time with them and I'm so thankful for that. As they grow older, I realize my time with them is limited and I want to make as many memories with them as possible.

Flashback Friday: Lily Kate's 1st Easter

Lily Kate was 3 months at her first Easter. I was so excited to get my little priss pot all dressed up. My memories of Easter when I was a child always included a new dress and most of the time a hat to match. I laugh when I think back to those days ... I hope Lily Kate will not be embarassed when she looks at her pictures when she gets older!I got these bunny ears at Target and thought they were too adorable on my little sweet cheeks!

We went to my parents' house for Sunday lunch. Here is our little family.

Uncle Nathan, Uncle Josh, and Aunt Maria were home from college Easter weekend so we enjoyed spending time with them.

Lily Kate had on a beautiful white Sarah Louise dress with pink smocking. She always wore a bonnet on Sunday mornings until she started wearing headbands with her smocked dresses around 4 months. I think the bonnets are just so, so adorable on little babies and I wanted her to get to wear them as long as possible!

This is such a special picture to me. This is my Papa holding Lily Kate. I just love how she is smiling up at him. I know I will cherish the picture for many years to come.

Her first couple of Easter baskets. The time truly goes by so quickly. I feel like this was just yesterday. I still remember how Lily Kate looked like a doll baby on Easter. I love looking back on these pictures and remembering such a special day.

Recent pictures & stories ...

One of Lily Kate's favorite things to do also is to read. We read all throughout the day and she loves just looking at books herself too. She will point to the words and "read" and then point to the pictures and say everything that is in them. The other day while we were grocery shopping she got a box of shake-n-bake from the cart and was "reading" the ingredients. It was so funny! One of her favorite places to read is in her rocking chair in her room. She'll say "rock rock" and get a pile of books in the seat and "read." I just love watching her.

Last week Stephen was on the patio grilling and of course Lily Kate had to be out there with him. She LOVES being outside. I hear at least 10 times a day "side" because that is where she wants to be. Probably her favorite thing to do outside is play with the water hose. So, Stephen let her help him water the flowers-it was just too cute!

Lily Kate always has to have her animals to sleep with at night. She either asks for her dog or baby or bear (or all of them!) before she goes to bed. Last night as she was telling Stephen "nite nite" and walking to her room she said "bear" and went back in the living room and got all three of her bears that were in there. It was so cute. They were about bigger than her but she picked all three up and carried them to her room to sleep with. I wish I would have gotten a picture ... I've got to do better! At least I am blogging about these cute things though! :)

Lily Kate is 20 Months!!!

I can't believe Lily Kate is 20 months today!! That puts her closer to 2 - and I can't even think about that yet!! Lily Kate is wearing size 5 shoe - size 4 diaper - 18 month clothes. She weighs 24 pounds.

One of her new "tricks" is to imitate everything Sadie does. She loves to pant like Sadie & bark like Sadie. We had one of our teenagers come to the house the other day and Lily Kate was barking at him at the door just like Sadie does. Even though Lily Kate loves Sadie, the feeling isn't mutual. Sadie runs from Lily Kate - and then Lily Kate thinks Sadie is playing with her so she chases her. It's just too cute!

If I had a dollar for everytime I heard the word "snack" throughout a day I was be so rich! Haha! Lily Kate loves to walk in the kitchen and point to the snack bucket and say "snack, snack, snack" all day! I try to only give in once a day and let her eat a snack in the living room ... mainly because my little priss pot has turned into the pickiest eater. I've had laot of moms tell me it is a "phase" but I'm not enjoying this phase at ALL!

Lily Kate loves, loves, loves books. We read all day long - and then I let daddy take over when he gets home!

She loves calling the animals by the sounds they make, not their name. She loves to play in whatever room I'm working in - she does great playing by herself and I'm so thankful for that!

Lily Kate - I love you more than I ever dreamed I would and you bring so much joy to my life. Even though you have such a strong will & already know how to test my patience, I wouldn't change one thing about you. You already know how to make me & your daddy laugh so hard and I just love that! I love you - Momma