Our Little Senorita

new old pic

2011-09-19T10:19:00.000-07:00

2011-08-20T17:33:00.001-07:00

Today on the way to meet my mother Lilia is all smiling in the back seat. With a smile on her face she says, "sometimes when I have to teetee really bad I just go ahead and teetee in the swimming pool." I respond with, "you do what?" She repeats her confession. I ask her, "Does M2 and D2 know you do this?". She laughs and explains with her arms up in the air and in a tone that says duh--, "No Mother, they can't hear me!". I haven't laughed like that in a long time. It was priceless!

2011-08-12T13:50:00.001-07:00

Waiting on Lilia to get out of school. I've got a great pic of her getting on the school bus!

Folly Beach, aka Heaven

2011-07-11T07:30:00.000-07:00

We went to the beach, Folly Beach, to be exact. It is right outside Charleston and is a sweet little beach setting. The ocean, the salt air, the warm breeze, the fresh seafood was just simply heaven. It was so relaxing just to open the door and head on down to the beach. We have not been anywhere on a "vacation" in four years and it was time.
Lilia loved the ocean! At first she was a tad bit hesitate with the waves that "never stopped". She tried to stop them but finally listen to us and turned her back to them as they came in. After a two days there she had the ocean down. She would wear her goggles in and a float around her waist to "ride" the waves. We spent hours out in the waves.

Here are just a couple of pictures of Lilia enjoying the ocean!

So, you thought I had forgotten...

2011-06-28T09:29:00.000-07:00

No, I have been writing posts in my head, in my sleep, and while talking on the phone. There just hasn't been time. Even with school out we have been busy working at B's office answering phones and making appointments.

To bring the blog up to date, Lilia had her 4 year old well appointment with the doctor. She is in the 40th percentile for height and weight. She is 39 1/2 inches tall and weighs 39 lbs, the doctor said this was excellent and said she was healthy and ready for Pre-K. She was accepted into the county's pre-k program so, she will be starting there in the fall. Her school is right next to mine. YEA!
Here is a picture of her and her teacher at her day school, Mrs. Martha. Mrs. Martha has it. Her students are well-mannered, scheduled, and intelligent. I would come in to pick Lilia up and all the children would be sitting and reading their books out loud just into the books and not playing around.

Other accomplishments are swimming, which she LOVES and has always loved. She jumps in and swims under water and likes to dive for the dive sticks. She jumps off the diving board with no problems. She is a fish. And its funny, because before she was born and when she was a wee babe, we would talk about what we hoped she would be like. B always said, "I want her to like swimming and be a swimmer!" and she is.

Also, this week she learned how to whistle and she will throw out a whistle and look up in surprise that she did it. Once she has it for the day, its on. All day she whistles, its too cute.

The day after the first whistle came the first bubble. I stopped, dropped, and rolled. No, just stopped and clicked and flashed - the camera that is! Here's pictures of her first bubbles! When she's not whistling she's blowing bubbles.

Lilia said,"Mother, WATCH THIS!" So, I clicked!

Here is Bella, the rottweiller. She is almost two years old and its a funny story how she came to us. Our last rott, Bear passed away right before Lilia came home and then Noah, our westie, passed away last August. They were both twelve and they started B and I's married life with us. We've missed them so much especially Lilia because Noah was her shadow. We took our time, in no hurry to have a new pup. Finally, we thought about the rott rescue and we had to fill out all of this paperwork with questions on our house and then we would have to have a visit. We got to the question on where would the dog stay if you are not home. Outside, of course. We have a fenced in yard, the dog needs to be outside. We received a big red denial for a rescued rott! Can you believe it! Due to the fact that I said the dog would stay outside and all of their dogs are to stay inside. So, B and I giggled a bit and then we were annoyed. Really! So, we decided if we are meant to have a rott, one will come to us. The next day I opened the local paper and they print pictures of the animals up for adoption in the paper. And there she was - right there in the paper. I immediately called and went to meet her. She was so sweet and just loved on Lilia. So, here she is - Bella.

Not lacking for any attention, the kitty has more than what he wants. Especially, when his crowned princess of the books! Look at the excitement in his eyes!

Here's a few things of what we have been doing -
the SpringFest on the square in town. Lilia had a butterfly painted on her face!

We went to the Colonial Fair right outside town and visited many booths. At one point I let Lilia play with my camera. It is interesting to see what she sees. But first here she is with a girl baby goat - she had to hold the girl!

Here are Lilia's pictures -

And one of Lilia and I -

Going private

2011-05-02T18:48:00.000-07:00

Hi Everyone,
I feel its time to go private. I look at all the hits the site gets and the majority I know but when people come back time and again looking at pictures each visit, my protective instincts go on alert (Baltimore, MD). So, if you would like to continue check in on our family and Lilia please email me at oursenorita@gmail.com and I will send you an invite.
Thank you!

Its been so long my friend...

2011-04-12T19:49:00.000-07:00

Its crunch time and I should be writing papers for my classes but I am finding 8000 things I would rather be doing. Kinda like the time Bart should have been studying for the bar exam and instead painted the garage (so random) but I totally understand. My classes, as in the classes I am taking for my masters, will be complete April 25th. Once this is done, I will be able to breath. But I wanted to check and say Hi.
Lilia is growing. She is 37 inches tall and weighs in at 37 lbs. She looks like a little girl now and not a babe. She is all about hugs and kisses when you leave. The best part though is seeing her when you pick her up from school or when you see her at the house. She will run to you and say, "Mother, I missed you so much!!" This makes my heart melt into a puddle. Its the best.
I will update with pictures soon. We have a new four legged member of the family, Bella, a doggie. Lilia wanted to name her, "Lilia, after me mother, like my name." I had to explain to her that it would be too confusing for the dog to have her name, so we settled on Bella. She is about a year and half old per the vet and is adjusting quite nicely into the family. I'm on the laptop now so, I don't have any pictures here but I will update, more than likely after April 25th. Until then, Happy Typing (which is what I will be doing until then!)

2011-01-29T07:55:00.000-08:00

Here's the inner and outer border. I had to make a bit larger to cover Lilia's bed. Mother came over and helped me with the measurements to get it just right.

Here's her pillow. I made it from a pattern from youcanmakethis.com. It took about two hours and was so easy. I just took scraps from the quilt and I think it turned out great.

OK. Now I am caught up except for Christmas, Christmas show, Christmas break, and snow. Will get those pictures posted soon! Class work is calling my name! Have a great weekend!

a quilt

2011-01-29T07:44:00.000-08:00

Here's the start of Lilia's quilt.
Each winter I decide I am going to learn how to do something new. Last winter it was to learn how to knit a hat. I've knitted about 5 of them and need to pick the needles up again before I forget. This winter it was to learn how to quilt. So, I signed up for a class at the Quilter's Attic in a town over. After my first class, I came home and told B, "I have found my people." The ladies there also loved fabric, and colors, and putting it all together. They got just as excited about it all as I do.
The pattern it really easy, its a turning twenty pattern and the fabric is by Chez Moi called Hunky Dory. I pieced all the blocks together and then sewed a back piece. Once that is done I sent it to the long arm quilter who quilts the pieces together with the batting in the middle. It was so easy to do. Once I purchased a 1/4 inch foot for my sewing machine, I could whip the blocks out in no time. The way I would get my homework done this past semester was not allow my self to sew unless I finished all my assignments. So, I would be sewing at ten at night but my homework was done!

November

2011-01-29T07:29:00.000-08:00

Here are pictures of Lilia from November. Two separate occasions trying to get just the right one for the Christmas card. Sorry, for so many of them but I couldn't chose which ones to add and which ones to leave. But before the pictures this is what I was doing all last semester and am doing this semester. I should be doing either work for "my" school classes or grading papers for my work classes. I'm procrastinating.
Lilia's dress is from the Portabellapixie pattern by Sandi Henderson. It's one my favorite. I think she has 3 dresses like this and will have more because they are so easy to make and versatile. In the warm weather she wears just the dress and when its cold, a long sleeve shirt with leggings or jeans. Right now its leggings. I haven't gotten her to wear any pants since about Thanksgiving.

Random pics

2011-01-29T07:12:00.000-08:00

Here's three pics - totally random.

Here is Lilia and her favorite friend, Kyla. They have the best time together and are unseparatable at school. Here they were at a princess birthday party. Lilia loves Kyla so much she has named her new baby from Santa after her.

Ballet, she poses for the camera. It makes me giggle. She moves ever few seconds like a model.

Here's a little video from ballet. She saw the camera and stops in her tracks to smile and pose. Too cute.

More October

2011-01-29T07:06:00.001-08:00

Let's see, Lauren came over and played. Lilia and Lauren had a great time together. They played babies, dress-up, puzzles, everything and had a great time together. Anne and I went in and found them here, hiding.

Also, I finished Barby's hat.

Ballet

2011-01-29T06:59:00.000-08:00

Lilia started ballet and loves it. She twirls and dances all around the house. Here are some of her moves. We read a book, Katie Duck. In the book Katie Duck goes to dance class. She twirls and says, "Quack, Quack, How I Love to Dance". So, this is what Lilia will sing as she performs her dance moves.

Dora the Snow Princess

2011-01-29T06:49:00.000-08:00

Rewind back to Halloween.... For Halloween Lilia wanted to be Dora, the Explorer, so, we searched the internet for just the Dora. She chose the Snow Princess and of course, this was the one Dora we couldn't find a costume for. Off to the fabric store we went. And as a side note to myself - - don't wait until the last minute.
She was the most beautiful Dora the Snow Princess! We went to the neighborhood next to Lesley's neighborhood. Lesley's children have named it, "Halloween Town". It was like walking into a different world. All the houses were decorated with lights and scary music and they were giving away juice boxes and bags of chips. The streets were full of characters, witches, and ghosts. Not only did Lilia and the other children love it, we loved it too! All the parents agreed, Halloween at the F household next year.

Rewind back to Halloween.... For Halloween Lilia wanted to be Dora, the Explorer,

A Drought

2011-01-08T17:17:00.000-08:00

So, its been a blog drought. Well, kinda but not really I have a ton to blog about just not enough time. Life is busy. For instance, I took four graduate classes this past semester and have four this semester. Also, I am now teaching English at a local high school. I have juniors and seniors and my first day was this past Thursday! Crazy! But Awesome!

I have a TON of pictures to upload from Halloween until now. I mean a TON. Lilia is doing all kinds of things now. She is climbing like a mountain goat and getting to things that I thought I had out of reach. One day I found her in a chair unchaining the backdoor because "my kitty wants to come inside." Some say the twos are terrible, they are not terrible. The threes are not terrible just challenging because she wants to exert her authoritie or at least try. She sometimes flat out tells me no. Or gives me the evil eye and does something I told her not to do. She has become great friends with the TimeOut chair as well as the corner. Aunt Barby introduced the corner and its worse than the chair.

The other morning she was pretty creative though. The mornings can be hectic here so, we pick her outfit for the next day the night before. I pick out two and she choses. We have to pick out socks, shoes, and bows. This way there is no question in next morning what she is wearing. She was dressed ready to go and could not find her boots for a certain outfit. She put tennis shoes on, you know the ones that light up. Then we found her boots, no problem, she puts them on. Next thing I know her tennis shoes are back on. The boots went much better and that was the plan from the night before. So, I asked her to put them back on. She throws a fit, "I not wear them!" I reply, "when I get out of the bathroom, your boots better be on!" I get out of the bathroom, no boots. No boots on her feet, no boots on the floor, boots are no where to be found, I walk the house looking. I ask, "Where are your boots?". She replies, "I don't wear them Mommie! I hid them because I don't wear them!" I thought this was pretty good on her part. Good move. I've got to win though because this cannot work when she's sixteen. I come back with, "Well, I'm leaving to go to school. Do you want to come with me?" "YESSSS!", she cries back. "Well, then find your boots." She stomps around and comes from my room with her boots. I still don't know where she hid them because I looked in our room and they were not there. I looked in all of her usual spots - her pillowcases, under her sheets, under all the beds, the bathrooms, everywhere.

Needless to say though, she only throws true tantrums with her clothes. Her clothes have to match, the swish on her shoes must match her socks. B says I should have never taught her how to match things, its coming back to bite me. She is also in a skirt/legging mode. I don't think she has worn pants in weeks. She has brand new pants from Christmas and she refuses.

The tantrums are all worth it though. There are times she will bust out of nowhere and say, "Mommie... I love you." This makes me melt. She will do it in the car, at the house, at the grocery store, at ballet, anywhere. She did it in the car today. After she said it to me she had her baby in her arms and looked at it and said, "I love you baby Kyla." (Her "favorite friend" is named Kyla, so she named her baby after her.) I take it, I take all the "Mommie...I love you"'s I can. I stop in my tracks for a moment and relish it. One day when she is about thirteen she will not be so fond of me and I will have to remember these moments.

Also, we are looking at the Pre-K program the county offers for four year olds. I printed the application out and started filling it out. Some of the questions are asking "How many words are in your child sentences?" Lilia's normal conversation sentences are six to eight words long. My MIL picked her up the other day and on the way hope they talked about their days. My MIL, who has been an English/Latin/History teacher for many years, points out to me that Lilia is speaking in complex-compound sentences, way above her level. Sweet! She's the bomb!!

Merry Christmas!

2010-12-06T15:29:00.000-08:00

We are starting to get into the Christmas spirit around here. Its been forever since I've posted and need to stay up to date! Lilia is growing and growing. She's grown an inch since August and now stands at 37" tall and weighs 36lbs. She speaks in clear, precise sentences. She sings and dances all the time and will bust out her ballet moves at the drop of a hat. She loves ballet and dressing for ballet. Until I play catch up, here is a picture from Saturday's Breakfast with Santa. She was so excited to see Santa and was ready to break line to get to him. She was not scared at all and asked Santa for a "Santa gift", not sure what she wanted but something from him.

I have to add this picture. Its B's office picture for their website. We took it in the alley at his office, just for fun. And I think its going to be "the" office picture.

Birthday #3 with friends

2010-09-30T20:07:00.000-07:00

Lilia had been asking for her friends to come over to her house and play so, I thought it was time for a little birthday party. We invited all the girls in her class. The theme was ice cream sundae bar, ice cream and all the fixin's. She had a break away Tinkerbelle cake, which is cupcakes underneath but decorated as if it was a sheet cake. I loved it because there was no mess in cutting it or anyone licking their fingers while cutting it (a pet peeve of mine - ick!).

All the fixin's, I try to get everything that I thought 2 and 3 year olds would want.

I made aprons for everyone as party gifts to take home because I knew it was gonna be messy!

Blowing out the candles with her friends! See the cupcakes in there!

Happy Birthday Lilia!

Opening presents, the girls were lovin' it. They were checking everything out and discussing them all.

To top the day off, Lilia got to hold a baby - a real live baby! She was in heaven! She was talking baby talk to her, telling her she was a cute little baby. The baby loved Lilia's toes and would try to grab them.

Here's the birthday wreath I made for the big day! Its made of balloons, 4 bags of 72 balloons, lots and lots of balloons. But I thought it turned out great and went perfect for Lilia's party!

Birthday #2

2010-09-30T19:58:00.001-07:00

We had birthday celebration number 2 at the M2 and D2's house. Aunts and Uncles were in town so, it was perfect for a celebration! Mother made Lilia an Ariel mermaid cake to match her swimsuit.

Opening her United States puzzle from M2 and D2 with Uncle Dallas and Uncle Dale.

Lilia and her cousin Robin were having a grand time playing in the towel. They would just giggle and laugh!

Birthday 1, 2, and 3

2010-09-30T19:49:00.001-07:00

We celebrated Lilia's birthday 3 times, I guess because she turned 3. First, we went out for dinner on her actually birthday. Uncle Kyler and PatPat came over and helped Lilia open presents before we left for dinner.
Uncle Kyler and Aunt MiMi gave Lilia some beautiful fall clothes. She as already worn the flowered shirt.

We got her a fish tank for her room with an Ariel mermaid. I put all the parts in a seperate bag and she would pull each one out and inspect it. We would ask her what it was and she would reply with a confused look, "I don't know". Once she opened the aquarium she got it and lite up. She loves it and all the fish in it are named nemo.

We had dinner at our favorite Mexican restaurant, and they made her a special dessert!

OK, I am soo far behind!

2010-09-30T19:43:00.000-07:00

Let's start with the visit with Connie and the girls! We met at the great science center where the girls got to play and Connie and I got to catch up. All the girls had grown so much since last time we saw each other. It was so good to see them and we have to get together again soon. Here's some pics!

Gotta catch up

2010-09-08T21:31:00.001-07:00

Its 11:30pm and I am finishing up some school work (12 hours this semester). Time is going so fast! I've gotta catch up and fast! Lilia is incredible. What can I say! I'm biased, I think she's the bomb (as my freshman would say it).
Lilia is now just shy of 3 feet tall and weighs 34 lbs. She is running, playing, and dancing. She is pointing her toes, twirling her arms, and dancing all through the house. Today she has sang at the top of her lungs from the car to the 2's to the store to home. She sang all night and even in the tub. Not quite sure the songs she sang but she sang them all. Also, tonight she got into the markers, the washable markers, thank goodness! She had purple lips, yellow cheeks, and red legs. She went straight to the tub for a scrubbing.
She is getting her own sense of humor. I've corrected myself from saying my favorite 4 letter word when I drop something or stump my toe. The replacement word is poop. And I am sure you can guess my original word. Polly parrot was using it correctly and in context, so the change had to be made. Back to my story, I drop my new word in pain when I dropped the laundry detergent on my foot. She comes running in there, "poop? where poop? I don't see poop!" That night when I was washing her hair, I said something about shampooing her hair, and she busts out in giggle, "poo, poo, shampoooo". She's cracking herself up.
Last week, when that guy hijacked the discovery center, we were eating breakfast and watching the news and the story came on. The news anchor says something about how he "booby trapped the building" Lilia starts laughing, and saying, "booby trap, booby trap!" Its amazing to watch that little mind work!
I have a ton to catch up on -
let's make a list -
visit with Connie and the girls,
birthday party - house, family, and girls
Noah.
and lots of pictures in between.
I will make up some now.
First day of school in the 3 year old class.

Jumping on the trampoline at Kellen's birthday party -

Playing the drums with daddy!

I love these. She looks like a little girl here, I know she is but she is not looking like my little baby.

Its been Foreverrrr!

2010-08-16T19:16:00.000-07:00

I promise we haven't disappeared! Its summer and we have been busy! Or should I say HOT! The average temp in the house is 83, with the ac set on 72. The other day I called the ac man because something HAD to be wrong with the ac - it was 86 degrees in the house! He came the next day, checked everything out, cleaned the coils, and said, "that's about as good as it gets". The unit was pulling the air in at 78 degrees and kicking it back out at 57 degrees, which he said was codes. He even wrote it on the sheet "its as good as it gets". So, needless to say, its hot here.
I have lots to catch up on - updates on what Lilia is doing, a visit with Connie and the girls, sewing new dresses, and plans for Lilia's third birthday party. But the big news is - - I got a new lens! Yea! It was 99.00 at B&H Photo, a prime lens 50mm. Why? or Why did I wait so long! I felt I had to have the 1200.00 dollar lens but with the 99.00 lens I get all the best shots of Lilia. I've missed eight months of her life just using my point and shoot. Time to make up for all that lost time!

My favorite - This one I played with in photoshop, the others are straight out of the camera.

Will catch up soon! Stay tuned!

Wordless Wednesday

2010-07-21T18:36:00.001-07:00

Sunday Snapshot: Boating

2010-07-03T14:38:00.000-07:00

Last Sunday, Uncle George invited us for a boat ride down to the Black Pearl restaurant for brunch. The ride down the river took about an hour and half and was worth every minute. The food was incredible, there were different stations for different types of food and it was all you can it. Yum.

On the way Lilia took herself a power nap.

But on the way back down river, she was ready. She danced, she played, she took pictures, she waved at all the boats, and the birds too. Overall, she had a grand time.

The river on the way down was pretty quiet but on the way home we saw a couple of sail boats,

and a tug boat with a load of coal heading to TVA.

Johnny and June Cash's house, well, the ruins of it. One of the BeeGee's bought it and while they were redoing it, there was an accident. It's been this way since.

On the other side of the spectrum, there was this one. Aww, heavenly. Bart made the comment that this house says, "You have arrived". The porches are to die for.

The captain and the navigator

Aunt Barbara and Lilia

Relaxin'

Back at the dock, Lilia was all smiles.

Thank you Uncle George for a great Sunday!

Father's Day!

2010-06-20T19:04:00.000-07:00

Happy Father's Day! We had a wonderful relaxing Father's Day at the 2's house. We swam, we ate, and we swam some more. Lilia is a little fish. She is jumping in, going under, and swimming her little heart out. She wants to do it all herself and will say, "don't get me" or "I do it myself". It is so hard to just let her swim by herself. My heart skips a beat when I let go and I have to control myself.
Bart is a good swimmer and is better at letting her swim then I am. They had a great time together going under, or dibing, as Lilia calls it.

Make an on-line slide show at www.OneTrueMedia.com

2010-06-04T09:20:00.000-07:00

A couple of evenings ago we had a front move through that brought some wind. Good strong winds are good for knocking all of the little branches out of the trees. We went out and picked them all up, but before we finished the rain started,just little drops here and there. So, Lilia started "Singing in the rain". She did all of her songs and added movements to them.

Make video montages at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Make photo slide shows at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Rainbow

2010-06-04T09:12:00.000-07:00

The other afternoon/early evening it was raining so, Bart and I opened the back door and watched it rain. There is something about the sound of the rain that calms a soul. We were talking about how tough times are right now and how its gonna get better. Then the rain stopped and out came this -
We took it as a sign.

Blue Dress and Hoppity Hop

2010-06-04T08:57:00.001-07:00

The weather has been beautiful here. We go outside as much as we can and enjoy the sunshine. The other day we went out and played with Lilia's hoppity hop (I think that's the way you spell it). She jumps on this thing in the house, outside, and wherever you will let her. I try taking pictures of her but when I bring the camera out she wants to play with it and look at every picture I take. When I photographed weddings I noticed that the younger children wanted to immediately look at their pictures while the older adults would be amazed that they could see the image and even joyful that it was in color. OK totally random thought on a totally random observation.
Lilia's self portrait of her foot. I like it, nice prospective.

Also, this is the blue dress from the The Handmade Dress pattern that I purchased from the You Can Make This site.
The dirty face is a mixture of strawberry lipgloss and a cool pop, musts for a summer day.

Dresses!

2010-05-27T20:03:00.000-07:00

Sew, I have been sewing. Lilia has 6 new dresses, using new fabric, old fabric, sheets, and pillowcases. I have saved sheets, curtains, and different pieces for years, and I mean years, for just occasions as a dress. Trying to get a picture of Lilia these days is like pulling teeth. She will not sit still for me and she wants to take the pictures or look. I've got one dress with her in it and am working on getting pics of the other ones.
The first one is the Pop-over dress on Oliver and S's blog, www.oliverands.com
How do I put a link in here, people do it all the time but I can't seem to make it work. This fabric I purchased at JoAnn's fabric store.

Since both my lenses are dead, I have been using my point and shoot which is good but... I love love my big camera and I miss it sooo much.

These two are from a site called You Can Make This, let's try the link thingy - -
The pattern is called Miss Madeline Peasant Dress 6m-4. And I LOVE it. The directions are so easy to understand and to follow. The dress took about two hours to sew. I think it took longer to get the elastic in then to sew it.
The fabric for these dresses are also from JoAnn's, out of the quilting section.

This pattern I purchased at Textile Fabrics in Nashville. It has shirring, I didn't know what shirring was. It is were you put elastic on your bobbin and regular thread for your needle and sew. It gives the fabric that stretchy sundress feel. The fabric also came from textile Fabric, I believe its Moda. I love this store, it was fabric heaven. We went the day it started raining, wrong word, the day it started FLOODING. And I want to go back.

3 of them -

Here's a pillowcase dress, the second one I made. The fabric came from curtains that I purchased for a dollar at a garage sale. I made another one out of a pillowcase and it didn't turn out so well. So, no pics of that one.

More pictures coming soon!

Wordless Wednesday

2010-05-12T14:43:00.000-07:00

Wordless Wednesday

2010-05-05T18:47:00.000-07:00

Sunday Snapshot: "Breathing"

2010-05-02T20:02:00.000-07:00

For a few months now I have been reading Ni Hao Ya'll's Sunday Snapshot. At first I thought I would participate but then I thought, "I have only one child and the entire blog is already about her". But now I've come to the conclusion that I can post about aspects of our lives. So, today is our first Sunday Snapshot and the subject is "breathing". Lilia is getting over pneumonia and has had to have breathing treatments a couple of times a day. We have a routine, first she is all excited, ready to be a good patient. After a few minutes, she's bored and tired of this mask with "smoke" coming out of it. She does her, "I'm done" move and then I wrangle her in to finish it up. She hears the sound it makes as the medicine runs out and starts asking, "It finished?, It finished?" Then when I say yes, she jumps to turn it off and she HAS to turn it off. Its so nice to hear her breath with no crackly, crunchy sounds, just nice quiet, smooth breaths. Thank you breathing machine.

Good patient - took this one with a flash but then turned it off so, you could see the movement and the "smoke" (that's what Lilia calls it).

Deep breaths through your nose.

Bored, she can't see the tv through the "smoke".

Wait for it, Wait for it - - There it is - the move. "I'm done, you are going to have to come get me."

Gotta her for the last few minutes of the treatment. Watch the feet, they get bored too and have to play.

They wiggle around rooting for the tube to play with.

Surprise! Band-aid!

"It finished?"

"Yes!!"

Egg Hunting!

2010-05-02T14:28:00.001-07:00

Lilia was all about getting the eggs this year. It was funny we all followed her around like the paparazzi. She took her time grabbing the eggs and checking them out. The comment was made that she needed some competition to get her moving!

Also, there is a wonderful couple here in town who are in the process of adopting their little girl from Korea. I am adding their link to the side. I know they could use all your thoughts and prayers!!

Easter at the 2's

2010-05-02T10:10:00.000-07:00

Warning - loaded way too pics at once. They are out of order and my OCD is kicking in but I am not gonna fix them because dinner needs to be cooked - spaghetti!

Easter morning in her new Easter dress before church.

After church we headed out to the 2's! I'm adding too many pictures at once so, they are out of order. I will try to edit later.
Everyone hung out and enjoyed the weather and each other's company.

Somebody is tired.

More to come!!

Easter

2010-05-02T09:55:00.001-07:00

Let's back up and catch up, starting with Easter.

PatPat brought over Lilia's Easter Bunny cake

Then we went for a walk. Check out this tree, it was beautiful. Last year we took pictures of it so, we did it again.

That night we dyed eggs to hide at the 2's house. Lilia loved it and would squeal when they started to turn colors.

Random Sleep Picture -
Lilia's dress is from Aunt Judy, she made it! It"s Beautiful and I need to get a better picture of her in it. Lilia calls it her strawberry dress. Thank you Aunt Judy!

Where have we been?

2010-04-29T10:49:00.000-07:00

Outside!! It's been so pretty here with temperatures in the high 60's and 70's. We've been playing outside, sliding, swinging, fishing, going on boatrides, going to the zoo, and enjoying the warmth of the sun. Then Sunday Lilia awake with a funny cough. Dimetab didn't help it, Benedryl didnt' help it. Monday we went to the doctor. Lungs were all crackly, Oxygen level at 93-94, no temperature, just funky breathing. The doctor asked if anyone has been sick, is she had allergies? No, nothing, not even a runny nose. Just woke up with a funny cough on Sunday. We headed over to the hospital for xrays and the doctor said she had the early stages of pnuemonia in her left lung. So, we've been home this week being best of friends with the neubalizer, the steroids, and the antibiotics. Lilia is feeling much better. Right now she is dressed as Cinderella complete with high heels, necklace, earrings, and lipgloss. She will feel good for about 2 hours and then feel bad and need to be held and then good again. I can remember being that way, in between sick and not sick, wanting to play but then getting worn down and need to rest. She is getting fustrated and I don't blame her, its no fun.
So, while my arms are free and Cinderella is busy in her room playing I thought I would update the blog.
Let's begin with Easter. We had a great Easter.

This is as far as I got on Thursday. Lilia is feeling much better. Still a little grumpy at times but overall she is good.
Before I back up and post all the pictures of beautiful days, let's talk about today. Its raining, and raining, and raining. Constant rain for about two days, roads are flooding, buildings are flooding. Water is everywhere. I would take a picture but my point and shoot camera is in the car and the rain is coming down so hard. Speak of cameras, my newer lens (4yrs) and my older lens (7yrs) have both died. I'm heart broken, I feel like part of me is missing. It will cost more to fix them then to get a new one. So, I've got to start saving for a new lens.
Be back in a few, gonna play in photoshop and post some pictures!

Spring!

2010-03-30T19:27:00.000-07:00

We are sooo ready for spring, ready for some sun, some warm breezes, some green trees, and some colorful blooms. We have been playing outside every second we can. Tonight we grilled out some pork tenderloin and enjoyed Lilia's concert of music as the meat cooked. She sang her ABC's, Twinkle Twinkle Little Star, her own song about Alex's birthday, a song from WonderPets, and lots of her own originals which we only caught pieces of here and there. B did request some Paul Simon in which she responded by singing, "PAUUUULLL SIMMMONNNN".
Speak of singing. You know you can't sing when your two year old says, "No Mommie, don't sing." I respond with, "why, why can't I sing?". She takes a breath in and says, "because" another breath, "because its broken, Mommie". Nice, so my two year old can tell that I can't carry a tune. That's ok because later that night as we cuddled in bed and had finished reading our book, she puts her hand on my cheek and says, "Mommie, sing Sunshine" which is "You are my sunshine, my only sunshine." I have sung this to her since the first day I held her and sang it to her to calm her down or to go to sleep or when we were in the hospital. And when she asked me to sing it I melted into a puddle. She does that to me.

As a side note, check this picture out. One of B's cousin's put it on Facebook and I just love it. It's B's dad and his brothers, how cool.
Brothers

Pics from my phone

2010-03-13T19:20:00.000-08:00

Here are pics from my phone. I uploaded them backwards so, the first one is from two weeks ago at the park and the last ones are from October. She was a bumblebee for Halloween and you will see she likes sushi. B and Lilia go eat sushi on Daddy/Daughter date night (usually when I have some sort of meeting). And she likes to paint. She helped me paint the office blue, a happy blue. There's a picture from Christmas day on her new four wheeler with her babies and m&m's in hand. Also, a pic of her in her Dora towel from Aunt Kay, Thank you Aunt Kay!

Ramblings

2010-03-13T18:20:00.000-08:00

The other day I wouldn't let Lilia have any more crackers. She had already had two small bowls for snack and she was going to ruin her dinner if she ate any more. I told her, "No ma'am, we are going to eat dinner soon." She then proceeded to stomp off into the other room saying in a pouty voice, "You're gonna make me cry"
Which is new, everything these days is new. She announced one day, "I have black hair like daddy." She then pauses, breaths in, and breaths out. "You, you don't have black hair." (breathing again) "You have wellow hair." Its so amazing to watch her think, to know their is a ton of information in that little head and its all getting lite up as her gears start moving.
Oh, and I have a mentioned she is addicted to band aids. She went through a small bout of fascination with bandaids. And its back on. Every little bump, be it a serious one or a small one, a bandaid is needed. Right now she has one on her finger and one on her big toe. Sometimes I wonder if she stumps her toe on purpose, because she knows she will get a bandaid, "it'll make it feel better, mommie" And if all it takes is a Dora bandaid, then I am all for it.
Reading Dora, PatPat gave it to her for Valentine's Day.

She makes me melt.

Blogs from Mexico

2010-03-07T12:07:00.000-08:00

OK, so I surf the web every now and then. I found a list of blogs from Mexico! So much FUN! One day I want to go back and enjoy Mexico, see the sites, eat the food, and take it all in. One day when Lilia is older, mucha older. I added some of the sites I found to the side. Enjoy!

wow its been awhile

2010-03-06T11:51:00.001-08:00

I didn't realize how long its been since I posted. I don't know why I haven't posted, not incredibly busy. Lilia has been doing all kinds of things. Growing for one. The majority of her pants are too short, this is a new one for us. She is usually a size behind for her age. Now I think she is catching up.
She also is making observations. For instance the commercial where the Grandpa and grandsons are fighting with light sabers, she announced, "look Mommie! Popsicles, they are fighting with popsicles!" The other night I was cutting up some onions and celery for dinner and she exclaimed, "Mommie, be careful those are sharp!" "Dangerous" She is getting so big, no longer a little baby, but a little girl. I know, duh, great observation, Sherlock. But it occurs to me on a daily basis that before I know it she will be teenager and not want anything to do with me. So, I want to hold on to these years as long as I can.
Yesterday we went to the 2's house and on the way out we stopped and got some ice cream. She finished it at the house and then requested some water. She said there was a baby fish in there and she had to feed him, which she pretended to do. Then she would "hide him" under the napkin. These are from my phone, so they are a bit grainy. Also, I played with them in photoshop.

More Snow Days!

2010-02-17T15:55:00.000-08:00

Well, its been snowing here. Not alot of accumulation but enough for school to get cancelled. We have not had a full of week of school since before Christmas. I could get used to it buuuttt then we would have to go to school later in the year and I'm not so down with that idea. So, we have been hanging out at the house. I pulled my sewing machine out and sewed a few burp clothes and bibs. They are being monogrammed now so, when I get them back I'll post pictures. As you can see I had a cute little helper!

We also hung out with friends, Sam, Shae', and Riley.

We also watched some Dora, Diego, and Lilia's new favorite Kai-lan.

Lilia's hair is long enough now to get in a towel!

Time for a piece of chocolate that Granddaddy gave her for Valentine's Day! She will shove the whole piece in her mouth, and will drowl chocolate spit!

And how do you know its cold in your house? When your husband comes to bed with a bright orange Carhart toboggan on!

Ear Infection

2010-02-13T10:09:00.001-08:00

Last night, Lesley, Barby, and I had a girls night. We went to the movies and saw Valentine's Day. I know all the husbands are thankful that they didn't have to go see a chick flick. It was good, we laughed, teared up, and left the theater happy. I texted B to see how our Yaya was doing and he texted back that she was complaining saying that her ear was hurting, it was sick, and it needed a band aid. So, being the good father, wanting to make her feel better, he put a band aid over her ear. Due to the sneakiness of ear infections we packed up the car this morning and heading over to the doctor's office. Turns out that the wee doctor was correct in her diagnosis, her ear is sick; she was an ear infection. No fever though, so after a few doses of antibiotics she will be feeling perfect.

Daddy!

2010-02-10T20:18:00.000-08:00

Every night Lilia wakes up at some point. She either cries and calls for me or she slides down the side of her bed and comes to my side of the bed. But the other night was a new one. She woke up and cried, and then called out for me, "Mommie". I sit up to go get her and B whispers, "wait, let's see if she will go back to sleep." Which we have tried since day one and she never goes back to sleep. She cries for a few more seconds and then she cries, "Daaadddyyy!". And without a second's hesitation B responds with, "I'll be right there baby," and bolts out of the bed. As I lay there with my jaw dropped open.

Yesterday and today schools were closed for snow/very cold weather. This morning I got up, showered, put my makeup, turned the tv on and there was our county on the closed list. Thank goodness I didn't actually get dressed.
Since we were home yesterday, Lilia and I went to a shopping center. At one of the stores, a sales lady asked Lilia how old she was and she responded confidently with, "seven". What? Were did she get seven from? I asked her and got nothing. Then when I was trying on some clothes the same lady came back by and asked if she could get me a different size. I said, "No, thank you". Lilia proceeded to pop her head under the dressing room door and tell the lady "thank you". Then at the check out counter, the same lady asked Lilia her name, and she responded with running to my legs and a whispered, "I'm shy". Which she is not. She is getting a little personality. When we read books at bedtime, she will make noises and giggle as I read. Tonight we read Dora, one about jobs. I asked her what she wanted to be when she grows up. The answer, a basketball. We've got to work on that one. I'm pushing for Dr.

We built a tent last Wednesday when we were out for snow.

I heard the water on and this is what I found. Check those toes out, they are clinging on.

Adoption blogs

2010-02-05T22:20:00.000-08:00

I saw this on Ni Hao Ya'll and clicked on the link and have been stuck since. Great blogs, and I can't break away so, I have to add it here.

hope this works.

just in case, its called Grown in My Heart.

2010-02-03T07:45:00.000-08:00

Before I forget I have to get this down -
Last night while going through our routine for bed, reading one of the bear books (Polar Bear, Brown Bear, Panda Bear, or Baby Bear), and saying our bedtime prayers. We always end our prayers with, "and please bless....", which we have our list of family and friends and special requests that we run through. Last night as we ended she said, and "please bless football". B heard this from the other room and melted.

Speak of B, he has broken a rib. With the snow on the ground, he and his friends headed out for some big boy sleddin', which included a route of hills, ditches, jumps, and being thrown off the sled. This is how the rib was injured. The last good snow was about ten years ago when we were first married. And I think all the fellas forgot that ten years had passed. They all were injured in some way!

Bart thinks I was taking this picture of him to record his pain. Unbeknownest to him, he had a spider pinned to his pants! After a couple of hours, Lilia looked up to him and said, "Spider, daddy, spider!" pointing at his crotch. Of course, this is at her eye level and could see the spider clearly. B having broken a rib, couldn't look. I was heehawing and snorting away because its rare that I can get him. Lilia is insisting, "spider! spider!". B puts his hands on his hips and says, "you think this is funny, she is calling my stuff a spider!", "where did she hear that from!" I answer with more laughing, crying, and snorting! When I catch my breath I tell him to look for himself. It took him a minute to look because of the broken rib. And he looks up and smiles asking if this has been there the entire time, and exclaims, "why didn't you get this on camera?"

Here's a picture of the last big snow. We were the last ones still out there. The boys are in high school now, one is a senior and the other is a freshman! The snowman lasted for weeks, it took forever to melt. And Bear, our rott, was in his prime.

SNOW!

2010-02-03T07:06:00.000-08:00

For the last few days, actually for the last 6 days we have had snow. Lilia likes the snow but isn't so keen on the getting cold part. So far she will play for about 20 to 30 minutes and that's it, she is done for the day. The cold gets to her. Of course, (I say to myself)she is only 2.
Friday when the snow started to fall, Lilia would run to the window and squeal with delight. At one point I was folding laundry and looked up to see her doing this -

Her new panties have a snowflake on them. She had went to her drawer for these panties and was showing them the snowflakes outside. And as you can tell she dressed herself. At home it works out just fine so, I let her where what she wants, hence the lucky 3 leaf clover pajama bottoms, purple striped shirt, and the summer sandals. Hey, the sandals match her shirt, maybe we are getting somewhere.

Since Friday was our 2 yr anniversary for coming home day, we decided we would celebrate, snow or not. We went to a restaurant in town, (the only one open).

Its was time to play in the snow so,I bundled her up like Randy from the Christmas Story. She had layers of shirts and pants on. Good thing, M2 had bought her the snow suit. She was pink bunny ready to play in the snow. The only things we were missing were good gloves, the ones that are water proof. I don't think I've seen them in her size but from now on, if I see them I am getting them, just for days like this! Oh, and snow boots, too!

"it was his only defense"

The cold was getting to my camera, so I turned off my flash to help it out. It was slow on focusing and taking the picture. I wish I hadn't, this is a great shot, possible a framer, if it weren't so gray and grainy! Oh, well! I still love it!

A few extra pictures of the snow.

The four legged babies taking advantage of the warm sunshine.

Random pics from January 2010

2010-01-29T14:27:00.000-08:00

Putting together Lilia's car that Uncle George gave her for Christmas. This is in the morning, she was dressed up as a princess with bows and all to help Daddy.

A random princess shot-

The last "snow" we got about two weeks ago. I call it "snow", it was really just a dusting.

Christmas visit with Big D. Big D and B have been friends since elementary school. He lives in Indiana and comes into town for the big holidays. Part of the charm of Big D is that you never know when he is going to show up. He is the baby of his family and they keep a tight reign on him when his in town. So, when he can break away he comes by for a visit. He came by one day over the holidays when Lesley and Sam where here. Lesley's husband is also lifelong friends with the D. Everyone is connected in some way in a small town. I like it like that, everyone knows everyone.

Lilia's hat that I knitted for her. My very first one! Yea!

Modeling the goods with a "Cheese!". I don't why this picture is not straight. Oh, well!

Christmas Day

2010-01-29T14:26:00.001-08:00

Trying out the wheels at the 2's house on Christmas Day.

extra Christmas pics

2010-01-29T14:23:00.000-08:00

Lilia was lovin' some Christmas morning, M&M's, princess outfits, babies, and a Barby four wheeler!

"He make a mess! He make a mess!", Lilia exclaimed when she first saw the fireplace.

Today

2010-01-29T14:03:00.000-08:00

Today is our two year anniversary! Two years ago we arrived home from Mexico and to our new life together. Time has gone by so fast. It was just yesterday when she was a wee little peanut drinking from a bottle making googly noises. Now she walks, talks, sings, dresses herself, plays princess, and brings joy to everyone around her. I can't imagine life before Lilia. She is our light.

As you can see its snowing today! No school, the skies are gray sprinkled with little white snow flakes.

Maybe we will get to use this tomorrow! B bought this years ago, so long ago I don't remember. We have always had it and its NEVER been used. Maybe this snow will be the snow it gets broken in!

New one

2010-01-26T15:25:00.000-08:00

Lilia just said, "I'm not big, I'm just little" out of the blue.

My Montage 1/19/10 at OneTrueMedia.com

2010-01-19T17:24:00.001-08:00

Make an on-line slide show at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Jump Jump 1/16/10 at OneTrueMedia.com

2010-01-16T09:32:00.001-08:00

Lilia is 100% plus girl. She will go in her drawers and pull out clothes to put on. I used to stress over her drawers being nice and neat. They are still somewhat neat just not to my OCD standards. And its all because of the picture above. Once it is cleaned the little tornado will come in for her next costume change.
Sometimes she will come out of her room in crazy getups. This one, a more bland version, was for her performance of Jump Jump. Underneath it she had her frilly bloomers on, the one's with her name on it.
As I type this Lilia is looking at the picture saying, "I make a mess! Mommie, I make a mess!"
A side note, please ignore my country morning voice, ugh. You never really realize how funny you sound until you hear yourself.

Make video montages at www.OneTrueMedia.com

2010-01-16T08:45:00.000-08:00

As you can tell I have found One True Media. Its so easy and actually works! I've been playing this morning on it. You can do all kinds of things: edit, add music, text, of course you pay for a few extras. So, I am sticking with the basics for now.
Have a great weekend! I will be adding pics soon!

Snow 1/16/10 at OneTrueMedia.com

2010-01-16T08:38:00.001-08:00

Make an on-line slideshow at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Wheels on the Bus 1/16/10 at OneTrueMedia.com

2010-01-16T08:22:00.001-08:00

Photo and video editing at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Abc's in the Bubbles 1/16/10 at OneTrueMedia.com

2010-01-16T07:42:00.001-08:00

Make video montages at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Funny Things Lilia says

2010-01-14T18:02:00.000-08:00

Ok, There are way too many cute things Lilia is saying lately. I am going to post them as soon as they happen. If I don't I forget! So just a second ago there was a commercial on, the one with Charlie Daniels, "Does Charlie Daniels play a mean fiddle?" The shot then switches to Charlie playing the fiddle and Lilia screams out, "Santa!" "Santa!"

New Year video

2010-01-12T19:08:00.001-08:00

Christmas pics to come but I had to post this little video first. Happy New Year!

Christmas Eve Deus

2010-01-03T14:28:00.000-08:00

Once we got home from PatPat's we started getting ready for Santa Claus. We had baked special cookies for him earlier in the day. Also, Aunt Barby had gotten Lilia special reindeer food for The Reindeer. Lilia kept a tight grip on this special food. She had to know where it was at all times and most days walked around with it. We got it all the treats out and had them ready for his visit.

Looking for Santa...

Also, earlier in the day I had a family picture session and my camera died. I mean, it wouldn't work, just nothing. UGH, I tried not to just break down in a crying mad fit and held it for the car. When we got home from PatPat's and was waiting for Santa, I switched everything around and it turned out not to be my camera, but my lens. I took out my lens from my film camera and put it on the digital, held my breath and it worked! Not as clear as the other but it will do until I figure it what to do about it.

Christmas Eve at Pat Pat's

2010-01-03T14:15:00.000-08:00

Every Christmas Eve we have dinner at PatPat's house. This year we went non-traditional Clam Chowder and ham sandwhiches. Excellent, we all were full and round as ticks. Lilia opened her presents and got the hang of the wrapping paper, ripping and pulling until she got inside to the gifts.

This is the Cooooollleeesttt ViewFinder. It is 3-d and the pictures are from National Geographic photographers. It also has sounds. So, whatever animal you are on it will give you an explaination with sound, very cool.

Speaking of 3-d, we saw Avator, WOW is all I can say. It was incredible, beautiful scenery, great story line, everything about it was incredible. If you haven't seen it, see it.

Christmas 2009

2010-01-03T14:00:00.000-08:00

We have had a fun-filled Christmas full of excitement. We have been busy playing babies, changing their clothes, feeding them their bottles, and naming them. We have also listened to their hearts, looked in their ears, looked in their mouths, and taken their temperatures. Once all the babies (Lilia's, the ones she got for Christmas) are well and well rested I will be back on track. We took a ton of pics and so lets start!
First, Santa.. .
Lilia wasn't scared. She went right up to Santa with a little hesitation and once he asked her what she wanted. It was on, she replied in a whispered voice, "a baby", and then a pause and a breath, "and a bottle for the baby". Santa asked if their was anything else. She had no reply but would just look at him.
I couldn't get the white balance just right so, the colors are a little off.

Group shot! We went to a friend's house to see Santa. He makes a special stop there so that all the children do not have to wait in line to see him.

Lilia was in heaven, first with Santa and then sitting next to a real live baby!

Star Wars!!!!

2009-12-22T06:52:00.000-08:00

Bart surprised me with tickets to see Star Wars. Not just a movie, but the London Symphony playing all the music from the movies. The actor who played R2D2 hosted the event. Forgive me but I don't remember his name but he walked and his hand movements where the same! Here are a few pictures. I was going to bring my big camera but I wasn't sure if they would let me in with it so, I took my point and shoot. It was Awesome, the music was incredible, breathtaking. I loved it. There all kinds of folks there, some dressed up as characters and having light saber fights. It was so much fun! I know I am geek, a Star Wars geek. But that's OK Bart is too. We still have his SW sheets and all his toys from the 70's. And Lilia has her very own SW shirt!
May the Force be with you!

You could feel the heat coming from the flames!

A few shots on the way to our car. Here's the "bat building".

The country music Hall of Fame.

Johnny Cash, the one I wanted to meet. He lived just a few miles away. Lots of people knew him and saw him around town and talked about how nice he was. But I never met him or saw him. He was, is still a legend.

Its feeling alot like Christmas!

2009-12-11T19:50:00.000-08:00

Somebody had their Christmas program last night. Can we say too stinkin' cute!
Bart and I tag teamed the cameras, he had the video camera, and I had my camera. This show was our first so, we were gonna capture it all. Besides we watch America's Funniest Videos and kids win alot on there!
Lilia has been singing her little heart out in the car and any where the song moves her. So, it was good to see all of her hard work pay off. I think she enjoyed herself. She was doing all her moves and not once cried even when she spotted me!

After the show we all headed down to Lariverre's for dinner. M2&D2, PatPat&PaulPaul and us, walked down the street to the restaurant. I couldn't help myself but to get this shot. I thought it was so sweet, a daddy and his baby girl.

the Day after Thanksgiving

2009-12-03T18:48:00.001-08:00

So, I didn't take any pictures at Thanksgiving. Should have, would have, but just didn't for some reason. I don't know what it is about Thanksgiving, maybe I am too busy eating, yes, I think that is the answer. I am eating all the good food and it was my birfday as Lilia says it. The Day after Thanksgiving we had a cousins session, which I haven't finished editing but I did grab a few to put up here. Lilia does not go with me on photo sessions because I would be way to busy chasing her around but since these subjects were family, she came along to help me out.
She couldn't help but to get in front of the camera and say cheese!

After we finished we headed over to the 2s' house (M2&D2) to visit with Gmama and Papa. I think Lilia has renamed Gmama, Gmommie. Here are a few with Gmama and Papa and then some of CHEESE!

Its the last day of November-

2009-11-30T18:51:00.000-08:00

And I am SOOO behind. Let me make a list of what I need to post:
Lilia' bday party (in AUGUST!)
The pumpkin patch, Halloween, and misc pics (in OCTOBER!)
Misc pics and Thanksgiving with Gmama & Papa (in NOVEMBER!)
Christmas is around the corner and its going to be so much fun this year. Lilia already knows a Christmas tree when she sees one. She also sings Jingle Bells and wants to hug Santa any time she sees him on a commercial or a picture of him. We are so excited because we get to really start the Christmas traditions, reading The Night Before Christmas, writing a letter to Santa, cookies for Santa & carrots for the reindeer, as well as the reason for the season, Jesus.
But before I jump ahead here are a few pictures from October. This was the day before Halloween and I thought I would snap a few pics of Lilia in the leaves.

Lilia is speaking in full sentences. You can tell she is thinking about what she is saying because she will take a breath and say each word. The other day she said, "mommie, I wike boots." She was talking about my boots! I had no idea she even paid attention to my shoes and that she had an opinion on them! I joked around one day when I wanted her to come in her room by saying, "Paging Dr Highers, Paging Dr Highers, you are needed in your room". A few days later she said, "Yaya be a doctow". I said, "you want to be a doctor?" She said, "Yes". I told her she can be anything she wants to be. I love watching her mind work and how things just click.
OK, more pics. Here's one of our trees from the same day. I played in photoshop with it. OHH, and I can feel the guilt coming...I should be editing at least 5 sessions right now. Gotta go, the guilt is creeping up quickly, "need to edit, need to edit, and get these pictures out!" Have a good night, hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving!

OK, so I haven't gone private.

2009-11-12T20:21:00.000-08:00

Well, its been almost a month since I have opened this window in blogger to post. What's up with the silence? We've been busy, I mean I've been busy. My plans to go private have been set to the side because I haven't had time to think about a password/username and then sent out mass emailings to let every know the new info. So, the plans are on hold for the moment, at least, until I get everything caught up. I've had two weddings, numerous family portrait sessions, TBN, school, work, etc. And if I sat at the computer I felt massive guilt over not editing wedding pictures that if I did sit at the computer that is what I did, edit.

I have ALOT to catch up one, Lilia's birthday party, Halloween, and everything in between. Lilia is talking up a storm. She is saying full sentences, such as, "Mommie go to store get Nanas.", " I colowing Dora", "Mommie, come hewe I need help." She has just started using "I" instead of Yaya. This is nice because she was starting to sound like the NFL football players who can only speak in 3rd person.
She also sings all the time, she likes to blend songs together, for example she will bust out in the "wheels on the bus go round and round, round and round, n o p r u v w z, now I know by abc'sssss, next time sing wiff me." I must get this on tape.

Here are some pics I took tonight. Two blankets that I just finished crocheting, the pink one for baby Nyla. She was born very premature and was just released from the hospital in Phoenix where she was born. The green blanket is for baby Eliot, who is a few months old and I am just now finishing it.
Lilia modeled them for me.

Lately, I have been having weird dreams about fish. One night I dreamed I had three fish, a red one, a blue one, and a gold one. I dreamed that I was changing their water and the red one would jump out of the bowl to look at me. Weird, I know. For some reason I couldn't stop thinking about a fish. This past year has been the longest I've been without one. So, Lilia and I purchased, "red fish". That's his name, Bart and I asked Lilia what his name should be, and she replied, "wedfish". Therefore, meet Redfish. His name works out to because we have been reading "Brown Bear, Brown Bear, what do you see?" We change it up a bit and ask, "Redfish, Redfish, what do you see? I see Lilia looking at me", "Lilia, Lilia what do you see, I see Redfish looking at me."

Until next time...
PS: To all of the Ireland readers, you are killin' me with the password protected sites! Share the love!

Going Private

2009-10-19T15:55:00.000-07:00

Hi Everyone
Here's the last call - I am going private in 24 hours. If you would like to continue to follow Lilia and our family email me oursenorita@gmail.com and I will email you the invite. Thank you!!

Other random pics from Sept

2009-10-17T09:10:00.000-07:00

I know that I still have not posted Lilia's pics from her birthday. There are so many of them I have a hard time chosing which ones to post. They will get posted soon.

Also, here are few things Lilia is doing now. She says full sentences, "I see birds in the window", we were sitting at a redlight and she was talking about the birds flying by. Others are "phone's ringing, Yaya get it", "Yaya is running", "Yaya do it", "I don't like it", "I like it", "baby in time out" (as in her baby), "she told mommie no". Lilia has been introduced to time out. She found herself telling me no. And we don't tell mommie no, so the time out chair has been established. My favorite one recently is "somebody pooted". The other day Riley came over to play and she is in the stage of asking WHY. If she asked why once she asked it FOUR THOUSAND TIMES. Yesterday, Lilia wanted fruit chews. It was bedtime and we were getting ready to head that way. She asks in that sweet voice with her chin down and puppy dog eyes looking up at me, and says so softly, "fruit chews?". I said, "No, its bedtime." She then crosses her arms across her chest, looks up at me and says, "why?". Bart busts out laughing, I try not to giggle, but I have a feeling its on, the why stage is upon us.

A haircut in Sept, actually just a trim.

Barby's birthday, she is a fan of Twilight, can you tell? Edward even has a sparkly chest!

Barby and her mom, Deb.

Sept visit

2009-10-17T09:03:00.000-07:00

In September Aunt Kay and Uncle Leon came to visit. Here are a few shots of from the beautiful days of September. Lilia has on her shirt that Aunt Judy made for her. Beautiful!

Uncle Leon and D2 cutting fresh okra from the garden.

Relaxing in the beautiful weather. Now its cold, rainy, dreary...fall weather.

Lilia 2 year portraits

2009-10-17T07:52:00.001-07:00

So my plans to update during fall break fell on the back burner while I cleaned out closets and edited pictures. I am skipping pictures from Lilia's birthday for right now because I am sooo excited about these pictures. Here are pictures from Lilia's two year portrait session. I've been playing in Photoshop alot lately, trying to venture out.
Here's Lilia in her dress from Aunt Donna. These were actually the first pictures I shoot. There are not so many of these. She was too busy running around and playing. She is starting to look like a little girl and not a baby. Time goes by so fast.

Awww, my favorite.

The tutu shots. Lesley sang every song she could think of to keep Lilia busy and in one spot. Thank you Lulu! We shot Kellen's one year pictures the same day. Lilia and Kellen's birthdays are only a week apart!

Going to catch up, I promise.

2009-10-05T20:57:00.000-07:00

OK, so Fall Break is around the corner and I PROMISE to catch up.
Here's a picture to keep you hanging on and an update, Lilia is speaking in full sentences!! More to come!
Don't forget to email me at oursenorita@gmail.com if you would like to continue to follow Lilia!

"YaYa's House"

2009-09-20T08:21:00.000-07:00

After school one day Lesley called and said there was a playhouse on craigslist that she thought would be perfect for Lilia. And it was in town and she had emailed the seller and had first dibs on it. She had been looking for one for her oldest and this house was going to be too small for her. So, I pulled it up online and Lilia saw it and exclaimed, "YaYa's house!", "YaYa's house!". We were sold, plus it was Lilia's birthday. So, I said we would take it. Bart picked it up later that night and it was on the deck the next day, ready for housekeeping.
The redspot on her head is from a mosquito! They love her, she's sweet.

A visit with Aunt Maureen!

2009-09-20T07:45:00.000-07:00

In August Aunt Maureen came to visit! We all met at Connie's house, where she stayed, and visited, played, and took pictures. Oh, and we ate. I walked in the house and smelled Mexico, Maureen's house when she cooked. It smelled incredible. And it was!! We enjoyed seeing Maureen and hanging out with everyone. We HAVE to do it more often!! Here are some pictures from the visit, let me correct that last line, alot of pictures. Enjoy!
Our babes...

The two women who changed our lives...

Aunt Maureen with her precious babies, or I guess since they are older, her children.

How sweet, Aunt Maureen and Lilia.

Marcy! Look how big she is getting, she is just a tad bit shorter than Lilia. She and Lilia played and played. At one point they were both sitting in Marcy's closet putting on shoes, saying, "shoes", "shoes".

Lilia followed Lucas around, and would just look at him. He was a great sport and would play with her and hold her hand.

Anna and Lilia playing peek a boo.

Catching up

2009-09-14T20:55:00.000-07:00

New things Lilia is doing. Singing! The actual words and you know the song. "Rock a by baby, in the treetop" not one I sang to her because I am not into "the cradle will fail and down will come baby and cradle and all" but she knows it now. Other songs, "the wheels on the bus" with all the stanzas, and one about a monkey and an alligator and the alligator goes "SNAP". I had to call Lesley on this one and ask her what song has a monkey and an alligator in it. Since then I've looked up the words on google and have them down. But it came with the new class at school. As did other sayings such as, "go away", "leave me alone", and "no". Oh, and I cannot forget my favorite new habit, checking my pants to see if I pooped, always lovely.
She is counting in English and Spanish. She is learning new words in Spanish and I think she tries them on me but I have no clue. I have to remember them and ask Maria.

Also, I am thinking about going private on the blog. Lilia is getting older and I am thinking it is time. Not really sure how to do it. But if you would like to stay tuned into the updates of Lilia please email me at oursenorita@gmail.com and I will send you the login info. Thank you!!

These pictures are also from July, just a few from where we met Barby and Riley at the fountain.

I tried to warn her that the water was going to come back up! We've all done this at least once!

Check out those eyelashes!

So far behind!

2009-09-14T20:51:00.000-07:00

OK, sorry for the silence. I promise I will get caught up. Scanning through my pictures I realize I am way behind. So, I here are few from July. The last two post were from August but I had to add these before they get lost in the blur.

Cragfont

2009-08-29T07:12:00.000-07:00

We stopped at Cragfont to ask if it was OK if I can could take some pictures of a senior girl in the gardens. I took the moment to take a few pics of Lilia.

And can you tell I LOVE this dress. It was Shae's and is the sweetest little dress, perfect for Lilia right now. Thank you LuLu!
Also, another saying that is just too sweet that Lilia is saying is , "Rock-a Baby", Rock-a Baby". This means to hold her like a baby and rock her. We stop what ever we are doing and rock her. Soon the day will come when she doesn't want to be rocked so, we take full advantage of the request.

New Fav, Popsicle

2009-08-29T07:06:00.000-07:00

Lilia's new favorite treat is a Popsicle. She loves them and will ask for one anytime of day or night. I have to agree with her they are pretty good.

She wanted "more, more".

Busy, Busy

2009-08-29T06:50:00.000-07:00

HI Everyone!
I know you are thinking, "come on, update, update." Sorry I haven't had a chance to stop at the computer and even read my favorite blogs. School has started, school as in work, and school, as in school, class for me. I recently took two Praxis test and the MAT, passed all! YEA! Now time to hit the books.
Lilia has also started a new class, the two year olds. Just in the past few weeks she has learned new words and phrases, such as "doodoo", "gross", "in trouble", "share", "be nice", and the command of, "come here"(as in "Mommie, come here"). I am sure this is only the beginning of "new" words school will introduce her to. She likes school, she talks about the kids in her class and how they play house, "pay house". Not only has her vocabulary widened but her pronounciation of words has improved as well. She now is starting say, "Yiyia" instead of YaYa. I have a feeling full sentences are around the corner.
Another first around the house, Bart said, "Don't throw the ball in the house." We had to stop and recognize the moment.

I couldn't just post a few....

2009-08-09T20:27:00.001-07:00

I am trying to post more regularly because Lilia is changing so fast. She does something new everyday. I want to capture it and have it all saved on the great server in the sky, blogger. But these past few weeks I have been busy with studying for 2 Praxis test, school starting, the wood floors being put in, PTL shows at TBN, and working for my dad, Gordy. Now Lilia's back molars are coming in and she's had a temperature for a few days. But I do have pictures stock piled to post but I haven't taken in new ones in the past week. Oh, well...on to the pictures...
When the weather was unusually cool for July we spent alot of time in the yard, swinging, playing in the dirt, and playing on the slide. Lilia is so used to me having the camera in hand that if I don't have it, she will ask for it. She wants her picture taken. Here are a few from the swing, not just a few, alot. I couldn't choose which ones I liked best so, I put the majority of them on here for you. Enjoy!

Doing the Dishes!

2009-07-30T07:21:00.000-07:00

Getting into drawers has now become last month, pushing the chair and climbing the back of it is the new thing to do. Lilia will push the chair up to the sink as seen in the examples below. She also likes to open the pantry door, push the chair up, and climb to see what all she can find. The other day I walked into the kitchen and she was standing on the counter getting herself a "pass", a pacifer. I hang them on the hooks in the cabinet, the ones meant for coffee cups. She had decided she wanted one and she was going to get it.
Check out my lovely avocado sink and counter. We have lived in our house for nine years and have not updated the kitchen. I want granite and new cabinets and they are not in the budget so, I will patiently wait and embrace my avocado green until then.

I finished cleaning and putting Lilia's playset together!

I have to add this. I just said, "Pick up, we have to get ready and Mommie needs to take a shower" The next thing I hear is the water coming on and Lilia saying, "Showjer, Showjer, Mommie, Showjer"
My cue to go. Have a great day!

Swimming!

2009-07-30T07:16:00.000-07:00

Good morning!

2009-07-30T07:13:00.000-07:00

2009-07-19T08:22:00.001-07:00

Since I have a ton of pictures of Lilia and Noah sitting at the window gazing out looking for those mischievous squirrels I thought I would play with a few of them in photoshop. I am not a huge fan of manipulating photos, my tastes lean more to old school black and white straight documentary type of photography but I am trying to branch out. What do you think? The first one is cartoonish and its different but I like it. I think my favorite is the one with her hand on the window, I love the old school feel of it.

Random pictures

2009-07-19T08:05:00.000-07:00

The camera is with me at all times so, I take random pictures. If for some reason I don't have a camera of some sort on me and I see something I want to take a picture of, it haunts me. I am bothered by it for days that I missed the moment. Here's some of the randomness.
I pulled in the drive and this is what I saw, Noah and Buster waiting patiently for me to get home.

Going out to Mother and Daddy's one morning I stopped on the side of the road to get this lovely portrait of the cows. It was irrestible with fog, the sun rising, and the steam.

Pulling into Mother and Daddy's driveway that morning was beautiful, the moment of silence as the sun was rising and the fog was still on the ground. The haunting feel of the trees that were stripped by the tornado a year ago.

Over on Pioneer Woman there was a post about getting yourself in the pictures that you are never going to be 17 again so, get out from behind the camera, if not for anyone else but for your children. So, I tried and took some goofy ones with Lilia with my point and shoot. Her lips and above her lips are nice and shiny because she was wearing her new Dora lipgloss.

Rollers

2009-07-19T07:55:00.000-07:00

One morning I was rolling my hair and Lilia wanted her hair rolled as well. So, here ya go. It was so pretty with waves of curl. She has the thickest, healthest hair, it just shines in the light and is so soft.

She is crying because she didn't want me to take them out.

She is starting to look at the camera and smile. She also is requesting pictures, hence why we have so many looking out the window for squirrels.

2009-07-13T08:01:00.000-07:00

Lilia was very quiet one day. I walked into the kitchen to see exactly what she was doing. And this is what I saw. She had my makeup bag emptied with every top off every tube and bottle of makeup. I don't know what it is about the tops but she loves to take the tops off things. She won't squeeze the stuff out, just take the top off. I have a little video of her smiling at me and saying, "makeup" but it I can't get it to load so, pictures have to do.

Also, I added two links to the side. Keeping up with the Jones, a family blog and a craft blog, Carina, check them out. I removed one family blog because they went private which I've thought about doing but it is so nice to meet everyone! It may be something I do in the future.

Good morning

2009-07-13T06:54:00.000-07:00

Good morning, Sorry its taken so long for me to post. It has been a busy week and this is the first morning we have taken our time getting ready for the day. Lilia is doing so many new things. First and the biggest, she is in big girl panties full time! We had just been putting panties on her when we were home at night or on the weekends. Thursday will be 3 weeks. I haven't said anything before because I didn't want to jinx her progress but yesterday I officially changed the diaper drawer to the pantie drawer!

Other things she is doing is swimming. I don't mean wading and standing on the steps, I mean flat out jumping in the pool over and over again. At Sam's birthday party she was jumping off the diving board to Bart. She will jump in the water and blow air out of nose and open her eyes and look at you. We have to be extra cautious around pools now because she will just jump in. Lesley's got some pictures on her camera and when I get them I will post.

On the vocabulary side she is putting words together, a noun and an action verb. She will pick up the phone and say, "Call, Daddy", "Call, Daddy". And she will talk to him and kiss the phone. Or if Bart puts a suit on in the morning she will say, "Daddy court". Just a few minutes ago she was sitting on her bed saying, "baby dancing" and made her babies dance. And she is singing. We are working on her ABC's and she will sing them with you. Or if you say, "sing to Mommie", she will sing to me. Too sweet.

And to my Ireland reader's, spread the love and send me the password to your blog. I think there are two blogs from Ireland that I am posted on. I set up an email for the blog, oursenorita@gmail.com, please send me the info. Thank you!
Here are some pics of Lilia, surprise! Have a great day!

An afternoon

2009-07-03T09:01:00.000-07:00

I finished sealing/staining the deck. We put all the patio furniture back so, Lilia and I sat out there and watched Bart mow the yard. Bart and Lilia have this thing where they point at each other. Lilia would hide behind the furniture and when Bart rode by she would jump out and point at him.

Side note, my next project is Lilia's play set. Pat purchased it from her church and its all plastic with two slides but needs a good cleaning.

Have a Happy and Safe Fourth of July!!

The Parks

2009-07-02T11:04:00.001-07:00

Hi Everyone! Our hometown band just released a cd, The Parks, Born Into It.
You can purchase their music on itunes. I tried to put the link on it but for some reason it doesn't work for me. They are on myspace, http://www.myspace.com/theparks. I went to the studio and took some shots when they were recording. They are a father/son group and have been playing together for a couple of years. Their music is a classic country, southern rock sound, just classic for all times. Here's a widget. Click play on the widget and you will hear their music. Also, I tried to put it in the sidebar but for some reason it will not fit. I've got to figure that out. Enjoy!

The Drums are Home!

2009-07-02T10:30:00.000-07:00

The bongos Bart has had since college are back home. Sweepy Walker borrowed them for 4 years while he has been playing with Trick Pony. They have been all over the US and have been to Iraq! Here's a video of Bart & Lilia playing on the bongos last night!

Hey, everyone's gotta potty!

2009-06-27T06:53:00.001-07:00

And everyone needs a blanket to go "Night Night". PS, Thank you Aunt Kay for the wonderful baby blankets. You can see they are getting good use!

PSS: Leave me comment and your site and I will leave a comment on yours! No one ever leaves comments and I am getting 50 plus hits a day. So, I know you are out there! Thank you!! Suz

More pics Lilia and Uncle Kyler

2009-06-27T06:48:00.000-07:00

Uncle Kyler and Lilia playing the guitar.

Aunt MeMe and Lilia hanging out.

Con't Life with Lilia per Noah

2009-06-21T18:46:00.000-07:00

I finally captured Lilia playing "Nigh Nigh" with Noah. The pics are not perfect but they show motion with some movement because I didn't have my flash on my camera and it didn't want to lose the moment by looking for it. Wow, take a breath, that was a long sentence. Noah is so good with Lilia, he will just lay there as she pats him and tells him "ssshhh" and "nigh nigh". He even sits there as she pokes him in his eye and says, "eye, eye" and as she points out all of his main body parts. Check out those shoes, she will clunk around the house in them. I love it, just makes you smile.

Happy Father's Day!

2009-06-21T18:34:00.000-07:00

I hope all the Fathers had a wonderful Father's Day! We had a wonderful relaxing day and actually celebrated last night with a grill out here at the house. Mother & Daddy, Kyler & AnnMarie, and Bill (granddaddy) came over for dinner and some fun.
Lilia entertained us all with laughter and squeals as she ran around the table and each one of us would play with her as she went by. Here are a few pics-

Here are a few of Uncle Kyler & Lilia or as Lilia would say, "KyKy" and "YeeYee". What do you think of the color? I've been playing in photoshop.

I have more but they are on my other memory card and I will add them later.
Have a good night!

Pool Time

2009-06-17T10:23:00.000-07:00

I've been doing little projects around the house. The other day I spray painted all of the deck furniture. Now the chairs look great but the cushions look so faded next to them. I've got to figure that one out next. While I was doing this Lilia played in the pool and loved every minute of it. Noah, of course, sat patiently next to the pool and even enjoyed the occasion cup of water being dumped on him.

life with Lilia per Noah

2009-06-17T09:25:00.000-07:00

For the first 9 years of Noah's life he has been my baby. He is beside me at all times, whether I am in the kitchen or the bathroom, doesn't matter, he is always with me. If we were outside he sits about 3 feet away from me looking out. But Lilia has changed this, he now stands guard beside her. If she is outside on her slide or in her pool, he is there at her side. Inside he follow her around from room to room and lays there as Lilia puts blankets on him and pats him and says, "Nigh Nigh". If he is in another room, she calls him, "Oah! Oah!" and pats her leg and he comes running to her. On this day, Lilia was pushing Noah in the stroller, which I don't think he was so thrilled about at first but soon got over it. Here are the first two pics, I added some warmth and light to. Not so sure about doing it to the others so, I left them straight out of the camera. What do you think? Leave me a comment.

The ones without the extra pop. They were checking out the squirrels.

After looking at them I decided to add the warmth. I think I like these better. What do you think?

Mass in the Grass

2009-06-15T16:44:00.000-07:00

A few Sundays ago we had Mass in the Grass, a yearly service held in the park. We have a potluck and Bart grills all the hamburgers and hotdogs. This year Lilia found her feet and was everywhere. She also found the playground and the slides. She and the other girls had a good time going up and down them. Lilia was a little timid at first and then after that first slide down, it was on. She had a great time. I had a hard time getting my settings just right on the camera. So, here are a few of the pics. I forgot until I looked at the pictures, check her shoes out. They are pink slippers. She had sandals on but brought these to me saying, "on, on" and wouldn't let me put her other sandals back on. So, we went with the pink slippers. And the bows, are they too big? I made them the day before to go with her outfit.
Checking out the slide and watching the children play.

Our grill man for the day!