The Lilly Pad

Today, I feel like the worst mother in the world... It all started when I realized that I did not feed Adelyn any fruit today. Well, that's not entirely true. She did mash a mandarin orange segment into tiny bits at breakfast and inhaled 12 craisins without chewing before we rushed out the door at 5pm to go buy something to cook for dinner. Then there was the matter of lunch. I fed her chicken nuggets and french fries from Chick-fil-A while driving. "The family that eats together stays together..." Riiight. The real kicker though was when Adelyn fell out of the shopping cart at Bed, Bath, & Beyond. I have to admit, I don't hold myself entirely responsible. After all, that european pillow sham did give her just the boost she needed to hoist her leg over the edge and make her descent to the poorly carpeted concrete floor below. However, they don't exactly hand out "Mommy of the Year" Awards to mothers of children who scream bloody murder, cry in...

We hope you had a wonderful Christmas! This year we stayed in FL for sunshine & shorts on Christmas Day. Adelyn made the most of being the center of attention and we really enjoyed our time with family and friends. One of my favorite traditions is the Christmas Eve service at our church. We thought about taking Adelyn up for the children's sermon, but after she swiped a $20 out of the offering plate we decided to wait until next year. (Don't worry, the $20 was returned to baby Jesus). The service closes by singing Silent Night and lighting 5,000+ candles. It is so beautiful! This is a picture Matt took with his phone. I was worried that I would be more excited about giving Adelyn her tricycle than she would be about receiving it, but it was actually a big hit! I think the key was not wrapping it. She was kind of oblivious to the fact that there were toys, dolls, books, etc. inside those gift bags & presents. What is it that they say about kids being more inte...

After a couple of friendly reminder text & email's that I haven't updated the blog in over a month here is my first attempt. If you didn't know already how silly Adelyn is, here's the proof... She started whistling several months ago and thinks it is so much fun! You mean, you don't wear shorts on your head? (This was totally her idea by the way) Hey! Where did that strawberry go? Found it! Friends

It may be hard to believe, but this sweet, angelic face is actually the face of The School Bully. When we first started going to Mom's Day Out I explained that we only give Adelyn her pacifier at nap time. A few days later the teacher explained to me that she had to start giving Adelyn her pacifier during the day because she would take the other children's toys and pacifiers and watch their faces to see their reactions. This Thursday the teacher made a few suggestions about some new lunch items. It seems that Adelyn has been stealing another girl's lunch. So while I never hope or expect to get a call that goes something like "Yes, Mrs. Lilly, could you please come pick Adelyn up from school. She's been in a fight and is sitting in the principal's office." I guess I won't be too surprised. Now, if you see this face... Take your lunch and RUN!!!

Finally...pictures from Adelyn's Birthday Party! Daddy, the Birthday Girl, & Mommy The Cake Table Bunny (The inspiration for our theme) Cupcakes, yum! We even had pink forks, spoons, & knives. Cake Time... Adelyn did not like it when we sang Happy Birthday. She thought even less of trying a chocolate cupcake with pink frosting... Later when no one was watching she tried a few bites and decided it wasn't too bad. Scrapbooking Everyone made a page to go in a scrapbook for Adelyn to document her 1st year! Brody (Adelyn's best bud!) Goodie Bags

Adelyn had her 1 year check up yesterday and the verdict is in... She's off the charts for height! What's even better is that the pediatrician said she gets this lovely trait from me. And to think that I've been giving Matt the credit for those long legs all this time!

I've been a very bad blogger this past month but I promise to make it up to you in the next week. For right now all I can say is that my baby is 1 year old and I want to cry! This year has gone by incredibly fast and been so much fun. While there have certainly been challenges, being a mom is my favorite thing in the world! Adelyn brings so much joy and laughter to our life. Somehow she's managed to be the sweetest little thing and world's biggest stinker all at the same time. Yesterday she started saying "baby" and today she started going from sitting to standing all by herself without pulling up on anything. We're in for another exciting year and I can't wait!

Adelyn is 11 months old today and in the words of my 5 th graders... Tear drop. Tear drop. Sniff. Sniff. Time goes by too quickly but brings lots of fun changes. Adelyn just started cruising last weekend and now she practically runs around our house pushing her Radio Flyer Wagon. I'll be surprised if she walks before her 1st birthday, we still have to master standing without holding on. But she's definitely moving in the right direction. She is more of a tease than ever and very playful. Chase and peek-a-boo are her favorite games. She's pretty good at hiding her face but uncovers it before you can even get "where's Adelyn ?" out. Lately she's been throwing her toys out of the pack-n-play one by one. She likes to pretend that the red box you see in the picture is her purse. All girl I tell you. How much longer until that stinkin ' timer goes off? Oh thank goodness. "Hey Mom!" I'm outta here! Later that day I went to get Adelyn up f...

Well hello there! In case you haven't noticed, I'm a little behind. And not just at blogging...you should see my laundry room. Life is just crazy! and as much as I try to tell myself that it will slow down and get back to "normal" I've had to come to terms with the fact that "normal" is long gone and never coming back. The past couple of months have not only been extremely busy for us but also challenging in that "the little things of life all add up at the same time and take their toll" kind of way. The other day on the way home from the grocery store I was starting to feel a little sorry for myself about all of this and found myself getting discontent in it all. Just about that time a good ol ' country song came on the radio that had all the answers. I've got to say, that is one of the great things about country music - they've got a song for whatever ails ya! Anyway, it was a good reminder for me that not only does life happen, b...