Catch Up Blog

I'm pretty behind on my blogging and a lot has happened since Lilly and Bryan made cookies. But, I'm taking the easy way out and combining a few things. Below you will see the abridged version of what should have been three separate blogs: "Playing in the Snow", "7 Days of Christmas" and "First Haircut".

Playing in the Snow

We had a sad excuse for a snow storm last week. I think it was the same system that brought about a foot and a half to my relatives in West Virginia and dumped about two feet on Washington D.C., closing the airport, delaying several flights and making it possible for Bryan's parents to come and spend a few days with us before Christmas...but, we'll get to that in a minute. Anyway, we took advantage of the dusting we got to take Lilly out to experience snow for, basically, the first time. We sat her in the it last year for some pictures, but I wouldn't say she 'enjoyed' it. This year she liked it.

First snowball.

First fall into the snow.
Hank loves the snow and every other part of cold weather too.
Bryan throwing a snowball at a poor defenseless child.

Lilly and her snowman. When we all walked away from the snowman she turned back to him and said, "c'mon man". Needless to say, he didn't follow.

7 Days of Christmas

We celebrated Christmas for the traditional seven days this year. We started on the 18th with a family Christmas at my mom and dad's. Complete with Us, Mom, Dad, Wes, Kristy and Grandma. Then, as mentioned above, Bryan's parents' trip to Germany was delayed due to the snow storm and they were able to come here on the 20th. We did Christmas with them and then they headed off a couple of days later to visit Bryan's sister Cammie and and her kids, Morgan and Matthew. Next, we made our way over to Wes and Kristy's on the 23rd for a Christmas Eve Eve party with my Aunt Brenda and Uncle Chris, Cousin and her husband, Easy. Then, of course, Santa came on the 25th. We opened gifts, got a visit from my Grandma and had my parents over for dinner.

Lilly sitting on the new stool that Papaw made for her. She was equally excited about the towel that the stool was wrapped in to keep it safe.

This must be a heavy one.

Riding her new pony.

Opening a gift from Cammie with Granddad.

Checking out what Santa brought. The stroller is a big hit. Yeah! Cookware!

Faceoff with the new kitty.First Haircut
After watching Lilly push the hair out of her eyes in frustration for the last few weeks, we decided it was about time for a haircut. We thought it was going to be a disaster, but in typically Lilly fashion she surprised us. She sat as still as a statue in the little red car and allowed the nice woman to cut her hair into the cutest bob and little bangs that I've ever seen, with a swiftness and dexterity that can only come from giving haircuts to toddlers. It was faster than I expected, and reminded me a little of how quickly the hygienist worked at the pediatric dentist's office.

The finished product.

Happy with the new due!

Plans Change

Earlier today I sat down to post a blog and downloaded some pictures of Lilly playing in the snow for the first time. It would have been a very cute blog. Unfortunately Lilly woke up from her nap and I was unable to finish. I figured I'd just do it later, but then Bryan came home from the dentist appointment bent on negating all of the hygienist's hard work by making Christmas cookies with Lilly.
I was understandably skeptical. My disdain for unnecessary messes and the knowledge that I would be the one to clean it up made me hesitant, but I put all of my reservations aside when Bryan proposed that he take Lilly to the grocery store to get supplies while I sat quietly on the couch. Even a few minutes alone in the house is a luxury that I just couldn't pass up, regardless of the price. So I eagerly agreed to the cookie making, I even made the list (I know, I'm a real party animal).

It turned out to be very cute and a time consuming event that was fun for the whole family. (In the two hours it took Bryan and Lilly to make, cut, cook and decorate the cookies I was able to do most of the housework that I planned to do tomorrow).

Mixing up the dough. At this point Lilly was more excited standing on the step stool than anything else. She would get down and then walk up to the stool and say "Up we go!". At which point Bryan would lift her to the top step.

Cutting out some fun Christmas shapes. She really got into it when she got to put flour on her hands to keep the dough from sticking. That was actually her favorite part, she would hold them out and say "hand, hand" and then rub the flour all over the cutting board. (And dump it onto the floor)

Lilly modeling her apron while Daddy bakes the first round of cookies.

Putting M's on some of the cookies. Quite a few M's were eaten during this step.

Ahh finally...the tasting of the cookies. All of Lilly's hard work pays off.

Point Taken

Whenever I write a new blog I can always count on alot of feedback. I get emails, phone calls and even a couple comments on the blog itself. I appreciate that and I love that you enjoy my blog as much as I enjoy writing it, but this last blog has made something painfully obvious to me...no one cares about Bryan and I. The only thing my blog followers want is Lilly, Lilly and more Lilly. I tried to do a nice piece on a great experience that Bryan and I had, without the peanut, and only one person even bothered to notice. (thank you Mom).

I can take a note. Don't worry it won't happen again.

Here you go....

Lilly hosted a tea party on Monday. She invited Kramer Bear, Elmo and her baby. Baby wouldn't sit in a chair and this made Lilly angry so she put Elmo in the chair instead and just laid Baby on the table (I told her that wasn't safe, but she didn't seem to care). She served tea and little cakes. Fun was had by all. Don't anyone stress, I took the pictures so I know that neither Bryan nor myself are in any of them.

Setting the table.

Serving the tea. She even holds up the teacups and cakes so that Kramer Bear and Elmo can get a bite.

Lonesome Dove

Bryan, Lilly and I spent Thanksgiving weekend in Eastern Kentucky with Bryan's family. It was an eventful weekend to say the least. We made a trip to the emergency room for Lilly's first stitches on Wednesday night. Don't worry, she's just fine, it was only a little bump on the head. In fact, the stitches are already out (as of this morning) and she is healing perfectly.

Then, we ate Thanksgiving dinner at Bryan's mom's house with all of the fam. But, the real excitement happened on Friday.

In a rare event Bryan and I, along with cousin Amy, were able get out for the day and do something fun...without Lilly (gasp). Don't worry, she wasn't tied up in the attic or anything. Lilly had a great day and didn't even realize that we were gone, well she asked about Amy a couple of times, but she stayed and played with Bryan's mom, Aunt Peg, Uncle John and Grandma.

But, back to the point.

Bryan, Amy and I spent the day with our good friends, Travis and Danielle. We didn't just 'spend the day' with them. We went to their house, saddled up a few of their horses, loaded some saddle bags with beer, and rode off into the mountains. I can't even begin to describe how much fun we had.

Here's our whole group. From left to right: Tommy (Danielle's brother), Bryan, Travis, Danielle, Amy (hidden behind me), me, and Charlie (Travis and Danielle's friend). Please note: Danielle and I, Amy too if you could see her, wanted to make it clear to everyone that is was very cold that day...we are NOT that fat we just have on many layers of clothing. Ha ha ha

Bryan and George. They were the comic duo of the day. George is a really nice horse, but he belongs to Travis's mother and evident ally er would rather have her ride him and no one else. Bryan's quote of the day came about two hours into the ride when Travis asked him how he and George were getting along. Bryan answered by declaring that he and George had finally come to an understanding, Bryan finally understood that George was in charge.

Cousin Amy and her noble stead Sally. Pictured below is Sally moving at her top speed. The only time Amy was able to get Sally moving at faster than a slow walk was when the horse realized that we were headed back to the barn. You might notice that Sally isn't even tied up, when we would stop everyone would 'park' by a small tree and tie their horse to it...not Amy. She just hopped down, tossed the reins over Sally's neck and walked away.

Bryan, Travis and George (and Tommy) relaxing by the creek.

Bryan, Cousin Amy and me pretending to be cowboys.Red and I. Red and I got along pretty good, we had a few kinks to work out at the beginning of the trip and one major setback shortly after this picture was taken when he tried to lay down in the creek...with me on his back. But, all in all we had a great day together.Our hosts, Travis and Danielle. Thanks again for a great day! Again, please note that Danielle is wearing coveralls and a down jacket. She is not fat.

A Mean Baby With A Bad Attitude

On the night that Lilly was born, my brother came to the hospital to meet his niece for the very first time. He held her for a while and she cried and made nasty faces at him. Wes later told my mom, "I don't care what you say...that baby's got an attitude".
Then, for the first few months of life Lilly was a rather cranky baby. I blamed it on being colicky and figured that she cried a lot because she had a little bit of acid reflux....that's enough to make anyone grouchy. But, Wes stuck to his word, insisting that she was just "a mean baby with a bad attitude".
In the past year I have attributed any fussiness and sleepless nights to teething...but I'm starting to bend...
It took me almost 2 years, but I finally realized: I could use any excuse I wanted, but Wes was right all along, he had Lilly's number from day one. She might just be a mean baby with a bad attitude.
And here's the proof...
Mean baby.

Bad attitude.

Fall Fashion Preview

It just seems like the older Lilly gets the cuter her clothes get. No more onesies*, sweatpants and booties. Oh no, she has moved on to leopard print, denim skirts and Uggs.
*Grandma-Lilly does have on a onesie. She wears one every day as an undershirt. She just no longer wears them alone as a complete outfit.

10 Things We Love About Fall

1. Playing in the Leaves

2. Cutting Wood
3. Working Outside

4. Cooler Weather (and funny hats)
5. Avery's Birthday6. Halloween
7. Trick or Treating

8. Being Pulled in a Wagon while while taking inventory of your Halloween loot.9. Pig Tails (ok, they have nothing to do with fall, but they sure are cute)10. Trick or Treating...I know I already mentioned that, but we really really like trick or treating.

Like Mother Like Daughter

Over the last eighteen months I have realized that I have alot in common with the little person that now rules our house. Its not just the trademark eyes that have been passed down from mother to daughter through several generations of my family. Its not just that we are both born Aries, or rams. Although, I'm sure this explains alot....poor Bryan...two Aries women. This tends to make Lilly and I both head strong, a little impulsive and quick tempered, but also creative with vivid imagination. No, its a little more than all of that. And here are the pictures to prove it.
An example of the big brown eyes.

Lilly and I both love to wear inappropriate shoes. For me it as simple as wearing platform heels with capris or cowboy boots with dressy top. But, for Lilly this particular trait goes a little further. She likes to wear patent leather mary janes that are two sizes too big with her footie pajamas. Um, they are also on the wrong feet....and yes, she put them on herself.

Both Lilly and I would enjoy living on a farm. I like the animals and wide open space...Lilly just wants a tractor that she doesn't have to pedal.

We both love sour cream. I rarely get it all over my face like this, but I do occasionally plan my meals around what can and cannot be served with sour cream.

A purely Applegate trait...maps. Even if I'm not going anywhere I could sit down and look at a map. And to be honest, when any of you go on a trip, I typically get out my atlas to see exactly where you're going and how you're getting there. My dad is the same way and apparently Lilly has picked this up too. Speaking of dads...it just so happens that Lilly and I both might be a little spoiled...and this little issue might have been perpetuated by the same two people. I won't say more.A walk in the woods in the fall when the leaves are on the ground is a favorite activity for Lilly and I both. I don't pick up leaves and sticks or fill my pockets with dried berries and walnuts, but I enjoy the walk just the same.

Yes, Lilly and I have alot in common, all of these things and more. We both like to read, we both love the Doodle and we both hate to sit still for long. The only thing is....Lilly enjoys getting up early in the morning...she must get that from her father, because its definitely NOT something she picked up from me!