First Date

Lilly went on her first date today...well...at least that's what I'm calling it. Aiden and his mom (Courtney, my best friend from high school that lives in Pittsburgh now) and his Nannie invited Lilly and I to go to the Children's Museum with them today. We all had a great time, but nobody had more fun than Aiden. He is 18 months old and seems to be entering into the perfect age for a lot of the "play scape" exhibits at the museum. However, he was heartbroken every time we would leave and exhibit...only to be thrilled again when we entered the next.

Lilly had a good time too. Mostly she just looked around, wide eyed, while Aiden played. But, there is one place specifically for little ones under three. Both Lilly and Aiden played there for a long time. Sliding, crawling through tunnels, knocking over blocks and general crawling around.

They were both beat when we left.

Let it Snow

Doodle loves the snow.
Peanut not so much.

Hank had the best day ever, playing in the snow while Bryan and I shoveled the sidewalk and driveway. He likes to bark at the shovel while you scoop up the snow, whining and biting it. When you throw the snow he jumps up trying to catch it in his mouth, then he starts digging. Digging, digging, digging without rhyme or reason, until you get ready to scoop up more snow. He stops occasionally to bite the snow balls out from between his toes and then it all starts again.

Lilly, on the other hand, is less impressed. She looked around without even a smile. When I sat her down to let her explore a little, she just sat really still and said, "eeeeeehh". So I snapped a couple pictures and we went inside. Sorry Uncle Wes, maybe she'll want to go sledding next year.

Steppin' Out

Big news.
Lilly took a step...just a little step, but a step none the less. She was standing up, holding onto the coffee table, when she reached for her Papaw. To get to him she had to let go of the table. So she did. She squatted down like she was going to crawl, but instead she stood up and took two little steps. Go Peanut Go!
We also had a doctor's appointment today. When the doctor asked me what Lilly was doing developmentally I told him about the steps, among other things. He said she was a genius and the most talented baby he had ever seen. Well, actually he said she was doing really well and I took it to mean that he thought she was the smartest most advanced baby he had ever had the pleasure of treating. Other than that the doctor's appointment was routine. She weighs 17 pounds 13 ounces and stands 2 feet 4 and a quarter inches tall.
In other news.
Lilly loves her green buggie...now more than ever. But, instead of riding on it, she pushes it. She pushes it though the living room, she pushes it in the kitchen, she pushes it in the hallway and she pushes it through her toys and into the wall. Then she yells "mmmm" and "ooooooh" until I come and turn it around...and away she goes.
Here is Lilly dancing on the table legs looking brave. Maybe she will take another step soon.

Bob Villa

While overcome by a wave of testosterone and masculinity (and an obsessive desire to use his dremel tool) Bryan decided to perform a household chore on Saturday. He removed what was left of a crank that would have been used to open our living room window about 20 years ago, when the window still opened. The crank is missing and all that was left was the business end of a bolt. This bolt was sticking out at the perfect level to snag the peanut's eye, lip or head if she feel near the window. So her Daddy Guy hacked it off.
Three things contributed to his decision to take on this task.
#1. Genuine concern for Peanut safety.
#2. As I mentioned before, his dremel tool. It was his Christmas gift a year ago, but it has been more of a gift to me. If I have a job that needs to be done and the dremel tool can be used somehow then Bryan does it immediately and with great joy.
#3. In a rare moment of planning and foresight Bryan realized that the NFC and AFC championship games were on on Sunday. To be able to watch these games unfettered and without nagging he would need to complete a "to do list" task. Considering the below zero weather, he found a job that could be done without ever having to go outside.
My favorite part of the project was this: With a little gentle nagging I was able to persuade Bryan that in a freak event; the sparks and tiny pieces of metal that were flying off of the cutting wheel and bolt could hit him in the eye, lodge deep in his cornea and cause instant and irreversible blindness. To prevent this he put on some of my biggest "Nicole Richie" sunglasses. I felt the ones with the rhinestones where the safest.

And for all the Peanut fans...a cute picture of Lilly clapping.

99 Red Balloons

...well, one blue one anyway. Lilly was given her first balloon on Friday night during our little family's "Big Night Out", by "Big Night Out" I mean Red Robbin and Target. We're SO exciting. We made the plan on Monday and then looked forward to it all week. My how times change.
Anyway...back to the balloon. So Lilly got her first balloon. She wasn't too interested at first, but after further review you can see by the pictures that the balloon brought much joy into her little life. She figured out how to pull on the string to bring the balloon down to her, then she would violently shake it and bounce it off of her head and the high chair, laughing and squealing the whole time. The cutest thing (sorry no pics) was the next day as the balloon lay lifeless on the ground she would crawl around, holding onto the string. Then she would stop and turn, looking back to be sure that the balloon was still following obediantly behind.
The life of Lilly's balloon was very short, it's time with us brief. But, the happiness it brought will last a lifetime and the blue balloon will live forever in Lilly's memory...at least until we get her another.

Car Crash

Lilly was involved in a minor crash this week. No injuries were sustained and she was able to be resuscitated at the scene. The cause of the accident is still under investigation, but it seems that her green buggie veered off course when she lost her focus and eventually her balance as the buggie reached excessive speeds while traveling across the living room floor.
Paparazzi were on location and captured these pictures as the action unfolded.

Play dates

Lilly has spent most of 2009 doing her favorite thing...playing with her friends. My brother and his girlfriend spent Thursday (new years day) with us...playing with Lilly. On Friday Lilly and I were invited over to eat lunch with our good friends, Tracy and Morgan, where Lilly did some more playing. Then on Saturday all three of us went over to watch the Colts game with Nathan, Tania, Avery and John...you guessed it...Lilly spent most of the time playing with Avery. Its been a good year so far!

Lilly riding in her box. Uncle Wes proved to be a suitable driver (much better at driving the box than the green buggie...see "Car Crash" blog .)
Reading her favorite book with Kristy. The book is called "Tails", Lilly was visibly disturbed by the scaly tail.

Having lunch with Morgan...well, having lunch near Morgan anyway.

Learning to share with Avery. They traded these coins back and forth several times. Each girl seemed to desperatly want the coin the other girl had.

Happy New Year

We are less than 24 hours into the new year and already we are loving 2009. Along with "dada" and "ho ho ho", to my delight, Lilly has added "mama" to her expanding vocabulary. She also woke up in a great mood and seemed to celebrate the new year by clapping her hands for the first time. Its not just a fluke either...we did some extensive, non-biased (of course) research. Our findings indicate that Lilly is clapping her hands together intentionally when she is excited or when you clap. All in all we have decided that our baby is a genious.

However, this picture of her attempting to drink juice while the cup was trapped underneath her would indicate otherwise.