Lilli approves of her likeness. (Or maybe she just wants her hat back. It could go either way.)
Group Shot (minus Brent since he's always taking the photos!) She's finally getting used to walking on the snow, just as it's all melting! The bright sunshine loosened up the snow enough today that we could build snowmen while Lilli was napping. I think they turned out cute and we got all kinds of comments while we were building, and saw several people stop and take pics of them later in the day. We're known for two things in our neighborhood - our Halloween display and family costumes (especially Pippin) and our snowman abilities. I think we made the neighborhood proud today.
We ended up with between 4-6 inches of snow here in Nashville overnight. It snowed and iced all night long and was still snowing when we got up at 7:45 this morning. Correction, when Pippin got us all up at 7:45. Lilli was still asleep, but he couldn't make it off the deck with all the snow so he had to go out the front door, which of course woke her up squealing when she heard his collar jingling.The street was totally white, you couldn't even see the road. It's an ice mix on top, so sometimes you will crash through the snow and sometimes not! Poor Pippin has had a hard time doing his business today. He is not a dog who loves the snow. It's only a small notch above rain in his book.
She took a Loooong nap today. She had been asleep about 2.5 hours this morning and we were starving for lunch! She eats a lot better if we're eating, too, so we held off as long as we could but we were so hungry! I took the Pippin-gate down just to check on her and make sure she was ok, and naturally a few minutes later he wandered in there and woke her up. So once we all finished lunch we bundled up to play again. This time we took out the extra inner-lining to her coat (it's super thick as is) and went with sneakers instead of her boots. It worked MUCH better. She could actually move and had a much better time out in the snow.The way it's so deep (6 inches when you're only 29 inches to begin with!) she still couldn't walk without holding onto our hands. Pippin came out with us and she had a good time trying to catch him. We were taking some pictures and a neighbor walked by with their dog. She went nuts! She loves any and all dogs, and absolutely squealed and screamed the whole way she could see them down 17th. Mommy and Baby. We did laps and laps and laps back and forth in front of the fence. And then it was Brent's turn. This game is no fun on the back! Daddy and Baby. This snow stuff isn't half bad! And then Brent shoveled the sidewalk. Since our mailman delivers to the porch (and he's so nice!) we wanted to shovel it before he came, but her super long nap didn't make that possible. But it's clear now! We had a great time in the snow today and since it hasn't melted a bit I guess we'll play again tomorrow. It's just not sticky enough for a snowman, but as it softens up I'm sure we'll get one made. Our church is actually canceled tomorrow, so we technically don't have anywhere to be, but cabin fever is setting in so at some point I'm sure we'll venture out! I'm starting to wonder if Lilli's school will be open on Monday?
Once the excitement of the snow ends I've got to finish the party posts! We were talking today about how glad we are she showed up a week early - otherwise this weekend would've been her birthday and party - and I'm pretty sure the guest list would've ended up a LOT smaller!
Finally, a snow day here in Nashville! Lilli had a few really, really minor snows last year, but so far this January is really shaping up. Earlier this month when I was gone to Atlanta for work she had a full day off from school, but they really didn't get much. Honestly, life has been so busy this week that I didn't pay much attention to the forecast until every school in the Mid Tn was closed today. We got the automated call at 5:45 this morning that her school would be closing at noon, which is really perfect. That way I could go in for several hours, and send stuff home if I needed to.
I went upstairs to our cafe for some warm breakfast around 8, and it was just starting. By 9 the office pandemonium known only as Snow had fully erupted and regular entourages of groups were headed to the windows every 5 minutes. (We're nowhere near a window, so we regularly rely on Traffic Cams for weather updates.) By 10 the boss had said we could all leave by 11, and I ended up leaving around 10:30 because the Traffic Cams were showing the roads starting to look snowy and I seriously did not want to be stranded with Lilli! Brent came home around noon after I yelled at him about not ending up stuck in Lavergne.
It has not stopped snowing all day and we're up to at least 3 inches in our yard! (Brent's outside now measuring!) Lilli's skylights keep getting covered with snow and then avalanching, so it's kind of scary sounding over the baby monitor. Around 5 the streets outside our house were totally covered in snow, and most of this evening it's been an ice/snow mix.
We had a nice snow day. I picked Lilli up exactly as they sat down for lunch, so as soon as we got home we had lunch. I cooked a grilled cheese for both of us (a mini one for her!) and she ate some of that along with her other lunch her teachers packed up for her. (She's had a big week of foods - tacos, spaghetti, fish stick, and tonight she went crazy over a pasta dish we tried out!) We played for a few minutes and then she was ready for a nap. Brent and I completely enjoyed just relaxing and catching up on some TV shows we've had recorded for about 3 weeks. When she got up it was snow time!
Pippin is not one of the many dogs who loves to romp in the snow. But he does look very stylish in his snow gear. I think our main problem is she ends up so bundled that she can't move. But she gets points for style! I'm glad I'm getting a lot of use out of her boots and snowsuit!
Tomorrow we may try bundling her less.
She always loves to ride in her car, so we got that out. The sidewalks were salted so it was safe for her to drive.
I'm pretty sure this is her "What-chu talking 'bout Willis?" face. We couldn't make it far - these wheels aren't for snow plowing! And then Brent pushed her around in the yard doing doughnuts before we went in.....We've gotten a TON of snow since then. It's been coming down hard all night and you can't even see these tracks whatsoever anymore. Tomorrow morning we're going to head back out and build a snowman! We had plans to go out on a double-date tomorrow night, and we even had a good sitter lined up to watch Lilli and put her to bed. But, with all the snow still coming all day tomorrow it's just too risky for us to go out or for the sitter to come over either, so we've had to postpone our night out. Boooo! But we'll just reschedule and do it another time! It's looking like we're snowed in this weekend, good thing we've got groceries!
Callie (a May or June baby) with Lindsey (Taylor's Mom). Callie is a church buddy of Lilli's (and so is Lindsey).
Levi, a June baby along with our friend Katie. Levi and Katie are church buds. Levi's grown a lot since this pic of us in Sept and especially this one! Here's Jackson, he was born Dec 31, 2008 so he just celebrated his first birthday! He's the little boy of a friend I used to work with at Ingram. And he's grown a lot since he and Lilli's first playdate! After lunch we had storytime in the play area. Story time started with 10 Little Monkey's. Here's as much of the group that could fit in the photo! Lilli was listening intently..... An awful picture of me but it cracks me up that Maevy is going after Taylor's hat.... She got so into the story that she just marched right up there to get a closer look. And hey, it's her party she can do that! And she took her buddy Taylor right with her. Then we had singing/dancing time where they played about 3 songs for the kids to enjoy. Aaron got way into the music and just crawled on up to Tammy for a solo! Hilarious! (On a side note, Ms Cynthia (the director) had Aaron out in the hall this afternoon and Lilli saw him and just started squealing! I know she missed a lot of her little buddies back in Infant 2!) After singing/dancing she read Wheels on the Bus and then it was time for cake and cupcakes! More of cake/cupcakes to come tomorrow, along with the rest of her guest photos!
Here's a few pics from Lilli's birthday party, considering how many we have it would take forever to post all of them, so I think I'll probably just spend a few days putting up some to show each kiddo/family in attendance! I think between Zak and Brent they got a cute one of just about everyone.
Here's Evelyn (and Mom Lindsay), a church friend of Lilli's (a March 09 baby): Here's Haven (Sept 09), another church friend of Lilli's, with mom Jana and friend Lindsey. Liam, a school friend of Lilli's (he's either a March or April baby). They actually live about a mile from us! Here's the "big boys" of the party. Left to Right: Kairo (Age 2, a local East Nashville buddy), Levi (Age 3 a church buddy and big bro to Levi born in June, and Taylor, Age 4 a church buddy that Lilli just adores.) Aaron, a school buddy of Lilli's (a March baby). They're really good friends! Henley, a school buddy of Lilli's. (an April baby). And Maevy. Here is an OLD link to a pic of her back during Lilli's first few weeks of school. She can't have been more than 6 weeks old, and still had so much hair! (She's in the swing. And Jada is in the other swing!) Maevy's family also lives about a mile from us! (She's a March baby.) And here's Jada, another school friend. She's a Dec 08 baby, so she and Lilli are back together again in the 1's. Jada is already so sassy and has taught Lilli a NUMBER of things during their 9 months together in school! Connie and Blake (3 yrs old). We went to Freed with Connie and her husband (he actually caught the garter at our wedding! He had a stomach virus and couldn't make it out to the party. One last one for tonight - several of the school buddies hanging out. They all play so well together and are a hoot! Griffin in the front (an April baby) and Henley and Liam telling secrets in the back!Lilli's doing great in her 1 yr old class. It's a HUGE change from Infant 2. They don't take naps in cribs - they take naps on mats on the floor, and I can't even imagine how they get her (or a room of 8 1's for that matter) to chill out, but she's been taking 2 1 hr naps a day, so no complaints here! They also make the swift change from bottles to sippys, and she's been fine with that, too. Last night we started her on a 50/50 ratio of formula to whole milk, and so far so good. With Brent being lactose intolerant we're watching her closely, particularly as the formula she tolerated the best was lactose free. The others we tried during her transition from breastmilk to formula seemed to cause a lot of vomiting, but on this one she practically NEVER spit up at all (something we highly appreciated in her!) She also has lessons (and homework!) every day. They're studying "Learning New Things" all month, and one day one of her lessons was on sharing, and on Monday it was on using a fork. They also do a Bible Story every day - they've done Psalms 23 one day, a verse from Eccl one day and today was Matthew. They also eat at a little table in little chairs, instead of in a highchair. So it is definitely a "big girl" class! We're very glad she's fitting in so well, I think they've been impressed how smooth her transition has been, but I think she was ready. In her other class she's been the only walker for 2.5 months, so I'm sure she's enjoying having some people to chase and chase her!
Five Months - June!! And starting to sit on your own with a little help from Boppy!
Unofficial - Measurement of 25 inches and weight measurements - 14.2 pounds
6 Months - July Official Stats (which is actually 6months, 1 wk) - 25 3/4 inches long (50th percentile!), Weight: 15 lbs, 8 ounces (40th percentile), Head: 75th percentile
7 Months - Unofficial Statistics: 16.2 lbs, 25 3/4 inches long (probably not right, because measuring her is "like trying to catch a butterfly") 8 Months - Unofficial stats: Weight - 16.5 lbs, Length 26.25-26.5 inches, you are a rapidly moving target. 9 Months - Official stats (9 months + 3 days) : Weight- 17 lbs 4 ounces (25th percentile), Height - 28.25 inches (75th percentile), Head: 65th percentile 10 Months - Unofficial Stats: Weight: 18 pounds, Height 27 inches. Obviously the nurse did measure you wrong at your 9 month appt as I don't think you've shrunk 1.25 inches over the last month, and this seems much more accurate. 11 Months (+ 6 days) - Unofficial Stats: 18.2 lbs Weight, somewhere between 27.5-28 inches tall. Very happy with the weight since she got down to 16 lbs 15 ounces when she was so sick this month! 12 Months - Official Stats: 18.4 pounds (10th percentile), 29 1/8 inches (50th percentile), Head: 18 1/4 inches (80th percentile) 12 Months! Where in the world has this year gone? It's amazing to look back over all the milestones from the past year. When we went to Baptist on your birthday it really didn't even seem possible that it was us there last year, and you were just this tiny little thing! Now you're a walking, talking, dancing, singing machine. In the afternoons (when you've had all your naps...) you just chatter and sing away in the back seat, telling me all about your day. Now that you're in the 1 yr old class you're learning new things every day. Yesterday you came home hopping - and if that's the worst thing you pick up from the older kids that's a-ok! You've had a very busy month - your first Christmas, New Year's and of course your First Birthday and party! You and Daddy had another Daddy/Daughter week while I was in Atlanta - and even got your first snow day. Thankfully you've been well this month, with just the occasional runny nose here and there which is totally acceptable. You got 4 shots today - ouch! but the benefits outweigh the risks! We're very glad you have the chicken pox vaccine now, since one of your little buddies brought chicken pox to school a few weeks ago. Dr Rauth was so excited to see you, and said you are perfect (like we didn't already know that!) You smiled and were friendly and even offered her some of your snacks, how sweet! You had your first taste of real milk tonight and so far so good. We're saying buh-bye to bottles and you decided to say buh-bye to all manners of baby food about a week and a half ago. Most meals you have corn and peas, along with various other veggies and fruits. You had tacos (minus the shell) with us earlier this week and tonight spaghetti with a little mini PB&J sammie on the side! You still loooove your cheddar crunchies and I buy the grocer out of them on a weekly basis, but Goldfish and animal crackers are quickly becoming faves. You still wear mostly a 6-9 month size clothes as you are a tiny little shrimpo! I guess it will be a while before we can turn that car seat around! Your favorite toys are still your books, blocks, and cars. And Pippin is still your best bud. Most every day we find where you have snuck one of your toys into his crate. And sometimes we don't find them until the evening, but he's yet to chew up a rubber duck or reindeer left unattended in his crate. Your vocabulary hasn't changed much, but you are mimicing more and more - and clearly communicate what you want with those pointer fingers! If we ask you what a monkey says you'll make a monkey noise, and you 100% understand what the word cookie means. You still have 4 teeth fully in, 2 more that have erupted, 2 more that are close, and Dr Rauth said she could feel your molars as well. I can't wait to see what the next month and year hold in store for you!
Pippin approves of his likeness.
Lilli approves of her likeness. (Or maybe she just wants her hat back. It could go either way.)
Group Shot (minus Brent since he's always taking the photos!)
She's finally getting used to walking on the snow, just as it's all melting!
The bright sunshine loosened up the snow enough today that we could build snowmen while Lilli was napping. I think they turned out cute and we got all kinds of comments while we were building, and saw several people stop and take pics of them later in the day. We're known for two things in our neighborhood - our Halloween display and family costumes (especially Pippin) and our snowman abilities. I think we made the neighborhood proud today.
