A visit with Santa!

We are very excited that we got to go see Santa this year.  Last year Lily wouldn't go anywhere near him.  But that was not the case this year.  The tantalizing bribe of the candy cane was enough to get her to sit on Santa's lap!  She even talked to him for awhile too, but I couldn't hear what she said.  When I asked her what she said, she got a little upset and told me she forgot to ask for the gifts she wanted for Christmas-- which include a Buzz Lightyear Skateboard, a Toy Story Scooter, a Handy Manny construction set, and Toy Story Play dough.  My little princess.  What a girlie girl!  Luckily, I think Santa knows what she wants anyway...

Christmas Cookies in NC

For the second year in a row we have had the opportunity to spend Thanksgiving with my Aunt and Uncle in North Carolina.  We have so much fun when we get to see them!  This year it was Mike, me, Lily, Kelly, Jason, Hollis, Everett, Tim, Linda, and Josh.  It has become a tradition for my Aunt Linda to make Christmas Cookies with the kids the day after Thanksgiving.  Everyone loves it!  There is a lot of sugar and a lot of mess and a ton of fun!  Lily loved to gob frosting ALL over her cookies while Hollis spent more time on sprinkles for the cookies.  This year, the guys made homemade donuts, and we decorated those too.  It is so nice to spend the Holidays with family.

A Thanksgiving Trip

For Thanksgiving we decided to make the trek out to Auntie's house again.  We were just there 3 months ago, but Auntie was 8 months pregnant then, which means we had a new cousin to meet!  Until this trip Mike had not travelled with Lily long distance in the car, and I think he was pleasantly surprised.  Lily, for all of her boundless energy, is very good in the car on road trips.  There are not many potty stops, and with a good selection of movies, she is kept quite entertained.  Lily and Hollis had a lot of fun together.  When they played dress up, they tried to stump Auntie by both asking to be train conductors, but Auntie surprised them with 2 dress up outfits.  Always prepared.  Below Lily is giving baby Everett kisses.  She loves the babies.

Halloween 2010

Lily had so many fun Halloween activities this year.  She dressed up as a pilot like her Daddy, and was so excited.  She had a Fall Festival at her school and got to go on a hayride.  At our home community they had a festival as well with pony rides.  Lily got to ride on Cookie.  She was very adorable and had so much fun.  The photo below is of Lily and her best bud Ryry at our trunk or treat. 

A little girl and her tutu...

Lily has a couple of tutus that she flat out refuses to wear.  They are so adorable, I think she knows how much I want her to wear them and she's just being stubborn.  Anyway, I bribed her to wear one today, and she loves it!!!  She was at the neighbors playing on the trampoline in it, and it was too cute!

1st Soccer Game

Lily had her first soccer game last Saturday.  It was very entertaining.  The uniforms were huge, the kids didn't understand any of the rules, and it was really hot!!!! Lily had fun and tried to follow the ball around the field, which is really the most we could hope for! 

  Our little superstar, riding in style with Mickey to the game.

What a kick!!!

Part of Lily's team. Jacob is right next to her. It is hard to keep her from hugging him all through practice.

A Haircut and a Soccer Practice!

Today was a very busy day for us.  We started off with running errands, which included getting Lily's cleats for her very first soccer practice.  This afternoon Lily got her hair cut.  She was very good for Brandilyn.  She usually is. It is always a wonderful activity when I don't have to fight Lily the whole time.  Brandilyn put her hair up for her first soccer practice, so her bangs(which Lily wants to grow out) wouldn't get in her face. 

Next came soccer practice.  This was a little trickier.  The majority of the practice was spent looking away from the coaches out of shyness, clinging to mommy, and staring off at ???  In all fairness the soccer fields were crazy busy with kids and people, she could have been watching anyone and anything.  She did kick the ball around with lots of encouragement from parents and coaches.  Not too bad for her first soccer practice, after all, she is only 3.  Mike was a little late for practice, and by the time he got there they were playing duck, duck, goose.  Let me say, 3 year olds don't quite get the concept of duck, duck, goose, but they sure had fun. 

Preschool 2010

Yesterday was Lily's first day of preschool for the 2010-2011 school year.  We really enjoy her school.  She has a class full of new friends and already loves her new teacher.  Her class is the "monkeys."  I can't believe how much she is growing up.  Mike was able to go with me to take her to school, and Lily just loved that!  It was pouring down rain, instead of the super sun-shiney day we had last year.  When I asked her about her first day, she was most excited to tell me about music time, and a handprint puzzle they made in class.  I of course put her nap mat away someplace safe for the summer, and after hours of tearing apart the house can't find it, so I had to pick her up early before naptime.  Lily was excited to see me nonetheless.  What a sweetheart.  I really hope she stays this excited about school for a long time...maybe forever.

Auntie's House

So, I haven't posted anything in forever, but here are a couple of pictures of Hollis and Lily.  Lily and I drove out to visit Auntie Kelly and her family, and Lily and Hollis had so much fun playing together.  They had their moments, especially when it came to who was going to open the door, close the door, or push the button on anything, but they really are good friends!

Lily's new friend

Lily with her new doggy, a birthday present from Yaya. Note that she is not looking at the camera, because Yo Gabba Gabba was playing on the DVD player in the car. So spoiled.

Lily is 3!

Lily's 3rd Birthday was a 2-day event. First there was her actual birthday on the 21st. Friday was filled with treats and presents and lots of family fun time, including swimming with Daddy. Then on Saturday we had the party at the Hoppin' Hippo.

Lily had been looking forward to this for more than a month. All you can jump and play, with all of her friends.

Lily and Rylan had a blast and were inseparable for most of the party. We had fun jungle cupcakes that Mommy made. Daddy gave expert advice on candle-extinguishing techniques...from a military perspective, of course. It was a great day!

Last Day of First Year of Preschool

I can't believe how big she is getting. Lily just finished her first year of preschool, and she has grown so much! We have almost mastered potty training, and she is very skilled at her favorite song-the ABC song. She is just so big! They had a very fun last day of school, complete with beach day activities like digging for seashells, popsicles, playing with parachutes, and bubbles!

A Belated Easter Entry...

Just some cute photos of Lily in her dress, and some documentation of her excitement over what the Easter Bunny left her!
Lily is quite the ham when the camera comes out and you can get her to sit still!

After General Conference, Lily, Teagan, and Rylan had an Easter egg hunt in the backyard. They found lots of treats!

Easter Bunny!

So, Easter festivities have begun. We are having a crazy Saturday, which is good, because we are anxiously awaiting Mike's return. He gets home tonight after midnight, and will be home a whole week!!! YAY!!!

Our community had it's big Easter deal today, so Lily got to meet the Easter Bunny and hunt for some eggs. There was also a little petting zoo, and Lil held a baby chick! Lily had lots of friends there to play with here. There were a ridiculous amount of people there. But we had lots of fun.

Spring has Sprung...

Okay, so the picture is a couple of weeks old, but Lily was very excited about all of the popcorn on our tree. Two days ago, we pulled up in the driveway and she cried out and asked, "where did the popcorn go?" It was fun while it lasted!

This is Texas, really!!!!

So... I have been very lazy about the blog since Mike got home from Iraq. I have been busy, and keeping the blog updated was superimportant to me because wasn't here, but now that he is...blah, blah.

Anyway, the current state of the weather has forced me to add an entry. That snowman you see is in our backyard. In 5 years in TX so far, we have yet to have snow stick during the day, but today was the exception. Not only did it snow all day, but it hung around for us to play in! Lily had a blast, and we got to warm up afterwards with hot chocolate, in true winter weather fashion.