A few of our favorite things...

Some of the things Lily loves to do:















Playing the piano-either the keys or playing with the pedals on the floor-doesn't really seem to matter!
















Reading and turning the pages...and she loves, loves, LOVES her dolly!
















Throwing herself across soft toys on the floor. She knows she is cute when she does this and she plays that up pretty well!

Just standing around...

Yep, Lily is standing around...not actually walking...just standing. And, no, there are no teeth yet. I'm pretty sure that her cousin Evie will have teeth before Lily does. Luckily, birthday cake will be easy to mush without teeth!

My friend, Heather, came to visit from California a couple of weeks ago-fun! Lily loves having some extra attention (like she doesn't get any otherwise!) I do have to say that bringing obnoxiously screeching plush bunnies along is not a requirement for visiting our house. Heather brought one for Lily and, of course, Lily loves it. She throws it around until it starts making "music" and then she dances to it. Heather won it in Vegas. "Nuff said. (Heather did offer/threaten to get us another one if we need it. Pete's birthday is in February, Featha-start planning!)

It was so nice to hang out with a girlfriend I haven't seen in awhile. We hit/smelled the oh-so-lovely Beale Street and had some sushi at a really nice place in downtown Memphis. We also got our Johnny Depp fix by boosting the opening weekend gross for Pirates. Fun for all! Luckily for Heather the weather was relatively mild for most of her visit. Now, she'll have to come back next summer when it is 101 every day.

When did THAT happen?

Lily had a VERY rough night last night...there seemed to be very little sleep going on. I would like to think that she is actually getting some teeth, but its not really true. Normally, I let her fuss a bit when she has already gone to bed because if I go in there, it just seems to wake her up even more. Last night, though, I finally went in to rock with her for a bit when she just didn't seem to be calming down on her own. I went to her crib in the dark and picked up my little girl, only...

she wasn't so little anymore. I'm not really sure when she got SO big, but it has certainly happened. I think that picking her up in the dark and not seeing her first really brought it home for me that my little angel is not a tiny baby anymore. I know in my mind that she is getting close to that first birthday and I can see on a daily basis her new accomplishments, her vibrant personality and physical growth, but in my heart she is still my little baby.

I finally got her settled enough to get to sleep, but then I couldn't...too much to comprehend.

Then, today-after a rough day of partial naps-the only way I could get her to sleep was by curling up with her in my bed. She spread her little body out over the mattress and laid her head down on my shoulder and fell asleep. She didn't move for an hour-very unusual for my active sleeper! As I drifted in and out of my own little nap, I smiled realizing that even though she is getting to be my big girl, she will always be my little angel.

Whew!

I just finished a week of solid workdays for the first time since before Lily was born. I spent the past five days teaching two back-to-back sessions of art camp to 17 students ranging in age from five to eleven. Of course, being in a classroom with a bunch of germy kids again got me sick on day two...so it has been a very long week! I'm not really sure how working moms are able to do it. I don't think I could do this regulary-the exhaustion and simply missing time with Lily was a bit much.

Little things kept popping up in my brain while I was working...things that Lily does that makes me smile. It probably made me seem like such a pleasant teacher-all that smiling. On the inside, though, I was picturing how Lily sits on the ground with one foot propped up on top of the other with her ankles crossed in front of her and no matter how I try, I just can't seem to sit the same way without throwing my balance to one side in order to keep from falling over. I could see her sitting on the ground and leaning over to the side with her head almost on the ground in order to put her cheek against one of her stuffed animals sitting beside her (SO much easier than picking it up!) I think if I were to be working full time all the time I would be a very distracted worker. This part-time gig really fits my brain pretty well!

In the back of my mind this week I kept wondering if Lily was going to do something for the first time while I was away. She is so close to standing and walking on her own and since I don't really know the full process of this learning curve, I kept hoping that she would just hold off until I could be home to see her. Of course, she didn't take any steps without holding tightly to her walking wagon, so my fears were unnecessary...but a mommy can wonder, can't she?