Outside, Outside, Outside!

Lily learned a new word during our recent warm weather: outside. We spent many hours in the yard, playing with her sand table that we set up and riding in the wagon. But we couldn't spend EVERY hour outside, much to Lily's disappointment. Every time we brought her inside, she would go to the front door and say, "Outside...outside...OUTSIDE!!" One time, she even got her shoes and sat by the door with them saying, "Outside" over and over. Looks like we'll be spending a lot of time in the yard this summer!

Our New Dog, Dijon

OK, so we really don't have a new dog. Just the same old pooch, Dixon. But when Lily says the dog's name, it comes out DIJON, like the mustard. I have to admit, Ethan and I have started calling him Dijon as well. Poor dog is probably wondering who this Dijon person is...

Daycare Hair

Lily's hair is starting to get longer and longer, but it's not THAT long yet. It can get a little messy sometimes, especially in the back where it often turns into a curly/frizzy ball that no amount of conditioner can tame. We just try to brush it down as best we can.

Lately, when I pick Lily up from daycare, her teachers have "styled" her hair, meaning she has little barrettes in her hair, or it's been put up in a ponytail on top of her head a la Pebbles Flintstone. I think they're trying to tell me something...

Digital Baby Book

Photo by Carrie N.

I feel like this blog doubles as Lily's baby book. Yes, I have one of those fill-in-the-blank books for her first year milestones, but there's not a lot of space to write about all of the cute things she does or says on a daily basis, and trust me, there are a lot of them!

Here's the latest update on the life of Lily at 16 months:

Lily is adding words to her vocabulary every day. She can say, Mama, Dada, Dixon (our dog), apple, toes, nose, chin, eyes, ah-choo (after anyone sneezes or coughs), alright, oh-no, bye bye, no, yes and up--those are just the ones I can remember.

Lily can also tell us what a number of animals "say:" dog, cow, cat, monkey and sheep. She can also point to her eyes, nose, ears, head, mouth, chin, toes and belly.

Speaking of belly, she has a round one. We call it her Buddha belly. Lately, she likes to walk around with her shirt pulled up, showing it off while patting it.

Lily is an incredibly loving little girl, who loves to give hugs to everyone. She not only will give you a hug, but she'll also give you an encouraging pat on the back while she's at it! :)

Three weeks ago, Lily made the big move from the infant room to the toddler room at daycare. It was not a very smooth transition, to say the least. She loved her infant teachers and the combination of new teachers and a little separation anxiety led to a week of tearful morning drop-offs. It was hard to leave her, but I knew she was in good hands. It took a little more than a week for her to adjust and now when I drop her off in the mornings, she walks right into her classroom without even looking back. When I pick her up, she still cries a bit when she first sees me. I don't know if it's relief that I came back or what. My mom says I did the exact same thing when I was a kid. Maybe she inherited it from me!

She is such a good natured sweetheart and we are having such a good time watching her grow up!

Flashback

Today, Lily is 16 months old. What a difference a year makes!

Lily and Ethan, February 2009

Lily and Grandpa Dan, February 2010

Some of My Favorites

These are some of my favorite photos of Lily from recent days. She is definitely not a little baby any more!

Trying on Grandma Charlotte's boots

Lunch with Grandpa Dan

Pretty girl

Lily and her Stuffed Animals

Lily has really started to play with her stuffed animals in recent weeks. She likes to hug them, carry them around, make them hug each other and put them in her chair. Here, she is "loving" both her monkey and her doll. She obviously didn't want one to feel left out while she hugged the other.

This video also showcases her other new favorite activity--laying down on the floor, anywhere, any time. Whenever the mood strikes, Lily stops, lays down and takes a little rest.

I have found her on the kitchen floor

the dining room floor

the living room, pretty much any horizontal surface in our house.

Snowstorm!

We are interrupting our regularly scheduled blogging about Lily to report on the record-breaking snowstorm we experienced this past week! We had two separate storms within three days of each other that dumped more than three feet of snow. It was nicknamed Snow-mageddon by the local news.

Dixon had a great time running around in the snowdrifts. Lily, on the other hand, is not a fan of snow and cried every time she touched it. So we stayed indoors, baked some cookies, read lots of kids' books, wore our pj's all day and took lots of naps. Ethan shoveled his little heart out. Unfortunately, our snow shovel was not up to the task and broke on day two. Ethan muddled through with a good old fashioned garden shovel during storm #2. You would have better luck finding Jimmy Hoffa than a snow shovel in this town right now.

Here's hoping that spring is just around the corner!

Puppy Love

I think Dixon is finally starting to warm up to Lily. Today, she kept going over to his chair and every time I'd say, "Lily, love Dixon," she would lay her head on him and pat him. He patiently let her do it over and over again. Too cute!

Sharing is Caring

Lily has always been one to share with others. In this video, she tries to share two of her favorite things with Dixon: her new sippy cup and my cell phone. He is not amused. I, on the other hand, think this is one of the cutest videos we have of Lily!

Snow Day!

Before and After

Lily and I took advantage of a nice January day to get outside and play. We walked up and down the driveway, around the front yard and the back yard and finally stopped on our front porch. Lily spent about 20 minutes getting in and out of her wagon. I also got her to say almost all the words she knows.

About five minutes after I stopped the outside video, I decided it was time to come inside. Lily did NOT agree with me. She essentially became a limp noodle and "melted" onto the floor. Perhaps the terrible 2s are starting early? Let's hope not. (You may want to turn down the volume on your speakers for this one.)