Who is NeNe?

Lily has been saying the word, NeNe a lot recently. She never says it to anything in particular but you can tell she knows exactly what she's talking about when she says it. Too bad we don't know what she's talking about. Until now!

Back story: when Lily stands up on her chair, I always tell her to "Get down, Lily." Now she says it to herself AS she's doing it... "Get down!"

Last weekend, she climbed up on her chair and said, "Get down, NeNe." Later, she was looking at a photo of me and her, pointing at me and saying, "Mama," and herself, and saying "NeNe."

Therefore, we have deduced that Lily IS NeNe. I think she can't say her "Ls" quite yet, so Lily comes out at as NeNe. Either that, or it's her alter-ego!

Spoon Feeding

So this is a blog post that only a parent would get excited about: Lily feeding herself...with a SPOON! We've been practicing spoon-usage for a while now and the other night, she fed herself an entire container of yogurt all on her own. And she didn't even make a very big mess!

(And yes, this is a 3-minute video of Lily eating yogurt! :) )

A Walk in the Park

We took Lily to Huntley Meadows Park on Sunday. It's not your typical playground-type park. It's more of a woodsy with paved walking trails-type park. Lily walked her little legs off while checking trees and leaves with her daddy. Dixon had a good time too! More photos HERE.

18 Months!

Lily is 18 months old today...half-way to her second birthday! Crazy! She just gets more precocious, wonderful, smart, adventurous and adorable every single day. She is adding words to her vocabulary and she's starting to be able to string two words together like hi dada, hi mama, Dixon's bowl, mama's shoes, dada's toes, get down, no Dixon... We have also noticed that she is able to understand a lot of what we say (time to watch what we say in front of her!) and follow directions like, get your shoes, take this to Daddy, go get in your chair, etc.

She jumps, runs, climbs and talks a mile a minute while she's doing it. She has also learned a number of animal sounds, which she recites in the video below. The one I forgot to include was monkey. A recent development--when you ask her what the chicken says, she puts her hands up under her arms to make "wings" and flaps them up and down!

(Not the greatest quality video. I took it with my cell phone.)

Jump Like a Frog

Every week at Lily's daycare, they do a lesson that lasts all week. Last week, it was frogs. They did frog art projects and read frog stories. Somewhere along the way, she learned to jump like a frog, too. Lily spent all weekend showing off her jumping skills. She's still a little unsure of her footing, so she always holds on to something (or somebody) when she jumps.

And even more jumping...two whole minutes, if you're interested!

Testing 1-2-3

I have read that when they reach toddlerhood, kids start testing boundaries with their parents. Let's just say, Lily is definitely your average toddler!

We have noticed an uptick in the number of things she does lately that she just shouldn't do, for her own safety. Things like standing on chairs (she's a little clumsy, you see), reaching into the kitchen trash can, trying to run away from me in the daycare parking lot and using her hands to sweep all of her dinner off into the floor are a daily occurrence. The funniest part is while she's doing all of these things, she will look at you and say, "No, no, no." Oh yes, she KNOWS she's doing things she shouldn't! All a part of growing up, I guess!

Lily's Family

This week, Lily has started reciting the members of her immediate family. Over. And over. And over.

She says, in this exact order every time:

Dada....Mama...and Dixon...MEOW!

(Meow is Lily's name for our cat, Leo).

It's a Ghost!

This video does not do justice to the cuteness that is Lily hiding from us in our bedroom curtains. On this day, she would run and hide behind them then run out screaming when we got close to her. The video is so short because right at the very end, she fell down and screaming ensued. I edited that part out, for the sake of your ears.

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!