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.)

Dancin' Machine

Lily has started to get dance fever lately. Whenever music is on, I catch her doing a little dance. Sometimes I even catch her dancing when there is no music on. I ask her if she's dancing to the music in her head...

Here's a little snippet of her. I'll try to get more on video, but like most kids, she stops doing her thing once the camera comes out.

Christmas 2009

First, I decided to show Dixon and Leo some blog love in this post. I thought they looked so cute sitting here, waiting for Santa Claus. They have both gotten much more used to Lily and even allow her to pet them (or in the cat's case, grab him by his tail and pull out hunks of hair).

Now on to Christmas! We were home for Christmas this year, so Santa knew right where to find Lily. We started on Christmas Eve with a trip to church. Lily was on her best behavior and nearly made it through the whole service. Then we came home for lots of Christmas Eve snacks and present opening. Lily got a Mr. Potatohead that she really loves. Though the eyes may end up in the ear holes, she enjoys putting the pieces together.

While Lily slept upstairs, Santa visited and left her a little chair, Mega Blocks, a latch board and a stocking with a toddler toothbrush, bowl and spoons. She loves it all! More Christmas photos here!

She Walks!

Big news! Lily took her first steps this weekend! She has been walking a little here and there, but it's mostly been a controlled 2-3 foot stumble between parents. On Saturday, she took her first real, balanced steps. She managed to walk a good 10 feet all on her own! I imagine we're going to be chasing after her full-time pretty soon!

Wagons and Snowstorms

We got a record snowfall in DC this weekend, with 16 inches by the time it was over. Also this weekend, Lily got an early Christmas gift from my parents--a red wagon. She spent the better part of the weekend climbing in and out of it, while it sat indoors.

It now resides on our front porch, but that didn't stop Lily from getting in it (and out of it and back in it again) while Ethan shoveled snow (and I watched). I tried to interest her in the snow but she was much more interested in her wagon. Can't wait for the snow to melt so we can hit the road in it!