Long time no post / Lily brushing teeth

It's been waaaay too long since we updated our Lovely Lil' Lily's blog, but I have just completed my final papers and finished my first year of PhD coursework (YAY), so with the craziness coming to an end for awhile, you can look forward to many more adorable Lily pics (if she will stand still long enough for me to take her picture). Here's what Lily is into right now, at 19 months:

SINGING! Winkle winkle little star, Baa Baa butt cheek (that's how she pronounces it), ABCs in French and English, and Ipsy Bipsy Spider. She sings herself to sleep every night, and Jake and I enjoy listening through the baby monitor.

Putting her babies to bed on the living room floor

Playing with her new neighborhood friends (she calls them "kids" and knows all of their names) - Austin, Avery, Alex, Ella, and Brenna

Saying the "bessing" at every meal (thanks Yaya and Papa!). She holds out her hands and says "Amen!"

Eating cereal with milk every morning, and drinking OJ out of a "big girl cup"

Putting together sentences so quickly that Jake and I can hardly keep up! Right now we hear a lot of "I got it," "May I have please?," and "Lily do it," as seen here when she insists on brushing her own teeth:

I am looking forward to spending the summer at home with her, she is growing up too fast!

Sunny Day

With the exception of a few chilly April shower days (chilly meaning 65), warm weather has officially arrived in Georgia. And all Lily wants is her favorite thing, being outside. As soon as we get home from school, before we even get out of her car seat, she starts yelling "Outside! Outside! Mommy, Daddy, Duke, Outside!" And we play in the yard and on the driveway. She loves watering the plants...with all the rain we've been getting in addition to Lily's faithful watering, I don't know how they're still alive.

Filling the watering can on the back patio, then running around the front to water the bushes. :)

Saying hi to her little sister...

Giving Mommy a big hug from behind

And here she comes to get me!

Weekend worker bee

Whenever we are home during the weekends, we try our best to make baby steps along the long road to being officially settled in the new house. Hang a picture here, plant a little something there...we try to do a little project whenever we can. Thankfully, Lily has a great attitude about it as long as she gets to help. Here we are wiping down a dresser that I got for $40 at a thrift store, since she is running out of room in her changing table drawers (and her little sister will be needing it in August). I think she likes it! We are standing in what will eventually be the nursery, once I can manage to get the crazy ocean mural painted over...still a good bit of work to do!

Lily and Duke

It is really heartwarming to see the unique relationship that has developed between Lily and Duke over the past 17 (almost 18!) months. They interact remarkably like human siblings. There is a lot of playing, sharing, and affection, interspersed with moments of tail-pulling (by Lily) and knocking down (by Duke), but they are always quick to forgive one another. As the big brother, Duke is very patient with Lily, enduring "horsey rides" with a look of pained acquiescence on his face. He is also very devoted to her...he sleeps outside her door at night until Jake and I go to bed, and he sits by her for every meal (which is not at all an unselfish gesture, since she would feed him her entire plate if we let her). Lily will not take a bath or climb the stairs without Duke, and she won't go to bed until she tells him goodnight. She definitely tries to play "owner" with him, telling him 'sit' and 'good boy' for treats. She loves to put the leash on him and take him for a "walk," which is basically him walking her around the yard. But she also considers him a part of the family, much more so even than Jake and I do. For example, at nighttime, while we are putting on her pajamas, she loves to put on 'chappie.' (this is a tube of Burt's Bees chapstick that I gave her, which she has named Chappie and treats like her friend) She puts it on her lips, then Mommy's, then Daddy's, and then she always says 'Duke chappie.' We don't let her do it, of course, since Duke doesn't really have lips and that's a little bit icky, but she doesn't seem to understand why she would share something with Mommy and Daddy and not with Duke. She treats him like she would anyone else, and I find that so sweet and touching...it reminds me how blind and pure a child's love is.

Breakfast burrito

Mommy made breakfast burritos last Saturday morning, and I love these shots Jake took of Lily pounding her breakfast (she ate salsa with a spoon!) and talking our ears off. You can tell by the expressions on her face that she is making fabulous conversation!

Night night,Ya-Ya!

Lily got tubes in her ears last Thursday, since she has gotten so many ear infections over the last few months and has been on so many antibiotics. We hope it helps her! It was our first trip to the hospital and our first time under anesthesia, and it was a very scary and tearful day for the whole family, but she recovered very quickly, especially since Ya-Ya came up to help take care of us.

Over the weekend, Ya-Ya got to experience Lily's new favorite game, which is tucking people in. She puts a pillow on the floor and says "lown" (lay down). Then she covers you with a blanket and pats your back and says "shh-shh-shh." If you are really lucky like Ya-Ya, you also get a baby AND a nook! (which is hilarious because she doesn't use a nook, but she knows what one is for) It's REALLY cute, and especially nice since all we have to do is lie on the floor with our eyes closed!

Bye Baby Bunting

Fresh out of the bathtub, our Lily can be sweet...

...or silly :)