Listen Up Boys

I Like My Ball Popper

New Bath Toys

This purple octopus is now Lily's favorite!

Bubbles!  She's learned how to turn them on, just not how to turn them off yet. :)

Thanks, Jon & Kristen for the birthday gifts!

Lily @ 12 Months

"Does my report look good, Mom?"

Lily had her 1 year appointment the day after her birthday and it appears that she's just going to be petite!  Dr. Andersen said that everything looks good and even though she hasn't bumped up in percentile, since it's remained steady since 9 months, this will just be her "new normal".  So I will stop worrying that she's not getting enough to eat and simply enjoy our little peanut! :)  Lily has a very sensitive and loving personality (gives LOTS of kisses!) but yet very silly and active.  Sometimes all we have to do is tell her "no" sternly and she'll burst into tears and other times, she's a little more strong-willed.  We're learning that having a girl means lots of emotions.  Oh, and I forgot to mention comical.  She literally has us laughing at something every single day.  We're so blessed to have an affectionate, happy, healthy child!

Weight - 18 lbs. (10th percentile)

Height - 27 1/2 in. (10th percentile)

Head - 17 3/4 in. (70th percentile)

• Still sleeps 10-11 hours a night
• Taking 2 naps a day
• Has 8 teeth - 4 on top, 4 on bottom
• Likes crunchy foods best
• Walking!  Can now walk from one end of the house to the other
• Plays peek-a-boo
• Blows kisses
• When playing with her phone, if we say "hello", will put it up to her ear
• Can point to her nose when asked
• Knows 1 animal sound - "quack quack"
• When asked, "where's your baby?", will go get her doll
• Imitates having the hiccups when her toy puppy Violet has them
• Likes to unload or unpack things
• As soon as I'm done changing her for the morning, she's on the lookout for Jax...."Ja?" "Ja?"
• Says Mama, Dada and Jax

Lent

Today is Ash Wednesday, marking the beginning of Lent.  We are joyful as we start new family traditions to commemorate this sacred time.  Growing up, celebrating Lent was not a part of our faith community's practices.  But since then, Justin and I have come to appreciate it as a time to fully prepare our hearts for Easter, the day of Christ's glorious resurrection.  We sacrifice some of our earthly pleasures as a way to empty ourselves and be filled up with more of Him.  For us, in doing so, we are able to approach Easter with a posture of joy, gratitude and sweet relief that Christ is indeed risen.  Moving through each of the 40 days, grieving along with the disciples as they learn of Jesus' coming death and then rejoicing together that his death is not an ending. Rather, it's the very beginning of the hope that we cling to.  The hope that keeps us fighting the good fight until the day when we'll be caught up with Him.  Lent has a way of teaching us over and over again that this life has never been and will never be about us.  Jesus's immaculate display of love through His suffering stands in stark contrast to my depravity, revealing itself a little more each time I'm in His presence.  His grace covers it all.  So tonight, as we take communion, as we bend our knees, bow our heads and hearts; as we confess and repent, pray and praise....we remember.  We remember that the Crucifixion was because of us.  We were the ones that nailed Jesus to the Tree.  We were the crown of thorns on His head.  We were the ones that caused Him, for the first time, to be completely separated from His Father as He took upon the full weight of our sin.  And despite all of that doing, we are the ones that are FORGIVEN.  Our God, who is Love, brings absolute redemption and knowing that truth, how could we do anything but let our lives speak thankfulness in response?

Lily's 1st Birthday: Part 2

Last weekend we headed down to Seymour to continue the celebrations with family.  Our cousin Angie made the cake and Lily appeared to love chocolate.  Hmmmm....like mother like daughter.  We don't get everyone together very often so it was tons of fun and our family was so generous with all of the special gifts they gave to Lily.

Lily likes to share. :)  Giving Grandpa Jim a bite.

Lily can identify noses and likes to point to hers and other people's.  Here she was touching her nose and then touching the baby doll's nose.  It was sooooo cute!

Modeling her new shades

With our family friend, Whitney. 

Everyone commented on how Lily is such a great baby and was in good spirits the whole time.  She really did well with so much activity and staying up late.  Once we got back to Grandpa and Grandma's house, Lily burned some more energy before bedtime and then gave Uncle Travis about 5 kisses in a row.  She just kept leaning in for one more again and again.  It was the most precious scene!  The next day before heading out of town, she did the same thing with Great Grandma Karen.  This little 1 year old knows how to pull at your heart strings!

Lily's 1st Birthday: Part 1

We started out Lily's birthday with a special breakfast.  Pancakes!  She had never had them before and just loved them.

Next up, we got things ready for her party.  Lily liked the balloons!

Then it was time for a bath before the celebration started.

Our good friends, the Carsons and the Kennedys came over. Lily had lots of fun playing with her friends.....

hangin with BFF Molly Carson

And she had to at least try to keep up with the rambunctious boys, Joel and Tyler

Showing off her standing skills.  She took 9 steps right after this photo was taken!

Our sweet friends, Philip & Erin, made these beautiful cakes for us.  Not only were they gorgeous but they were SO GOOD!  Justin says it was the best cake he's ever had.

Sweet girl with a tummy full of cake

And lastly, it was time to open presents....

What a wonderful & special day it was!  We made lots of lasting memories and remembered how amazing this day was just one year ago.  We love you, birthday girl!

Why It Was So Quiet

Lily woke up from her morning nap, jabbering and laughing so I continued on with finishing up whatever I was doing downstairs.  Then after a few minutes, it got completely quiet.  And here's why.

Snuck her busy little hands through to the changing table where the receiving blankets reside

This girl just cracks me up.

And melts my heart.

What happens when I try to multi-task.....

But alas, the lost cell phone was finally found. In the pantry.  Sheesh!

A Few Steps

We've been trying to get a video of Lily walking for a couple of weeks now.  She decided that on her first birthday, it would be the best time to show off her skills.  Tonight were the most steady steps we've seen to date!  Way to go, Lils!

Letter to the (1st) Birthday Girl

My sweet Lily,

Today is a very special day. One year ago, your Daddy announced your arrival..."We have a little girl!”. We both beamed with joy. Now, exactly one year later, my mind is flooded with memories and my heart with mixed emotions. Has it really been a whole year since you entered our lives? I remember how my love for you was abstract until I held you. Right then, I thought, this is what a mother's love is like. It's all consuming. No longer abstract. Breathtaking. Sacrificial. That's when God started teaching me more intimately about the love He has for His children. Infinitely deeper than my love for you and Daddy. So much so that He gave up His own Son, born as a tiny baby just like you were. How can this be? It's a mystery to me. A beautiful mystery indeed.

        And these days that you've been here, right in front of me, depending on me to care for your every need...they've been larger than life, something I dreamed of long before you were born. And the thing is, my dreams didn't even begin to create a vision for how beautiful this reality has been. I've been given this role that I don't deserve but God chose to give to me. All of His grace I can see wrapped up in your sweet little face, your wispy baby hairs that have all been counted by Him and your magical smile that lifts my spirits. As I nurse you to sleep each night, my soul is quieted and I just breathe you in. I sometimes wish I could bottle these moments up and save them for a rainy day. A day when your little hand that clutches mine isn't so little anymore. When I no longer feel the tugging of my pant leg in the kitchen while fixing dinner. Even though these moments are fleeting, the beauty behind them lingers in my heart and promises to stay.

        Some of my favorite things about you are the ways you show love. You lean forward and give me a big open-mouthed kiss and I laugh and melt all at the same time. When you meet someone new, you nuzzle your head into the crook of my neck and bat those pretty brown eyes in a shy glance. The way you show so much excitement at the end of the day when we reunite. You put your head down and with all of the strength and might you can muster, you crawl over to me just as fast as your body will take you. I adore that because I feel the same way. I cannot get to you quickly enough. We've had so much fun seeing your personality emerge. Your spunk and quirkiness have won my heart over. Since the day we brought you home, those little legs have not stopped moving – even in your sleep! Your cute, chunky baby thighs are something special and I love them! Your eyebrows can really tell a good story. You've mastered an adorable little wave and I chuckle at the way your fingers move so delicately in doing so. And those expressive eyes of yours! (yes, they're worth mentioning twice). I'm moved by the way they look at your Daddy with such deep affection.

        I know you can't stay this tiny forever, so I will choose to really be present, to soak up the here-and-now. I will enjoy this journey with you as you grow up and I continue to grow too, in being your mother. What a privilege it will be to watch all of the ways that our heavenly Father will shape you for His purposes.

        I think I have smiled and cried more in the past year than ever before. I smile because of the warmth and laughter you bring to our home. I cry because I care for you so much that it hurts sometimes and that kind of love is overwhelming in the best way possible. I'm sure you will see me do both a lot as you grow up. I hope that someday you will truly know how much you mean to me. But even more than that, I hope that you grasp how much God loves you and longs for you to love Him in return. There is no greater calling on your life worth following. As you now begin your second year of life, we'll delight in seeing you grow day by day into the precious girl you were created to be. I know you will leave your mark on this world and that it will be better because you are here...it already has been for me. Never forget how much your Daddy and I love you and that God is always with you, wherever you go. Happy 1^st Birthday, Lily.

Love,

Mommy