Valentine's Day

This year, Valentine's Day was quite the event! Lily received packages in the mail from both grandparents and she had her first Preschool Valentine's Day party. Here are some pictures of the fun day!

Package from Grandma & Grandpa B.

Package from Grandma & Grandpa L.

Getting ready to address her Valentine cards

Hard at work drawing a picture on each and every one!

Getting ready for school with her new nail polish from Grandma L!
And yes...Daddy paints some good nails!

Window to her classroom- all decorated with the hearts the kids made

Lily with her Valentine's box in her classroom
We had such a fun time making it together

This is a very special picture.
Grandma B. made this dress for Aunt Sarah when she was Lily's age.
She found it in a box and made some bloomers for Lily so she could wear it.
It fit perfectly!
Lily was the star of Sunday School at church today :-)

Motor Mouth

This morning when I dropped Lily off, I had a rare opportunity to speak with her teacher Ms. Ann. She was telling me that yesterday Lily was "extra talkative". She asked Lily yesterday "Why are you so talkative today?" and Lily replied, "Because I have a lot to say!"

Then later Ms. Ann was explaining directions on an assignment for the kids, in which Lily talked the entire way through the directions. When Lily didn't know what to do and asked Ms. Ann, she said "Well Lily, why do you think you don't know how to do the assignment?" and Lily replied "Because I was too busy talking!"

Preschool

When Lily turned 3, she automatically moved into the Preschool class at daycare. I was shocked when I found out she was tracing letters the first day! It was quite a transition from her 2's class.
This is a picture of one of her daily "assignments" in class. The teacher gave each child this paper and said to color the smallest one in each row. That is all she said. No additional help given.
Ms. Ann told Justin when he picked Lily up how proud of Lily she was that she was able to figure it out all by herself.
We are so proud of her too! We agree with Ms. Ann.... A+ Lily!

Kindermusik

Lily began attending Kindermusik last September and has been going weekly since then. It is a wonderful music class that incorporates instruments, dance, singing, and rhythm. She loves it. We have noticed how much she enjoys singing and dancing and this is a great outlet for her. Not to mention, it will eventually lead to piano lessons which I am also excited about.
Because the class is so interactive between parent and child (yes, I come home exhausted), I rarely get to take pictures of her actual class. I will try to, at some point, as she has made some good friends there. Her teacher, Ms. Liz, does such a fantastic job with the kids.
We just started the new "semester" which involves a series of new songs (which we usually sing in the car), a story book that can either be read or sung, and a new instrument. This time it is the harmonica. The theme this semester is "Away We Go" and I thought the cool train box was so creative!

(p.s. the outfit was Lily's choice...she's got a style all her own!)

Here's a snapshot of the fun we will be having at home.

Cousins sleepover at Grandma and Papa's house

Last Saturday night, Lily had her first sleepover with cousins Maryanna & Powell at Grandma & Papa's house!

I was so happy that Grandma took pictures of the evening so I could share all of the excitement. Lily is still talking about how much fun she had.

A famous quote from the evening had something to do with Maggie (one of the Pugs) "sneezing all over my face!" followed by tons of laughter.

Grandma said all three kiddos had a great time making their own pizzas, icing and decorating cookies (with LOTS of sprinkles!), and they slept side-by-side in their sleeping bags.
What a fun night for everyone! I bet Grandma and Papa needed a good nap after all the kiddos left. I know I would have!

Jump for Joy

Last night, Lily and I were reading her Devotional before bed.

The verse was Job 8:21

"He will yet fill your mouth with laughter and your lips with shouts of joy"

When I finished reading it to her, we talked about what makes us "jump for joy". She said "Grandma and Grandpa", and she then she asked me...to which I responded "You, Lily, make me jump for joy".

We said our prayers, goodnights, and I left the room.

About 5 minutes later I was putting things away in the kitchen and she yelled from her bedroom, "Mommy?"

A bit irritated that she was not half-asleep by now, I responded "Yes, Lily".

She then said "You make me jump for joy!"

These are the moments I want to remember forever.