Lily's 5th birthday weekend!

Lily had a whole weekend full of fun for her 5th birthday!
On Saturday morning, her Aunt Sarah picked her up and they went out to breakfast and then went to Build-A-Bear! Lily had never been, so this was a special treat. She loves spending time with her Aunt Sarah. And she and Smurfette have been inseparable ever since!


On Sunday, Lily had a birthday party with friends and family. She wanted a Little Mermaid theme this year. Conveniently, her Aunt Sarah in California had turned her into a mermaid during our beach trip last summer so it made for a great invitation :-)

modeling her "Rapunzel wig" with her blonde cousin Lola, and friends Hannah and Madison

cupcake time!

friend Holly helping her read her card

present time!

new "twin" doll from Grandma & Grandpa B.

opening Grandma & Grandpa L.'s gift from CA

loves her new coat!

and shirt!

squinkies from her Fiala fam!

all ready for bed with "Lucy"

What a fun weekend for Lily and for us! Happy 5th Birthday, Lily!!!

Lily is 5 years old!!

Happy happy birthday to my oldest "baby", Lily Mae. This year has been an adjustment for Lily in welcoming a new brother to the family. It's not easy having to learn to share Mommy & Daddy's attention! And I have to say, she has been an excellent big sister! I could not have asked for a more caring, compassionate, and loving little girl.
Lily is in her last year of preschool and is looking forward to starting kindergarten next year with the "big kids". She is our independent leader. After the first day of Pre-K, she said to me "Mommy, I don't need you to walk me to class anymore. I can do it all by myself." And she did. She waves to the preschool director as she enters the building and will even have mini-conversations with her on her way up to class. I have heard countless times already this year, "Oh, THIS is Lily!" when speaking with other church or preschool parents. Their feedback is always positive, but it does make me wonder what goes on while we are not around?! :-) Nevertheless, her Daddy and I are happy that she is making her mark and is not bashful in introducing herself and making new friends.
Lily, we could not be more proud of you and the little lady you are growing to be! This has been an incredible year with you and we look forward to another year of watching you grow. We love you to pieces! xoxo

Here is Lily's year in review...in her own words. Well...mostly.

NAME: Lily Mae

HEIGHT: 3 ' 7 "

WEIGHT: 37 lbs.

NICK NAME(S): Trigger, Lil, Missy

BEST FRIENDS: brother Jackson, Madison, Hannah, Jake, Sam, Maryanna, Lola, Powell, Christopher, Brooklynne

AGE: 5

SCHOOL: Sycamore Hills Baptist Preschool

FUTURE SCHOOL: Blackburn Elementary (next year!)

PETS: Kelsey

HOBBIES: coloring, puzzles, playing with Jackson and Mommy, dolls, Barbies

FAV THING TO DO IN SUMMER: swim at Grandma & Grandpa's lake house, visit Grandma & Grandpa L. in California and go to the beach

FAV THING TO DO IN FALL: pumpkin patch, carving pumpkins, jump in a pile of leaves

FAV THING TO DO IN WINTER: build snowmen and play in the snow

SPECIAL SKILLS: skipping, rhyming, learning to jump rope, singing, coloring in the lines, writing her full name, and learning to spell

WHAT I WANT TO BE WHEN I GROW UP: Tooth Fairy

FAV SINGER: cousin Amy Oden (I told you Amy! :-)

FAV SONG: Jesus Loves Me

FAV COLOR: Pink

FAV FOOD: Cheese

FAV DRINK: Lemonade

FAV TOY: Dollie with the pink dress

FAV BOOK: Chrysanthemum

FAV MOVIE: Little Mermaid

FAV ANIMAL: Unicorn

FAV HOLIDAY: Valentine's Day

FAV WEATHER: Spring

FAV CANDY: Candy cane

FAV T.V. SHOW: Dora

FAV SPORTS: Soccer

FAV PHRASE: "I love you"

SEVEN WORDS TO DESCRIBE LILY: Spunky, Kindhearted, Confident, Affectionate, Intelligent, Inquisitive, and a Leader

Lily's hunting trip #2

After Lily's 1st hunting trip last year, she was fired up and ready to go again this year with her Daddy. Last Saturday was perfect weather so Justin decided to load up all of the gear and take Lily out to the woods. Now, with Lily along, there is quite a bit more "gear" to load. By this, meaning her snacks, DVD player, blankets, and a blind (Justin usually hunts in a deer stand). He typically hikes about 1/2 mile carrying the gear into the woods, so it can be tiresome. But, he does it all to make our Lily happy and to spend good quality time with her. And she loves every minute of it.
Before they left, they were "practicing" being quiet outside and using hand signals. Too cute.

Her hunting outfit! (minus the boots...and yes, the bow stayed in until the hat went on!)

Here they are, ready to go!

And after a short movie and some snacks, a much-needed nap. It's rough work keeping an eye out for those deer! She's a real hunter now! She naps in the woods just like her Daddy!

Thanksgiving at Preschool

Today was Lily's Thanksgiving Feast at preschool. All of the teachers dress up as Pilgrims or Indians and the different classes join together for a feast. It's so cute to see them all in a line with their Indian headbands on! Enjoy some pictures:

Here are some Thanksgiving projects the kids were working on. The first was writing what they were thankful for:

And this was a cute project. The kids were given a brown piece of paper and told to cut out a turkey and "disguise" it so it would not become Thanksgiving dinner! So cute to see what the kids' imaginations came up with:
And of course, Lily's had to be a princess!

Lily's short story

Today, Lily came home with a binder of "short stories" she and the other preschoolers in her class wrote describing their paintings. I thought Lily's was very cute!

In case you cannot read it, it says:
"This is my mommy and this is a flower. This is the sun and this is a cloud. This is Chloe, cause it's for me and Chloe".

(Chloe is her best friend in class).

6 teeth!

I rarely get an opportunity to capture Jackson's toothy grin. Thank goodness for cell phone cameras and tickle time! He has 6 teeth now...and counting!

Communication...Jackson-style

I'll start by saying that the area of communication has been one of the distinct differences between Jackson and Lily at this age. Up to this point, Jackson's preferred method of communication has been grunting or growling. Depending on the request, he has varied versions of either. The sad thing is, I am the only one who can decipher them! Lily, on the other hand, has always been our chatterbox and quickly caught on to sign language and verbally communicating at an early age.
I introduced sign language to Jackson when he started eating solids- 6 months. Most of the time, he just stared at me in confusion, then proceeded to bang his hands on the tray for "more" or "all done". For the next few months, this became very frustrating for me. After talking to other moms and the doctor, I gathered that his gross motor skills were advancing quicker than his verbal. Therefore...in my interpretation...he just didn't care to sign! Obviously, the grunting and growling had been effective up to this point, so why change it?!
Well...I'm happy to report that he is now clapping for "more" and waving his arms up and down for "all done". He is also signing "milk" and "eat". Now, this doesn't happen all the time, but I'll take what I can get!
Verbally, he has also developed quite a bit in the past month. He is still chattering with different versions of "dada" and he does know how to say "mama" but it seems to be more challenging for him (or he realizes I respond to whatever he says, so why does he need to say it? :). As I have mentioned before, he has a slight obsession with balls (meaning he bounces up and down when he sees one...especially a larger one :). We have been working on "ball" and he has started saying "ba" for "ball". (funny how he can quickly identify a "ball" but doesn't want to say "mama"?! I see where I rank :-) And, along with signing "all done", he has begun saying "Ah da".
For some reason, the verbal communication is making me realize how quickly he is growing up. I know he has reached other milestones fairly quickly- crawling, walking, etc., but there is just something about verbally communicating with him that is making him seem more like a "toddler" to me. It's bittersweet.

Jackson's first haircut

Well...I finally caved and decided to get my little boy's hair cut. As much as I loved his "shaggy do", it was growing over his ears and driving me crazy. So...it was time.

The "before" shot:

I have to share a funny story about the salon we went to. I received a "free haircut" coupon in the mail for my birthday from a salon & spa that I have never been to. I decided his first haircut would be the perfect occasion to use this coupon. Apparently, I am so stuck in "kid world" that I forgot that the title "salon & spa" would ensue that this is most likely not a kid-friendly place. And, I was right. There were postings near the seating area stating something to the effect of "keep your kids quiet, as this is a spa". And what do I do? Bring my 13-month-old wild man, and 4-year-old chatter box! And, to keep "wild man" still, Lily pulled out the cheerios and then proceeded to spill them all over the floor! Thankfully, it was a quick experience and the staff was very friendly. But, it was obvious that we were not their typical clientele :-)

getting prepped..

Mommy had to hold him still
(about halfway in, I ended up having to hold him on my lap)

all done!
handsome boy!
(with an mouth full of animal cracker)

Halloween 2011

Here are some pictures of our pumpkin-carving night and trick-or-treating on Halloween night. We spent Halloween with the Okerstrom family this year who live nearby. Jackson really enjoyed being "let loose" to walk on the sidewalk and giggled at all the kids running from house to house. Lily had a great time keeping up with "Captain America" Chase on his quest to get the most candy!

Lily's design on the left and Mommy's "cookie cutter" ghost and bat design on the right

My Halloween cuties! Minnie Mouse and the Chicken

with "Captain America" Chase

anxious to go!

Jackson loved trick-or-treating

but after about a block of walking...he was pooped! :-)

what a fun night!

Lily's preschool picture 2011-2012

L-R:
(front row)- Andrew, Owen, Alex, Noah, Chase, Ben
(back row)- Joshua, Lily, Chloe, Hunter, Mrs. Kellee, Alyssa, Charlie, Jillian, Caleb