Friday, May 27, 2011

My baby turned ONE!

May 10... a day that I had quite literally waited a year for!! Our little princess turned one year old. It was such a fun day! I had to teach, unfortunately, but at least Lily got to spend the day with Grandma Karen! My parents were still in Europe, but we had a party with my sisters and Karen and it was so fun.

Look at how happy she was to finally be wearing the perfect birthday outfit. (I searched high and low for the perfect tutu, i swear...)

I rushed home from school just in time to take her to the doctor for her 12 month check up. I was so sad she had to get shots on her birthday, but she was a champ. She is growing and healthy! 68% for weight and 80% for height!! She really is my little princess...

After the doctor, Karen and I took Lily to get her first cupcake!! We went to "Lilly Jane Cupcakes", which NO she wasn't named after, but i do for sure love that place. I, however, wanted them to THINK she was named after it, so they would give us a free cupcake, which they did not. haha. that's ok... it was still a really special moment for me to have MY Lily Jane at THE Lilly Jane's and sharing my favorite thing in the world... CUPCAKES!! (I am kind of obsessed)

She loved all the sugar for the first time. After the cucpake store, it was time for a party!!!

She loved opening her presents, and of course loved the paper just as much or more than the gifts. She was quite the center of attention.

My two little sisters made her this ADORABLE cake to surprise me! I loved the theme they chose! (Lily was a lady bug for halloween! so I always call her Lily Bug) It was perfect girlies... thank you so much for making her day special!!

There are tons more cute pictures I put on facebook, but that's all we have time for today! Her birthday was a Tuesday, and we had a big party for her on Saturday. I will post pictures from that another time... But I just couldn't let another day go by without saying how grateful I am to my Heavenly Father for sending this little bundle of joy in to my life to love and teach, and I am so grateful it has been the most amazing year of my life.

Truly, I have always loved my life and the blessings I have received, but Lily takes the cake. I know Josh would agree... there is just something SO special about being a parent, and I have loved the chance to reflect on that this last year. Lily has grown up so much, and we have learned so much from her!!

Here are a couple things that I will always just absolutely adore about Lily.
- She is stubborn and knows what she wants, but I love the passion she has for life.
- Just like me, she can go from super happy to super sad in t-minus 2 seconds, but I love the drama she has. It makes things so fun!
- She has the softest hair and lets me dress her up in bows and flowers
- She has the most adorable little smiles, ranging from cheesy to coy to flat out beautiful. She is always willing to give her mama just one more smile before I tuck her in at night.
- She is a genius. Talking so much, and can mimick and copy and figure things out. Everyday I am amazed at what she knows. I think she will be a smarty pants and make her parents proud.
- She is so forgiving and loving, and always has a snuggle and a kiss.
- She is so happy, and the joy she brings us is truly infectious.
- She loves exploring places, like under her bouncy chair, in the closets, and under the couch
- She loves to do naughty things like pull all the DVDs off the shelf, dump out her treats, throw her food all over, and pull out all my nicely folded laundry, but she is so darn proud of her self its hard to be mad about it
- She is the best thing about us, and we love her so much

HAPPY FIRST BIRTHDAY LITTLE ONE!! We love you with all our hearts!

from the mouth of babes... well, sort of...

Lily is such a little talker lately... of course it's always in "lily language", but she is actually getting quite good at talking to everyone! I feel like she is starting to understand a lot from me though...

This was our conversation while she was eating her cheerios this morning:

Lily: (with a mouthful of cheerios) "Bye Bye! Bye Bye!"
Me: "Lils, who is going bye bye?"
Lily: (pointing to the front door) "Dada. Dada Dada"
Me: "Where did Dada go?"
Lily: "Bye Bye!" (a little louder)
Me: "Yep, dada went to work. Do you want more cheerios?"
Lily: "mmmmmm, tank u" (thank you)
Me: "ok, there you go. What do you want to do today?"
Lily: (pointing to the balcony window) "outsssside." (starts clapping like crazy)
Me: "You want to play outside at the park?"
Lily: (Huge cheesy grin) "bye bye!"
Me: "Ok, we can go outside. Are you all done?"
Lily: "Baba, baba!"
Me: "Where is the baba baba?"
Lily: (points to the bottle on the counter, so I give it to her.) "Tank u!"

This girl is adorable... She is getting WAY to old. But each day is so exciting and I love it. She is the cutest little one year old in the world.

By the way... look what happened AGAIN.

This little girl can't get enough of those fluffies.

Wednesday, May 25, 2011

priceless moment with her fluffy

So I went in to check on Lily last night, and this is how I found her...
Align Center
She was literally folded up in half, sleeping on her soft, pink bunny

She has been going through a crazy no-sleeping phase recently, and the last few nights we have FINALLY had some awesome success with her sleeping all through the night again in her crib! So this little picture just melts my heart. I know she must have gotten up, wanted to get out, and just collapsed in exhaustion, poor little dear.

However, she absolutely LOOOVES snuggling with anything fluffy. Many times, she just faceplants in to blankets, pillows, and soft toys (as seen below), so Im sure that is what happened with the bunny in the crib.


Man, do I love this girl. I seriously love every day with her, every moment. She is the absolute joy of my life, and I love moments like these... This girl is FULL of personality, and I wouldn't have it any other way.

Sunday, May 22, 2011

Easter... (and some catching up to do)

Well yes, I got so behind again. Surprise, Surprise... So I guess I have to start somewhere right? We had such a wonderful Easter, and I just couldn't let it pass without saying how grateful we were for a fun trip with the Davis family! Since then, Lily has turned one, had a birthday party, parents got back from Europe, Josh finished school, and so much more to come. But for now, let's journey back to last month...

We got to go down to Axtel in Utah where Josh's grandparents live. They have a house one some beautiful land, and the town is so small that the only other building besides the houses there is literally a small, wooden shed that is the post office, and an LDS church. It was a very relaxing weekend, and Lily really loved the sunshine! Here are some photo highlights of the trip...

Lily had nothing but snuggles for this little bunny.

Going crazy for the easter egg hunt. Her eggs were filled with yummy treats like dried fruit and star puffs and goldfish. It was Josh's idea. He knows that I didn't want her to have candy, and he is so sweet to put up with all my neurotic worrying about our little baby. :)

stylin baby

Lily in her sweet Easter dress after church.

I love this boy to the moon and back. It was so nice to get to spend so much time with him over this trip, since he has been working so much and going to school. We have missed you babe!

Dad and Lily riding on the buggy on the farm!

I seriously can't get over how much I love this little baby. She is the absolute best thing in my life.

We stopped in Manti, and the temple there is so breathtaking.

Lily loved the bright tulips and flowers

Happy girl playing in the grass. She did NOT like touching the grass at first, but slowly she has started to love it, and now can't get enough of the outside!

Family Photo Op

Lily just leans forward and points at everything. She is so observant and asks "Whas that?" constantly. It's adorable.


I loved getting to spend Easter with my baby girl! I was so sad because it was her last "FIRST" holiday! She is growing up way too fast! The Davis's made the trip so much fun, and put us up in a nice hotel the night before we left. Thank you so much for such a wonderful trip!

After Easter, we were so excited to look forward to Lily's birthday! I have been picturing what we would do for Lily's first birthday for months now, and it was everything we thought it would be. More to come on that later...

Sunday, May 8, 2011

Happy Mother's Day!

Last year I missed mother's day as a mom by about 19 hours. I remember saying outloud to everyone on Mother's Day last year, May 9, 2010, that I could not be pregnant for one more day. Even though my little bundle of joy wasn't due for 2.5 more weeks, I was ready to be a mom. I felt it that day, and to my joyous surprise, my water broke at 6 am the next day. Already, my little baby girl was trying to make me happy by coming early because she knew how ready I was to be a mom...
Fast forward one whole year, and here I am on my first official mother's day as a Mom, and I can't even put in to words how much more I love my daughter. Lily Jane is the most beautiful, wonderful blessing I could have ever imagined being in my life. Every day when I wake up, I am grateful to be a mom. I remember the first time Lily said "mama" to me, and I felt my heart melt. She started off by only crying "mama mama!" when she was sad, but then it quickly turned in to her saying it all the time, and I love it every single time I hear it. It's like a sweet little reminder that I am her mom, and she is my baby, and nothing can ever change that.

I have loved reflecting on the calling of being a mother today, and how glad I am that it's such an integral part of the Lord's plan for me. I have such a testimony of motherhood, and how much the gospel plan is all about LOVE. The Savior died for us because he loves us, we are supposed to find a husband that we love and spend eternity with, love connects families forever, and now I get to love my daughter and teach her how to love the Savior. It makes me think of my own mother, and how grateful I am for her...
My mom really did teach me to love the Savior. Through actions, words, and spirit, she loved the Savior, and I could see that everyday. My mom has been gone in Europe for three weeks now, and I am just DYING without her. All of us girls are. :) It made me realize how much I look forward to talking to her every day, and hearing her comforting words. Here are a few things I love about my mom...
- She is genuinely excited for all of my little successes, and is one of the few people who likes to listen to all of my stories about Lily all the time.
- She is supportive, and remembers all the big and small events in all of our lives. I love getting a text from her saying "good luck teaching today", or "hang in there through your evaluation" She always knows when I need those words.
- She is so beautiful, inside and out.
- She truly is THE most Christlike person I know. Those of you who know my mom can attest to that.
- She is the most incredible mother to all five of her dramatic, demanding, high maitanaince girls. (sorry sisters... but it's true most of the time) Over the years, she has scrapped our windows at five in the morning, written us notes in our lunches, made us endless amounts of food, and been there to support us in every game, recital, or show. Mom, we can never thank you enough.
- She always is so positive and opptimistic about everything, and sees the good in everybody.
- She is a life long learner, and loves to travel, read books, and is passionate about education.
- Mom, I could go on and on...

I thought that when I became a mom, that i would wake up the next day and be able to do the things taht I have seen my mom do. That I would be a great cook, full of service, handle the details of everyone's lives, and the energy to keep the house clean and do all the things I need to for Lily. Unfortunately... it's not happening. I am learning more and more everyday how motherhood will truly be a journey. Somedays are great, somedays I feel like I fail... But I do know that I can keep looking to my mom as an example, and will keep working on becoming like her. Thanks mom for your amazing example.
There are so many other amazing examples of Moms in my life. My sweet grandmothers are so kind and beautiful, my dear friends with young children and so fun to watch and grow from, and most of all, my dear sweet Mother in Law Karen is such an incredible mom and grandmother to Lily. She is so selfless and caring, and I know we can count on her for anything. She is truly so giving and genuine, and we are so lucky to have her so close. We love you Karen so much! Happy mothers day!

From all of these examples in my life, I am so blessed and happy to be a Mom. I feel like everyday, Lily is giving me great Mommy Lessons as I learn the tricks of the trade, and I really would never have it any other way. I love learning how to be the best Mom to my little girl that I can, but I couldnt' resist the chance to say how much I love my mom, and how she truly is my best friend.

Love you Mom!! Come home from Europe right now! I miss you! :)