When Pigs Fly

You may have said to yourself "she'll publish a new blog entry when pigs fly." It has, after all been since February. However this title has nothing to do with timeliness, or lack thereof. Instead the pig reference was inspired by the H1N1 or swine flu.. get it? pigs fly? ... swine flu (swine flew?).

Any how, Lillian came down with a very high fever recently, about 104 degrees. It hit her like a Mack Truck, so we decided, even with a looming global pandemic, we needed to hit the walk-in clinic. No, she did not have H1N1, but she did have the start of an ear infection, and possibly some schmootz in her throat. But I wasn't satisfied with that diagnosis, and I decided she had roseola... a virus that causes a high fever.. and is followed days later by a harmless body rash. The result? I was right. We're all better now, but this is the second time I have successfully diagnosed a family member using only my Johns Hopkins family Medicine Guide. The first diagnosis was my father's appendicitis. That was a close call!

So we're back and better than ever. And we acknowledge we owe you an Opus Magnum of an update so here goes.

Mother's Day: Awesome! Breakfast, Lilly fell asleep on my chest. I had to take the picture in my mirror, so that's the best I can do. Then we took a family bike ride. It was Lillian's first ride in her Burley cart, and she did very well. She's a bit of a backseat driver, so we'll have to work on that. But the maiden voyage was uneventful.










Besides being totally cute, Lilly has been working on quite a bit lately. First, and most imperative, she's mastered the art of walking (and running and climbing, thus falling as well.)

So getting a picture of her has become increasingly difficult. See what I mean?

And usually she's reaching for the camera, because she can't play with inexpensive toys, right?

She loves long walks on the beach, dinner with wine and candlelight.. wait, that's me. She likes going to the park...

Finding Easter baskets with Cousin Leo...

...and being baptised. Actually, she really didn't enjoy being baptised, but she played along to get the Easter candy the next day. Lillian was christened at St. Mark's Episcopal Cathedral in Minneapolis, the same Church her folks tied the knot. She was unimpressed. It was Easter Vigil, and the service lasted over 2 hours...oh yeah.. and it started at her bedtime. She was noisy and fidgety, but I couldn't have been more proud!

Check out that sweet little dress, and her metallic gold sandals. Tres Shepherd!


She's also gotten the hang of using utensils. Still doesn't eat. But when the time comes, she's ready!

And this is a new one. He current favorite pastime is breaking the rules... standing IN her toys, climbing end tables, messing with Dad's stereo system and stealing wallets and cell phones, Fortunately it's been a long time since she put anything in the toilet, but I found my insurance card in there one day and it didn't make for a happy momma.

But, again, the park heals all. And with a face like that, who wouldn't love her ... naughtiness and all.

Molly's still hanging in there, and for the most part, likes Lillian. But it can be touch and go at times.

For instance when Lilly taunts Molly that she's outside and Molly's not. I can only take one of them at a time outdoors, because Molly runs off and Lilly plays in the street. I'm praying we move so I can have a yard with a fence.

Some more pics of Lilly's walkabout.

Playing hide and seek, and Molly rolling her eyes.

I wanted to show you all her curls. They are so sweet and make her look like an angel on the run! But, again, taking that picture was tough, so here's an action shot.

What to wear?

Got purse will travel. She now puts her cellphone in there too! It's not a real cell phone (don't tell her), but I know kids are getting them earlier and earlier in life these days.

Busy busy busy bee! We haven't sat down since she was 9 months old. I'm trying to get a video of her dancing ... and preforming her latest household chore. But she LOVES the camera and stops whatever she's doing to grab the lens... so it may take some maneuvering.

Just wanted you to know we are alive and well, and exhausted. But having a fun time, none-the-less! Don't hate me for being tardy. I'll try better next time!

One Whole Year

We made it through a year! I cannot believe Lillian is now a toddler and no longer a baby. That idea just blows my mind. As you can see, we celebrated her birthday with a cupcake (and a pineapple upside-down cake, Jon's smoked ribs, sweet potato fries and Chinese coleslaw). She loved the icing and ate it like a little lady, until she realized face planting it would be easier. What a wonderful birthday party for such an amazing little lady.

She got a lot of great gifts, including a Cabbage Patch Kid (whose name is also Lillian Ray ... what a coincidence) this turtle pull-toy, and tons of clothes. All her grandparents were there..as were her great-grandparents. Lucky girl!

Birthday aside, she continues to amaze us everyday with her brilliance and sense of fun and adventure. When she's up... she's really up. Always looking for a new "mountain" to climb...or a major appliance.

And she's a riot. The Kid is so funny, I sometimes forget she's a toddler and not an adult. Here she found my gel insoles in a pair of high-heels. She was shaking them just cracking up...and before I knew it, I was laughing too.



I guess I am having a tough time believing in one year, we went from this ...


to this...


No wonder we're exhausted! There's no telling what she'll do from 1 to 2!

Thank you all for your love. Lilly knows you care,

and it wouldn't have been such a magical year without her, or without you all to share the joy.

Christmas at the speed of light!

This picture was my inspiration for this post. The Holidays are a complete blur. We were here, we were there, we were everywhere. Fun was had by all, and Lillian made it through her first "holiday season" with two new teeth, more hair, new mobility and a boatload of toys and clothes. Mom and dad came through with some great stuff and a few extra pounds. Joy to the world!

I'll do my best to breakdown the past few weeks in chronological order, but I really don't remember all of it. There are pictures and video, so grab your favorite drink (you might even need a snack) and settle in for one LONG post.

First, Lilly had her visit from Santa. We live in this sweet little town called Clive, and every year for the past 60 years, Santa comes to visit the girls and boys on a fire truck. I was unaware of this, until I heard sirens and what sounded like "Come out with your hands up" coming from a bullhorn on our street. I thought it was a shakedown, but it was, instead, Jolly Old Saint Nick. He took a picture with us as Lillian tried to scramble away from him, and gave her a candy cane.

She was literally crawling up my hair to get away from this guy, but we managed to get a "pensive" shot as opposed to a "panic" shot.

Leading up to the big day, I wanted to have some "dress-up" fun. Lilly is growing out of so many of her cute outfits, so I picked out her ADORABLE sailor suit, given to us by the Pazlars. She looked so cute in it, the sweater has a sailboat on it, and the little pants have the two rows of buttons. Very sweet. So i got the camera out and started taking pictures, and all I can say is what do you do with a drunken sailor? Honestly, she looked blotto in all the pictures.

Trust me, she was sober and super cute. I just couldn't capture the moment. Anyway, she has grown out of this outfit so we passed it on to cousin Leo for Christmas.

Which brings me to Christmas and the Christmas dress. I have been waiting for this moment my whole life, when I would buy my daughter her own special holiday dress. And I found it at target for $2 on sale! CHA-CHING!!!!! She looked so pretty I nearly cried!

Isn't she pretty? She had a great Christmas. I cannot even begin to tell you what she got, because there was so much and every gift was awesome. Of course, Lillian is the greatest gift. I'm a lucky Mommy.

Now that we're settled in for a new year, Lillian started on her resolutions, which include helping me organize our flexy-straws.

She thinks she's pretty funny when she's giving me more housework!

Now for the video. Jon gave Lilly a "Little mermaid" pushcart/dune buggy thingy. Anyway, it plays music and she can walk behind it, which she quickly realized led to lots of attention.

But who needs a cart when you can do this?

So much fun, so little time. And how that time flies. We are on the countdown to our sweetie's first birthday and I cannot believe what a big girl she's turning out to be. We start music class tonight, so I anticipate I'll have lots to share with you in the coming weeks!

Happy New Year!

Welcome to 2009!

What a year 2008 was. We had Lillian, some really bad weather, and then the economy tanked. Lilly was certainly the our little family's bright spot!

I have holiday pictures to post, which I hope to do later today ( I am at work now... because everyone gets up at 6am on New Year's Day to watch the news.)

We had wonderful Christmases with the Frenches and the Anglesons, and a peaceful New Year's Eve, just the four of us with a bowl of popcorn.

We hope 2009 holds many blessings for you and the ones you love! And we promise to continue to share our fun moments and milestones!