Doctor, Doctor

Today we went to see the Dr. I had to go for my 2-year check up and Anna had to get a flu shot. You wouldn't believe what they did to poor Anna last week. Last week she had a fever for 6 days with really nothing else wrong. So Mommy and Daddy took her to the Dr. and they poked, pinched and stuck her with so many needles in so many places it still makes Mommy shudder and want to cry. (Verdict was: UTI. She gets to go get more tests November 13)
Then I got my share of needles today for my check up. Why is it that it's always the Mommy's who take the kids for the shots? Do you know how hard it is to body-slam your kid on the table and hold them down kicking and screaming so they can get stuck with needles? You do if you're a Mommy! My Mommy was prepared this time. I got a McDonald's chocolate chip cookie (God forbid Mommy actually MAKE cookies), and a Princess video on the ride home.

Anna is feeling better now. She is back to making funny faces like our favorite, "The Old Man with No Teeth" face above. She is really doing well. She sits up, she still cries when I cry, and she's doing alright at eating food but not great. Mommy isn't nursing anymore, she's all dried up. Bye-bye, boobies. *Sniff**Sniff*

We are looking forward to a fun Halloween weekend with an actual costume and trick or treating this year! Hope your's is boo-riffic!

Love,

Silly Lilly

Happy Barf-Day

Happy birthday to me, happy birthday to me, happy birthday dear Lilly Bean...wretch...happy birthday to me! MOMMY! Poor me, I got sick on the day of my birthday party so we had to cancel. We still had a little impromptu celebration, complete with impromptu birthday cake candles that look like...spaghetti noodles? Yes, in a pinch use raw spaghetti noodles as candles on a cake. Make your house smell like it's on fire. It's those pesky little details Mommy is always forgetting!

Thankfully on my actual birthday, which was Wednesday, I was not sick so we went to "Gatti-land" which Mommy and Daddy love because it is a stripped down, '90's version of Chuck E. Cheese with 1990's pricing to boot. I got to open my presents from Mommy and Daddy...
Enjoy some sausage pizza (maybe the source of my latter stomach upset?)...

Anna got to suck on a straw...

And I got to eat one of my two birthday cakes. This is the Princess cake Miss Mary Lou made me. Above is the "robot" cake Mommy bought me. It takes a village, people.

Love,
Lilly

Happy 2nd Birthday Princess Robot Lilly Bean!

Dear Lilly~
Two years gone by already! That was fast! Happy Birthday pumpkin! This morning when I came in to wake you up with Anna you knew EXACTLY what day it is today! You said: "Happy Birthday Lilly! Robot cake?" Then later you asked for a Princess cake. Ms Mary Lou made you a BEAUTIFUL princess cake (Mommy has not yet mastered the art of cake-making but I HAVE mastered the art of cake-buying!) You staked your claim on that princess cake pretty quick ("Stay away! Lilly's cake!") I think you're going to have a great day!
I don't want to get all mushy-gushy on you - you are already starting to get annoyed with that ("No more kisses Mommy!") But I do love to take the opportunity to tell the world how much I love you and how much you mean to me (and Daddy!) you are our whole world Lilly (you and your baby sister) and every day the sun shines a little brighter, the air is a little fresher and everything that's good is just that much better. There's no parent in the world who loves their kid who doesn't understand that feeling and let me tell you, Lilly there are no two parents in the world who loves their baby girl more than we love you. Happy, happy, happy birthday baby!
Lotsa lotsa love, hugs and kisses,
Mommy, Daddy and Anna

Luck Isn't Just For Losers

My Papa says "Luck is for losers." He says that, but he's a lucky guy anyway. You should see him rip the tables in craps!

Mommy knows how lucky she is, and every day she thanks God for us. Since my birthday is tomorrow she's really been thinking a lot lately about luck and blessings. Every year on my birthday (which would just be two years now) all that luck gets Mommy to thinking how many people there are out there who aren't as lucky and if you think about it too much it could cripple you with sadness. So as a very small gesture (very, very small) Mommy makes a donation in my name to a charity for kids so she can spread some of the luck. This year, I gave to Operation Smile. I hope and pray that it helps some kid who may not have been as lucky as me and I hope and pray their luck changes.

Love,

Lilly

Dorothy

Firstly, we are experiencing technical difficulties. For some reason Mommy can't figure out how to change the order of the pictures. So, start with the 3rd picture and work your way up for a pictorial timeline of me picking out my new pet fish - Dorothy!

I have had Dorothy for just over 2 weeks now and she is still alive (props to Mommy). I "won" her at the 5K Mommy and Daddy ran a couple weeks ago (great gimmick by the local fish store - but Mommy outsmarted you! We bought Dorothy's home at Wal-Mart - yes, Wal-Mart the evil empire - and it was $5 cheaper than you! That is 50% cheaper because yours was $15 and Wal-Mart's was $10! Or something like that I don't know Mommy is not a mathematician (or a speller it would appear)! Bwaa-haa-haa!)

So now I have my own pet fish. Dorothy lives on top of my changing table. We converted it back to a chest since pretty soon, one day very soon Mommy and Daddy pray I start using the potty! This has not worked out to well so far. But, I am still little! For two more days, I'm still 1 year old. Two more days!

So, why Dorothy you ask? One, it is Elmo's pet fish's name. So every goldfish is Dorothy to me. And two, Daddy says my Nana's name was Dorothy. I did not get a chance to meet my Nana but I have heard she was a spit-fire, and that she had a personality that commanded attention and I have heard that I might get that little twinkle in my eye from her. I come from a long line of strong women - a long, long line and I am proud to represent and keep the tradition moving.

Love,

Lilly

Mommy's "First" 5k

A couple weeks ago Mommy ran, and finished her "first" 5k. I say "first" because she attempted one before but had to walk. That's because the ding-bats who designed the course planned the last half-mile straight up a hill. Mommy couldn't hang.
This 5k was fun. It was very cold but they had Krispy Kreme donuts to warm your insides and give the runners a much needed sugar boost before the race! Mmmm...

Daddy pushed me and Anna in our borrowed $550 double stroller. Fancy. He said it was like pushing butter it was so smooth. Anna fell asleep. I cheered Mommy on! I said, "Go Mommy! Go Mommy! Go!" So. Cute.

Here is Anna looking like a little marshmallow...

And here I am at the finish with a balloon. Mommy finished in 36 minutes. Not bad for 6 months after pushing out a baby, and not being a runner. Maybe, just maybe Mommy will run the Derby Mini-marathon in March. That is still the goal! Don't think I'll be riding along for that one. Too much time sitting still for me!

Love,

Lilly

Apropros...

Okay, here I am standing in front of my potty, and it's cool, my little flap is hiding my goody. Thanks to Daddy, I demand reading material in order to sit on the potty and - I prefer to have Mommy or Daddy sitting on their own potty with me. This makes for very fun, and very long potty trips.

What we do for love...

Love,

Lilly

I PeePeed in the Potty!

We have to be judicious with potty shots, because I'm nekkid, and there's a limit to what I will show you. My hoo-ha is not for the masses. Nevertheless, please know, this morning I tinkled in the potty! A mere four drop tinkle! But I did get an M&M (that's right, one stinkin' little M&M) at 8:00 in the morning. I couldn't understand why Mommy and Daddy were running around the house singing: "I peepeed in the potty! I peepeed in the potty!" Picture, if you will, two 30-something year old grownups dancing and singing "I peepeed in the potty! I peepeed in the potty!" at 8:00 in the morning after a 4 drop tinkle. So there is a limit to what I will show you all, but apparently, no limit to what Mommy and Daddy will expose themselves to in the name of good (fun) parenting.

Love,

Lilly and Anna

Stacked in the Back

As I had reported a few weeks back, Anna is eating big girl food now. I thought I should post some shots of her on this momentous event. I think Mommy took about 200 pictures of me eating solid food for the first time, here are 2 of Anna.

Me, I finally got that hair cut! And oh my, Mommy wanted to trip over her feet and fall down when she saw it. You have to know, we go to "ShortCuts" which is a salon just for kids. I sit down in a little car instead of a chair, I get the TV on, and I get a sucker. Mommy does all she can to distract me and convince me to sit still while I get my hair done. Mommy asked my stylist to give me a "short bob with bangs." This is because it is way too hard to do anything to my hair. It is too fine to hold elastics (they slip right out) and Mommy thinks I'm too little for hairspray (I am). So after we were all done this is what I got...

A grown up hair cut! Eeeek!! It's stacked in the back! That is for grown ups not little girls!!!! I mean, it is cute and all but I look like a miniature teenager (which I suppose is fitting since that's how I act these days). I know it will grow out a little and once it hits my chin it will probably look cute. Until that happens there's not a whole lot we can do about it. So Mommy is going to have to chill. Maybe she can take me for a mani/pedi, that'll help us chill.

Love,

Lilly and Anna

Spirit Weekend

Every Saturday during football season we dress up in college clothes. For Mommy this means any t-shirt and jeans will do, but she grabbed one of Teti's Clemson shirts last time she was in Nashville so now she represents Clemson on Saturdays (Go Tigers!) That's for Uncle Mark... Her Michigan shirt is too small - go figure.

Anna wears my leftover Notre Dame outfit. The same outfit I wore only a year ago.

And I have several options. This past weekend I opted for OU! OU BABY! Mommy says I'm never allowed to go there. That there in the picture above is my BFF Tucker. Tuck-Man. As you can see, he's a UK fan.

Babi and Duda are coming to watch us this weekend while Mommy goes to Florida to see her BFF's from high school (YAY!!!!!!) and Daddy works (BOOO!!!!) but Mommy has a special surprise for Duda for game-day Saturday in our closets!!!

Love,

Lilly and Anna

Cousins

I don't think I got around to posting any pictures from our visit with the cousins a couple weeks ago! Sofia and Matias came to Ohio to visit while their Mommy and Daddy got to enjoy a weekend of peace and quiet (in Tia's case) and in Tio's case a weekend of too much drinking, partying and cheering for the losing teams.

We all have so much fun together! We love to fight over toys, we love to eat each other's food, we hold hands, we play ring around the rosie, you know...typical toddler stuff. It's fun to have cousins around the same age. Now that Anna is here we outnumber Matias 3 - to 1. And now that Aunt Tracey and Uncle J have a peanut on the way, we will outnumber Matias 4- to 1. I think she's gonna be a girl! We'll see this Spring!

Anna mostly watched us all weekend while Mommy and Daddy held her and loved on her. You can see it in her eyes how excited she is to be a big girl but Mommy is in NO HURRY! She can only handle one cranky outspoken little fart at a time!

Love,

Lilly and Anna