Category Archives: lily

coffee delivery.

Mornings are a routine for us. My husband and I are up at 5 am to get ourselves ready, then at around 6:05 am we get our daughter up. We get her dressed, and then her and I make iced coffee together. She loves helping with the sugar, feeling the cold coffee carafe, and of course can’t resist shaking daddy’s coffee up. Her favorite part, though, is delivering daddy’s coffee to him. She gets the biggest smile on her face as I get her down from the counter, and the excitement builds as she walks away, repeating “Dada coffee!” as she buzzes around the house looking for him.

Yesterday’s coffee delivery, however, was a bit different than the norm. Instead of walking the coffee to daddy, she got on her motorized car and drove his coffee to him while he was shaving in the bathroom!

I love these little moments. These are the ones I want to hang on to forever. Being a parent, though challenging at times, is so incredibly rewarding.

another ‘lately’ post.

So much has been happening lately, little miss Lily. You got your ears pierced a few weeks ago. You know I had planned to have them done when you were teeny tiny, but didn’t have the heart to hurt you. When you started noticing mine and saying, “Mama, ears!,” I figured it was time. Sure, you cried, but it was only temporary. Now you love looking in the mirror at your pretty “Ears!”

You’ve gone from calling me “Mama” to now calling me “Ma-mum.” Yeah, I have no idea where you got it from, and it does drive me a little bit crazy, but it’s okay. It’s only a name. Dada swears you and I are going to be like fire and gasoline, so I’m sure you know it drives me crazy and continue just because. Yep, you’re rotten. But then again, you might get that from your “Ma-mum.” Just sayin’.

You’ve started putting thoughts together. Instead of “car” or “dada,” it’s now “Dada car.” Or “Mama pillow.” Or “Huck blanket.” It’s pretty cool to watch you form thoughts on your own and learn to put two and three words together.

I love the way you say some things. Like “Toy Tory,” and “moo-mie” (movie). Melt my heart, why don’tcha?

And frankly, you’ve cracked me up lately with bedtime! Both last night and the night before, you got off the couch and walked into mama and dada’s bedroom saying, “Ni-night.” You then proceeded to climb into the bed, tuck in, and fall asleep! If I may ask, what exactly is wrong with your bed, little miss? Both nights, Dada has seen the little bear in his bunk and slept in your bed. I don’t know which one of us is the luckier one – you or I. I just love snuggling with you!

You give fabulous hugs. I hope this lasts forever!

We met Me-Ma and P-Pa along with the rest of the crew at the aquarium on Sunday. You were tired when we left, and as we walked away from P-Pa’s truck, you were screaming, “Me-Ma! P-Pa!” I don’t think I’ll ever hear the end of Me-Ma asking when you get to come visit. Oh, and I can’t forget that you were trying to climb into P-Pa’s truck, you stinker!

I love watching you grow, little one. I think my heart gets bigger and bigger with each minute I spend with you.

those toddler teeth …

Our daughter loves to brush her teeth. The only problem? She loves to brush them so much that she won’t easily let us brush them. A few nights ago, I discovered a new trick … brushing them while she’s in the bath. Since she’s already used to me getting her clean while in the bath, I thought it might work. Sure enough, it was an absolute success! No more struggle over who will hold the toothbrush. Instead, I got, “Mama, tickles!” I’ll take that over a struggle any day!!!

i’ll just keep swimming.

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again. 90% of the time, this dual-working family thing we’re doing works out just fine. Sure, I’d love more time with our Peanut, but to know that the time we spend together is nothing short of perfect satisfies me just fine, thank you very much.

It’s that 10% that’s the killer, the 10% of the time that is just plain stressful and exhausting. That’s the kind of week we’ve been having. Lily was dealing with some sort of virus from Saturday through Monday. Pitiful and heartbreaking in and of itself. After an extra day of rest on Tuesday, we thought she’d be perfectly fine today.

Until it all came to a screeching hault.

We got her up, dressed, and out the door this morning. But when the phone rang at 11:16 and the caller ID indicated that it was our day care provider, I knew things weren’t good. Lily had started developing red spots all over her midsection.

My poor baby ... To make a long story short and get to the point, I ended up taking her to urgent care, and we were sent to the lab for blood work from there. Could be from the high fever she had from Saturday through Monday, though the spots don’t look quite like they would if they were from her fever. Could be the dreaded chickenpox. The lab work was to try to determine just what type of virus we’re dealing with here.

Our time at the lab (And leading up to it for me – I was a nervous, anxious wreck!) was less than pretty, and my heart broke a hundred times over as the technician did what she had to do to draw 2 vials of blood from her tiny little arm.

After a truly heartbreaking and exhausting day for both of us, the difficulty of this work/life balance is clear. I’m extremely lucky to work for a family-oriented organization. I’m thankful that I was able to put my family first today. It’s the guilt and the catching up that really stinks.

The next few days will be tricky as we find a balance between work and time at home with our little one. It’s times like this that I realize just how difficult it is to live away from family and friends. To have so little support and so few people to call upon.

We’ll make it. Lily will be just fine. The sense of discouragement I’m feeling will pass, and we’ll all get through. But I’ll tell ya, this is one rough week … for all of us, and for so many reasons far beyond what’s shared here.

I know we’ll get back to that 90%. Eventually.

bedtime.

I was laying next to my daughter last night as she was falling asleep in her bed, and I got to thinking – wondering how many other parents out there were doing exactly what I was doing at that very moment.

In our house, bedtime has evolved. For the first several months, we held Lily until she fell asleep, then we carried her to her crib. Once she no longer wanted to be held (Little Miss Independent is what we’re working with now!), one of us would take her to bed and lay next to her crib until she fell asleep. She lucked out here – she’d often stick her feet out of her crib looking for a foot rub, and of course she always got it! Now that she’s in a big girl bed, one of us takes her up and lays in bed with her until she falls asleep. (Okay, and sometimes we end up there all night because we fall asleep, too!)

I know there’s a great debate about your children falling asleep alone vs. with a parent. Perhaps things will be different later on down the road when Lily has a sibling, but this works just perfectly for us right now. We’re a dual-working family, so every minute with our daughter is precious. I enjoy the quiet time we have together, and wouldn’t want it any other way.

What does bedtime look like in your house?

ramblings of a mama …

Just some mom stuff that I want to hold on to … I understand if you don’t make it through until the end!

Really, I had no idea parenting could be so incredibly rewarding! Up until around 5 months was a serious adjustment period for me. After that, as each month passed, I swore it would be the best. Almost 2 years later, that trend has continued and I’m still saying the same! The best just keeps on coming.

I’ll share a picture of Kitty soon. I hadn’t realized just how much personality he had until today, but he’s as much a part of our family as we are! He’ll jump on your head and refuse to get down. He’ll tuck himself under the covers and go ‘ni-nite.’ He even eats off your dinner plate! My favorite is when he licks my face. Okay, you may have guessed it – Kitty is Lil’s most favorite stuffed friend! Did I trick you?!

Under the old oak ... With Kitty comes Tags. Instead, I should really say with Tags comes Kitty. Tags is Lil’s blanket. It’s a Taggies, and thankfully it’s not the specific blanket itself, but the concept of the blanket with tags that she’s so attached to. We were able to successfully introduce a second Tags in a different print for Lily’s birthday, so no worries if the original Tags needs a ‘bath.’

I got a good laugh twice tonight over donuts. I think I’ve mentioned it here before – I am 100% obsessed with Dunkin’ Donuts iced coffee. I’m not even going to try to hide it anymore – it’s true. Well, I go there so often that Lil now knows the location. I picked her up this evening and had to pick up the dry cleaning on our way home. At the traffic circle by the Dunkin’ Donuts, she started laughing, put her hand up to her mouth, and giggled, ‘Donuts?’ OMG. So we went home and headed out again. Truthfully, we were headed to Dunkin’ Donuts to pick up coffee beans (And no, I did not get an iced coffee! Talk about willpower!). About a mile from the house (and maybe 3 miles from Dunkin’ Donuts), she asks as we make the first of 5 turns to the store, ‘Donuts?’ I’ve created a monster.

She hates wearing her bike helmet. We went to the park tonight and took her bike for the first time. I don’t think she actually needs a helmet as it’s a tricycle, but I want to start the habit now so we don’t have to fight her later. I’m beginning to question that decision, though I know it will take a lot for me to change my mind. The Mr. even stood behind me on this one, taking her off the bike when she removed her helmet. We’ll see how things progress – I wonder if she’ll get used to it?

Buses are the coolest thing. She knows where they are on our way to and from places, and she points every one of them out. If it’s not there, she asks, ‘Where bus? Where go?’ And when they are there, she shouts, ‘Bus!’ and then proceeds to tell the bus ‘Bye bye, bus!’ as we drive away. I love it. She also likes to point out trucks (large pickups and tractor trailers), tractors (Yep, they’re often road vehicles around here.), and the ‘choo-choo.’ Same rules apply to the train – almost every morning, I hear her say as we pass over the railroad tracks, ‘Where choo-choo? Where go?’ Melt my heart.

I guess that’s about it. If you’ve lasted this long, two thumbs up. And if you didn’t, well, you wouldn’t be reading this anyway, but I’d tell you that it’s okay – it’s my mom (Er, she calls me ‘mama.’) moment, so I don’t expect you to be interested. No worries!

Before I go, I’ll share a quote I ‘borrowed’ from a friend’s FB status today – seems to fit life as it stands right now:

“When you stress out about the little things, you miss out on the best things.”

Cheers!

to my girl …

I get so sentimental when this day comes around each year. Granted, this is only the second (Or third, depending on how you look at it.) time we’ve been here, but both times have been full of such joy that I really feel my heart could explode at any second. I fight back the tears of joy throughout the day – tears that come from memories of that day.

I think about that day two years ago and try to remember what I was doing at that very moment. I have a rough timeline in my mind, and I know for SURE what I was doing at 2:00pm on Monday, May 11, 2009.

Holding our beautiful, brand new baby girl.

Happy birthday, Lily Rose. I’ll never be able to express, through words or actions, just how much you mean to me. Sometimes looking at you takes my breath away. You’re beautiful, with an amazing spirit. Your joy and laughter make me smile, and the sound of your voice reminds me of just how much you mean to me.

May you have a life full of happy days. When bad things come your way, I hope you have the confidence in yourself to tackle them head on, letting the things that don’t really matter roll right off your shoulders.

And I hope the strong connection you have with your dada lasts a lifetime. You’re truly a daddy’s girl if I’ve ever seen one. Does it make me sad sometimes that you don’t want to sit with me and fall asleep? Sure, but I know dada loves you as much as I do, so I manage. I know you love me, so I don’t worry.

I love you, sweetheart, and I’ll always be here for you. Thank you for showing me what love truly is – it’s because of you that I’m more patient, more kind, and more understanding. You make my days sunny and my spirit bright.

Happy birthday to you, my sweet Lily Rose!

another mom moment.

I had another mom moment this morning when I reached into my purse to grab my keys … and found other surprises left by Lily! These are the moments that make me smile – being a parent is so amazing!

Mom moment.

little reminders.

Update – 05.11.2011:

So the weather has improved slightly for Saturday, and the map looks a wee-bit better. We’re now looking at a 30% chance of rain instead of the 60% from yesterday’s forecast! Hey Mother Nature, let’s keep it going in the right direction, please!!!

(I also finished my tablecloths last night and would really, really love to be able to use them!)

saturday_weather_wed

Original post – 05.10.2011:

Sometimes life’s little reminders come at a time when you need them most.

So we’re having our daughter’s 2nd birthday party this weekend. For those of you who know me, it won’t come as any surprise when I say that I started planning this thing over 2 months ago. Yep, it was early March when I started really thinking about it. (Confession … I just looked, and the first email I sent to my husband about it was on 2/14/11. Yeah, that’s 3 months ago!) Given that last year’s 1st birthday party was almost perfect in my opinion (My mom was ridiculously sick and couldn’t make it – that was the big bummer.), I was all set to make sure this year’s would be just as great. Life was wonderful until …

… I looked at the weather forecast.

I’ve been watching it for the past week, and up until yesterday, there was a 40% chance of rain on Saturday. My aunt was telling me to stay positive, and I was following her advice.

Until I looked this morning and saw that our 40% had increased to 60%. And it didn’t help when I looked at this map from The Weather Channel:

saturday_weather

No, there’s no escaping this storm. Waaah! Yep, I’m a little bit upset. I know it is what it is, but honestly, I’m so totally disappointed. Months of planning this outdoor event, only for us to be forced indoors. Ugh.

Reminder So back to this reminder. Just minutes ago, I opened my drawer at work to grab a fruit strip and something yellow caught my eye – it’s a round, yellow magnet about 1″ in diameter – something someone who resided here before had left behind. It’s cracked in several places, but its flaws don’t bother me. Why not?

It’s a reminder.

Everything will be fine. Sure, it’s absolutely going to rain on Saturday, but what can I do about it? Lil’s party won’t be exactly as I planned. So what? The rain is just like one of those cracks in my little yellow magnet. Is there, but it doesn’t really matter. Our friends and family will be with us to celebrate a fabulous little girl, and that’s all we really need.

Sure, we’ll be packed in our house like sardines. I’ll get over it, and it might just end up being more fun!

little feet.

Here’s my confession.

I.
Hate.
Feet.

I’ll leave it at that. However, there’s just something about little feet that melt my heart. I know, it makes no sense. These little feet have been cruising for about 9 months now, and oh how I love to watch them go.

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