Turkey Day

I have been so excited about the Holidays this year since Lily is finally old enough to understand and take part in all the fun.  The first order of business was her school's Thanksgiving lunch, which by the way was SO good.  Each class was responsible for making 2 dishes, so Lily's teachers made macaroni and cheese and corn casserole.  It was a true Thanksgiving feast, as good as any family meal I've ever had.

 

 

All of the classes  moved their tables into the main body of the school so that we could all enjoy our meal together.  The kids were so cute.  They had made their own place mats and surprised us all with a special Thanksgiving song.  

Everything was going well until there was some sort of delay in the kitchen, which caused lunch to be served 30 minutes later than planned.  So after a long bout of sitting nicely at the table and no food appearing...things started to go a bit sideways.

 

Once the meltdowns begin, it's really hard to go back.  Especially once it's getting close to nap time. Lily refused to eat anything except for MY dinner roll, even though she had her own so I was forced to eat quickly and hurry her home where she went straight down for a nap!

Actual Thanksgiving day was really good.  I got up very early to get a head start on cooking and Lily decided she needed to get up 2 hours early so that she could keep me company.  We were disappointed that we were unable to see Pop and the Youmans/Hodges families down South but we enjoyed the afternoon at Paw Paw Rice's house with my big family.  Lily absolutely loves spending time with all her cousins big and small!

 

Lunch was great and afterwards all the big kids went outside to play football with Uncle Scott and Uncle Morgan.  It wasn't until I returned from the kitchen that I realized that Lily had planted herself right in the middle of all the boys and was playing football right along side them!

 

 

Girl or not...little or not, she was not about to be left out and she was FEARLESS!  When they ran, she ran.  When they tackled and dog piled, she threw herself on top of the nearest body. That's my girl! 

Can't wait to go pick out our tree and start decorating for Christmas!!

The Weekend of Birthdays

This past weekend was all about the birthdays.  On Saturday we went to Aunt Kay Kay's house to help celebrate Colby's 10th birthday.  I cannot believe he has gotten so big!  Seems like just the other day he was teeny tiny and having sleep overs with me every weekend.

 Lily absolutely loves Colby so she followed him like a little shadow almost the entire time we were there and he is SO sweet with her.  She likes Baby Trent too...he's got fun toys!

Her favorite activity of the day by far was the discovery of guitars.  Colby brought his out for her to play with and before we knew it, she was plucking the strings and singing to herself like she'd been doing it her whole life.  I told everybody right then, this kid is going to be a star one day! Now it looks like I've got to place a call to the North Pole to see if Santa can bring her, her own guitar for Christmas.

 As any big artist will tell you...performing is hard work!  Lily crashed 10 minutes into our trip home.

Sunday we traveled to Clarkston to celebrate my Aunt Betty's 85th birthday. I didn't really get any photos besides this one because I literally spent almost the entire time chasing Lily around.  Unfortunately the fellowship hall we were at is right on the edge of a busy street and my child has no sense of self preservation so she kept making a beeline straight for danger.  I was EXHAUSTED (and grateful I didn't wear heels!)  But it was really good to see all of our extended family that we've not seen in a few years and have the chance to introduce them to Lily Bug, my Granny's namesake.

Next week we have a lot of early Thanksgiving activities with work and school so we are looking forward to more fun!!

Halloween Fun

I was really excited this week because not only did we have Lily’s first Fall Festival at school but it was also the first Halloween that Lily was old enough to go to Trick or Treating!  Lily dressed up in the Minnie Mouse outfit that Ms. Kelly bought for her and she looked SO cute!  She was also very excited to show off her outfit to her teacher Mrs. Cathy because she knows that she loves all things Mickey and Minnie.   

Jess and I both took Friday morning off to join Lily for the school festivities and were looking forward to all the crafts and games they had planned.  Unfortunately, the kiddo just wasn’t feeling it and kept pulling us to the door saying, “Home, Home.”   So fifteen minutes in and that was that.  Maybe next year she’ll enjoy it more.

  

Having struck out that morning, I wasn’t sure if Lily was going to be up for going out that evening but all afternoon she carried her little pumpkin bucket around the house saying, “Trick or Treat!” to all the bits of furniture.   So I figured we’d at least give it a go.  Unfortunately Daddy’s back problems prevented him from being able to venture out with us so he stayed home and handed out candy instead. 

   

Once I opened the door and led Lily to the driveway, she took off ahead of me, racing to the neighbor’s door at breakneck speed yelling, “Trick or Treat!”  I’ve no clue how she already knew how to Trick or Treat…I wonder if stockpiling candy is instinctual?

 

At any rate, Lily was completely in awe of the experience.  Every other phrase out of her mouth was, “Whoa…look at that!” and “Oh my gosh!” She loved seeing all the spooky decorations and different pumpkins…she even gave one a big kiss.  Oddly enough, she was also fascinated with the fire hydrants and insisted on stopping and speaking to each one we came upon.  

 

I was so proud of her.  She was never frightened to knock on a door, or stand next to a bunch of big kids waiting her turn.  Running through the night, holding onto her mouse ears so they didn’t fall, Lily was the happiest I have ever seen her.  

We Trick or Treated our house last and Daddy put extra candy in her bucket!  Since Jess missed out on our adventure, I took over candy duty at the door while he and Lily sat in the living room  and sorted through her spoils.  Fortunately her first instinct wasn’t to try to eat it all, she just liked to dump it all out…pick it all up and repeat.  LOL.

She had a really great time and woke up first thing the next morning asking to go Trick or Treating again!  I can’t wait until next year!

 

Fall Break

This past week Lily enjoyed her first fall break from school.  I had planned for a fun filled week of Mommy and Lily time, exploring the Atlanta Botanical Gardens and the Children’s Museum but unfortunately my sweet girl came down with a bug on Sunday so we had to nix our plans and settle for staying closer to home until she was feeling 100%. 

By midweek she was beginning to feel better so we ventured out to one of our “Go To” fun spots….the Toddler Park.   No matter which playground we go to, Lily always gravitates to the slides…the bigger the better.  So that is where I found myself all of Wednesday morning.  Standing at the foot of a big blue tube, shouting encouragement as my adrenaline junkie toddler launched herself down the big kid slide at top speed, over and over again.   

 

Friday I had a breakfast meeting with our local Board of Realtors so Lily had to tag along.  I’m sure we were quite the sight, walking into the golf club with her Minnie Mouse doll and security blanket in tow.  I was really worried that her short attention span would require that we make our exit within moments of the meeting starting but once again she surprised me. She lasted nearly an hour, lying on the floor at my feet playing games on my phone and singing songs for everyone.  Whew!  She was so good that I rewarded her with a visit to Briscoe Park on the way home so that she could visit the playground and feed the ducks.  

This was the first time we’ve ever taken her to see the ducks and she was so excited to have them following her around!   She REALLY wanted to pet the geese but so I had to gently remind her not to touch.  They bite!  

My favorite part of the whole trip was when a big white duck started nudging Lily’s hand for food and she looked at it with all seriousness and says, “Say Please.” LOL.  She's so smart!

 

 

Lily is back at school this week and there are lots of fun things planned between Fall festivals and Halloween so there will be a lot of updates soon!

Pumpkin Patch

Fall is my absolute favorite time of year.  The crispness in the air, steaming cups of hot chocolate and….THE PUMPKIN PATCH!!!  

It was such a beautiful day to visit the Corn Dawgs Fun Park!  Lily immediately made a beeline for the toddler playground. Zooming down slides, exploring tunnels and wading through the corn pit.  But far and away, her favorite activity of the day was the jumping pillows. (Think giant bouncy house without the walls.)

Lily absolutely LIT UP as she shot across the jumping pillow at top speed, bouncing through the air with every other step.  Her face beaming as she squealed, completely oblivious to everyone and everything around her.  I witnessed my daughter experiencing pure joy and it gave me greater happiness and satisfaction than anything I could have ever done for myself. 

Once the bouncing adventure came to an end, we took a stroll through the petting zoo where Lily was disappointed to learn that she couldn’t crawl into the pen with the ducks so she settled for trying to carry on a conversation with them instead, “Quack quack, quack quack.”   This kid…you can’t help but to love her.