Front Porch Frolicking

Brad is now gone from Sunday to Friday, coming home on the weekends.

Makes for long weeks with many, many moments of missing him very much.

Last Friday we thought he might be getting close so we went out on the front porch to watch and wait....

Watching for Daddy (with her binoculars of course.)

Hmm...hasn't gotten here yet. Maybe a popsicle will help him get here faster.

Who wouldn't be excited to come home to this sweet sight.

Here you go Ellenie, but don't tell Mom I let you have some.

I give you one lick and now you want the whole thing. Typical little sis.

We were ALL so excited to see Brad. We miss him so much.

Princess Ballerina Camp

Monday: Before camp began...Bibby as usual is very excited. Lillianna is...well, doubtful.

Tuesday: Lillianna preforms before her captive audience before class

Friday: All smiles before the big finale...Lillianna and Bibby can't wait!

Lillianna LOVED ballet class. She has been "balleting" ever since.


Sweet ballerina.

Birthday Baby

Lillianna turned three this weekend...officially three. Hard to believe? a little.

Mostly, it's deliciously wonderful. As each month of Lillianna's life has brought more joy, more fascination, more love...how could I not be excited about what this next new year of life with her.

Lillianna at her first birthday party.

And the morning after in her birthday crown.

I miss those buttery cheeks.

Lillianna at her second birthday.

Lillianna at her third birthday with friends

And this weekend at her birthday party at home. Love this picture.

Of course, this past year brought one of the biggest additions into Lillianna's life...her sweet little sister Ellenie. I have loved watching Lillianna as a big sister. She is so naturally nurturing, protective, empathetic, and caring of her. Truly. Beyond any expectations we could have dreamed, Lillianna has embraced Ellenie into her life as though she had planned the whole thing herself. She just asked me the other day, "When is Ellenie going to get bigger?" I could tell she was asking something more specific so I clarified,"She's getting bigger everyday. What would you like her to be able to do when she gets bigger?" She said, "When is she going to get bigger and play with me?" She already tried to include Ellenie in her games..sometimes too much. Lillianna has a very vivid imagination right now. Which I love...except when I'm too tired to rescue polar bears from the jungle which requires me to run laps around the interior of our house while jumping and leaping to reach the polar bears on the ceiling. (of course.) I also love her love for all things treasures. We still take daily walks and still collect daily treasures. She loves a nondescript gravel rock, a scraggly looking feather, a torn brown leaf. It sure doesn't have to glitter to be a treasure. And bugs...I love that at 3 years old she loves bugs. Just tonight our sweet neighbor brought her a dead (sleeping) June bug and she carried it around all evening. It even sat by her plate at dinner time. Then she took it outside so it could go home in time to go to bed.

Today, at three years old, Lillianna is sweet and sensitive and so very smart. She loves her friends (her stuffed animals), her fish, her real friends, bugs, Ellenie, and her best friend Bibby. She is most happy when she is at home with us - Mommy, Daddy and Ellenie. She loves to color, paint, and draw. She can't get enough of books...the more the better. Dr. Seuss is a favorite right now. She is feisty and sassy (her nickname is Sassy Mo Lassy at home) and has definite opinions about how things should be...like any good 3 year old should. There are days that she bosses me around from morning to night and I have to remind myself what a cute boss she is and how much she pays me. Socially, she has come out of her shell and blossomed so much this past year that is some ways, she is unrecognizable to the baby she was last fall. Which makes me so proud. She LOVES to be tickled and laughs so hard. She also thinks its so funny when you do or say something that isn't right. You know, like "Hey Lillianna, can I borrow your shoes for a minute?" "You can't wear my shoes Mom!" (laughing, laughing) I think she's going to be one of those that can't help but laugh when someone falls....her Dad and her Ginny are like that. She can still cry in .6 seconds flat. Record time I do believe. "GRAPES?! I SAID I wanted PEARS! Not Grapes!!! (much weeping. much more weeping.) As soon as it starts, it's over. Even when my adrenaline is still racing from the shrieking. Lillianna inspires me, motivates me, challenges me, encourages me, and makes me such a better person. I love my baby so much.

So this reflection is really for me. For my terrible memory...for when I can't remember if she loved bugs when she was 3 or 5? She's one of the best treasures I could ever ask for.

1,2...3 - Can it really be?

Lillianna has her big 3rd birthday coming up - she's so excited.

However, it's in a completely Lillianna way. She's not so excited about the presents. Infact, she struggles to come up with anything. But the cake...oh she has definite ideas about what the cake will look like. Light pink with an orange 3.

The funny thing is I bet she won't take more than two bites of it.

Just like this past Sunday at her birthday party with her friends.

We had a great pool party with her three other buddies who turned three in same month...

Sam, Sarah Laine, and Mary Bibb.

These are our precious friends who Lillianna has known since birth...literally they have been together since they were just days old. So special.

Getting on her pool gear and getting excited (warmed up) for the big party.

The birthday buddies - Sam, Sarah Laine, Bibby, and Lillianna

The best part. Each one with their own cake. I will think of this moment when I remember this party. So sweet, so good, so adorable.

(Who would have thought we could have gotten them to wear those hats?)

We had a pinata which turned out to be a real hit. ha! no pun intended.

I love this picture because again, it's so very Lillianna. A whole bucket of candy dumps out in front of her, other kids hoarding handfuls of candy, and she is absolutely delighted to have picked up the lollipop that fell right at her feet. I love her so much.

Still enjoying the sucker, she's also enjoying sweet friends Lydia and Bibby.

Precious Abby took a break from swimming to nibble on some cake.

Sweet Mary Emma won the cutest bathing suit contest.

The baby girls wondered who made off with their share of the pinata loot.

Ellenie, Virginia, Caroline, and Emma Hensley.

More birthday to come!

Cutest Cousins Ever Part Deux

Just as soon as we got home from having fun with some cousins...we got to go visit another!

Lillianna and Ellenie had so much fun seeing Kylen.

He's so big, so cute, and so much fun!

And he turned ONE this week!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY COUSIN KYLEN!

Cutest Cousins Ever

Recently, we went to visit our cousins and had a GREAT time...as always.

To make it even more special, the girls actually went ahead of us

and had a sleepover before we got there.

With six kids and a pug, we had a lot going on....

Children's Museum, swimming, backyard festivities, family talent show.

Lillianna dressed in her water aerobic class uniform

Leah doing her best Michael Phelps impersonation

Dinner Divas and Dude dining delightfully...

Our little Cupie

Worn out and ready for special movie night.

We had so much fun! Thank you for a great time!

Good-bye Paci, Hello Dorothy

A couple of weeks ago, on a Sunday afternoon, Lillianna announced that she wanted to give up her Paci and get a fish named Dorothy as a consolation prize.

Meet Dorothy...

Although the longing for Paci has been mentioned a couple of times, overall Lillianna has been amazing about it. No big deal really.

And she loves Dorothy. They talk and she can tickle her through the glass but the best part is she can feed her, watch her eat, and if she's really lucky, she can see her poop.

A really exciting pet given the fact Lillianna can't even touch her.

Lemonade leads to college

So I have to blog about our recent entrepreneurial event.

Bibby's Aunt Momo had the idea that Bibby and Lillianna needed to have a lemonade stand.

So we did.

So the girls were really excited about having a lemonade stand even though we soon discovered they really know what that meant. They thought they sat and drank lemonade and when people walked up they (the girls) would give the patrons money....just give them money for coming.

So then we taught them the basics of running a business and we were really cookin'!

Bibby and Lillianna loved the lesson on marketing and really ran with it.

They went inside and came back wearing these adorable signs

(who knew they could write that well?!)

So they were waving and dancing and yelling, flagging down cars and vans and...

trucks....whoa I mean, TRUCKS!

Lillianna: WHOA! WHOA! Look at that ginormous Mack truck Bibby! WHOA!

Bibby: I can't believe it! Hip Hip Hooray for our Lemonade!

whoo. hoo. we are way more busy over here.

It really was a very fun, very sweaty, very memorable morning. The big girls had fun and were so proud of their $10 (each) they made! Pretty good for 2 hours work. So we just might pay for college one lemonade stand at a time.

Le Parc

We've been busy again. Traveling and having fun with family and friends.

I'll try and get more pics up soon.

So when we've been home, we've enjoyed doing some of our favorite things...

like playing at the park.

Ellenie: Give me a sock as a goal and I'll crawl all day long! Gee thanks Mom!

Virginia, always up for a good joke.

After a little scuffle over a good stick, Lillianna and Mary Bibb remember their friendship is built on more than just sticks

Virginia and Ellenie got to swing together. By the look on Ellenie's face, though, she doesn't look to sure that the swing is really going to hold them both....

Oh of course it will! This is so fun!

Quotable Cutie

For several months now, we have kept a magnetic notepad on the fridge. Whenever Lillianna says something clever or funny, we jot it down. I got tired of hearing myself say,"I should have a notepad on the fridge so I can jot down clever and funny things Lillianna says so I won't forget them." (That's a long sentence to be repeating alot.) Anyhoo, the front page of the notepad is so worn it's about to fall off. Before it does, I wanted to post some of Lillianna's classic sayings over the past 4 months. I promise each one is verbatim...not a one is edited.

Lillianna:

My socks are on frustrated.

No Mommy, put the block there to make it strongerer.

I wish we could be a fish.

Mom, you can speak Spanish if you want to.

(Discussing falling out of bed the night before)

My big girl bed has lots of holes in it.

I wish I could grow up to be a whale.

(From the backseat while I'm driving)

Keep your eyes open for ladybugs on top of your car.

This is a yummy day.

My freckles are going to grow up and look like yours.

I love being perfect.

Thank you for this yummy dinner. It is the life of the evening.

(Trying to hop on one foot)

My balance is so far away...I can't even reach it.