Cousins

How sweet is Lily Kate trying to take care of "baby Scott".

Look at these kiddos, there's a lot of love here!

Jangie Bell

This is not the most exciting video in the world, but we want to experiment with putting more videos on here. A couple days ago LK and I went to a store that had an elaborate Christmas diplay going on and Jingle Bells was playing. Her eyes were huge as she took it all it and in her most dramatic voice she said "OH... I like this song, I like this Jangie Bell" then she went on and on, " I like that ball (ornament), I like that star" but she kept coming back to "I like this song". So, she's been singing it for the past few days, full volume, at the grocery store and wherever else we are. For the record, I think she might have said "spider song" in the video as the other option of what to sing - I'm not sure. Notice she quickly abandoned that one and went back to old Jangie Bell.

A winter swim

We met our friends, the Andersons, at the YWCA and went swimming at their indoor pool. It was so nice to feel weightless. Lily Kate was very excited that she could touch the ground in the 2ft baby end of the pool and also that her voice echoed when she yelled in the pool area. She had fun with both!

Fall at Windy Gap

The fam spent the weekend at Windy Gap. Parks and LK got some quality time together while I did work crew with my YL quest folks. One of our work crew jobs was raking leaves and jumping in the piles and after Lily Kate got past the fact that it was "dirty" she thought it was really fun.

Big girl bed

So, I don't know if this is a permanent thing - and how early she get's out of bed tomorrow morning will probably determine this - but tonight LK is sleeping in her big girl bed. I don't know why it felt like such a big deal to me, but it did. She looked so little in that big bed. She has been asking to sleep there and tonight she was snuggled in the pillows asking so we said sure. She's "pe-tend seeping" in the lower picture for me so I could capture it on film. If you click on the pic you can see her eyes clenched shut :) such a drama queen.

"Trick a Treee"

It's always fun to experience a first - last night Lily Kate had her first trick or treating experience. She loved it. She would yell "trick a treeee" while we walked down the street but when the people would come to their doors sometimes she got stage fright and when we would ask "what do you say?" she would answer "I a sunk" or "thank you". It was great. So, Parks and I are campers, if you couldn't tell, and Kate is the little skunk who joined our party.

Fall Festival

We went to the Fall Festival at our church and Kate was a "sunk". She got a little stage fright in front of people but at home when you ask her what a skunk does she pinches her little nose and yells "P U". I like how the costume makes her face look chunky and baby-like.

Mike's Farm

Family Picture

Comparing size, I have to say I'm glad that the pumpkin is larger

This is Lily Kate with her YaYa (Stephanie). There's a love there that will be fun to watch grow. LK is excited about "YaYa's baby ah-biver" (Oliver) who is due 3 weeks before our Charlotte.

What a fun, happy day

Glee

This picture is from a few months ago, but Parks and I were just talking over dinner tonight about the pure joy that Lily Kate experiences on a daily basis and how much it adds to our lives to get to experience that with her... she's a keeper!

Showing me up...

So, as I left the house today I was struck by the contrast of how cute Lily Kate's outfit was and how schleppy mine was. Come on, look at the ribbon on the bottom of her jeans and her swingy little sweater coat. (both from Nona - thanks Mom!) I, on the other hand, have fallen into a habit of putting on gym clothes in the morning (yes, to go to the actual gym) and then leaving them on all day. I'm having visions of Clinton and Stacy from "What not to wear" telling me I've let myself go.....

Shower

These are from my friend, Stephanie's shower that we had last weekend. Her son and our daughter will be about 3 weeks apart - how fun! I know I'm going to get harassed for not looking pregnant in the pic below. I keep getting asked for a belly shot and I finally put a full body shot on here and the combination of the print on the shirt and the leaning back, yada, yada, yada. I'll take one soon - I promise.

PIZZA

We swung by Slice of Life last night to get some dinner. From Lily Kate's response you would have thought we stopped by the circus. She was so thrilled, she kept yelling out "PIZZA" while they were making our dinner.

"oh my, I LOVE pizza". Really, though this is what she did when I told her to make a silly face. I stuck out my tongue to give her an example and this is her version of being crazy.

Pumpkin patch playgroup

This is Lily Kate with her friend, Crawford. She loves him and he is just as excited about her. What are these two doing, posing for prom?!

This picture above is from story time, deep in thought. In the one below she is collecting "pumpkins" with goodies inside.

Weekend at Bald Head Island

This weekend we went to Bald Head Is with our friends, the Andersons. They have a son who is 3 mo older than Lily Kate and she thinks he is the coolest ever. The weekend was really relaxing, a perfect mix of exploring the island and napping by the pool. Hard life, huh?

I had to include this shot (above). We were checking out this old chapel and these women were practicing some hymns and LK was fascinated. She is peering through the railing in the balcony to see them. She loves to listen to people sing (even me!)

we got to check out the fire trucks at the island's station (not a ton of action for the fire men over there, I imagine). LK liked "driving" but the extreme difference between her reaction and our friends' son's reaction was priceless. She's more into dress up and dancing and not as much into trucks.

Porch Swingin

Lily Kate keeps me busy!

Lily Kate's aunt Sarah came to visit us last weekend and brought her a "fae wee" costume and a Nemo umbrella. I don't know which she likes more. She opens the umbrella and then tries to fit in our (small) shower stall and asks for "rain?". I know she looks serious in the lower picture but it was the only one (out of 8 tries) where she was still - imagine that!

These two are just funny moments from the last week. It seems like wearing mommy's shoes must be a favorite for every little girl, I find her like this at least every third day. The lower shot is Lily Kate in some dipping caramel that I was eating with my apples. She and her baby both had to get "naken" and wash their clothes. She thought it was funny all day that baby was "naken"

This hair has come a long way

Here's a shot of Lily Kate's trademark toupee that she had for a long time. But lately her hair is growing like crazy. So much so, that we decided to give her her first trim yesterday.

Not too bad, it's not much shorter. The same, just less scraggly.

Those Eyes

Can you believe I get to see this face all day long, what a cutie

It's a .....

GIRL! I can hardly believe it. Lily Kate has been saying "sis er" all afternoon. She doesn't know what it means but she knows it's exciting. I watched Lily Kate play with her "baby" this morning. I went to spy on her when I heard her saying, "I hold you, I hold you" and I found her carrying her doll and feeding it her waffle. She's going to be a helper and a caretaker. I don't have a sister, but after talking to a few women today who do I heard over and over, "oh, a sister, I can't imagine not having my sister. " I hope that for them - that they can be that person for each other who is just a little closer than the rest of the world could ever be. Poor Parks, two sweet baby girls.... he's already head over heels for one.... Well, thanks for rejoicing with us for our second precious baby GIRL.

Flower Girl

These pictures are from back in May at Parks' sister, Becca's wedding but we just got them and they're just too cute to keep to myself.