Dear Lily,
As we cross another milestone in your precious life, we rejoice that you are a healthy, lively, hilarious, sweet little girl. If I can sum up the past 6 months of your life it would be a “joyful challenge”. It’s enough to enter the “terrible twos” (which, by the way, I don’t really buy into that idea); we’ve also moved you away from the only home you ever knew, made you move 2 times in Bham before we had a place to call our own, and put you in that place that starts with a “d” and rhymes with maycare. By God’s grace alone, I do not complain about the challenges this season of life brings. I never will. Hold me to that. I wouldn’t trade the nastiest two year old fit for anything this world offers. Every moment with you is precious, even if the moment makes me want to scream. I’m thankful for the joyful challenges because I have endured them with my 3 favorite people–Jesus, your Daddy, and you.
I have some super good news for you…Mommy is quitting her job, you are done with daycare, and starting in August we will both be at a church’s MDO program! You get to have fun and learn with other kids your age at no cost, I get to have fun and teach other kids, and we will only be there part-time so we can spend more time together at home! After praying daily since January for a better situation for us, God has heard my prayer. But, don’t think that the past 6 months have been a waste of our time. God used us for His glory while we were there. Let this be your first lesson in doing things you don’t like to do for His name’s sake. There will be many many more.
We love you a thousand billion quadrillion times more than we did the day you were born and our love for you will only grow from here. And Jesus–ya know, he’s the One that you talk about every time you see a cross–Jesus loves you more than us. Can you even imagine His immense and limitless love for you? It’s incredible. He’s incredible. And we pray daily that He draws you to Himself so that you may receive salvation.
You treasured by the Father. And by Mommy and Daddy. We love you, always.
Some facts about our sweet girl:
Weight: I’m taking a guess…27 lbs?
Shoe Size: 5/6, she is tiny feet!
Teeth: Cutting her second set of molars! The other night she told me her teeth hurt and as I was
brushing her teeth I discovered why!
Clothing Size: 2T and she can still wear some of her 18 months clothes. Petite for sure!
Potty Trained? Yes! Since March but we do put a pull-up on her at nap time and overnight. She could probably get through nap time without one, but the few times we’ve done that she’s had an accident and woken up too early from her nap and been a little cranky. At this age, I would just rather her get a good nap without accidents.
Reward for being potty trained: A Beta fish that Lily named “Bicarla because she plays the guitar.”
Crib/Big Girl Bed? Toddler bed since March, easy transition thankfully! Getting a real bed soon.
Paci/Thumb: As much as I wish she didn’t, Lily sucks her thumb. She had her first dentist appt right before she turned 2 and he wanted her to stop sucking the paci before she saw him again this summer. So…the paci has been gone since March. And we are going to tackle that thumb sucking when we go to the dentist again in July. Honestly, thumb sucking is nothing compared to other difficult situations parents go through with their children. I’m just thankful she’s a healthy girl. I’m sure there are many parents that wished their biggest concern was thumb sucking.
Hairstyles: Her hair is getting long and has yet to have a true haircut. Ponytails and pigtails are common these days. And some days she just lets it hang loose.
Current Favorite Foods: oatmeal, watermelon, pistachios, cashews
Current Favorite Song: “Springsteen” by Eric Church…she calls it the “whoa whoa” song
Current Favorite Show: Dora and Pingu (A Swedish cartoon about a penguin family. We watch it on Netflix so I’m not sure if it’s a network TV show or not. It was funny the first few times we watched it. Unfortunately, Lily still thinks it’s funny. We love to watch her laugh at it though, so we don’t mind watching it.)
Current Favorite Restaurant: Which Wich
Current Favorite Treat: Doodles and Steel City Pops
Funny Moments: Brent recently took on a temporary part-time job. His first night of work, Lily asked him why he was going back to work. He jokingly replied, “To make you some money.” So…what does Lily do every time he gets home from work? She asks where her money is!
Lily frequently asks if she can have some Coke. We don’t want her to have soft drinks on a regular basis, so our answer to her has been “when you get older.” I found some coke alternatives at Earth Fare with the intention of Brent drinking them. Lily had some of his and said, “I’m drinking coke. I’m older now!” And, now, everything else we’ve told her she can do “when she’s older” she thinks she can do now…since she did have some coke, ya know.
Mommy’s current favorite: Watching/listening to you care for and play with your stuffed animals; your awareness and beginning knowledge of Jesus; asking me to lay my head on your belly while we do our bedtime routine
Daddy’s current favorite: Having real conversations with you; being asked to pray with you every time he drops you off at school
Biggest Challenge: Bedtime, thankfully not on most nights though. You get scared at every noise you hear. Many nights you are afraid to fall asleep in your own bed and you say, “I want to sleep in your bed so I don’t hear noises.” Things would be much easier if we just gave in, but we don’t want to start that habit so we are holding out and trying to be consistent as long as we can.
Bedtime Routine: PJs, brush teeth, tuck in friends (stuffed animals), tuck in Lily, Mommy and Daddy both pray, then we both sing “Jesus Loves Me”, Mommy kisses you goodnight and leaves, Lily makes Daddy linger for a little while longer while he promises to come check on her after she falls asleep
How We Celebrated: An early dinner at Which Wich and cupcakes from Ashley Macs
And here is Lily’s interview with Mommy.
A Merry Heart 