Thanksgiving 2009

The day before Thanksgiving Lilly participated in the Turkey Trot. A friend in our ward put it all together and it turned out so cute! Lilly was so excited to run and she laughed throughout the entire race. They also had a cupcake walk, a bean bag toss, and face painting. It was a really fun day!

Early in the morning on Thanksgiving Day, we drove down to Gus's Aunt Patty's house in Richmond. It was fun to be with family on Thanksgiving. Aunt Patty and Amy were so sweet to entertain Lilly. She had a great time writing on their marker board, eating tons of candy, running wildly through the house, and playing games.

Growing And Growing

Lilly had her three-year-old wellness check-up on Wednesday. We switched pediatricians and we're SO happy that we did. Lilly loved the nurses and the doctor made Lilly feel so at ease. When she got her flu shot she just sat there and didn't even flinch. Afterwards, I asked Lilly if the shot hurt and she said, "No, it kinda tickled". That's typical Lilly for you, there's not much that can get her down. We found out that she's in the 90th percentile in height and 75th percentile in weight--one big girl!

Lately, Lilly has been VERY curious about where things come from and how things are made. She is constantly asking me "Where does broccoli come from?", "What are socks made of?", "How are noodles made?", "Where does paper come from?", and on and on and on. We have checked out some books at the library that have helped. She is such a little sponge, just soaking up everything she can.

And I just have to share one more story - today Lilly saw a picture of the Salt Lake Temple and we had the following conversation:

Lilly: "There is the temple."
Me: "Ya, thats the Salt Lake Temple. That is where mommy and daddy got married."
Lilly: "Did I get married there too?"
Me: "No, but when you get older and find a really nice boy you can get married there too."
(Lilly thought about that for a moment...)
Lilly: "Hey I know, I will marry daddy and you can marry some other guy. Don't worry we'll find you someone."

Our Big Three Year Old

Lilly is now a little girl and not a toddler. It makes me a little sad that my baby is growing up so fast. But it is so fun to have someone around all the time that acts like a little adult. She is always saying and doing things that make me laugh. Here are a few of the things she has said lately:

Gus and I were arguing over who got to sit at the computer and Lilly said, "Will you guys just share! Daddy can have the computer first and then mommy can have it after he is done!"

At the beginning of October, Lilly started saying "Oh, I want that for my birthday!" over everything she saw on TV or at the store. Then when my birthday rolled around she started saying, "Oh, I want that for YOUR birthday". She is very smart.

Before Gus and Lilly left to go on a walk, Lilly said, "Daddy, I need a water bottle so I can get thirsty."

A few days before Lilly's birthday we were all in the car and Gus and I were discussing things that we could get Lilly for her birthday. All of the sudden Lilly said, "Um...I'm right here!"

Lilly came up to me one day and said, "Mommy, today I am having a baby. I said, "Wow Lilly thats great!" And then she said, "But Mom, a baby is a BIG responsibility!"

For Joy School the children were asked to bring in a pet or at least a picture of a pet they liked. I asked Lilly if she had any pets she could take to school. She replied with a grin, "Yes, my daddy!"

Lilly was looking through a picture book of all her of her relatives when she stopped on her Grandpa Arnold's picture. She snickered and said, "I love that guy!"

We were getting ready to go to the store and Gus looked at Lilly and said, "Lilly, go get your clothes on." She looked at him and said, "I can't. I'm watching football." Gus couldn't have been happier.

During the last session of General Conference, Gus and I were hanging out on the couch listening while Lilly played dress-up. During President Monson's talk he said, "We're all in this together." Lilly looked up in astonishment and said "did you just hear the Prophet, he said 'We're all in this together' just like High School Musical!" At least she was listening.

After a small trip to Michaels, I buckled Lilly into her carseat and then got up front. I started looking through my bag for a treat for Lilly when I heard someone tap on my window, there stood a policeman. I opened my window and the policeman said, "I just wanted to say thank-you for strapping your little girl into her carseat. It always makes me happy to see people strap thier little ones in because there are many that dont." I laughed and told him "your welcome". After he left I looked back at Lilly. She was sitting there with a freaked out look on her face. I asked her what was wrong and she said, "I am SO glad I had my seatbelt on. He would have taken me from you! That would have been so scary." She talked about it all the way home. Lets just say I dont think Lilly will fight me about being buckled into her carseat ever again.

One morning I woke up to Lilly yelling, "Cockadoodledoo!" over and over. I walked into her room and asked her what she was doing. She said, "Waking you up!"

Halloween

This year for Halloween Lilly wanted to be a princess (wow, big suprise there). She added some wings out of her dress-up box at the last minute and insisted that she wear them. So, she became a fairy princess and I was just glad the wings matched the dress.

We started out the day by going to the Ward Trunk-or-Treat. We ate chili, listened to a fun storyteller, had our faces painted, and of course trunk-or-treated. Lilly had the hang of it this year and actually was excited to say trick-or-treat. She loved going to everyones trunks and getting candy.

Later that night we went to a friends house for a Halloween Party with lots of yummy food, fun toys, and great friends to hang out with.

After that party we swung by our good friend Wendy's house. Lilly LOVES Wendy and used to beg me to let her sit by her in Sacrament Meeting until our ward was split. Wendy actually bought her the crown she wore with her princess costume. We had fun hanging out at their house and then swinging by a fun pumpkin patch where there were tons of insanely carved pumpkins. It was dark and the music was scary, so Lilly was a little freaked out but we had fun.

To end the night, I took Lilly to a couple of Wendy's neighbors because Lilly just wasn't done trick-or-treating. She was a little sad on the way home because she wanted to stop at every house to get more candy. It turned out to be a great night.

Pumpkin Carving

For FHE on Monday we carved a pumpkin. Lilly helped Gus pull out all the insides and then tried to help carve it, which was a little scary.

In the end, she was so proud of her daddy!

My Birthday and Sharpay

For my birthday last Friday Gus gave me roses and a SEWING MACHINE! I have wanted a sewing machine forever, and now I just need some money to buy fabric.

On Friday night, MJ came over and watched Lilly for us while we went out to eat at Olive Garden. We haven't gone out just the two of us forever and it was wonderful.

Lilly recieved this little number from my mom for her birthday. She calls it her "Sharpay" outfit. Sharpay is her favorite High School Musical character who is always wearing extravagant outfits. Lilly loves to put it on and prance around the house singing High School Musical songs.

Four Day Weekend

Last weekend was a busy one. Gus had Friday off and then Monday was Columbus Day, so he had that day off too, which made for a 4 day weekend!

On Friday we went to Cox Farms. We had a fun time looking at all the baby cows, pigs, goats, and sheep. We went through the corn maze, ate apples, drank apple cider, learned how to milk a cow, and went down all the big slides. Lilly especially loved the slides. At the end of every slide she would take off running back up the big hill to go again. At the end of the day we each picked out one pumpkin to take home.

On Sunday morning we left for Charlottesville, Virginia. We took a 2 hour drive through the Shenendoah National Forest and looked at the beautiful fall colors. Lilly threw up 3 times in the first hour of our drive. We think she got carsick because we were swerving through some pretty narrow roads, but when we stopped she was just fine.

We arrived at our hotel in Charlottesville later in the day, got a bite to eat, and went to sleep.

The next morning we drove over to the University of Virginia (where Gus's Aunt Jane went to college). We had a great time taking pictures with all the wonderful old buildings.

On the way back home we stopped off at Pop Pop and Betty Sue's house. Betty Sue fixed us a delicious lunch and we sat around and talked for a while. Then Gus took Lilly around the farm and let her run all of her energy out before the drive home. Lilly had a fun time giving Pop Pop hugs and kisses and telling him all her stories. Before we left, Betty Sue gave Lilly a bag of candy. She was so excited.