it's Tuesday! and an update.

I am thankful for-

1. all my mom friends: both those that have kids the same age as mine and are going through the same stages as me and also for the ones with older kids because my friends AND their kids are still alive and survived the twos and encourage me.

2. all my friends and family who don't have kids yet.  They are always patient with me and willing to lend a hand and help love on my kids every chance they get.  And certainly judge me appropriate amounts when it is needed.

3. spontaneity.

4. Lily's increasing vocabulary: it brings joy and laughter.

5. the ability to be a stay at home mom so I can watch my kids grow and develop.

Jesse and I stayed up way too late last night talking and one of the topics we discussed was Lily's vocabulary.  It just cracks us both up.  She is working so hard to string 2-4 word sentences together and trying new words daily: both the ones we ask her to attempt and the ones that she hears us say.  Some of her favorite phrases are "oooooh man!", "Emma (or Momma or Daddy) happy?!", and "hold baby?!" though the list could go on indefinitely.  The other night, Lily invited herself to spend the night at Aunt Betsy's by saying something along the lines of "stay, sleep, night, Aunt Betsy's house!"  And while I feel I have been able to communicate with Lily from an early age, thanks to teaching her some sign, I really enjoy being able to talk to her more now.  When I was younger and babysitting, I never understood what in the world the toddlers were saying to me, or how their parents knew what it was without hesitation.  I get it now.  Some of Jesse and my favorites (that bring the laughter) are: ham-poon (pillow), cam-poon (crouton), bow-bowm (vacuum), nong-nee (gummy) and burber (burger).  THIS list could definitely go much longer.  But pillow is the reigning favorite for now.  She also has apparently been working on naming the 7 dwarves because she throws happy, sleepy and "neeze" (sneeze) around frequently.

Her memory has also been kind of shocking me.  When we drive up to the Y, we pass a fountain that shoots water and Lily obviously loves it.  She knows which exit we take to see the water, and as soon as we get off the exit ramp, she starts talking about it.  One day it was broken, and I had to explain to her that maybe they were fixing it so she could see it next time.  Then, Lily overheard Jesse and me talking about me going back to work and she pipes up "fix, water?"  I was floored that she put together water with the Y and knew that when we referred to my job she knew she would get to see the water.  

Emma is doing great.  She's 2 months old and not a lot can be said for what she's up to.  She occasionally will roll over (sometimes with Lily's help with an exclamation of "EMMA ROLL!!!!!!"), and the other day I put her on her tummy in the crib for a nap and when I checked on her she was on her back.  Her neck strength is improving and she is holding her head up pretty well.  Beyond that...she's an infant and doesn't do a whole lot.

Zeke is a champ.  Poor guy puts up with a lot.  Lily adores him and tries to play ball, and for the most part, she is the only one he will drop a ball for.  However, she is still learning that she can't walk over and smack him.  When we correct her and tell her she can't do that, she will lightly stroke his face and say "nice!"  I was going out for a run the other day and had forgotten he was outside.  Not a problem except he decided he wanted to run with me.  Problem a) he is NOT a distance runner, but rather a one-sprint-and-done kind of dog, b) he has been having some hip or paw pain and there was no way he would be able to keep up with my (slow) pace and c) we really don't want him going out of our hollow without a leash because we don't want him to wander down the road to the neighbors.  So I had to turn around and take him home.  Maybe when he's feeling better he can go with me.

Lily's idea of sharing her toys

playing with Daddy's tablet