Kelly's Korner SUYL Singles Friday...

I would like you y'all to meet my best friend, Brittany.  She is 26 years old, from Mississippi, and truly one of the most amazing women I have ever known.  She loves the Lord more than anything in this world, and does an excellent job of letting His light shine through her on a daily basis.  I am truly amazed at how she has listened to God and trusted his guidance for finding someone to spend the rest of her life with.  Her faith in Him is so strong.   She has a passion for children.  She is a wonderful elementary school teacher and makes daily sacrifices to insure that her kids are getting the best education possible. She loves dogs (especially labs), wearing dresses, anything in a mason jar, and sweet tea, but she loves her friends and family most and she will drop everything and run when one of those people need her...a true southern lady.

Lilly is ONE!!!!

Sweet Lilly,
I CANNOT BELIEVE you are a year old. The has been the absolute fastest year of my entire life! Everyone told me when I was pregnant with you how fast you would grow up, and now I know just how right they are!

Here's what you are up to at 1!...

You are still not walking by yourself, but you love to hold our hands and walk around and you make 1,000 laps around anything that you can hold on to or lean on: the coffee table, the kitchen island, and the sofa are your favorites!



You have officially graduated from the bottle! I decided to just bite the bullet and take it away the day after your birthday. I knew that the hardest part was going to be my response to it and not yours. You did FANTASTIC! You never missed it. I, on the other hand, cried like a baby the last night I gave you your nighttime bottle, because I was just overwhelmed at how big you are getting.



Speaking of getting big, I notice you doing lots of non-baby things now. Some good and some not so good. Your little outgoing personality is SHINING. You will wave and say, "Heyyyy!" to anyone, and you will let anyone hold you. Today, we were in the grocery store, and I was at the other end of the isle getting something and I looked up and you were using all of your energy waving at me and saying, "heyyyyy, mama!!". The not so good is the fit throwing that has begun. You are very determined, but we are working on that :)



You eat big girl foods now, too! You love carrots, beans, macaroni and cheese, turkey and cheese sandwiches, drinkable yogurt, avocados, bananas, clementines, and your chocolate do-nut with Daddy on Saturday mornings. You've even had a few corn dogs, french fries, and chicken tenders.



You wear 12-18 month clothes, a size 4 diaper, and a 3/4 shoe.

You can say, Mama, Dada, bye bye, dat (that), and hey. You can also shake your head no, and you do it quite often, whether it's when we tell you "no no, Lilly" or when you dont want to do something, take another bite of food, etc. You can wave, blow kisses, and hold up your "one" finger when we ask you how old you are.







Your birthday party was Lilly's Sweet Shop. We had a BLAST celebrating your life with our family and friends.




















You are absolutely adorable, Lilly. We love you more today that we could ever imagine possible, and I know that love will continue to grow in abundance daily. You have been the easiest baby, and we are so grateful for your sweet spirit. I know the years will go by faster and faster, and I can't wait to see what you will do during your second year!

Happy FIRST YEAR, baby girl!!
Love,
Mommy (and Daddy)

Lilly is 11 months old...

Lilly,
You are ELEVEN months old! Here's what you are up to...

You are getting REALLY good at ripping your hairbow out and pulling off your scoks and shoes when you ride in the car. You usually have them off before we can even get out of the subdivision! I don't mind, but when we are in a hurry, it's frustrating to have to redress you when we get where we are going!

You are still eating some baby food, but you LOVE finger foods. Your favorite things are bananas, avocados, turkey and cheese sandwiches, puffs, yogurt melts, potatoes, macaroni and cheese, and DOUGHNUTS!! It has become a Saturday morning tradition to eat doughnuts and drink chocolate milk.



You are becoming quite strong-willed already. When something doesn't go your way, you DEFINITELY let us hear about it. Right now, we pretty much ignore you and let you express yourself for a minute. You get over it super fast. Not sure what we are going to do when you start having full-blown tantrums. I'm REALLY not ready for that yet!



You have TWO front teeth now!



You have developed a recent obsession with Chaucer. You LOVE him and chase him all over our house. He is so sweet. He lets you crawl all over him, and never even responds!





You have started WALKING this month!! You haven't taken a step on your own, but you will push your walking toy all over the place. You will also hold our hand and walk, but if you even THINK we may let go, you immediately plop down on your booty!





You are in your PJs in almost every picture this month! You have been a very sick girl You have had the flu, RSV, and ear infections. You have been SO sweet, though. The only time you even acted sick was when you had the flu and your fever got up to 104! Poor baby!




(Chaucer walked in and distracted you mid-photo session)

You LOVE to "read" books. You flip through them and just babble the whole time.







You know how to play peep eye, blow kisses, wave, clap, shake your head no, and "brush" your hair. You can say "Mama", "Dada", "bye bye", and "dat" (that).



You are hilarious when you first wake up in the mornings. I think you are going to be like your Dada in the mornings...grumpy!!





Your hair is getting so thick. I even think it is starting to curl a little! I just love to brush it and put bows in it!

I can't believe that we will be celebrating your birthday in just a few short weeks. This has been the fastest, but MOST WONDERFUL year of my life! I don't see how it could get any better, but every one says it does. Mama and Dada love you more than you can even fathom right now, Lilly. You are our precious little "bug", and we could not imagine life without you!

Happy 11 months, baby girl!
Love,
Mommy

Lilly is 10 Months Old...

Sweet Lil,

You are TEN months old now! Here's what you have been up to...

You celebrated your FIRST Christmas this month. It was so fun to start new traditions with you and to see your reaction to all of the lights and celebrations. Daddy read the Christmas story, from Luke 2, to you while I rocked you to sleep on Christmas Eve. I can't wait to initiate even more traditions as you grow and begin to grasp the true meaning of Christmas.














You are pulling up on everything! I get so tickled at you because every morning when I go into your room to get you out of your crib, you are standing up waving at me! You are still sleeping so well. You usually go to bed between 6:30 and 7 every night, and you wake up around 7 in the morning. You take at least one good nap during the day, too.

You still have NO teeth, but your are drooling like crazy. I'm thinking they are not too far away.





We have started introducing table foods more frequently, and you are really enjoying them. You love macaroni noodles, pancakes, turkey, peaches, and baked potato. I have been considering taking your bottle away, but I don't think we are going to make any drastic changes until you are a year old. I just love feeding you your night time bottle and rocking you to sleep at night. I'm not ready to give that up just yet.

You are talking up a storm. You can say Mama, Dada, and bye bye. You are VERY good at waving at every one and telling them bye.







You rang in your first new year (at 6:00, of course) and loved looking at the fireworks that Daddy bought.



We love you more today than we ever though possible! Can't wait for next month!

Love,
Mommy