Dress- up

It tickles me pink to watch as Lilly blossoms into a little girl. She is losing her baby like features and mannerisms and she even has a few freckles now. As she has gotten older she has loved playing with my shoes and can even walk in my heels now. She loves wearing dresses and having her hair pretty. She will reach up and touch her hair and ask us if it is okay (in her own way of course) and she is always trying to show daddy her outfits and pretties for his approval. She loves to play with jewelry too. Luckily I have some of my mom's jewelry which I used to play with when I was little that she now is able to have fun with. One of the other fun bonuses of that is that my mom's ears weren't pierced, so she has a lot of clip on earrings that are very costume-y. I did get rid of some of them merely because back when I first got her jewelry I figured I would never wear them so why keep them, but at least I had sense enough to keep some stuff. It is so fun to watch her enjoy the things that I cherished and still cherish. A piece of my mom will always be with us. I think however I need to round up some more costume like jewelry for her, she isn't a fan of the fake mardi gras necklaces, she'll wear them, but she knows they aren't the "real" thing. I have a feeling we are going to have alot more fun dress up days ahead of us and I can't wait!!!

L-O-V-E

Valentine's day was really special this year. I have made it a goal of mine to teach Lilly how special love is and just how much she is loved. And she is just at that age where things are beginning to click. We had the delight of hosting a special V-day party for our playgroup friends. It was so much fun and I had a lot of fun getting ready for it. After Lilly went to bed I decorated the house with pink and white streamers, Elmo valentines balloons, a valentines banner, and red lace hearts. When Lilly woke up the next morning she was so excited. She ran from each decorated area to the next pointing and "oo-ing and ah-ing" It warmed my heart. On Valentines day itself Lilly had a wicked cold so we kept her home from church in order to prevent spreading it (i mean like the green boogie sneezing kind of cold) But we opened some gifts had a great breakfast, watched her new Barney dvd, and ate candy. What a great day!

Lilly having some chocolate for breakfast (and she was playing with her new sesame street toys)

All the girls in her play group (Lilly, Claudia, Lauren, Anya, Lexi, and Naia)

Bubble time!!!

2 Elmo balloons $8.00, admiration of the balloons...priceless

Taking a minute out of playtime to pose for a candid mommy daughter shot

Big girl!

Testing it out..."this one is just right"

Last weekend we found a great deal on a toddler bed we just couldn't pass up. So we bought it with the anticipation she wouldn't be sleeping in it till summer time, but today Ziff said he thought she might be ready earlier than that, so while he was at work, Lilly and I set up her new bed. We still need to put a mattress cover and sheets on, but Lilly at least gets the idea of her big girl bed and I think she is pretty excited. We'll see how it goes...I don't know if we are quite ready to really let her sleep in it at night yet, mostly because I know that there may be quite a few escape attempts...given the history of nieces and nephews and kids babysat at nighttime. But we shall see. Fingers crossed she transitions well.

Pink rubbers

Lilly strikes again...

She is always looking for new ways to make us laugh and this morning was no exception. Both Ziff and I were cracking up and she was thoroughly pleased with herself. What a great way to start our morning!

Chillin'

I love the look on her face...apparently she found something good.

Pointing to the cheese...and saying "oooo"

(below: sitting down so I can't close the door)

Such the independent girl she is, Lilly has decided that she needs to be the one to take things out of the refrigerator, not us. Part of her extreme desire I think stems from the fact that she loves to be a helper. She sets the table, clears the table, wipes it down, picks up her toys, puts the laundry into the washer and then into the dryer, and even has started helping put groceries away. It is so refreshing to see that her personality stems that way naturally, I foresee it saving us a lot of battles in the future. It cracks me up how serious she gets when she is looking in the fridge. She needs to see all her options, but in part I think she is being a funny serious because if I ask her to close it, she averts her eyes and gets a big grin on her face. It's pretty cute if I do say so myself.

A day in my shoes

As Lilly gets older, more and more I find her little girl coming out. She has always been fascinated by shoes, but lately she is really into wearing them. She loves to put them on and walking around giggling. She has attempted my heels, but has been unsuccessful in walking in them, so flats are her choice for now :-) But cute all the same. She also love to wear my necklaces and have her hair done pretty. It is so much fun having a little princess.

Baby X

We are rounding up week 22 of pregnancy #2 and so far things have been great. I am feeling great, normal side effects aside of course. My energy is back up, my appetite is up, but my sleep has gone down. I have reached the point now where sleeping isn't the best. Waking every few hours, unable to get comfy, back aching, or even the nightly run to the potty, but i have been doing some stretching and very light yoga before bed each night and that has seemed to help some. I have only done it a few nights, but those few nights I slept much better. I am having trouble gaining weight like i did with Lilly. So far I have gained about 7 lbs and average is 12 lbs. The midwives keep telling me to eat and I do (sometimes I wonder what they truly think of my lack of weight gain), but I am just unable to pack on the pounds. Regardless though baby is great and momma is healthy.

We finally found out the other day the sex of the baby, and the Reed man genes live on, we are having a boy! We are a little shocked, seeing as we were convinced we were destined to have all girls. We don't have a name quite yet, we are still waiting for the right one to pop out, and he may just not get his name till we meet him. Which is why one of my oldest and dearest friends has decided to name him X for right now. X is very active. Always moving and dancing in there. Mostly in the morning first thing and alt night between 8 and 10, so at least he is predictable.

A profile pictture of X (his nose looks very similar to Lilly's in th womb although I think her was a little pointier and his is more rounded so maybe that means he's going to look more like me :-) )

There is no denying he is a boy!

X's first clothes! (one of the first people I met here in Ft Collins from our church who helped me get to know more people, surprised us with this gift, and it has kind of gotten me more excited about having a boy!!)