Tom, Kris & LG at the park!

More pics from the hood!

View from rents' house...

View down to rents' house taken from location above...


Bridges that connect all the houses/waterways...

Lilly doesn't care for the thick grass!

Well, hello there!

Yes! Long time, no blog! Sorry about that! I promise it's not because I've not been thinking a lot about my friends, it's because I've been so crazy ridiculously busy. Funny, huh? Tom and I leave our jobs and are now busier than ever! Just to fill you in.....

Things that I've DONE in the month that I've been here:

1. Emptied a 26 foot moving truck into 2 storage units
2. Re-arranged those storage units a couple of times
3. Turned my parents' house up-side-down Lilly-proofing, re-arranging some of our furniture for theirs, then taking that to storage
4. Totally cleaned out the garage in which my mom stores (in a not-so-organized fashion) her e-bay empire so that Tom's motorcycle can fit
5. Been to many doctors
6. Shopped for nanny gift, homecoming items and a small, cheap toddler bed
7. Listed items on e-bay (seller: courtneyplace) - dude, I need the money
8. Got my FL driver license (required an entire day!)
9. Have been the computer guru for my parents
10. Have made multiple trips to Cosco, BJ's and grocery store (not Nordstorm or Juicy!)
11. Between Tom and I: Pressure cleaned sidewalk, porch and driveway; cleaned gutters, removed bushes, put out new stone, etc.
12. Done more housework than EVER!
    

Honorable mentions that I've also done since arriving:

1. Fished with my dad
2. Took LG to park (pics to come)
3. Gone garaging (garage sales) every Saturday with mom and Tom (FUN!)
4. Had family dinner every night
5. Have LOVED watching LG entertain my parents
6. Have visited with my lovely aunt TuTu
   

What I have NOT done since arriving in FL:

1. Gone to beach
2. Gone to pool
3. Gone to She-She malls
4. Ridden on motorcycle along A1A
5. Paid bills

This is where I now live:

http://www.mapquest.com/maps?city=West+Palm+Beach&state=FL&address=Livingston+Lane&zipcode=33411#a/maps/l::[2500-2899]+Livingston+Ln:West+Palm+Beach:FL:33411:US:26.71885:-80.16085:street:Palm+Beach+County:1/m:hyb:12:26.71664:-80.159247:0:::::1:1:1::/io:0:::::f:EN:M:/e

It's a neat place - all centered around the single, large lake with finger lake extending. Each finger lake has a row of houses/condos on both sides, so everyone has a lake view. The star marks my location!

I've not had time to take pics, but here is a condo that looks pretty much like my rents.

http://palmbeach.condo.com/MLS_Images/FL/PB/40/R3040973-1.jpg

The place is 3 miles around. My goal is to walk around the entire circle, but it has poured rain virtually every day.

At the heart of the community is the "Town Center" - could not find a picture, and this one does it no justice, but you get the point!

http://riverwalkresales.com/riverwalk/index.php?option=com_content&view=category&layout=blog&id=39&Itemid=54

In addition to the amazing landscaping, the Town Center includes 3 pools, a post office, a salon, a gym, a market, a gas station, a car wash, a Wachovia, real estate office, clubhouse, way cute apartments, tennis courts, a cafe, etc.

Tom and I are anxious to get settled. We belong here. Not necessarily in my parents' house, but in FL.

I miss you all a ton!

Too cute for words!

PM Playtime.....

I love these videos because they show how excited LG gets about playing and being able to walk, both away and toward, in anticipation of some fun event! And I love how she giggles and squeals with delight when surprised!

Conversations with Grandma

LG likes to call gma just about every night. Here is their typical conversation.

Lilly busts more moves!

No matter where she is or what she is doing, if LG hears music, she DANCES! She may stop doing what she is at that time to stand up and dance; or, she will continue focusing on the task at hand and incorporate "moves" around it - it may be swaying, rocking back at forth, jamming with her head or moving the free hand! I wish I could get these videos with her face forward, but she always turns toward the tv - to see the "Toddler Tune" cartoon.

Caught Lilly with a chocolate bar...

Walkin' Girl

The timing for LG's learning to walk was impeccable - right in the middle of our move! Here she is motorin' around the house (and the boxes!)

Christmas in July!

Hi everyone, Tom doing the update this week as Kris had surgery on her wrist last week and not typing that well yet. Here is a short clip of LG going through a box of new outfits sent by her "aunt grandma Joyce". She loves going through these boxes that mysteriously show up on our doorstep about every 3-4 months. (Thanks AG Joyce) enjoy.

Lilly's Lolli

My friend Jennifer, with whom I work, gave me this giant Blow-pop last week! She has 2 little girls, so I can always count on her to pull candy out of her bag should I ever have a sweet tooth! It lasted me all the way home from work, so Tom and I decided to see how Lilly liked it! She's usually not too big a fan of sweets, but she seemed to like this okay. I'm sure it was the dirt, hair and grime from being drug around the floor that was most appealing to us both! In fact, if you watch the video closely enough, you can see the HAIR attached to it as she sticks it in my mouth! EWWW! But we were enjoying hearing her go "mmmmmmmmmmm" so much, that there was no way that I was going to express my disgust!

Father's Day 2009

Tom (and I, of course) had a very nice Father's Day (other than missing MY dad horribly!). Lilly took Tom some coffee in bed and gave him this handprint plate.



Then we spent the day on our deck paying no attention to her at all!





Who is having more fun here? Tom or Lilly?

Playtime with Lilly

These videos represent a typical evening of playful fun in the Lilly Grace household!

Here' Lilly the Leapfrog! I just love how (our) Lilly hugs and kisses the Leapfrog Lilly! :)



LG enjoys wooden puzzles with pegs. While she understand (but has not mastered) that each piece belongs in a specific spot on the board, she is most excited by holding the pegs while banging the pieces together! If I were to tolerate her being a band geek, I imagine that she'd play the cymbals, as she does this with all of her toys!



Grandma and LG talk on the phone just about every evening. I put mom on speaker phone and LG will babble on and on, pushing buttons and laughing when my mom laughs. Lilly now picks up EVERY phone that she sees, puts it to her head and starts talking to Gma (whether she's on the phone, or not!) If you listen closely, she says "am-ma" -





LG has learned to anticipate and get excited about "surprise" far beyond peek-a-boo!

My husband addresses children's behavior for a living...

...yet, he does things that he knows Lilly will copy and/or model. Most of the dad stuff he teaches her has been okay with me; I sit adoringly and watch the two of them play. But, I often make fun of him when he is including something (ridiculous) that has anything to do with science fiction. As most of you know, I'm not a sci-fi fan. As a matter of fact, I rather loathe the whole notion of outer space, monsters, godzilla, wizardry, and the like. Now that Jackie is staying with us, I am "bookended" by TWO sci-fi fans. Ug. Which leads me to Star Trek. I've never seen an episode or movie, but I've had to learn what a Cardassian is. Here is a Star Trek Cardassian named Damar.



Tom and Jackie "make a face like the Cardassians on Star Trek" to Lilly all of the time. She watches them and laughs. I just bow and nod my head in loving shame. Here they are.....





Need I point out what Lilly does now? And laughs at herself? And laughs at us for laughing at her? Can you hear Tom laughing hysterically (but trying not to) in the background? For some reason, he thinks this is HILARIOUS! God, I hope she doesn't start doing this in public! ENJOY!

Pruned skin and all! She loves the water!

New favorite picture!



I wonder what she is saying in this first video?



Tom got her this really cute little fishing rod; it's got a magnetic "hook" that catches little fish with magnets on them. Lilly catches HERSELF! Kindof like when her Gma was fishing with us in PA and she caught the anchor! LOL! At least the anchor didn't go in her mouth! :)~



Watch how proud she is! This is one of our favorite faces that she makes! "Look! I can make noise!"



More pool pics........

She really wants to walk!

Lg hasn't quite mastered walking yet. She's getting very close. She can walk as long as we are holding one hand. She gets so proud of herself though, that she has to stop and evaluate her FEET - this makes her lose her balance. She's quite frustrated with her only mobility, which is crawling. So she has a new mode...do you call it the elephant walk? She will walk like this up and down the hallway..and then try to do it with my shoes on...and then look between her legs to make sure you are watching. By the way, getting her on video doing anything is becoming increasingly difficulty. She loves to play with the camera, so she stops doing whatever it is that we are trying to capture as soon as she hears the camera come on!

Monkey see, monkey do!

Lilly is now in the phase where she imitates everything we do. She started with putting on jewelry and shoes. Now she knows that scissors cut fabric, doors open and close, cabinets slam, forks and spoons scoop, straws go in cups, phones are held up to your ears AND TV REMOTES ARE TO BE POINTED AT THE TV! My friend Lynnette's daughter does not use TV in her home with her two little ones...now I see why!

Miscellaneous pictures...

Being so busy over the last few months, rhere have been quite a few pictures that I wanted to post but did not have the chance. Obviously, some go back a bit....

Tom and I picked this up for Lilly a couple of months ago! She and I take a long walk every afternoon, visit the dogs, pick up the mail, etc. When we pull up next to the mailboxes, she'll stand up and lift the purple hood because she knows that I keep the mail key in that compartment. She also takes the mail, especially the sale flyers, and acts as if she's reading them!



We keep looking for a "toy box" - so far she's been okay with this one!



At my parents in the afternoon sun...



Alicia and Lilly playing cards at Christmas time!



I just like the next two....she's so pretty, but I know I'm biased!





Lilly and Jenilyn



Lilly, Grandma and Grandpa

New view of the bug!

Lilly loves to hang upside down! If she is sitting on your lap, she will just suddenly FLAIL HER HEAD BACK so she can view the room from upside down! She thinks it's hilarious! Here she is playing with me while I videotape her silliness!

Townhome Playground

Despite far too many toys, two precautionary gates and three adult friends, Lilly always wants to play on the steps. We've gotten her blocked well enough to keep her on the bottom two, but she will climb up and down those a hundred times! This sequence of videos is meant to show you multiple things about LG.

This first one shows you what a show-off she is! If no one was paying any attention to her at this very moment, she would be up and down the stairs, up and down the stairs. Once she realized, however, that she had an audience, a video-taping audience, well she just had to put her best little performance foot forward! Make sure the volume is up on this one! See how she turns around to make sure everyone is watching her? This is why she's not yet walking...she stands up and balances with ease, but then topples over when she turns her head quickly to make sure that she has an audience to clap for her!



The second and third video show the the reason that we videoed in the first place. Once you get past the inevitable fact that there's always something on my dirty floor that she picks up and eats, and the stacks of crap that represent my (ironic) attempt at organizing, you learn several things about LG.

Watch how amazingly thoughtful she is when coming back down the stairs (the first time and second time!) I even think she's saying "down." Listen.... The next thing is shows is a confirmation of the first - she's a ham - and when she stops paying such thoughtful consideration of what she's doing, and plays "look how cute I am," she forgets what to do! This is a longer video, so I had to youtube it...



Is that expression at the end priceless, or what? Finally, can you believe how tenacious she is? No tears! No fears! She starts all over again! And gets it right! Boy, do we need a yard or what?

Toddler tunes...

On our digital cable box, I've discovered a music channel called "toddler tunes." They play the cutest songs, from classic "Rubber Ducky" to some silly ones by modern day rockers. LG has always seemed to be responsive to music, but she's really starting to move to the tunes now! Cracks us up! Her best move is "the twist" but we didn't capture this on video. Tom and I dance with her often; I try to convince her to watch me more, as Tom is, well, shall we say, rythmically challenged?



You can tell that she's trying to stand up to dance...but just can't get there. What she can get to is the stereo system! She knows exactly how to turn the volume up and down - watch! The knob she turns is really the volume!



She also likes to play with the remote controls around the house. As soon as she picks on up, she immediately sticks her arm straight out to point it at the TV! I'm telling you, she notices and copies everything!

She definately takes after me with the love of music. Can't wait til' she's a hateful teenager and I can introduce her to Trent! <3

Summer, swimming and sister fun!

Jackie and I spent some time with LG in the pool last weekend. While she likes to be in her little Lady Bug float that Gma gave her, she prefers to splash and kick and float and spit, etc. She's such a little trooper! She gets water in her face - nose - doesn't bother her! After watching these videos, Jackie and I both agreed that our voices are especially annoying when we talk to Lilly! Feel free to turn down the volume on these! It won't hurt our feelings a bit! I'm sorry if the videos seem redundant...but as the doting mom and smom, I see wonderful little things in all of them! :)







After Lilly tired of the water and Jackie started burning (both in 10 minutes time! LOL!) my buddy Lynnette came to visit. We spent 3 hours in and out of the pool, doing what we do best....LAUGHING! She has become such a dear friend and reliable source of girl-powered-energy! Got a nice sunburn, too!

I'm convinced that Lilly, like Tom and myself, needs to be near water. She enjoys all water activities from pools, to sprinklers, to tubs, to sinks, to rain! And she's afraid of nothing!

Self discovery....

It amazes me how much Lilly changes every day, especially as she begins to discover. She's always really "studied" things, focusing a great deal on each of her senses; but now she doesn't just focus, she DISCOVERS! And the best part is that when she discovers something, she will get really excited and the STOP, and look around to make sure someone else discovered what she did! And you better get as thrilled as she does! She has a very specific facial expression when she does this, too! Tom and I are determined to capture it!

Recently, Jackie (Tom's second oldest daughter) and I were in Old Navy. Lilly and I were watching her model a few fashions. Just outside the fitting room there was a set of those 3 way mirrors (that, lately, I try to avoid!) - well, Miss Lilly discovered how cute she is! I am absolutely GUSHING over these photos!

Swimmin' Pool

Lilly enjoyed her new swimming pool over the Memorial Day Weekend!

Lilly on the move....

My friend Jennifer and her adorable 2 year old Chloe gave us this walking toy. Lilly can't get enough. She goes up and down the hallway, insisting that everyone watch her and applaud when she reaches each end.



She has yet to master turning herself around. She either turns the toy, but then can't get her feet right, or, she gets her feet squared off, but then can't turn the toy!



Look at her go! :)

"Big Girl" Shoes

Lilly is fascinated with shoes. When she sees a pair of shoes on the floor (which, unfortunately, is often!) she tries to put them on. It is sooo cute. What cracks me up most is that she tries to stretch to the shoe instead of bringing the shoe to her! Enjoy!

....and I thought she missed me in the day......

Our Lilly Grace is a year old!

While I am tickled pink about our little girl growing up, I'm even more tickled about not having to do those monthly photo shoots! Yes, it will be great to chronical the first year of her life by month, but, as she got bigger and more mobile, those pics became mighty difficult to snap! I have tons of birthday party and Christening pictures to post, but I wanted a few people to receive them in the mail before they are posted. These pics are a preview --

At one year, Lilly Grace:

Can climb a full flight of stairs;
Walks everywhere as long as she has something to hold onto;
Does NOT like mushy baby food OR being fed with a spoon;
Waves "hello" and "bye-bye" (and says "Bye Bye);
Understands "no" and will nod her head to express it;
Points to things that she wants;
Has curly locks in the back of her hair;
Claps and says "Yeah!";
LOVES dogs;
Has 11 teeth and does not hesitate to bite your finger;
Lifts her feet when she sees you coming with shoes and socks;
Has traveled to FL, PA, NY and NC beach;
Does not meet a stranger;
Is fascinated with barrettes and shoes;
Dances (twists at the waist) to music;
Stares out the window when riding in the car;
Holds your face with both hands and kisses you on the lips.
Refuses to sleep through the night.

Lilly's walker

Even though Lady Bug is so close to walking, she LOVED being in the walker that Gma got for her. So, TB and I sprung for one at Toy's R' Us this weekend. You can see by her excitement level and beaming pride that she REALLY thinks she's something else in this thing! :)

Lilly's first beach visit....

Needing a MUCH-NEEDED break, TB, LG and I headed for a beach weekend. We left Friday afternoon and stayed in an oceanfront room at the Sheraton on Atlantic Beach. How nice! We had a restful, fun, adventurous time. Of course, LG is the center of attention, with us and EVERYONE who is around her. Here are a few snapshots of her first beach experience!

Here she is in her first beach-side photo op!



We sat her down where the ocean water, at approximately 65 degrees, met the sand...waiting and watching for her response!











At about this point, we were waiting for her to either scream or cry; but neither happened. She did her typical "study" and watched to see exactly what was going on! As you can see by the next frames, after she thought about it, she LOVED IT!





Getting close to walking, she next decided that she need to feel this action on her toes! These photos show how much she studies and concentrates! She wore TB and I out helping her toddle in and out of the water's edge.













Every rose has its' thorn, though. And every ocean has its' sand. While LG didn't mind the cool, cool waters of the ocean, the squawks of the seagulls and the glow-in-the-dark-white skin of the tourists (parents included), she did not grow accustomed to the sand. We put out a sheet for her to sit on until she ventured out onto the beach itself. Because this child is ALWAYS on the move, we didn't figure it would take very long. Well, she NEVER left the sheet! When she saw her toys sitting in the sand, she took off for them. But she put one hand in the sand and turned right back around. She did not venture away from the sheet for the rest of the time we were there. She did, of course, study the sand. She rubbed her hands together. She felt of the sand on her feet. But did not want to get more on her than was already there. More pics:

This is how it started. Then we moved the toys.



Notice the curl!!



She went no further than this!











"She CHEWS sea shells by the sea shore" :)