Lily Grace: January 2010

Saturday, January 30, 2010

Friday, January 29, 2010

Here's a moment from today to put in the book for the sake of cherishing childhood memories. Haha. I left Lily in the bathtub to go get clothes this morning when I heard her saying something about poop. I hurried back to find her proudly fishing out pieces of poo and lining them up on the side of the tub for display. GROSS! My prayer= Lord, please ignite in her an interest in potty training!

Visiting the Whitneys

Lily riding the train at the park

Jacob, Catherine, Aunt Sierra on the train

All 3 kids in the Whitney's minivan

Playing in the tub

Cousins

Lily and I went to Houston for a couple of days to visit Aunt Sierra, Uncle Greg, Jacob, and Catherine. The poor kids were all sickly. There was Lily vomiting, Catherine with her nose running like a faucet, Jacob with the yucky cough, and fevers all around. Funny how with all that going on they still had an enormous amount of energy and interest in playing for the most part. It was fun to watch them all interact together. Lily and Jacob were especially entertaining pushing their little carts around together. Both of them kept asking for the other when they were separated. It was cute. And Catherine is such a doll.... so easy going compared to the first two. We enjoyed our family bonding time Whitneys : )

Big Girl Bed

Lily recently mastered the art of climbing in and out of her crib. So we thought we better transition it to a toddler bed before she fell and broke some bones trying to get in and out of bed. There were a few days there that it was rough going for all of us as she was getting the hang of staying in her bed but she's a champ at it now, and proudly announces when we lay her down "I stay in my bed like a big girl."

Mimi's Cross Stitch for Lily

My Mom started this cross stitch for Lily when I first told them I was pregnant. Almost 3 years and lots of blood, sweat, and tears later she had it matted and framed and gave it to us on Christmas. It is one of those sweet labors of love that we will always cherish.

Jordan's Leave

Kayla, Jordan, Lily

Me, Jordan, Lily (with an attitude : ), Kristi

Jordan with his Mom and little sister

Weirdo : )

Waiting inside airport for Jordan

My cousin Jordan came home in January for a two week leave from his deployment in Afghanistan. Shane, Me, Lily, Kristi, Aunt Carrie, Uncle Kevin, and Kayla joined his Mom-Julie and sister-Brittany to welcome him when his flight came in. It was good to see him and visit a little bit. We all went out to lunch together and were glad to share in his down time for the afternoon. Thank you Jordan for the service you continue to provide for us. We love you!

Monday, January 4, 2010

Happy New Year- 2010!

Shane was playing "Party in the U.S.A" for us and demonstrating his heartfelt connection to Miley's lyrics. WOW!

Ree Ree and Kdog.... We have so much fun with them!

Krista and Molly

They're attempting to spell out 2010 with their bodies.

Our New Years Eve started with celebrating Aunt Kristi's 25th birthday with her and her boyfriend Tom at his condo where he made the traditional Hatfield bday breakfast of pancakes and chocolate syrup for us. That night Lily went to a very happening party at Krista and Kayla's house with the Sams kids and Molly. We heard some funny stories of her cutting loose and having a ball with the big kids. Shane and I took advantage of the babysitters and went out to dinner before we came back to the Maberry party. We all made it a sleepover, and spent most of New Years Day with the Maberry crew as well. It was a great way to ring in the New Year! By the way this year is a big year for our little family. Shane and I will both be 20+10 in 2010 and he will be done with his residency at the end of June. Ow ow for 2010!

Christmas 09

Our Christmas snowman

You know you're a redneck when..... you put your child in a laundry basket with a towel tied to it and pull her around on the icy sidewalks! That was all Kristi and Shane.

Daddy is working on a body for our snowman.

All bundled up and ready to play in the snow!

Opening gifts.

Lily pushing her baby stroller. She loved the stroller!

We were back home for Christmas with Aunt Kristi awaiting the arrival of Mimi, Grandad, Aunt Shelley, and both the family dogs (Dixie and Emma -who they kept while we were in CA.). But it was a long journey for the Martin clan to get to the metroplex this year. They left at 7 am on Christmas Eve, but ran into horrible road conditions and backed up traffic. The normally 5-6 hr trip ended up taking 30 hours this time! Luckily they were in the group of people who made it off the interstate to rest in a hotel for a few hours before getting back to the mess of the roads. They had to endure a lot, but we were so grateful when they did arrive at 2 pm on Christmas Day. It was such a frenzy with all the activity that I ended up with no pictures of Grandad, Mimi, or Aunt Shelley : ( Maybe they can email some to me (hint hint) to put on here. Lily had lots of fun with Christmas... she understood the concept of opening presents and proved that she does have some Bland blood in her with the speed of her unwrapping : ) And we continually worked on communicating the true meaning of the season to her amidst all the hustle and bustle. It is our greatest hope that as she grows the Savior who came into this world for us that day becomes her greatest reason for celebration.

California Funfest 09

Once we put Lily in her stroller after the parade it took her about 2 min. to crash. It was a big and fun filled day.

Pooh and Tigger in the Christmas Parade.

We got great seats for the Christmas Fantasy Parade again.

We're brothers! Haha

Uncle E.T. was more than willing to help out with Lily and all her paraphenalia. He's such a sweet uncle.

Ali and E.T. on It's a Small World.

Souvenir time: Lilypop (her term for lollipop) and Baby Mickey put a big smile on her face and helped us all enjoy the long lines for the rides.

A little nervous bout the teacups. She hung tight to Daddy's neck the whole time. But she said it was fun.

Lily loved the Carousel

Riding the Carousel

Dumbo Ride

E.T. and Ali on the Dumbo ride

Our crew with Mickey

Getting started on a day o fun at Disneyland!

At the Ronald McDonald House with Elmo. We met a family on the playground who was staying there while their 3 yr old son/brother endures a long term hospital stay at Loma Linda to treat his brain cancer. It is so heart wrenching to hear stories of such pain in such a small body. We are praying for Gabriel and his family. Please join us.

We went to a charity event with Pop Pop for his work, and Elmo was there. Santa and Elmo in one day. What more could any 2 year old ask for?

Lily was so excited to see Santa. Of course she got shy once she finally made it to sit in his lap. But the mall photographer did get a pic of her smiling... we were pleasantly surprised : )

We buried E.T. in the sand and made him into a mermaid. Hahahahaha.

It was so nice to be at the beach listening to the waves, playing in the sand, and taking the time to enjoy the small beauties of nature. Super cheesy I know. But it was a sweet moment.

Maybe my favorite picture ever. It's already printed off and hung next to my bed so I can see it all the time. I am so grateful for the joy these two bring me individually and as a Daddy/Daughter unit. They are both gifts from God.

Working on a sand creation

Shane and Jenny on the yacht party for the Parade of Lights

E.T. and Ali on the yacht party for the Parade of Lights

Shane, Lily, and I had the awesome privilege of going to visit Dad Taylor/Pop Pop and E.T. for 6 days right before Christmas while Shane was on vacation from his residency. We had a blast! Between fun family outings to the beach, seeing childhood heroes (i.e. Elmo and Santa), going to Disneyland and all the fun date nights we had with E.T. and Ali while Pop Pop babysat Lily... it was a very refreshing and fun filled vacation. We did miss Mom Taylor/Grandma Torie as she was taking care of her parents who are going through a rough patch of health. But we are very appreciative to the Taylors for having us out and making our visit to California such a great time.