3 years of Motherhood

Lillian entered into this world and my life 3 years ago. From that moment on everything changed. But every change was totally worth it. I love her more than life itself and am so very thankful that God has blessed me with her.

In the last three years Lillian has traveled a lot! She has been to Arizona, California, Colorado, Georgia, Kentucky, North Carolina, Pensylvania and of course numerous cities and towns in TN. She travels well and has recently figured out how to stay awake on road trips! Which means no more leaving at bedtime and driving late and night. She will be able to add Florida to her list in June when the fam goes to Disney World.

Lillian is all girl!! She loves to wear dresses and have her hair put up in cute curls(hates having it brushed). She loves jewelry and cant wait for daddy to come home so she can have earings. She would spend hours playing in front of the mirror and playing dress-up if you let her! She LOVES shoes!

She uses Please and Thankyou often. She is a great veggie eater(just hold the carrots please, still allergic). She has her good days and bad days like everyone else. When she is having a good day it is such a GREAT day, because she is helpful and loving. When she is having a Bad day, watch out. It is funny to see how different her moods are, they are rarely in between. After 2 and half years I have finally gotten her to sleep through the night and am thankful for my sleep.

Her favorite kid song is Twinkle Twinkle and she sings it often...although somehow she knows Barney songs....ugh, and hums those often also! She loves mommy's music the best, because it has a great dancing beat! Her favorite past time is Coloring with her Green Crayon.

At bedtime she loves to pray and often brings up family members names while she prays, which is a blessing. My heart melts everytime I hear her praying for someones ouchy to get better. I love listening to her talk and am always curious to see what she is going to say next!

The Joys (or should I say saddness)of Toddlerhood!

My child is the center of my attention these days(since my husband is deployed yet again). I used to be able to say that I feed her, I cloth her, and I give her a bath. Now I get to sit and watch as she does these things on her own. Even giving herself a bath. After a very cheesy dinner mess I told her to go get undressed and sit in the bath tub. I finish putting my stuff away and turn on the washer. I go into the bathroom to find that she has already started her bath water and would not let me change the tempature(luckily it was safe warm temp).

So I begin to gather up my clothes for the washing machine, check on the water and turn it off. I go and pour the soap in the machine, put the clothes in and shut the lid. I make my way back to the bathroom to wash her hair to find that she already has the soap and is lathering her hair. Saddened and fill un-needed I sit down on her stool and watch. She laid down in the water and tryed hard to rinse it on her own and felt loved again when she asked for "help please".

I helped her wash the rest of her little body and pushed the button to drain the water. I got her out and dryed her off, thinking she is growing up to fast.

She went into her room got her jammas and got dressed for bed. She then brought me a book and asked me to read it to her. When I was done, she asked me to "wok" her. Thrilled I put her in my lap and rocked her back and forth for a bit and lay her in her bed to go to sleep.

She then proceeded to say "Thank you mommy, I los you!"

Can I push a rewind button to the days where I could love on her all day with out her saying "mommy, down, I want to walk"... But then I wouldnt hear sweet words come out of my daughters mouth like "thank you and I love you!

Miss Independent!

While I was in the shower Lillian decided to get breakfast. She got into the dishwasher and got her self a plate and spoon and then got her stool and grabbed the fruit loops from the counter!

When I came into the living room I was amazed at what she had accomplished without making a big mess. I am thankful that she can not yet open the fridge...because milk would have been a disaster for sure!

Preschool for Lillian

Lillian started a half time preschool program at her childcare center when she became potty trained. Her teacher quickly saw a difference in her and other children in the program. Ms. Jen said that she was picking stuff up quicker than other children in the 2 1/2 yr half time program. I noticed at home that she was saying the ABC's and she was making up her own short stories for her books. Ms Jen said that she could tell that she wanted to read, but didnt quite know how. She was able to get the Director, Ms Hope, to come and watch Lillian while working on the alphabet and numbers.

On Monday she entered into the 3 yr old full time learning program. I am so excited to see her name colors and count her fingers. This program will continue with the same information from the half time program but will add focus on identifying letters, writing them, and making their sounds. She said that if she continues doing well, she will be able to read small words with in the year.

I am so thankful to have found such an amazing center for Lillian while I am in school! She is learning so much!

Sickness has reached our home

For weeks we have heard of friends children getting sick. We have been taking extra vitamins, wearing mittens and hats, doing everything right...or so we thought.

What started as a small cough and runny nose on Thursday turned into a severe cough and a tempature by Sunday. Monday she seemed to be fine with a low grade temp. Tuesday she woke up worse than before. Lillian visited Ms. Emily at her pediatricians office and came home with an inhaler. By that evening her tempature sky rocketed and she became and she became a very angry child. Wednesday we took a trip to the ER, because her cough was very unsettling. She spent a few hours at the hospital getting a full examination. We went home with an actual diagnosis-RSV. To find out that her inhaler was making the situation worse was nerve recking, but was thankful to know she only used it once.


Lesson learned today: Second opinions are ALWAYS worth feeling over cautious.

Now I get to start the not so fun task of finding her a new pediatrician....because every response from Ms Emily is "benedryl and inhaler" She never entertains the idea that it might be something else that actually needs medicine. Sometimes I think the ER doctors do a better job at analyzing the patients symptoms than the private practice doctors.

New Sleep Spot for Lillian!

Lillian got a new big girl bed in October when she had became daytime potty trained(she was able to make it through naps dry). We thought it would be a good motivation to not go potty in her NEW BIG GIRL bed! She loved her new bed, she would sit and play in it before falling asleep. It seemed as though she was awake for hours before dozing off. I got in the habit of going in to check on her before I went to bed and typically pulled books and toys off her bed and put them away.

Recently she has been becoming very opinionated with what she wanted on her bed at bedtime....like a pillow and daddy's fleece blanket. I think it has been her way of getting out of falling asleep with constant requests.

Last night she must have gotten an opinion about her bed, because when i went into her room she was not in it. The door never opened so I knew she was in her room. The closet door has a handle lock, so I knew she wasnt in there. Then I heard a "roar of a snore"....coming from under her bed. Thinking she must have been laying on the floor on the other side of her bed, because with the crib mattress laying under her bed, i didnt see how she could be under there. As soon as i got on the other side of her bed, I realized she really was under her bed, passed out, with a pull up on. Strange! I confusenly looked for her pj's. I found them under her big Elmo doll along with the panties I had put on her. I am not sure why my child insisted on taking her clothes off and putting a pull up on.....and I really dont understand why she would give up and roomy twin bed with comfy covers for a mattress on the floor under her bed.

I might start keeping her door open from now on! lol

Jesus take the Wheel

The above phrase has a deeper meaning hidden with in its words... It has been a song in which I began to love through the hard times. The words have great meaning. I had a lot going on through my mind thursday evening, as I drove to Byrdstown, Tn, when I heard that song come on the radio and I lifted my troubles into prayer. Driving long distances are perfect when you need to talk to "Him".

However the icey conditions had me really worried when the song came on the radio. As the Cookeville radio station finished playing Carrie Underwood's song they were telling everyone on the roads to be safe because the tempature had dropped in the lower 10's which meant all the slushy roads were turning to ice. I remember looking at Lillian sitting really calmly in her seat asking "there mommy?" Then I remember seeing the guy ahead of me tap his breaks ahead of me as he drove beside a guard rail. He stayed straight and narrow. Trying to stay at least 2 car lengths behind him, I decided to tap my breaks as well. With in seconds I was staring straight at the guard rail thinking i was going to crash right through it and end up badly hurt. I said another prayer. I quoted Carrie Underwood.."Jesus take the wheel" I turned the wheel slightly and closed my eyes. I remember feeling relaxed for a few seconds. When the car stopped moving I opened my eyes. The car stopped safely. There I sat in panic mode. Lillian screaming in the back "Cars" "Cars" All I could think of was, were there cars around? did we manage not to hit any of them. My emotions went haywire and I began to cry.
When I got myself together I had realized that we were on the road facing the opposite direction. I noticed a car coming and starting freaking out again because I was stuck sitting there on the frozen road. I remember thinking please dont hit me then my car started sliding backwards into the ditch in the median. Call it whatever you like! I truly believe that "He" was on my side thursday evening!

I learned that closing your eyes would be dangerous while driving and I remember learning how to correct yourself when you begin to fishtail... I started to correct myself, but it wasnt working, so i went against my better judgement and closed my eyes and asked for help. He heard my plea and got me off the road safely.

I was able to drive through the grass to the nearest u-turn area and turn around! The rest of the way I was telling the other cars not to make any sudden movements...lol As if they could hear me!