My Little Girl

So many of my posts have been short and sweet little updates into the Longmire life.  Frankly I am shocked that I have been as blogger regular as I have.  I am still in shock that I actually got my Christmas Cards out this year!  Yes, everyone, you will get a picture from us, but don't expect too much writing (like none), addressing, stuffing and putting stamps on cards was a task in itself. Whew!

All of this to say, its been a while since I really talked about my precious little girl.  I LOVE her and so many times I just feel like this spectator in her world watching as she learns and expresses herself.  Sure, it seems like right at 2 a switch got flipped that instantly transformed her from a compliant little love bug into a ...... well.... a 2 year old.  I refuse to use that cliched phrase everyone uses for a two year old, but it has been very fascinating to see this independent, defiant and precocious little girl emerge.  When I am not feeling frustrated and wanting to pull my hair out, I just love it.  She is growing up, testing her limits and learning.  It's special, its real and I get to be the director for this stage called Lily Grace's life.  I could not have a better job.

Lily is simply a precious being.  She loves in big ways.  We will be driving in the car and I will look back and say "Lily, I love you" without missing a beat she quickly smiles and says "I wuv you too Mommy!"  It simply melts me.  She loves all things Veggietales and is starting to sing all of her songs even when there are no Veggietales around.  She loves the "Clap your hands" song and requests it frequently as well as "Twinkle, Twinkle little star" and "The Wheels on the Bus."  When Mema or I get out the guitar Lily simply lights up with excitement.  What joy! She adores helping me in the kitchen and loves "tastes" especially when it involves something sweet.

This past week we made 3 batches of chocolate sauce to give as gifts.  From unwrapping the chocolate to testing the finished product Lily loved her role in it!

She loves her Daddy right now and tells me everyday, "Daddy tickle you (me)" and "Daddy throw you (me)."  When Bob rides in from work, he always makes it a point to spend a good 30 minutes literally throwing her around and tickling her.  He launches her from the middle of the living room to the couch and she LOVES it.  It is so precious that he prioritizes her, he is amazing-but thats a whole other blog.

Verbally Lily is just off of the charts.  She is talking in full sentences these days and carrying on long and involved conversations with really anyone who will listen.  My Dad always is amazed at how much she talks.  She just doesn't stop.

Lily is still convinced that she is having a "Brother, Sister, 2 babies" even though we have told her over and over again that there is only one baby floating in Mommy's tummy.  Occasionally we will ask her and she will say "Brother."  We find out on January 11th what the sex of this baby is, so we will see if Lily has an "in" with the baby.

Lily is all things wonderful and frustrating which is exactly how she should be.  Right now she tends to pull out the worst sides of her toddler self with me.  So of course when I send her somewhere I always warn people about what they could encounter.  She always is a perfect dream for other people which, at first, made me a little bummed, but then I realized that I must be doing something right.  Successful parenting is when your kid knows that they can test the boundaries (c-o-n-s-t-a-n-t-l-y) with you, but when they go anywhere else they better be on their BEST behavior.

I simply love her.  Today we went to the doctor and she was perfect, cooperative, and sweet.  So much so that the Doctor and the Nurse specifically came into the room and told me that my daughter was the sweetest toddler they had seen in a very long time and that they simply couldn't wait to see her again.  They told me she was special.  I smiled and nodded,

I knew that already.