Lila = 1.5

Sweet Lila, you are now 18 months old! Time seems to be clicking by for you, just like your brother. But you are at such a wonderful age, I wish I could bottle it up and keep it forever.

You are a feisty one. That's for certain. You have strong opinions on just about everything. But Dad & I are able to navigate through these opinions, at least most of the time.

You have recently fallen in love with your babies (BeeBee). You lay them down, cover them up and say "Night Night." Then you quickly wake them up and give them a bottle. Such a little mother.

You LOVE to brush your teeth. Dad has invented all kinds of ways to get you out of the bathroom in the morning. Tap Tap Tap your toothbrush and then give you some floss to take with you. You never tire of brushing your teeth. "BE" you say over and over again. We determined that means "Brush Teeth."

You talk all the time and are starting to put multiple words together as well as sound out 2-3 syllable words. It is so fun to hear you say words like "bicycle" and "popsicle" and "oatmeal."

Your favorite words to say are your family's names. Mom, Dad, BoBo, Mimi, Pak, Manda, Dayud, NoOh , Gav, Nana, Ween, Hamil, Arah, Emwee, Bah, Blu-t. I run through the names with you over and over again and we'll have 2 more to add soon!

You still love your brother so much. You know that his name is Nate, but you choose to call him BoBo. When I ask you to say Nate, you say BoBo. I don't think he minds, at least I didn't think he did until you shouted into the silence at his Kindergarten Celebration (while his teacher was talking), "Hi BoBo!!!!" He buried his head in his hands:)

You are an OK eater. You have started doing what your brother did about this age. Eating well at every 3rd or 4th meal. You are very healthy though, so we just go with it.

You are doing wonderful at school and I'll be sad when you have to change rooms in August. But you are always happy to go in the mornings and happy to come home in the afternoons. I couldn't ask for anything better. Everyone at the center, even people we don't know, come up to us and say how darling you are. This makes our hearts swell.

 You love to go to bed at night, but are quick to tell us if something is not quite right in the middle of the night. Please get over that. Soon.

You think that Nate is your punching bag sometimes. We really have to watch you. And remind Nate that he is bigger than you.

You would really like the Kitty P to love you back. When you see her, you get so excited, shouting "Beo Beo" - we aren't really sure where that comes from, but sometimes you have your own language and we just have to keep up.

You have no interest in staying in the shopping cart when we go to the store. We aren't in the aisle one minute before you are shouting "I WALK, I WALK" at the top of your lungs. I have to be really fast and then finally let you walk. Although I love your spunkiness, this makes Mom a little sad. I have fond memories of Nate sitting in the cart talking to me while I was shopping. He was so content to be there. You? Not so much. When you walk, you do stop and say Hi to everyone we encounter. They think you are so cute. So do we.

You still love to read your books. It's your favorite past time to take them all off the shelves and flip the pages. I hope you always have such a great love for books.

My Lila Lou, I love you so much. I can honestly say I don't know what our family would do without you and I have trouble remembering the time before you. You are a force to be reckoned with and we wouldn't have it any other way. You will do great things one day with your strong will and I can't wait to sit back and watch. Happy 1.5!

Ode to Kindergarten

One more post about Kindergarten...mainly because I want to be able to look back at the blog book and read how about I was feeling when Kindergarten was behind us for Nate.

Nate was full of excitement when he started school last fall. I was excited for him. I guess. I mean, not really. Kindergarten was something I knew we had to do, but I didn't really want to do it. Even though Nate had been in an organized school setting for several years, I knew Kindergarten would be different. And it was.

The teachers were so welcoming but expected much more of Nate than I thought he could handle. But I was wrong of course. He fell right into the routine of doing more things for himself, being quiet when he was supposed to and learning more than I could have ever imagined. Even if he did have to ask on the 3rd day, "Mom, what exactly is a single file line?" I mean I guess if no one ever told you, how would you know?

Throughout the year, we saw a transformation in Nate. He started becoming confident about his reading and math skills. And confident about approaching people and speaking up. And making new friends. Even though he's still a regular chick magnet. I like to think that's because he's just so sensitive. Like me. hahaha.

He started off the year thrilled to have homework. Let's just say at the end we were both ready for it to end. I'm actually a little shocked that they really did carry this whole thing about homework for Kindergarteners for the entire year. They are serious about some learning, I'll give em that.

From field trips, school assemblies, cafeteria lunches, and music concerts to end of the quarter tests, school nurse visits, and figuring out not everyone has the same values as you, Nate took so many "experiences without us" in stride. We are proud of the classroom citizen he was, earning much respect from his teacher and classmates.

On the last day of school, I was sad. I asked Nate if I could cry. He said no. I might have anyway.

Nate was not sad. As he so eloquently put it, "Mom, we get to do it all over again next year." You're right sweet boy. As you usually are.

Beginning & End

First Day of Kindergarten

August 17, 2011

 Last Day of Kindergarten

May 24, 2012

Nate's face doesn't look that much different to me, but oh my how he has grown. Tall, skinny, long-armed, handsome boy he is! 

The End of Kindergarten

Nate had his end of the year celebration on Tuesday morning. I cannot believe it is the end of Kindergarten. Say it isn't so.

 I'm not gonna lie. I dreaded the start of Kindergarten last August. I just knew he was going to be moving out the next day. But he didn't. And it turned out to be an exceptional year. One I will greatly miss!

 But now our big boy is on to 1st grade - and I'm sure next year will go faster than this one.

 But it is sure to be filled with more wonderful memories. Because he gets to have Mrs. S. again!!

In our school district, they use a process called "looping" all through elementary school. It means we get another fabulous year with Mrs. S.!

We are all looking forward to the summer, but come August, it will be so nice to settle in again. Thankfully we won't have to deal with the unknown jitters this next year! I say we. Okay, it was really just me.

Congrats on a great school year Nate - here's to many more!

A Pea in a Pod

Sarah & Hamil's baby will be here VERY soon! I was so glad to get to shower her this past weekend and I can't wait to meet my new niece or nephew!

The theme was A Pea in a Pod and the hostesses outdid themselves.



The mother-to-be with the delicious cake.

Sarah with her Grandma and Mom.

My little pea...she's not smiling, but this is the look she has 99% of the time, so we'll count it as a good photo!

Nana & Lila eating carrots:)

This little girl is the daughter of one of my bestest childhood friends...she and Lila followed each other around for a little while...in the "jungle."

Warmed my heart!

Sarah received so many useful gifts and I know everyone enjoyed seeing her so excited.

Baby Corse will be here soon! Can't wait!

Early Bird Lila

I think I've mentioned that Lila wakes up reeealllly early. I know the easy solution would be to put her to bed later. Funny how that doesn't seem to work. She gets up at the same time and is cranky tired.

But if she didn't get up early, Scott wouldn't have been able to capture these sweet memories.

I love her messed up hair, her smiling face and her serious face. She's a laugh a minute, let me tell ya. We are in for a real ride with her! But we'll hang on and enjoy it!

Braves vs. Cardinals

Nate & Scott went to the Braves game last weekend. Unfortunately, for those of us that are Cardinals fans, it wasn't a very good weekend...but we'll give 'em that series. I guess. I mean we already did:)



Nate still had a great time and was very well-behaved according to Scott. I gave him some money to purchase a souvenir and he chose a Cardinals hat that he took to bed that night. I was so proud. After all, Scott tried to trick him into wearing a Braves shirt and he was not fooled!

Needless to say, it's hard to get a good picture these days, but we have to commemorate the occasion anyway:)

Go Cardinals!

Quotes from Mother's Day Photo Session

Nate, get over here and take a picture with your mother!

It will take 2 seconds!

Actually, it takes about 50 seconds.

It's Mother's Day!

 Ab, put the sippy cup down so it's not in the picture.

You look funny.

I'm trying to look directly into the sun without squinting.

Nate, go sit by your mother.

It's Mother's Day!

 Nate, get over here!!

I don't want to take a picture right now!

Get Down!

Nate, do it for Mom.

It's Mother's Day!

Oh well. There's always next year.

Recipe Tuesday

This recipe is nothing earth shattering, but for some reason I can never get these kinds of roll-ups to come out just right. Most of the time they just turn out soupy. But this recipe looked fairly easy, so I decided to give it a try. I found this recipe on Jenna's Journey Blog (click here).

Chicken Roll-ups (http://jennasjourneyblog.blogspot.com/)

1 pkg cream cheese (8oz)


1 pkg crescent rolls (6 ct) (note, you can also use TWO packages of regular sized crescents)

2 shredded, cooked chicken breasts

1.5 C grated chedder cheese

1 C grated Monterey Jack

1/4 t salt

1/4 t pepper

bread crumbs

1/4 stick melted butter

Combine chicken, cheeses, salt and pepper. Spoon onto crescents. Roll them up making sure they are sealed around the chicken mixture. Brush tops with butter and sprinkle with bread crumbs. Bake at 350 for 20-25 minutes. To reheat, just place in a 325 degree oven for 15 minutes.

They turned out excellent! The kids even ate some. And I tried the same recipe with pizza filling and those came out great too. Maybe I've turned the corner on the whole roll-up gig:)

Enjoy!

Dear Aunt Mil

My beloved Aunt Mil went to heaven on May 7th, 2012. She was 94 years old. Words cannot express how much I will miss her, but I know that she is very happy in heaven seeing her family and that comforts me.

This picture was taken on her 90th birthday - we celebrated with a wiffle ball tournament. She knew no greater joy than to watch her nieces & nephews having fun and just being together.

 Aunt Mil did not have any biological children. But we were all her children througout the generations. She was a kind, beautiful and patient matriarch.

 It meant so much to me that my children would know Aunt Mil. Nate will certainly remember her and for that I am extremely thankful. He used to play with these ceramic eggs every time we would visit her. She would say, "Nate, you need to take those home." But my mom would never let him.

 Now the eggs are Nate's. I hope he always remembers the joy he brought to her. It was tremendous.

 Lila's middle name is DeLaney, which is my mom's maiden name, as well as Aunt Mil's maiden name. She was so proud to meet another DeLaney.

Dear Aunt Mil, I will miss your neverending presence among us here on earth. But I know that you are now my angel. I love you and I hope that "home" is all that you wished it would be. Love, Abatha

Early Mother's Day Present

I think my Mother's Day present came early. Last week Scott captured a wonderful picture of me & Nate. This weekend he captured an equally wonderful picture of me & Lila.

Now if I could just get everyone in a picture at the same time:) 

Tons of Transportation

Scott took the kids to Tons of Transportation at the Heights on Saturday. It was blazin hot - we had another blast of summer this weekend.

The littlest truck driver. 

This picture cracks me up. I thought the large age difference would keep me from having kids that fight with each other. NotSoMuch. And the funny part is that it is usually Lila bothering Nate. She knows just how to push his buttons.

This picture makes me so proud of Nate. A year ago, he would not have dared going anywhere near the police officer. But Scott said he walked right up and asked to get on the motorcycle. What a difference a year in Kindergarten makes!

Purina Farms

On Thursday, I had the pleasure of going with Nate's class to Purina Farms. We had never been, mostly because it's about 40 minutes away. So it was a new St. Louis adventure for us. There are 19 kids in Nate's class and 13 parents went on the field trip. There are some great parents in his class that help out all the time - something I know his teacher appreciates greatly.

Here we are before the trip.

We joined up with some of his friends and off we went (after a 40 minute bus ride with the windows down - don't miss those days!) 

 Purina Farms has lots of farm animals - cows, pigs, bunnies, chickens, horses, etc...

 Nate loved the bunny! I had to break it to him that we would never ever ever have a bunny in our house. Insert very bad experience during my freshman year of college.

Purina Farms also has dogs and cats of course - since they, ya know, make dog & cat food. The dog show they put on was fabulous and Nate loved every minute of it. I'm sure the "I want a dog" conversations will happen more frequently now:) 

Loves Lately

So I gotta confess...when I saw these advertised in one of my cooking magazines, I thought "How gross would those taste!?!" But then a coupon arrived, and then Target had a coupon to go on top of it. Well I can't pass up a great deal, so I purchased some Belvita wafers. Makes me think of Velveeta.

I started giving them to Lila in the mornings when she just couldn't wait until breakfast. She seemed to like them. Then one day, I was out of granola bars, so I decided to try one. They are awesome! And not too many calories, especially if you only eat 2 out of the 4 wafers, but I digress.

I just got a new box (more coupons arrived) and I decided to try out the Blueberry flavor. We'll see!



Can I just say that I love this new trend in tumblers??? I like the insulated tumblers that I already have, but I LOVE the straws on these and the fact that the top screws on (instead of snapping). Everything is better out of straw. I got mine at Pier 1, but I see them everywhere.

Having a girl most certainly means knowing something about bows. Which before I had Lila, I knew nothing about. There are so many bows out there, of every shape and size - and some look good on your child and some don't (or maybe they all do and I'm just picky). Lately, I've been getting all of Lila's bows at Polkadot Posies . This lady is so fast (and inexpensive) and the bows are GREAT quality. She did not ask me to say this, just consider it a girl mom PSA.

I'm not being compensated in any way for my loves today. Thanks for reading!