Welcome to my whimsical world of bees and trees!

Lily gives you a tour of her whimsical world of bees and trees - aka her room.  Come along...

"Come on in. Don't be shy. Welcome to my room. Mommy and daddy made this room special just for me. With the help of my auntie Katy and uncle Danny (I haven't gotten to meet them yet because they are in another country but mommy and daddy talk about them all the time ... they sound fun. I can't wait to meet them!), my room is a real reflection of ME - pink...I am a girl AND bees - that's ME too!!"

"That's me on the wall when I was just a baby ... I am a big girl now!  Mommy says I was so tiny and she can't believe I am almost eight months old already.  I am a good eater!"

 "There it is...MY tree!  My auntie Katy painted that tree just for me.  The branches are covered in beautiful flowers and if you look closely you will see how this tree is really special...there are little bees buzzing about in the branches!  Mommy and daddy say that they called me their little bee when I was still in mommy's belly."

 "Do you see them?  Do you see them?  My bees ... and their home - the hive!"

 "That's my changing table where mommy and daddy change my stinky pants ... Do you see my chandelier?  I love to look at the big hanging sparklies!  Mommy says every girl needs a chandelier.  It's so pretty.  Sometimes mommy and daddy lift me up to touch them.  I try to grab them but I am not big enough and they always move away from me when I reach out for them."

 "Buzz, buzz.  There go more of my bees."

"There are all of my special things.  Mommy says these are just to look at right now.  When I am a bigger girl I can play with them."

 "My name.  Should I ever forget who I am, I can look to my wall for guidance.  Mommy and daddy thought long and hard about which name was perfect for me.  Did you know that Lily means innocence, purity, beauty ... all of which they say I am."

"Thank you for stopping by.  I have more pictures to show you later ... please come again.  Hugs and kisses."

Hangin' under the jumpy

The last time I worked from home, I had Lily playing on a blanket as I worked on a few things ... minutes later, she had moved herself (likely by rolling) under her jumpy. 

 "If only I could get up this pole, I bet I could get myself into the jumpy!!"

"mmmmmmm - this tastes good!"

Moving towards crawling

These photos are a few weeks old now, but as you can see, Lily is trying to crawl.  She still hasn't quite figured it out but she has the right idea.  She gets up on all fours and rocks back and forth.  If anything, she tends to move herself backwards.  She also likes to pivot around like a top, with her little tummy as the center point.  We are enjoying this time where she is still easy to keep track of ... as soon as she starts to move - watch out mom and dad!!

"I think I can, I think I can..."

Good form, Lily, good form.

I love it ... Lily is helping me use the excuse "...but my baby ate my bills..." ;-)  Smart girl!

Lily loves her daddy

This is out of order, as I still have much catching up to do to get to the present.  I couldn't resist posting this video from yesterday though...just so you all know what Lily is up to these days.  She is so much fun!  I could stay home and play with her everyday!!!!

Happy Birthday/New Year's!!

Our friends Laura and Aaron came New Year's Day to help us celebrate 2011 and another candle on the cake for mommy bee.  Lily was fascinated with the "candles" ... we had to be creative and I had to be extra quick with blowing them out - heehee!!  Here's to another amazing year - cheers!!!

Christmas 2010 Part III

A little more Christmas magic...

 Happy as a lark...or a bee!!

 "I see my crawl ball and I really want it...how the heck do I get over to it?  Oh yeah, it's called a crawl ball for a reason!"

 "Standing" in her new chair...ironic???

The official taste test...yep, it's a winner!

Christmas 2010 Part II

  Christmas day was, well ... anything but white, that's for sure.  For this Wisco girl, it brought some sadness.  The joy of the day - stockings in the morning and gathering with family later on - reminded me that the ground doesn't have to be snowy for smiles on Christmas day ... I won't lie though...I continued to "dream of a white birthday" ....

Lily Bee with her Daddy and her stocking from Nana.  Of course, she had to look at, play with or read every new item - along with taste test it with a trip to her mouth!

 "Lily, feel -- it's very smooth.  Perfect for mommy and daddy to wipe messes off from."

 OK - wow.  Have you ever seen a (at that point) 6 month old so excited for a gift?!  She just wanted to get that ribbon in her mouth!

 "I can  help you mommy!!"

 Lily looks on as the ballerina on her very first jewelry box dances away.  It is priceless to wind that box up and watch her watching the little pink figurine dance to "Somewhere over the Rainbow."  She just smiles at it...and then proceeds to snatch it off of its little post!  ;-)  Thankfully, they made the box with little hands in mind.

 Christmas day OR Easter...take your guess.  One could certainly not judge the season/day by the weather!!

Me and my little BEE!!

Christmas 2010 Part I

Robb and I got the best gift of the year back in June.  Presents this Christmas were a side thought, as the focus was on the gift that Lily has been to us.  We thoroughly enjoyed watching her big eyes get even bigger taking in the various amazements of the season!

Sitting pretty under the tree.

"Mom, are you done with the pictures yet??"

Christmas Eve before church.

As will be our tradition...gifts on Christmas Eve.  Lily is opening her gift from Nana...it was so cute to watch her try to tear at and then stick the paper in her mouth.

Where is Lily??

"Just what I wanted!"

Lap time with Daddy.

Eating up like a big girl

Lily is well down the road of solid foods.  Below is her first encounter with carrots.  Her favorite thus far is squash.  It's a veggie that I despise, so I'm glad that she is liking it.  Pears and avocado didn't receive a warm welcome.  It's been fun to watch her try new things.  She's a great eater and we're thankful for that!!

Got carrots??

Mmmmmmmmm!!!

Mommy opens her mouth too - it's gotta be part of the gig, right?!??

Mr. Jake and Miss Lily

Before Christmas, Jake and Erin paid us a visit and below are the photos capturing Jake and Lily's playtime.

"Hey dude, this is my blanket.  You sure you're supposed to be here?  I guess it's ok if you play with me"

"I said play with me ... come on little guy!!"

"I looooove standing - jumping is really cool too.  Basically anything that gets me off the ground!"

"Come on, Jake - let's go...!"