Lily Grace McGee

Baby Lily
July 31, 2009
12:25 pm
9 pounds 2 ounces

20.5 inches

It happened again. I have fallen in love with another little girl. A little girl that I already feel like I have known and loved forever.

One More Sleep...

These two sisters will be adding another member to their very private 'sister club' tomorrow. I am getting induced at 7am with baby girl mcgee #3. How incredible it is that another sweet little baby is going to join our family. Last night the girls had their showers and were lying in our bed watching The Wizard of Oz (our nightly routine lately) all snuggled in their pajamas. We usually only watch 5 or 6 minutes of it but they love it. I turned the show off and the lights off and Jon and I made an 'elle and gwen sandwich'. They were in the middle and the two of us on either side. It was dark and quiet and all I could hear was the sound of their breathing and I could feel this little baby inside of me wiggling around. It really was a little slice of heaven. As Elle and Gwen fell asleep, I just kept thinking how everything was going to change for our family in such a short time. A sweet baby straight from heaven is coming to us in just a few hours. I feel nervous and excited and humbled all at the same time. In Elle's prayer last night before bed she asked if Heavenly Father would give our baby a kiss before He sent her to us. A simple and sweet request. So here she comes...my sweet baby with a little kiss from heaven.

Swim, Swim

Do they get any cuter than this little one? Ever the optimist, Gwen puts on a bathingsuit each morning in hopes that I will take her to the pool or as she refers to it as, "swim, swim". We headed to our neighborhood pool this afternoon with smoothies in hand and stayed most of the day. Elle was too busy doing cannon balls (seriously) to be bothered with me taking her photo while Gwen was happy to oblige. I adore this little girl. Every little thing about her. I love that whenever you give her something she says, "oh, tank you". And for most other things you ask her she says, "yaaaaaa". And if she does something she knows is naughty she always says, "sorry mom" and then comes and gives me a kiss. She is our wild child and I love that about her. I feel that this last picture of her captures the "real gwen". Silly, loud and HAPPY. I love, love, love YOU, Gwenners.

Elle's (Surprise) 5th Birthday!

The Kidnap:

Surfin' Donuts:

To Build-A-Bear and Ruby's with mom:

Birthday Dinner prepared by her Dad:

Our Elle is now 5 years old! I can't believe it. For her birthday we did a surprise kidnap breakfast to the donut shop. 7 of her little friends showed up at our house at 7:45am in their pajamas. We then snuck into Elle's room and they tickled her to wake her up. I think I was more excited than she was. It was too cute. Then off we all went in our pajamas to Surfin' Donuts for donuts (mostly sprinkled), orange juice, chocolate milk, and opening gifts. Such a cute group of girls.

Elle and I then headed off to the mall to build-a-bear where she chose a Hannah Montana Bear (of course) that she dressed and named "Sparkles" and then to lunch at Ruby's. And the main excitement of the afternoon was her request (which I granted) of riding the glass elevator up and down 5 times. So simple but made her soooo happy! It was so fun just having the 2 of us together. Loved it.

She was able to choose anything she wanted for dinner. Spaghetti and homemade sauce and meatballs were her choice. This is where Jon comes in. HE DID THE WHOLE THING. The shopping, the cooking, the setting up. He even made her a two tiered cake with a heart on top and decorated it with pink frosting and a crown. I did not even pop my head into that kitchen once. True love, I tell you! Elle then got to eat it all up on our VERY SPECIAL and VERY FANCY 'Happy Birthday' plate. Aunt Shea and Uncle Syd even stopped by for cake and to drop off a gift to her.

And to top the night off, Elle received her main gift...something she has been asking for, for a very long time. Her only gift request has been to get a book about what is inside of our bodies. She LOVES that stuff. And let me say, Jon did not disappoint on this one. He found the perfect book and spent an hour going through it with her after dinner.

At the end of the night I snuggled in bed with her and asked her what her favorite part of the day was...the party, the sparkly bear, the new shiny book...

and this is what she said (for real) as she snuggled up to me sucking her thumb, "the best part mama, was spending time with you".

Oh, how I love my Ellers. Happy 5th Birthday, sweet girl.

Princess Aeriel...

did not disappoint.

Princess Dance Camp

While my sisters and brother all excelled in sports, I was the one that was in dance classes for most of my childhood and 'tween' years. I LOVED ballet and was a pretty darn good tapper if I do say so myself. I am now passing the torch to my Ellers. This week Elle is in "Princess Dance Camp". She is in absolute HEAVEN. It is just one week long for a few hours a day but those few hours are pure happiness for her. I don't know what she loves more...the camp or getting ready each morning in her ballet gear complete with her 'I love Dance' bag. We saw that bag about a month ago in a store and she knew it was THE ONE to hold her ballet shoes to and from class in. Funny thing is I still remember what my 'dance bag' looked like that I used when I was growing up. I can even still smell it if I close my eyes. Vinyl, pink (of course) and with a large compartment for my tap shoes and then with a smaller, almost secret, space for my ballet shoes on the side. Funny how those little details are the things we remember. Elle is no exception...you can see how she holds that bag with pride. Each night we wash her leotard, tights and skirt and she carefully puts it all in her dance bag so she knows right where everything is in the morning. Today when I picked her up from class they had put full make-up on all of the girls. Wow. I do not know how I am going to get her to wash her face tonight. Tomorrow she, along with the other little girls, will dance for their moms. Elle chose to be Aerial from The Little Mermaid for the big performance. Needless to say, I signed her up for the Fall.

Beach Day

My cute Elle at the beach. Thank you to my brother, Jake for being our professional photographer for the week.

4th of July

We had a great 4th of July. My sisters Megan and Josie and their families and my brother Jake came to visit us in California (missed you, Briar). I forgot how tiring it is just being 9 months pregnant. I don't think I picked up my camera even once while they were here. These pictures were all taken by my brother (thank you, jake). Josie is pregnant too so we were quite the pair around town with our big bellies chasing after our little kids. It was soo fun seeing everyone and I already miss them. We went to the beach, to the pool and Elle and Gwen were able to play with their cousins. I am glad Jake got a picture of what it seems like I do most these days...sit! A super fun week with grill dogs at the beach, snow cones (elle's favorite) and a firework show at the park. To my family...hurry back!!!

Del Mar St.

I've mentioned before about our Saturday afternoons. Jon stays home while sweet Gwen naps and Elle and I head out on the town. This is our special time together. I always ask her where she wants to go and it is ALWAYS the same answer. "Mama", she says, "take me to Del Mar St." Close to our house and down by the beach. A favorite place of mine too. So surreal to now live where I vacationed every summer of my life as a child. I love that the same sounds and smells of my childhood are now hers.

We have our little routine...

First to Billy's for lunch and we have to sit by the fountain so that she can endlessly throw pennies in. I asked her what one of her wishes was today and she said, "if I tell you, it won't come true but I will say it has to do with a diamond castle". Cute. We then head to the little chocololate shop. The ladies know her in there and are so sweet to her. She always gets one solid milk chocolate heart. Always. I get the dark chocolate caramel and then we sit and eat them on the chairs in front of the store. Only then, am I allowed to browse my favorite boutiques with her. I know Del Mar St. will always have special memories for her but more than anything I hope what she remembers most is how much I LOVE spending time with her.

Happy Father's Day

We had a wonderful Father's Day. Jon had breakfast served to him in bed compliments of Elle and Gwen and was also given his gifts. Elle gave him his favorite candy (Reeses Pieces) tied up in a bag with a big ribbon around it and Gwen presented him with a picture of herself in a frame she painted. How grateful I am to be married to a man that honors his role as a father. He is amazing with our girls and they light up the minute they hear the garage door open at the end of the day. That sound means one thing...daddy's home! I think the first photo speaks volumes for the love they have for eachother.

These men are three of the most treasured people in my life. My own dad, my Jon and his dad. How lucky we were to spend father's day together at our home for dinner. I feel truly blessed that my little girls have a daddy and 2 grandpas as such amazing examples of loving, kind men in their lives.

Two Piggies

Gwen wants to do everything Elle does. She mimics her every move. I was doing Elle's hair yesterday in the style we refer to as "two piggies". Gwen then brought me two rubberbands and said, "my two piggies". She wanted her hair just like her big sister. So here is Gwen's "two piggies" debut. Barely enough hair to make it into the rubber bands but we made it work and she felt beautiful. Elle was sweet and made a big deal about it for her too. They both looked adorable.

Tummy Time

I am now 33 weeks pregnant. Elle and Gwen are fascinated with my growing belly. Gwen just pokes at it and laughs. Elle asks endless questions about what is really going on in there. Yesterday afternoon Jon blew up balloons for them and they were cruising the house with them in their shirts while giggling non-stop. It really was pretty funny. Elle and I saw an advertisement on TV the other day for a show entitled, "I didn't know I was Pregnant". We were dying. What?! So that is our new joke. Periodically throughout the day I will show Elle my tummy and say, "I don't know Elle, what do you think....do you think I am pregnant? Hmm, not too sure, maybe just too much for dinner"? We think we're pretty funny.

Preschool Graduation

I can't believe it. My little Ellers is done with preschool. We had a little class party and presentation this afternoon. As we were driving to the party Elle said, "Mom, are you going to cry because I am growing up too fast"? Well, I didn't cry but I must say somedays I sure feel like it. She really is growing up so quickly right before my eyes. She has loved every minute of Miss Marie's class. I am so grateful to her teacher for giving her an amazing start to her school years. These little girls have been together for the past 2 years and have really solidified their friendships. I am excited to see them all enter Kindergarten next year together. Kindergarten...here we come!

Tubby Time

At our house, bath time is called tubby time. After dinner tonight we headed upstairs for the ritual. Elle was in charge of the bubbles and completely took advantage of her job. They had bubbles coming out of their ears (literally). So many things they do these days remind me of my own childhood. I have a picture just like this with two of my sisters in the tub. We would play a game called "carwash". My dad would get us all in the tub and then he would put his hand out and we would pretend to pay him 50 cents. He then would do the fastest wash job you have ever seen. Super fun and now as a parent I am aware of how efficient it was. We were out of there in no time flat and had fun at the same time. So, tonight I was the car wash attendant and they each paid me 50 cents. Quite a bargain if I do say so myself.