Lily-pie

Yep, my baby pie-pie is growing-up. She is 2 1/2 and that is so hard to believe.

I regretfully don't have a baby book going for this one so here are a few things I don't want to forget...

Lily's very favorite song in the whole wide world is called "Cutie Patootie". It's on repeat at our house. She points to the computer and dances a little and then I know exactly what she wants.

I go to iTunes, put the song on repeat and she's happy as a clam.

She refuses to wear a bow, headband or clip in her hair. She acts as if she's allergic.

Her favorite thing to say is, "I do, I do, I do, I do, I do, I do, I do, I do".

She says it loud and fast for just about everything.

She's a daddy's girl. If he's in the room I might as well be chopped liver.

And speaking of food, Lily's favorite food in the whole wide world is macaroni and cheese. And if she's able to be picky she LOVES the kind from Panera Bread.

If I ever drive past that place she starts chiming in from the back seat, saying, "nu-nuuuuuuu's!!" (her way of saying, noodles)

If we're in the car and I put the car in park she raises her little hand and says, "me!"

That means she wants to go with me into the store. I think it's so funny and cute.

Before bed she LOVES to have Dr. Seuss' The Foot Book read to her.

Lily gives the world's best hugs and kisses. I get them all day long.

The best is when she gives me leg hugs. She just walks up to me and snuggles on my leg. I love it.

The main purpose of this blog is to keep a record of our family. Someday I hope Lily will read this and know not just some funny things about her toddler years but how much her mama has loved and adored her, even from the beginning.

I love you, sweet Lily. I'm glad you're mine.

Mama Gwen

We call our Gwenners, "Wild Woman". She is loud and funny and daring. That being said, she happens to also be the sweetest little mommy. If she's inside, she's playing with her babies. This morning before church she was brushing her doll's hair on my bed while waiting for her turn in the shower. She just looked so sweet and innocent. She was being so gentle with her baby and it was adorable. Gwen looked at me and said, "Mom, my baby had A LOT of snarls in her hair and she didn't even cry once. She's brave!" Too cute.

Turtle

For years now, Elle has always made her way down our stairs via the bannister. I used to do the same thing in my house when I was a little girl. It's way more fun than walking. Whenever she gets to the bottom of the bannister I always beg her to do "turtle". It cracks me up every single time and NEVER gets old. She curls her legs and arms up and pretends like she's swimming under water like a turtle. It sounds so dumb but really, for some reason each time it makes me laugh -- which in turn makes her do it even more.

This morning I was packing her lunch for school and I heard her yell from the top of the stairs, "Mom, get ready for turtle!"

I grabbed my camera.

Teepee Time

On Christmas morning after the girls had received all of their gifts and were playing with their dolls, Jon and I asked them to go get something in the garage for us.

We then heard their happy screams.

Santa had left them their very own teepee all set up and decked out in Christmas lights. It was pretty magical. I had envisioned it in the family room for when they came down the stairs on Christmas morning but as you can see I frequently forget how little that room is. The teepee takes the whole space up completely!

The girls were in heaven with it and this weekend they begged to bring it inside for a sleepover.

We set it all up for them and had the flap open towards the TV so they could fall asleep watching movies.

Since there is no school today that gave the girls a 3rd night in a row to sleep in it. I snuck downstairs this morning and took pictures.

Soo much fun.

Christmas Dinner

I hosted Christmas Dinner. I cooked pretty much the whole day but it was fun. I tried to make it extra special and the girls LOVED eating with all of our fancy dishes. We even let Lily use a crystal glass (gulp). It was delicious (if I do say so myself) and I hope special for my family.

The Favorites

Here the girls are with their Christmas favorites...

Elle getting soo excited about her very own bath gel, lotion and perfume

Gwen with the 3D glasses and 3D chalk and chalkboard

Lily with her baby doll

It was a very MERRY CHRISTMAS at the McGee Home

Santa Claus

Santa really did come to our home. He ate the cookies and drank the milk. The reindeer even took the carrots the girls left. Here was the set-up before the girls came downstairs Christmas morning. All they really wanted were dollies this year. Elle was dying to have the American Girl Doll, Kit. Gwen and Lily just were begging for baby dolls and dolly accessories. Santa surprised them with a chalkboard and 3D chalk. The other big hit was that Elle and Gwen got lotion and perfume. Gwen's was Tinkerbell lotion and it had pixie dust in it. Pretty cute. Lily was surprised with a new baby stroller. Santa set everything up for each girl on their rocking chairs. It was so adorable watching them run down the stairs. Each of them knew exactly which dolly was theirs. We're at a magical age right now with all 3 girls. I want to bottle them up. They were so excited and cute.

Tracking Santa

On Christmas Eve we got home late from Grandma and Grandpa's house. The girls were pretty wired and Jon and I knew we had a LONG night ahead of us. We tracked santa using NORAD and we could see that his sleigh was REALLY close! We told them Santa couldn't stop unless they were asleep. It worked. The girls ran into their beds to make sure he wouldn't miss our home. So magical.

While Visions of Sugar Plums...

Pretty much the whole month of December the girls slept downstairs by the Christmas tree. They had their bedroom decked out for Christmas so each night they would drag their Christmas sheets and pillows downstairs. It really was the sweetest thing ever. I have a feeling it's going to be a tradition.

McGee Christmas Card 2011

My favorite thing in December is going to our mailbox and seeing cards and pictures of all of the people in our lives that we LOVE. Since our first Christmas as a married couple, Jon and I have sent out a photo Christmas card. I have all of the Christmas cards we have sent out over the years in a small book that we bring out each December. It is a great way to ensure that we have at least one family picture taken with all of us together each year. I love flipping through the book and seeing how our family has grown. The four people standing with me in this picture are the most treasured people in my life.

Christmas House

Before we got any of our Christmas things out the girls kept begging us to "make our house a christmas house." I thought that was such a cute way to put it. I've tried my best to make it feel magical in here for them. My favorite Christmas decorations: The fresh garlands, wreaths, satin ribbons and of course these reindeer pillows.

( how cute is my sweet little lily peeking through the banister...)

White Christmas

I had white linen stockings made for us this year. By next year I hope to have everyone's initials embroidered in them as well. I was worried the girls would miss their other stockings this year but the minute they saw these they were happy. I'm getting excited to see their faces on Christmas morning. There's nothing better than Christmas Morning with little kids. Nothing.

I spy with my little eye...

Santa!

Look Who's 5!

Today is my Gwennie's 5th Birthday. She had a Christmas performance at preschool which was fun and then when we were driving home I told her that the Birthday Fairy had visited our home. She could barely sit still she was so excited in the car. I put balloons, our birthday banner, a little pink stuffed elephant, and 2 coloring books out. It was so simple but she was BEYOND excited when she walked in the house. Her birthday crown from school today is my favorite part. Tonight for dinner she got to have a daddy-daughter date. We told her she could choose any place she wanted to go. She quickly said, "I want to go to the cake store that has stuffed animals". I was stumped. Jon figured it out...The Cheesecake Factory. She always admires those little teddy bears in the glass case in the front of the restaurant. Very Cute.

I have a feeling Jon may let her choose one tonight.

I love you my sweet, funny, smart and beautiful little girl.

Happy 5th Birthday, Gwen!!

Thanksgiving

For Thanksgiving we met up with my sister Megan and her family. Where did we meet...? In Riverside of all places. My sister told me to "trust her" and I am so glad I did! We stayed at one of the most amazing hotels. It is called The Mission Inn and it is BEAUTIFUL. It's a converted monastery and around the holidays the decorations and lights they put up can not be beat.

There was a big lighting ceremony complete with fireworks, it "snowed" each night through the hallways, and there was santa and his sleigh. This added together with my girls getting to be with their cousins = heaven. I also got to be with my sister, Megan which was my favorite part. It was a very Happy Thanksgiving.

Good Girl

She's such a GOOD girl.

Each day after school when my Ellers hops into our car I always ask her to tell me how her day at school was by her facial expression. She turns her head around and then back to me and the majority of days she flashes me the world's largest smile. It's pretty cute. If she's had a hard day she'll turn her head around with a half smile or some tears and then we can talk about it. My heart is happy that most days her smile is big and bright.

I went to Elle's 2nd grade parent-teacher conference this past Friday morning. The teacher went through all of her academic progress which is right on track. She's a smart girl and works hard so I was happy to see that her class work reflected that. Her teacher then looked me in the eyes and told me what a good, GOOD, sweet girl Elle is. I'm sure she tells most of the parents this but it took me quite by surprise. I know she's kind and sweet but you never know what happens when they leave you. My emotions really caught me by surprise. The more she talked about my Elle's sweet personality the more my eyes started to well up with tears. I kept thinking, "oh no, don't do this amy...this is embarrassing!!!" but it was to no avail. The tears came. She went on and on about how Elle treats the other children in the class and how kind and caring and helpful she is. To me this is SO much more of importance than any of the other things on that report card.

As a mom I work so much with my girls and sometimes I just feel like it's going in one ear and out the other with them. And somedays I feel like I'm a completely lousy mom. There are so many ups and downs on this "mom roller coaster". I think that was what made me cry - all of the TIME and TALKS I have with them are paying off even just a little bit. You do your best with them and then you push them out into the world and hope for the best. It's scary and rewarding and somedays heartbreaking all at the same time.

Each day as Elle is walking down the driveway and hopping into Jon's car to go to school I give her a hug and say, "Work Hard AND...."

She then has to finish the quote.

She always, smiles and says

"...BE NICE".

I love my sweet Elle. I'm glad she's mine.

Love

I love this picture - grainy and all.

It was a candid moment from my iPhone. We were trying to take a picture of all of us...(lily included) and then Gwennie said something funny and we all lost it. Lily ducked out of the picture but she was right there with us.

I love my girls so much.

Mirror Makeover

I got a new mirror for our family room. I still really liked our last mirror but wanted a change. I was driving with Jon and the girls to get ice cream and spotted this mirror in the window of a consignment shop. I begged Jonnie to stop and he obliged. The mirror was an ugly gold color. I really do love gold but this was just not a pretty gold. I knew it could be painted so that didn't deter me. When I got home and measured, I was thrilled to find it would be the perfect size. The pictures don't show the scale very well but it's huge...just over 5 feet tall. Our ceilings are vaulted so it works. The next day my friend came over and we spray painted it in my backyard. It still needs another coat of paint --I want it to be a flat white without shine. Jonnie bought a sprayer and I bought the paint so that's on our "not so important to-do list" which is really getting pretty long. I also have the prettiest chairs just sitting in our garage that I got at an antique store for almost nothing that also need to be reupholstered and painted. One of them will eventually go in the corner where our girls' little computer table is right now. Luckily I have a husband that puts up with all of this frivolous stuff.

Happy Halloween 2011

We had a fun Halloween. I must say though that this has been one crazy week. We are on day 8 of at least one person in our family having the flu. It's been non stop for me in the laundry department and I'm tired. I was so sick on Monday that I begged and bribed Gwen to not go to preschool. I may have even shed a tear. She however was too excited about her party and I don't blame her. I got her all dressed-up and also drove her there with my head literally on the steering wheel. It was a sight but she made it and had so much fun. Jonnie took the girls trick-or-treating last night in our neighborhood. Lily loved cruising in the wagon and Elle and Gwen ran from house to house. Our neighborhood is a fun one on Halloween night. Lots and lots of kids and parents running through the streets. It's adorable. The girls have already started talking about what they want to be next year. I love their ages right now. Every holiday is just magical for them. I know that will change someday so I am enjoying it so, so much right now. Now I need to figure out what to do with all of this candy in the house. I always forget how delicious kit-kats are. Seriously, so good. Here's to another fun Halloween and hoping that Jon (the last stand-out in our family) does not get sick. My fingers are crossed.

Happy Halloween!

(you can see this picture was taken after the 1st trip around the neighborhood trick-or-treating...how funny is gwen's wig!?)

Strawberry Shortcake Gwen

The Wig. I mean c'mon it doesn't get any cuter.

Elle the 50's Pink Lady

The Glasses. They "made" her outfit and she LOVED wearing them. So cute!

Piggy Lily

The Black Satin Bow. That's what sold me on this costume. Adorable.