Fun Pics

I am still pretty much out of commission - but I am improving. Mom is still living with us, though, since picking Lilly up off the floor & putting her in bed is just not a move I can do right now!

Thought I would share this pre-injury pic from the two of us at the 5K by the Bay on Saturday...she was soooo pleased with her medal!

Then here are some pics from last night. She was playing with this buzzer / light up toy that our friend Amy had given her...and she was sooo pleased with herself!

Biomechanics Lesson 101 - the Hard Way

Yup...threw out my back this morning - at church of all places! Lilly was starting to fuss, so I leaned over to pick her up and instantly felt that brutal twinge in my lower back. Pain was really bad....sweaty, faint, the whole shebang. Tried to get up to get communion and just about passed out. Luckily some friends were there, as well as a friend who is a local family practice doc. They looked after Lilly & I...and even drive us home in our own car since I was still too faint to get behind a wheel. Mom has moved in for a few days thank God. Have no idea how I am going to get everything ready for our big party on Sunday! Hurts to sit, stand, lay down, roll over....goodness gracious this stinks!

Sleep (& other important catch ups since my last post)

The big news to report is on the SLEEP front. Last week I decided it was time to just cut Lilly off cold turkey. She had managed to get it down to waking up once a night, usually between 4 - 5:30, at which point I would get her out of her crib and throw her in bed with me until we got up. But, she was increasingly thrashing about in bed and taking 1-2 hours to go back to sleep (just in time to wake up) - and not to mention, leaving me exhausted and bruised from her kicking in bed. So...despite the fact that she loves it, and that I loved waking up with her, it had to be done.

So...(drum roll please...) it has been almost a week and she is doing great. The first few nights were rough, and she was NOT pleased with the new scenario (& not shy on sharing her thoughts). But, she slept from 8 p - 6a last night and didn't wake up once!!! HURRAY!!!!! This is so HUGE I cannot even begin to tell you how much better this will make both of our lives!

Other tidbits....

• She started swimming lessons (adorable) at the local community center. I don't have any pics, but you have to take my word that she is so darn cute in her pink suit with a turtle on it.




• Jackson turned two! I remember last year at his party when I was there without Lilly it was like a whole world was just waiting to open up...now this year the two of the played together nonstop. Well..they did stop to enjoy the AMAZING cake that Jackson's dad made...I told him he was setting the bar WAY too high. Abby was there too...so great to have all three of them home!



• Going through the homestretch of some home rennovations. Turning the garage into a craft room and redoing the bathroom (had to do both, before the garage fell down or the bathroom floor fell in, so I am trying to make the best of it by doing what I want - within my budgetary limits anyway). Lilly adores Chuck & Matt (my friend/contractor/hubby of a friend & coworker). The funniest though, was when he had taken the toilet and sink out to install the floor and had to leave the toilet in the tub over night. Lilly marches into the room and says "Potty, where ARE you?!?" Then when she found it in the tub, she declared "NO, NO, Chuck!" Hilarious.

And - for those of you outside the area - the area hit by all the terrible tornados is about 30-40 min away. The hospital there even got hit by it! But, amazingly it is seemeing that people were very lucky and most got out unhurt. Amazing.

Our Trip To Orlando!!!

We just got back from visiting our dear friends in Orlando. It was Lilly's first big trip since getting here last spring...and she did great! She slept on the plane going down, and entertained the passengers on the way back home. We went to Sea World Friday with Farzana and Zaki, which Lilly LOVED. Saturday we saw Zaki's soccer game and splashed in giant neighborhood puddles. Lilly is still talking about the "big puddle."

Overdue Pictures of my Easter Lilly!

These are all from Easter...sorry they are so late! Easter morning was cute...she found her basket and was DELIGHTED to discover there were goldfish crackers in the plastic eggs (I know - I won't be able to get away with that for long). After a breakfast of goldfish, we headed to church, and then later in the day (& another outfit later) my family came over for dinner...hence the "I love chocolate pie" picture. It was wonderful to have everyone together. And, it certainly did not go unnoticed that the day after Easter last year was when I finally got the call we were out of PGN. She will always be my Easter Lilly!

On the adoption paperwork front (yes - still filing paperwork here there and everywhere)...we are very much closer to being done. The readoption came through, her name change is official, and Friday I received her new Virginia birth certificate in her new name! Yea!!! (& for those of you who are curious - yes - it says she was born in Guatemala, but that the birth is now registered in VA so she can get a VA birth certificate whenever she has to do paperchasing for things like passports, adoption, security clearances, etc). All I need to do now is change her social security card to her new name, get a new certificate of citizenship, change her medical records.insurance card to her new name and then get her a passport! YEA!

3Ps: Palm Sunday, St Patricks Day and Playing!

Just had a bunch of cute pics to share...

Not sure who likes the palms form Palm Sunday better...Lilly or Didgy?

The St Patrick's Day shirt is from an Irish co-worker who recently went home to Dublin...so its the real deal! ;) The shirt says "GORGEOUS Just Like My Mummy" And, no, in the picture with the hat she isn't flipping us off, she is demonstrating my bad housekeeping skills by highligting a bunch of "fluff" (aka cat hair) she has found. "Fluff Mama!"

And here she is in my shoes. My ugly, worn, flat, black loafers that I KNOW qualify me to be on TLCs "What Not To Wear," (and yes, I wear them with black socks) but don't even bother to tell me how ugly or out of style they are. There have been others who have tried to intervene before (ie Maren & Sue M), but its a lost cause. At least Lilly likes them (for now anyway).

Ollie!

Maren has been in Belgium on business, so her dog Ollie has been staying with my parents...which makes Lilly ssssooooooooo happy. She just LOVES playing with Ollie!

Random Thoughts...

Thought #1: Daylight Savings Time is much more of a challenge with a 2 year old than with only myself. However, the evening is much nicer when we can be outside after dinner. Tonight was the first time in an embarassingly long time that I did not emply the TV, TiVo or DVD player as a babysitter for part of the evening. She and I had a lovely dinner w/ no tv...then headed outside to play until bath time. A girl could get used to that. Just a slight struggle to convince her it really was bath time even though it was still light out...but all ended well.



Thought #2: I was watching some tv show this weekend and it was looking at the question "where were you 5 years ago...." And, it struck a real chord for me. As I rocked Lilly last night, with my cat curled up on us as well, I couldn't help but be struck by how far my life has come in 5 years. In March of 2003...I lived alone (no cat, no kid). I was in a job I didn't really like. I was in a relationship that wasn't really healthy. I hadn't exercised in years. Fast forward to March of 2008...I have a cat and an almost 2 year old daughter. I run (sort of...well I did do a half marathon in 05, and I have started running again recently...though maxing out at 3 miles). I like my job, my boss, my coworkers and the direction my career is headed. But most importantly, I come each night to my family instead of an empty house. I can't tell you how much happier that makes one's soul. Life is so much better!!!!



Finally...here are some fun pictures of when we went to the circus weekend before last. Lilly LOVED it...especially the animals. She was so excited leading up to it that she didn't sleep during her nap, so she did briefly crash at the circus, but woke up in time to see the elephants. (Ok - technical difficulties...I promise to try again on the pics.)

It's Official!!!

Got a message from my lawyer today...and the local judge signed the readoption order, which makes the adoption registered in Virginia AND legally changes her name to Lilly Marta as opposed to her original birthname. YEA!!!! While its not the final step in the paper trail...it is a big milestone, and one that I am thrilled to be celebrating!!!! When I told Lilly her name was officially Lilly she gave me this weird smile that seemed to say "mom, you are so weird, but you seem happy so I will play along."

As for pictures...these are hilarious. . And...before anyone emails me about safety in the bathtub, know that my bathtub fills sooooo slowly and is never hot...barely lukewarm (unlike every other faucet in the house, but go figure).

Over the weekend she was really starting to resist taking a bath and would throw a big fit when I would go start the water (which takes a while due to how slow it is...). So, Sunday evening she and I were doing her favorite thing - pushing "Baby" and Elmo around the house in strollers and the plastic grocery cart while wearing appropriate hats (us, not Baby and Elmo). So, while we were running around the house, I snuck into the bathroom to start the bathwater. Then I proceded to push Elmo around the house (she had Baby) and went into the kitchen. Then it got quiet...not a "something is really wrong" quiet, but rather a "my kid is up to no good" quiet. And, I was right. I zipped into the bathroom and sure enough...this is what I found...she had crawled in, fully clothed, leather shoes and all. And, she had brough Baby in with her (Baby isn't exactly a waterproof toy!). Notice the dead man's float Baby is demonstrating. Very nice. Lilly was so pleased with herself and had no idea that she had done something she shouldn't have...she just looked up at me with a big, proud as punch smile and said "Bath Mama!" Too funny.

As for Baby...Mama was smart enough to realize Baby needed an identical twin for exactly such unforseen circumstances. So, while the wet baby was rigged up out of site to drip dry near the hot water heater, the identical twin stepped up to duty, and Lilly was none the wiser, and went to sleep. Yea!

And as for sleep...still going well. I would say that we have passed the 50% point...where now more than half the nights are good...THANK GOD! She sleeps 8 - 4/5 about 70% of the time now. Love that.

Happy Valentines Day!

Soo...Lilly had a big Valentine's "date" with Jackson! Ok...so the two families went out to dinner at a local sandwich shop. And, they both were as delighted as always with each other. But, this time I caught it on film! How cute are they?!?!?!?!?

A long way from last Valentines (pictured here)...when I was with Lilly in Guatemala in "our" hotel room, and still months away from the big light at the end of the tunnel.

Anyway...today I ducked out of work at 3, and Lilly, mom, Christine & I headed to the Zoo and then out to dinner. We had a great time!!! No animal pics...but the best part was Lilly's reaction anyway.

Finally...a note of thanks & prayer request.... during my long wait for Lilly I "met" a wonderful woman online named Damaris who was also in a long wait for her daughter. Damaris speaks fluent Spanish, and translated letters for me to give to the foster family, etc. But, she was also a great emotional support for me. Well...while I have now been home for 9 months with Lilly, Damaris still waits. Her beautiful daughter Nidia (see picture) will be 3 in a few months, and that will be 3 very long, excruciating years for Damaris, her husband and their son...not to mention Nidia. Their case has spent a long time in investigation, and hit every unfair and irrational speedbump imaginable, and then some you can't imagine. For a while, Nidia was even removed from her foster home and put in an orphanage. But, through it all, the love and perserverance a mother has for a child continued. She is not home yet, but this week they had a HUGE break through...their case was FINALLY released from Minors Court/Investigations and returned to "regular" PGN. Please join me in thanksgiving for this huge milestone. But, then she has already been kicked out...AARRGGGHHH!!! Please pray they can get the problem corrected quickly and resubmitted for a VERY quick and speedy approval from PGN to bring Nidia home to her family who has been waiting so long for her. And, pray for Damaris that her strength continues in this homestretch.

More from today...

We had a really fun afternoon, so I thought I would share some pics. It was INCREDIBLY windy here today, so I thought it would be fun to go to the park by the water and fly a kite. Ahh...it is the best plans that tend to fail. It was WAY TO WINDY. The kite was ripped apart in 30 seconds...and Lilly ended up wrapped around my leg crying "MAMA!" I snapped this pic, and you can see the tail of the kite (pink) blew around Lilly's face, and clearly my hair is having a great time.

So...always ready to punt, we bagged the kite and headed to the other part of the park. She climbed on the playground stuff and the light was great, so I got some good pics. Some classically pretty, and some classically Lilly. And finally, she ended the day trying to get every last lick out the Graeters Ice Cream container. Ahh...she is definietly my girl. Enjoy....

Cutest Butt Ever

Well, I have to post this type of picture now, because in another 3 months she'll have figured out to be embarassed by them. Here she had escaped from the bathroom while teh tub was running and insisted on staying and reading with her grandparents. But really...all bias aside...isn't that the cutest behind you ever did see?!?!?!?!?

She is still doing really well. Sleeping is still going well too. She doesn't slepp all teh way through the night, but maybe half the nights this week I was able to keep her in her bed and me in my bed all night. Major victory!

She continues to be an opinionated spitfire just like her mama. And, we are having so gorgeous weather these days, so she has just loved getting outside and playing as much as she possible can. Her foster mother said she didn't let her play on teh ground because it was dirty and she could get sick. She would be horrified at the site of my mud-covered, grass-stained kid with a wet behind from going down the slide before it was totally dry stooping over to poke sticks at pine needles and rumage through piles of leaves!!! I guess what she doesn't know won't hurt her ;)