Post overload!

With Christmas, Lilly's Birthday, and the New year right around the corner I am trying to catch up on my blogging now. We are ready for Christmas! All presents have been bought and wrapped. The only thing left to do is help Santa put together a large give Christmas Eve. We have been to the lights on the river at Saluda Shoals. Lilly really enjoyed this drive through light show and kept asking, "Daddy, How does it work?" We took her to the lights at the zoo which she enjoyed as well. I took her to the mall to see Santa. She sat on his lap for all of 30 seconds before deciding she didn't really like him and started crying. All out crying! Thank you to my wonderful friend Sarah for snapping a picture for me before the crying started! Now anytime she sees Santa in person she starts getting upset and says, "I don't like him!!". She does like to see him in books and on TV. She sat through the entire Polar Express movie and still talks about riding the train to see Santa Claus. I am really excited to see her reaction Christmas morning.

One another note... She regressed ALOT with potty training. If figured out the reason why though. My Mom keeps her 2 half days a week and has been keeping my Sister's baby sometimes, too. She sees that the baby gets lots of attention and gets her diaper changed alot... She wants to be a baby, too and have her diaper changed. She completely understands the concept and will even tell me that "pee pee" or "poo poo" is supposed to go in the potty. I gave her (and me) a break and started working with her again yesterday In the morning she was about 50/50, but from nap time on was perfect. Today, she has had 4 or 5 accidents. I will work on it some more tomorrow and hope she gets better. Wouldn't that be a nice Christmas present?!?

One more thing that has been going on in our lives...

Lilly was to become a big sister July 2012, but it turned out that it was not meant to be. We were excited to find out we were pregnant November 1st and had our first appointment scheduled, then Nov. 9th there was some light spotting, but the nurse wasn't, too concerned and just had me come in for blood work Thursday. I prayed that everything would turn out okay, but if it were not meant to be that it wouldn't be a drawn out process and I would have peace about it. Well, the morning of November 11th I was sure it was not meant to be, but kept my appointment for Sat. to do another round of blood work. I took it easy over the weekend and then finally Monday afternoon I got the call that my hcg levels were low and going down. Of course I was upset, but I had been praying about it and was able to get through it without any physical and minimal emotional pain. I know all is in God's hands and when the time is right he will bless us with another child. We will remain hopefull until then...

Oh BROTHER!

no... not another baby yet. A new Brother embroidery machine! My only one had been giving me trouble and really couldn't do what I wanted so instead of having it repaired I got one like I really wanted. I have had a lot of fun playing with it and i have only had it a couple of weeks! I am obssesed with sewing and crafts! I LOVE to make things. It would be even better if I could get some time together to set up a nice facebook page to sell some of the stuff I make... Here are some of the things I have made lately:

TeePee tent that folds up quick and easy and fits in a corner or closet!






Bows and the Outfit

Thanksgiving... delayed...

We had Brendan's family over for a very nice Thanksgiving lunch at our house this year. Everything was very good and Lilly enjoyed seeing her cousin. After we ate Lilly took a nap on the couch while Brendan's parents helped me set up the trees. when she woke up she was very hot so I took her temperature and of course she has a fever! This was the first time she has been sick and she was absolutely miserable! I took her to the Dr. Monday morning and she was tested for STREP, but it came back negative, but positive for a viral throat infection. We just had to wait it out, but by the next morning she was feeling much better. I was glad because we were both dying to get out of the house.

One positive about being stuck at the house was getting all the Christmas decorations up over Thanksgiving weekend. I did go out for some black Friday/ Thursday night shopping with my neighbor. We had lots of fun together and got some GREAT deals! Including a power wheels type car with the 12v battery that looks like a BMW for only $99 for Lilly's birthday! We went out about 9:30pm Thanksgiving night and did not get home until almost 5am! (Belk did not open until 3am and that was our last stop.) We had so much fun that we plan to do it again next year!

Lilly helping set her table... of course she got dressed before anyone came over.

Trick-or-Treat

Lilly has had fun this month! She was Cinderella for Halloween this year and she can even tell you that she is/was Cinderella. We took her to "Boo at the Zoo", a party for Mom's group at a church, The Saluda Shoals event, and of course trick or treating in our neighborhood. Once she learned what trick or treating was she was hooked! She still talks about trick or treating saying "I had fun trick or treating!" We walked around with our next door neighbors and left candy on the porch. I was suprised that the kids did not take too much candy because there was still some left when we were done. Of course we also carved a pumpkin and took Lilly to the SC State Fair. Once as a family and once with my Mom. When we went with my Mom my Dad met us there and we watched the elephant show (for the 3rd time) Lilly was so amazed by the elephants. My Dad got a picture for us with with elephant. Lilly was excited until right before they snapped the picture then she started getting a little nervous, but the picture still came out pretty good. It's not everyday you get to take a picture with an elephant and pet it...

Some of Lilly's favorite things:
Singing... she can sing about any song she hears a few times and loves to sing. Her favorites are "Jesus Loves Me" and "Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star"

The Wiggles... We watch Sprout most mornings while she is eating breakfast and I got her a DVD to watch in her play room. She especiall loves the rock a bye your bear song that they do and can sing it and do all the motions.

Babies! Especially her baby dolls. She talks to them just like she is a little Mommy and feeds them, rocks them, and puts them to bed. My Mom was keeping her and her baby cousin Tinsley this week and my Mom was rocking her to get her to sleep and Lilly said she wanted to rock, too. So my Mom was going to attempt to fit her in the chair too, but Lilly said "No!" and went and got her little rocking chair and started rocking her baby doll. She even put her baby to bed when she was done.

blocks... she can entertain herself with her mega bloks for a long time building "castles". This comes in very hand in the evenings if there is a show on we want to watch without her getting into trouble.

ABC's... She sings them all the time and can identify at least half of the letters now. She likes to watch "Super Why" because they do a lot with letters.

Cooking... pretend cooking of course. She doesn't even have to have anything buy her imagination to cook a waffle for someone and take it to them. So Santa Claus has ordered her a kitchen set that came in last week and some food that she can "cut" and put back together. I think she is going to love it!

Here are some pictures from this month:

Boo at the Zoo


Cinderella with "Cinderella's Mommy" (what Lilly said I was)


Lilly and her friend next door before Trick or Treating



Lilly modeling her new outfit I made her.

Overdue Updates

It has been over a month since I have updated! Lilly has been growing up so fast! Both in size and in smarts. She speaks in full sentences most of the time now and loves to sing. She can sing "Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star", "Jesus Loves Me", "ABC's", "Wheels on the Bus", "Patty Cake", and at least parts of a few others. She has even learned the hand motions for some of her songs. She still likes Barney, but she has also decided she likes some other shows just as much. Like "Calliou", "The Wiggles", and "Chloe's Closet". She says "Ninny!" when she sees Chloe because she looks like a cartoon version of herself and we told her she looks like Lilly. She can count to about 14 or 15 before all the numbers start sounding the same. A lot of times we call her little boss because she can be very bossy and will ask for exactly what she wants, when she wants it. Her little friend next door can be the same way, so it is funny when they try to boss each other around and it doesn't work. They do play really well together and my neighbor and I love to listen to their conversations with each other.

We have been trying out a new church for several weeks now. I went to a Mom's program at the church last year (and again starting this school year) so Lilly is familiar with the nursery rooms. That is the reason we started visiting this church over others. She cries when I drop her off, but when we pick her up she is playing and doesn't even realize we are there until we talk to her. This past Sunday her teacher told us we couldn't take Lilly. Of course she was only kidding and went on to say that Lilly was a mess! Lilly is probably one of the older kids in her class and she talks nonstop so I am sure they got an earful from her. When I was dropping her off in the nursery this past Thursday for the Mom's group she told me she had to go potty or actually "I need to go poo-poo". Which can also mean she has to pee, but she had just peed so I figured she really did have to go since she hadn't been yet that morning. So I went into her classroom with her to the little bathroom and she just tricked me! She knew that way I would stay with her longer.

We are still working on potty training... She has lots of days now where she only has 2 accidents and she is very capable of holding it when she wants to. Like when we are in the grocery store she will go before we start shopping and then again afterwards before we go home. We took her to the Greek festival Saturday and she didn't have a single accident while we were there. I took her to the potty about every hour to hour and a half and she held it between. When we are home is a whole different story. She is very inconsistant then. Sometimes she tells me and sometimes she will go use the potty by herself without even telling me. Brendan was shocked when the other night she walked over to her potty, lifted the lid, sat down, and peed! She does that all the time when I am there. I think he didn't really get that she knows exactly what to do, she is just not doing it every time. The worst is when she is getting tired. She puts no effort into using the potty then and actually refuses to sit on the potty only to have and accident 2 minutes later. She does keep dry some nights and during most all her naps now so I will just keep working with her...

My little artist loves to paint and color!


She was trying to put my make up on while I was getting ready, so I figured I would help... we went for an over the top Toddlers and Tiaras look. Haha!


At the USC scrimage practice before the season started.


Lilly looking like a big girl! Daddy had a hard time with this!

Tinsley Ava

My niece, Tinsley Ava was born last night around 9:45pm. My sister went to the hospital Thursday night and the Pitocin was started about 7am yesterday morning. Tinsley weighed 7 lbs and is 20 in. long. Mom and baby are healthy. We were there last night, but we left about 11pm because Lilly was past ready for bed and we didn't know how much longer it would be before they brought her back to the room. We did get to see her weighed and measured. We took Lilly to see her this morning. Lilly loved seeing Tinsley and talked nonstop about "baby". She didn't want anyone to hold Tinsley except for me and insisted on being right beside her. We did let her sit by Allison in the bed while Allison had Tinsley. Lilly cried and cried when anyone else held her, but eventually calmed down when she realized that we were going to let her sit in the bed with Tinsley. My Mom reached to pick Tinsley up and Lilly said, "NO! NO NOMA!" and pushed my Mom's arm away as hard as she could! When my Mom picked her up anyways she started crying so hard and saying, "I want my baby!". I had to walk her out in the hall and talk to her. The only way to get her to stop crying was to take her back to see "baby". She even sang "twinkle, twinkle little star" over and over to her without anyone telling her to! Looks like she will make a good Mother in the future. I can only imagine how she would act if it was her brother or sister!

Here are some pictures:

Please like La La Luna Girls on facebook. When you do we will send you a 10 percent off coupon code! Tell your friends about us, too!

Please like La La Luna Girls on facebook. When you do we will send you a 10 percent off coupon code! Tell your friends about us, too!

La La Luna Girls

So this is what I have been busy with:

La La Luna Girls

Check out our shop! Let me know if there is anything you would like in a different size or if you would like a custom order. We can do different colors or styles. Let us create something for you! Here are a few of my favorites:

1)Nusing Cover: This makes a great gift for the Mother-to-be!

2)Tailgating wine glass/goblet: Perfect for tailgating or entertaining!


3)USC Outfit w/ Bow: We can do this for any team! Just let me know which team you prefer and we can custom make on for you!

Good Bye July!

Whew! It seems like July has flown by! I haven't updated in a while because my neighbor and I have been busy getting things up and running for our business, but I will cover that in another post! Lilly is really growing up fast! I can finally see the light at the end of the tunnel of potty training! The past several days she has done really well. She may have 1 accident and she has been staying dry most nights, too. (She is still in pull ups at night). We went to Mississippi to visit Brendan's parents 2 weeks ago for a week. I was worried how much damage that did with the potty training because she was in Pull ups every day and had plenty of accidents, but I can't say I was really focused on making sure we took her to the potty a lot because we were doing things all day every day. I was pleasantly suprised when by the middle of this week she was doing better than before going to Mississippi. Thank goodness! I'm sure in a week or two (maybe this week) I can say she is completely potty trained during the day.

I celebrated my 26th Birthday July 13th. Birthday are no fun anymore! I would be more than happy to stay the same age from here on out. I dread getting old. Brendan did get me an iPad for my birthday! It is wonderful. That is actually the reason that I haven't blogged lately. This sounds really lazy, but it's so easy to get on quickly that I dread waiting for the laptop to boot up. If I can find an app for the iPad so I can blog and upload pictures from it I will definately blog more often. If anyone knows of one please share with me!

We all had a wonderful time in Mississippi visiting Brendan's parents and eating a lots of nice restaurants. Brendan, his dad, and I went to the Hollywood Casino for about a half-hour while Lilly napped. I just played the penny slots... I played with $1 and left with $4.21! Too bad I'm not a big risk taker. Imagine if I had been playing with $100.. haha.

My sister is due to have her baby girl, Tinsley any time now. Her due date was actually July 29th (this past Friday). If she doesn't go into labor before, she will be induced This Friday, August 5th.

Some pictures from Mississippi: (NO! She did not ride on the motorcycle!)

*La La Luna Girls*

This is why I haven't been posting lately... My friend/neighbor and I have been starting up a little business together. We are up on Etsy now, but haven't had our first sale yet. We have 2 people we know wanting to buy so we are going to sell through them on Etsy so we can get some feedback. Today we are making some of our other ideas that we haven't had time to make yet. Tomorrow we will be visiting a local boutique or two if we can get the appointments set to see if we can sell a few items locally. Here is a link to our Etsy shop: La La Luna Girls Check it out to see our new products. We can also do custom items.

Lilly was big hit in the Gamecock tutu at the Gamecock parade last Friday after the big Championship win. You would have thought she was a little celebrity the way the cameras were flashing and the number of people asking to take her picture! I think the "Columbia Metropolitan Magazine" was the only publication to take it though, so we will be checking out their next issue!


Some of my personal favorites that we will be working on today is a wine glass and a gamecock shirt and tutu skirt set. I won't give too much detail on it until we have a few finished today. I will post a picture later of both. So, check back to see them!

Here is a link to our Facebook page. If you like our products feel free to "like" us on Facebook!

My goal is to post a Lilly update later today or tomorrow.

Friday Fives: Crafty

My neighbor and I are trying to get some things together that we can make and sell on Etsy.com and some local boutiques. We worked on some things and ideas after the kids went to bed last night. Here are some things that should be available soon!

1)Bonnet/Skirt sets: You see a picture in my previous post, but here is another...


2)Rosette Shirts to match the Skirts. I don't have a picture yets because we still have to go get some shirts, but we did make some cute rosettes.

3)Tutu dresses: We are ordering the tulle and other supplies today so I won't have one of our creations until next week, but here is one for sale on Zulily that is similar. It's made by Princess Charem.



4)Crocheted headbands with flowers, bows, ect... You see these everywhere and again I don't have a picture, but you get the idea

5) Headbands for adults. We love the idea of a fun headband for adults with fun feathers for that night out or to dress up jeans and a tank or t-shirt. I guess some of the inspiration comes from the beautiful fascinators at the Royal Wedding, but of course they wouldn't be so over the top and more practical for everyday use.



Hopefully, I'll have some pictures of some of the other things we have made next week.

Wednesday Randoms: Late Night Sewing

Last night, my neighbor and I got together for a little girl's time. If you read my post yesterday you know I was having a rough day and potty training was really frustrating me. Well, she did absolutely perfect for Brendan. No accidents AT ALL. She even told him she needed to go a couple of times! So of course he doesn't understand why my patience is run so thin by the end of the day! Maybe she will be good for me today. When I got home, Lilly insisted she was going to sleep in the "big girl bed" It's really just the bed in the guest bedroom. So I read her books to her in there and when she fell asleep I transfered her to her crib. She woke up about 3am and when I got to her she was saying "big girl bed" over and over. So I took her in there. She immediately settled down so I put pillows on one side of her and I slept on the other. Maybe she is ready for a big girl bed??? If it would help her sleep better I would be all for it!

After I got her to bed (the first time), I couldn't sleep. So, I decided to go through my sewing/craft cabinet because my neighbor and I got to talking about the endless possiblities things we can make. I found a pattern that I have never even used for a smocked bonnet. I had some material that I have been wanting to use so I decided to give it a try. The bonnet was simple enough. I have never smocked before so the smocking isn't perfect, but by the last 2 rows I was getting the hang of it. After I made the bonnet, I thought it needed something to go with it. So with the extra material and some tulle and ribbon, I made a skirt. I wanted to do an elastic waist band, but I was out of elastic so I just used a ribbon to make a drawstring waist. The tulle is gathered along the bottom. It is a little long on her, but she can really wear it for a long time since the waist in adjustable.

Here is my little Lilly modeling her new outfit:



By the way, this is my 100th post!

Tuesday Titles: Silly Sally

Lilly really enjoyed the book "Silly Sally" this past week. The second day of reading this book she kept asking for "Silly Sally! Silly Sally!" It is about a girl named Sally that is walking upside down. At first Lilly kept wanting to turn the book around since she was upside down, but she soon figured out that she was supposed to be upside down. It is a cute and funny story if you are looking for a quick book. If a book has too many words per page I can forget her letting me finish each page.



I'm not going to post an adult read today because my allergies are giving me (and Lilly) a fit today. Lilly has also given me a hard time today. So I am going to slack a bit!

Mommy Monday: Fishing

Last week was awful for me and it wasn't just because of potty training. Brendan somehow ended up filling in for 3rd shift all week! So when I was home and he was asleep I had to try to keep Lilly quiet and I couldn't vacuum, ect... Then, we started potty training on Wednesday. Whew! Tomorrow night a neighbor friend and I are going for coffee and some shopping. I am looking foward to the much needed break! Don't get me wrong, I love spending time with Lilly, but sometimes I do need a little time to myself. She is definately in the "terrible two's" phase now. I can't even count the number of times we heard "I want it!" or "I do it!". If she didn't get here way she pitched a fit every time.

Saturday morning we took Lilly out to the pond and let her do a little fishing. She was so excited. She kept saying "Fish! Fish!". When we reeled on in (with her Barbie rod and reel) she would run over to see the fish and then would say "in water" over and over until we released it. She would tell the fish bye-bye and sometimes blow it a kiss. Of course the potty was in tow:


Lilly still has accidents, but she understands that she is supposed to use the potty and she is going longer between trips. When we are home she prefers not to wear her panties and I don't always make her for now because then she can run to the potty by herself if she needs to, which she did a few times yesterday. This morning she started to go and then realized what she was doing and stopped. I rushed her to the potty and she finished going there. I guess she will (I hope) get better this week.

Weekend Wisdom: The Calling of the First Disciples

Jesus was walking beside the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers, Simon called Peter and his brother Andrew. They were casting a net into the lake, for they were fishermen. “Come, follow me,” Jesus said, “and I will make you fishers of men.” At once they left their nets and followed him.

Going on from there, he saw two other brothers, James son of Zebedee and his brother John. They were in a boat with their father Zebedee, preparing their nets. Jesus called them, and immediately they left the boat and their father and followed him.
-Matthew 4:18-22

We should be like the disciples and follow Jesus whenever he calls us. Sometimes his timing my not seem right to us, but he always knows what is best.

Friday Fives: Pool Day

I am planning on taking Lilly to the pool in our neighborhood this afternoon. Here are five things I will be wearing or wish I were wearing to the pool this afternoon.

1) Sunglasses: Costa Del Mar Cheeca



I love these glasses and take them pretty much everywhere I go. I even wore them on my run this morning because they stay in place. They look good and fit great. They are a must on a sunny day like today. I want to prolong crows feet for as long as possible!

2) Hat: Scala Extra Large Brim Shapeable hat



I like this hat because it offers 50 upf while looking stylish. I can also fold it up and put in in my bag because the bendable wire makes it easy to reshape. It would be great to pack for a vacation, too.

3) Swim Suit: Betsey Johnson Suprise Party



I love this style bathing suit. This is one that I wish I were wearing to the pool. Betsey Johnson has such a wonderful swimsuit collection. I think this style would flatter just about anyone. especially with the skirted bottom. You wouldn't even have to wear a cover up.

4)Cover up: Embellished tunic by Venus


Since the swimsuit is too cute to hide completely, this sheer tunic gives you a little cover without completely hiding the swimsuit. I love the beaded V-neck. This tunic is another wish.

5) Shoes: Jack Rogers Hamptons Navajo in Platinum



I love these shoes and they go with pretty much anything from a day at the pool to a wedding. If I don't feel like sorting through what shoes to wear, I just put these on and go. I think they would go perfect with the beautiful tunic and would match the beaded embellishments.


I hope everyone else has a fabulous Friday!

Here is a little potty training update:

Yesterday, she had only 2 accidents. One about 8:30am and 4:20pm. She stayed dry through her nap and all night long (from 9pm-6:40am). No accidents so far today. She fell asleep in the stroller on our run and she has been asleep since about 10:30am. Hopefully she will keep it up!

Giveaway!

This is a really cute blog I came across and she has a giveaway for her Etsy shop right now. You should check it out:
http://nopaparazziplease.blogspot.com/2011/06/etsy-giveaway.html

Thursday Tip: Stickers/potty training update

I used to give Lilly M&M's when she went potty, then she got where she expected one just to sit on the potty and as soon as she got it she immediately hopped up. So, starting yesterday I started using a sticker chart. She loves stickers and is just as happy to get to put a sticker on the paper when she is done. Here is her chart from yesterday. I wrote down when she had a accident so I can keep track of her improvements.


Yesterday, she stayed dry during her really long nap, but had another accident later in the evening. We took her for a walk and when we were almost back to our house she told me she need to "go poo poo" so I rushed her inside to go potty. The only problem was she saw her friend from next door outside on the way in and on sat on the potty for about 3 seconds before she was running to the door to go outside and "I see Kay!" When we got out there her friend was already inside, but she wanted to play with her sidewalk chalk. We hadn't been outside 5 minutes and she pooped in her panties. That was the only time she has done that. She went pee one last time about 9pm before bed and woke up a little after 12am. My first though was she will go right back to sleep. My second though was I should go and take her to the potty. So I jumped out of bed. Her pull up was dry and she peed. When she got up this morning at 6:20am I took her to the potty and she was still dry!

Here is Lilly on the potty with her stickers:

Wednesday Randoms: Potty Training Day 1

Today is Lilly's first official day of potty training. She woke up about 7am and has been in panties ever since. I told her there were no more diapers and she must have understood that because she started off really well. She didn't have her first accident until almost 11am and I think it was because she was busy playing outside and didn't want to come inside. She just had her second accident about 2:45pm. She was past tired and just didn't want to go potty when I tried to take her. A minute later she wet her panties... all over Daddy! I could tell she was a little embarrased and/or disappointed that she wet them because she was trying to run away and didn't want me to change them. When she goes she is so proud of herself. Especially if she goes and sits on the potty all by herself.
She is now asleep and I hope she will make it through her nap. She already does a lot of days. I just have to be quick to get her when she wakes up. She is in REALLY thick panties with a plastic liner so even if she goes it should hold it. I hope she will keep it up. We did go down to our neighbors house with potty in tow for a little bit just to get out of the house and she went twice while we were there. Wish me luck as the battle continues. Since she is my first I don't really know how many accidents are normal at first or how long it will take. Hopefull she will mostly have it down in a few days at least during the day. We can worry about night time later.

Tuesday Titles: Duck Duck

Like I have mentioned before we usually go to the library once a week to get new books for Lilly. This past week we got a book called "Have you seen Duck?" by Janet A. Holmes and illustrated by Jonathan Bentley. I picked this one because Lilly Loves ducks. She absolutely loved this book! The little boy loses his stuffed duck and looks for him. Lilly gets so exited when we get to the page where the duck is found. She screams "DUCK DUCK!". The pictures are nice and it is short enough to hold the attention of a young child.



As for an adult read... I haven't read this book lately, but I have read it 3 times along with all of the other books in the saga. My sister originally recommended the books to me. I was a little skeptical, but after reading the first one I was hooked! They are a very quick, clean read. It is the ultimate love story and Stephenie Meyer is an excellent writer. Have you guessed the book yet?


"Twilight" by Stephenie Meyer
If you haven't read this book yet, it is a must read. It is about a young girl moving to a new town to live with her Dad so her Mom can travel. She is not looking foward to the move, but wants to so she doesn't hold her Mom back. She is the talk of the small town and an unconventional love story is told. When reading the book you feel like you know the characters personally because of the writing style. Once you finish the first you won't be able to wait before getting the second so you may want to already have it on hand. I finished all 4 books in less than 2 weeks (Before Lilly was born. The first time I read them.) If you have seen the movies and not read the books, you don't even know half of the story.

Here is Lilly at Edventure yesterday in the fire truck:

Mommy Monday: Sleep

Lilly hads gotten used to falling asleep in our bed. It all started about 2 months ago when she was getting her molars in. She cried and cried when I tried to put her to bed, unless she was in bed with us. We read stories then she snuggles between us and after a little thrashing she falls sound asleep. I take her to her crib where she sleeps until about 3am. She wakes up crying and when you go in to check on her she starts saying "bed!". She says it and cries until we start heading to our room. I would just let her cry for a little while, but Brendan doesn't like to hear it and will go get her. Then she stars crying for Mama. "I want my Mama!" until she gets to me. I have told Brendan for a few weeks now that we just need to let her cry it out again, but he doesn't want to have to hear her cry so he suggested I do it last night since he had to fill in for a 3rd shift supervisor. So that's what I did.
We read her books in her room, then said her prayer and put her to bed. She started crying when she realized I was about to put her in the crib. It was the saddest face, but I knew I had to stay strong if I ever want to be able to put her to bed without us going to bed, too. It really wasn't that bad because she only cried 15 minutes and I could hear her playing with her My pal Violet almost the whole time. She did wake up once in the middle of the night but cried less than 5 minutes. I hope she will do just as well if not better tonight.

Yesterday, we went to our neighborhood pool with my sister and her husband. Lilly's friends were there, too. She really loves the pool now and doesn't even have to get used to it anymore. She has a ring that a neighbor got for her that she likes to wear and she will say "kick, kick" while she sort of kicks to swim around. She also has a float she can sit in that has a cover, but she now prefers the little ring. I think because that's what the older girls are using.

Back to the sleep topic...
Which bedtime prayer do other Mommy's use?

I grew up with:
Now I lay me down to sleep.
I pray the Lord my soul to keep.
If I die before I wake,
I pray the Lord my soul to take.
Amen.

I have heard this one more lately (I guess it is a little sweeter.)
No I lay me down to sleep.
I pray the Lord my soul to keep.
Angels watch me through the night,
and keep me in their precious sight.
Amen.

We have been doing both, because I am used to saying the first one out of habit, but I think I would rather start using the second more. I think I hear Lilly waking up.

Weekend Wisdom: The Lord is faithful

" The Lord is faithful to all his promises and loving toward all he has made. The Lord upholds all those who fall and lifts up all who are bowed down."
-Psalm 145:13-14

Precious Moments: Praying

This gives us hope that God is always there for us and we can trust in him.

Friday Fives: 5 years of bliss

Today Brendan and I will celebrate our 5 year anniversary. Time has flown by and we have been through many changes in these short five years. Brendan went back to school to get his engineering degree. I graduated from USC December of 2006. We welcomed our sweet baby girl Lilly into the world December 2009. We have bought our first and now second house. I hope the years to come will be just as great!
Brendan let me go pick out a Coach bag and shoes last week (Coach sent a $100 off coupon in the mail... How could I resist?) and do a little shopping with his friend's wife this week. I think that was my present, but I'm not complaining. Here are my 5 things.

1) The Coach bag I got: AUDREY PATENT LEIGH SLIM TOTE


I was trying to decide between the Gold one and this one. I ultimately went with this one because it would work for any season instead of just Summer and the patent leather is much easier to clean

2)The shoes: CECILE FLAT in black.



I wanted the brown ones, but since they were on sale my size was completely sold out in all stores.

3) A pair of J Brand Jeans:



Can you believe I got these for $30! They retailed for $188.50 at the boutique, but they were at the Basement Boutique 2 doors down for $30. I guess it was because of the few sizes left. They fit great and I love the color.

4)Running/workout Skirt: Triks Gym Girl Ultra



I have several of these skirts. I love them for running because they look better than shorts and there is no chaffing! They are also great to just wear around the house. They come in lots of fun colors and patterns or in the tried and true black.

5) Running shoes: Women's ProGrid Kinvara



Brendan got these shoes for me early in the Spring. I love these shoes. I don't always wear them when I run because they MAKE you go fast! They focus on a more natural striking motion and you have to conciously think about your form until you get used to it. They are very light and comfortable. Of course I have the pink ones. I don't usually wear them when pushing the jogger because I know I won't be running as fast. If you are looking for an easy way to improve your time a little these are great.