How did 2 years fly by?

 

Well it’s happened. I have a 2 year old. As every other parent ever would say, it seems like only yesterday she was born and somehow a couple of years have already passed. Lillian had a fun day full of singing, friends, and “Tangled”. She was sung to twice at church and a few more times later during the day and I LOVE the fact that she clearly felt special each of those times.  We had a little party in the evening with her closest friends which went quite well. We had balloons, bubbles, Elmo cupcakes, and a bed to jump on, which is almost everything that makes little 2 year old hearts jump for joy. I couldn’t have asked for a better day for Lil, except for maybe turning on “Tangled” all day long…Speaking of which, Lillian now has just about everything “Tangled” that has ever been made and she is one happy camper. I am so happy her little obsession is with a movie that I quite enjoy as well. I’m grateful that she has such good little friends and especially that their parents are so much fun to hang out with as well! I’m grateful for this sweet little spirit that I have been blessed to take care of. And I am grateful that we waited until after this little shindig to have the carpets cleaned…

 

 

       

 

The Three Amigos

Sometimes that’s just the way it is…

Ever read the book “Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day”? Well that’s what yesterday felt like for me. Things went from bad to worse and then continued downhill from there. After a good night’s sleep, however, things returned to their normal pleasantness and I was able to get a better perspective on what I was struggling with. Days like this remind me how much I am grateful for my Savior. I am grateful that He knows everything I’m feeling and is always there to comfort me. I am grateful that I am never alone and that He can make my burdens light. I am grateful for answers to prayer and for strength and guidance found in the scriptures.

I am grateful for my sister who I can cry to and who can always help me to feel better. Who knows everything that has ever happened to me and therefore understands why things that happened years ago are relevant to my bad mood without needing an explanation. I ‘m grateful that she is only a phone call away (though I wish she was a lot closer than that…)

I am grateful for my husband who might not always understand why I am upset but always comforts me and does what he can to make me feel better. And I am grateful for my daughter whose sweet smile and funny dancing can always make me laugh.

It turns out one of the things that contributed to my bad day actually yielded a few gems. I was stupid enough to try to do a little photo shoot of Lillian at the park by myself and before nap time (and at a park with water and ducks…). When I finally got around to looking through the few pictures I had taken I was able to salvage a few and try to figure out a few more editing techniques. Next time I’ll definitely have someone to help me and will pay more attention to the million things that will distract or upset my little angel.

Here are the results of my mostly disastrous 2-year-old photo shoot :)

 

 

Fun at the park

Lillian has some favorite friends that we see multiple times a week, usually at a park. Sometimes I bring the camera for fun and catch some of the action. Here she is enjoying some recent play time with Parker.

 

Winter break goes by so quickly…

So we are settling back into the school routine after a nice winter break. Clark is at school a lot and when he’s home I get to look at the back of his head as he works on homework. I am going to have to find things to occupy myself with in the evenings when I’m waiting for him to finish. Last semester I had Lily’s blanket to work on but I have no projects right now, and I stupidly devoured all seven Harry Potter books this past month instead of waiting until now to do so. Oh well, I’m sure Lillian will keep me busy enough!

In the past week and a half we have managed to get Lily mostly potty trained, which we are all very happy about. She has no problems when we’re at home, but she still gets a little too distracted when she’s out playing with friends to stop and make it to the bathroom. So for now we’ll keep a stash of diapers just incase :). During this process she has shown her stubbornness and is definitely showing signs that she’s approaching 2 years old, but she knows her boundaries and is mostly a very happy little girl. 

As you can see below, she’s becoming a much better model for pictures (when she holds still) and is giving me many opportunities to learn and try new things with my camera and photo editing tools. All I had to do was to mention the movie “Tangled” and her little face just lit up :)