Favorite Lil Man Quotes of the Week

Lil man has entered into the world of 'Star Wars'. I don't know if he is enjoying it more or if my hubby is. So, I'd like to dedicate this week's quotes to Star Wars through the eyes of a 4 year old. OK, honey, let's make Luke Skywalker proud!

"Ty fighters are naughty." (Love how he applies language applicable in his world)

"Jaguars are good." (He is determined that Jawas are really named Jaguars. There is no telling him otherwise)

"Ewokes are like little bears. They live with Stormtroopers which are bad. Ewokes like to throw stones."

The best is not a quote though, it is how interactive and engaged he is with both the movies and the Lego Star Wars game. He jumps, makes blasting sounds, and gets a great little workout! No sitting down with a bowl of popcorn (sorry Orville, you'll have to hang out with mom and dad) while he 'watches' a movie.

Independent Lil Lady!

Lil lady is now 8 months old. I can't believe how fast she has grown! Wanted to capture some random observations. No particular order - other than they all seem to add up to one dynamic, glowing little lady that I'm proud to call my own.

It's so amazing to see how her personality is developing. She absolutely glows when she smiles - which is all the time. She does the cutest twitchy dance when she sees me. (which is the best greeting after arriving home from work).

She has just started army crawling and is lighting fast. Her favorite toy? The dog's toy of course! When she spots the toy from across the room, it cracks me up to see how quickly she moves. She is absolutely delighted when she has reached her goal and attained the prize. That is... until the dog (the rightful owner) gives her kisses until he gets it back.

Also, loving how lil lady lights up when she sees her big brother. When she sees lil man, she grins from ear-to-ear. My favorite is when they both look at each other and laugh. Their laughs are infectious - and they just look at one another and giggle uncontrollably, which spreads to the rest of us like wildfire.

She's now chatting it up too! She always has been uber-expressive. Full of sounds - fake sneeze squeal through her nose, smacking of her lips, sucking on her teeth, and now lil lady is saying "dadadadada".

And as for eating, she is proving to be quite an independent lil lady. She loves to take that spoon away and feed herself. I've now realized that I must bring two spoons to feedings.

Really enjoying watching her grow up. Her smile, warm/sunny demeanor, great sense of humor and spirit are fun to watch!! Proud of my lil preemie and how she is growing. Can't wait to see what happens next!!

A "My Fair Lady Moment"

In eager anticipation, I set off on a mission. A mission to find the perfect Easter hat. This is lil lady's first Easter - and as she is my only girl, I couldn't wait to partake in this Easter tradition.

I set off on my quest in search of the perfect hat. I had been looking - lots of window shopping. It was the day before Easter and I still had NOT found it. I remembered hearing about a hair bow store and crossed my fingers that I would be lucky.

When I entered, I knew that I hit the jackpot - but you tell me. I just couldn't resist! It was way too cute. I also ended up buying a spring hat with a flower too. Can't wait to show that one off. And I also was introduced to Baby Leg Warmers. I know the 80s are famed to never die, but I didn't expect to see this fashion faux pas revived from the grave. However, I have a thing with tights for babies. I just can't get them to look right. Maybe I am still not use to having a girl, but I can't find ones that fit my lil lady just right - so I picked up a pair of the baby leg warmers and I must admit, I love them.

They are really cool and are fun to dress up an outfit, but extremely functional too. Lil lady is now arming crawling and they were ideal to protect her lil knees and legs. Also, I think they will come in handy this summer when going in and out of air conditioned stores. I'm a believer!

Now, back to the hat. I was just absolutely taken! :)

Winter Boots in 80 Degrees

Loving that we've actually had Spring this year! It typically goes straight from winter to summer. This past week, temps rose to the 80s!! (Which is a slice of heaven if you ask me!!)

Last Friday, my hubby and I decided to take a day off - just us adults. Both kids went to school and we did what any adventure seeking parents with the day off (Bueller...Bueller) would do... we slept!!

As neither of my kids like to sleep (which is crazy to me as sleeping was one of my favorite hobbies!) we took the day to sleep, get things done around the house, pay special attention to our eldest child (yes, the attention starved doxie dog), and go out for a nice lunch/happy hour.

After our slumberous, delicious snooze (can a nap be delicious?! I guess it can when you so infrequently get to sleep for more than a few hours in a row) - we got ready and hit the Ville.

It was a beautiful day (as lil man would say, "this is beautiful!"). Temps were in the 80s which was great for a March day!!! You could wear anything! (My fav type of days). I wore a dress and sandals. We had a great time enjoying the afternoon - and even stopped to have a bite at Sullivan's - complete with some yummy apps and a glass of vino for him and a glass of Moet for me.

A while later, it was time to get our kiddies! (While I loved our adult day, I was so excited to see my lil ones. I could hardly wait!!) When we got to lil man's school, we followed tradition and stopped by his cubby to pick up his coat, knowing that lil man would be outside on the playground. Upon opening his cubby, we were greeted by an infamous "blue bag." You see, when you get the blue bag, it means that it was a more challenging potty training day.

I picked up the bag - and it was heavy. I turned to hubby and said, "what's little man wearing? Is he naked or barefoot out there?" You see, his shoes were clearly in the bag. Knowing we did not have any back-ups, we ventured out to the playground.

What a fantastic sight! (I'm so kicking myself that I did not take a photo) Here lil man was busy playing, having a fantastic time, in ... his winter boots!!! It was 80 degrees and our lil guy was wearing his winter boots. LOL!!!! It makes me smile just thinking about it.

I don't know if that sight was funnier or seeing him run (in his boots) to greet us was better. It was classic! But, I give it to lil man - he didn't let winter boots in 80 degree weather quash his fun. He was having an absolute blast, as he should be. Just goes to show that boots are always in style - and that you can have fun no matter what you wear!!

Lil Lady Update

It has been a pretty special couple of weeks. I'm so proud of my lil lady. While a preemie, she is growing and developing fantastically. Here are some of the latest development mile markers:

- Army crawling: This lil lady is mobile! She is everywhere! She is very fast!
- Two teeth!: She is putting everything in her mouth. No toy or anything for that matter is safe. Her favorite things, which of course are not the toys she should be playing with include: Frank's purple dog toy, cords of all types (hair dryer, cable, TV, etc.)
- Sits up all by herself
- Favorite foods: Oatmeal, Sweet Potatoes, Squash
- Smiles, giggles, chatters and squeals: Her smile lights up a room. She is a lil social butterfly.
- Between 15-16 pounds

Favorite Quotes of the Week

"I'm Home, I'm home, it's time to take me home..." (Lil Man's interpretation of "Hi Ho" by the Seven Dwarves

"Can't go to swim lessons today." Why not? "There's a monster in the pool!" (Lil Man's reason/excuse for not wanting to go to his swimming lessons. Gotta love his creativity!)

"Bill ate Ben." (OK, not true. One of Lil Man's frogs passed and this is his explanation for what happened. But, have no fear, we got him a new frog - and his name? Ben)

Bringing Joy to Others

This story warmed my heart and I had to capture it. Lil lady is nearing 7 months old (woo-hoo!!). She is a 13.3 lb bundle of joy, full of smiles, giggles and jabber-chatter. She's a little social butterfly! (I LOVE that peanut girl!!!)

During the day, our good friend and neighbor takes care of Lil Lady while we're working. On this particular day, she needed to deliver some of her Avon orders and took peanut along to an assisted living community.

When she walked in with Lil Lady, a man and his wife (new to the community) spotted her immediately and made their way over to her. As they approached, it was clear that he was crying. He proceeded to say, "Thank you, thank you for bringing her here today! God bless her." And he handed our friend a penny and said, "here's a penny for her piggy bank."

(I'm getting goosebumps as I type.)Our friend continued to say that more people came up to her, wanting to see Lil Lady than she had seen before. She saw many new faces. Some people approached with arms outstretched, wanting to hold Lil Lady. Others extended their finger for peanut to hold onto. Once she grabbed a hold of it, a clear shot of immediate joy spread through these men and women, mothers and fathers, sisters and brothers, grandmothers and grandfathers ... like lightening.

Peanut is very expressive and made her many faces. She has a smile that radiates, beaming throughout her whole body. She smiled, cooed, laughed and chatted with everyone. Loving each and every person, bringing joy and smiles to light up their day.

It was clear that she brought a great deal of joy to these men and women... maybe reminding them of their family, of being parents, bringing back memories, taking them back to a different time, or just bringing some joy to their day. Lil lady has this infectious effect on people - making them smile a little bigger, turning a serious expression to a happy one, etc.

I can't wait to share this story with my peanut girl someday. She did more that day in just being her loving little self that many people ever do. I'd like to think about what the men and women thought of her overall, how she made them feel, and how she impacted their day. I can't wait for her to go back again!!

It prompts me to ask, what have you done today to bring a little joy to someone's life? Sometimes just being yourself or doing the simpliest of things can brighten someone's day. I challenge myself, my family, friends and everyone out there to pay it forward. Have you done something nice today?