my lily bear

Ever since Lily was born we have called her our little Lily bear - I think it came about with all of the sleeping a little one does. Anyways, I cannot believe that she is 20 months old! It is really crazy how quickly the time goes and how much she has grown. I can remember by dad saying, before I got married, that I was a baby and one day he blinked and I was getting married - I never thought that time would or could pass so quickly, well it does and it has!

Here are a few highlights of my precious, not so little, baby girl!

• she loves to eat! Healthy, junk food, and everything in between - she loves to eat!
• complete character! I love the look she gives when she is doing something naughty - the innocent little eyes and adorable smile that comes over her mouth - so hard to not laugh!
• we have a serious game of "monkey see, monkey do" going on here. Lily LOVES her big sister and will do just about anything Ellie does. Comes in handy when I need them to get out of the kitchen.
• she is becoming more and more verbal - good and bad I suppose! Some of her latest words are: dewy (Tilly), alial (ariel), down, up, elwie (Ellie), meow (Bogey or any other cat), nana, tata, papa, and a few others that I can't think of right now. I am thankful that she is not as verbal as her sister (Ellie had about 75 words in her vocabulary at 18 months!!! Yikes! I barely can get a word in with Ellie - imagine two talkers!)
• she loves to climb on the play equipment at McDonalds - the one by my parents' house is a bit more advanced - Ellie would have never gone near it at Lily's age. Lily climbs all of the way to the top and slides down. Quite a bit more adventurous than her sister.
• she is so sweet - it melts my heart to see her, out of nowhere, give her sister a hug and kiss.
• strong willed!!! I am not really sure where she gets this strong little nature, but oh does she give me a run for my money. Yet out of her strong will is such sweetness and if we can, by the grace of God, make this weakness her strength I really think this strong nature can become a great positive. But pray for us as we mold her into the little girl God would have her to be.
• she is a little mama! Lily LOVES her babies. Ellie had babies, but didn't really about them until Lily came along. Lily is always taking care of a baby or two. She tucks them in, gives them kisses, turns off the lights, shh's them when she is holding them, takes them for strolls in the strollers, and anything else you can think to do with a baby. She has this rough and tumble side and this sweet nurturing side to her. It is so neat to see this gift from God unfold in front of me each day.
  
• I haven't even touched the surface on this precious girl, but that will have to do for now.

I can remember before she was born - knowing that I would love this new life, but not really sure how she would change our family. We had been three for nearly three years. I was a little apprehensive, but I was a few weeks from delivering, so no turning back. . .well, our family changed and continues to change, but I cannot, for a moment, imagine our family without my precious Lily Bear. She is just what we needed - God knew Lily would be just the right fit for us!

I love my Lily Bear and as much as I don't want her to get any bigger and older I find that I love each new stage more than the last and wondering what new and fun thing is around the corner.