Wherein Lily Completely Embarrasses Erik

Erik isn't easily embarrassed. He says pretty much anything that pops into his head, and he can put his foot in his mouth without being too disturbed by it. But apparently, Lily has the ability to completely embarrass him.

This is Dora:

Lily and Erik were shopping yesterday when a Hispanic family, including a little girl about Lily's age, approached the check stand. Lily paid for her books (she's very independent these days!) and when she turned around, she said, in a less than indoor voice, "Look, Daddy! It's Dora!!!"

From what I gather, they made a fairly speedy exit.

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And the Deception Begins

Because Lily doesn't fully understand the concept of time, she will unintentionally lie to us occasionally. Usually when it involves treats. When one of us comes home and she asks for fruit snacks or a yogurt or chips, we ask if she's already had some today because we don't know what the other one has given her already. Usually she says no. I don't think she says no in the hopes of scoring another round of whatever it is; she just doesn't fully understand the concept of TODAY. And sometimes she tells us yes when she hasn't actually had any.

But today, she showed me that she's starting to understand that the the full truth may not always work in her favor. While eating lunch, she asked for a glass of milk. No problem. One glass of milk complete with pink straw coming up. Then I pulled a slice of cheese out for my sandwich. "I want a slice of cheese." Because her milk hadn't been touched and I'm tired of throwing out untouched food after she asks for it, I told her to finish her milk first. She agreed and went back to the table to finish her lunch, including her milk. I headed upstairs for a few minutes.

Before I returned downstairs, I could hear the unwrapping of a cheese single.

"Did you finish your milk?"

A very timid "Yes" floated up the stairs.

"All of it???"

A pause, followed by another timid "Yes."

"If I come down and check, will your milk be gone?"

No response. I started down the stairs. I soon heard the pattering of Lily feet as she hurried toward the kitchen while quietly saying, "Don't let her see the milk. Don't let her see the milk."

When I got to the kitchen, I looked around. No milk. But no glass either. And there she was: standing in front of the fridge like a guard.

"Where's your milk?"

"It's gone."

"Open the fridge, please."

"I put it in there to save for later."

Ahhhh....the truth comes out.

She finally agreed to let me see how much milk was left. We settled on a compromise of two more big swallows and then she could eat her cheese. But I guarantee I'll still throw the rest of that glass away. But the best part really was, "Don't let her see the milk. Don't let her see the milk."

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Go Aggies!

This last Saturday, we went to our first paid Aggie game. Ever. Voluntarily. I only attended a handful of football games while I was in college (two maybe). Isn't that terrible? My basketball attendance was much better. Erik, of course, attended every home game for 6 years. Every. Single. One. The joys of being in the band.

Lily seemed to have fun although I think she was rather disappointed to learn we'd be watching a football game rather than playing ourselves. But she was perfectly content to munch on Jared's popcorn and help feed baby Ayden, so I think it worked out. And since USU actually won (even though they didn't cover the spread...), it was a pretty fun time.

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Blessing and Month Three

Over Labor Day weekend, we stuck around home and blessed Timothy on Sunday. We knew picking a holiday would mean some people wouldn't be able to make it (and we totally missed those who couldn't come), but it's a good thing we didn't wait any longer. Timothy barely fit into his blessing outfit! After the blessing, we had lunch and a great visit with everyone who could come.

He's growing so fast, and I swear there are some days I get him out of his bed and he's definitely bigger than when I put him in it the night before.

He's a pretty good baby, really. Unless you ask Erik, who says he fusses and cries then entire time I'm at work. But we've got night time down to a science: one last snack around 8 p.m. A quick top off around 2 a.m. And then up for the day around 7 a.m. Some nights have a few more interruptions, but for the most part it's been fabulous. He smiles a lot now and will even laugh during a rousing rendition of Patty Cake. I feel bad saying this, but I think I'm liking this whole baby thing more the second time around. (Does that make me a terrible mother the first time around?) Don't get me wrong...there have been some days I've been ready to pull my hair out and wondered what I was thinking. But I seem to be having an easier time with the whole thing.

But at the same time, there are some things I just don't have the time or desire to do that I did for Lily. For example, except when he's eating, Timothy rarely has one-on-one time and Lily certainly had plenty of that as a baby. But an extra face during play time never hurt anybody, I suppose. I think Lily does feel a little left out sometimes, so when it's just the three of us, she tends to hang out by the glider while Timothy nurses. That's not necessarily a bad thing, and I've been trying to be better about giving her some one-on-one time when I can so she doesn't think Timothy gets all the attention.

I've also been debating on whether or not I want to deal with the whole cloth diaper thing. Lily wore cloth diapers around the house until we started potty training and I didn't think anything about it. Now I barely get my own laundry done, so it's hard to think about adding another load in. I still haven't completely given up yet, though. One selling factor on the cloth diapers was that it was a one-time expense and we could use them for the next kid, too, so I'm finding it hard to fully let go. We'll see how it goes.

Lily still wants to help every chance she gets and loves to hold Timothy. Until he gets too heavy, that is. But she's such a great big sister. I don't know why I was ever worried about how she would adjust. On the days she goes to daycare, she's always sure to ask if Timothy will be coming, too. A couple times, I've left her in charge while I ran to the mail box, and she takes her job VERY seriously. This could be interesting when Timothy is a little more opinionated and independent. :)

I'll be honest: I was so nervous about adding another kid to our family, but I'm enjoying it more than I ever thought I could. Sappy, yes. But it's the truth.

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Summer Highlights

So where has the summer gone? It's already September, and I haven't blogged about half the stuff I planned on. I have all these posts semi-started (meaning, I put in titles to remind me to write the posts), but I just haven't had a chance to actually sit down and do the full posts. So here are picture highlights. Kind of like a clip show on a blog... :)

Riverdale Splash Park

My First 29th Birthday

Lily Feeds the Ducks...

...and Laddie is Attacked by a Goose

Camping...

...and Lily Falls in the Creek

Lily Tries Her First Fair Rides...

...and Decides to Hit Lagoon the Next Weekend

That about sums up our summer. I think we did a good job wearing everybody out...

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