Maybe my favorite...

The other day, Hayden was looking at a picture of Lila when she was just born.

Hayden: What's that?
Me: Well that's blood.
Hayden: From where the doctor had to cut Lila out your belly?
Me: Yes, sometimes there's a little blood.
Hayden: Where the doctors cut you?
Me: Yes.
Hayden:  (very seriously) And then you died?

*pause*

Me: No baby, I didn't die. The doctors use special stuff to get Lila out and special medicine and then they stitched me up and I was fine.
Hayden: Oh, okay.

I WISH you could have seen his face and heard how serious he was.

Sick

So we have all been sick (except Jay). And it's miserable. Hayden started February off with some ear pain, so we took him to the doctor and of course my poor little dude had an ear infection. 10 days of ear drops and amoxicillin got him back on track, but he was a sad little guy for a few days.

Just after that, Lila had the yucks and was just runny and stuffy and sniffly and sad. So we vapor bathed and vapo-rubbed and vaporized and salined and she was back to normal.

Then I started to feel yuck. I had a cough, which I usually get at the end of a cold, not the beginning. I weathered it for about two weeks, until I felt like I was swallowing razor blades and just couldn't take anymore. A quick trip to the doctor (after a long morning on the phone) confirmed a sinus infection and need for antibiotics. They also gave me a super strong cough medicine that knocked me out, but made me feel better.

After my day at the doctor, Lila came home with a fever in the afternoon, so we had a day at home together. Never really found a cause for the fever, but she slept most of the day away and that seemed to be what she needed.

So I'm nearing the end of my antibiotics, Lila is her usual, happy self and Hayden is a wild man. Is it spring yet?

Happy Valentines Day!

Hayden was super excited to wear his Valentines Day shirt to school!

Lila was too excited to get a good picture, but she was so dang cute.

Hayden kept saying, "I'm holding your hand, come back here for the picture!" But she was just too busy...

Dressed for success

I love to buy my kids seasonal and holiday gear. So while at Old Navy the other day, I picked up a St. Patrick's Day shirt for Hayden. It's green (naturally) and has a green tie with clovers screened on it. I think it's adorable. I showed it to Hayden last night....

Me: Here's your shirt for St. Patrick's day.
Hayden: It's a tie?
Me: Yes.
Hayden: And we wear this for dancing?

I love that kid.

Letter to Lila: Beauty

Dear Lila,

You are no doubt a beautiful child. You have your daddy's eyes and this wildly adorable curly hair, sweet little cheeks and an irresistable grin. People tell me every single day that you're beautiful. And they're right. But you're likely to hear it from me more often than anyone else, because that's what moms do. We lift you up, we praise and compliment you. I'll tell you you're beautiful when you feel least like it, when you feel ugly or not good enough or plain or unremarkable. That's when you need it the most. I'll tell you on your first day of kindergarten, your first day of high school, your wedding day.

But you need to know that beauty is not, and will never be, the most important thing about you. You are meant to be so much more. A pretty face means nothing if the girl behind it doesn't have a beautiful heart. The world is going to try to tell how to look, what to wear, who to idolize. But "the world" isn't there at the end of the day when you need a hug. Your friends and your family are. They are the ones who know you for you, the real you, the you that you are despite the world's best efforts to make you like everyone else. Don't get so caught up in what you look like that you forget to be nice to people. Do things for others. Make people smile. Read until your head feels like it might burst with characters, places, events.

One day you might wear braces, or glasses. You might have freckles. That wild hair may be unruly. But you will still be beautiful. Because none of that has anything to do with the person you are, the person you will become. Always be kind. Remember that your mother made you feel beautiful when you felt as though you weren't, and pass that along to a friend that isn't feeling so beautiful. Realize that your worth is not tied up in the package that the world sees, but in the person you will spend every day creating. Make those days count. Be healthy, be happy, be beautiful...all by your own standards.

Crock Pot Hot Chocolate

I did this for my co-workers at Thanksgiving, and we did a hot chocolate table for Lila's party. Couldn't be easier, and it's delicious! Even reheats well.

Ingredients:


• 1.5 cups whipping cream

• 1 14oz can sweetened condensed milk

• 6 cups milk

• 1 teaspoon vanilla

• 2 cups of milk chocolate chips



Instructions:

Stir together the whipping cream, milk, vanilla, and chocolate chips in a crockpot.

Cover and cook on low for 2 hours, stirring occasionally, until mixture is hot and chocolate chips are melted. Stir again before serving. Garnish as desired.

One Year Pictures

Look how sweet this adorable girl is!

We went to Winston Salem on January 18, just after all the snow, to see Michelle at Michelle Laprade Photography. We were all in for a treat!

She still had her Winter Wonderland scene up, which was perfect! Somehow, Lila's birthday dress got here in plenty of time not only for her party, but her pictures too!

Lila was so precious and sweet, and this picture gave me the perfect canvas to do this, which I saw on Pinterest ages ago and adored...

Yes, I'm a scrapbooker. A pseudo-blogger. A baby-booker. But this was such a fun way to capture who she is right now. Then we got out the the book of her newborn pics...

And she loved it! We had a great time with the cake and Lila was all too happy to eat cake and be messy!

Happy birthday my sweet baby girl!