Oh, the Places You'll Go!: November 2015

Heading Home from the Hospital. Lili 3 Days Old

Wow! How has it already been two years since our sweet little Lili came into this world? Well, almost two years. I'm starting this post a couple of days early since I've been late on everything else (including her 1st birthday card which I fully intend to write in this week, along with her 2nd Birthday Card)! All of that time waiting and wishing and hoping and praying for a baby, and when she FINALLY arrives, she's, well, perfect! Perfectly worth the wait, perfectly a part of God's plan, and a perfectly pieced together combination of genes and gestures, looks and laughs, features and feelings of both me and her daddy...mostly her daddy. She's been happy and headstrong from the beginning. Sweet and stubborn. Kind and curious. Sometimes it feels like a blur, these last (almost) two years of watching her grow from a teeny tiny little baby to the terrific toddler she is now, but looking back on it, there are definitely moments of clarity that will stay with us forever. Holding her for the fist time in the delivery room. The ride home from the hospital and being nervous about every bump and turn along the way. Rocking her to sleep at night in her room. And holding her in my arms, pacing back and forth across her room, up and down the driveway, swinging and shhhhh-ing every step of the way. Having my parents and mother-in-law there with us in KL the first precious few weeks of her life and letting them bond with their Malaysian-born grand baby. And bond with us. And to lend a helping hand and offer a reassuring word whenever those new-mom jitters kicked in. Hearing Lili laugh for the first time, which had something to do with Lyle. Carrying her around in the Bjorn for the first, well, for way longer than she probably should have been carried. So long, in fact, that she started chewing a hole in it, and the straps started to give out. :) Taking her to Cambodia for a "girls trip" before we moved back to Texas and visiting the temples and riding in Tuk Tuks and having to sneak into her hotel room to avoid being swarmed by her adoring fans. Just the two of us in a remote part of the country in a remote part of the world and yet not lacking for a single, solitary thing. We had each other, we had the love and support and encouragement of Will that encouraged us to take such a trip. Having women, complete strangers, approach us in KL and taking a huge sniff of her head and kissing her toes. Seeing her "crazy leprechaun" face for the first time when wearing her St. Patrick's Day pajamas, ironically enough. Flying to Dubai with her and walking around the Emirates Malls and shops and enjoying the hotel breakfast buffet. Taking her to London to meet Will for a perfect pairing of parks, palaces, and pubs. Her very first taste of real "food" - soaking her pacifier in barbecue sauce at Louie Mueller's. Watching her learn to crawl and then to walk and then to RUN. And March. Going bump bump down the stairs, saying "Hi" in a sweet Texas drawl, waving at neighbors and cars and squirrels. And stuffed animals. And pictures on the wall. And birds in the air. Figuring out how to turn on light switches and open door knobs. Slinging a "purse" over her shoulder and yelling 'Byyyyyye" as she marched out the front door on her own. Being dressed as a skunk for her first Halloween and going flying down the driveway in her walker (on wheels), laughing all the way. Taking her to New Orleans and walking around Audubon Park. Christmas Eve service at Church last year when she could not...sit....still.....her first real Christmas morning when Santa brought the play house and rocking horse/giraffe and tricycle scooter. Watching her steal cousin Max's snacks and laughing about it. Giving high fives. Learning to give head butts and kisses. Hearing her say "mommy" and "Dada" for the first time. For the first 10 times. For the first 100 times and still loving it. Feeding the dogs one kernel of dog food at a time out of her hand. Grabbing onto their tails and being pulled around the yard and giggling until she almost falls over. Opening the car door just a couple of weeks ago and seeing her notice the moon for the first time. REALLY notice the moon and being amazed by it. And wanting to look for it in the sky ever since. Twirling her hair with her fingers when she's tired. Getting her finger stuck in her hair after falling asleep twirling it! Getting her thigh stuck in the slats of her crib and Will having to grease it out. Watching her toss and turn and talk in her crib night after night before she falls to sleep. Waking up in the mornings and calling for "Boo" to come see her. Wanting to hold the dogs leashes from her stroller while we're out on our walks/jogs. Needing a snack every time we go grocery shopping. Grabbing a banana or an apple from the produce section or eating a whole cucumber. Eating salted and roasted peas and edamame from the bulk bins at sprouts. Eating pimento cheese (with jalapeños) by the spoonful. Heaping spoonful. And let's be honest, sometimes handful. Watching her learn to blow bubbles in the bathtub and getting so tickled at herself. Each day a new discovery, each hour a new memory made, each minute a million thoughts and ideas running through her head. She's been so patient with us as we try to figure out this whole parenting thing. I've gotten her sweet arms and legs and head wrapped up and tangled in onesies and rompers too many times to count. I've accidentally bumped her head against walls and doors when carrying her through the house, I've let her go too long in a soggy diaper more than once, I let her lap water (clean water) off the driveway for crying out loud and let her splash around naked in the backyard with Lyle. Not a great mom....or an experienced one at least. I left her in the living room for maybe 30 seconds the other day to rush to the bathroom and came back to find her standing on top of the computer table. Smiling. And saying, 'Hi Mom." Cringing the first few times she tripped, tumbled, skidded, slid, and crashed her way to the ground but now just shrugging it off and smiling as she picks herself up and keeps going full steam ahead. And it's almost always full steam ahead for this one. She's brought more joy, more laughter, and more personality into this world than Will and I could have ever imagined a little girl could. She wears a tutu and walks around with a fishing pole. She puts sweat bands on her arms and wants a bow in her hair. And then she wants it out of her hair. And then back in. She walks over to neighbor Marjorie's house and takes a seat at the kitchen table, waiting to be served a Nilla wafer and cup of ice. She hasn't met a puppy or cat or neighbor or stranger she hasn't tried to greet or pet. Or sometimes both. She loves puddles but not play dough. She likes to sweep and mop and wipe up messes & spills but enjoys making them even more. We've learned that a little bit of sugar goes a long way. A LONG WAY. 6 jelly beans is probably 5 too many. And fruit loops are just out of the question all together. But she can have all the hummus and peanut butter and olives she wants. And pickles. And Zapps hotter than hot chips. She has to have a water bottle in her possession or immediate surrounding most all the time and drinks it like a camel. She's logged more miles in her jog stroller than most babies twice her age. Not a proven statistic of course, just a guess. She's a trooper and is usually happy just going along for the ride. With a snack. And a book. And a toy. And a whistle. She's recently started "feeding" her stuffed animals bites of her dinner, and she insisted on taking a nap with her hat on last week. She's been known to peel a banana in private and leave the peel hiding somewhere to be found what can only be guessed as "weeks" later. She loves her daddy's BBQ. And her daddy's voice. And hugs. And lap. And laugh. She lights up when she sees or hears him coming through the door and squeals with excitement. And sometimes the squeals are accompanied by a cute little jig. She loves her daddy with all her heart. And she loves family. And the dogs. And being outside. And watching football. And baseball. She loves to pretend fish and collect acorns and pull weeds. She likes to push the trash can out to the curb and back up the driveway. She's fascinated by how things work. She likes to watch the water drain out of the tub and then plug the drain back in and pull it back out and plug it back in. She hums and spins and dances and bumps into walls from not watching where she's going, and is totally unfazed by it all. She's Lili with an "i" and marches to the beat of her own drum. She's turning two this week, and it just doesn't seem possible that almost 730 days have gone by since she first entered this earth and forever changed our lives and our hearts. What's even harder to comprehend is how just 731 days ago, Lili wasn't yet with us. I mean, she was with us of course, but she wasn't really with us.....and we didn't even know she was a she! We had absolutely no idea how much more fun and more enjoyable and more fulfilling our lives were about to become. We thought it would be that way, and we hoped it would be that way, but we just didn't know for sure it was going to be that way. And even though her 2nd birthday will probably come and go without a great deal of pomp and circumstance, for we have not planned a big birthday bash or even picked out a gift for her to unwrap (yet), we will do our best to celebrate her with all the love and laughter and Lili-isms that she has so generously given to us. We hope that every day will be a party for Lili, and that she will always find joy in even the smallest and simplest of things. We wish so many things for her. We wish for good health and pure happiness and to be filled with kindness and confidence and faith and friendships.....and fruit loops. I mean a fruit loop. One fruit loop. On her birthday. In the morning. :) We love you, Lili, and we love everyone that's a part of Lili's life. Grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins, neighbors, friends, all of you. Thank you for loving her the way we do and embracing all that is truly, uniquely Lili...with an i.