Sleepover

Tonight I overheard Lily ask "Daddy, can I have a sleepover with Chippy?". He said "of course" seeing as he is on her bed most nights as she falls asleep anyway. Tonight though, she wanted the two of them tucked in together.

Kids can be cruel

Me: "Lily, I love you."

Lily: "I don't love you, Mommy, I only love Daddy. Don't worry, I'll love you some other time."

Me: "Like when?"

Lily: "When Daddy takes me to the dentist. Then I will love YOU, Mommy."

Makeup Artist

Lily and I have been watching YouTube videos on makeup application and apparently she has learned a thing or two about it. If anyone wants to hire her, let me know.



And if makeup isn't your thing, she is also a skilled nail artist.

The other side of the lens

You know the old saying, "The cobbler's son goes barefoot". That is what happens with photographers. I have hard drives full of pictures of Lily and Corey, but very few of all three of us. Well, luckily that has changed thanks to the amazing Stacy Able of Stacy Able Photography in Columbus, IN.

I absolutely ADORE the images she captured of our family.

And yes, there were chickens.

Stacy, you are incredible. Even faced with a cranky 3 year old and a personal (unfounded) fear of chickens, you rocked it.

The OTHER photographer in the family...

The other day, Lily said "Mommy, lets take some pictures".  She then grabbed my scarf and tied it around her neck. I figured she meant that she wanted me to take some pictures of her wearing my scarf. When I took out my camera, she quickly corrected me. SHE would be taking the pictures. A light bulb went off in my head and I had to laugh. Apparently, every time I leave to go to a photo shoot, I put on a scarf. It really is true. I don't like to wear bulky clothes while shooting since I am moving around and crouching and such, so I typically wear a lighter shirt and a pretty scarf to keep me warm. Apparently this has lead Lily to believe that you cannot do a photo shoot without a scarf. 

Since Lily insisted that she would be taking some pictures by herself, I gave her my old back-up camera  (I love you to death, Lily, but no way in heck was I going hand over my 5D Mkii to your 3 year old self). What unfolded in the next 30 minutes made me so proud. Now, I try really hard not to be one of those moms who is always talking about how their kid is a Smarty-McSmartypants because EVERY mom thinks their kid is a genius and all kids are awesome in their own way. But here I go. My kid is a natural photographer!

I followed her around with my iPhone and here is what I saw *sidenote. My house was a wreck. Don't judge me*.

Her Dad made a pretty good model.

What cracked me up is how she used the tone of voice and even the tricks I tend to use to get kids to look at me. If you listen, you can hear her say in a goofy voice "Is there something in my camera?". At the end of the video she says "Can I snuggle?".  How cute is that?

Here are some of the pictures she took, straight out of the camera. Of course I did take out some really bad ones, but still. She is great for a 3 year old. I can't get over her good composition.

I love my little mini-me.

Little Entomologist

Lily loves bugs. She is actually quite kind and amazingly gentle with them, considering she is a 3 year old.

A few weeks ago, while boating with friends, Lily found a grasshopper floating in the water in the middle of the lake. We were tubing and Lily held on to that little grasshopper for most of the afternoon. She dunked it and found it again, and let it ride on her finger or shoulder as she floated on her little tube in the water. She even brought it all the way home and let it go in the yard.

This past Friday and Saturday we had a garage sale at the new studio and Corey found a Katydid. That katydid became Lily's pet for the next 2 hours. She carried it everywhere and showed it to every customer who would not run away screaming. She asked them to pet it, but only a few customers took her up on that offer. I could not believe it, but she never hurt that little thing. I also find it strange is that these insects do not escape. They have wings, yet they never try to fly away. I swear, they know she is a gentle little soul and don't mind her handling them. I don't know any other way to explain it. I finally told her the bug needed to rest and put it up on a tree out of reach. She was very sad to have to say goodbye to it.

I hope she never loses this sense of curiosity and openness to the wonders of the world. 

No words.

Goldilocks

If Lily has a trademark, it would be her hair. Even as a newborn she had quite a bit of blond hair and it just continues to get prettier and prettier. Other than the time her Nanny and Aunti cut her bangs, we have never even trimmed it. I just can't do it. It is so silky and healthy, she should be in kiddie shampoo commercials.

Happy little 3 year old

Well, it happened. Despite my begging her not to, the little munchkin went and grew a year older. She is growing and changing so much, I can hardly keep up. Lately, when I tell her I want her to stay little forever so I can keep her close, she says "No Mommy. I go into a hot air balloon and fly away!". I really don't know where she gets this. We saw a hot air balloon one time on our way home from Illinois. That had to be 8 months ago but apparently it made a big impression. When she says this, I pretend to cry and say "No, please don't leave me!" to which she inevitably replies, it's okay Mommy, you can come, too". Which of course makes my heart melt. She is a good egg, I tell you.

 We had a big Birthday party last year, so this year we decided just to have a little family party, which turned out great. We took the cousins fishing which was really fun. Below are some pictures from the day.

The "Chicken Whisperer" deserved a chicken cake.



 She really liked the cards, especially the ones handmade by her cousins.

 

Of course, she is at the age where she is really into opening presents.

 

Before we went down to fish, all of the cousins participated in the "digging of the worms". Some of the kids were not so keen on actually touching the worms, but would happily point them out to be caught by others. Funny enough, if I remember correctly, the boys were the ones who wouldn't touch the worms while the girls dove right in.



Corey brought his boat down to the lake so some people took boat rides while others fished from the bank. Here Uncle Zack is helping Lily with her catch.

 

Good thing, too, 'cause he was a lunker!

 

 Some of us enjoyed skipping rocks.

 

Others took their fishing more seriously.