dear lilly,

you're amazing. i love you. you've made my life. you're hilarious. you're spunky. you're friendly. you're dramatic. you're awesome. YOU'RE ONE!

happy birthday, darlin!

love, mommy

{party post to come soon!}

p.s. birthday parties are super fun

p.p.s. i have a one year old

p.p.s.s. i thought we took a lot of pictures the day she was born.  pssssha! today took the prize.

p.p.s.s.s. i'd like to cover lilly with cake once a week...girlfriend was adorable.

bloopers

enjoy.

you're welcome.

here's the story all about how...

THIS girls life got turned upside down!!!!


Ok. Story time. Gather 'round.

(if you know me in real life....run along. cause you've no doubt already heard this. at least 6 times.)

Ok. So i loooovvvveee carrie underwood a little too much. I'm a little on the 12 year old girl mind set of " OH mi goooodnneeeesss I heart her soooo much!!! Squeeeeeeee!!" But whatever, I'm okay with it. Scott, knowing this, surprised me with great seats to her concert this last weekend for Christmas. However, at Christmas they were not on sale yet. So using his super sleuth skills, he found that you could purchase tickets in advance IF you joined the OFFICIAL CARRIE UNDERWOOD fan club. So putting his man card aside, he joined. (if that's not love... i dunno what is!!)

Anyway, I've always known this, but this event confirmed my belief that my husband has a horseshoe up his butt. He is so dern lucky!! He always wins things and gets great deals and so forth. Well....surprise surprise about 3 weeks ago, he gets an email that he has won a backstage pass for a meet and greet with the divine miss carrie for the upcoming concert. So, for the sake of fun.....travel back with me......

::insert hazy dream sequence::

I'm asleep in my bed at 9:30 on a Wednesday

( I know. lame sauce. 9:30?) . My husband, who loves to get me riled up because I'm a *tad* dramatic comes in wakes me up saying, "Laura, we've just won backstage passes to meet Carrie!"( No need for last names in our house. there is only ONE carrie.) I shoot up in bed. "SHUT UP! You're lying. This is NOT funny!" I run to the computer and read the email. I'm ecstatic. But quickly defeated when I read the line: Congratulations, Scott, YOU have won ONE pass to meet..... One pass? Not two??? Whaaaaa???? Then at the bottom the most depressing sentence, This pass is NON-TRANSFERABLE. Scott joined the fan club. Of course, HE WOULD win. A 29 year old avid country hater won a pass to meet his wife's favorite artist. of course.

I did not.

My. husband. was. going. to. meet. carrie. It was heartbreaking. I forced him to email this fan club and plead our case... he did. We even threw in the "my wife just had a baby and would love to spend this time...blah blah she's a teacher to America's youth....blah blah feel sorry for us....we're poor. we live in INDIANA of all places...blah blah. xoxo. "For three weeks. nothing. no response.

The first week. I was rather devastated.

Second week. I was rather bummed, but okay with the fact that my husband was going to meet the most gorgeous girl on the planet who just happens to by mah fave.

Third week. I had decided I would have a picture printed of me that Scott was ORDERED to hold next to Carrie while he had a picture with her so "technically" I was there. :)

Then. THENNNNNNNN!!!!!!! The sky opened up and God said "I love you, Laura." Scott received an email on Wednesday stating that they would make A ONE TIME EXCEPTION for the name on the all access pass to be LAURA instead of SCOTT. Hallelujah!!!!!!!!


So, on Friday. I met my girl. She was very nice. Extremely cute. and surprisingly VERY short. She was in flats. I was heels. I'm really not a giant. :) The concert was great. She changed outfits like 10 times. She sang all my favorite songs. aaaannnndddd to add a cherry on top of a great night, she complimented my outfit. I had silly crazy girl grin on my face alllllllllll night.

f-a-bo-u-l-ous "holla back young'n--woot woooo"

Remember that song? You don't?.....shoot.

What a Fabulous trip. Fabulous weather. Fabulous friends. Fabulous family. Fabulous beach. Fabulous food. Fabulous drinks. Fabulous sun. Fabulous lilly. Fab. Fab. FAaaa-aB!

Flying with an infant = SCARY. I was so worried I would be THAT crazy mother with THAT screaming infant. I was prepared to get dirty looks, evil comments, and eye rolls. But you know what? I was pleasantly surprised. People aren't the evil airplane baby haters that I thought they would be. There is good in the world!!!! Lilly did great and flirted with everyone she saw --flashing that adorable mushy squishy gum overloaded grin. Those of you worried about flying with a baby-- If dramatic-emotional-crazy-control-freak-momma can do it, SO CAN YOU. Bring bottles....lots of bottles. Lilly drank 4 in 6 hours. Flying apparently makes babies ravenous. Who knew?

Our days consisted of...

morning strolls on the beach

deciding between pool or beach...beach or pool

staking claim on beach chairs, only to have them stolen, stealing them back, stank eyeing the evil cranky over tanned old ladies who stole them

working on project GET TAN 2010

putting lilly down for a nap. putting her BACK down for a nap 10 min later. rocking her BACK to sleep.

fish the sand outta lils mouth x 2,000

sweet potatoes!!!!!!!!!

bath in sink.

gussy up time

nightly picture poses on the beach

dinner and drinks.

BIG OLAFS

Repeat for 5 days. :)

A dose of I love Jesus.

Dedicate. verb To devote wholly and earnestly as to some person or purpose.

We had Lilly's baby dedication last Sunday. It was something I had been looking forward to since she was born. Becoming a parent has brought new pressures. New questions. New joys. New celebrations. Sometimes I look at her and think "How on Earth is she mine?" The Lord has given us an awesome gift and with this gift comes an awesome responsibility. One that weighs HEAVY on my heart and spirit. Unfortunately, in my profession I see first hand the results of parents who do not take this responsibility seriously. I see children who grow up abused, neglected, and whose lives are void of unconditional love and boundaries. Seeing this--scares me. I'm sure they didn't set out in the first few days and weeks with their little ones and think "Well, I'm gonna just screw this one up...." They most likely had the same weight on their shoulders like I do. It just happens. Life gets in the way of your good intentions if you let it. It's impossible to do things perfect and on your own. The world around us can drag you down at an alarming pace.

God is needed. He's in full control ( now matter how hard I try to pull it away from him!). Knowing what peace and guidance comes from the Lord made the decision to raise Lilly in the church and in a Godly house easy. I've tried living on my own terms and without Him. I made a true mess of things...and hurt a lot of people. Including myself.

So Sunday, after stressing out for waaaaaayyyy too long about what to wear, we stood at the front of the church and made a promise. A promise to God, Lilly, our family, and our congregation to raise Lilly with a firm foundation in the Truth we believe. To be held accountable by our family and friends should we ever stray.

It was a celebration to dedicate her life and ours as a family to a life modeled after Him. Hopefully, many years down the road Lilly will one day make the decision to follow Christ on her own. She'll learn the things that Scott and I know and believe it for herself. We'll be able to welcome her with open arms and know that her decision did not come by chance. We'd made a promise waaaaay back in 2010 that we were going to pray for this day for the many years to come.

Lilly is a LOVED child.

Woah, long one.

Annnnnnnnnnnnd if you're wondering.....because I always do. No, she didn't scream or throw a fit. I threatened to make her eat that yucky cereal the rest of her life. She knew better and didn't make a peep. :)

my cup overflows

When I was in college I worked at SpringHill camps. Never in my whole 27 years of existence have I felt more like I was doing what I was put on this earth to do. Never. No, I'm not just being dramatic. For reals. I lived in a tepee with nine other 5th and 6th grade girls. A different group each week. For 12 weeks. We blobbed, swam, kayaked, hiked, zip lined, bmx'd (aww yea), all while teaching them about the love that comes only from my Jesus. It was great. I miss it. A Lot. Alas, working at a camp doesn't pay all the bills. My good friend Sallie Mae came looking. Ugh, she's so nosey.

Anyway... I do have a point. I needed ya'll to know the background knowledge first. So after one week at camp a mother of one of the girls I was with the whole week came up to me with tears in her eyes and said to me " Thank you for loving my daughter this week. I pray one day you can experience the joy of seeing others love your child. " At the time, it was a touching moment that I nervously and awkwardly laughed off because I was extremely uncomfortable with this woman crying to me that I did not know. Weeeirrrrdd.

But now.

I get it.

Seeing others love Lilly is a wonderful feeling. Watching someone else's face light up at her smile is heart warming. I understand what that parent was telling me six years ago. Of course, you love your child. Of course, you cherish and bank every smile and giggle. As a parent I understand now that seeing others love your child as much as you is FULFILLING. My cup overflows. :)

How's that for warm and fuzzy on a cold February night?

solids! sorta...

Can you spot the problemo with this "first cereal" concoction?

On Saturday, we decided to embark on a milestone. Baby girl was gonna get solid food for the first time. I got out my darlings "cereal box" and mixed up the glorious recipe for BABY'S FIRST CEREAL: 1 Tbs of cereal mixed with 4-5 ounces of warm formula. Does the above look like cereal to you? I thought to myself "Who am I to question Gerber? This must be right....runny and delicious." So I continued to stir it up while side eyeing this so called cereal. Scott wrangled Lils into the chair and I began to bring the bowl of soup/cereal to him. He looked at me and said: "This can't be right, did you follow the recipe?." In my best {ugh, you're always second guessing me, OF COURSE I followed the directions you nin-com-poop of a man }voice I replied looking at the box again. "YES, I diiii...wait....."

4-5 TABLESPOONS.....not ounces. Crap.

Much. Better.

I UV COURSE took a video and snapped 92 photos. It's what I do. I'm uploading it not because I think EVERYONE SHOULD SEE MY BESTEST BAYBEE....but because if I put it on blogger, I can watch it at school during my prep, lunch, the kids recess, and science test. :)

I apologize for the foul mood Lilly was in prior to her big milestone. Apparently the cute baby high chair was not cushiony enough for her likeness.

Oh, and the best way to knock you and your husband off the "we're totally a cool and stylish fun couple" list? Listen to yourself talking to a baby on video. Works ev'ry time.

snow day

Flash back 17 years. What's the BEST way to wake up as a 10 year old? " Laura....Laura...there is a snow day...stay in bed." Flash forward. What's the BEST way to wake up as a 27 year old? "This is an automated message from the **** School Corporation, due to the current weather conditions, school will be closed on Tuesday, February 9th."

Thank you for the 6 inches of snow! No alarm clock. No daycare. No students. No grading.

JUST LILLY

and coffee.

The perfect way to spend a Tuesday morning.

Lilly has seen snow before. I've held her in front of the window numerous times during our many dumpings of the white stuff. This was the first time that Lil seemed intrigued by it. She kept leaning towards the window and reaching for it. One of those mommy moments I won't forget.

P.S. another reason to love this day? I get to watch ELLEN!