Merry Christmas, again

Let's start with some pictures...

Here's Lilly with her friend, Owen, on a sunny walk around the neighborhood.

Baby and Daddy: there just aren't words for how cute they are together.

We celebrated Christmas this weekend with Jill's family in Little Rock. It was such a jolly time! And it was Lillian's first overnight trip! She slept the whole way down there and got loved on by a bunch of folks. She also got to experience being hot for the first time, as it was 76 degrees there and I had her dressed in a velvet jumpsuit. Sorry, babe. Once we figured out why she was screaming we quickly stripped her down and she started to enjoy the day.

We all met at my cousin's house and the boys headed outside to shoot stuff like they always do when we get together at Christmas. This year they couldn't shoot guns so they got out the bows instead. Matt shot a bow for the very first time in his life! And guess what...it went straight through the little heart of the stuffed deer pillow!

It was great to see family and we got some cool presents. My favorite is a handmade blanket from Aunt Mary that Lilly will LOVE.

We also got to spend some time with Matt's family and play the new board game that Matt got for Christmas.

Lilly almost slept the whole way home, too. I had to spend about an hour in the backseat with her because she's a little diva and has to have someone hold her paci in her mouth. We made it to the Pleasant Grove Walmart where Matt did the pre-snow shopping while I fed the little one in the car. Matt surprised me with some Marias to have with my decaf.. these are the same cookies we ate with our coffee in Mexico. I love that guy.

Getting home from a trip is relieving but the unpacking is never fun. Now it's even worse because we had to pack everything that our kid owns in the car, too. Ugh.

The weekend ended with a bang. After Lilly ate, I handed her off to Matt for some Daddy time. She was sitting in his lap and he was talking to her. Then, without warning, she projectile spit up into his mouth. And just to make sure she got it all out she did a little cough to splatter some more on him. Matt was laughing hysterically, trying to spit it out while I dabbed his face with a breast pad. Then she smiled and squirmed, trying her hardest to force out a laugh. It's a good thing I've been doing Kegels because I almost peed my pants. I love our little family!

Snow day

You may find this hard to believe, but last week was the first time that Lilly and I went somewhere by ourselves! Usually we just go places when Matt is around on the weekend or after work. I got a haircut and then we went to Harps to get some snow day essentials. She was so good!

Fortunately, Matt was able to work from home on the snow day!! We made breakfast and enjoyed the view. We tried to go outside for a picture but it was too bright for everybody.
Lilly says, "Um, my diaper is so full I can't close my legs...help."


Our latest fun thing is folding the laundry. Lilly thinks it is so entertaining to watch me. I'm sure it won't be so cute in a few months when she's throwing the clothes all over the place, but I'm really enjoying it now.

Every day

We do the same things every day, but they always seem new to Lilly; she learns and grows so much each day. After her morning feeding she likes to sit in her chair for "poopy time". Yep. She poops every morning in her chair, well, in her diaper while sitting in the chair. She loves it.

After her morning nap she likes to play on the play mat. The same old rattles are new and exciting each time. We sing songs and stare at each other. We walk around the house and look at everything. We read books and play with Daddy. Life is the same every day, and it's so good.

The Sunday sermon was great this week. He's been talking about how what comes out of your mouth reflects what is stored in your heart. My favorite part was about being grateful. If you're grateful for everything then you won't be disappointed or let down, you'll be joyful no matter what happens.

We are so thankful for everything!

A good man brings good things out of the good stored up in his heart, and an evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in his heart. For the mouth speaks what the heart is full of.

Luke 6:45

We are getting into a routine around here. Well, sometimes. For the past 2 nights, Lilly has slept for 6 hours in a row! Yay! She is really loving her play mat right now. She plays every day, accidentally hitting the rattles with her flailing arms. She is so much fun.

Daddy loves interacting with her when he gets home. She just stares at him, hanging on to every word he says!

It snowed for the first time this year. It's been so chilly outside. We'll have to get our girl all bundled up and take her outside for some snow pictures! This year is already so wonderful and we look forward to lots of great times as a family. We paid off our debt last year, which was great timing since Jill is now taking a break from work to be a mommy. So this year we are just going to enjoy life together. We'll take trips, visit family, and have loads of fun!

Our New Years Resolutions? Jill's is to lose the pregnancy weight and spend more time in prayer and the Bible. Matt's is to get in shape, which will be easy since he's training for his first 5K!! It's in March and several other family members are running, too! Go, Matt!!

December

This month has flown by! Matt and Jill celebrated their 3 year wedding anniversary on the 16th. What an amazing 3 years it has been. We have had so much fun together, learned a lot, and grown closer as a couple.

Lillian is one month old! She gained 3 pounds exactly since her last doctor appointment, weighing 10lb 4oz now!! She's our plumpy girl!

Christmas was fun this year. We spent Christmas day with Jill's family in Springdale.

Then Matt's family came up on Tuesday and Wednesday. Seeing Lilly's cousins was a highlight, her cousin Madelyn is just one month older!

We went out to eat for the first time since she's been born. Just down the road to Ruby Tuesday with Matt's mom.

Overall it went well, except she was fussy the entire time and Jill had to hold her to keep her quiet. We'll try again soon.

Back to work

Lillian is 2 and a half weeks old! Time is already starting to fly by. We had a great week together as a family before Matt started back to work on Monday. It will be hard to adjust to things with just the girls at home, but Jill is looking forward to getting into a routine and spending time with Lilly. Life with baby has been a lot harder than expected but it's so much fun. We just eat and hang out all day. Here she is sleeping and rocking her leg warmers.

Our girl is already outgrowing her newborn clothes!! It's great that she's healthy and growing but it's also kind of sad!! We thank God every day for our sweet girl and the blessing she is to us. Our hearts are so full.

We had more visitors this past week. Jill's grandmother and cousin stopped by on Monday. Lilly got her first jewelry gift, a beautiful birthstone ring that mommy gets to wear until Lilly is old enough to have it. Thanks, Meema!

Also, many thanks to our friends for bringing us meals last week. It has been a huge relief to know we don't have to worry about cooking!

Comment Changes

Hi everyone...just a really quick note to let you know that we updated the way comments work for this blog. Some of you had told us that you were having a difficult time posting comments. You can now post comments easier...just click the "# comments" hyperlink at the bottom of the post. Feel free to select "Name/URL" and just enter your name...the URL part can be left blank.

We would LOVE to hear your feedback! Thanks for keeping up with us!

-Jill, Matt, and Lilly