2013: A Year in Review

January

We celebrated your first birthday with a "Tooth Fairy Baking Party". You really enjoyed having so many people at the house and pulling the tissue paper out of all of the gifts. You liked your cake, but acted very politely by taking one small bite at a time. No cake smashing here.

           

After 'cruising' around the furniture for months, you finally let go and started walking by yourself. You started saying real words instead of babbling, and transitioned to whole milk (which you weren't happy about). We went for your 1 year check-up and you weighed in at 19 pounds. What a difference a year makes :)

February

We celebrated Valentines Day in keeping with our new tradition (Chinese food for dinner and your Daddy lets you pick out a stuffed animal). This year you surprised us and were very vocal about which animal you wanted. We also transitioned you to a 'big girl' car seat this month. You cried the entire trip (15 mins) but learned to love it by the time we got back into the car. Your friend invited you to your first Valentines Day party, and you ate most of the pieces you were supposed to be making a card with (but you thoroughly enjoyed the party).

March

You're still holding on to your bunny that you've always slept with. You've named it 'hop'. And you finally fit into the sweet handmade dress your great grandmother made for you when you were born.

You also went to Chuck-e-Cheese for the first time to celebrate the official adoption of your two new uncles. No need to buy tokens, you just liked to push all of the buttons.

You thoroughly enjoyed hunting for Easter eggs this year too, even when one hunt had to be moved indoors. More Easter here.

April

We went on your first trip to the zoo with some Birmingham pals. And it was finally warm enough for us to enjoy going to the park. You also had your first hair cut. It went really well until about 2 seconds before it ended. 

May

We went on a big trip to Disney World! (more on that here) We also went to your Uncle Caleb's high school graduation, and you really enjoyed getting to clap over and over and over.....

You also discovered the fountains at Bridgestreet, and begged to play in them every time we went.

You finished your first year of Mothers Day Out, and we were both sad to see it end :)

June

You developed a passion for blowing bubbles and eating watermelon. You really love to help with the household chores, particularly the laundry. Academy Sports opened near our house, and you and your daddy go there all.the.time. You like to carry a pool noodle around the whole time he shops. We also treated you to your first snow cone.

July

The rain put a damper on our Fourth of July plans. We actually ended up being 'flooded in' at Chase's parents house. Lila thoroughly enjoyed the impromptu sleep over and getting to ride in the truck to survey the water levels. We also participated in Chik-fil-a's CowAppreciation Day. We took you to Athens Kiddie Carnival where you surprised us with your bravery, and you discovered the mini shopping carts at Kroger.

August

We tagged along to your Dad's dental conference and had a blast at the beach. School started back, and you were thrilled to have your favorite teacher, Ms. Cookie, again.

September

This was the month that baby dolls ruled. You care for each of them very lovingly. You also went to your first Alabama Football game. You loved seeing the marching band and Big Al riding on a golf cart.

October

You really loved pumpkins and Halloween this year. We took you to several fall festivals and the pumpkin patch. You loved the idea of collecting candy in your little basket and said, "Trick or Treat" all month. You picked out a tiny little pumpkin at your school's pumpkin patch and insisted on sleeping with it for a few days.  We also celebrated Henry's birthday with a big carnival.

November

We celebrated Thanksgiving and you were all about pointing out every turkey we saw. I even made you a turkey shirt, which you loved. We visited family in Nashville the week of Thanksgiving, and Aunt Sandy let you play her piano. You loved putting on a show every time you had the chance. We also took you Black Friday shopping with us this year. You did surprisingly well.

December

You absolutely loved everything Christmas this year. You would yell every time you saw Christmas lights or big decorations outside, begging your Daddy to slow down so you could see them. Every Sunday you would watch us get the newspaper and ask for the toy ads. You would look over each one, picking out the things you recognized. 

You really liked to see Santa Claus and to talk to him. You refused to sit in his lap, but you weren't bashful about asking him for a candy cane.You played with your nativity set and sang Happy Birthday to Jesus a million times.  Tearing wrapping paper was a favorite, and bubble wrap was the ultimate joy. We traveled a lot this month for Corey's college graduation and tons of family Christmas celebrations. You got car sick on one of our first long trips, so we decided it was time to turn your car seat forward facing. It's like a whole new world has opened up for you.

Road Trip!

A few weeks ago Chase's parents graciously invited us to share their condo at Disney. The rain kept us from taking a lot of pictures. Thankfully, we learned that it also kept the heat away.

(Side note: forgive the unedited, straight-off-the-camera pictures)

Magic Kingdom Highlights.....

This is a terrible picture, but unfortunately it is also the only picture of the 3 of us in front of the castle. Lila was a bit overwhelmed and confused by the massive crowds.

I had to snap a quick picture at the Main Street Bakery - my home during my college internship with Disney. It was my last chance before it's converted to a Starbucks.

Lila's favorite ride (not counting the parking trams). Her hand is firmly planted on Dumbo. 

She did NOT want to get off when the ride stopped.

I talked the bigger kids into riding most of the roller coasters with me. Ty and I decided to document our trip on Big Thunder Mountain in the rain.

She loves Minnie Mouse and was enamored with her (from a distance). When we tried to get a picture she just kept saying, "nuh uh". We tried.

Luckily that experience did not affect her love for the mouse. She touched every one of these pillows on display in the gift shop.

We started the second day at Animal Kingdom, thankful to see the sun.

Lila loved to see all of the animals on the safari and the walking trails.

Snack time in the stroller after all that exercise.

Still trying to get one good family picture (now at Hollywood Studios), complete with some teenage boys in the background that think they're pretty awesome. 

Lila's favorite part of this park was the Disney Junior live show (which I was pretty impressed with). She was able to dance along with the Mickey Mouse Clubhouse characters she loves. Then, we all enjoyed a break at the "Honey I Shrunk the Kids" playground.

One of Lila's favorite things (regardless of where we were) was riding in her stroller with the wind in her hair and sitting on all of the curbs and landscape edging. Crazy kid.

We park hopped every day, but below are some pictures from our many trips to Epcot.

Ty and Goofy. Lila, not pictured, is still saying "nuh uh."

Our favorite part of Epcot was eating around the world at all the food carts they had set up for the Flower and Garden Festival. Lila's favorite part was the entire Nemo experience. She loved looking at all of the fish tanks. By the time we made it to the gift shop at the end, she had to touch everything in there. The first thing she picked out was a Nemo pillow.

But when she laid eyes on the Nemo bucket, she promptly threw it over her shoulder and walked right out of the store saying, "bye, bye." Nevermind the fact that we needed to pay for it. The employees were gracious, and we were thankful that she picked the cheap bucket instead of the expensive pillow :)

We had a wonderful time, and couldn't have asked for a better traveling baby.

Easter Rewind