A Christmas Letter from Lily

Dearest Family and Friends,

Though I have trouble believing anyone does not know me at this point, I suppose I should begin by introducing myself. My name is Lily Clare Croft, adorable and mischievous daughter of Brian and Erica. Everywhere I go, people comment on my beautiful eyes and hair and, while my Mommy is just waiting for me to say, “I know! I’m so beautiful!” I currently just smile and wave hi to them.

I turned 22 months old on December 4, 2010. Can you believe how big I am getting? I heard Mommy saying something about me being two months away from being 2 years old—I thought I heard her whisper something about the world “terrible,” but surely she meant to say “terrific,” because I am getting terrifically independent by the day. I spend my days running around the house, taking all the pots and pans out of the cupboards, begging snacks (my Mommy seems to think I can only eat in my high-chair), reading books, and telling Mommy and Daddy interesting stories. What can I say? I guess I just like to stay busy...in fact, Mommy says that because I am so busy, I have “earned” my nap each day. Lucky for her, I like to sleep, otherwise I’d stay up all day playing.

Speaking of Daddy and Mommy, I guess I should tell you all a little bit about them. Daddy spends his days teaching other kids (though they aren’t nearly as cute as me) at Western Nebraska Community College and doing lots of grading—which makes him a little grumbly. I try to help him grade, but he says that my writing isn’t clear enough—which is funny, because his looks like chicken scratch. Daddy still takes time to read to me though, but only if I curl up next to him and Fufu, my best friend. Daddy sure loves lots of old stuff, but he always says that I’m the neatest new thing around. Mommy spends her days playing with me and working on that weird computer thing, though she says she’s doing homework. I heard her telling Daddy that she is tired of school, so I think she is going to take a break. I think that is a wonderful idea because now she can spend every minute of the day playing with me! She has been working on a second degree in English, so she can go and teach kids like Daddy does.

I also spend lots of time with my Grandma Barb, which I love! I go to her house a few afternoons a week to play with her. I also see my Yaya and Papa (Mommy’s parents) frequently and love to chase their puppy, Max, but sometimes I get in trouble for pulling his hair. I especially love when Aunt Mary and Uncle Ken bring my cousins over and I get to play with them—I can blame my naughtiness on someone else for a change! Uncle Colin and Yelena also come over to see me and I have fun showing them my latest toys and dance moves.

I did get to see this Santa guy everyone is talking about and, though he did make me cry (have you seen that beard?), Mommy and Daddy promised he’ll bring me lots of presents. I hope you get lots of presents too!




Merry Christmas,

Lily

Oh—and Mommy and Daddy, too.

Thanksgiving Wrap-Up

Well, they are a bit late, but I thought I'd post some pictures from our Thanksgiving festivites. Once again, we hosted Thanksgiving at our house this year, and had about 20 family members show up and leave nice and full. :) I consider it a success as long as no one leaves hungry!

Lily, helping Mama make the cornbread stuffing! She loves to help me cook :)

The "girl" cousins: Kinzee (2), Kaitlynn (5), Lily (1)

A group action shot :)

The next morning, we packed up in the car and headed down to the Denver area to watch the Nebraska vs. Colorado game with Brian's extended family. We must not have been giving Lily enough credit because we expected a little more fussing in the car, but she was an angel. She read books, snacked, and played with toys--and didn't cry once on the 3 1/2 hour drive! Plus, Nebraska beat Colorado, so we couldn't have asked for a better trip--oh, and did I mention that there was excellent food and conversation? :)

Reading in the car

Family picture

Lily with cousin Eric

Lily and her new best friend, Sarah

Lily and her other new best friend--Holden :)

Now we are busily getting read for Christmas. The tree is up, the presents are bought and {mostly} wrapped, and Lily is talking about Santa Claus non-stop. We can't wait 'til she gets the chance to tear open those presents!!

Sickness and Snow

Winter (well, the cold weather, anyway) has officially arrived and, with it, so have germs and sickness! Lily spent five days with a fever--and though we don't really know what exactly she had, we are glad to report that she is *finally* starting to feel better.

She spent about a week or so doing  a lot of laying around and sleeping (not that I'll necessarily complain about that), but it is always hard to see your little one not feeling well. Fufu and her thumb got quite a workout...

Her attempt at a smile...no way was that thumb coming out.

Taking a rest

After being cooped up for so long, I decided that, since she was feeling a bit better, we'd go and play in the snow this morning. Lily calls it "Noes" and she thinks that it is really interesting--to eat. She really doesn't understand why I keep putting mittens on her hands (after all, she has to use them), and repeatedly takes them off, then tells me her hands are cold. Oh well...she'll get it eventually!

She decided to just eat the mitten

Mmmm....snow!

I liked this one...baby footprints :)

She loves Mr. No-man



Trick or Treat 2010

We definitely had a Happy Halloween! And, if I do say so myself, I believe we had the cutest lady bug in Nebraska!

Cheesing it up for the camera.

 Miss Lily actually got a double dose of trick-or-treating, since The Village (where Grandma Barb lives) opens up for visitors on a separate night. We also went to Spooktacular at the zoo the same evening. All in all, she did a great job. We were afraid she wouldn't keep her costume on, but there were so many exciting things to look at that it was the least of her worries.

Getting ready to go!

Trick or treat!

Enjoying the fruits of her labor

At Spooktacular

Checking out the big pumpkins

Lily definitely enjoyed her self (and wore herself out)! Now we are just going to have to teach her that every day isn't Halloween!

Happy Halloween :)

A laugh for the Halloween Weekend:

Personalize funny videos and birthday eCards at JibJab!

Trip to the Pumpkin Patch

With Halloween quickly approaching, we decided that we'd hop in the car and head over to Wyoming to check out the most popular pumpkin patch. We're glad we did!!

Lily got to play in a hay maze--where she could run to her heart's content and not escape! A parent's dream! :)

Case in point: Sprinting from Daddy

Oh! A tunnel...she loved that. She could fit through it--we couldn't.
 Daddy had to sprint over the bales to catch her!

Tra-la-la-la

And, naturally, she spent much time pick up sticks, eating hay and corn stalks, and just getting generally dirty. As much as this girl loves "bracets" and "neckaces," she sure does love dirt!

Mmmm, dirt. Better rub it on my face.

Eating a stick with Daddy

She also got to, of course, pick pumpkins! And, she had a GREAT time playing in the "corn" box--it was like a sandbox full of corn kernels. Luckily, she refrained from eating these (amazing, since she LOVES corn) and had a ball interacting with the other kids.

This is the pumpkin she picked. Of course, she *had* to pick it up.

Posing with Mommy

The amazing corn box

Playing with other kiddos

In other news, Lily is talking up a storm!! She is starting to call us "Mommy" and "Daddy" now, instead of "Mama" and "Dada." Super cute. When Brian comes home from work, she runs to the front door and yells "Dad-deeeeeeeee!!!!" the whole way. You should see his face brighten!! I think he's been waiting for that for awhile. :)

I recently took a job selling Dove Chocolate. I am a Dove Chocolate Discoveries Independent Chocolatier--I sell exclusive Dove products and host chocolate tasting parties (can you say yummy job?). My first party will be on Friday--wish me luck! I'm hoping it will be a fun way to meet new people and make a little extra money...we'll see!

I've been feeling guilty about not exposing Lily to more kids...she always seems SO eager to play with them and so curious. So, it's also on my agenda to start meeting other Moms with kids her age and having more play dates...hopefully we'll be able to do that.

Brian is plugging along with this semester. He has a LOT of students, which equals a LOT of grading. I think he'll be especially happy when Christmas break rolls around this year.

That's about all in our world (at least, that I can currently think of)--hope everyone is doing well!

Playing at the Park

Lily has a new obsession: The SLIDE!!! :) (Or, as she calls it, the "side!")

Weee!

Since the weather has been so nice (read: not hot!), we've been walking down to Frank Park these last couple of nights. Lily will put up with the long walk because we bribe her with a stop at the park and SLIDES!

She has started sliding down on her own now--she loves it!

But Daddy and Mommy still walk up the jungle gym with her

She also enjoys dancing on the merry-go-round

And pretending she's in prison

But mostly, she enjoys making Daddy go down the slides too.

Oh, and some swinging time with Mama

Nothing like a good evening out in the cooler temps--it's fun and free!! :)

Fall Fun

Last weekend we took Lily to Wind Harvest Farms to pick fresh raspberries. Unfortunately, the raspberries weren't done, but Lily still had fun running around and playing in the hay fort!

Getting ready to go!

Do you think this child has enough hair?

 

Climbing around the Fort



Showing off how big she has gotten

Being a daredevil with Daddy

Don't you want to hold me??

 

Summer's End

Well, as much as we hate to see her go, I think Summer is on her way out. We woke this morning to 40 degree temps--and, at 12:30 p.m. we are still hovering at 45 degrees. It is a great day for some Husker football, but a little saddening to think that our days of running around the backyard barefoot and swimming in the pool are gone until next year.

:)

Enjoying the flowers while they're still here!

Lily *loves* picking the "owers"

We are doing well, otherwise. Lily and I are recovering from an early cold--probably due to the crazy temperature fluctuations we've been having. Brian is busily (and sometimes grudgingly) grading away. I'm still taking classes, though I'm considering taking a much needed break, if I can manage it without messing up my financial aid. Lily is talking more and more everyday! In fact, if she could, she'd tell all of you "Buh-bye!" right now. :)

It's Husker Season

And Lily is ready!!

The prettiest little Husker fan!

And so are we! They did a good job winning the first game of the season, so we are looking forward to more W's!

Isn't Lily too cute? I should add, however, that the headband only stayed on for *this* picture...no way would she keep such a thing on her head for a few hours!

Where'd the bread go?

Have you ever noticed that the older your toddler gets, the higher up everything in your house gets? The other day, we bought some fresh baked cheddar bread at the Morrill Farmer's Market. Lily had some with her dinner and she was a big fan.

Maybe a bigger fan than I thought...I was busying myself with some cleaning for a minute and, when I turned around, this is what I saw:

Hehe...she does look kind of like a Hillbilly baby here...

But still, it's cute!

On a side note, Brian thinks Lily looks like a poor hillbilly baby in these pictures. He is not a fan of her running around in *just* her diaper...but in my defense, she had just finished playing in the sprinkler...and I think it is cute!