Amish Town USA!

Wow! Two posts in two days! Since we had a little holiday, Columbus Day and Ryan was off, we took a day trip up to Lancaster, PA. We stopped in a little town called Intercourse, yes people, that is the name. This is large Amish and Mennonite community and you really do see them in their horses and buggies, and plowing their fields. It was so interesting to see this simple way of life. We ate lunch at a traditional Amish restaurant and it was quite yummy! You should all try Shoo Fly Pie sometime. After lunch we headed to Strasburg to the old train station. If you ever have watched "Jon & Kate Plus 8," they live in this area and also went to this train station - that's my little claim to fame with this story! Anyway, we went on a wonderful train ride to see the countryside, and experience the ride on an original steam engine train. We didn't take any pictures of the Amish people out of respect to them. So after a long and fun day, Ryan and I were christened into true parenthood. We were driving on the freeway with Lily crying in the back seat. I turned around to see her with tears, coughing, the lovely snotty nose, and then it happened. I looked at Ryan and said, "She's going to throw up I know it." Sure enough, there it came. I surprised myself at how well we all handled the situation, and we still think upon our day with happiness! We hope you enjoy all the pre-puke pictures! Here are a few more!

It's Pumpkin Time

We had a beautiful weekend, and it was perfect weather for pumpkin pickin!  We headed to Homestead Farms for our traditional hayride and pumpkin patch visit (well traditional in that we did it last year and hope to do it every year!).  Lily loved the hayride and wanted to dance, twirl, and slide around in the hay.  She charmed all the other hay riders with her oooohs and ahhhhs and her fascination with the big tractor that pulled the hayride.  

After the hay ride,it was off to the patch!  I, by the way, am in complete heaven at this point!  It is picturesque and so quaint and I just eat this stuff up.  The fact that Ryan, Lily, and I can go as a little family to start these traditions is so much fun and means so much to me!  So anyway, we started navigating through the patch to find our three perfect pumpkins.  We thought Lily 

might want to wander herself....wrong!  She tried to walk around, but the vines were too high and too intertwined for her little steps.  Tears, lots of sobbed filled "Ma Ma," and "Uh Uh" (which means "up") filled the ai

r.  We kicked our pumpkin searching into high gear and still managed to fined three beautiful pumpkins.  

Then it was back on the hayride, then off to look at the animals accompanied by a freshly dipped caramel apple!  Yummy!  Last year Lily struggled among the pumpkins as well....I wonder what that means?  She also is boycotting eating squash these days.  Could it be a squashaphobia?  Lets hope not!  Stay tuned for her Halloween costume!  We'll see if I can top last year's ladybug!  

The Economy is looking grim....but Lily makes us forget all of that!

After a long break from blogging, I'm back in the game. So, today we heard that the bailout plan was rejected, and basically our economy is falling apart all around us. I am not much of an economist at all, but I have tried to pay attention to all the news since I am an adult these days :) As the world is filled with worry, angst, confusion, contention, etc. I am reminded that I have a little daughter who needs me to live in the moment with her. She is oblivious to all that is going on, and I envy her. The innocence and joy that exudes from her beautiful smile is such a reminder to me that someone else is in charge. I am incredibly blessed to have my little Lily to keep me having the right perspective on life. Keep calm and carry on, right Liz? I'd like to add to that two other words, Keep calm, carry on, love Lily. Enjoy this perspective on life!

Finally an Update!

Sorry for the major delay in posts....life really has not been that crazy! As you can see, Lily has been busy trying on Mommy's shoes, and taking cat naps on her favorite living room pillow!Anyway, the last few weeks this month have been great. We were able to go to the Montgomery County Fair and see all the cute big and little animals. Lily loved looking at the cows, piglets, sheep and goats! This last weekend we went to the Maryland Renaissance Fair. In Ryan's words is was a little weird, but entertaining! Weird because people are encouraged to dress up in Renaissance garb...and some people took it to the extremes! I wonder, what Renaissance women wore leather halter tops and miniskirts with fairy wings? Anyway, it was great for people watching and the food was delicious! The highlights were definitely the elephant ride, the apple dumpling, and the pork pockets! Yummy.

Lily is getting so big and is trying so hard to talk and talk and talk. She now says "thank you" and jabbers on and on to us very seriously and with great intent. It is the cutest thing ever. She has not drank out of the toilet lately (thank goodness). Enjoy the photos and I promise to be better about posting more often!

She's Growing Up!

So everyone always told me that time flies when you have children....it is very true! Even though I am with her every day, it still seems like she is doing something new every minute! She is imitating me more and more, and now can say "shhhhh" with her little finger pressed against her lips. Although she has done many cute and adorable things, there have been incidents that I would rather forget. Here is one of those :)

About a week ago Ryan and I were talking in the living room while Lily played quietly in her bedroom. Sounds nice right? Well it was too quiet for our Lily and I got up, turned the corner to the bathroom, and there was my peanut....scooping toilet water with such delight with one of her stacking cups. I'm not exactly sure how much of the wonderful water actually ended up in her mouth, but it was definitely all over her face, clothes, and the floor. I waited anxiously for the next 12 hours just waiting for some rare illness to occur....but nothing happened. I guess this is just one more thing to help me be less of a germ-a-phob!

More pictures are on the way so stay tuned....

It's Family Time in Utah!

We have had a wonderful few weeks! Lily and I braved a flight to UT alone together and lucky for me, she was a champ. It was so fun getting together with friends and family, and especially watching how everyone just loves our little Lily. After a weekend in Utah, we had a great afternoon at the This Is the Place Monument with the Roberts. We loved seeing all the animals, and loved being with our family. The next day it was off to Sun Valley, Idaho with the Nielsen clan. Sun Valley is probably one of my most favorite places on this earth! The scenery is so beautiful, and I have such special memories of family vacations in Sun Valley. Lily had a great time and gave lots and lots of kisses to her cousins! We spent one morning up at Red Fish Lake, and it was so peaceful and rejuvenating! Lily played in the sand, but only if she had her shoes on. Once we took them off, she was glued to the beach towel! We had such an amazing time and want to thank both of our families and all of our cute friends for making this trip just what mommy and Lily needed. Cute little Ryan stayed behind and worked his tail off, but loved every minute of it! We sure don't see him much these days, but he is learning and loving his work. We'll be in touch!

Happy Fourth!

Well, Ryan started his residency this week, and yes, it is true, he is gone quite a bit! He is loving every minute of it though and is so happy. So to kick off Ryan's residency, Ron and Debbie came and visited for his last weekend of freedom! Lily loves her grandparents and loved playing with Grandpa Ron and loved Grandma Debbie's company in the backseat of the car! We can't wait to see you and the rest of our family again in just a few days!

So the fourth was a little different this year, and was a foreshadowing of holidays to come we think...Ryan was on call, so we made the most of it and went to see him for lunch and dinner! Lily loved the resident room and made herself at home quickly. It is so neat to see Ryan in his scrubs and his physician's coat! He really is a doctor, it's crazy!

So Lily's newest trick...she folds her arms for prayers. She often does it on cue, but yesterday at church she looked around at everyone praying during Sunday school and stopped what she was doing to fold her arms and bow her head. How cute is that! She also has become quite interested in books, and sitting on big people chairs to read them. She is talking, well jabbering so much these days...I'm just waiting for that first real word to eek its way out! Come on Lily, put those final consonants on your words (sorry, its a Speech Pathologist thing!).