Lily turned two and Christmas too!

I was going to try to make two separate posts about these two events, but Lily ran off with 6 of my laptop keyboard keys....it took me days to figure out that they were in the TRASH (I had already put that trash outside too)! Silly girl....I still haven't found the "n" key. :( Over five years of owning this computer and it gets messed with by my two year-old toddler. Which brings me to the reason for this post: Lily is 2! More like a 2 year-old body with a 15 year-old attitude. She is something else...but let's get to her big day:

It so happened that Lily's birthday (the 19th) was the day before Daniel's big final! We planned on celebrating her birthday on Friday after Daniel was done with school and free for two weeks! We were so excited to have Daddy all to ourselves. :) I still wanted to have a good special day on her birthday, so she woke up saying, "happy birthday," whenever someone would call and I fixed her cinnamon roll pancakes. Awesome, by the way, and easy to make. She then opened presents and we just had a great day hanging out.

 We had her favorite food, spaghetti, and she helped me make her chocolate cake with chocolate icing. She really loves licking the bowl (my uncle used to give me a coffee mug with cake batter in it and we would drink it together....those were the days). She got some awesome presents from Mimi and Grandpa Craig. I think she really enjoyed her day.

Then, Daniel's big final came the next day and he passed with an excellent grade! Our treat for Daniel and Lily was to eat at Chick-fil-A (ok, that one was for me), and a trip to see the zoo lights with some friends. It was really cool. It almost didn't happen though cause every parking lot we went to filled up only as soon as we got in. Finally, Daniel got fed up with it and created his own parking spot with our incredibly awesome Fit...oh yeah, it wouldn't have worked if we didn't have good ole' Eclectic. It was a fun and Lily really enjoyed meeting the Panda Claus.

Before we knew it, Christmas came around. We went to a dinner on Christmas eve at a friend's house. It was wonderful. My favorite part was gathering around the tree and reading Luke 2 and singing Christmas hymns. It was magical.

Christmas day came and Lily really got into it. She was so excited to open all the presents...ALL of them...still working on learning about possession. She was a sweet sister though and opened Lena's presents for her and even gave Lena some of her own to hold. We were blessed to get a Blendtec from our awesome sister and bro; this will help with our New Year diet. ;) We went to a wonderful dinner at another friend's house. It was so great. There were a lot of people, but boy did we love their family that came from New York. They are Latina and they sure can make the party lively. They were so fun to be around. The kids also put on a little skit while we read Luke 2. Lily was the lamb...she did not play her part well cause she kept trying to steal baby Jesus...Good memories. We had a very Merry Christmas.

I was really concerned about trying to implement Christ in Christmas this year and for Lily not to get too wrapped up (or us for that matter) in the materialism that Christmas brings with it. I believe what really helped me to focus on Christ this Christmas was the singing and reading of the nativity with friends, it brought so much warmth to my heart. Lily was even singing along. I want to do that with family and friends every year. I have also decided to make a fun, interactive nativity for Lily and Lena next year...I've got to learn how to crochet though...

Getting with the Christmas spirit

I told Daniel we had to go get a tree the day after Thanksgiving. I wanted that to be a new family Christmas tradition. Our first year married, my wonderful boss got us a tree and decorations. That was beyond kindness since we didn't really have the money to get all that stuff. The next year Lillian was born and we would be moving shortly after so Daniel went out with buddy to cut the top off a tree in the woods of Southeast Idaho. We didn't have a tree last year since we were in Alabama and my Granny had a gorgeous one. This year would be the first that Lily could help us pick out a tree. We didn't quite make it the day after Thanksgiving but we did get a chance to go to a local orchard and cut our very own tree. It was even at a military discount. We got some ornaments but decided not to put them up cause the ones that I got from my family were enough, I think. We only have a few but that's enough, since we got a long needle white pine; I don't want to kill it even faster. Lena likes to look at the lights and Lily really likes to pluck out the needles.

In other news, Daniel finishes up his first semester of Med school this week! We are so proud of him. He still has to pass his finals this week, but we believe he can do it. If he could sum up his first semester of med school in one sentence it would be, "Wait, when did we learn that?" From my perspective, I think he has done really well. A lot of the "older" students and some of the doctors have said that the first year is the hardest and you really have to find the balance of school and life....meaning school takes up most of your time. Fortunately, Daniel goes to an amazing medical school. USUHS is wonderful for a family: there is no competition between the students (everyone is on a team, literally "fire team"), there is a student spouses club that is excellent at keeping you in the loop, and the students are not on a letter grade system--meaning they can  fail a test (which is still not good) but it doesn't affect their overall grade. The doctors that teach Daniel are also the doctors that see their families. Lillian and Lena's ped. is one of his professors. Pretty cool.

Lily took one of my shirts and wanted to wear it for her outfit of the day.

Learning a new trick and watching her sister.

Daniel wanted me to include this: Last night we were having FHE and we decided to talk about Patience....yep, with a two-year-old! Daniel and I grabbed Lily's stuffed elf and santa and role-played the mommy and the child. The child wanted to watch a movie but she couldn't until she brushed her teeth and changed her clothes. After we finished with the role-play (we felt like we got the idea of patience into her head at that point), Lily started up the stairs. "Lily, what are you doing?" "Brush teeth, change clothes, then watch novie!" hahaahah, it was epic!

Thanksgiving smiles

I have always enjoyed the memories of my childhood where we would gather 'round to divulge ourselves in Grandma/Granny's home cookin. Honestly, they are both great cooks and I have tried hard to keep the spirit of their cooking going strong in our family.
This year has been a great year for me to test out my hostess skills. Now that I have a bigger place with a bigger kitchen, I thought it would be great to invite some friends over to try a southern thanksgiving. I told everyone that Daniel and I would provide the ham and turkey and side dishes if they would bring rolls and desserts: two things I am terrible at making. Well, I went to work on this huge task and got things going in advanced (I only have one oven so I had to plan wisely). It was hard, but fun. I prepped the sweet potato casserole early and put it in the fridge, as well as the chicken and dressing ( a day's work prepping that one), I then made a list of all the things that needed to go into the oven on thanksgiving and make it all so that everything would be warmed by the time the guests arrived. Whew, I like lists, but this one was a doozy. Thank heavens for a warmer on the stove and in the oven.
The day arrived and I was on my feet from 7:30-3:30! Daniel was excellent and smoked his very first turkey! It turned out great: Moist and flavorful! We had to get the house ready for guests and got most everything set up the day before. We didn't think our table would be too small for 8 adults but with two turkeys (a guest brought one)  and a ham the table was packed. Good thing we set up a kiddo table. Those kids were funny and only sat down for dessert...they barely touched their dinner, Geesh!
I have to say, it was a  great experience, but now I realize just how much work goes into creating such a fantastic experience (Thanks Grandma and Granny for all those years of slaving in the kitchen). Selfishly, I had a great time because I saw everyone else enjoying themselves. Everything turned out well, except the mashed potatoes..."How can you ruin mashed potatoes?" (Granny and Grandma both asked this when I told them--haha).
Next year, I'm taking a break! (good pics to be posted soon. I wasn't able to take any pics while people were here.)

I think she was 6 weeks in this photo...

Surprise roses after Dad and Lily went shopping.

Lily wanted to pour the parm cheese on her spaghetti.

Gotta love those eyes!

Reunited with my dear mission companion. She brought her son and mc.donald's fries to get Lily to like her. :)

Prepping the food while Lily played with rice and beans...oh was that a mess to clean!

The sweet reunion. We had so much fun.

So did these two

We had fun taking a bazillion pics with the phone.

The prepped chicken and dressing! Boom Baby!

Lena sat there all nice and quite the whole time...not.

Lily watched movies the entire time I cooked..sounds about right. :)

Lily and Lena are continuing to grow and develop their cute personalities. Lily is in a movie phase...probably my fault, I love my movies. "Watch novie?" Lena is smiling so much latley and is really such a happy baby when she isn't having tummy problems. This gal has been going 7 days without pooping. I can tell it's been uncomfortable (why wouldn't?). Thankfully, the days between poops are getting shorter...it was 4 this past week. She is such a cuddle bug and loves to be held. She can't stand being alone unless she's absolutely content or tired. I am amazed at how much love I have for these two. Motherhood is difficult and I need to get out and exercise, but man do I love those two girls and want them to be happy and brought up in light and truth! I've got a great job, even if I find myself watching Monsters Inc every day.