Gardens and Giggles

Can you guess what we did this weekend? I've been wanting to plant a garden with Lily since April, but haven't gotten around to it. So finally last weekend we got our act together and picked up some seeds, soil and pots and made a party of it.

Lily's favorite part of the whole enterprise? Playing in the dirt.

(Yes, we have a tent set up in a backyard. You don't? Hu...that's weird)

She got to plant her very own little herb garden. She got a kick out of it. It has a place of honor on the window sill in the kitchen. Every morning without fail she insists on watering it herself. (her latest favorite word is "self". Every time we do anything, she insists on doing it herself.)

Once we finished with the dirt, we had to play in the water.

I got a little carried away with the pictures. But she was just so dang cute, I couldn't seem to help myself.

Can you believe how big she's gotten? Every time I look at her I am amazed.

Predictably, if there was mayhem to be spread, Ernie was not far behind. Isn't he mean? Don't you feel sorry for Lily and I for having to put up with his shenanigans?

But don't worry, Lily is wise to his tricks. And she is learning quick how to defend herself.

Unfortunately, her coordination isn't quite as well-honed as Ernie's. More often than not she ended up splashing herself rather than him.

By the time we finally dragged her away, she looked like a drowned cat.

Now and Then

Lily has developed a violent relationship with my laptop. I believe I may have mentioned it before, but I don't believe I adequately described the utter loathing she has for it. Every time I even hint at bringing it out, she throws and all-out fit. I mean stomping her feet, flailing her arms and running into the kitchen to hide in the corner and whinge (that's British-speak for whine. I didn't know either). Sometimes, when I actually sneak past her preventative measures and get the thing opened and booted up, she will push on it and hit it until it closes, crying all the time a desperate NOOOOOO!!!!!

I don't blame her for this reaction. She had to endure three weeks straight, not that long ago, when I was permanently attached to my laptop. Besides feeding, bathing and occassionally walking her, I was an absolute wretch and purposely ignored her. I made her play by herself for long stretches of time while I did who-knew-what on the dreaded contraption. Then the three weeks ended and she had her mommy back. We went on walks, went to the beach, got pedicures, played tea party, drew beautiful pictures of dragons (lately, every picture Lily draws, when asked what it is, she exclaims "Dragon", with a flourish and smiles proudly as we admire the ferocious beast).

Then yesterday I had to start structural edits on a new book for which I am hoping to have a publishing deal soon (this is just wishful thinking on my part...I have only a few prospects at this point, but people seem to be receptive to it). Anyhow, knowing what the seemingly innocuous laptop brings, she has declared all-out war.

So what is the point of this verbose diatribe, you ask? This morning, in an effort to put to rights her ill-feelings toward my computer, I sat her on my lap and clicked through hundreds of pictures and several videos of dear, sweet Lily when she was but a wee bairn (that is Scottish speak for small baby). She was enthralled. She must have sat on my lap for two hours going through those pictures, absolutely tickled to see herself as a baby. Even more so to see the videos of Daddy "getting her", as she put it.

So I got to take a stroll down memory lane and see all the many ways my beautiful little baby has changed and grown into an exquisite little girl. She still has dimples in her knees and elbows and entirely too biteable cheeks. But she has grown remarkably and she has begun to lean out. She walks, talks, farts, burps (those last two are courtesy of her father...isn't that lovely?). She smiles, laughs, squeals, runs. She give the best hugs of anyone in the entire universe. And she is all mine (for now). I dread the day when she realizes that life exists without Mommy and she begins to venture out on her own. In the meantime, I will enjoy every selfish moment I have with her.

So, without further ado (I know, I know...*finally*), here are some picture from Now and from Then:

Her very first picture. I think, considering she just went through twenty-four hours of hard labor, she is looking remarkably well put together...

Last weekend. After begging for two days, we finally gave in and bought her the Tinker Bell cake she fell in love with at the grocery store.

Her first full bath. Please ignore the baby bulge that was still hanging onto my stomach at the time.

Her bath yesterday. She kept pointing out to the den saying something that I couldn't understand. Then she looked at me with a wholly exasperated expression and said "cheeeeeeessssee". After I stopped laughing and wiped the tears from my eyes, I asked her if she wanted me to take a picture of her. To which she smiled one of those "Finally! It took you long enough" smiles and says "jessss" (which, in Lily-speak means yes). This is her "sad" pose. I'm not joking. As soon as I pointed the camera she said "Sad", and made this face. Then she said "funny" and made a silly face. Then she said "scared" and her eyes went big and she started shaking. Hmmmm...my little performer.

Blackmail Pictures

You know, I've made a remarkable discovery. When I had a fulltime job, I updated my blog at least once a week. Now that I am a stay-at-home mommy, I hardly ever have time to update. Things are still crazy, but slowing down. I am awaiting my line edits and have seen the proof for my cover. Things are moving along well. To pass the time, I was looking through some old pictures. The one with Rebecca showing off her belly is definitely blackmail material. So is the one of Jonathan in a dance costume. I just have to wait for the perfect opportunity to use them. Yes, I am evil.

What do you do when you have five rambunctious children all within five years in age? You take them to the woods and let them run around, praying for a bear to scare them stupid. At least then they'd stop with the endless questions, right? But seriously, just looking at this picture makes me wonder how my mother made it through. We were a rather obnoxious lot.

Look, my dad had hair. I believe it is one of the seven wonders of the world. Rarely seen and rapidly decaying... ;)

Don't *even* ask about the headband. I have no words. But that beautiful velvet dress I am wearing was one of my mother's original creations. It was one of my favorite dresses when I was a girl. That mother of mine, she's pretty talented. Even if she *is* wearing those dreadful glasses.

No, as cool as it would have been and as much as I may have wished it, my family did not go through a stint in the circus. These are actually our dance costumes. We were the Wilkinson Family Cloggers. Now, I dare you to be nerdier than that!

Now, keep in mind that in the picture of me, I am three years older than Lily is in the picture of her. Probably close to four years, actually. But seeing as how I was the youngest of six and digital cameras hadn't been invented yet, there are no baby pictures of me in existence. Yes, I am going to therapy over it. Anyhow...Granted, Lily has a strong Hamilton resemblance. But she still looks, even a tinsy bit, like me. I'll try this again in a couple years to see if the resemblance gets stronger. Then maybe people will stop asking if she's mine when I am out and about.