Lily's thoughts

Lily has been saying some of the FUNNIEST stuff lately, and Matt and I vowed to get it up here so we have records for when she's older and all we can remember is that she said funny stuff.  We love that she is starting to express extra ideas, not just "Cup, please" and "I sleepy."

She's started to just tell us what she's thinking and how she's feeling and just a running commentary of her perspective, which is just beautiful.

The other night in Columbus, for example, she would NOT go to bed.  She kept getting up over and over, opening her door and coming downstairs.  I took her up, then grandpa tried (though they mostly just jumped from one bed to another) and then her daddy went up.  For over 30 minutes, I could hear the two of them just talking away, and finally, I had to go get firm.

However, before I came up, she was telling her dad that she wanted to "go downstairs and see mommy."  Matt said to her several times in response, "No, it's time to go night-night."  She tried several more times, was quiet for a bit, and finally grinned, crawled off the bed and said, "OK, Papa.  You go night-night.  I'll go downstairs and see Mommy!"

Then, a few nights before we left, she was swimming around in the bathtub, her favorite thing about America (bathtubs), and suddenly passed a significant amount of gas, making lots of bubbles.  She started giggling (she IS her father's daughter) and just to make sure I didn't miss it, said, "Look, Mom!  I'm poopin' bubbles!"

Anyone can tell you that I am quite the prude about such things, but I couldn't help but laugh at her translation of what was happening.

Friday night after our plane was FINALLY done being de-iced and heading down the runway, Lily peered out her window and waved "bye-bye" to "grandpa's house."  I was waving with her, and we said several good-byes until she seemed content.  She sat back down, and then all the sudden jumped back to the window again and yelled (Yelled.) "I love you! I LOVE YOU!  Bye-bye! I LOVE YOU!"

Try as we have, we have NEVER heard her say "I love you", and here she was yelling her lungs out at grandpa without any prompting.  It was so funny...and a bit heart wrenching.  (can't believe I haven't told you this one, yet, daddy...with all the days of hectic traveling.  You got her first "I love you!")

Today she and I were cleaning the kitchen, and I had out Doreen's three-step step-stool.  Lily was climbing and descending it with me each time we worked on a cupboard, and I must have been telling her to "be careful."  I forgot to put the thing away when we moved to a new room, and later in the afternoon Matt walked into the kitchen to find her standing on the top step, grinning.

"Lilllllllly!" Matt said with warning in his voice.

"I KNOW, Poppy!" she said with exasperation.  "Be careful!"

Then yesterday she caught me talking on the phone what she thought was too loudly, and she tugged at my led and said, "SHHHH! Mommy!  Baby Sophie is sleeping!" patting my belly a few times for emphasis.  She might not get the whole "sister is coming" thing, but she knows there is a baby in there and seems to also know that she has been self-deemed second mother.

It's been so fun to watch her these last days in her house.  Though she thoroughly enjoyed these last three weeks, she has been OVERJOYED these last two days.  Playing with Maxi, riding Shay, running next door to "see Dodo Bubba" and running through the house, playing with all her new toys, old toys, looking through all her clothes, getting in all the beds, checking all the cabinets, just like she is so happy to be home that she doesn't know what to do with herself.

She is "tatouni" (naked) once more, running about in just her underwear, and every time I try to put even a t-shirt on her, she says, "But MOM...I no cold!"  Apparently, this one thinks that clothing is ONLY for warmth, and therefore, no longer necessary anymore.  She's one happy tatouni child.

We added to her joy today by finally giving her her Christmas/birthday present from Matt and I, a pink bike we bought in the Dominican and had hidden in Dodo and Bubba's house.  It is too big for her, and she is still working on the whole pedal/steer concepts, but it had a basket, streamers, and a little chair on the back for her baby, and we just couldn't resist when we saw it.  She LOVES it, keeps telling everyone from Josephine to her Elmo doll about "my bike" and is working on it with Poppy.  Tomorrow Jacob and Josephine promised to ride their bikes with her and show her how it's done.

All that to say, Lily continues to be an ever-changing ever-gift that we are so tremendously grateful for.  A friend reminded me the other day that not that many years ago, I (a-rather-feminist,-vegetarian, -let's-all-stop-dating-and-be-much-happier-living-and-dying-alone-in-peace version of me) kept telling people I didn't even WANT kids...man, how they change everything, including what we want!