Lankford Love

Dear Lilleigh, Just wanted to say that I had a lot of fun with you today! This one nap thing isn't so bad! We had a great outing to the mall this morning to meet up with one of our favorite mommy and baby duos . Normally I'd be worrying about how to schedule such an outing around your nap, but not this morning. You were wide awake and ready for an adventure. You even let me pop in a few stores while we were there! From the mall, we went to the mat room, where we played our hearts out with more of your baby friends (and mommy friends). After that, we came home for lunch and a 2 hour 45 minute nap for you! (Who's counting the minutes?) I got a lot done during this time, so thanks for that. Then Daddy surprised us by coming home early before his church meeting. So we went on a walk and hung out with Daddy, Sammy, and the chickens - and brought some eggs to our neighbors. You walked in circles around a cooler on the sidewalk while we talked to our neighbor across the street. ...

Last week was rough as far as naps go -- or didn't go. I figured it was because Lil was just getting back on track from being sick. Every nap was a fight. And they lasted MAYBE 45 minutes. Sometimes 20. And she was a grouch. Finally a friend suggested Lil may be dropping her second nap. And later a few more mommy friends confirmed this theory. I hear the average age for dropping the second nap is 18 months, and since I consider Lil to be a rockstar sleeper, I didn't see this coming. Not this early. What a sad day! Still one long nap is better than these crazy short ones she was having. So we began experimenting with putting her down later. Sure enough - over the past 3 days she's gone down around 11 or 12 and has slept around 2 hours. And then she's happy! A happy baby makes a happy mommy! It's sad to have less mommy time but exciting to be able to have more outings! I'm making a mental list of fun things we can now go do! Bittersweet. I am hoping she extend...

Well we made it through a year of breast feeding! And I've kinda been dragging my feet on weaning. Yesterday I decided to try skipping a feeding, only it didn't work out so smoothly. Apparently there was a clog, so when I had uncontrollable chills last night, I knew I had mastitis. It was four hours of chills, sweating, vomiting (only once, thank the Lord), head throbbing and achiness. I don't wish to repeat such an episode! It was AWFUL. Still in the midst of it, I remembered 2 Thessalonians 5:17, "give thanks in all circumstances." I thanked God for the chance to provide this nutrition to my child. For a full year of nursing. For an awesome husband to care for me. And for this happening on a weekend when we had family in town to help with Lil in the morning. (thanks, Grammy!) Today I'm feeling like my normal self! So thankful!

Well we found the evil hawkS' lair - er, nest. And yep there are two of them. And where there's a couple, there's babies... Wonderful. See that nest in the center of the photo? That's it. We thought it would for sure be lower down in the tree, thinking the smaller limbs but would not be able to hold their weight. But it's very high. Crazy!

My friend Laura offered to take some toddler pics of Lilleigh. And considering Lil was being a frowny face, I think she did an awesome job! Visit Laura's site: ra-foto.com And see more of her fabulous Lilleigh masterpieces here .

There is so much I could say to update you all on things here and all that God is doing in my heart. They are sorta one in the same, but they stray at times. Bear with me. On Sunday after Group Link (church event, where we had Lil in childcare), Lil was a grump. They said Lil had bonked heads with a little boy and just couldn't get over it. Poor thing! These last few Sundays, she's only had one nap because we've only had 2-1/2 hours between church and Group Link, so that's all our schedule has allowed. It's not ideal for her, as she's still going strong on two naps, but she's a trooper! Anyway, we just kinda attributed her fussiness to that. When we got home around 4, she actually took a second nap! Getting her to nap after 3 PM is kinda unheard of, so clearly she was exhausted! Upon waking up from that nap, she was warm, so we took her temp. 100.8. When we set her in a comfy chair, and she started to slump over, it was clear that she was still super tir...

Saturday was Lilleigh's first birthday party! Fiesta, to be exact. And a fiesta it was! Here are some party pics! You can read all about the party over at Thankfully Thrifty !

Lil is 12 months! {That means an end to these sticker photos - Yea!} At one year, Lilleigh is... Walking while holding onto furniture. Pulling up on Mom and Dad's legs and hanging on tight! Nursing four times a day (in 24 hours), and Mom isn't sure about the weaning thing. We'll see. Loves to swing! She actually gets antsy every time she sees a swing in sight. Loves wagon rides. Drinks well from a sippy (though she has for months) and constantly takes Mom's drink with a straw. And she likes milk. (We've been giving her milk for months.) Loves to eat most foods, but especially loves tangerines and bananas. Loves story time. Getting in her first year molars, I'm pretty sure.  I can hardly believe my little one is a big toddler now! Each age is just so much fun! I feel continually blessed.

Life is just busy and chaotic right now! Not bad. Just chaotic. Yesterday Lilleigh and I were just off. Bad moods all around. A viscous cycle. Cranky, cranky. And to top it off she cried for 30 minutes when I was putting her to bed. It was sad - for her and mommy. At the end of the night I was ready for a looong break! Being a stay at home mom isn't easy! Not that working is. Just saying staying home isn't the walk in the park I envisioned as a child. Ha! What was I thinking? I'm encouraged by the blog post my friend Samantha wrote in response to my Facebook status about my day. Today Lil was her sweet self. She even took a long afternoon nap to make up for the day before. I couldn't help but thank God for new beginnings. A new day, after a day like yesterday, just seemed so beautiful. And it was. But I have to tell you. Not that what came next made the day less of a blessing from the Lord. Or made my heart any less thankful for new beginnings. But well, life co...

What a fun weekend we had - full of out of town guests! Brendon's cousin Amy and her husband Tim were in town for a wedding, so they stayed with us Friday night and came to lunch with us on Sunday. And since they were in town, Ryan, Tarryn, and Connor come up also. It was so fun to have the cousins (Lilleigh and Connor  -- and Amy!) together! Snack time of oranges at Lilleigh's (actually Mommy's and before that Mimi's) kiddie table Bath time fun! Brendon is a the chicken master. We went on a long walk on Saturday. And we came back with heavy trash finds. No, we didn't go in search on heavy trash, but when you find a kids easel and a set of drawers in great condition, you can't just not pick them up!  I've already spray painted (with chalkboard paint) the white board side of the easel. And the drawers are now in our front closet - so much more organized now! Thanks, heavy trash! PS Can you spy Lilleigh? The cousins! Apparently Amy is l...