My Little Lillie at 21 Months

I know there are only so many ways to say that a baby is sweet without sounding trite, but if you know Lillie you realize that there is an unbelievable kindness, gentleness, tenderness about her that is unmistakable. Especially when you consider that she is my child. Sophie and Will are amazing kids, but they both have heavy doses of their mama's personality, and run a little light on sweetness. Lillie is the child who wakes me up with kisses in the morning and sings her own lullabies with me at night. I honestly can't imagine what I ever did to deserve her. Matt must have done something. At any rate, Lillie radiates joy.

Though my joyful girl isn't without a will of her own. Lillie

knows exactly what she wants even though she is kind about expressing it. She is probably sneakier than either of her siblings, and because she is so charming, she gets by with a fair amount of mischief! She definitely plunders more than Sophie or Will ever did, and I can't count how many times my cabinets and drawers have been unloaded by her. And she isn't afraid to use her big baby blues to try and get her way either. Just this weekend, she saw that Patti-Grams was trying to take the remote control from her, and she pointed to a football game on tv and said, "Oh, look! The ball!" hoping that she could distract mom and make off with the remote!

And there is virtually nothing she can't say. One evening while I was rocking her, she looked up at me and said, "I love you with all my heart!" Her repertoire of songs is unreal, and we still mistake her voice for Sophie's in the car because we can't believe she could possibly be singing verses to songs! Her ABC's have been perfect for a long time, and she actually likes to quiz others in our family to be sure we know ours! She counts to at least 14, and recognizes many of her letters. She still loves to sing Jesus Loves Me, You Are My Sunshine, Twinkle Twinkle, and Whole World, but she has also branched out to the theme song of Mickey Mouse Clubhouse,

the Hot Dog song, Jesus Loves the Little Children, Itsy Bitsy Spider, and a whole slew of worship songs off Sophie and Will's car cds. Her cutest number in the past couple of weeks is "Shake You Booty, Shake You Booty, Get Down Tonight, Get Down Tonight," complete with precious booty shaking!

Though she loves Sophie and Will dearly, she will also rat them out with a drop of a hat, with "Will pinch me," or "Sophie's crying!" She tells them to "stop it right now," whenever she's had enough or tells them, "hum on, hold my

hand" when she wants a dance partner! She especially loves to dance with Zoe, and they still share a bond over a love of baby dolls. She and Will are beginning to play well together (especially when Sophie is at school), and because of Will, Lillie

can take a hit like nothing you've ever seen. Sophie continues to be great with Lillie, and they love dancing together and playing tickle. We've tried to tell her a little about Lucie, but I'm not convinced she's going to be all that thrilled about a new baby once she realizes the baby will be staying with us forever! She's pretty comfortable in her role as baby of the family, and she's still very attached to me. I predict a period of adjustment, but I'm hopeful that in the end, Lillie's gentleness and loving heart will help her grow into a great big sister.

Lillie melts the hearts of everyone in the family. She is really loving her daddy these days, and

she's always super-excited when he comes home from work. Needless to say, Matt is putty in her hands. She has been a huge fan of Patti-Grams and Aunt Tori for a while, but she is also starting to specifically ask for Hopey! I think she recognizes a kindred spirit in Hope. She talks about Tato incessantly, especially when he isn't around, but her true love is probably Uncle

Derek, whom she calls "Dekkick." Lillie has always loved Derek, and it is so funny to watch her light up whenever she sees him! As far as loves a little closer to her age, she is a big fan of Jack, and she has all but ruined our baseball picture of him by carrying it around and giving it lots of kisses!

I continue to be incredibly grateful for the gift of parenting Lillie. She infuses joy into our daily lives like nothing I've ever experienced. As we get ready to welcome yet another personality into our family, my overwhelming love for Lillie is a great reminder of how quickly our children become an integral part of our family, one that we can't imagine we ever lived without. And though I know in my head that we've only had the joy of knowing Lillie for less than two years, my heart can't remember life without her.