Lilly's 1st Taste of Food

We stared giving Lilly a little bit of rice cereal about 2 weeks ago. She is still working on figuring out how eating works, but it doing pretty well so far. Right now, we are only doing cereal at dinner time but will soon add another meal. She is so funny when she eats. She leans into the spoon and then tries to "drink" the cereal of the spoon like it is a bottle. Tonight was the 1st night that she really opened her mouth for the spoon!

Waiting on the 1st bite!

I am not so sure about this stuff...Leaning in for another bite

Grace Community Church - 1st Annual Miles for Missions 5K

I was on the planning committee for a 5K that our church hosted - The Miles for Missions 5K. This was the 1st year and I have to say, it was WONDERFUL!! Everything ran very smoothly with only a few tiny glitches. I was blessed to work with a GREAT group of people and got to know a lot of new people in our church!

The fabulous planning committee

Our fearless leaders - Terry and Suzanne

The weather was wonderful - a few clouds and mid-40s at the start of the race. Considering that the forecast had been possible sprinkles and/or snow flurries, we were very happy with the weather :)

Since this was our 1st time organizing a 5K, we had hoped to get 100 participants...God brought us 300 participants!!!! ALL of the proceeds this year are going to local Raleigh missions/ministries that focus on ending hunger and homelessness in our area. We raised an impressive $6300 this year!!!

Katie made this incredible display of all the ministries that the race was supporting!Registration/packet pickup

Matt & Stephen - their office was one of our sponsors (Robins & Morton)Lilly helping with early morning race setupHeading to the starting line

John (our pastor) praying just before the race startedGinger riding as the "Grand Marshall" in the lead police carAt the starting line

And their off!

Matt crossing the finish line (with Corey handing just behind cheering him on)Because the race was just before Valentine's Day, we thought it would be nice to offer a "Sweetheart Division". Basically, any couple could register separately, but then also indicate that they were a couple and the 3 couples with the lowest combined times were awarded a gift certificate to local restaurants. We also had a competitive division, recreational division (to encourage a lot of our church members to get involved), a 14 and under division (which we had a LOT of kids sign up for!), and a Kid's Dash.

After the race, we had a lunch for all of the participants, spectators, and volunteers of soup and chili, bread, and fruit.
Lilly was a trooper throughout the entire process. Plans started long before she was born and Lilly didn't miss a single meeting. She was also at packet pick up on Friday night and at the church very early Saturday morning with me through the entire clean up process.

I am looking forward to starting plans for the 2nd Annual Miles for Missions 5K next year (tentatively scheduled for February 9th, 2013)!!

Lillian's Dedication

This past Sunday, January 29, 2012, was Lilly's dedication at church. The service was very nice and most of our family and friends were able to be there. It was a very special occasion for us as we dedicated our sweet little girl to the Lord. Afterward, we had a lunch at our house.

Brayden's 1st soccer game

Brayden started playing soccer a few weeks ago. He is in a parent-child class along with about 10 other kids (one of which is his best friend, Aeden, from school). This class teachs the kids about stretching, basics of playing soccer, moving the ball around, and taking turns. I don't know if they will actually play a "game" during this session...maybe? Either way, I think it is a good way to start him out with team sports. Plus it is a special time for just Brayden and Daddy, although Mommy & Lilly went the 1st week and will probably go again at some point. Brayden seems to be having fun (which is the most important thing) and learning a bit along the way. Next session, we will probably sign him up for the next level up...actual team play.

*Sorry for the quality of some of these...I was either taking photos through a net or through a glass wall.

Brayden is the one in the red shirt...kicking the ball around the field.

Practicing stopping the ball with your foot.

Crazy busy schedules

Since the beginning of the year, we have been super busy.

I started back to work, Lilly started daycare, and Brayden started playing soccer (1st organized, team activity). Plus we have had basketball games, a friends birthday party, BB's birthday party, Grace Miles for Mission 5K meetings & planning, and a trip to the ER mixed in!

Thankfully the work & daycare stuff is going pretty well (see previous post). Brayden's soccer is also going pretty well I hear (Matt goes with him...see next post).

The ER trip was a bit scary and did not involve the kids (other than to find someone quickly to take care of them). Matt gave us a bit of a scare last weekend and on/off throughout the week. I *think* everything is fine now, but he is seeing a specialist in a few days to confirm that there is nothing major wrong going on.

Lilly is also being dedicated next weekend at church so we have lots of family & friends coming into town to be with us. I have been trying to clean up the house a bit & plan for the lunch afterwards. My dad's birthday is also next weekend, so we will be celebrating a 3rd birthday of 2012!

I am also helping to organize the 1st Annual Grace Community Church Miles for Missions 5K that will be on February 11. We are getting into crunch time now & there are lots of things to get done, but we have LOTS of people signed up to participate are are still 3 weeks away!! All of the proceeds go to local Raleigh missions. If you are in the Raleigh/Durham area and are interested in helping or participating, please let me know!!

Hopefully, once we are into the middle of February, things will settle down a bit out our house! I need a break :)

And just because...here are a few pictures of Lilly taken this weekend.

Sitting in her highchair for the 1st time.

We aren't starting any foods yet, but wanted to get her used to sitting with us at the table and sitting in the chair before starting the foods in about 1 month probably.

Playtime at our house this afternoon

Back to work...and Lilly starts daycare

Unfortunatly, I had to go back to work on January 3 (along with everyone else who had taken time off for Christmas/New Year's) and Lilly had to start daycare. Overall, things have gone really well.

I jumped right back in at work, like I hadn't ever been gone. I had tons of work to catch up on even through I had been working a bit while out on maternity leave, so I had lots to keep me busy (and my mind of where Lilly was!)

Lilly has adjusted better than I had expected to daycare life. Perhaps it is because we had gone to the building just about every day to get Brayden so the building itself was not unfamiliar. We also made several "mini" visits to her class during the month of December. The 1st visit, we stayed for about an hour & just played in her class and chatted with her teachers. The next 2 visits, I left her in the class for 30-45 minutes so that they could try giving her a bottle. I *thought* Lilly was going to take to the bottle easily, but at the beginning of December, she decided that she wanted NOTHING to do with a bottle (she had taken one multiple times prior to this). She continued to fight it during the 2 visits, but at least these days gave both Lilly & her teachers time to get to know each other. I REALLY like both of her teachers. They are both very sweet, soft-spoken ladies who love the babies in their class. Their happiness and desire to be there is evident in the way they act with the babies and with how they run the classroom. I am very comfortable with where she is and the care Lilly is receiving while I am at work.

The 1st week was a little rough with the whole bottle thing, but by Friday, Lilly had decided that the bottle was her friend! Whew! I knew that eventually she would give in, but she is a STUBBORN little thing (hmmm...wonder where she gets that from?) and I didn't want the misery to last too much longer.

Lilly ready for her 1st day of school

I think it also helped that I was able to work 1/2 days the first two weeks that I was back (thanks to working some on maternity leave). Not only was it nice for me not to have to work 8+ hours from the start, but it was nice to slowly transition Lilly into a full day at daycare. It was also nice for me to transition back into the full-time working mom status...trying to figure out how to get everything done to keep the house somewhat clean, laundry done, food on the table, etc. I think we have about figured out a schedule, but it would be helpful if Lilly would actually sleep at night :) Oh well...one day she will, right?!?!

Christmas/New Year's with the Swanners

We spent New Year's Eve this year (like we have the previous 2 years) with my best friend from growing up. Julie & Steve have a son, Wesley, who is exactly 6 months younger than Brayden. We have also decided that we this will be our traditional Christmas get-together. It works out nicely for everyone and no one feels that we HAVE to fit in another gathering during the crazy pre-Christmas weeks.


They boys play really well together even through they don't get to see each other often. This year, we went to the Swanner's house & after the boys went to bed, we played Wii. This was my 1st time ever actually playing. I had watched other people play before, but never played myself. We played until well after midnight...Just Dance 3, Golf, Bowling, and the boys played Baseball. Even though I HATE to dance, I really enjoyed making a total fool of myself doing Just Dance :) Maybe it is because I have known Julie since I was a baby or maybe it was the glass of champagne, but whatever it was, I had a great time! Thanks for hosting this year Julie, Steve, and Wesley!

*Please excuse our attire...most of us had put on our PJs to get more comfy prior to playing Just Dance.