And singing Old MacDonald with Mommy. This is the cow verse...she was saying Moo Moo.
She wanted to climb the stairs to her room all by herself. Then she turned around and gave me this cute face. She looks so much like Daddy in this picture.
By the time we made it to her room, she didn't like the camera anymore. Here is her "I'm tired, I'm grumpy, let me sleep!" face.
And so we let the princess go to bed. Goodnight!
When I ask Lily to smile for me - this is what I get. She doesn't like the flash so she squints her eyes. I love this picture because it shows all her teeth. Say cheese!
Here I am with Grandpa. We were having fun playing with Molly the Dolly and some rings. At least the shot shows my new teeth.
" Lucy burned her finger yesterday and I was reminded of our Father's love.
" Over the next four hours, we took constant care of her thumb, which was blistered badly and continuing to cause her pain. We used ice and water and cold cloths and cold breath. We gave lots of hugs as we talked about how sometimes mommies and daddies have to tell their little girls things that they shouldn't do, not because they are mad, but to help them to not get hurt.
"She would have had no idea where to turn or what to do. She didn't know that cold water and ice eased the pain, or that comfort at least lightened the load during the part where the pain wouldn't stop.
" I am learning as time goes on, however, that that time was to prepare me for this time and that when I do my best and ask in prayer to be edified, even through the busyness, the Lord teaches me what he wants me to know - when I listen.
Chasing the cat into the bathroom. Poor Daisy could only escape Lily's eager reach by jumping up on the counter. Lily soon forgot about the cat after she pinched her fingers in the drawer. Speaking of drawers....
Drawers are Lily's latest obsession. She opens every drawer she can and promptly empties the drawer of its contents. So helpful! On this day, she decided to make just enough room in the drawer to fit herself. Something tells me I won't be taking pictures of this when she's five.
And here's the princess "feeding" herself. Mommy stepped away from the high chair to scold the dog and Lily took matters into her own hands...and mouth...and hair! Notice the same pajamas in the above three photos. Lily was very busy that day.
After drawers, the next thing that captures Lily's attention the most is dog food. She is constantly trying to eat it, play with it, serve it to the dog, put it in her toys...you name it. If Mommy forgets to put up the dog food before Lily is out of bed, this is what happens. What you can't see from the photo is that Lily's cheeks are filled with dog food. 
She can stand up on her own now. It doesn't last long. She gets excited that she did it, claps for herself and falls over backwards. Then she cries and goes back to crawling. She prefers to run along the furniture, hold our hands, or hold onto the dog and walk with her. We think she'll be walking very soon.She is always falling and bonking into things now. It is so sad to see her cry and get frustrated as she's learning to walk and negotiate her surroundings. In general she is such a happy baby - always glad to meet new people and interact with others. If only she could stay a baby just a bit longer.
Lily gave herself red whiskers with a colored pencil while I was teaching piano today. She is so busy now and we have the pictures to prove it.
We've started giving Lily a bath just before bed to help her wind down. She really needed a bath after dinner tonight. Look at that mucky face.
I put bubbles in the water for the first time. She got a kick out of them. She kept trying to eat them off the surface of the water.
Doesn't she look so relaxed and ready for bed? NOT! We put her in jammies and then she wrestled with Daddy on our bed for a while. I love the look of delight on her face. She loves to play with Daddy.
Here's the girls sharing the dog kennel. This is the one place Akela used to call her own. She seems fine with sharing it now.
Lily also climbs the stairs at least once a day. I have to keep the baby gate up all the time or else I find this......
This girl has no fear!
We enjoyed a relaxing Labor Day at home this year. For dinner, we packed a picnic and took the dog and the baby down to the Boise Greenbelt. We enjoyed a beautiful walk along the Boise River and stopped to watch a volleyball tournament while we ate dinner. Lily was more interested in sampling the grass and leaves than the food Mommy packed. She loves to be outside. We love to watch her explore the world around her. It was a perfect evening.
We are really parents now! I used to see kids with boogies in their noses and think, "Gross don't their parents wipe their noses?" Now that Lily is mobile I am learning that it is difficult to catch a moving nose - forget about wiping it! Daddy was so proud of her first snot bubble that we hurried to get the camera. Here it is for your viewing pleasure. Click on the photo to see it in all its glory.
Strange. All of our other carrots have been perfect. This one reminded us of a bum and dancing legs!
Here are some more gorgeous tomatoes. I picked enough for four batches of salsa. There will be more coming on next week so I'll probably just can those to use in soups and chili during the winter. It seems a shame to have to can them. Nothing tastes better than a fresh ripe tomato, warm from the sun, right off the vine. I'm thankful for the great crop though. We only had two bushes and they've produced like crazy.
The rest of the garden is winding down. I've cleared the squash bed, except for the cucumbers. The corn developed corn smut so I cut it down and turned over the bed. I guess it didn't get enough water during the critical ear growing phase. Our last harvest will be the remaining carrots, beets, peppers, and tomatoes. I could plant some cold weather veggies, but I am ready to take a break from gardening until next summer.
