Sad Day

I was so sad to learn that Baby Style has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. This is horrible news for us as we have purchased so many fabulous items for us and as gifts from this wonderful shop. Probably my favorite Baby Style item from is JillyBean's Lulu lamb chair. We propped Jilly up in the chair each week the first three months to photograph her growth then did it each month until she was a year old. Today she sits in Lulu to read to her babies.

I had purchased or received so many things from there - maternity clothes, toys, blankets, my Moses basket, baby clothes, baby shoes. It was always my go-to place when I wanted to find something a little unique.

I hope that they can pull themselves out of this but I'm sure that they won't. I was hoping to snag a few other items for Jilly's second birthday but I suppose we're out of luck.

C'ville Photographer

I am getting ready to book a spring portrait session for Jilly to mark the new season as well as a new year year. It kills me that we're not closer to Auntie April, but if I have to hire a "stranger" then I'm happy to say that I found a great one.

Dominique Attaway did some beautiful spring/Easter pictures of JillyBean last year. I think that Jilly has beautiful blue eyes on their own, but Dominique's photos made them look stunning. Seriously, the kid was dead tired but in the photos she looks so angelic. I'd love to post a picture or two from last year's session but I don't have the rights to do so. Jilly used to be on her website but she's been replaced with newer portraits of other adorable children. However, you can see a couple here on her blog (this should take you to one photo and this should take you to the other, but if not, you have to scroll to March 5, 2008 entry toward the bottom; also these aren't the best of the session. i so wish that i could share them with you).

So, if you're looking for a great local photographer for family or event photos, I highly recommend Dominique.

Sprinkled with Love

Happy Valentine's Day! JillyBean and I made some heart-shaped cookies this week for our play group's party on Friday. Jilly put the sprinkles on. We were going to frost them but ran short of time and the sprinkles were much quicker. They turned out yummy, just ask her buddy Daniel who kept grabbing one each time he walked by the goodie table. It's nice to know that your work is appreciated, especially by toddlers who can be picky about what they eat.

The party on Friday was fun. As a last-minute change in plans, we sort of hosted it at our neighborhood's community house. It worked out really well and everyone had a good time. Jilly especially enjoyed licking the icing off of not one, but two cupcakes. I don't think that she took one bite of the cake but that's OK.

All of the kids exchanged cards and it was really sweet looking through them. I have in mind that I need to become a bit more crafty and create a scrapbook for Jilly that has all of her cards and artwork in it, but I can't get organized enough to do it. I have all of the stuff, it's just a matter of taking the time to sit down and do it.

We hope that everyone has a fabulous day. Beanie Nana and Doc are in town and have graciously agreed to babysit so that Beanie Dad and I can go out to dinner.

Shifting Gears

I have changed my mind about Jilly's birthday party. As much as I am in love with the pony/petting farm party idea I decided that it would be best to wait until next year. For one, the time that we can have a party would probably exclude some of her friends. Some of the parents are a bit more strict about weekend nap times than we are and I don't want to plan a party and have half the people not show because it falls in that time frame. Also, as much as I know that Jilly would love the animals, I don't want to scare a bunch of two-year-old kids who may like the idea of animals but not so big and not so close up. So, we'll save that party until she's three.

Instead we're going to do a Little Gym party. JillyBean had Little Gym today and on a whim I asked about their parties. Turns out that it will work out really well. A couple of friends had wanted to have parties there but they were booked. Luckily the Saturday and Sunday before her big day are available and the times are better so that we don't have a bunch of sleepy, grumpy toddlers.

So I have shifted gears and decided that since it will be a fun, active event that the theme will be monkeys. I found this invitation and I think that it's adorable. I like the "tu tu" reference as well and can use it to build on the fact that she'll be two.

These cupcakes are adorable and will work well with the theme. I think that it will be fun. The kids will get a chance to play, dance and sing for the first hour then the last part will be pizza and cupcakes. Maybe we can find a little pin-the-tail-on-the-money game.

Two Years....Almost

JillyBean turns two in April. Yes, it's a month-and-a-half away, but I wouldn't be me if I weren't already planning a party.

Last year's party took place in Tennessee and was for family and close friends who we rarely get to see. Yeah, there were more than 30 people at the bash. It was a pink and green affair with a frog theme. Bean LOVES frogs.

I had wanted the woman who made our wedding cake to make JB's birthday cake, but she was unavailable and recommended one of her students. She did a fabulous job making a lemon "smash" cake for Jilly decked with pink icing and a green frog sitting on top of a lily pad. All of the guests got to eat pink, green and chocolate cupcakes that were awesome.

This year I am somewhat conflicted by what to do. Her birthday falls just before Easter (she was born on Easter Sunday) and we will probably visit Beanie Dad's family in Tennessee to celebrate the holiday. Do we want another family-only party or do I want to host a party with her friends the week before Easter? I'm leaning toward a friend party.

Beanie Nana gave Jilly a pair of red cowboy boots for Christmas and Beanie Grandma had given her a skirt that has cows and horses on them. She's really into cows and horses these days so I found a nearby horse farm that hosts kid birthday parties. It seems like a blast - the kids can take pony rides and pet the farm animals. I asked the woman if it's too much for a bunch of two-year-olds and she said that they have hosted several parties for kids that young. They only host parties in the afternoon since they give riding lessons in the mornings. I think that it will be fun, even if Bean won't really remember it. But that's what pictures are for, right?

Thinking of this theme has led me to do a bit of searching for items to fit it. Right now I am leaning toward invitations that have a vintage cowgirl on them. I think that they're adorable. I found a few others that have farm animals on them or horses, but this little girl kind of reminds me of Jilly, only with brown hair.

I also love these cakes:

Am I going a bit overboard for a toddler's birthday? Probably. But the way I see it, I only have a year or two more where I'm in complete control....

Lazy Daze

We had a touch of snow yesterday that went away fairly quickly but was pretty to look at for a couple of seconds. Still, it's icky cold outside but Jilly has found plenty of ways to entertain herself. It's kind of funny because she is all of a sudden "rediscovering" her toys after being away from them for nearly a month.

One of her favorite thing to do these past two days is lounge in the chair my parents got her for Christmas and read or watch Little Einsteins. She loves this chair. When she's not in it she places her babies in it where she "feeds" them snacks or reads to them.

It's funny because I often hear parents say that this age is their favorite or that age is their favorite. I can't say that I have enjoyed one stage of JillyBean's life more or less than another. Each day, week and month brings on some new development. At this point Jilly has become very happy entertaining herself. It is so cute to watch her imagination grow and develop as she talks to her toys and puts them in certain situations. She cooks for her babies. She reads to them. She rocks them. She has them interact with each other.

Before Christmas she decided that her favorite toy was an empty diaper box. She would load her stuffed animals in it and pretend that it was a bus. Being the clever mom that I am (/sarcasim) I wrapped the box in yellow paper and drew wheels, lights and windows on it.
She still plays with the bus but now each "passenger" has to sit facing forward; no more piling the animals in on top of each other. She has a system.

The development of the imagination is something that fascinates me. Where does the inspiration come that creates these little worlds of hers? It also makes me wonder what she will be like as her communication skills improve and grow.

Loss

It's been more than a month since I posted. Part of the delay was the holidays, then JillyBean and I had plans to visit my parents the first week of January. I had great plans to return in January with lots of things to share but my father died unexpectedly and, well, we're just getting back on track.

Jilly and I had been with my parents for a week. We left their place on Wednesday, Jan. 14, and I called mom when we got to the airport in Dallas where we were making our connection on to Virginia. All was fine. Less than 20 minutes later, as we were about to board our plane, she called to say that my dad died. It was a complete shock. Jilly and I we able to get a flight back to Oklahoma City an hour later. It was a miserable trip but easier than if we were making it from Virginia. Poor Jilly had no clue what was going on. She'd walk by my parents' bedroom, peek in and call for Pa Paw since that's where she last saw him (he was in bed when we left for the airport but they gave each other a goodbye kiss and said "I love you"). In fact, the last thing my dad said to me was to be sure that I take care of "that little girl." It makes me wonder if he knew what was happening to him.

My dad had been living with MS for more than 20 years. He was weak and felt miserable, but he wasn't ever sick. He apparently died of heart failure and we are fairly sure that was brought on by some new medication he was given. Basically he was drugged to death - at least that's our belief. I had always known that my dad wasn't doing well but never really thought that he would die anytime soon.

We buried him at the Santa Fe National Cemetery, which is where my grandfather is buried, where my grandmother will be buried and my aunt will be buried alongside her husband who passed nearly 10 years ago. It was a completely surreal event. As we made our way to New Mexico, mom told me that she had always thought that we'd be making that trip for my 92-year-old grandmother and not my 65-year-old dad. I was a total daddy's girl. As a kid we were extremely close and did a ton together. He taught me to play softball and coached my teams from the time that I was 7 years old until I was a junior in high school. We shared the same love of music and movies. He always took up for me and fought a few battles that he shouldn't have but of which I am eternally grateful.

So in an attempt to keep this from being a completely downer post I will share a memory that I will be sure to remind Jilly about time and time again.

For some reason, Jilly can't get enough of the movie The Polar Express. It was on TV one night before Christmas so I recorded it onto the DVR and she sat through the whole thing with the utmost attention. It's the only thing on TV that holds her attention like that. We watched the silly movie about a half dozen times between that first night and Christmas. My dad had the movie on DVD so on Saturday he and Jilly watched it together. I made chicken and dumplings for dinner and neither of them would join us at the table so we set up TV trays so that they could watch the movie together while eating. Both had at least two bowls of chicken and dumplings. When it was over, Jilly just smiled at my dad then gave him a huge hug and repeated "choo choo" (what she calls the movie) as her way of saying how much she loved the movie. I believe that it was the first time that my dad had watched it as well.

So, now we have the DVD and Jilly can watch it whenever she wants and when it comes on she says Pa Paw, recalling that they watched it together.

It breaks my heart that Jilly won't know her grandfather and that he won't see her grow into a woman, but I treasure the fact that we were there before he died.