6 Months Old!

Lily Ruth is 6 months old today. That's half a year! I can hardly believe it! What a different baby from the one we brought home in July. We're so blessed to have such a happy little girl who's brought so much joy to our lives.

A Happy Half Birthday card from the church.

We celebrated the big day with cake. Well, Mama and Daddy did. Lily was mesmerized by the candle.

Hitting the slope.

We got a big pile of snow in our front yard again this year. Phil hasn't been able to make his igloo but I was glad to see that Mt. Hale is not going to waste. These boys found a good use for it!

Snowboarding. Wish I'd thought of that!

Wearing things.

Does she need them? Maybe not. Are they the cutest things you've ever seen on feet? Definitely!

I can't help it, she's just so pretty in a headband!

She even makes daddy's gloves look pretty!

Lily News.

Lily is starting to sit up all by herself.

She's still kind of wobbly so the Boppy really comes in handy.

Daddy found out just how wobbly she is.

Fish from the ice.

Phil had a big day ice fishing! See what he brought home for mama!

I prefer they look this way.

A Ponytail and pretty dress.

I couldn't resist doing something with that long patch of hair Lily has. Phil wants to cry when I do this because she looks like a little girl instead of his 2 week old itty bitty baby.

A new dress from Grandpa and Grandma Hale.

Daddy's Girl.

Hanging out on the floor with PopPop.

Lily had some things to discuss with us and called a family meeting.

Daddy thought she was just being cute and wasn't taking her seriously. She didn't like this.

Having straightened him out, it was back to business. She just wanted to know why she didn't get that big screen tv she asked for for Christmas.

One of Lily's favorite books, "What's Wrong Little Pookie?"

Thanks for the winter hat Grandmere!

Mmmmm.

Lily is eating big girl food now. Her favorites are carrots and applesauce.

She's getting very good at keeping food in her mouth, until she starts blowing "bubbles" then it's every man for himself.

A yummy banana in mesh. These things are great!

The Shack by William P. Young

My review

A neighbor has given this to me and wants my opinion. I just started it and I'm trying to keep an open mind but I was very skeptical of a book with a glowing review from Michael W. Smith.


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Interview With the Vampire by Anne Rice

My review

rating: 2 of 5 stars
I had to read this after getting into the Twilight series, you know, for some "real" vampire lit. Well, Ms. Rice is a very good writer, but I think I'll stick with Stephanie Meyer. Maybe I missed something, but I can do with out despairing vamps for a while.


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Guilty Secrets.

I came across confessions of guilty secrets by some moms while looking at "www.reallygoodmom.com". I got a laugh from some of them I thought I'd share. (I've not read this book by the way, so I can't endorse it, I just that it looked interesting.)

"I let my kid eat stale pretzels off the floor of the car. I justify it by saying it helps his immune system."
"I have potato chips and soda pop for breakfast while feeding my 6-month-old her organic, homemade baby food."
"I make the my 2,6, and 9 year olds watch TV downstairs everyday from 4-5:30 p.m. so I can watch Oprah upstairs and drink 1 glass and sometimes 2 glasses of wine so I can "prep" myself for the evening: cooking dinner, 3 baths, dinner dishes, homework,lunches for school,bedtime stories x3,making a to do list for the next freaking day and finally bed for myself. I do this every night, the kids know it's mommy time while Oprah is on and they will be flattened like pancakes if they come upstairs."

I guess mine would be letting Lily watch The Bachelor with me while she's having her bottle. I'm a terrible mother!

Dangerously Cold.

Just wanted to let everyone know that we're still alive up here in the "bitter cold". I did have to get out of the house today to return a library book and get some eggs from Les and the 20 seconds I was out of the car just about did me in. You can't imagine how cold 1 degree is and if there's a breeze, you don't want to know. Especially if you're not wearing your long undies. Phil said he felt like his legs were on fire while he pumped gas this morning. He was wearing his long undies. We had an eventful day on Monday with the strong winds, snow and "low" temperatures. Our emergency vehicles were going left and right or North and South I should say. Cars and pickups stuck everywhere, highways shut down and no shortage of accidents in our larger towns. Our big news was about 3 feet of snow on our front porch. While it's "dangerously cold" outside, it's a cozy 67 in the house so we're (me and Lily) are staying put. Poor Daddy has to keep working, cold weather doesn't give Pastor a day off. Here is our forecast for tomorrow:

"We're looking at one of the coldest nights of the season tonight with lows dipping to record territory and wind chills staying dangerous. Wind chill warnings and advisories are in effect for all of Siouxland as it will feel anywhere from 20 to 35 degrees below zero. Actual lows will be hovering around -20° with highs tomorrow struggling to reach 0°. The good news is that warming is around the corner with some 30s possible by the weekend."

Tonight: Bitter wind chills and temperatures. Low: -20 Winds: NW 5-15 mph

Hmmm, "some 30s possible by the weekend"!! Last one in the pool's a rotten egg!

And here's some more news from our area.

Mess remains after 29-vehicle pileup

For a period of time Monday afternoon, being on any road was the last place to be. “The conditions were absolutely horrible,” said Dodge County Sheriff’s Deputy Dave Rathjen. “I couldn’t see in front of my cruiser.” Rathjen’s patrol car was involved in one of at least nine accident calls Monday afternoon, but he wasn’t involved in a monster pileup on U.S. Highway 30 near its intersection with West 23rd Street in Fremont. The crash involved two jackknifed semi-trucks and a 25-car pileup with two other semi-trucks. “It was whiteout conditions at times,” he said. “There was very, very strong winds. If you were walking, the winds would push you from one side of the highway to the other.”

Also, did anyone else see the American Idol audition by a girl from Norfolk, NE? That's right down the road from us! Well, 45 minutes from us, but so is everything and apparently around here that's considered "right down the road". Don't worry though, I've never met anyone as scary as her in these parts. What you might want to worry about is that I'm watching American Idol for the 18th year in a row. Sorry.

It's January.

We'll have a high of 5 degrees here tomorrow folks. 5 degrees.

Story Time with Daddy.

Lily and Daddy enjoy a story from The Pooh Story Book before bed.


Holding hands.



Getting sleepy.

And she slept and she slept and she slept. She had a tiring day.

Cloudy and Cold Day Cookie Party

We had a much needed Cloudy and Cold Day Cookie Party last weekend. It was a blast. Host your own sometime, here's all you'll need.

1) A cloudy cold day. (See above. The snow is not required.)

2) Cookies. I strongly recommend chocolate chip for a really good party.

3) A good book to read. Or in this case a not so good book but one I still have to finish.

4) And a friend to share the cookies with....or not. Either way you've still got a party.

2009

Happy New Year!