earning her keep

it was about time lilyanna started putting in some effort around here, so first up was helping papa with yard work. this was a few weeks ago.

then, last week, she helped mimi with the floors.

on valentine's day she was back at the yard work. she looks like the best dressed yard worker i have ever seen! 

what a hard working little girl!

outdoor play

if there's one thing you can guarantee in a day with lilyanna, it's that she always wants to go outside. i love that she has a fondness for being outside. she loves sunshine and wind. she loves looking at everything from leaves to rocks to birds. of course she wants to touch everything, including those birds! the outdoor love doesn't stop at sun down either. lilyanna always wants to go outside at night to look at (and touch!) the moon and stars too. i can't wait to take her camping someday.

we took these photos on valentines day. she enjoyed a ride in the radio flyer. 

 and then had a ride on this toy, which was rather difficult for daddy!

happy valentine's day!

we didn't do much to celebrate today, but i did get lilyanna a few treats. one was this balloon---which she loves! this was our best shot at a posed photo to remember the day. and just as i said on facebook: it's pretty good for a girl who's grampy says she looks like a pingpong ball and who's auntie is amazed at the calories we burn in 5 minutes during skype calls! she is one active girl, but we love her anyway! 

her presents:

   taking the first one over to daddy for some help:

  

getting into the stickers! 

 and the second present was her favorite: goldfish!

 our first attempt at a posed photo went terribly wrong, as lilyanna became scared of the chair. i wanted to show you this photo, though, because of the lips! wowie!

 of course one attempt involved the thumb!

 and lastly a hug! everytime we left the room today lilyanna had to say "by-bye balloon"! she is too cute!

lilyanna is getting sweeter and more enjoyable as the days pass. she not only had to say bye to her balloon all day today, but after getting ready for bed tonight, she wanted to say "night-night" to the stars! 

happy valentine's day, lilyanna! you are an amazing girl and we love you very, very much!

i did it!

this morning lilyanna mastered the skill of sticking her lego flowers together. here it is:

more silly.....

again, this pretty girl.....

 .....can make some silly faces!

 hahahaha! she looks like what i imagine elvis looked like squinting at the sun!

upside down

my pretty girl.....

 .....being a bit silly before bed the other night!

 peek-a-boo!

forgotten photos

i completely forgot to put up these photos from last week. again, we were playing at the pond. other than our own yard, it's the best place to go within walking distance. lilyanna loves the ducks so much and there's lots of space for hr to run around. 

 washed out from the bright sun, (which we enjoyed so much that day), but still a sweet photo.

 what are those birds squawking about now?? the geese are so loud!

 just so pretty! i shouldn't say that about my own kid so much, but i can't help myself sometimes!

 again the sunshine washed out a great photo.....but we love it, so welcome to our photo, sun!

 looking for more feathers. one, or two is never enough. must have many!

 me and my gal!

 off again!

 examining and discovering.....

my thumb-sucking diva!

this morning on our way out the door to go grocery shopping, lilyanna looked so cute, i had to snap a quick photo. of course she was sucking her thumb! so many people love to interact with her when we go out. i love how much other people enjoy her!

then it had warmed up by the afternoon and she looked cute again when we were about to go out for a walk. she even asked for that flower to be put in her hair! and of course, the thumb again! she seems to be taking after her cousin, mallory! 

  and i snapped a few more:

oh the posing! 

a happy clapping girl!

playing in the yard

we spent some time out in the yard today. just running around and looking at things. lilyanna is quite fond of leaves. she likes to hold one when we go for a walk or pick them up around the yard. here she is trying to give me one:

these plants have some kind of berries on them that lilyanna likes to pick and throw. i have to watch her quite closely as she plays with them though, as she likes to put them in her mouth! yikes! everything has to go in her mouth. (yuck!) she is so unaware of how dangerous some things are. she has so much fun with the little "balls", that i love watching her play, but i am trying to teach her that not everything can be tasted. it's not an easy thing to teach a 16 month old! we'll get there, though.

 here is a video of her having some fun:

love it! love it!

yesterday i took lilyanna to the playground. she was so excited when she realized where we were, that she began squealing, and saying "whee! whee!", (which is what she calls a slide since that's what we say when she goes down one!) and that was quickly followed by "love it! love it!" it was the best thing i have heard her say in a long time. the genuine excitement was awesome. she has never said "love it" (unprompted) to anything yet, aside from saying "love it" to daddy on her way to bed, in return to him saying "i love you"! ha! it was so cute!

here she is about to attack the slides:

 let the fun begin!

 wheeeee!

 i love her!

 we tried the swings again. not even liking them a bit yet. she actually hates the swings. she wanted all the kids to get "down", not just her. she was scared for them. too funny! 

 she is trying to figure out what the fun is all about. she just doesn't get the swing fun, yet.

 spin! out of all the 9 fruits and veggies in the pictures, lilyanna knew 7 of them. way to go smart girl!

this playground will be a regular stop for us, i'm sure!