Luh Yoo Mama

I've got no challenge topic today, either. I'll do the photo ones, I promise, just as soon as I can get blogger to cooperate and put my photos where I want them in my blog. If I could get the hang of this and supplement my rambling with photos, I feel like you'd be much more amused. One day. Maybe this weekend I'll have a spare few minutes to give myself a tutorial. Until then, I apologize for subjecting you to endless text. Maybe I should start doing a quiz at the end, or nominating a reader of the week like Courtney at Cowboy Cookies does.

1. Lily's word of the evening last night: Fish. Her new word this morning: Shoe. Also, she said something I have been waiting almost a year (and the 9 months I was growing her) to hear. I told her "I love you" and she looked up at me, smiled, patted my cheek and said "Luh yoo maamaa" I melted into a big puddle of proud, mushy, gooey, sappiness and cried. After she said that, she pointed to my foot and said "Shoe!" and burst out laughing. I love her so much that it kills me to leave her every day. I just cherish what time we do have together.

2. JP and I did the Dave Ramsey Financial Peace University Home Study program in Oct/Nov. I calculated it today, and we've paid off $10,000 in debt since October. We still have about another $10,000 to go (about half of that is our car) and then we'll have nothing but the house. Remember those bad financial decisions I talked about in the "regret" blog? They're almost gone. I'm really glad they're almost gone, and I am still ashamed for bringing that to my marriage. Instead of debt, I wish I would've brought a fat savings account. C'est la vie. There's not much I can do now, except pay it off and try to instill financial intelligence in my daughter. It's been a hard lesson, and one I've had to burdern JP with, as well, but we've both learned a lot and have big plans for our financial future.

3. I am starting to get excited about Lily's birthday party. A lot of our closest friends will be there, and I can't wait to see how much fun she has. I'm sad she's almost a year old, and I don't know where the time has gone, but I know I can't stop her from growing. This year has brought us so much. I'm looking forward to seeing how how she grows and changes in the next year. We are so blessed by having her in our lives. This time last year I was wondering what we would do with her, and how our lives would never be the same. It's true, life is totally different than it was last year, but it's such a good different. It's hard to remember what it was like without her.

4. This entry should probably just be titled "Lily" because, so far, 3 of the 4 posts are directly about her, and the other even mentions her. So, some of you may know, she hates chocolate. I think this is completely crazy, considering A. she's female and B. she comes from a long line of chocolate lovers on both sides of the family. I let her try a brownie a few weeks ago, and she gagged so hard she caused herself to throw up. She always wants to try what we're eating, and every time it's chocolate, she gags and/or throws up. Well, last night JP went to Sonic and brought me back a chocolate milkshake. Lily likes milkshakes, so I gave her a taste. That little booger drank half my milkshake and CRIED when it was all gone!

5. Today, Lily rode in her big girl car seat for the first time. I wasn't there to see it. She rode to her D-Daddy and B-B's house with her Daddy in the forward facing big girl seat. Can you tell how sad it makes me that she's growing up? I hate missing big events in her life, and to me, the first time in her big girl seat is a big event!

6. I love springtime. It's probably my favorite time of the year. I love it when everything is sprouting, budding, and growing. HOWEVER...I HATE what it does to my allergies!! So spring is my favorite time of the year, and my least favorite time of the year. There's that Gemini duplicity again.

That, my friends, is that. We've gone from one end of my brain to the other. Until tomorrow!!!