Fall

It's fall.  And I LOVE it.  I love it like I never have loved it before!  I'm not really sure why. Maybe it's because it was such a very long, very, very hot summer.  Maybe it's because I'm experiencing fall for the first time through the eyes of my almost-one-year-old daughter.  Maybe it's because we lived so far away from home for almost a decade, and last fall we moved back and had a baby, and in the madness of learning to be a parent, I missed the season.  I'm not sure why, but this year in particular I am loving fall!

September is a very full month for my family - lots of birthdays to celebrate.  We kicked things off on the 11th with Mom's birthday.  We snuck out to her work over her break with friends, cake, balloons, bears and her granddaughter.

One thing that I am very proud to report this fall is that my daughter is a bookworm.  I sit in the rocking chair in her room to cuddle her, and she reaches toward the bookcase and says "bookkk, bookkk."  Seriously!  Other than the classic "mama" and "dada" and animal sounds of all kinds, "book" is her first word.  And she really emphasizes the "k" on the end.  I guess all those hours of reading to our newborn paid off.  I just wish we would have widened her repertoire a bit more than the 10 books she lets us read her.  (If she doesn't like one, she forces it closed and reaches for another one.)   Here we are in the midst of her toys in the living room, reading.

We've really enjoyed the Huskers so far this year, especially the last game - where we outscored our opponents by something like 70 points.  Lily learned a new trick.  "Touchdown!"  And notice that she was reading her football book during the game.  Her daddy was so proud!

Lily loves dolls, and I'm so glad!  When I was growing up, I had a favorite doll and I still have her: Jolene.  She's a Cabbage Patch doll, and she was my very favorite.  Lily loves Cabbage Patch dolls too - Mom got her one for Easter, and Chase and I got her one for her birthday and she loves them!  (Yes, I am that pathetic sucker who tries the toy out with her kid the week before her birthday to be sure she'll love it when she opens it on that special day!)  Lily plays with Jolene sometimes too.  She fell alseep on the floor while playing the other night...

My dear friend Kathy Chase took pictures for us to document Lily's first year.  And here are some of my favorites.  I love this one for obvious reasons...

And what's not to love about this dear little face:

Evidently, she's not very excited to turn 1...  (and yes, that is her birthday doll, Janessa, that she played with a week before her birthday and, I am relieved to report, loved!)

And the day would not have been complete without a book to read.  This one, I feel like, is particularly pertinent as Lily's favorite animal is kitties, and this book happens to be one of the few she likes to read, The Three Little Kittens.

Friday is Lily's big day, the big O-N-E.  What a year it's been.  Cheers!