5 months old!

How sweet our Lily grows!

my little birds

Bayli has a book that she loves to read to me, The Little White Owl.    It is the courageous tale of a lone little owl that sets off into the world to see what is out beyond the realm of what he knows.

"For days the little white owl flew- over turquoise oceans and deserts of gold.  Then he spotted the prettiest trees, sprinkled with tiny jewels, so down, down, down he swooped-but wait...these jewels had beaks! They were owls-beautiful owls!  Owls just like him!"

But like so many things in life, the pretty owls did not want to be bothered by someone so different from them.

"How very plain you are...No colors at all...You don't belong with us."

The brave little owl persevered, trying to show the other owls  the beauty within.

"But I do have colors!...Here-in my heart! And bumping up and down in me are lots of happy stories."

I love how it displays that there are physical differences in us.  But, being able to recognize the glow in each individual is what truly sets us apart.

I keep being reminded about this sweet little tale when I look at my little children.  Who, since Lily's arrival, I have affectionately called my three little birds (I love Bob Marley.  Now Lily has her own  lullaby).  They have similarities in their appearance, but it is their little personalities that set them apart.  Bayli is my little talker.  Language and reading have always come easy for her.  Chase is my little intellectual.  He is a little thinker, analyzing objects to figure out how they work.  Then there is Lily (who we are still figuring out), my sweet little observer.  She watches those around her, mesmerized by the simple things in life. 

It is hard not to compare each child, to look back on each stage and milestone.  I constantly have to remind myself  that it doesn't matter.  They are unique.  If they all did things the same, life would be less of a challenge.

Here is to the sweet little birds in my life.  I love the three of you with all my heart.  I hope that you stop me if I ever start comparing you one with another.

mommy and the littlest bird

Lily's cute little owl hat that Grandma Carol made.

Christmas

Christmas around here was kind of crazy, in fact the entire month of December was crazy!  It is going to take us a while to catch up, if we ever do.

Highlights from the annual Atherley Family Christmas Eve party:

Theme: Christmas in July.
BBQ for dinner, complete with picnic tables.
Glow sticks for fireworks.
Chase was super excited about his first 'real' Lego set-a dump truck.
Lily received some very cute booties.  (Seriously, only one picture of my baby on her first Christmas?  Third child syndrome already in effect.)
Bayli loved the new jewelry box!
Finally, everyone loved their home made PJs from Grandma.

Christmas morning brought much joy to our home.  That joy is stuck in the video camera, and will remain there.
Chase LOVED the awesome activity table that Jed made him.  He classified his gifts as either table worthy or for mom.  The items he loved (Legos, train set, big rig with trailer, and Zhu Zhu pet)  were placed on the table.  Clothing and books were given to mom.

Bayli loved, everything.  Especially her Panda Bear Pillow Pet.  Say that five times fast. 

As we do every year, we had breakfast at Grandpa and Grandma Dixon's on Christmas morning.  The kids were super hyped up from the joyful mornings they each had at their own homes, it was LOUD.
Chase was upset that he didn't get a Nerf gun like the older boys.  Thankfully he has a very sweet cousin who is always willing to share and play with him.  The little gun made his morning.
Lily received some more super cute handcrafted hats from Grandma.  I am so glad that my mom has such a cute Grand-baby to doll up. 
Bayli loved her hedgehog Zhu Zhu pet and purple cheetah print petiskirt (who wouldn't love that?).

On our way home Christmas night, Bayli told us that her favorite part about  Christmas is being with family.  I would like to think that she was telling the truth and not just what we wanted to hear; but, I really think that the presents weren't too bad either.

a lamb makes our family complete

We are very lucky to have some of the cutest stockings around.  They are 5 of a set of 20...PRICELESS!!!
Shortly after Jed and I were married (over 12 years ago-yikes), my mother-in-law Bev approached me with what I thought at the time was a strange inquiry  "what do you want on your stocking?"

We were still puppy dog eyed, in school, and flighty.  I thought of all of the traditional Christmas characters and picked my favorite at the time, an angel.  But, Bev said no to the angel, they already had an angel in the family-her.  I remember thinking to myself, we could both have an angel, my stocking will be at my home not hers.  That was before she pulled out the four stockings that she still had at her home (Dan's, Bev's, Jed's, and Leah's) and proceeded to give me a detailed description of each.  When she was done with the four, she began to describe the other five that were now in different homes.  After the lengthy walk down memory lane, no pun intended, I again remember thinking "why does it matter what I pick,  I will be fine with whatever."

So I thought, "what else do I like?"  My next suggestion was a moose.  But that was shot down because it was too close to the reindeer that was sporting my father-in-laws name.  Scratch that off.  "Hmmm, what else do I like?  A Whale!!!"  I am pretty sure that Bev thought that was the craziest idea ever, merely by the look on her face.  "A whale, how am I going to make a whale?"

So with a whale set as my stocking character, I was in charge of finding a picture for her to base it off.  I found the perfect picture in  Stephen Cosgrove's Maui-Maui from the Serendipity Series.  I loved those books when I was a kid.

A few months later, I was presented my whale stocking and Jed was given his duck never to return to the nest...how ironic is that? 
And as each new addition to the Atherley family arrived, the collection grew.
To our own portion of the Atherley family we added a bunny and a dog.

On Thanksgiving Day, we were presented with what will most likely be the last addition to the collection.

 Little Lily, number 10 grandchild and number 20 in the Atherley's, was given a sweet lamby.  Complete with puff balls and a manger, it is truly unique, as are the other 19.

Hanging our stockings is by far our most favorite portion of decorating for Christmas.  They are so lovely, unique, and yes... priceless.

 Over the years we have received a lot of beautifully handmade gifts from Jed's mom, but I believe the stockings are our favorite.  We will cherish them always.

did you check your mail?

 

"What do we love about Christmas;
Does our delight reside in things?
Or are the feelings in our hearts
The real gift that Christmas brings.It's seeing those we love,
And sending Christmas cards, too,
Appreciating people who bring us joy
Special people just like you."By Joanna Fuchs 

Merry Christmas from us to you!

santa, to love or hate, that is the question...

Just a guess, but I think he places Santa in the dislike category.  Or maybe he was just embarrassed by the mess all down his shirt.

 Yeah, he pretty much had his fingers nervously placed in his mouth the entire time the red man was in sight. 

 And by her body posture, folding her arms to prove she is a good kid, this little gal LOVES that jolly old man.  It never hurts to try to make a last effort and impress Santa.

hula hoop versus eye

who won, you ask?

 

the hula hoop

brunch

The other morning, we were late getting our morning routine done.  We told Bayli that we would be having brunch instead.

She inquired what this brunch term meant.

I explained that it is a meal that people often have in between breakfast and lunch.

She pondered about it throughout the day.

In the evening she came to me and said, "Mom, do you know what meal is between lunch and dinner?"

I replied, "what?"

"CUNCH!!!"

I am so glad that she is so innocent and doesn't know that half the things she comes up with sound... not so good.

4 months old

Lily is such a good baby.  She is always smiley and happy in the morning.  She chatters and loves when we giggle and smile at her.  She is starting to get the beginning of her laugh, we can't wait to hear the rest.  Mommy is her favorite person, she watches her like a hawk whenever she is in the room.  She is starting to respond a little to her name, turning her head to see where the voice is coming from.  She loves when her brother and sister play with her.  She doesn't like to take very long naps, which makes her kind of cranky in the evening.  She finds her hands fascinating and tasty. 
Stats:
13 lbs 9 oz
24.6 inches

How sweet our Lily grows!