Lily's Life: 22 months!

This past month has been a whirlwind! We've had some pretty awesome moments....like hearing the news from the oncologist that Maw Maw is in remission and she only has 2 chemo treatments left!! We have gone to visit family in Olive Branch, started working for a couple of friends (babysitting and cleaning house), spent time with Joe's mom, got to see friends from Pennsylvania and China, put all of Lily's old "stuff" all of our "stuff" in a consignment sale, had a few playdates with Lily's friends, went swimming at the local pool, had many trips to the park, library and Church....and had some really special moments with our girl. I want time to stop so I can savor it more but it's like trying to hold sand....you just can't control it and it slips away. So, the Lord has reminded me time and time again (no pun intended) that I need to stop and enjoy the "small things" - well, what we would call the small things. Rock my baby, read her books, play playdoh when she begs to play AGAIN, remember that the house being clean is not as important as spending quality time with my husband and my daughter. I can't control time but I can control how I will spend it. So, in the past month I have managed to keep some notes of the sweet/funny/surprising/smart/dramatic, ETC! things that we saw and heard our little girl do. So, if you want to skip my babbling and get right to the pictures of sweetness....you can scroll down :) If not, here's Lily at 22 months:

Favorite things to do - playdoh, stacking things, finger painting, arts and crafts projects, cooking with Mommy, "helping Daddy" fix things, letting Naaman (our cat) come into the house to "play", watching her shows (Mickey Mouse, Max and Ruby, Wonder Pets, Sesame Street), play the piano at Maw Maw's house and sing while she plays, listening to her cd in the car (with all her favorite songs and she will let you know which one she wants to hear), play hide and seek, reading books, trying to put her clothes on "by herself"
Favorite foods - hummus, pickles, popsicles, beans, almond milk, almonds, blueberries, pancakes, cheese, apples, and discovered that she likes olives this month
She is so smart....here are a few "conversations" that we've had recently-

drove up to the gas station and I stayed in the car while Joe got out and she said "Daddy pay....for gas"
before bathtime she will take her diaper off and go to put it in the pail and knows how to put her clothes in the hamper (if only I can teach her Daddy to do that :) )
one morning we were over at Maw Maw's house when she wasn't there and Lily spotted a piece of candy. I told her that she would have to ask Maw Maw about that when she got home. After about 4 hours when she showed up that was the first thing Lily asked her when she walked in the door! How can she remember something after such a long time??
Wonder Pets was coming on and I said "I don't think we've seen this one" and she said "is it new one?"
I asked her who made the flowers and she said "God did"
she does the hand movements for "Where is Thumpkin" and "Wheels on the Bus" and "Eensy Weensy Spider"
sings (pretty clearly) - Thumpkin, Twinkle Twinkle, Jesus Loves Me, Are you Sleepy, Old McDonald, He's got the Whole World, Elmo's World, Wonder Pets, BINGO, Sesame Street
reading a book and she pointed out the girl's "polka dots"
kept pointing to something behind her changing table saying "kite" and I thought I wasn't understanding her....but I was. she was pointing to a yard sign that I had for her 1st birthday that said "Birthday Princess" - calling it a kite. I got it out for her and she held it up and said "can I float on it" while she was holding it in the air
she was in the bathtub on her tummy and she said "I'm swimming backwards" (and she was!)
when we were at the playground she was coming down the steps and she said "11, 12, 13, 14"
met Maw Maw's next door neighbor one time and later that afternoon we mentioned someone being outside and she said "is it Chase"
has begun sitting on the potty but it's mostly just for play at this point
started recognizing shapes (circle and triangle)
knows her colors

She is so funny and keeps us laughing -

sometimes when we are eating dinner (usually when we are having dinner with someone!) she has some interesting table conversation....like "are you pooping?"
Joe was giving her a bath and he said "you have a boo boo on your boody" and she said "what color is it?" and he said "it's red" and she said "take a picture of it"
I was rocking her to sleep one night and she started singing Jesus Loves Me and when I laid her down in her crib she said "rub back Mommy" and I began to rub but when my arm got tired I started patting and she said "I don't like that"
I was getting some of my clothes ready for the consignment sale and she came in and looked and said "those Tammy's?" (my sister in law who dresses so nicely....and all the clothes I had laid out to sell were dresses and suits :) Guess Lily is used to seeing me in tshirts and capris and she assumed those couldn't be my clothes)
I was keeping John Michael and when I laid him down for his nap I took his clothes off and he just had his diaper on. When he woke up Lily was excited to go in and see him and she started saying "he's naked....he needs his shirt on" (and she was adimant about it!)
Joe was changing her diaper and he said "shoooo weee" Lily: "is it stinky?" Joe: "yes" Lily:"what color is it? Joe: "black" Lily: "can I touch it?"
when we are cooking and the butter bowl is within reach I can count on her trying to put her hand in it to get as much as possible!
they have handprints painted on the wall at the park and we were walking by them and she said "they're giving me 5"
at the splash pad she wanted the water to stop spraying through the tunnel so she could run through it (she doesn't like water in her face!) and she said "open it Mommy" as if I could magically "open" the water
when she's in the bathtub washing her hair she likes to make different styles out of it and she looks in the mirror and says "like Maw Maw's" (speaking of Maw Maw's wig)
saw a poodle the other day and she said "is it a noodle?"
when Naaman is purring she calls it "mou...ing"
quotes lines from her shows -

"Perfect" (Ruby)
"Let's hopscotch" (Ruby)
"Good eye Tuck" (Wonder Pets)
"Good idea Tuck" (Wonder Pets)
"Swiper, no swiping" (Dora)

And one of the most memorable moments of this month was a few days ago when I sat down in the floor by her chair and she put her arm around me and sighed and said "My mommy"