Ireland Family: Lillie's 3!!

Our sweet Lillie is 3!! I can't believe how fast the time has past. Lillie has brought us so much joy and we can not imagine our lives without her! She is an excitable, independent, creative, happy, silly, imaginative, loving, sweet, little girl. Jeremy and I are loving every minute we get with her.

The most amazing changes we have seen this year:

1. Her imagination - it is unbelievable to watch her play and then try and figure out where she gets some of the things she talks about.

2. Roll playing - she is very nurturing toward her babies and stuffed animals. She mostly pretends to be a mother and teacher. It is funny to listen to her be a teacher. I guess that is how we really hear about her day at school - like who got in trouble, how they discipline, what activities they participated in, etc.

3. Communication skills - it is unbelievable how much vocab she has picked up this year. She is talking almost completely in sentences. She is also very descriptive in her talking. Jeremy always laughs at all her adjectives. We regularly get a good laugh from her sayings, whether she is making them up as so goes along or if it is something she has picked up from somewhere. A couple of quotes we got a good laugh out of: "I just burped out of my tooshie!," "So and so is so stinking cute!"

4. Gross Motor Skills (that's from Jeremy) - he is right though - like climbing the stairs without help or us worrying about her falling. She participated in her first soccer activities and ballet classes this year. She is really enjoying both! She doesn't sit still very often which has probably helped her in this area. She jumps and dances a lot!! She is so active!

5. Her Personality/Relationships - we have been able to read her personality for sometime now but it has really blossomed even more. I'm not really sure how to explain that in more detail. She is still so social and seems to thrive in social situations. She seems to know everyone and is not shy to yell across the store or the fellowship hall at our church to anyone she wants to say hi too! She seems to really be making friends and forming friendships. She talks about specific people at school and church just about everyday. It makes her sounds so grown up!

6. Being a Big Sister! - she has done a great job since Annie's arrival. We have not had too many issues especially with or toward Annie. Lillie has done a great job being sweet with Annie and not to possessive of Mommy and Daddy when we needed to be with Annie. Lillie and Annie are starting to interact more and more everyday. We are starting to have a few minor issues but everything has seemed to be tolerable or fixable so far so we will see how it continues to go with Annie moving more and more into Lillie's world. But so far, we could have not have asked for an easier transition. Praise the Lord!

Well hopefully, this didn't come off too cheesey! We are so proud of Lillie and are having so much fun watching her grow and become a little lady! We love you so much! :)

Now, here are some pictures which are probably why you are really checking us out! :) These are what we got her. After her nap on Sunday, she opened our presents. I think they were a hit! Love her facial expressions!