She ain't heavy, she's my baby...

Well, Lily just had her 18 month checkup, and the doctor confirmed what we thought we already knew-Miss Lily is quite the specimen of a long, lean, crayon-snatchin' machine.

"I love Cabela's as much as my daddy!"
Lily is 34 inches tall, that's 2 foot 10 if you don't feel like doing the math. Sound big? That's because the average 2 year old is 34 inches. Lily is in the top 3% in height for kids her age. Her weight is just above average; I've been a little worried about her weight, mainly because I have to put her in 24 month outfits so the legs will be long enough, but they always look loose. Also, I see other kids around her age with chubby dimpled everything, and I think "Yes, please!" According to Lily's wonderful pediatrician, her height and weight are following normal growth patterns, and she's just built to be tall and thin. As I was still somewhat convinced that feeding her the same things I eat (well, you know, except I give her whole fat dairy and more snacks) was somehow keeping her too thin, I joked that I nearly resorted to supplementing her meals with butter-frosted cookies and slim jims. He reassured me that providing her with whole healthful meals and plenty of snacks is the best way to go, and that if she is given fattier/processed foods, she'll actually end up eating less (since kids eat until they're satisfied and no more.) I love the way the pediatrician always ends our visits with a nice pat on the back and a reassurance that we're doing a good job with her.

"Gobble gob...brrr"
For the first time, we joined the Reyes side of our family for Thanksgiving tailgating at the Cowboys Stadium. With the enclosed tents, space heaters, and full turkey dinner, it was actually nice and cozy. But Lily decided she wanted to run around in the nearly freezing weather, so she and I didn't make it through the game.

Because my sister Jessica is expecting at the first of next year, she won't be able to travel to Dallas from Austin for Christmas. We decided to celebrate Christmas early over the Thanksgiving weekend. A few days beforehand, Lily, Julie and I helped Mom put the tree together and pull out Christmas decorations. We got into the Christmas spirit by placing Bandit's reindeer antler and bell set on the baby.

Also in the "isn't this why you had children" vein, we took turns with this snappy wig my mom had in the back of her closet. Here, Julie models the look complete with a Christmas bow.

Festive!
Glenn and I are approaching complete Grinch-ness this season. We are moving back to Dallas at the end of the month, so Glenn has said absolutely no tree. : ( And, because of our newfound financial responsibility (and, face it, because she won't remember anyhow) I'm considering buying Lily one little gift and putting the money in her savings account. I won't be able to get away with that in the future, so we should start stacking up now, right? In any case, I've definitely got my radio set to the Christmas station, and I'm ready for the holiday! (Grinch-ness and all...)