Celebrating Easter

We had a wonderful time celebrating Easter with our family. I can't even count how many times we hunted for Easter eggs. This is my new favorite pasttime. I love to search for plastic eggs and see what's inside them. Sometimes there's candy; sometimes there's money! We enjoyed church on Sunday. I proved yet again I was a big kid by attending Kid's Kingdom all on my own. Lilly cried and had to go back with Mommy. I heard later that she helped Pastor Kevin with his sermon by saying "sorry" after he told the church to say you're sorry a couple of times. Everyone around Lilly laughed. I just love holidays. I can't wait for the next one -- which I hope is my birthday!

I'm a Big Girl now

I'm on my way to becoming a big girl. Today, for the first time, I pee-peed in the potty! I sat down to watch my Letter Factory video and while Mommy stepped away to get Lilly lunch I peed in the potty! Daddy & Mommy were so proud of me they took me later to Chuck E. Cheese to celebrate. Unfortunately, on the way home I peed in my big girl pants. Oops! Well, it's a start anyway. Watch the video that Mommy put together of some funny moments from our trip today.

Lilly's first experience with school

Not the best pictures but these are the last moments in the house before Lilly headed off to her first day of "school." Ms. Kim, the director at Belle's pre-school, said Lilly could start attending on Fridays for Kid's Play with Belle. Lilly was so excited when I told her on Thursday that she threw her arms in the air and yelled, "yeah!"

On the way to school, I started getting nervous about whether Lilly would cry when I left. She was so excited to attend on Thursday but when we arrived at the church this morning I had to practically push her through the classroom door. She stood back and watched as Belle ran off immediately to play with toys and say hello to friends. Lilly cried a little, but Ms. Kim took her under her wing and started playing with her and she was fine. When Granny picked them up from school this afternoon, the girls were eating lunch. Miss Lisa, Belle's teacher, said to Granny boy she likes to eat doesn't she -- meaning Lilly. We had a good laugh over that. We'll see how interested Lilly is in school next week.

Spring is in the air

We all got outside today to enjoy the sunshine and warm air. How refreshing to be outside... to run and explore, slide and laugh. It was a welcomed break from the duldrums of winter! Here are some highlights from us frollicking in the sun today.

Silly moments

So much trauma and drama has happened in our family (immediate and extended) that we thought we'd share some lighter moments with you. I just love to wear my hats around the house and dance around. This weekend, I had my first opportunity to paint, like my big sister. It was so much fun. Mommy will have to scan our artwork so we can post it on the blog for you.

Healing

We're all healing from one thing or another. My arm is getting better. Although when my medicine wears off, it starts to hurt. I finally returned to school this week. Miss Velva (my teacher) told Mommy I gave her a heartache because I tumbled down two stairs and my friend, Maggie, pulled me around by my bad arm. It's been nice to be back to school and see all my friends.

I'm sorry that it's been a week since we've written on our blog. Mommy has been busy with work. She had to work late twice this week. We visited the orthopedic doctor on Monday and he gave me a new robot arm to wear. It fits a lot better. He said I have to wear it for three weeks. I'm already tired of it. Mommy isn't a big fan now either since it's beginning to be stinky -- especially since I vomited on it Thursday night. Yes, our whole family has been sick to the stomach this week.

Lilly is still recovering from her cold, but I think we can see the light at the end of the tunnel. We're just all ready for Spring.

We posted this photo so you can see how long my hair is getting and what a big girl I'm growing up to be. I finally let Mommy put a ponytail in my hair! Hope all of you are healthier than we've been.

First broken bone

Unfortunately, it appears that Belle is going to take after her Daddy and be accident-prone. Not yet three, Belle has already suffered her first broken bone. Again following in her Daddy's first steps, Daredevil Belle leaned too far over the side of her bed and toppled over, bumping her head and hurting her wrist. On first inspection, she seemed fine. Later in the evening after the motrin wore off (which we're giving her because she has RSV), her wrist started to her. She cried out in pain during bathtime; her thumb area turned purple. So we made a trip to HealthPlus. Of course, by the time we reached HealthPlus she was acting fine so I thought maybe it is just stoved, but X-rays revealed a small fracture in her right wrist. It's not big; not near a growth plate so it should heal fine. For now, she is wearing a splint. We see a orthopedic doctor tomorrow. She will have to wear either a brace or cast for about a month just to stablize the area so it can heal.

She charmed the pants off all the nurses during our visit. The nurse who treated her really helped me out by telling Belle how pretty she looked in her new armband. Belle smiled and said yeah! When we left she told the nurse, I feel all better! She didn't even throw a fit about wearing her new armband to bed.

Test results

The echo showed that Lilly has a small hole in her heart. It's called Ventricular Septal Defect (VSD). This is from the American Heart Association website: "The septum is a wall that separates the heart's left and right sides. Septal defects are sometimes called a "hole" in the heart. A defect between the heart's two lower chambers (the ventricles) is called a ventricular septal defect (VSD). If the opening between the ventricles is small, it doesn't strain the heart. In that case, the only abnormal finding is a loud murmur."

The treatment at this point is to give her antiobiotics before any dental work is done; aggressively treat colds and ear infections and monitor her condition, including with a yearly echo. We'll proceed like this unless Dr. Rubin hears something different during a check up.

Dr. Rubin suggests that the hole was always there but is closing up as she grows (typically happens as children grow). As the hole has gotten smaller, the blood rushing through the hole has become louder, thus he heard the murmur for the first time on her recent visit.

We appreciate the prayers and ask you keep Lilly's health on your prayer list.

Heart murmur

I've had an exciting week. Not only did I visit Dr. Rubin on Monday for my well baby check up, but I got to visit some special people at Women's and Children's Hospital today. During my routine check up on Monday (during which I received two shots in the legs), Dr. Rubin discovered a murmur in my heart. He ordered a round of tests for me and today Mommy, Daddy and me made a visit to the hospital.

First up, we visited the respiratory lab, where I had an echo and then an EKG performed on me. The technician, Shawn, was very funny. He made lots of animal sounds and noises to keep me occupied while he squirted cold stuff on my chest and ran this funny machine on me. I was fine with the machine for about five minutes and then I wanted to move around. Next up, I had several stickers placed on my chest and arms and little cords ran from them to a machine. I had to be very still and quiet and then Shawn played a monster toy for me that sang and made me laugh.

Next, we visited Radiology where I had a chest X-ray of my heart. I wasn't happy with this procedure because the nurses weren't very nice and they strapped my arms by my head. Luckily, it only took a minute for them to take two pictures of my chest. One of the nurses asked Mommy if we'd been there before because she recognized Mommy. Mommy had to explain that she visited the same department last year at this time with Belle for her kidney reflux.

I'm not worried about my test results and you shouldn't be either. Mommy said since she told people about the test that no less than five people have told her they also have heart murmurs and don't have any problems. So we're pretty sure that Dr. Rubin is just being cautious with my health.

P.S. -- I weigh 23 lb.s 12 oz. (still 50th percentile) and I'm 33 3/4 inches tall (still 95th percentile).

Miscellaneous from Morgantown

Last weekend, we went with Mommy to visit Grandpa and Grandma. These are just a few shots from our visit. We also helped our second cousin, Kadence celebrate her first birthday. I (Belle) especially enjoyed helping her eat her birthday cake! Today, we hung out with Daddy watching football. Apparently it was a big game. Daddy was really upset when his beloved Patriots didn't win the "souper bowl." :-(

Potty training

There's a lot of new things going on in the Beckner house. Lilly told you about some new songs we're learning. And Mommy is trying to teach me to go potty like a big girl. Yesterday, I wore some big girl panties for awhile and read Thomas the Train stories, while drinking juice and sitting on the potty. I think Mommy was hoping she created the perfect storm for me to go pee-pee in the potty. But I fooled her! After a few minutes, I told her I no pee-pee in the potty and got up to run away. When I told her

that I was finished with the potty, Mommy said I had to put my big girl panties back on. But I didn't want to do that. She gave me the option of a diaper or my panties and I chose the diaper. I then decided that Lilly needed my panties more than I did so I gave them to her. Lilly is more interested in the potty anyway!

Be careful little mouth....

Granny is really good about teaching us new songs. I just love the one we've learned recently, "Be Careful." I love the part when Daddy and Belle sing "for the father up above is looking down below." It gives me the opportunity to show my agility during my interpretative dance. Enjoy!

First haircut

I was looking a little scraggly, so Mommy thought I should start off the new year with a "clean" look. On Saturday, I received my first haircut. Now, I may look more like a boy, but at least I don't have hair hanging in my eyes. I'll just have to wear more pink!

A modern T'was the Night Before Christmas

Jingle Bell(e)

I didn't want you to think I didn't know the song for my Christmas recital. It's just that I get shy in front of crowds.

Visit with Santa

What an exciting morning we had. We had breakfast with Santa Claus at my school today. It was sure fun. After a quick breakfast, we waited patiently in line (well as patiently as we could) for our turn to tell Santa what we want for Christmas. Since Lilly only knows a few words, I was more than happy to share with Santa that we would like a Thomas the Train for Christmas. He said he would bring me one if I was good girl and listend to Mommy and Daddy and went to bed on time. Darn! I sure have a hard time following those instructions.

We're still both feeling under the weather. Lilly now has my cold. Poor Lilly. So we're resting today and hoping that we'll recover before Christmas.

We are going to enjoy more Christmas excitement today. Mommy is going to help us make Christmas cookies. I can't wait.

Holiday lights & fun

Belle and I are becoming the best of friends, as you can see from the photo. We like to dance together, eat together, laugh together and even wrestle! Despite some illnesses (colds) running in the family, we're having a great time enjoying the holiday season. Yesterday, Mommy & Daddy took us to a tree lighting at the Capitol. We listened to some bands play and even saw Santa at the Governor's Mansion before we left. Each week, we've enjoyed watching the holiday specials, like the Grinch Whole Stole Christmas or Charlie Brown's Christmas on ABC. Daddy & Mommy even let us stay up late to watch them. We've had a great time looking at Christmas lights and now that the tree is up in our house we can get a close-up look. Belle has broken a few bulbs, though, so Daddy moved all the ornaments to the top of the tree.

Today I had my first look at snow. Belle was more taken with it than I. She gazed at the snow falling on the back deck this morning. Daddy took her outside to play in it some, but she wasn't too keen on that, Daddy said. This weekend we're looking forward to a visit with Santa and breakfast at Belle's school.

Tis the Season

It's Christmas! This sure is an exciting time of the year. Mommy & Daddy pull out all kinds of interesting toys to put around the house, like snowglobes, that I just can't wait to get my hands on.

There are also many baby Jesus statues around the house. Mommy keeps scolding me to get down because I want to get close to baby Jesus and the animals she placed on the fireplace mantle.

We celebrated the beginning if the Christmas season tonight by watching Charlie Brown's Christmas and enjoying homemade caramel apples. What a treat.!

Holiday fun

We had a nice time visiting our Morgantown relatives over the long weekend. On Saturday, we visited with our second cousins, Kwanita and Kadence at Mamaw Chase's house. We enjoyed hanging with Grandpa and Grandma some more -- watching fun movies like Surf's Up and Shrek 3 -- all while enjoying popcorn.

Mommy gave me (Lilly) her old sunglasses so I could pretend I was a rock star. I think I have a future in entertainment as Grandma and Grandpa got a big kick out of my performance!

A parade, a pumpkin cake & lots of Thomas the Train

Thanksgiving is a time to be thankful, at least that's what Daddy explained to me today. So I thought I would share some of the things that I'm thankful for. I'm thankful for a grandparents who volunteer to babysit us for a weekend; watch us every day while Mommy & Daddy work and love us to the ends of the Earth. I'm thankful for parents who love me enough to show me right from wrong and teach me about Jesus and how he loves me. I'm thankful for a little sister who I can make laugh and makes me laugh (even if I don't always show it.)

We celebrated this day of thanksgiving with some family traditions. Mommy and me enjoyed watching the annual Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade. My favorite part was watching the Sesame Street characters sing and the large balloon of the princess from Sesame Street. After a long nap we drove over the river and through a subdivision to Granny's house for a delicious turkey dinner. After some initial shyness, I eventually visited with my extended family. I was especially grateful that Uncle Richie brought a whole Thomas the Train set and many, many, many engines for me to play with. I spent the next three hours playing trains by myself. I was sad when our day had to come to an end, but Mommy said I was getting too cranky and it was time for bed. So we returned home, ate a small snack and went off to bed. Tomorrow we'll drive over another river to get to Grandma's house for more Thanksgiving fun.

Happy Thanksgiving

High Places

We sure don't look forward to bedtime, but Mommy does! After chasing us around all evening (and days on the weekends), she said she's ready for us to hit the sack so she and Daddy can relax. Who can blame them, when I (Lilly) have learned how to climb everything, including the set of stairs in our house. Tonight, I climbed into the rocker in Belle's room and started jumping around.

Of course, all my growing up isn't so bad. I'm learning a lot from my sister. Some good. Some bad. A couple of good things: I've learned we have to pick up our toys when we're finished playing. I also know that we have to brush our teeth before bed. I like my new pink toothbrush and can brush my bottom teeth pretty well. Even with our bedtime routine, sometimes we're so wound up that it takes us awhile to calm down and go to sleep. Mommy tries to read me stories, but I'm not too interested in that. Belle has learned the art of asking for "one more" to delay the inevitable. She's should go to sleep before me since she's usually cranky from not taking a nap. Course, this weekend neither of us had much sleep. I was upset from the immunizations I received on Friday at Dr. Rubin's office. The end of daylight savings time threw us both for a loop Saturday night.

Mommy says I'll be talking before too long, since I'm mimicking everything Belle says. And that's a lot!

Development update for Lilly: She is 32 inches tall (95th percentile); weighs 21 lbs. 12 oz. (50th). So she's still very tall and skinny. And Dr. Rubin says no more bottle!! Boy has that been a rough transition.

Happy Halloween

Halloween was quite an event at the Beckner house this year! A weeklong event -- that began with trick-or-treating at Capitol Market on Oct. 25th with Grandpa and ended tonight with trick-or-treating with Pawpaw. After Belle's pumpkin was too heavy for her to carry, she decided she was ready to go home. I'm delighted to report that she did enjoy watching The Great Pumpkin Charlie Brown with us tonight! Belle has accumulated enough candy that we can all have candy to eat until Christmas -- maybe longer. The slideshow shows some highlights from today, including Belle's Halloween parade and party at pre-school. Enjoy and Happy Halloween!

Carving Pumpkins

Fall is my favorite time of the year. Probably because I have so many childhood memories of fun family times -- like carving pumpkins. I get nostalgic in the fall. This leads me to want to recreate my memories with my children. Unforutnately, they're not too keen on creating lasting childhood memories (yet!) No, they definitely like picking out pumpkins and think they're cool. But carve them? Yuck. What's that inside, Mommy, Belle asks. Cook pumpkin seeds to eat later? No thank you, Mommy. Drink hot apple cider while we listen to fun Halloween songs and carve our pumpkin. No, thank you Mommy. Just give me some juice and crackers and I'll run around and play while you do all the work. The extent of Belle's help was to pick out the pattern that we would use to carve our pumpkins. You see the end result. As for the Beckner family memories... I guess we'll have to wait a few more years for the girls to get older.

It's football season.... Go 'Eers!

Fall fun

Walking montage

First Birthday party

Thank you to everyone who attended my first birthday party. I had such a good time. I appreciate all the gifts I received. You should have seen our house when we got home. It looked like Christmas! At least that's what Mommy said. Belle and I are already fighting over the new toys and have enjoyed a couple of our new DVDs. Thankfully, I received some nice new outfits for the fall since the weather is getting cooler. Most importantly though, I am just happy to have such loving friends and family. Thank you, Lilly.

Our attempt to get Lilly to walk

Goodness this girl is stubborn. She could walk. We just have to figure out what will entice her to take her first steps.

Lilly turns 1!

Can you believe it was a year ago that this little bundle of joy came into our lives? My how the last year has flown. While Lilly is growing leaps and bounds in many ways, she still holds onto those baby ways. We think she'll enjoy being the "baby" of the family for some time.