1 year old Lillard!!

This girl is one!! I can't believe it. I remember exactly where I was when Nicole told me she was pregnant(standing in my closet...crying), where I was when she went to the doctor the first time (at cheerleading practice...crying), where I was when we found out she was a girl (at Moe's...screaming/crying inside to Brandon, "A niece!") and where I was when she was born (at the hospital, of course...the first person to hold her after the parents!) Because I was in love with her, I talked about her all of the time and everyone said, "Wait until you have one of your own!" Um...I do...I was just talking about her...I would do anything for Lily that I would do for "my" baby. Obviously these people do not have a twin to understand this, so I would nod and smile knowing she was mine. Then I had one of my own and it is different. Now I know how much Nicole loves her and I love her even more because of what she means to Nicole. I guess that is what they meant.

Nicole is way more excited than Lily. I think it is because the cake is half chocolate.

I fed her guacamole during the entire party. Delicious.

Then she fed me some. We hang out all the time.

Anderson was the party animal at his first ever birthday party. (Don't hate on the swaddle if you were thinking about it...)

Lily learned the meaning of "easy" over the weekend as we yelled it while frantically pulling her off of Anderson. She loved him. She even let him "borrow" her dvd player in the car by throwing it at him. Best friends.

Easter basket from Aunt Manda!! How spoiled is this boy?

Speaking of Aunt Manda, she is a little crazy as she VOLUNTEERED to watch both of them while Nicole and I went to this consignment sale/garage sale.

Anderson made a new friend in Birmingham!

He also met Aunt/Cousin Knight who gave him an AUTOGRAPHED copy of Elephant Blue. It is his favorite already.

"He must be some kind of angel...."

...said Aunt Cole in a text to me last week, and she was right.
With his baptism, Anderson became an official member of the Catholic Church last weekend! He was, of course, perfect and was alert the entire time. He received the coolest gift from my mom.She works for Fr Joyce at the Catholic Center and he went to Rome recently. While he was there, he got Anderson a crucifix blessed by THE POPE!!! Here he is with the crucifix and a picture of Fr. Joyce and POPE BENEDICT!!!

In addition to uncle, Zack has added the role of godfather to Anderson. He is pretty good at both, so far.
The cousins.
In addition to being on "Anderson duty", Amanda was the offical photographer...she is too good, which is why I have about 50 pictures on this post....
Look at us-we're so holy. Seriously, how much are we trying to put on a holy show for the priest? I think it's like when people slow down when they see a police car and try to act innocent...
The show could only last so long. It's distracting having a precious munchkin in your arms.
An excited version of holy. Seriously, Fr. Michael did such a great job.
Probably my favorite picture of the night. Brandon is focused on holding him in the font, Fr. Michael is doing his baptizing thing, Zack is glad he isn't holding him (he was a little slippery), I am just happy because it was fun and Aunt Cole is being his frog.
He's official.
The godparents took the task of the unity candle very seriously.
Too bad there weren't any instructions about what to do with the candle...
I love Lily.
We were so lucky to have everyone there for Anderson on his special day!! After the ceremony, we went to the Glover's house where we ate delicious food and had a fun time! GG also bought Anderson his white outfit, so we are lucky to have her!

Bunnies, Elephants & JPa

Our neighborhood was having an egg hunt on Sunday (love some suburbia), and he was dressed & ready to go....and it was canceled because of rain. Yes, we were bringing our 2 month old to an egg hunt. I contributed play doh eggs, which are his favorite.
Like the good little Republican he is, Anderson has worn all of his elephant clothes this week as a shout out against the socialist health care legislation that is going to destroy our country. This is the look of shock he gave me when I explained it to him.
On a more positive note, JPa turned 60 yesterday!!

Anderson gave him some smiles as a birthday present! It's really the best kind of present.
The boys. You can see the dominant blue eye gene at work because all of the original Glover boys have blue eyes from their mom despite the fact that their dad has brown. Anderson, of course, inherited this preciousness.

Sisters update...

Even though this is about the sisters, I have to start off with a picture of the munchkin. Adorable. I never thought that I would have a baby with blue eyes. Love him. The weekend project for the men of the family (in addition to moving my parents in, slating their porch, attending Anderson's baptism...) was to put in an electric fence for Chloe. Yes, it is only for Chloe. Gabbi is a genius and well behaved, so she does not leave the yard. Chloe does leave the yard, so...

She was concerned during the process. She was also angry that she was the only one not outside.

This is why I love my dad. He comes to Knoxville and takes time away from moving into his house to dig a fence for me.

The rest of the family (minus Kyler who was still asleep on the couch at this point...2pm). Zack was the real hero as he knew what he was doing and basically planned the whole thing.

It has only been 1 day and so far, so good! Chloe is a little terrified of leaving the deck because she hasn't quite figured out where she can go yet, but she inches away a little more at a time. This is going to change my life.

Here are 2 videos featuring the sisters....

Just a little pouting.

Lily has this precious laugh and we do anything we can to encourage it...I'm not sure if she likes Gabs or the medicine bottle more.

the move...

So, the parents are moving here!! I know, I am the luckiest person in the world. The fam has been here this week to help move in and, of course, to visit Anderson. It has been lots of fun! The cookie cake says, "Welcome Home, Noni & Bop!"
Zack has been pretty much the only person working-here is taking a break with Lily. She is doing a little flying.
Anyone who has ever been to my parents' house in Memphis is not surprised by the above picture. We are going to miss the bread and Hostess cakes. But, the trade off is actually having Pops here, so I think I will take it.
The cousins. Hanging out. Best friends, already.
Anderson is so lucky to have 2 aunts who are spoiling him like crazy. I am also lucky, as they have completely taken care of him this week.
Brandon did a little work...putting together the grill.
Because I feel like we are still 17, it is so weird that Nicole is a mom. It is even weirder that I am one. These little people are pretty awesome. How did we survive without them? And, what on earth did I do with so much sleep??
Possibly my favorite picture of Lily, ever. She noticed Nicole was outside and was not happy. Obviously, she did not inherit the dramatic gene. What I love about it is that we are laughing outside of the house at her instead of actually picking her up....
Oh, the things a mom of a baby boy has to look forward to....Noah managed to get covered in mud within about 5 minutes of arrival...Amanda's response/advice was, "You might as well give up on carpet."
Kyler thought Anderson was ready for some coke....

He's not Irish....

but he is CUTE!!

1st St. Patrick's Day!!
Thank you, GG, for our outfit!

Hanging out with Bop, who looks very leprechaunish for an Italian!

Big Cousin Noah is in town! Yes, that is Anderson behind the blanket...

Survival.

It was a rough week. We barely made it. I say "we" referring to me & Brandon as Anderson obviously enjoyed himself. Ok, Brandon was fine too, so it was mostly just me. It was the first week with both of us working since he was born and I was worried about him missing us. Since he has so many people who love him, it was not a problem. Our sitter is one of my cheerleader's mom and her entire family treats him like a little prince. He had such fun at Auntie Kim's and she even brought him to school for lunch one day! He also spent 2 days with GG and she, of course, spoiled him! What makes both of them even more amazing is that he was a teensy bit grump after the shots on Monday, but they didn't even mind! Of course I have no pictures of him with either of them because the camera didn't quite make the cut with all of the rest of the stuff I was carrying each day-diaper bag, bottle bag, my school bag, my lunch, my purse, the car seat carrier...

Since we missed each other so much during the day, he spent most evenings as my necklace. This is a new carrier that I got as a gift and he loves it (contrary to the face above....) because he can see! I can't do quite as much as when I wear the bjorn because I still kind of hold him, but it is pretty awesome.

He also spent lots of evening time with Brandon. He is so chill with Brandon-they just hang out. He doesn't enjoy being calm with me. We have to bounce, run around the house, jump...I think I ruined it by never sitting down when I was pregnant.