Snow Sisters

Snow Sisters

Thursday, December 27, 2007

It's Christmas-time!

Lily's first Christmas, told through pitures




Lily discovering the wonderful world of ribbon in a sea of presents.








Lily discovering the streets of downtown Knoxville on Christmas Eve eve.












All of us discovering what some people do with their spare time.....this house was one of those animated 'light shows' where you tune into a specified radio frequency to hear the music coordinated with the lights....it certainly drew a crowd, the best part was the neighbors, they definitely had the 'if you can't beat them, join them' attitude. The whole street was illuminated, with everyone getting in on the fun.







Here we are at Christmas Eve service at the Ascension. We chose the early "children's pageant" service, in hopes that if Lily decided to join in the carols, she would blend with the rest of the under one year olds. Besides getting a bit excited while talking to her toy butterfly, Lily did great throughout the service.









I think Lily was practicing the Christmas-Eve giddiness that children have the pleasure of experiencing. She got herself in the best mood once we returned from church and here is the result









Finally, Christmas morning.

Tissue paper and ribbons were the biggest hit.















Jonathan properly introduced her to her first futbol...which Gator mistakenly figured was for him....and Lily finally got her hat and matching mittens.....now socks will only be used as intended, for the feet.








Besides all this, we had some fabulous eats, including homemade eggnog (which I highly recommend, and is one thing my Dad liked to do), our traditional monkey bread on Christmas morning and as a treat Jonathan cooked his signature pecan-crusted salmon for Christmas dinner, Good Eats!

Tuesday, December 25, 2007

Week 24

Well you've already had a glimpse into week 24, with the post below. Lily still finds the changing table, and now her toes, the most exciting part of the day. She's working on crawling, she's trying to bring her knees up under her when she's on her belly, but unfortunately she's doing this while sucking her thumb. I've tried to tell her she has to pick one or the other, but she's not convinced.

The picture above was taken at the Apple Barn in Seveirville, http://www.applebarncidermill.com/ . I've grown up going there while traveling to or from the mountains. Originally there wasn't even a restaurant there, just the orchards and the Barn where you can buy anything apple...that includes food and crafts. Though the area around the Apple Barn is now literally unrecognizable from what it used to be, it is still very nostalgic for me. I've had many visits and meals here that included my father and grandfather. Dad always got a frozen gallon of their apple cider, so by the time we got it home (about 45 min) it had melted just enough to have an icy cold glass.......delicious.....of course, this week we did the same.

We just couldn't pass up the opportunity to get our picture taken with Santa, who is obviously looking for his John Deer tractor.

Friday, December 21, 2007

Get-togethers and more..

Last night we had a smattering of my fellow QCOMers and their significant others over for a quick holiday gathering.










Being 'out of the loop' for awhile now, it was so good to see everyone and catch up with them as they all are actively interviewing at residency programs...seems like a world away for me right now.





Lily was a peach, putting on her party face for the evening, and even becoming a bit smitten with Damon (one day we'll have to break it to her that he's taken..)



Otherwise this week, we've been having some fun....bathtime always makes a splash and the changing table never gets old. Below, Lily is exploring options to sucking her thumb....








Sunday, December 16, 2007

Week 23: Who can find the baby?


Today was Lily's first snow (relative term for us here in East TN vs those of you in the rest of the country that have been blanketed by the real thing). Fortunately, Nana had stocked us with snowsuits, so we were totally prepared and since we never know if or when the white stuff is going to come again we thought we'd take advantage of the proper gear.
After today however, we, as parents, deserve what's coming to us in years to come. I must say I had some belly-aching laughs at my poor 5 month-old baby girl's expense....aahh, the perils of being at another's whim.
The suit Lily is fashioning to the left is reminiscent of the little brother in "The Christmas Story." The poor thing couldn't even move in the abundance of padding, rightly so considering it's made for a child 3 months her senior....at least we knew we wouldn't have to take it off if she needed to go to the bathroom!

Friday, December 14, 2007




Nothing says cute like an over-sized bucket hat.


This is Miss Lily just before taking a walk at the VA.


Saturday, December 8, 2007

Week 22

Santa's little helper. I just love this picture of our little elf. Her new buddy to her right is hysterical....it's the new musical toy from Hallmark. Thanks to Gran's purchase of several Hallmark cards, we were able to get said toy. When played, he barks jingle bells (with a howl at the end) while he rocks back and forth on his sled.....this of course, is good for hours of entertainment, especially when you are 5 months old. Which by the way, can you believe Lily is 5 months old?!?! (obviously a rhetorical question to cyberspace) As I near the end of my stay-at-home mommy tenure, looking back over the months, all the days truly feel like a moment in time.

As a 5 month old, Lily is definitely deciding to be a thumb-sucker and I have to admit, it's pretty cute. It's not just the "I'm discovering my hands, and oops the thumb just happened to end up in my mouth" but more like the "Hmm, out of all these wiggly things attached to me I like the short stubby one the best..." She also said the word "Buh." Yes, I know it's not a word, per say, but there was definite formation of the sound with her lips. And finally, I apparently crawled at 5 1/2 months (please hold applause) so we'll see what develops in these next couple weeks....of course (like it or not) we'll keep you posted!

I'd like to thank Nancy Huber, for sending Lily the cute dress in the picture. We have known the Hubers for many years. Their youngest daughter, Kari, a friend of mine from years back also just had her first baby (Andrew) a few months ago. The Hubers have faced a tremendous challenge this Fall as Mr. Huber was diagnosed with AML, an aggressive form of leukemia. The good news is that after a heck of a fight, he is currently cancer free, but he is still in need of a bone marrow transplant ASAP and the search for a donor match is on. They have chronicled their experience on their blog http://www.billhuber.blogspot.com/ . They are constantly in my prayers, and though you may not know them I ask that they be in yours.

Birthday Cubed!


For the last 66 years, December 7th has marked one of the most tragic days in US History: the attack on Pearl Harbor. For the last 31 years, December 7th has marked a tragic day in the history of certain economics students at Milligan College: the birth of Dave. For the last 3 years, December 7th has marked a tragic day in the history of tennis balls residing in East Tennessee: the birth of Gator. And finally, for the last 5 months December 7th marks one of the most wonderful anniversaries ever: the birth of our daughter Lily. To the left, you can see one of the pictures taken for my birthday card...obviously one of the family members was feeling a little left out and decided to pout through the photo shoot.

Here Lily is visiting me at the office. She and Em baked me a red velvet cake (my personal favorite) and sang Happy Birthday in the Business Department! And last but certainly not least, many thanks to Mom and Dad who got me a frame for my diploma for my birthday!

Wednesday, December 5, 2007

It's a boy!

We just got word today, that the youngest Parisi came into the world this week.
Owen Michael Parisi was born Monday Dec 3rd. We don't have stats just yet, but
baby and mom are doing well. We look forward to getting a peek of the little tyke
soon, but until then we would like to give them a huge Congratulations and only
advise them to lay back and enjoy the ride!

Addendum!! Check out the Parisi's site listed to the right, they've posted a pic...and Owen is a total cutie (my words, not Dave's....Dave says I can't call him 'cutie' I have to call him 'handsome' because he's a boy....well I say, I'm just glad we had a girl so we don't have to argue about this)!

Sunday, December 2, 2007

Week 21

To mark the beginning of our new dietary habits, as shown in the previous post, I thought it would be appropriate to add the cereal in this week's picture. We also discovered a new pasttime this week...jumping! Besides having to put the baby in the closet, Lily loves her new jumper. She quickly got the 'hang' of it too....

Sunday we had the pleasure of having the Harrelson's over for dinner...Mary Hudson and Lily are still great friends, even after the coffee spilling incident......Lily tried to show MH what she had to look forward to, by rolling clear cross the floor of the nursery....I'm not sure MH was too impressed.

Friday, November 30, 2007

Non-nutritrional experience


As the wise pediatrician told us, Lily's first few tries at cereal would be "non-nutritional experiences." Though this proved to be true, she actually took to it quite well (she's definitely her father's daughter, never to turn down a meal). The only thing I wasn't expecting was the necessary bath such an experience would mandate....good thing she likes those too...

Thursday, November 29, 2007

Having a Ball: Take Two

Apparently the dogs were funny again today. We never know when it's going to strike so I had to get it on camera. And yes those are socks on her little hands in lieu of mittens.....maybe that's a hint to Santa....

Tuesday, November 27, 2007

Week 20: Turkey week




We'll fill you in shortly on the details, but we had a great Thanksgiving with Great Granny, Nana, Grandad, Uncle Chipper and Aunt Ashley. As you can see in the picture, Lily was practicing for next year.

Sunday, November 18, 2007

Week 19


We set off our Griswald-esque Christmas tree hunt this weekend and though we didn't uproot any prize possessions by hand, or freeze our eyes wide open, we did in fact come home with a beautiful tree....unfortunately assembly is required.


Saturday we participated in the Animile in Kingsport which helps support the Kingsport Animal Shelter. It's a fun race that's held along the same route as the Christmas parade immediately following it, so everyone is out lining the streets as you go by. Lily got several cheers from the crowd and people are always interested in Thatcher (since he's the 'pretty boy' of the group), and because of this we always make sure to give Gator a little extra attention...
In this week's picture, Lily's face says it all as she had worked up an appetite from the big race and all she wanted was to be fed, while I obviously had different plans. But you get what you can get and with the stiff breeze and the chilly day, this was the shortest week photoshoot, by far.




Thursday, November 15, 2007

Monday, November 12, 2007

Week 18

Lily has found her voice. She kicked off week 18 with the laughter heard in the post below and ended it with frequent bursts of spontaneous shrieks/squeals that appear to serve no other purpose than to emphasize her point. (see below for quick example)

She also has officially engaged in a battle of wills with her parents, and let me humbly tell you that she TOTALLY WON! Returning home from a very enjoyable weekend in Knoxville, we made the fatal error of stopping for that legalized crack-cocaine....yep....Starbucks coffee. It was this and a quick gas fill-up 30 minutes outside of Knoxville that awoke the sleeping baby. Needless to say it was down-hill from here. The crying began which turned into guttural wailing, which returned to crying and so on and continued, despite every known soothing tactic in our new-parent arsenal, literally until we reached the exit to our house. For those of you that don't know how long that is, I'd say a solid hour and a half. We didn't think she could do it, we were taking over/under bets and we both lost. But after all that, once we finally got home and freed her of her car seat, she appeared absolutely no worse for the wear, a relief in these very concerned and bewildered young parents' minds.

The week picture and the one to the right were taken at The Cove which is a lovely park close to Gran's house that's right on the water and faces a marina full of sailboats. It's one of Gran's favorite places to walk, Lily is a big fan, as well.

Sunday, November 4, 2007

Having a Ball

This makes for a pretty darn good Sunday.
p.s. Sorry for the commentary....this is the first time we've heard her laugh like this.

Saturday, November 3, 2007

Week 17: Homecoming

Wofford Homecoming 2007. The Campbell's, Harrelson's, and Williams' gathered this weekend to celebrate yet another year of aging gracefully and reminiscing about how it "used to be" and how they have it so much easier now......yes I do, in fact, believe that this is one of the cardinal signs that age is no longer your friend. It was a perfect day and we grabbed the perfect tailgating spot for dealing with three babies who were frequently needing to be fed. The day didn't turn out too perfect for the Terriers, as they fell to GA Southern (insert boo here) in what sounded like an exciting game. Yes, I said 'sounded' because we actually didn't see any football (except that which was being played in the tailgating field)We opted instead to guess the action on the field by the reaction of the crowd.....not as scientific, of course, as the tradional way.




We couldn't leave without visiting the newly renovated Old Main. For those of you who don't know much about Wofford, Old Main is the centerpiece of campus, it's on our seal and is the quintessential symbol of Wofford. So much takes place 'on the steps of Old Main', from pep rallies to class pictures, to running down the steps on Bid Day to your newly anointed sorority/fraternity. This was the obvious place to take the 'week' picture. Lucky for us the Harrelson's lent Macy to us for the photo-op. Also in the picture is evidence of Lily's new found hobby of grabbing hold of anything she can.....and sometimes not letting go, without much persuasion, that is.


Who knows these two little girls may just end up roommates, like their mommas.

Wednesday, October 31, 2007

Some costumes are sweeter than others

What will an almost four month old tolerate for Halloween? This was our dilemma, we figured the best bet was incorporate the Bjorn somehow (which she loves) and go from there. I have to give the credit to Dave for coming up with the idea below. Lily seemed to be none the wiser and was entertained by all the strangers coming up to her to get a better look. Monday night we participated in a 'trunk or treat' event at Milligan. Because I accidentally ran down the battery to the camera, we didn't get any pics. But today was the "Halloweenie Roast" at QCOM and we scored a few pics and some yummy treats there, oh yeah, and a few oohs and awws.

Monday, October 29, 2007

Week 16

Despite being 'football-less', or as they phrase it "Undefeated since 1954", Milligan holds its Homecoming in the Fall like every other 'football-ful' academic institution. This past weekend we enjoyed the festivities and the beautiful Fall weather that finally hinted that winter will be coming soon. Once the parade processed down the center of campus and the new name of the Milligan buffalo was revealed (which is Brutus, by the way, much better than the previous 'Buffy' which makes you wonder what took them so long) we enjoyed, what I now believe, is the 'make or break' component of any outdoor Fall festival.......Kettle Corn. And let me tell you, it was gooood (made in the big cast iron kettle and everything)! We ran into one of Dave's students while we were munching on the good stuff and he asked to take our picture, the result is to the right (sorry about the big white space...don't know how to get rid of it...).

That evening we attended Valerie and Damon's reception for their wedding which was held in Jamaica several weeks ago. For anyone local reading this, it was held upstairs at Carter at Main and the food was delicious! Everything, especially the beautiful couple, was lovely. This is me with the blushing bride, or shall I say Jamaican tanned!

Sunday we were off to Asheville. The boys hit a round of 18 (with Dave incidentally hitting the 'best shot of his life' (insert golf clap here ....)) leaving the girls some much needed time to catch up. It was not only Anna, myself and our two new additions, but also Alison (Ulrich) Hadden (friend from Wofford, now living in Kansas, with her own new addition due in April!) in the mix. Oh and we also brought our dogs. So the grand total for the day was six dogs, two babies, two nursing women, one pregnant woman and two new dads....does this equal fun or what?!?!



We all set off (sans dogs) to a pumpkin patch and apple orchard.... note to self, three days before Halloween is probably not the best time to pick pumpkins. The 'off the vine' variety were a bit scarce, but it was the thought that counts. We grabbed some great pics, a baby pumpkin for Lily, and one authentic cup of hot apple cider.....not much beats it....except perhaps kettle corn.


As far as the week picture goes, yes I know she's not looking in either of these, but take my word for it, her eyes are still big and still blue.....it was quite a day battling the wicked mid-afternoon sun....we did what we could. For more pics of the day you can visit Sam's Flickr page
http://www.flickr.com/photos/samharrelson/ .(I know, soon I'll be owing him commission or something) It was so great to see Alison, we wish her and Kyle a healthy uneventful pregnancy from here on out, you can visit her blog at http://alisonandkyle.blogspot.com/.

Sunday, October 21, 2007

Week 15...Pumpkin or Punkin?

Warning:


The above is a result of one too many references to the baby Lily as "pumpkin" (or actually 'punkin' but that's not really a thing, is it?). To prevent future metaphysical transformations of human babies into squash, please take careful consideration when using certain 'terms of endearment'.




Okay, I'll stop trying to be cute. I just thought I'd work in some of the multitude of pictures that are actually taken on these weekly photoshoots. The above was just one of many different arrangements attempted throughout the day. It appears Miss Lily is becoming a bit of a diva realizing that we are at her whim. This pic is the look I got when I realized, okay, you're right it is time to stop.........I think you would agree.

But like the resilient baby she is we went out for a second try and were much more successful.

One final note. During our photo shoot this weekend, in an effort to keep Lily as happy as possible as long as possible, she endulged in a scrumptious bottle.......or so we thought!
Thanks to Lee's lightening fast trigger finger this moment will be heartily laughed at for years to come. It's amazing how fast 'bodily function' humor becomes so funny once you have a baby!