I love Lillian Jeannette

-- Lily is a different child when you get her alone. She is simply never unpleasant. She relishes time spent together and frequently tells me, "It's just the GIRLS." She talks incessantly during these outings, about everything from what every dog's name should be to how she likes to visit the beach.

-- Lily is growing up. Physically and emotionally. She is starting to shock me with some of her maturity. We were out running an errand and I could NOT get over into the left lane to turn into the parking lot. I was getting really frustrated as I kept getting cut off. Lily quietly piped in, "You know what I'm going to get you for your birthday, Mom? A flying car. Then you could just fly over the other cars. And I'd make it green, because that's your favorite color." Just to have Lily notice what I was doing and come up with a solution? Growing up.

--She is amazingly observant about certain things. She can't find her own shoes if they are attached to her feet, but she will immediately notice if your outfit is different or you are wearing earrings. And she will follow that observation with a compliment. A sweet, heart-felt compliment. The other day I asked her how she got so cute. She shrugged and said, "I don't know, Mom. How did YOU get so cute?"

-- She wears her emotions on her sleeve...and she changes that shirt constantly. While this leads to much fiery anger, she has an amazing ability to calm herself down. She seems to understand emotions...which is very girly of her, don't you think. She is powerful and magnetic and a whirlwind to be around. Which can be very tiring, but also exhilarating. This girl giggles like no other. And she often will just be overcome with affection and press herself as close to me as possible. Out of the blue.

-- She is an animal person through and through. Michael can fall on the floor bleeding, and Lily won't even turn around to notice. But if the smoke alarm goes off in our house (which makes Shadow cower and shiver like a leaf), Lily is immediately by Shadow's side, crooning over and over, "It's okay, Shadow. I'm here. I'll take care of you." She is kind and considerate of animals everywhere, never crowding them or disturbing them.

-- Lily would like to live in her very own pretend world...as long as someone else is narrating it. She loves to hear made up songs, made up stories, and play with made up characters. I play some sort of pretend with her each afternoon while Michael sleeps, because it brings her so much joy. But I am 33, and my tolerance for playing princess is short. So I set a timer. After it goes off, I offer to play something else with her that ISN'T pretend. She suggests ponies. I point out that we would still be playing pretend...how about UNO. She shakes her head and suggests neighbor. In Lily's mind, there is no such thing as play without pretending. To her credit, when you play pretend with her, she isn't bossy and demanding about "how" you play. She is simply happy as a clam to play along with you...no matter what crazy plot lines you throw in.

-- Lily is increasingly aware and frustrated by her own personal limitations. She is so stubborn that it is nearly impossible to guide her through these things. Like how to hold scissors so that she can cut well. Or how to skip. Okay, so mostly motor skills kinds of things.

-- I love the quiet times with Lily. When I hold her in my lap and talk with her. Or make her laugh with a silly song. Or in the moments when I get a brief glimpse of the amazing woman she could become.