Happy 27th to you...

Where to begin? It has been a crazy year thus far for the McDonald family. I'm trucking through my last six weeks of school (woo hoo!), and am more than ready to graduate in May. Aaron is still working at the Wal*Mart Distribution Center on the weekends, and puts in some extra hours every once in a while. He's a very hard working, and his pay raises and increasing opportunities reflect that. Together, we are preparing for the changes that will come with end of our college days. We are currently looking into some investment opportunities, and are developing some ideas for a little extra income. Please keep our current projects (and ultimately our future) in your prayers.

Lily's half birthday snuck its way into our lives on March 13 - my oh my, how time has flown! These are some of the occurrences that have taken place in Lily's life since I last wrote:

March 15 - Finds her ears! Pulls on and sticks her fingers in them constantly for 2 days.
March 16 - Appointment with Dr Simpson - screams bloody murder through the entire exam, and even more when she's given her shots. The Dr and his assistant couldn't believe how loud she could scream.
March 17 - While lying on her back with her arms in the air, Lily discovers that she has hands! She watches carefully as she opens and closes them over and over again.
March 18 - Tried B-A-N-A-N-A-S! She's never turned down food, and today was no exception.
March 23 - Catches daddy's bad cold. It's obvious that she doesn't feel well, but she's a trooper!
March 26 - Lots of new things today! Takes some Tylenol Cold medicine and gets some baby vicks vapor rub on her chest. She also tried apple juice for the first time. She really likes the juice, but keeps choking on it - it's thinner than milk, and she's not quite sure how to handle it yet.

And the big news for the month...Lily said her first real word! Last night, while her grandma was holding her and I was trying to finish a paper, Lily became fussy. She was looking over at me, and grandma prompted her by saying "mama"...and there it came! Lily looked at me and said "MAMA"! What an incredible feeling to hear those words come from your child's mouth! I've never been happier! Daddy's a little sad that he didn't get to hear it...and a little jealous too...but we're hoping that it will happen again very soon.

Tune in again soon for more news...same bat time, same bat channel.