Birthday Pictures

Opening gifts. (Her shirt was made by my mom and says Lily and has a cupcake with a single candle on it)


Very excited about her Grouchy Ladybug stuffed animal and watching Mommy open the next gift.


Mommy helping Lily open another gift.


Rubber Ducky cupcakes.


Singing Happy Birthday.

Licking the cake off her face.


Thoroughly enjoying her cake.

First Birthday

Today is Lily's first birthday! We had a great party this weekend for her and she did great at it. She loved opening her gifts and the cupcake she got ended up everywhere. I will put up picuters probably this evening, or maybe earlier if she takes an afternoon nap.

The other big news is that little girls that are one walk, don't crawl. She is still more comfortable, and faster, crawling, but can walk. She walked across the family room earlier and when she got to the other end she squealed and clapped her hands!

20 Days

I knew Lily's birthday was coming up soon, but I just logged into one of the baby websites I am a member of and it told me that my baby's birthday is 20 days away! 20 days seems so soon. I feel like it was just yesterday that I was complaining about how uncomfortable I was and how I just wanted to hold my little girl in my arms instead of my belly. This year has gone by entirely too fast. I'm sure the next 17 years are going to go just as fast.

A couple updates. Lily loved Thanksgiving. Although I think she enjoyed playing with the food more than eating it...pictures to come.

She now has 4 teeth. And she likes to grind them. And bite with them.

She still isn't walking. I think she just doesn't thinking about. Crawling is just so much faster and something that she knows so walking doesn't even come to her mind. I know that as soon as she does learn how to walk though she will be running. She is constantly moving.

Teeth

Yes teeth, as in multiple. Lily has teeth! I noticed the other bottom tooth had broken through on Thursday. Then yesterday she was trying to chew on my finger and something sharp got me from the top of her mouth too. I'm sure getting two new teeth while fighting an ear infection and high temp does not feel good. I do not blame her one bit for being fussy this week.

Ear infection

Lily has her first illness...an ear infection. :(

It started on Tuesday when the babysitter said that Lily was being really fussy (which she hardly ever is) and that she felt warm. She took her temp and it was around 102. I picked her up early and gave her some ibuprofen and the fever broke. She was still not quite herself that evening and slept more than normal.

Wednesdays she goes to my mom's house so we were lucky that my mom still agreed to watch her so that neither Sean nor I had to miss work. She was a little warm when I dropped her off, but nothing like the day before. My mom called at 10:30 saying that she wasn't really eating, slept a lot more than normal, and had a temp of over 103. I called the pediatrician and they got her in. While I wanted to be with her so badly but I knew that my mom could handle this (she had done alright raising me at least) and therefore she took her to the appointment. When the nurse took her temp it was 105.1! They checked her over and said that she has an ear infection and gave her some antibiotics. She was super lethargic all day with my mom, barely even wanting to open her eyes.

We have been giving her ibuprofen and acetaminophen every few hours and she hasn't had a fever since yesterday. Sean was able to work from home today so he stayed with our little sicky. She is still not herself completely (especially if the meds are wearing off) but overall is doing much better. She is playing on the floor and "talking" just like she always does. She is still a little bit more cuddly, but that is ok by me :)

Halloween!

Here are some pictures from Halloween festivities.


Lily found the pumpkin she liked

But she didn't like her bare feet in the grass!

Just Lily's size

Having fun being a scarecrow

Mommy and Lily as pumpkins



Getting ready for trick or treat

"I don't like this"

Trying to get the mohawk to stay up

but it kept falling over

We went as a rock band

Personality

Lily's personality is really starting to show. She loves to play tricks and make people laugh. The other day she was holing out her puffs for the dog to take. I wasn't sure what the dog was going to do so I just watched for a bit. The dog very gently tried to take it and Lily would not let go! And then she started giggling. The dog just looked at me confused. Selene tried to take it again and this time Lily let her have it. This whole cycle continued through about 5 puffs.

Lily also loves to start to crawl away from you quickly and if you say "I'm gonna get you" then she squeals and crawls away even quicker. She keeps stopping to look back at you though to make sure you are still coming and then laughs again and crawls away.

She has also started laughing when she is doing something wrong. She is now tall enough to reach everything on the entertainment center by the tv, such as remotes and our Netflix dvds. She kept going over to them, looking at me, giggling, trying to get them and then when I told her no and moved her away she would laugh really hard. It is very hard to not laugh too.



10 Months old and smiling


"Does this diaper make my butt look big?"


Helping Mommy make dinner

We have a tooth!

Her first tooth is officially here. On Monday both Sean and I could see a little bit of it, but now there is no mistaking it. It is sharp when you feel her gums and it is very visible. Her tongue keeps twirling around over it. I'm sure it feels quite weird to her.

New Gross Motor Skills and Food

Lily has had a couple big accomplishments in the last week as far as gross motor skills go. Firstly she went up the stairs at my parents' house last week. That time only my mom was around and she said it took her a little while to do it. Last night we went over there for dinner and she did it again, very quickly. It is like she has been doing it forever.

Just a few minutes ago she stood up all on her own. Without holding on to anything. I saw her do it and when she was fully standing I kinda squealed and said "good job" and she promptly sat/fell back down. I'm not sure when she is going to attempt this again, but she is a lot closer to walking now than she was this morning.

She has been trying all sorts of new foods. My work had a get together the other night and she swiped a lemon wedge off my boss' plate and started sucking on it. At first she made a face like she didn't like it, but when we took it away she screamed. When we gave it back she just kept sucking on it. She also had pot roast last night for dinner. My parents had us over for dinner and instead of feeding Lily her own stuff I just cut up some of my meat and veggies real small and she loved them. After a while though they were a bit more fun to play with than actually eat. It is nice that she is starting to eat the same things we are eating and trying to feed herself because it gives me more of a chance to eat my own food while it is warm.

9 Month Update

Lily had her 9 month check up last week and she is doing great. She did get two shots that she didn't like very much, but was done crying as soon as we left the exam room and all the nurses starting making a fuss over her. She just loves attention.

So here are the stats:

Weight: 15.41 lbs. (4th percentile)
Height: 26.5 in. (16th percentile)
Head Circumference: 17 in. (26th percentile)

So she is really tiny, but the doctor isn't worried at all. She is hitting all of her milestones on time if not even a little early and she is eating the right amount.

She had a lot of fun at the office crawling around everywhere and pulling herself up on everything. She was also talking up a storm.

She now says 4 words. "Dada", "Mama", "Buh buh" (bye bye, it is usually accompanied by waving), and "Duggy" (doggy). She says them a lot and at appropriate times, just not when we try to get her to say them.


Lily and "The Beans". All future Buckeyes!


She wouldn't leave the 9 alone for her 9 month photo shoot


So I put it on her head!

Blabbermouth

Lily has been making so many more noises and sounds the last few weeks and has now said some words!!! She has been making sounds such as babababa, mamamama, and dadadada for awhile now, but never using them in anyway to make me believe they are actually her first words but rather just fun sounds to make. A few days ago she started saying "baabaa" and waving whenever you said "goodbye" to her. Other times she would make other sounds when you said goodbye so I'm not confident that she actually understood what she was saying when she did say it correctly. It has now changed slightly and sounds more like byebye, but still not very clear. Then yesterday I was doing laundry and she was in her excersaucer playing. When I came back into the room and she saw me she very clearly said "mama" with a huge smile on her face! I couldn't get her to repeat it. Then later I went to do something in another room again and when I came back she said it again! Again, I couldn't get her to repeat it. Then today when I was leaving her at my mom's house to go to work I guess she started saying "mama" again. I have not heard it since though. I think she is just going to be one that will only do things on her terms. I believe I may have been like that as a child so I guess it is only fair.

Independence

Independence is already a hard thing for me to let her have at times and I know it is only going to get worse as she gets older and wants more and more.

Right now it is feeding herself. She wants to be independent while feeding herself with a spoon which takes a lot longer and is messier than if I would just feed her. I know she needs to work on this skill though so I am trying to be better about letting her do this. I would love for her to be more independent while feeding herself with a bottle though. Sometimes when she is really hungry she will hold it herself, but most of the time she will just wait for me to hold it up for her. This morning she did hold it for her whole feeding though.

I am also trying to remind myself to let her crawl a lot more. She gets plenty of time to crawl around and explore on her own, but I almost always pick her up and carry her if I need to go to another room. I need to remember to slow my life down and wait for her to do somethings on her own so she can learn to be independent.

Independence is also a sign that she is growing up. Growing up way too quickly. She is going to be a year old before we know it. I think back 8 months to when all she wanted to do was sleep in my arms and wonder where the time has gone. I'm sure she will be 18 and moving out in what will seem like next week.

8 months

Dancing with Daddy

Lily's new favorite thing to do right now is push buttons, like the power button on my computer while I am typing blog posts! It usually takes her a little while to get her thumb lined up with the button so I have a little time to distract her into doing something else, but sometimes she is quick.

She is doing great with sleeping for Sean and me, but on the days that she goes to my mom's house she rarely takes naps. I think there is just too much going on for her to want to calm down. There are different toys there and 2 dogs that absolutely love her.

Lily wants to walk so badly. She pulls herself up onto everything and will walk along the couch or the wall. Sometimes she will even do this step/fall thing from the couch to the ottoman. My back is getting sore because she really likes to walk in front of me while holding onto my hands.

She is also starting to eat so many more things. She absolutely loves baby food whether it is homemade or from a jar. She also likes getting some more solids such as some cereal pieces and yogurt bites. She even tries to eat my peach whenever she sees that I have one.

Feeding herself mashed potatoes


They ended up everywhere


"What is this 8 doing on my belly?"

"It must be there for me to eat!"

Swimming in the back yard

7 months

Lily is doing so much now. She is almost never content just being in one place. Now that she knows she can move places that is all she wants to do. And if she comes to something that she can't get by with crawling then her next idea is to pull herself up and see if she can climb over. A new favorite game of her's is for me to lay on my side on the ground and put a favorite toy of her's on the other side of me than her. She will try to climb over me to get it. It also involves lots of tickles, kisses, and the toy moving several times before she actually gets to it.

She was super fussy this weekend and a little bit this week. We think she might be teething because when I gave her some baby Tylenol she seemed to calm down for a little bit (like 30 minutes). She is also fighting sleep during the day because she doesn't want to miss anything, but when she does finally she sleeps for like 2-3 hours plus she is sleeping longer in the mornings, even if she goes to bed a little earlier. She definitely wears herself out with all the exploring she does.

Her 7 month photos are a little different than the others because I couldn't get her to stay still for them.



First time experiencing grass


Crawling, but not so sure about leaving the blanket


"Why is there a 7 next to me?"


Pretty eyes

more attempts at crawling

She is becoming so much stronger and is getting closer and closer to crawling on her hands and knees each day!

Big events in a laundry basket!

Today I needed to be on the computer for a bit to get some orders submitted for a 31 Gifts party I did a little while ago. Here are some photos to show the events that followed.

Lily in a laundry basket so Mommy can get some work done on the computer

She seems to be enjoying her toys and not too concerned about being confined

And then she pulled herself up! She only had a little bit of bracing on the one side with one foot, otherwise she was standing on her own!

She is such a big girl now.

Shortly after the last picture was taken she started crying. I got her to bend her knees and let go with her hands so she could sit back down and she was all smiles again. I think she couldn't figure out how to get out of this new standing position.

Lily update

Lily is so close to crawling on her hands and knees. Right now she has perfected the army crawl and will get up on her hands and knees and rock. She will also look back at her knees like "I know you are supposed to be doing something, why aren't you?" before she falls back to her belly. Army crawling is definitely a good mode of travel for her though and she can get across the family room a lot quicker than I would like.

We have cut back a little bit on solid foods because it has been giving her tummy problems. She still gets super excited when she sees her spoon and bowl though. Right now she is just back to eating oatmeal and formula and we will hopefully be reintroducing some fruits and veggies again this week.

Today some friends of ours from college are getting married so my parents are going to watch Lily all day and then also tonight! This will be the first night for me away from the baby. I'm sure it will be rough emotionally, but I'm also excited to have a morning to sleep in and also some time tomorrow to get some stuff done around the house that is harder to do with a little one.

Just this morning I found a new toy for Lily. The laundry basket. I was folding her clothes and she tipped the basket over and crawled in. Now as I type this I have moved the basket into the computer room and she is playing in it with some toys. I am enjoying the fact that she loves it and will keep her confined so I can finally get a blog post up. And I must have jinxed it because she is now starting to fuss.

nh mh,hkfvbhjn jklkbhbhgh nm,jm,hnm dnhndrn m. bbb
That would be Lily's addition to the post :)

6 month pictures and well visit

Looking up at Daddy on Father's day/6 Month Birthday

Playing with the curtains

"I want the camera"

Watching the doggies play outside

6 Months!


Lily and I went to an arts festival with our friend Michelle a couple weekends ago and got a beautiful purple headband and a purple flower barrette. The next day when I went to take her 6 month pictures I realized that the 6 was purple as well so she just had to wear the headband for her photo shoot.

She had her 6 month checkup today. While she is a little small the doctor isn't worried and he is impressed with how long she can sit up unsupported and that she army crawls. She is the the 50th percentile for height and only the 10th for weight. In the hand out he gave us at the end of the appointment it said that she can be eating solids up to 3 meals a day so I am going to start giving her more this weekend. Right now she really likes peaches and bananas, but I bought some squash and avocado at the store today so we will see what she thinks of them this weekend.

This weekend we are also going to really baby proof the house. It has been super nerve racking now that she is moving. There is so much to do though that I really don't know where to start. I guess first will be just making sure we pick up after ourselves. I am going to go and buy outlets covers, bumpers for the coffee table, and latches for the cabinets tomorrow or Saturday.

6 months and Father's Day!

Yesterday was Father's Day and Lily's 6 month birthday. It was a nice relaxing day. It was great to be able to spend time together as a family. I cannot wait until our schedules change and Sean and I will get to spend more time together.

Lily still hasn't mastered crawling, but she definitely can get to where she wants to go. She does this little scooting inch worm looking move. She will get up on her hands and knees a lot now too, but doesn't seem to realize that she needs to move her arms and legs.

We did do a photo shoot for Lily's six month and got some adorable pictures. I will try to do another post tonight with them in it so that everyone can see her.

Now it is time to finish getting ready for work and spend a little time with Lily if she ever decides to wake up!

Trying to Crawl

Lily is really trying her hardest to crawl. She is now getting up on her hands and knees a lot more and it still scooting around every where. I was finally able to catch some of her attempts on video. She usually stops doing whatever it is that she was doing when I pull out the camera, but this time she didn't seem to notice. Sorry for all the jiggling.

Busy

I finally got photos to upload! Here are a few from the last few weeks.


She was super happy to be sitting up all on her own with a bow in her hair.

5 months old and looking a little ornery

Being silly

Stuffed cardinals sure do taste yummy!

Swinging at my parents' house

She loves to eat

Our lives a very busy right now but I wouldn't have it any other way. Lily is trying her hardest to learn how to crawl and has now mastered the art of "inch-worming". If I put her on a quilt on the floor she rarely stays on it for more than 5 minutes before she is off exploring the rest of the family room. This makes it a lot harder for me to get things done while she is playing because I have to constantly see where she is. Luckily inch-worming is not the quickest mode of travel yet.

She absolutely loves Selene. As soon as she sees her doggy her eyes light up, grins real big, and lets out a very high pitched squeal. Selene still isn't all that sure of this little human in the house but is definitely getting a lot better. She lets me help Lily pet her and will lie down closer to Lily, but still not within arms reach. I don't blame her though, once Lily gets a grip on someone's hair she somehow gets her fingers all wrapped up in it and pulls hard.

She is doing really well with eating solids as you can see from the above photo. She loves rice cereal and likes sweet potatoes and pears if I make the fresh. I made a bunch of both and froze them and she won't eat them unless they are mixed with rice cereal. She gets so happy when I put her in her high chair. I will admit that sometimes when she is being fussy and just wants to be held but I have to get stuff done around the house I will put her in the high chair and move it around the house with me.

Sean and I are still working opposite shifts so we hardly see each other, but one of us it almost always with Lily. Hopefully that will change soon and we can see each other a bit, but I'm not wanting to possibly have to put Lily in child care. I have started doing direct sales for a company called 31 Gifts. It is a lot of fun and I like being able to make a little extra income. The company makes amazing purses, bags, and other totes that are all customizable.