Lilly Rae - Week 29

Sunday, December 30

Today we had to say goodbye to Aunt Jekkah L  We had a nice morning together though and Lilly was very happy to get in some great cuddle time and a few rounds of “Baa Baa Black Sheep” before Jess left. 

Lilly wore one of my favorite outfits today.  It is a cute outfit, but it’s mainly a favorite because it has feet so I don’t need to put sock on Lilly.  Any parent knows that it is impossible to keep socks on a baby’s feet!  We thought we had it easy when Lilly was an infant because she rarely kicked her socks off and people would tell us how rare it was that she would keep socks on.  Now it is like a constant game with Lilly.  She knows exactly how to rub her feet together to get those socks off in a hurry!  So let’s just say that I am very excited when we get to wear this outfit and don’t have to hunt down socks every few minutes.

29 weeks have sure flown by!  Look at my beautiful baby girl!  She is so interested in the sign that I have to hold it behind her head to get it in the picture, but we got it!

Monday, December 31

New Year’s Eve day was actually pretty nice here.  The sun was out, so it wasn’t too terribly cold.  We decided it was nice enough to take a walk, since that is something Lilly always enjoys and it’s been too cold to do so recently.  Plus this gave us an excuse to have Lilly wear her monkey hat! 

We went next door to our neighbor’s house for a New Year’s party.  As soon as we walked in, our neighbor tried to say Hi to Lilly (with a lot of enthusiasm) and she started to cry!  She has just started the “stranger anxiety” that tends to show up around 6 months, but I felt really bad.  She was also tired, but it was clear that she is starting to get nervous around people she doesn’t know. 

She played with our neighbor’s teenage daughter and her friend for a little while, which was great, but then it was time for Lilly to go to bed, so I took her home with me.  I know I didn’t get to celebrate the New Year at a crazy party or toast with champagne, but I didn’t mind because I wouldn’t trade being Lilly’s mommy for anything.

Tuesday, January 1

I am so anxious for Lilly to crawl.  I really want it to happen over track out so I don’t miss it when she is at Kristi’s and I am stuck at work L  I know you can’t rush these things and she will crawl when she is ready, but I figure the more time she spends on her belly and the more I am down there with her encouraging her, the better J

Plus she is just so darn cute!

Trying to fit her whole fist in her mouth to help with teething...

Wednesday, January 2

I didn't realize how fun it would be to feed an infant.  Every time seems like a brand new experience.  Lilly has started eating oatmeal or rice cereal in the morning for breakfast.  Below I actually caught her mid sneeze!  I have learned to love the mess that feeding time creates :-)

Lilly wasn’t feeling very well today and, stupid me, thought it would be a good idea to go out to lunch.  We went to Cooley’s and the waitress was a very sweet older woman.  She commented several times on Lilly’s beautiful smile and when she asked her name and I told her it was Lilly, she said “that suits her and that beautiful smile.”  There was an older couple sitting across the aisle from us and they were very sweet as well, even when Lilly started crying. The woman looked over to me and after helping to pick up Lilly’s burp cloth said, “we’ve all been there,” and she gave Lilly and I a smile.  It’s nice that people are understanding of babies and try to be helpful instead of make things worse by seeming irritated. 

We tried green beans for the first time tonight.  Lilly wasn’t feeling 100%, so I was pretty lax with how she ate…and she made a mess!  I put a few puffs on her tray to keep her occupied so I could eat my dinner as well, and she was having a blast getting them stuck to her fingers.  She always looks so intense when she is trying to use her fingers to grasp something small.

Thursday, January 3

Lilly was back to her happy self today!  It is so hard as a parent to know your child is not feeling well and there is little you can do about it.  I am so glad she is better now and we can all enjoy our time together J

When I came home from a massage appointment today, Lilly was snuggled up with Darren fast asleep.  It melts my heart to see her sleep, but especially when she is asleep in daddy’s arms.  I love how much Darren loves her and how much joy I see in him when he is holding our precious baby girl.  For once I didn't take a picture because I worried about waking them, but I will have that picture in my head forever.

I brought Lilly out to a few stores with me today and I don’t know why I am still surprised by this, but people were fawning all over her.  I don’t get why TV shows says babies are “chick magnets” because the truth is, they are magnets for the elderly (and I mean that in a nice way).  Today, we met 3 different elderly people who were so taken by Lilly that the entire checkout line started having a conversation about how cute Lilly is.  It was a nice way to pass the time waiting in line.  Lilly really knows how to charm people when she wants to.  She has this perfect little shy smile that is virtually impossible to look at without smiling yourself.  You can’t beat a beautiful baby smile, especially my Lilly’s smile! 

To help with Lilly's teething, I tried putting a small ice cube of frozen breast milk in a mesh feeder.  She seems to like it!

Friday, January 4

So who does Lilly look like?  We took pictures with Lilly this morning, not for the purpose of seeing who she looked like, but some people commented on them with who they think she looks like.  I see Lilly.  I don’t see myself or Darren as much as others do.  I think she is the most beautiful baby in the entire world, so it would seem awfully conceited of me to think she looks like me! 

Lilly loves car rides.  We have actually been using the car to help her sleep this week while she hasn’t been feeling well.  Today we needed to go to Cary anyway, so when she fell asleep on the car ride home, it wasn’t all that surprising.  It wouldn’t be a blog if I didn’t include at least one picture of Lilly sleeping J

Waiting patiently for Mommy to finish up in the store

Saturday, January 5

I think mornings are still my favorite time with Lilly.  She is always SO excited to see us in the morning when she wakes up and she is content to just nurse and sit with me snuggled under a blanket.  I just look down at her while she is nursing, stroke her head and tell her how much I love her.  These moments in the morning are such a gift right now because normally our mornings are much more rushed and I am thinking of a million things instead of focusing on what's really important.  I don't make resolutions, but I am definitely going to work on savoring these moments with Lilly even when I go back to work and not let my mind wander to other things when I need to be soaking up this special time.

Lilly has also really found her voice and enjoys singing and cooing constantly.  I have a bunch of video clips from this morning and her "songs" but below is the best one:

   

Lilly's teeth seem to be bothering her more lately and one thing she does to help is suck on her lips.  It's so funny when she does it!  You can see it below.

I love the pictures below because it shows the progression of Lilly's "poses" during tummy time.  She starts off strong and fully holding herself up.

As she gets more tired, she does a "superman" pose where she actually lifts up her legs and arms and balances on her belly (don't ask me why this is comfortable!)

Then when she gets tired, she takes a break :-)