Lilly Rae - Week 36

Sunday, February 17

Lilly is starting to do some of the cutest things!  Today when we were playing on the floor with her puppy toy that talks to her and plays music, I noticed that she would bounce and "dance" whenever the song "Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes" came on.  It was so cute!  I managed to catch it on video and I am so glad I did.  She would just be sitting normally and playing, and then when the song came on, she would start dancing.

Monday, February 18

Another really cute thing that Lilly has started doing is "giving kisses".  If we tell her something kisses, she pulls it to her face and opens her mouth.  She gives her toys kisses, but her favorite thing to kiss (besides Mommy and Daddy of course!) is her Elmo book.  Lilly LOVES Elmo, so she adores one of the books we have that has an Elmo puppet attached to it.  I give it to her to sit and play with and she just lights up every time she sees it.  When I tell her to "give Elmo kisses" she pulls the puppet to her face and gives it a big, wet kiss.  It's so cute!

I don't know why I like this picture so much, but it makes me laugh every time I see it :o)  Kristi sent this to me and I just love the way Lilly's tongue is sticking out and I think her eyes look beautiful.  

Tuesday, February 19

Lilly woke up last night so I went in to comfort her and soothe her back to sleep.  I think she is teething, so I wanted to be there for her and make her feel better.  I nursed her and rocked her for a while, but she was still pretty awake.  So we sat for a little while in the glider and I just looked at my beautiful baby's perfect face with her rosy red cheeks, and I tucked my finger into her tiny hand so that she had skin-to-skin contact with me, and we just rocked.  It was late at night and I was tired, but I cherished these quiet moments with my Lilly because I know she is growing up so fast and I don't want to miss a thing.  

Darren and I almost jumped out of our chairs today because we thought Lilly might have said her first word, but it was a false alarm.  As she and I were sitting in the chair, she said, "Dad" but she wasn't actually saying "Dad" she was just making the sound.  It was so cute to hear it though!  We aren't counting that as her first word since she didn't know what she was saying, but I know it really made Darren feel good to know how close she is to saying "Dada!"  Of course, that night when we put her to bed, she was not very happy and she cried out for "Mamamama" so I got my share too ;o)  

Here is Lilly giving Elmo kisses again

Wednesday, February 20

We have been using Lilly's carseat cover to keep her warm outside since it has been so cold.  She doesn't love it, but she tolerates it.  She kicks and punches at it when we have to close the flap when we walk outside and it's always funny to just see all of these little lumps and bumps popping up.  Today she did something so funny!  We still have her elephant toy hanging on the bar of her carseat and today she stuck her hand out of the flap and grabbed onto the toy and held it tight on the walk from the car to Kristi's.  It was hilarious because when we walked in, her little hand was the only thing you could see and she still did not let go of her toy.  I wish I had snapped a picture of it because it was adorable.  

When we picked Lilly up, Kristi informed us that she had started blowing raspberries today (which I had seen her do before as well).  Kristi said that Lilly did it while eating her breakfast and Darren mentioned that she did it to him too.  I had never seen her do it with food (lucky me).  That night when we were changing Lilly she started blowing raspberries and Darren laughed and did it back.  I said, "Gee, I wonder why she has started doing THAT!"  and laughed.  Sometimes it's hard as a parent to not reinforce things that babies do that are SO cute, but you know you will regret later ;-)

Kristi got Lilly a small rubber ball and she loves to play with it!  I am hoping that maybe she will crawl after the ball when it rolls away.

Thursday, February 21

i know these photos aren't the best, but you can still see Lilly's huge smile in the top one, so I wanted to post it anyway.

Tonight we Skyped with my Mom and Aunt Mare.  My mom is still in Long Island so she can be with the family, so it was nice to see them both at the same time.  Lilly basically used me as a jungle gym and climbed all over me (mostly trying to get the computer) while we Skyped.  It was really funny (though kind of exhausting for me!).  It was so nice to see them and I know Lilly enjoyed it as well.

Lilly was in a GREAT mood after dinner.  She played on the floor with Darren and was rolling around, kicking her legs, singing her songs and having a great time.  Darren and Lilly started to play peek-a-boo/hide and seek with her mat and Lilly loved it.  She would grab the blanket and wrap herself up in it and then laugh and smile when Darren would find her.

I love how active she is and how much we can play with her.  It can be tiring some days because she always wants to be doing something and be entertained, but seeing that big smile and hearing her laugh energizes me like drinking a few cups of coffee.  

Friday, February 22

Kristi sent me an email today with a picture of Lilly that was very interesting!  Lilly had pushed herself backwards all the way from the blanket that she sits on (the one surrounded by toys in the bottom of the picture), to the area behind the couch.  Kristi's dog Gus Gus was standing guard (and probably also slightly confused) and I am SO glad she sent me a picture.  We tried having Lilly on the hardwood tonight to see if she would do the same thing, and she did!  She is technically not crawling, but maybe this will inspire her to be more mobile?  Maybe?

Tonight I showed Darren how Lilly reads her Elmo book and her Touch and Feel Farm book and I had him take video of it.  It's too long to post (unfortunately), but it is so cute!  She lifts all of the flaps in the Elmo book and turns the pages herself.  And in Touch and Feel Farm, she turns the pages and knows exactly where to touch as soon as she sees the page.  I know this doesn't sound very impressive, but I love this so much!  She is already starting to understand what to do with her books (which of course, melts my heart!) and she seems genuinely interested.  I hope she is a reader like her mommy :-)

I have said that Lilly loves to give kisses to her toys, but she has also started giving kisses to us.  When we get close to her and ask her for kisses, she leans in and puts her mouth on our cheek or lips (usually with a little wet tongue thrown in there, too!)  She did it for Darren several times tonight but by the time I had the camera going, she had stopped.  Oh well!  I'll get her next time.

We also pulled out a toddle toy for Lilly hoping that it might inspire her to be more mobile.  She was very interested in the toys on the front, but not so much standing up with it. 

Saturday, February 23

First a huge shout out to Shannon S. for hooking us up with some great books and clothes for Lilly!  Shannon and I went to high school together and we both live in the area and reconnected on Facebook.  Thanks Shannon (and her husband, Kevin, and beautiful daughter, Elise) for your generosity!

We had a play date today with Jess R. and her daughters, Ana and Emma.  They came over in the late afternoon and we just let the girls play while we talked and shared parenting stories and ideas.  It is so nice to have friends who can offer their advice and experience about parenting.  I feel like I am just flying by the seat of my pants with this whole thing and to hear that others do the same things that I do, or to get some tried and true ideas is just so wonderful.

Lilly and Emma did a great job playing together and not being too rough (though they were very curious about each other's faces).  Emma was pulling up on the coffee table, standing on her own and walking with the push walker and I was hoping some of this would rub off on Lilly; however, she seemed content to just sit on her mat in the pile of toys Ana had brought her.

 I think Lilly might have been snatching a toy away from Emma here.  Oops!

Look at Lilly's hand on her toy.  It's like she is trying to claim it, even though it is right next to Emma.

 Reading a book together.

The girls were trying to give each other kisses.  It was SO cute!

After our friends left, I fed Lilly and let her experiment with a sippy cup with a straw for the first time. I put a little bit of water in it, just to see what she would do and she had the BEST time rolling it around on her tray, banging it on her tray, chewing on it...etc, but she did not understand that the straw was meant for getting the water out of the cup.  It's ok because she enjoyed playing with it so it was fun to watch :o)

Lilly Rae - Week 35

Sunday, February 10

We received some very bad news today.  My amazing Grandpa passed away.  He was 89 years old and had been having some health problems, but it was still a shock.  It was a hard day, but being able to snuggle my Lilly pad made it better.  She really is the sunshine of my days and adds so much love and happiness to my life.  I am so thankful that Grandpa was able to meet Lilly and that we have some beautiful pictures of them together.  I will make sure that Lilly knows what amazing great grandparents she had and how much they both loved her, even though Nanny was not here to meet her. 

Lilly is 8 months old today (and Maggie turned 2!) so we tried to focus on the happiness surrounding this.  Today clearly proved that just looking at Lilly and holding her in my arms can make any situation better.  Happy 8 month birthday baby girl! 

Monday, February 11

I stayed home with Lilly today because Kristi needed a day off.  I was glad to do it; I will take any extra time with Lilly that I can get!

We met Amber out at Chick-fil-A to visit with her, Gracen and Jace.  It was great to get some time to catch up with Amber and of course to play with Gracen and snuggle with Jace.  Holding a 1 month old baby just made me realize how much I miss that stage!

Amber and I were talking a lot about balancing work, family and other aspects of our life and how it can be very difficult.  She told me about her uncle who has faced many, many medical obstacles in his life so he has gained a lot of perspective.  He told her that the most important thing she can do is to raise her kids.  Cleaning the house, working out and all the rest can wait.  The most important thing in life is to raise our children.  Amen to that!

Lilly sat in a big girl high chair at Chick-fil-A for the first time!  We sent Daddy a picture at work so he could see.

Tuesday, February 12

Lilly gets a very instense expression on her face when she plays with some of her toys now.  She sticks out her tongue and looks very intently at her toys as she tries to figure them out and learns how to use her hands and fingers a little better each time.  She is so great at entertaining herself now as well.  She can just sit on her mat and play with her toys, sing to herself, talk to her stuffed animals and be happy.  As long as we are near her and she can see one of us, she is happy.  We are so lucky to have such a happy and relaxed baby girl.  

Wednesday, February 13

Tonight I found Lilly curled up and asleep right against the side of her crib.  It's crazy how much she moves in her crib now!  Anyway, I didn't like how close she was to the side because I was afraid she would bang her head or her face, so I moved her as gently as I could to the center of her crib.  Unfortunately, I woke her up.  I tried to just duck down so she wouldn't see me and would go back to sleep, but I wasn't fast enough.  So there I am, laying on the floor next to Lilly's crib "hiding" and at first she is just whining.  Then she started her newest torture technique: crying out "mamamamama!"  I know it's not really saying "mama" yet, but you try letting your baby "cry it out" when it sounds like she is calling for you!  So I picked her up and nursed her in the glider for a few minutes to get her back to sleep.  She was still awake when I put her back down, so I put her pink blanky against her face to comfort her.  Then she did the sweetest thing.  She grabbed my thumb with her little hand, rolled on her side toward me, and pulled my hand in to her to keep me close.  My heart absolutely melted.  She didn't make a peep, she just held my thumb and closed her eyes and fell asleep.  I gently took my hand away (though I was tempted to just stand there all night and let her hold me).  I know how much I love my Lilly, but tonight, I realized how much she loves me too.

Lilly thinks it is so funny when Darren blows (lightly) in her face.  Her whole face lights up and she gets the biggest smile on her face.  She also loves when we do this with her squirty bath toys (minus the water).  It's adorable!

Thursday, February 14

Happy Valentine's Day!  Darren made me a video of Lilly as my Valentine's Day gift.  It was perfect because Lilly is the only gift I need.  Kristi sent us the top two pictures today to show how how intensely Lilly was watching Mickey Mouse Clubhouse.  She seems to like Mickey's high pitched, squeaky voice.  I am just glad that she likes anything Disney :o)  

We are very conscientiousness of what we have on the TV now because Lilly is very interested in it.  We have been watching a lot more Seasame Street in the background lately!  

Maybe teething never really stops during this age, because Lilly seems to be teething again.  She chews on anything she can get her hands on!  We can't feel anything else coming through yet, but I think her top teeth will come in over the next few weeks.

Friday, February 15

Huge THANK YOU to Chad and Michelle for watching Lilly tonight while we performed in a James Bond themed Awards night at the Theater!  We are so lucky to have such amazing friends who love Lilly and take such good care of her!  Darren and I have never been this dressed up together, so I had to make sure we had a few pictures taken.  I think Darren makes a very handsome Bond, wouldn't you agree ;-)

Saturday, February 16

We had a lot of fun today!  We went to Ana's birthday party at the Aquatics Center in Smithfield and Lilly went swimming for the first time!  She enjoyed being in the water and playing with her rubber ducky, but I think she was also a little overwhelmed by all the kids running around.  It was so cute to see her in her little bathing suit (thanks for lending us one, Jess and Matt!) and I look forward to many more pool experiences this summer!

After the party we went to visit Matt, Antonia and Joseph!  We haven't seen them in a long time and both babies have grown and changed so much!  Joey is really moving now, so I was hoping he could teach Lilly a thing or two.  ;o)  It was so cute to see them playing together.  Obviously neither one has any concept of sharing yet, so they were just pulling books and boys out of each other's hands and each one wanted the toy the other had, no matter what it was.  There were no tears though, so I guess they were having a great time regardless.

Lilly loves to bounce in her jumperoo (which I have said before and posted video/pictures of).  Recently, we have noticed that she "bounces" when she is sitting when we say "bounce, bounce, bounce!"  We caught some video of it.  It is absolutely hilarious!  P.S. Don't think we are terrible parents for the end of the second video.  I promise she is on a very thick blanket and that she didn't even wimper ;o)