Lilly Rae - Week 41

Sunday, March 24

We had a low key day today.  It's funny that even over track out that Sundays have a lazy weekend feel.  We went out to a couple of stores, including Target, and got Lilly some things for her Easter basket.  It seems like all the stores sell for Easter is candy, which of course we can't give to Lilly, so I got her new books instead :-)  I almost got her a bunny headband, but then Darren found an adorable flower headband instead and we bought that for her instead.  I don't know who likes it more, Lilly or Darren...

I think Lilly is a much cuter hair accessory

 Monday, March 25

Lilly had a package from Aunt Mare today!  She is a little more interested in opening presents than she was at Christmas, so it was fun to watch her pull at the wrapping paper and take the toys out of the box.  She got a new stuffed lamb and two adorable new outfits.

 Lilly loves how soft her new lamb is.  She imediately started giving it kisses.

Lilly was also enamored by the box.  We actually left that out for the rest of the day so she could play with it.  Babies are so funny!

 Thank you for my presents, Aunt Mare!

Tuesday, March 26

I feel so lucky that Maggie and Lilly get along so well.  That is actually a huge understatement: they adore each other.  You would think that Maggie would be annoyed by Lilly because she gets so much attention, but they actually play together.  Lilly gets just as excited to see Maggie every morning as she does to see us (ok, maybe more excited), and Maggie actually comes over to Lilly with her toys so they can play together.  

We went out to lunch today and Lilly was so perfect in the restaurant.  I think I should buy stock in General Mills, because Cheerios are possibly the best invention in the world.  They keep her completely occupied while we eat and she only drops about half of them on the floor ;o) 

Wednesday, March 27

Lilly had another Easter surprise today!  Grandma sent an Easter package and Lilly was so excited!  She got a new stuffed kitty, a monkey toy, some soft blankets and her own remote!  I think my mom remembered how much Lilly loves to grab our remotes (and eat them!) so she wanted to get Lilly her own (great job Grandma!).  Lilly really enjoyed playing with her new toys!

Ryan and Allie came over to play for a little while today.  Lilly loves Allie and Ryan and they love her, too.  While Darren and Allie drew pictures, Ryan read books to Lilly.  It was so sweet and Lilly was completely entranced by Ryan.

Later the kids wanted to make sure that Lilly was happy so they brought her some of her toys, and by some I mean all :-)  They brought her every toy in her little basket so she would have anything she wanted to play with right in her lap.

Thursday, March 28

Lilly cut another tooth today!  Her top right tooth is out.  Hopefully the top left is on its way as well ;o)  I knew one was coming because she has been a little more fussy than usual and she was drooling like a mad woman.  It's amazing how you get so in tune with your baby and even the slightest change in their mood helps you know that something is off.  Motherhood still amazes me.

We went to the outlets this morning and I had the "brilliant" idea to use the drive there as Lilly's nap time because then she could sleep and stay asleep when we got there so we could shop.  She slept the whole way there, but as soon as we pulled into the parking lot, she woke up.  Oh well.  She was a little fussy, but she did great overall.

She was in a silly mood when we got home.  She was rolling around on the floor, making her new "screaming" sounds, giggling and doing a lot of "push ups" on the floor.  I was convinced she was going to crawl, but she tricked me.  It was just so nice to lay on the floor and play with Lilly for a while.  She was just so happy!

We were able to Skype with Aunt Mare that evening as well and thank you for her wonderful Easter basket that she sent Lilly.  Lilly loves to Skype (and jump on my lap while we talk) and I know it means a lot to our families since we live so far away.

Friday, March 29

I love mornings with Lilly over track out.  It's so nice to just get to relax together and hang out in our PJs while we play.  I am going to miss feetie pajamas whens he grows out of these.  Not only is it going to get too hot to wear them, but they don't seem to sell them for 12 months and yup.  

Anyone who wants to tell me that Lilly's teething necklace doesn't work should see how happy my beautiful baby girl is int he midst of cutting two teeth.  She has her moments of fussiness, but she is so happy and joyful all the time, I truly believe the necklace helps her feel better and cope with the pain of teething.  I highly recommend them to all parents!

One of Lilly's favorite things to do is to take all of her toys out of her toy basket.  It's really cute to watch her reach in and pull everything out; and yes, I mean everything!

 Even covered in all of her toys, Lilly is still most interested in Mommy's phone!

 One of Lilly's other favorite games is playing "fetch" with Mommy and Daddy at meal times.  She loves to have a cup on her tray (empty of course), and it's a great distraction so we can also eat.  Unfortunately, Lilly also loves to throw the cup on the floor and then grunt until we pick it up.  So while at the Dollar Store today, Mommy picked up an extra lanyard to attach the cup to Lilly's seat so she can't throw it!  Hehe.  Mommy is so tricky.  Lilly was a little perplexed that she could no longer throw the cup, but she was very interested in the lanyard.

I was in the mood to make sweet potato fries today, and I thought it might be interesting to see what Lilly did with one.  It was definitely interesting and definitely messy!  She was more interested in squishing it between her fingers and on her tray than eating it, but she did manage to get a few squishy clumps into her mouth.  Darren was not thrilled about the mess, but I reminded him that it was bath night anyway, so why not just let her have fun.  It was totally worth the mess!

Saturday, March 30

Lilly crawled today!  She didn't go far, or for very long, but she army crawled her way to her bouncer.  We have it on video but it's several minutes long so it wouldn't upload.  It was so exciting!  I am so glad we were able to see it ourselves :o)

Lilly did the cutest thing today.  Maggie was laying in front of her and Lilly leaned down (without us saying anything) and gave Maggie a kiss on the head.  We tried to get her to do it again on camera, but she just gave me a huge grin and wouldn't do it.  That was pretty funny as well:

It was a nice day today so we headed to Bass Lake for a nice walk.  Lilly loves being outside and since we haven't 
had very many nice days over track out so far, we wanted to take advantage of it.  As we were walking around the lake, Lilly was singing to herself and had her little ankles crossed in her stroller like a little lady.  It was so cute!

As soon as Darren took out the camera, Lilly puyt her hand up as if to say, "no pictures, please."  She is so funny!  

Apparently she warmed up to the idea of getting her picture taken.  

 She also loves to grab her feet and, inevitably, yank her socks off.  She loves to have bare feet.  By the end of the walk, I had both of her socks in my pockets because she was not going to keep them on the whole time.

Lilly Rae - Week 40

Sunday, March 17

We have been trying to introduce new foods to Lilly, but she is not very adventurous yet (though adventurous is a very strong word here).  I scrambled some egg yolks for her today to try...which she tried...one bite.  I hope my baby girl isn't a picky eater like I was when I was young.  I think I survived on cereal and grilled cheese for several years.  Clearly she didn't mind trying the egg though!

I love this picture because I caught Lilly while she was babbling and it looks like she is trying to tell me something.  She works so hard to communicate with us.  I can't wait to hear what she has to say :o)

This gives you a little glimpse at Lilly's "angry" face.  I love it! (is that bad??)

As you can see, she doesn't stay "angry" for very long.  It took about 10 seconds for her to start laughing and smiling again.

Carissa brought us a big bag full of books for Lilly.  I was extremely excited because a lot of them were lift the flaps or touch and feel books, which are Lilly's favorites.  I love how much Lilly loves books!  She plays with them as if they are toys.  All she wanted out of the toys we had laid out were the books.  It just makes me happy that my daughter already enjoys books...

...including how they taste...

40 weeks has gone by very quickly!  Look how much my baby girl has changed!

Monday, March 18

Lilly is really good at waving now.  Whenever we come to get her in the morning and say "Hi Lilly!" she flaps her little arm up and down and is pretty much the cutest thing in the entire world.  She is so close to saying "Hi" I cannot wait!

Tuesday, March 19

Kristi has been giving Lilly her milk in a sippy cup.  Today she wouldn't let Kristi or Jess hold the cup, she wanted to be a big girl and do it all herself.  Lilly really loves cups.  She likes holding them and trying to drink from regular cups as well.

Lilly loves her Cheerios!  We have also found that she likes Rice Krispies as well and even eats them with milk.

Lilly and I had the afternoon to ourselves while Darren had meetings.  It was nice to get some mommy/daughter time.  Lilly was letting me take more pictures because I had the camera flipped around so she could see herself.  There were plenty that I couldn't use because she was grabbing my phone (which of course she always wants over the 10,000 toys she has), but I did catch a few gems here :o)

Wednesday, March 20

Today was our last day of work for 3 1/2 weeks!  I love HGMS, but I love my Lilly so so much more and getting to spend all of that time with her is amazing!  

When we got home, we started playing with her bouncy ball.  I threw it against the couch at one point and she started cracking up!  So I grabbed my phone to take some video.  It's not the best because I am trying to throw and retrieve a bouncy ball while taking the video, but you can at least hear her beautiful laugh!

Remember what I said before about Lilly wanting my phone over all of her other toys?  This is what I meant!

Hmmm...what do I want to play with?

Ooooh!  Mommy's phone!

Lilly loves her bath time.  She has started splashing with her hands and feet and laughing.  Then once in a while she will splash too hard and get herself in the face and then she looks up at us like she is going to cry, but then she gets over it and continues to splash.  I have video but it's too long for the blog, so enjoy a few adorable pictures instead!

Thursday, March 21

Our first day of track out!  We celebrated by going out to lunch at The Meeting Corner in downtown Fuquay.  I told Darren to "like" them on Facebook and be the 500th "like" (which he did) and the owner told us to come in for a free flan!  We wanted to try it for lunch anyway, so that worked out perfectly.  If you haven't tried The Meeting Corner yet, you HAVE to!  The food is outstanding!  It's exotic, but don't be put off.  We had plantain lasagna today and I could eat it every day.  We all need to do our best to support local businesses in Fuquay; far too many are leaving :o(  We stopped in to Stick Boy on our way home (because we can't walk by without going in!) and we left with a cinnamon roll for Darren, a baguette and a piece of cake.  I had no intention of getting all of that, but I dare you to walk into Stick Boy and leave with nothing!  It's just too good!  

Friday, March 22

Lilly has these stacking blocks that she loves to play with.  One thing we do when we are playing with them is I put one up to my face and make noise into the opening and then I put it up to her face and she starts making noise, too!  It's so cute!  She likes the way her voice reverberates into the block and she gets this adorable grin on her face as if she did a magic trick.  I just love it!

Lilly was so good for me today.  Darren had his wisdom teeth out, so he needed to just rest.  Lilly and I went to the store to get him ice cream and popsicles, then we went out to Kohls after nap time and so many people commented how cute she is and how she sits so nicely in the cart and just hangs out.  I already know this, but it's nice that other people see what an amazing baby girl I have :-)  

Lilly still loves playing with Maggie.  If my phone is her favorite toy, Maggie's "lobster" is her second favorite.  It's funny because she looks a little disgusted every time she picks it up because Maggie has usually slobbered on it.  

Then she gets very excited that she has it and starts waving it around.

 Then she tries to get Maggie to play with her and offers the toy to her (yes, I am impressed that my 9 month old is "sharing")

 She gets so excited when Maggie comes over to get the toy.  Maggie is so gentle with her and even brings the toy back to Lilly after she takes it.  I love my girls :-)

Saturday, March 23

Today we took Lilly to Fuquay's Easter egg hunt.  We met Michelle, Allie and Ryan there.  Chad was helping a friend move, so Darren took Ryan to find eggs in the 4 and under section while Michelle watched Allie in the 5 and older section and I walked around with Lilly.  I know Lilly doesn't necessarily understand what was happening, but it was so cute to see her reach down and pick up an Easter egg off of the ground!  She was content to have two in her hands so she could bang them together.  The kids had a really great time and it was so much fun to watch them.  We even got Lilly's picture with the Easter bunny!  A woman from the Town stopped to take Lilly's picture as well because she thought she was so cute :-)