Lilly Rae - Week 39

Sunday, March 10

Happy 9 month birthday, baby girl!  I cannot believe that my beautiful baby is 9 months old today!  Lilly has given me the best 9 months of my life thus far, and I look forward to every month, day, hour and minute that I will spend with Lilly for the rest of my life.

I had to have Darren take a few pictures of Lilly playing with her ball popper this morning because she looked so adorable in her little hoodie!  I love how intense she looks with her little tongue out in the first picture and how she seems so possessive of her toy in the second :-)

It was such a beautiful day that we decided to go to Bass Lake for a picnic and a walk.  Lilly enjoyed eating outside, especially when she took her socks off.  She LOVES to take her socks off, and I think the fresh air felt especially nice on her adorable piggies!

This is Lilly before our 2 mile walk...

And this is Lilly after.  You'd think she actually had to walk!

I think it is hilarious how flexible Lilly is.  She can literally bend herself in half!

This is what I was talking about last week: Lilly randomly puts her arms up in the air and hold them there.  It's so funny!

 This is Lilly mid clap.  She was very excited to take her weekly picture.

 Lilly is practicing walking with Daddy!  She is getting really good at it, too!

Lilly really enjoys drinking out of a big girl cup.  She sticks her tongue in the cup and bites on the end of it a little, but she was getting the hang of it!

We discovered how to keep a 9 month old occupied during dinner: put a Cheerio in a plastic container!  She loved it!

When cleaning up today, I gave Lilly her washcloth to let her wipe her own face and hands and she discovered that a wash cloth is in fact a really fun toy!  I actually have 8 minutes of video of this because it was so funny and she did it for so long, but here is a small clip!

Monday, March 11

Lilly had her 9 month checkup today.  She was an absolute ROCK STAR!  We had to wait a long time to see the doctor and Lilly was so well behaved.  Then during her checkup she was absolutely perfect and smiled and giggled with the doctor (who we were seeing for the first time and absolutely loved Lilly).   Lilly measured 16 ¾ oz (14^th percentile), 27 ¼ inches long (40^th percentile), and her head is 17 ½ inches (64^th percentile).  So she is still a petite little thing…with a larger head.  Then it was time for a shot.  I had been gearing myself up all day for this because I absolutely hate this part and I was at this appointment by myself.  The nurse came in to give Lilly the shot and stayed by her head to hold her hands and make silly faces at her.  When the nurse gave her the shot, Lilly’s eyes got wide and she yelled for a second, but I tried to make her laugh and picked her up and she stopped immediately.  I couldn't believe it!  I had her waving at the nurse and smiling at her before she left.  The nurse said Lilly made her whole day because she usually leaves the room to a screaming baby or child.  

Lilly definitely didn't skip a beat that night.  She was playing with us like normal and having a great time.  She showed Elmo some love! 

Playing with Daddy

Monkey toes!

Double fisting her toys

You can see her little band-aid from her shot, but that didn't keep Lilly from smiling and laughing all evening!

                                                           Tuesday, March 12

Kristi sent me this picture today.  Lilly sat for 10 straight minutes watching Gus Gus the dog eat his bone.  Look how entranced she looks!

When we went to pick Lilly up today, Kristi's daughter Mia was getting Lilly to give her a high five!  It was so cute.  Darren was able to get her to do it a few more times that evening as well. Again, I know it seems like we are teaching her new "tricks" and then asking her to perform, but it's just so exciting!  She also did something new tonight where while she was on her tummy, she got up in a full push up position!  We had never seen her do that before.  I will see if I can get a picture later this week, but she doesn't do it for long, so it's hard to catch.

We enjoyed another walk outside in the beautiful weather!  Lilly just loves being outside and I think it gives Darren and I renewed energy after a long day at work.

                                                         Wednesday, March 13

Lilly scooted herself almost out the door at Kristi's house today!  She likes to slide herself around on the hard wood.  I am glad that she enjoys being mobile.  I have decided that I am totally fine if she never crawls.  She will walk when she is ready and in the meantime, it's amusing watching her experiment with different ways to move around.  

Lilly enjoyed lunch time today at Kristi's.  She chewed on a carrot and also played with a spatula!

Lilly was such a happy girl today!  I don't think she stopped smiling the entire afternoon!  I said her cheeks were going to hurt because she was smiling so much!  

When we sat down for dinner, I gave Lilly her cup to "drink" from (it was empty this time) and she had a blast with it (of course).  She really enjoyed putting it up to her mouth and babbling into it so she could hear the echo in the cup.  We caught a little of it on video!  Enjoy!

Thursday, March 14

I just love coming home and getting to spend time with my Lilly.  Every day it feels like she does something else new and exciting, or something else that surprises and amazes us.  Just sitting with her and playing with her toys is all I need to be happy.

 Kristi found an Elmo stuffed animal that she had when her daughter's were little.  Of course Lilly loves it and loved to give it kisses.  If I got half as many kisses as Elmo gets, I would be one happy mommy!

Friday, March 15

My baby girl is growing up!  She now does not like to drink from a bottle at Kristi's, she only wants to drink from her sippy cup.  She still nurses perfectly, which is great because I don't think either of us are ready to give that up yet.  

Lilly was very interested in Darren's hat tonight.  She managed to get it off of his head, so we helped her put it on.

 The she decided it might make a better snack than accessory.

 Then she also thought Daddy might like a taste!

 I don't know what it is about these coasters, but ALL babies love them!  Every baby that has come through our house has played with these coasters and ignored their toys.

We are still waiting for her top teeth to come in.  Everything is a teething toy though, even books and flashcards!

This is a short, cute video of Lilly babbling and playing.  

Saturday, March 16

I missed Lilly's arms.  I know that sounds weird, but she has the most adorable chubby arms and I really missed seeing them during the winter!  I hope the weather stays nice so I can break out the spring clothes and start to see her beautiful, chubby baby arms and legs all the time!  I was spoiled since she was born in the summer; I was able to see her arms and legs every day.  I am realizing how strange this must sound to some people, but I bet there are others who know exactly what I mean!

Darren had a meeting today, so Lilly and I had a mommy/daughter day.  It was so much fun!  She was in such a great mood.  We played in the morning before her nap and Lilly showed off her "swimming" and her "push ups" that she does instead of crawling (see below)

 After we came back down from our nap, Lilly sat on the chair waiting for mommy.  When I started cheering and saying "yay" because it was time to nurse, she started clapping and smiling!  It was adorable!

 She is still a little sleepy and has some "bed head" in this picture, but it was still cute!

Lilly also waves when you say Hi now!  It is so adorable!  When I was taking the pictures, Maggie came by and I said, "Hi Maggie Moo" and Lilly started waving to her!  Sometimes she even says something that sort of sounds like "Hi" when she waves as well!  I can't wait for her to say her first word :o)