Lilly Rae - Week 38

Sunday, March 3

Just recently, Lilly has started raising both of her arms up into the air for no apparent reason other than she has figured out that she can.  She will be sitting and playing with her toys and then all of a sudden she lifts up her arms above her head for a second and then she puts them back down.  I have started trying to get her to do it at specific times, but she isn't into that; she wants to put them up only when she feels like.

Chad, Michelle, Allie and Ryan came over tonight.  It was fun to catch up and hang out with everyone. The kids are always so great with Lilly, and it warms my heart to see how much they love to play with her.  I also love how much Michelle (and Chad of course) love her as well.  It's amazing how much love Lilly has in her life and she's only 9 months old!  :o)

Monday, March 4

Darren took the day off today because Kristi needed the day off.  I was jealous that he got to spend a whole day with Lilly, but I really needed to be at work.  He sent me a picture of her eating Cheerios during the day and I was sad for a minute that I wasn't there, but then I was excited that Darren was able to get quality Daddy/daughter time without Mommy in the way ;-) 

When I got home Lilly and I were playing with Maggie (which is one of Lilly’s favorite things to do).  Maggie has a stuffed lobster toy with rope legs with which Lilly loves to play tug-a-war.  Maggie had been chewing on the toy before we started playing and instead of grabbing at the rope part like she normally does, Lilly was grabbing at the stuffed tail area.  When she grabbed it, she pulled her hand back and visibly shuddered because the toy was wet from Maggie chewing on it!  I fell over laughing!  I had never seen her do that before.  She did it several other times, though not quite as dramatic, and it was hilarious.  She wasn't upset that the toy was wet, I think it just surprised her (and was highly amusing for me!)

Lilly enjoyed getting some tickles from Daddy on the couch.

Tuesday, March 5

Lilly clapped her hands for the first time today!  This morning when we were done nursing, she put her little hands together and I said, “Lilly, are you going to clap your hands?  Go ahead and clap your hands” and she did!  She started clapping!  She did it several more times that day for us and also for Kristi. 

People have told me that my favorite stage with Lilly will be whatever stage she is in and I think they are right.  I admit I was a little nervous about this stage because she is starting to develop her own personality and she is more demanding of what she wants but can’t really communicate (which makes things tricky sometimes).  However, seeing Lilly learn new things almost every day, developing new skills, and taking in every new experience has really made me love this stage! 

Wednesday, March 6

I love how “talkative” Lilly is.  She is constantly babbling to herself and to us, and she loves being heard.  I sometimes feel like I know what she is trying to say because, even though she isn't using any actual words yet, her tone and pitch change depending on what she is feeling and what she wants (if anything).  I have been taking a lot of video of her lately so I can capture her babbling and remember it.  Time is going by so fast and Lilly is growing so quickly that I don’t want to forget these wonderful moments.

Lilly played a game with Daddy tonight with her fish toys.  She loves to chew on these toys because they are a harder plastic.  Darren started asking Lilly if he could have them and he would open his mouth and Lilly would put the toy in his mouth!  It was so funny!  She then played tug-a-war with him and tried to get her toy back.  I love watching Darren and Lilly play together.  He is so great with her and I can see how much she loves her Daddy.

I discovered "burst" mode on my phone, which takes 20 pictures in the course of about 10 seconds, so I was able to get some really cute smiley pictures!  

Thursday, March 7

When I went to get Lilly this morning, she was still sound asleep, laying on her tummy with her little tush up in the air.  The morning sunlight was coming in from her window and she looked like such an angel.  I hate having to wake her up not only because I know I hate not waking up on my own so I assume she does too, but also because I would just stay there all day and look at how beautiful she is.  She is beautiful awake, don't get me wrong, but there is someone so angelic and peaceful about a sleeping baby.  I can actually feel an ache in my heart when I look at her because I love her so much.  It's crazy!

Lilly makes herself comfortable wherever she likes, including on Jessica's feet!

Lilly waved for the first time today!  She is so cute flapping her little arm up and down!  I feel bad because when she learns a new skill, we kind of go a little bonkers trying to get her to do it for us, as if she is a trick pony, but we are just so excited!  I will try to get some video of her doing it, but for now you'll just have to take my word for it :o)

Friday, March 8

I have been trying to give Lilly different finger foods instead of just purees and Cheerios, but she hasn't been very interested.  Last night I gave her a pizza crust and a slice of apple to munch on, but she wasn't too fond of either.  She gummed the crust for a few seconds and put the apple in her mouth, but both ended up being used more as toys than anything else.  Then today Kristi send me a picture of Lilly gnawing on a piece of apple!  I was excited that she was trying it and I thought it was funny that Kristi had the same idea, even though I never told her we tried an apple the night before (Lilly has already had pureed apples, so there was no worry about a reaction).

Lilly apparently liked watching Kristi's daughter, Jessica, get ready for work (at the new Target!!!)

We are usually completely exhausted when we get home on Fridays, but today the three of us sat in the living room and just played all afternoon and evening.  At about 6:30 I mentioned to Darren how nice it was that we didn't even turn on the TV for "background noise" because we don't have cable anyway and he said he doesn't even miss it.  I definitely appreciate that we don't have the TV on for the sake of having it on anymore and that we give all of our attention to Lilly and each other.
Lilly still doesn't like to crawl, but she definitely finds strange and interesting new ways to move around!

Oooh.  What is that you have there, Mom?

Maybe if I look away and keep smiling she won't notice my hand slowly moving toward her...

Aha!  I got it!

Saturday, March 9

I love this picture because it shows Lilly's "angry" face.  She scrunches up her face and pouts her lips so her upper lip is right under her nose, they breathes in and out of her nose really hard so you can really hear it.  It's so funny!  I know I shouldn't laugh because she is "angry" but I can't help it!

See, she is happy again ;o)

 We went out to lunch at Cooley's today.  I was a little hesitant because last time we went there, Lilly did not really enjoy herself.  Last time was kind of our fault though because we didn't have the high chair cover and I wasn't confident that she would sit in the high chair by herself, so she had to sit in her carseat.  Well, we remembered the cover this time and Lilly was PERFECT!  She sat the entire time and played by herself, ate Cheerios and charmed every person who came by.  The waitress and the owner absolutely loved her.  She was so adorable I had to take some video.

I have to admit, my heart breaks a little looking at these next pictures because my baby girl look so grown up!  She is siting by herself, feeding herself and she looks like a little girl now.  Like I said, I LOVE each new stage with her and I wouldn't trade any of it for the world, but I do miss my little lumpy baby who would just snuggle on my chest and fall asleep.  I guess that is why people say they need to get a "baby fix".  I didn't get it before; now I get it!

Lilly Rae - Week 37

Sunday, February 24

Lilly is at a really fun stage.  She is so playful and is showing so much personality.  Weekends are so special because it’s the time that we get to spend as a family and when we really get to work on Lilly’s development.  She is growing up so fast!  People always tell you how fast the time goes and it’s not that I didn't believe them, I just didn't realize it was this fast!

We were able to get outside today for a nice walk.  Carolina weather is so strange.  One day it's 65 and the next it's 40 degrees.  We'll take what we can get I guess!

We went to Chad and Michelle’s for dinner and to search through baby clothes for Lilly.  Thank you SO much to Chad and Michelle for taking the time to go through all of Allie’s old clothes and pass them along to us.  We are so thankful and so grateful!  We have the best friends in the world!

When we got to the house, Allie had set up a play area for Lilly.  She brought down her soft Dora chair, a ball popper toy and a car racetrack toy for Lilly, as well as a pink crown.  It was the sweetest thing!  Allie and Ryan showed Lilly how to play with the toys and were so sweet to her!  After dinner they played peek-a-boo with her and then jumped around with Lilly while she bounced in Michelle’s arms.   The pictures did not come out great, but it was so adorable!  I did manage to get a short video of them all playing together at least!

Monday, February 25

In the car on the way to work this morning Lilly and I were “talking” back and forth.  She was babbling to herself, so I started to imitate her.  She loved this and continued to experiment with new sounds, almost as if she was seeing if I could keep up.  We did this for the entire ride to Kristi’s house and I loved every minute of it (I like to think Lilly did, too).  She just loves to babble and be heard!  I want to encourage this and always make sure she knows that we want to hear what she has to say J

We had our taxes done after school today, so we didn't snap any pictures after school, but Kristi and her daughter Mia caught a few during the day.  Mia also got a great video of Lilly bouncing her bouncy ball…on her face!   It’s soft, I promise J  I haven't been able to get it from her yet, but hopefully soon! 

Tuesday, February 26

Lilly has been sleeping so well the past few mornings that we have had to wake her up.  I hate doing this because I know how much I do not like it when I have to get up and I am not ready, so we try to make it as enjoyable as we can.  Lilly is such a great baby, she takes everything in stride and just smiles and laughs with us all morning long.  I had to capture this beautiful, happy girl at 6:45 in the morning.  Does anyone else look this cute when they first wake up?  I know I don’t! 

Michelle and Chad gave us their kids ball popper toy for Lilly to play with.  She loves it!  The balls were popping out and she was grabbing them, trying to throw them, wanting to chase after them, anything you can imagine!  It was really fun to watch her playing with it and being so active.  It's also a great toy because she really needs to stand to play with it, so it's great to encourage that as well!

 Lilly loves being upside down!

Giving kisses to Violet!

 I know this doesn't look like a good picture, but there's a story behind it.  Lilly started sitting on the floor in front of me (sitting on the recliner).  She didn't crawl to the ball popper, she ROLLED herself the entire way there!  So my baby might not be crawling, but she is getting around just fine ;-)

Wednesday, February 27

Lilly did the funniest thing tonight!  We were upstairs in our bedroom playing on the floor and Lilly rolled onto her back.  She was rolling around at first trying to get at her various toys, but then she realized that she could move herself toward them.  No, she didn't crawl...exactly.  She was still on her back, so she started kicking her legs and leaning her head back so she was sort of scooting on her head and butt!  It was so funny!  I wish I had a picture or video, but I wasn't willing to leave and get my camera and risk missing the moment.  Maybe next time :-)

Huge thank you (again) to Shannon for loaning us a walker toy and a gate for Lilly!  She wasn't quite sure what to do with it, but she loved the toys on it!

We have figured out that toys are not a huge motivator for Lilly, but ANYTHING that she is not supposed to have (remotes, phones, tablets, pens...etc) are a sure-fire way to get her to reach or move or keep her attention.

Thursday, February 28

Kristi sent the picture below.  She told me that Lilly started in the sitting position and moved to her tummy on her own.  Not a huge deal to some, but a big step for Lilly :-)

This is me trying to coax Lilly into crawling to me...you can see from her face how interested she is in this idea.

Lilly loves her new walker!  It's a great chew toy...*sigh*

I have really been trying to work on Lilly’s balance and muscle control by encouraging her to stand and balance herself.  It’s very scary as a mom to let go and then just watch and wait to see what she does.  I have learned that I have a lot more self control than I thought I did!  I even managed to snag a video of Lilly standing on her own (and falling over!) and I didn't drop the camera and freak her out.  I have known for a long time that the way I react to what happens is how she will react, so I always try to keep things calm and not make a big deal of things.  It is certainly easier said than done, but I am getting used to it. 

Friday, March 1

We went to Bass Lake for Family Fun Night tonight.  Carissa, Jared, Addie and Drew were there along with a few other friends (and many other families of course).  Lilly is still a bit young to fully enjoy the singer they had, especially since we were pretty far back, but I think she enjoyed being out and about.  She always loves seeing other people, especially kids, and she really enjoyed seeing Jared and Carissa, too.  She sat on the table with me, bounced around, played with her toys and entertained the people around us.  It was nice to get out and do things with Lilly.  We've felt a little bit of cabin fever this week because it’s been so cold. 

Kristi’s daughter, Jessica, has Elmo slippers.  She was wearing them around the house on Friday and apparently Lilly could not get enough of them!  It’s a good thing that I don’t find Elmo too annoying (yet) because Lilly loves everything Elmo!

Saturday, March 2 

Lilly and mommy were up pretty early this morning.  I am pretty used to it by now, so it's not really a big deal to get up at 6, even on the weekends.  Lilly is always so pleasant in the morning, so that helps.  

We had a quiet day of cleaning and organizing the house.  We have been lucky to get some great "new" clothes for Lilly from our friends, so we had to pack away the stuff that was too small and, of course, I had to organize all of the new stuff.  

I tried giving Lilly a few small pieces of banana today in addition to her Cheerios and she wasn't too thrilled about that.  I think the texture was a little off putting.  She loves grabbing and feeding herself Cheerios, so I want to start introducing new "finger food" to her.  I got some great advice from friends on Facebook, so I am hoping to try a bunch of new foods over the next few weeks and move past the pureed foods into "real" food.  I love watching her tiny fingers pinch and grasp her food and push it into her mouth.  It is so cute!  

Here are more pictures of Lilly "reading" her books.  I can't help it!  I love them!

Lilly's own version of "The Foot Book"

Darren was taking pictures of Lilly standing on her own (holding the table).  This is me showing that I wasn't holding her up.  No hands!