10 Months

Today Lily is 10 months old. 5/6ths of a year. It is now safe to say she's almost ONE. While she has waved off and on, today was the first day she waved bye-bye from the Goodbye Window at daycare. My big girl, with both hands pressed against the glass, pulled one away to wave at me while I backed away toward the car. She looked so big in that moment. It is amazing to watch her grow. I'm constantly in wonder at the things she learns and does. 

Daycare is still a place she loves and still such a hard thing for me to do every day. I miss her terribly and feel somedays like I am missing so much. We just try and focus in the many benefits that daycare provides. Especially for her learning.

More and more Lily is turning into a functional, and semi-coordinated, little human. She is making her opinions known, she gabs all the time, and does things to intentionally get a laugh (yup, she's my kid alright!). She is such a good baby. If we were to doubt that for even a moment, everywhere we go we are reminded by friends, family, coworkers, and perfect strangers how lovely, well behaved, and sweet she really is. Even when we are traveling, off her schedule and in a new place, she always manages to share her sweet giggles.

Lily is cruising along. Crawling like a maniac, walking well along the furniture, and standing against anything she can touch, including poor Lacey! Often trying to let go and stand on her own. She is currently doing a lot to experiment with the volume of her voice, whispering and screeching. Babbles lots of 'mama' 'baba 'nana', but her favorite is for her sweet 'dada'. She is making more complex sounds that resemble 'daddy' and 'baby'. We just crack up when she accentuates her ramblings by talking with her hands, even pointing fingers when she shouts. 

We do have a baby foodie on our hands. She loves food and has yet to refuse anything. She eats almost everything we do. With the exception being anything sweet, salty, over processed, or greasy. Her pincher grasp and hand-to-mouth coordination has really improved. She's also actually eating a lot more of the food instead of just playing. 

This 10 months has been a lot of things. Learning to be a parent is hard. It's sleepless night, uncertainty, worry, feelings of failure or inadequacy. But amidst its challenges is an overwhelming sense of joy. The immense privilege of getting to be Lily's mom is enough to outweigh any tough day. Not for a moment do we take our little blessing for granted. 

We love you sweet Lily Bean. Forever and ever.

6 Months

On Tuesday we celebrated our sweet Lily's half birthday! 6 whole months.

It was a big month for Lily! Her 'vocabulary' is greatly expanding to many many more babbles and squeals. She learned to sit up all on her own and really enjoys playing with the big kids at daycare this way. Lily had her first (two) big colds and now recognizes the nasal aspirator when it is near... Boy she hates that thing! She has tried a number of new foods, including apple, yellow bell pepper, cucumber, and cantaloupe. Avocado is next up!

She's doing very well at daycare and loves playing with the kids. It's great to see her smile when she gets there. You can just see her observing and studying the kids. It's wonderful!

This last weekend was especially exciting, Lily had her first airplane ride! She and I flew down to Southern California to stay with one of our very favorite friends, Susan, and her gorgeous family. While we had a lot of stuff to juggle (I'm not known for packing light), Lily was a dream. She got compliments on being so well behaved and everyone went out I their way to help us. There is a lot of good people in the world. We had a fantastic time with our friends. Her son and daughter are such a light in the world. They have crazy toddler energy and are filled with love and sweetness. 1200 miles is a long way, but I'm so happy we are going to make regular effort for them to be in each others lives.

Lily had her 6 month pediatrician appointment yesterday and is the picture of health. Measuring a whopping 18lbs 8.5oz and 27inches tall, she's consistently in about the 85th percentile for both.

Her personality is coming out more and more. She laughs all the time, talks to the dogs, and we think is going to have a great sense of humor, one that will really match her brilliance.

Lily Bean, we love you. We are so proud of the little girl you're growing into and we cannot wait to discover the world by your side. You are so loving and already showing signs of independence. We hope to nurture those traits and watch you grow into the individual you're meant to be. This 6 months went by fast, too fast. Do us a favor and slow down a bit, will you?

Sitting up!

Another big milestone for Lily Bean!

Our little girl is officially sitting up. For weeks she's sat up for a few seconds before falling over. If she could lean against us, she did okay too. But, it's like a switch flipped! All of a sudden Monday night, she sat up and stayed! She's even used her arms to balance and keep herself from toppling over.

We are so proud of our big girl!

Adventures in Food

We are just beginning our food adventures with Lily. She's 5 1/2 months now and fascinated with food. Lily has been fixated. We cannot eat a thing without her laser guided stare or chubby little fingers reaching for it.

Time to step up our exploration? We think so.

On Superbowl Sunday she got her first simple taste, celery! It was cool and she got to hold it herself. Snacking right along with all the big kids!

Todays food adventure: cucumber!

It took Lily a moment to explore, but after a few minutes she dove right in. She would watch as I snacked on slices and got very excited when I handed one to her. Granted, not a lot actually made it in her mouth, but that's not what it's about! She's all about the discovery.

Next up? Carrots (steamed) and avocado!

Happy Holidays!

Merry Christmas!

 

 

And a Happy New Year!

At 4 months, Lily is 15lbs 6oz (72%) and 25 3/4" long (92%).

A whole year...

 (the second line is hard to see in the photo, sorry!)

I hope to add a few more of these comparisons over the next few weeks! I can remember exactly how I felt in that moment. It's hard to believe a year has passed!

3 Months Old!

Lily is 3 months old!

Our sweet baby is just growing by the day. She's getting more and more of a personality too!

I've been back to work for a few weeks now and Lily has done so well with our friends, Rachel and Stacie. They've both been splitting time with her each week to help us with childcare. It's been tremendous to be able to transition back to work this way. We know that Lily is with people with know and trust, she's got little friends at both houses, and - they both text us photos so that we can get a peek at our girl during the day.

Both ladies have commented on what a good baby Lily is. I don't want to brag, but I will, and they're right! She's a pretty relaxed little girl - unless there is something she needs (diaper, food, nap, snuggles, etc). We really did hit the baby jackpot!

Lily has grown a lot this past month. We haven't been able to weight or measure her, but she is already starting to grow out of her 3 month clothes! Her PJ's and onesies anyway, she's just too tall! Her legs are very strong and she absolutely loves to stand (with our help to balance). Look at her in her crib!

Lily is very chatty. We love to sit down when we get home and let her tell us about her day. She'll squawk and coo, all while she's kicking her legs and smiling. Most amazing of all is her little giggle! While playing on her mat or vibrating chair, she not only reaches up to hit her toys, but now she's grasping them as well. She is really discovering her hands. We'll catch her checking them out quite often. She also hit a big milestone on the 14th - she slept through the night! Granted, "through the night" is only until 4:00 a.m. for us, but still! I'm forever grateful for the extra sleep, that's for sure.

We love how happy she always is. Sunday morning while Jeremy made breakfast, we all listened to music and danced around the kitchen. I was holding Lily and Jeremy was playing with her feet and she just giggled and giggled. Along with her birth and our wedding day... it was one of the happiest moments of my life. Nothing complicated or extravagant - just our little family, being silly, together.

Our Lily simply amazes us each and every day.

Happy 3 Months, Sweet Lily!