Baby Gate

So here are some pictures from Miss Lily and her baby gate. I'm a little perturbed by what looks like Miss Lily licking the bottom of the door. Remember to click on the picture to make it big.

That picture was from last night. This one is from this morning. She's wearing her schnazzy Australian onesie that Auntie Nicole brought back for her. And just LOOK at those gorgeous legs. They almost kicked the paper shredder over today. Sigh.

This picture just makes me laugh. :) She likes her onesie. She pulls it away from her tummy so she can look at the pictures. Or she's trying to eat it, either way. :) We watched Night at the Museum last night and both of us enjoyed it. We also took Lily out for curry buffet yesterday. People kept on commenting on how well behaved she is. I don't know if I'm lucky or if I'm sensitive to her needs. Maybe both. She cried after we left Wal-mart so I fed her some lunch and she was fine. Then she cried after Sam's Club so Pedro fed her a bottle. She slept through the whole shopping trip at Whole Foods. :) I feel like if you meet the baby's needs, they don't need to cry. :) It doesn't mean they won't. :P

walker

Pedro put Lily in her jumper this morning to help her burn off some energy. Well. She only bounces enough to get her butt up on her toes. She's been using it to help her stand most of this time. I've tried to capture that but she moves so darn fast. :)

This is fuzzy but she was standing pretty straight. I have to admit that dinner/lunch yesterday was a lot of fun. For those of you who weren't there, Miss Lily was drinking water out of a straw (the straw had some water in it and was held so she could put her mouth around the end of it), chewing on celery and causing general mayhem. :)

We've also noticed that Lily keeps looking down the hall. It's as if she's seeing what else she can get into. Her world is expanding. I only hope I can keep up with her!

Looney

We've now watched all 4 discs of Looney Tunes Vol. 1. There are 3 more volumes to go. Sigh. I don't mind watching them, but I don't always find the cartoons funny. I realize that some of them are political or social commentary in nature, going by how the characters look/sound.

Lily is full of bouncy energy today. Do I need to say how hard it is to type on a keyboard that Lily keeps on kicking? She just made a wild lunge for my camera so she's back on her playmat. The photo of her is from another day. She's on her way out the study into the hall. Oh gosh I just had a good laugh. Riley came tearing down the hall making to run into the study but of course Lily is blocking the way. heee! He put on the brakes pretty fast. She obviously isn't coordinated enough to pet him nicely. As soon as her hand touches that soft cat hair it grabs on tight! Ears too.

I do have some really funny videos of her trying to talk but I think the only way I can post them is to put them on youtube. Pedro is vehemently against this. Sigh. Anyway, here's a pic I just took of Lily smacking the shredder. The picture below is after her bath last night. I will concede that some of my features are starting to show up in her face as she gets a little older. Oh and I'm not feeding Lily as much formula anymore. Her doctor said she's obviously well fed. And WHAT did he mean by that????

Pooped

Sorry I haven't been writing as much this week. I have been, as the British say, knackered. Part of it is Miss Lily waking me up at night. I think the other part might be allergies. We washed our cars on Sunday and there was a layer of pollen on Monday morning. :P

I took some pictures of Lily's feet. They're just so cute, they way she links them together. She's just been so much fun lately. She tries her best to talk and finally loves the "This little piggy..." game. It was always my favorite as a child.

Well, poor Miss Lily needs to be fed. I've been late with every meal today. Sigh. I'm sure she still loves me. :) Gosh she has such cute chunky little ankles. Sigh.

Stats

I forgot to mention Miss Lily's statistics! She is now 28 3/4 inches long. Her head is 18 3/4 inches around. And the little beast weighs 22 pounds 3 oz! Well, she's had a few naps today and is obviously feeling better. She's swinging her lion around her head and moving across the floor. We'll have to get a baby gate this weekend as she rolled into the hall twice today. *yawn* Mommy is ready for this day to be over.

tea

What a day. Poor Miss Lily is still cranky from her shots. She seems to be better now that she's had a long nap. Poor Mommy isn't feeling so hot though. I have a nice big cup of earl grey tea in front of me to perk me up. I would have preferred English Breakfast but I shall suffer through. :P

I forgot to say that Lily was a smash hit at the doctor's office yesterday. At Pedro's visit. It was an orthopedic surgeon's office and there were a TON of old people in there. They were too pleased to be entertained by Miss Lily. :) Even when she fell asleep you could hear them clucking and chortling at her little faces. :) Oh dear. Miss Lily is laugh/crying. I still don't think she feels very good.

I do feel a little better about my decision to not let Lily cry it out. I read in yet another baby book that if one is at all philosophically opposed to crying it out to not even try it, it will be a disaster. WHEW I don't know why I feel like I need to be validated but I feel better. :) Oh no! I swear I just heard Lily say Ma Ma. I'm sure she's just practicing her sounds. But she said mama before dada! HA! Suck that daddy! Just kidding. :)

sleep expert

Lily did as well as could be expected today. She cried her little heart out during her shots. She was really good prior to that, reclining back on the examination table, ignoring the doctor whilst playing with the straps of her sundress. :) Well the doctor and I kind of came to loggerheads over Lily's waking me up at night. He said to let her cry and figure out how to get back to sleep. She cries when she's knocked off her blanket or is cramped in a corner and can't get out. I'm supposed to let her stay uncomfortable for the rest of the night? I wake up cold and go and get a blanket. I can't sleep if I'm too cold or too hot or too hungry. Why am I supposed to foist that on baby? I did ask for his help though. :)

I'm open to other suggestions. Pedro tells me to let her cry a little bit. I do. Sometimes, quite frankly, I haven't got the energy to get up! If she really cries (and the parents who read this know what I mean by that) then I'm up like a shot. I've let her whimper for long periods of time and she just doesn't fall back asleep on her own. She whimpered/cried between 3:30 and 4:30 this morning. I would wait 10 minutes or so and get up to see if I could help her. I kept covering her with her blanket and stroking her head. The poor little thing just couldn't get back to sleep until 4:30. I do understand letting her learn how to self-soothe but leaving a kid crying because they kicked off their blanket doesn't make sense to me.

I remember crying in my crib waiting for someone to come and help me. I'm sure I was a toddler by that point. I would cry and cry and my mom would finally show up, tired - of course. I felt kind of abandoned. I know that's a little melodramatic but it's the only thing close. I needed my mom and she showed up looking like she was carrying a grudge because I got her out of bed. I never felt soothed by that. It's like I had a need that never got fulfilled. I don't want that for Lily. AND I still have trouble falling asleep sometimes or getting back to sleep. Like many other people, I'm sure. So I don't think crying it out is the best solution. There I said it!

I am open to suggestions though. I believe that only I know what is best for Lily and I because I'm her mommy. :) So I guess a few more sleep deprived nights are in my future.

zombies!

I just finished watching 28 days later. Pedro called me while I was watching it and I was like, it's so scary, I'm shaking! Well I hadn't eaten since this morning and it's now 6:21pm. oops Blood sugar levels aside, it's still a pretty scary movie. :) Here's a picture of Miss Lily napping today. I really don't know why she likes to sleep with her butt in the air. It can't be comfortable.

Just in case you don't believe me that she's sleeping, here's a different shot. See? Eyes closed. :) What a funny little bear she is. She goes for her check up tomorrow and don't tell her - she's getting shots! shhhhhhh!

hmpf

I made Lily some mashed bananas today. The stuff in the jar smells really strong. It seems like it's concentrated banana. Lily loves it. Lily does NOT love fresh mashed banana. She ate some of it and then decided to throw it all back up. No, I don't have any pictures of that. So she got her regular Chiquita bananas. :P

Here's a cheeky look from just a little while ago. She was having so much fun slapping the shredder I could hardly get her to turn around and look at me. That and she's crushing her favorite froggy. :) Well Miss Lily is fussing so I'd better go. Maybe she'll have a nap.....

80s!

No, not the decade - the temperature. It is warm outside. We (meaning Pedro and I) did some yard work yesterday. I decided to raid the archives for today's pictures. They're outtakes from Miss Lily's Christmas photo shoot. It's so funny to look back and see how small she was! I had to use stuffed animals beside her so she wouldn't fall over.

It's also funny to see the differences in her hair now. I think her new stuff is growing in because she kind of has a fringe (bangs) now and obviously at 6 weeks, she didn't. :)

I've wanted to take pictures of her in a bath but I don't want to put up photos than might attract the wrong sort of child watcher. Well, I've had a wee rest and now it's on to make Louisiana Stew. It's very yummy but I keep on thinking about that lamb stew I made a while ago. *drool*

5 times

Yes, Lily woke me up 5 times last night. I don't even remember why exactly. Now bear in mind, this doesn't mean SHE wakes up. She just makes atrocious sounds, shrieks if you will and I wake up to check on her. Usually, she's in a corner or has kicked off her blankets. Or both. Anyway, I am exhausted. She is, of course, full of energy. If there was a yoga frog pose (and there probably is) Lily would be all over it.

Here's another picture of her playing this morning. Well, she just knocked over watering can and almost knocked over a mug on my desk. Anybody want a baby???

2 cute!

I guess it's a sign that you spend too much time on the internet when it feels like there's nothing new to see/read. That being said, I googled for images of babies and look what I found!!! Baby hedgehogs. They're adorable!!! Mary Lou will be pleased. :)

**yawn**

I didn't get much sleep last night, but Miss Lily is not to blame. Her daddy was making a lot of noise before he went to bed and kept waking me up. HMPF! I think this is a picture of her yesterday after a feeding. What a happy little face! This morning she's been playing contently on the floor (on 2 blankets) by herself. You can see how much more effort she puts into grabbing things and pushing them here and there to figure out how they work. :) Gosh now she has a toy in each hand and she's moving them around like she's directing a plane on a runway!

blah

Here's a pic of Lily I took yesterday. She was playing on the bed. It just looks so funny to me. Her little fingers splayed, supporting her head. I guess it's such an adult pose. It's a gray day again here.

Oops!

In all the excitement of today, I forgot it is Miss Lily's 6 month old birthday. Did I say that right? I did get some great pictures of her eating today. When she eats now, she tends to leave

her mouth open in between bites, I expect because she wants that food in there as quickly as possible. I wasn't really able to capture that as she got distracted from her food watch by the camera. But still funny nonetheless. She also got a little perturbed by her picture being taken in the middle of lunch. Apparently, some things are sacred. :)

And this last one? Well, if you click on the picture, you'll see 2 teeth. One has been out for a while now, but the second is slowly pushing its way out. Go Lily!!!!

Lazy day

I don't think Lily is having a lazy day. But I sure am! I laid in bed and read a book! Read! Book! A couple of months ago I tried that and couldn't concentrate for lack of sleep. So I'm slowly getting better! I don't think I've put this picture up before. Lily is holding onto the edge of the crib and standing on her on. With a little help from daddy. :)


I love helping her stand and then snuggling her in my arms. I think she likes it too. I want a baby that love hugs! I put in another picture of Lily in her sheepie pajamas. I just think they're SO cute!

naners

Well, that's what we call them. The plural of bananas, I mean. I took a pic of Lily eating her naners with my cell phone and emailed it to myself. But don't tell Pedro or he'll complain about the 25 cent cost!

I was trying to get a picture to show her sitting upright, without using her arms, while lifting up her chin to eat. I wasn't quite successful though. But still, a pretty good shot of Miss Lily. :)

liftoff

I feel conflicted about posting something happy in light of today's events but I do have big news and maybe it will make some of us feel better. I don't have a picture of it but Lily got up on her hands and knees today. She only stayed up for a second or two but this is it. She's figured it out. Now she just needs practice. Here is a picture of her today in her new pajamas. In case you can't make it out, there are sheep on her pant legs. It's been so cold lately and she's growing out of her cold weather sleepers.

I'm still shocked about today. Tragedies like this usually happen somewhere else. Unfortunately I can't concentrate anymore as Lily is howling away. Another tooth looks to be making its way out. And I've taught her if she wants up to hold out her arms, which is what she's been doing all day. :) Smart baby.

the end of days

Sorry. I know I'm supposed to keep things lighthearted around here. I guess most of us have heard about the shootings at Virginia Tech by now. Upwards of 20 people were killed today. Maybe it's because I'm a mother now, but I can't help thinking of the anguish of the families of those who are now dead. I guess we'll find out who the shooter was, but I don't know if we'll ever know why those lives were taken. I just hope they find their way back home.

Guess Who?

Guess who didn't wake me up last night?? I'm still tired though. Lily has been more demanding lately. I'm not sure if she's cutting another tooth or not - she won't let me look. :) This is an old picture of Lily but I think it's so cute. She is laughing more which is nice. Sometimes I look at her and she laughs. :) However, she cries a lot more now as well. She's broadening her communication skills. The cats are sorely testing my patience today. Riley, I think, ate one of the petals off of the lily plant Pedro bought me last week. He's been throwing up a little bit. I think he'll be okay. He's still annoying me, so he can't be at death's door.

I thought this doggy was cute. It's only 2 pounds 4 oz. Although, it looks like it has just a little bit of attitude. :) I made a really yummy lamb curry last night. It was so good that we ate it all. :) Oh well, it was a healthy curry with lots of red bell pepper and onions. mmmmmm! The lamb was falling apart tender. yummy! Darn, now I want some more but I don't have any! Well Miss Lily is having a little snooze so I think I'm going to lie down as well. :)

The Octopus

What happened to my dear sweet daughter?? When we used to go grocery shopping, she was content to look around at people and grocery items on the shelves. However. Today I discovered that little fingers are good at picking up little packs of gum (behind my back at Wal-Mart), picking up plastic grocery bags to dump out the vegetables AND attempting to disassemble the credit card swiping machine at Whole Foods. I kept pointing out the good quiet babies but to no avail. Pedro said he had to keep moving with Lily in his arms because she was trying to pick up items with her feet. Did I mention she's not 6 months old yet?

sleep (sort of)

Miss Lily didn't wake me up until 5:30. That was pretty good. When I got up to check on her she had kicked her blanket off and was cold. So I covered her back up and turned on the heater in the room and she slept another 2 hours. I think she mostly wakes up because she's cold. Having the thermostat on the other side of the house doesn't help. The kitchen has the sun shining on it all afternoon and evening. Plus it gets warmed up by cooking, etc. So the bedrooms are very cold and the kitchen reads 73F. Poor Miss Lily. And poor me!

I'm trying to figure out what Miss Lily is going to look like when she's older. Look at that chin! And those cheeks! Well, I think we can all agree that she's going to be cute, no matter what, right??

Friday the 13th ain't so scary!

I took some more pictures of Lily sitting up. And of course, one to show what she looks like after toppling over. Gosh, she is all over the place today. I keep putting her back on her blankets and the next time I look at her she's in a different area of the room!


This picture is just because her chubby legs are SO gosh darn cute! Ugh, a word of caution - if you ever want to buy frozen hashbrowns, do not get the Food Lion brand. I'm sure I'll survive but, uck. They did fry up into a nice crisp hashbrown pancake, which I like, but such thin strips of potatoes. For shame Food Lion! Uh oh, now my tummy is making strange noises... It may be a VERY quick walk this afternoon.

gremlin

Miss Lily and I had a busy day. No, I didn't get much sleep. I'm beginning to think I just need to get used to never sleeping through the night again. It's funny to me that Lily can't crawl and yet she moves around so much. I can't even begin to describe all the stuff she got into today. I understand why kids learn NO at a very early age. I did take some things to Goodwill. yay! It always feels good to clear out the house. We also went to Food Lion and got Miss Lily some organic baby food - sweet potatoes to be exact. I fed her when we got home and I was fussed at a few times for not moving fast enough. hmpf! I'm really pleased that she likes veggies. I'm always afraid she's going to put up a protest and I'm going to have to find a way to blend apple sauce with everything to sweeten it up! Well, Grumplestiltskin is asleep right now. I'm enjoying a cup of tea and trying to figure what else I can get rid of! It's always best to do that when Pedro's not at home.... MUHAHAHAHAHAHAH

Sit up, Spit up & Wake up

I don't know if I've mentioned how well Miss Lily is starting to sit up. I only let her do it on the bed because she will suddenly make a "leap" for something and fall one way or another. But first! Some wake up pictures from today's nap.


She really did not want to wake up but part of the new program is no more long naps during the day. And I needed to wake her up to eat. So, sorry Lily but think how much more fun mommy will be when you let her sleep through the night!!! Oh, I guess you can't really tell she's sitting up on her own. Oops. But she is!

See and here she's using the force to keep her balance. And is it just me or does she already seem older than a week ago? Okay, stupid question but I'm always amazed at her growth. It's such an awesome thing to watch her mature into a little person! At least it will be fun until she says "I hate you!" and then I'll have to ground her and take away her allowance, but secretly I'll save it up to give to her later when she feels better because I'll love her so much. :) Oh and in case you were waiting for it, here's the spit up.