Here's Lily enjoying her SECOND birthday cupcake in 3 days...
Look at the intensity.....
She enjoyed them so much, she wanted to make sure mommy got a taste too!
Lily had a great time with her family and friends, and enjoyed playing with her tiny cousins! Thank you all who were able to celebrate with us, and for all your neat gifts and treats! It's been one fast year; we remember the minute she was born like it was yesterday, and now she's walking and (kind of) talking, and has her own little personality.
Looking forward to all that the next year has to bring!
Daddy hasn't been as diligent about posting updates as he should be, so I yelled at him in baby-talk today and told him I would get on it...
I spent last weekend at Mimi and Pop's house down the shore. I love eating sand! Here I am playing with my gumball machine and talking to friends on my imaginary phone...
And here I am with mommy, eating my favorite fruit in the whole wide world, PEACHES!
I've been working really hard on the walking thing lately. I can definitely do it when I have something to put my hand(s) on, like a wall, or a couch, or daddy's knee. But I lose my confidence when there's nothing nearby to grab. A few times, I found myself standing all on my own without leaning or holding onto anything...but as soon as I realized exactly what I was doing, I panicked and grabbed the nearest thing. I have taken a few unassisted steps, by accident! so hopefully soon, I'll make it clear across the living room no problem.
On another note, my grammar and typing skills have really come along in 11 months, no?
This past week, Lily has discovered her ability to stand -- provided she has something to hold on to for balance. For Lily, this is THE greatest thing ever!! You can't wipe the smile off her face. She has been wanting to stand/walk since the day she was born. For mom and dad, however, its gray hair time, so I'm sure you'll be hearing from us a lot more on this blog over the next few weeks and months...
Let me use some pictures to narrate a story (apologies for quality...this was my blackberry camera at 10:30 pm)
Last Monday eve, mom was out with her sis and dad was home with what he thought was a sleeping baby. He heard some stirring on the baby monitor, so he popped on the video to take a look...this is what he found when he walked in to baby's room:
He only wishes he could have snapped the camera at the point at which she looked up at him and started laughing...seriously!
So dad decided it was time to lower baby's mattress (the crib has an adjustable mattress for this very reason) and baby got a free play sesh at 10:30 at night...
Dad proceeded to lower the mattress to its LOWEST adjustment, at which point he discovered that baby had taken her play sesh as an opportunity to poop. Following a dipe change, he delivered the bad news to baby that the midnight play sesh was over, and that she had to go back to bed for the night...
Baby was not phased....
So needless to say, our lives have changed in yet another new way. Mobile baby! I don't know if I've had this much fun yet though...watching her go from her back, to belly, to sitting on her butt, to pulling herself up and letting out a screaching yelp and ear-to-ear smile when she realizes what she's done...
We are still waiting for our final pics from the professional photographer...they WILL be posted when we get the proofs, because they all came out great.
In the meantime, a few more recent photos. Lily has become "all cheeks" and her hair is growing...she definitely isn't a newborn anymore!
P.S. I just noticed that in almost all of the pics I've posted, Lily is just staring. She DOES smile & laugh - actually, quite often - we just never seem to have the camera ready when she does. My next goal is to post some videos to this page...keep your fingers crossed!
All of the pictures you see on this blog have been taken by our own camera. Now, early on, it was our little 4-something megapixel Casio, sooo 2007. More recently, however, we've been having fun with our new Olympus E-620 digital...like 14 megapixel bad boy! Below are a few great shots from Lily's most recent "shoot" that we thought you'd enjoy....
But...on Saturday, we had a professional photographer come to the house and do some things with Lily (thanks to Nana and Auntie Steph) so sometime in the next few weeks, you will see some actual professional pictures posted. We have already seen some samples, and they look great! Stay tuned....
As you can see above, Lily is starting to take definite tastes in music!
Yesterday, on her 4 month birthday, Lily rolled over on her own for the first time! She has been getting much better at laying on her somtach and picking her head all the way up to see in front of her, and moving her head from side to side. Yesterday, we put her over for some more "tummy time" and without any hesitation, she threw one arm under her, threw the other stiff to her side, rolled to her back...and looked at us with brow furrowed like "what the heck just happened?"
And so the path to full mobility begins, and our lives REALLY change....
Lily was pulling for the Jets today, as they played in the AFC Championship game against the Indianapolis Colts. But anyone who follows football knows that the Colts are THE team to beat this year. Alas, the Jets were unsuccessful (albeit respectable in their loss)....
and so now she will be focusing her time on THE team to beat in NCAA basketball, and her future alma mater!
Lily enjoyed her 1st Christmas (see below). We spent Xmas Eve at Nana's in Morristown, where she got to hang out with grandparents, Aunts and Uncles, her cousin Hannah, and many other family members and friends -- and open a few presents! On Christmas Day, she piled into the car with her brother Samson and we all went to Mimi and Pop's for early dinner -- and more presents. Following early dinner, we went to Jess' aunt and uncle's for dessert, and again, more presents for Lily. So you can see why she enjoyed her 1st Christmas!
Much to my surprise, she also enjoyed her 1st New Year's Eve celebration. We went to Aunt Dawn and Uncle Luke's (standing NYE gala) and Lily decided she wanted to see what all the ball-drop-hype was about, so she napped from 8:00 to 11:00p (apparently Uncle Luke's arm-cradle makes a nice, warm place to sleep) and woke up just in time to meet Dick Clark at midnight. She enjoyed the countdown, and was back asleep by 12:45.
We hope you enjoyed your holidays as well! Happy New Year to everyone...may your 2010 be blessed and healthy!!!
Jess and I learned a whole new level of fear this past weekend, thanks to our 2 month old bundle of joy (and occasional terror).
We were in Montrose PA for niece's (and now goddaughter's) baptism. For those that don't know, Montrose is a small town about 40 minutes NW of Scranton PA - small like one traffic light in the middle of town. We had only a short ride to the church on Sunday morning, so I piled daughter, wife, and mom-in-law in the back seat, and had grandma-in-law riding gun with me. Not 1 mile into our 3 mile trip, I am told in a panic to pull the car over. Sitting in her car seat, Lily had a blank stare on her face and wasn't responding to any stimuli (wife and mom-in-law pinching her cheeks and rubbing her head) and her lips started turning grayish blue!! If any of you are parents, and have had a similar incident with your child, you know I cannot find the words to describe the fear and anxiety you feel in those moments. Jess pulled her out of her seat and startled her - she snapped out of her daze and slowly started clearing her throat and crying. Whew! We waited a few minutes, at which point she smiled and started laughing! We thought perhaps she was just in an awkward position in the car seat, so Jess made some adjustments, put her back in the seat, and we went on our way.
About 3 minutes later, she did it again! Jess again pulled her out of the seat, and she again let out a few good screams (which is what you want to happen) and started smiling again. We changed her out of the little dress and tights she was wearing (remember, special occasion) and were totally freaked. That's when we decided it was time to visit a hospital. OK, where is the closest hospital, and how do we get there? It's 45 minutes away in Binghamton NY and we take curvy back roads through the mountains! White knuckles??
We got to the hospital, and went into the ER. They were very nice people, and extremely helpful from the get-go. For the duration of the ride, Lily was awake, alert, and making noise, so we had all calmed down a bit (a tiny bit) but one of the nurses told me she could see gray hairs growing on my head as we spoke! They did a full work up on her, and thankfully, everything looked fine. But they suggested we stay for 24-hour observation just to be sure. During this time, they did an EKG, chest x-ray, and apnea monitor (see Taber's for help) to be thorough, and again, everything looked good!
According to the doctors, there is a good chance that she had some reflux that got caught in her throat, and apparently an infant's instinctual response to that is to pause breathing. That would explain the lifeless daze and blue lips!
So 24 hours, and three hospital meals and a cot sleep later, we chalked it up to a fluke occurrence. Fine with us! But scariest 50 minutes of my life!
At least now I can get to Binghamton NY via back roads!
Lily is finally starting to "wake up" - as in, spending more time awake and alert. At times, it even seems like she is "corresponding" (as Mimi put it) meaning making noises more deliberately and responding to stimuli.
She also had her first graduation....into "1" diapers (from Newborns). Ah, where does the time go?
She is definitely looking forward to her first Thanksgiving. We will be heading to her cousin's house in Pennsylvania, where she can hang out with cousin Hannah and doggie-cousins Mangus and Louis.
Every once in a while, when the weather is nice, we get the family together and go for a walk through the neighborhood. Samson gets to play pack leader - he loves walking out in front, head and tail held high in pride. We have the standard "stroller" for Lily to ride in (see below) but Jess also has an "Ergo-Baby" which is essentially a kangaroo pouch for humans. It's great for her, cause she has hands free, and great for Lily because she is all snuggled up with mama.
Weather has been a bit of a challenge lately, though - either bitterly (and unseasonally) cold or raining and we can't get out as much as we'd like. Lily knows no difference...Samson, however, is not so fun when he doesn't get his exercise!!
We have many of these, because Lily likes to sleep during most of the day (or at least, when she's not eating). The problem is, she likes to be awake during most of the night!! I'd love to get more pics of her awake with eyes open, but we are both too delirious at 3am to grab the camera!! We did get this one of a few days ago, just after a bath...
I read that this confusion of nights and days only lasts a few weeks. Hopefully, we make it!
As many of you know, we have a 1.5 year-old Chocolate lab named Samson. There he is on the left. When we learned in February that Lily would be arriving in the fall, of course we started wondering how we would get Samson acquainted - would he be welcoming, overly curious, bitter and jealous? Based on his usual behavior, we figured chances were he'd just be his goofy self. But when your dog weighs 90 lbs (all muscle, literally) goofy can be a liability too. But we are happy to report, he has been great in welcoming his little sister home! He has "showered" her with kisses whenever he gets the chance (meaning, soaks her head with his bionic tongue) and was visibly proud to lead our first stroll outside yesterday.
His last adjustment: what is that screaming noise at 3:18 in the morning?
On Tuesday, October 6, 2009 at 12:03p, Lily Maureen came in to the world!
She shares a birthday with several famous people, perhaps most importantly, her Uncle Justin! And since she is somewhat 'famous' in her own rite already, we figured everyone could follow her adventures through this blog - The Lily Patch
Enjoy, and be sure to use the Comments feature to stay in touch!!
