Growing so fast!

I just want her to stop growing! Not really, but she is starting to grow up, and she is not even nine months yet! Lily is very mobile, as she is crawling everywhere, reaching for things, pulling herself up into a standing position, and even cruising (walking while holding on to furniture)! I can't believe how fast it is all happening! OK, so that was a lot of exclaiming (!) but I am a still a new parent, and it is all new and exciting to me still.

Since I have been very sporadic in my blogging, I will update you by month:

5 months:

Lily was sitting up by this time, and rolling over, but still spending a lot of time on her back. She had started teething, but none had broken through yet. This meant that after I got used to her sleeping through the night, I got to go back to her waking me up every few hours.

We also started putting her in the nursery during first service (bible class time for children) and she went very well. I think since she didn't see us leave, and was distracted by all of the cool toys, she didn't realize we weren't there. So far, it has worked out for us. The first Sunday was very hard on us, especially Anthony. He is the more sentimental of the two of us, and so he had a hard time letting her go "grow up." Since then, he has been much better about it.

6 months:

Lily cut her first two teeth! She was also sitting up much more confidently, but not being much more mobile. She continued to not sleep through the night, much to my chagrin, but that is a small price to pay for such a sweet baby! I also started feeding Lily baby food more regularly. I discovered that she likes most vegetables and fruit with the exceptions of peas, green beans and peaches.

One day after church, a group of us went to Red Robin, and Anthony and I decided to feed her baby food instead of nursing her, which is a pain to do in public. The baby food I had put in the baby bag was peas. I quickly found out that Lily did not like them, and refused to eat them. To my regret, we force-fed her about ten spoonfuls of peas, before I couldn't take it anymore, and decided to nurse her anyway, instead of feeding her the rest of the peas.

After that, Lily was very cautious about what we were feeding her, to the point where she would not eat after a few spoons. I was very discouraged, especially after her initial success of eating baby food. After a few weeks of that, Anthony and I decided that we would stop feeding her baby food for a week, to get her to forget that she was cautious, so that she would return to eating well. To my relief, it worked! Anthony was a bit pessimistic that it would, but I convinced him to let me try it, and then if it did not work, we would just go back to feeding her like before. Thankfully, she is fairly compliant when it comes to eating, now.

7 months:

Lily cut her second two teeth in the first week. She started becoming more mobile, but not crawling. She would get on all fours, but couldn't quite coordinate which limbs to move at what time. She was still able to move around, in a kind of scooting, dragging, rolling way, but it was containable. I also found that she was able to sit up from a reclining position, i.e., when she fell over, she could get back up sometimes.

8 months:

CRAWLING!!!! Our Lily became mobile! We were at a friend's house celebrating one of their kids' birthday, and she just started crawling! It was cause for more celebration, and changed our priority on baby-proofing the house, which still isn't complete. Lily also has started pulling up on furniture, and standing for long periods of time (While holding on to furniture.) Once, she actually stood for half a second with no support, then fell on her tush. It really is a good thing that babies' behinds are so padded, but I guess that was God's design!

Leading up to 9 months:

We have started letting her walk while holding onto our hands. She is also tumbling a lot, which disallows me to accomplish much by way of housework, for fear I won't be there immediately if she needs help. I also tend to not let her in the kitchen, since she has a habit of putting her forehead on the floor, if she tires out, and tile is hard! She did that the other day, and she didn't breathe for a few seconds for crying so hard! It nearly broke my heart.

My predictions for the next two months: Since Lily has been pretty much on schedule concerning her mile stones, I think she will say her first word(s) in the next couple of weeks, and then start walking at 10 or 11 months. We will see if I am correct!

I will try to put some pictures up in a couple of days.

Where, oh, where has my Lily gone?

So, I went on a two month blogging vacation. I hope this sates your curiosity of our precious Lillian.

Our little family... and Lily's first Christmas. I'm not sure what I thought this holiday would be like, seeing as Lily doesn't know enough to really do anything, but it did raise some questions as to future Christmases, such as what will we do about Santa Claus? Both Anthony and I grew up not believing in Santa Claus, but I think it is a fun tradition, that maybe we will incorporate into our own traditions.

We have been thinking a lot about traditions, and one that Anthony wants to do is eat seafood for Christmas. I am ok with that, but I think it will take a few years to get it right. :P

By the way, the photo above was the one I intended to use as our Christmas cards this year, so here is the official (if late) Merry Christmas, and a Happy New Year! to all who did not receive one from us.

Lily has become much more responsive, and playful. She laughs and coos, grabs our faces, and plays so well! She still likes being carried, and enjoys one on one time with her Mama and Papa.

Lily and Papa reading at our friend's family's house in Dimebox, Texas.

So, Lily started grabbing her hands a while back, which was so cute, and then she started grabbing everything else within her reach, including, but not limited to, toys, drinks, plates, the desitin container, Mama's chin, cheek, hair and glasses, etc.

I thought it funny that it looks like she has a halo around her in this picture...

This is Lily's first time eating. She has since eaten several times, but is still mostly on breastmilk. She does not seem to need anything in addition to my milk at this point, so I think until the doctor tells me I need to start feeding her something different, I will continue to solely nurse her.

Lily is getting so strong now! She is almost to the point of sitting up by herself, without falling over, and she is flipping over from her belly to her back. Sometimes it takes a while, and sometimes it takes a lot of crying, but she does it!

Go Horns! Papa and Lily supporting the UT Longhorns in their various ways.

We recently got a new appliance that we call "the Drool Machine." This is the Lily version, which is very efficient in the production of drool. I highly recommend this product.

I recently found a way for Lily to start enjoying her bathtime. I let her play in the water, while I bathe her! Novel idea, right? Well, to my credit, she only just recently has started sitting up like this.

Yesterday, she fell over while sitting up, and bonked her head, as I was not fast enough to catch her. Since I was in the middle of Mom 2 Mom, I quickly got up, so as not to disturb the other ladies in the room with Lily's loud crying. I went to the nearby bathroom, to show her the mirror, and had a brilliant idea! I turned on the faucet and let her play in the water stream. It distracted her from her crying immediately! after a couple of minutes, I dried her hands, and was able to take her back to Mom 2 Mom.

She is Mama's little Water Lily!

More of your favorite Lily

Lily is such a big girl, holding her bottle by herself!

Playing with her cousin Sam.

Watching "Toy Story 3"

Chilling with Granny.

My brother Brad holding Lily.

Anthony holding Lily.

Enjoying her bumbo.

I will leave this to your imagination...

She fell asleep playing. Hard life, being a baby.

Lily being very sweet.

Lily being very cute. As always...

Can babies be sultry?

Come again?

Lily in a cute dress ready to sleep/cry/eat through church.

Sam's birthday cupcake...

Sam's birthday cake. He wore them both very nicely, but the second was more debonair.

New Lily Pics

Video Time!!

Lily doesn't like being a ladybug.

Her first ride in the bouncer.

Hangin' out with Papa.

Papa playing with her, but not getting much response.

Lily is holding her head up so well!

We found she doesn't like pumpkins.

Emily Robertson enjoying a 'Dew.

Our friend Roki holding Lily at Mia's birthday party.

Lily enjoying her playmat, and being ever so cute!

We are so excited! Lily had started laughing! It is the sweetest thing you ever saw! We weren't able to get a video of that, but here is one of the next best thing!

Lily Cooing

Lily Pad

Our precious girl is getting so big! She is now 13 lbs. 1 oz. as of October 7, and is 23.5 inches long, which puts her in the 90th percentile in both categories.

She is also smiling more, which is amazing! However, it is harder to get those snapshots, so we have more of her screaming than laughing!

Also, this girl knows how to pout! This isn't the best picture, but it is so adorable!

This past weekend Lily took her first road trip to Houston to visit family. It was so nice to have everyone together to celebrate our new daughter!

Lily just loves being the center of attention! Or rather everyone loves her being the center of attention...

Lily was also able to meet her cousin, Sam, for the first time this weekend! Sam seemed impressed, and Lily enjoyed his company, too.

Lillian Update

We are just so blessed to have Lily in our lives! She is such a joy and a bright spot! To update: She has gained 3 pounds since birth, now weighing 10 lbs. 12 oz. She is getting so big!

She is also more alert and awake lately, as well as making eye contact. She enjoys playing with her little gym, too. She kicks her feet when she is excited or agitated. and she usually sleeps in a position that screams, "I give up! I surrender!"

She has also been slowly losing her hair, but only on the top and crown, so that it looks like she has a receding hairline!

Lily playing in her gym.

Anthony using his nose as a pacifier.

Anthony hanging out with our dependents.

Lily cuddling with her Mama.

Didn't work for the camera, lol!