1 Year Old!

Happy Birthday Lily!

Has it really been a year already? I can hardly believe its been a year already but on the other hand I can't remember what it was like before she joined our family. Reflecting back on what I was doing at this time last year is very emotional for me. We were so anxious to meet her! And one year ago tonight at 10:06 PM is when we were first introduced. If anyone other than me is interested in re-living that day and night, my detailed account is here.

So what has Lily been up to? She's started walking! We are so proud. But she may be even more proud. She definitely has pride in her accomplishments and she's not afraid to start clapping (which means we should say "Good job!").

The end of a long day.

Weight - 21 lbs 11 oz
Height - 31"

Milestones
-Wearing 12-18 month clothing in most things, but 24 months or 2T in most shirts unless they are a long style.
-Wearing a size 4 diaper, but moving up to a size 5 soon.
-Size 4 shoes are getting tight now.
-Walking! Can easily take 10 or so steps. But prefers to hold onto things if she has the opportunity.
-Loves to dance. Likes to have music on to dance too.
-Very interested in reading books. Likes to read the same books over and over again. A new favorite is a "My Little Word Book". She likes to flip quickly to the pages that are full of animals and then she grunts at the animals.
-Loves animals! Grunts when she sees animals. She makes the same noise when daddy comes home.
-We made it breastfeeding for a whole year which was my goal to start out with. She started drinking formula in addition to breastmilk a while back and I stopped pumping milk at work about 2 months ago but she continues to breastfeed several times a day and even more on the weekends.
-Scared of jack-in-the-box and some things that talk loudly (Elmo Live doll). When she's tired she's scared of loud noises in general (Grandpa sneezing!)
-She likes to try eating by herself with utensils. Sometimes she'll refuse to eat when her daddy or I are feeding her but she'll continue to eat if she's feeding herself.
-She's becoming a pickier eater. She used to eat everything but now she has tastes and sometimes she'll flat out refuse to eat things (she hates beets! which is a bummer because our CSA has a lot of them).
-She has a few words that we're fairly certain she knows the meaning of. She says "mama" (and "mom mom"), "dada" and "hi". We first knew she was saying "hi" because she picked up a toy phone put it to her ear and said "Hi!" That was her first official word in our opinion.
-She's also become a better imitator with sounds and facial expressions. We'll say a sound an animal makes and she'll try and repeat it.
-Very loving. She's very good at giving kisses and hugs. She gives them to us and also to her stuffed animals, especially her animals. She loves them so much. She sleeps with a stuffed dog every night that she loves very much.

She was entranced by the candle.

Her birthday party attendants kind of missed out on the cake smashing but on her actual birthday she did a great job!

Trying out the tricycle. She figured out the bell right away.

Practicing eating with utensils. She's pretty good!

Helping Daddy put the seatbelt on the new tricycle.

She just wanted to put away all the sticks instead of building with them.

Eric Carle (of the Very Hungry Caterpillar, and the illustrator of Lily's favorite book, Brown Bear, Brown Bear what do you see? drawing his favorite animal at the LA Times Festival of Books).

Clifford the big red dog. Lily loved him and he gave her a book too.

Lily was very interested in Mickey.

She didn't really know she was standing next to Minnie until we walked away.

On a ride at Disney's California Adventure. Do you see a cell phone anywhere? I lost it on this ride.

Picking up eggs in Uncle Gary and Aunt Cat's backyard.

Opening up her Easter basket.

Lily LOVES "cousin" Sammie!

Uncle Gary is so fun.

Remote posting from a lanai in Maui

2 months old!

Lily is two months old today. We're celebrating her birthday in Maui. We arrived here on Tuesday night and we'll be leaving on Wednesday night. Lily was a good baby on the flight over. She cried a little bit but I don't think she annoyed anyone too much. She sat on mommy's lap most of the flight but also really enjoyed stretching out over two tray tables. Her ears didn't seem to bother her and she didn't even spit up on mommy during the flight (but did while we were waiting at the gate to get on the flight). Her favorite part about Maui so far is the waterfall outside of our room and tiki torches. She'd star at tiki torches for hours.



On the 3rd we all went to Uncle Gary and Aunt Cat's wedding. Lily was very well behaved and didn't cry at all during the ceremony. She slept through part of it and then woke up abruptly when the conch shell was blown. The luau after the wedding was a little harder for her, she was getting hot because it was so warm and humid. Lily, mommy and daddy watched the luau from the back but still got to see most of it. Thankfully she didn't get upset until after we ate. It was too bad our table wasn't tiki torch adjacent.



Lily had her two-month checkup about a week before we left for Maui. She needed to get several shots and her pediatrician and parents wanted to make sure she didn't have any kind of reaction to the shots before we traveled thousands of miles away. As expected, she's growing like a weed. She's already 24 inches long (grown 3 inches since birth) and now weighs 12 lbs 4 oz (up 3 lbs 7 oz since birth)! She's definitely a health girl. She's over the 90th percentile in height and weight. So she's not fat, she's tall too.

She has changed a lot in the last month. Here are a few updates on Lily.

-She rolls onto her side and smacks her lips when she's hungry (when she's sleeping next to me she snuggles into me looking for food).
-She rolled over from her back to belly on July 2nd!
-Still loves lights and also flames like tiki torches.
-Finds loud music soothing (was kept in a deep sleep by a live band on the 4th of July).
-Loves faces. Prefers to look at mommy's faces if in the room, then daddy, but looks at everyone's faces.
-Coos and oos and aahs a lot. Has a talkative time in the mornings and evenings.
-Smiles a lot.
-Tries to sit up! She wants to move so badly and is already trying to sit upright on her own.

How Lily is developing:

Into complex designs

At this point, your baby will begin to move beyond his early preferences for bright or two-toned objects toward more detailed and complicated designs, colors, and shapes. Show your baby — and let him touch — a wider variety of objects. Good choices include plastic cookie cutters, soft balls, and stuffed animals.

Hear ye, hear ye

Your baby can differentiate familiar voices from other sounds and is becoming a better listener. He also can show you that he's in tune with his environment. Notice how he looks to see where certain noises are coming from.

An ongoing conversation (although still one-sided!) can help your baby develop his sense of place. He may even watch your mouth as you talk, fascinated by how it all works.

A helping hand

The chaotic first months are over and your baby's schedule is probably becoming more predictable. If you and your partner are raising your baby, it's important for both of you to get a chance to care for and bond with your baby. Make sure whichever one of you is not the primary caretaker gets regular time alone with your little one, for bathing him, changing him, and just getting tuned into his needs.