Mmm...Rice Cereal

We gave Lily her first solid this evening...rice cereal mixed with breast milk. And I must say, solid is a term to be used very, very loosely. The cereal seemed more like milk than cereal, but we followed the directions on the box. Apparently rice cereal is the place to start, followed by the other single grains...oats and barley, then single ingredient fruits and veggies. I plan to make Lily's baby food, but I think it would be going a bit far to make her cereals, so those I bought. My friend recommended a great book, First Meals, by Annabel Karmel. I can't wait to get started making baby food. It is definitely the healthier and more frugal way to go. For the basic first foods, it is pretty much just steaming or baking the fruit or veggie and then pureeing it. You can make a whole bunch and freeze it in ice cube trays and then you have a bunch of single serving fruits or veggies. I will update more once I have actually made some food! For right now, we are going to do a little cereal every evening. Then, in a couple weeks, we will start introducing veggies and fruits...one every couple of days to make sure there are no allergies.
Lily wasn't quite sure about the cereal. More like she wasn't quite sure about the spoon. She probably had more on her bib than in her, but by the end she was opening her mouth and taking the spoon really well. However, I think we waited until too late in the day. Matt wanted to be home to witness this milestone, and I wanted him to take pictures. It was a little too close to bed time and even though I tried nursing her first, I think she was hungry. For a first shot, I think it went pretty well, but it is definitely something to be worked on!

Lily's Baptism

On Sunday we had Lily baptized. It was a very nice service and Lily was so good! I was really proud of how well behaved she was. She hardly made a peep, and when she did, she was making happy noises, not fussy sounds. After church we had lunch at my in-laws house. It was a very nice day and a very nice lunch! Thanks Chris and George for letting us use your house! My sister Stephanie and Matt's brother Peter are Lily's God parents.

Grandma and Grandpa Groves

Grandma and Grandpa Smith

Six Months...Already!

Lily turned six months old last Thursday. What...six months....didn't I just bring her home last week? It seems that way anyway. On Saturday we went to the doctor for her six month checkup. Here are her stats:
weight: 19 pounds
height: 26 inches
head: 17 inches
She also has two teeth, and it looks like a couple more are about to break through. One tooth is a middle bottom tooth, and the other is a top canine. I wasn't even aware that tooth was there until the doctor pointed it out! Lily sits up, rolls all over, and is generally just a happy baby. She still isn't the best sleeper, but it seems to be getting better. And since she does sleep for 6 hours at a stretch sometimes, the doctor considers that sleeping through the night. She continues to spit up all the time, but since she is growing and happy, the doctors don't consider it a problem and it should resolve in the next three months (fingers crossed on this one!)
Here's a couple pictures:

"I love my animals!!!"

"Look how high I can push up!"

Waiting at the doctors...we had to wait for over an hour!!

I Heart Fall!!!

Today is officially the first day of fall, which means my all time favorite season is starting. I totally love fall...the changing leaves, pretty colors, the smells, the food, the beer (yeah for Sam Adams Oktober Fest!). It means football season, even though the Bears game yesterday was, um, painful. It means mild days and cool nights leading to cool days and crisp nights...in theory anyway. Today's 80 degree weather isn't quite fall like! It means time to make chili and soup and stews and all that good, stick to your ribs food! It means pumpkin everything...pumpkin lattes at Starbucks, pumpkin pancakes, pumpkin pie (for Matt, I am not a big pie fan!), pumpkin pudding, Edy's pumpkin ice cream! It is the season of mums and falling leaves, gourds and hay bales and pumpkins! There is a reason we decided to get married in October, and although my birthday is at the tail end of fall, I am happy to be a fall child. It is time for fall wardrobes...jeans, sweaters and cute boots. The only thing that I don't like about fall is, well, nothing! You get the end of summer and the beginning of winter, when the snow falls are still magical and the mercury hasn't fallen below zero (usually!)
We had a really busy weekend this weekend, which included Matt sealing the deck, cleaning out and organizing the garage, and decorating for fall! I hit up Lowe's for some Mums for my whiskey barrel in front of our house. Take a look:


Both my favorite holiday (Thanksgiving) and Matt's favorite (Halloween) are fall holidays. This year we are planning a trip to the pumpkin patch and maybe the apple orchard. We will head to the Morton Arboretum to see the changing leaves and walk around. I am so happy fall is finally here. To me, fall always seems like a fresh start. It probably goes back to fall being the beginning of a new school year. Here's wishing everyone a great season!

High Chairs and Toes

Lily has found her toes, which is fantastic because if she is on the ground and there are no toys in reach, she will just grab her toes and roll around. She also likes to grab them in her bouncy seat.

We bought Lily a high chair yesterday, since we are going to be starting solids probably this week. She alternately loves and hates it. I thought she would love being up at the same height as me while I cook, but she still gets a little bored, and then mad if I am not paying total attention to her. But she does seem to love sitting in it if we are paying complete attention to her. It will probably become her favorite place once she starts to associate it with food.

Love/Hate

Lately I have been having a love/hate thing going on with my house. My house is tiny, no doubt about it. One day I love that aspect, because it is easy to clean, the utilities aren't too bad, it is cozy, and most importantly, we can afford it. The next day, I hate my house because it is small, we had outgrown it before we moved in, not to mention adding a baby! We have a total lack of storage. But then I love how creative we have been in order to accommodate our needs. When we found out we were pregnant, we turned our office/guitar room/throw-everything-that-doesn't- have-a-place-in-there room into a nursery. Our little used living room became our office/guitar room. It worked out really well. Then, as Lily has gotten bigger, and I started watching a friend's daughter a couple days a week, we realized we needed a baby play area. So we turned our never used dining room into a play room and put the table in the kitchen. We rarely ever ate anywhere besides in front of the TV. Since we moved the table, we actually eat at it most of the time now. And the play room is not only a play room for babies, but there is now ample room for Matt to play his guitar. Again, this was a positive change. So most of the time I love our house. The complete and total lack of storage means we frequently donate to Goodwill. Or give furniture to Matt's co-worker that just moved into a new house. Seriously, we have given him four pieces of furniture. But then I think how will we ever have another kid in this house. Sure, a new baby would probably spend a couple months sleeping in our room, just like Lily did. And two kids could definitely share a room. My parent's had three of us in a house smaller than mine, and we all shared a room. But where would we put more baby stuff. So when I think about expanding our family (not now, but eventually!!!) I think we should just move. Sometimes I think we should just move anyway because the house is small. And then I turn around and think how much I love our little house. And then I think about all the things I wish our house had. And then I think how we have made it work so well so far. I don't know why it causes me such worry! I guess because I am home more now, I have more time to think about it. I think I probably need to get a life!

Cute Pictures

Some cute pictures from the past month or so:

getting ready to go out to lunch

a nice nap

"I love my exersaucer!"

getting better at sitting up

"Oh darn, I let Mommy catch a smile on camera!"

"I love when Daddy holds me up to touch the light!"

What a Big Girl!

Lily can drink from a sippy cup! Sort of! The other day we were at Target and I decided to pick up a couple baby spoons and a sippy cup since we are going to be starting her on solids in the next couple weeks. I threw the sippy cup in the cart, and it was just within Lily's reach. She grabbed it and held on to it the rest of the way through the store. When it was time to check out, I took it away for the cashier to ring up, and she screamed! The lady quickly scanned it and gave it back and Lily was happy as could be. When we got home, I decided to see what she would do since she had been holding it in both hands like she is supposed to. I washed it and filled it with a little pumped milk and put it in her hands and she promptly brought it to her mouth and started drinking. She probably got more milk on her than in her, but she had the right idea. This morning I decided to try again with a little pumped milk, and again she drank from it. She spilled a lot less this time. I think I may give her some pumped milk in the sippy cup once a day so she can practice. It won't really be her feeding because I know she spills a lot, but she seems to like the independence!

Definitely A Tooth!

About ten days ago I posted that Lily was getting a tooth. She had a little white bump on her gums and was showing all the "signs" of teething. Then the little bump seemed to disappear. So of course I felt like an idiot, telling people she had a tooth when she didn't. I was telling my friend about it and she said that sometimes babies gums will swell up and the tooth will seem to disappear. I was hoping maybe that was had happened, and then I prayed that she would actually get a tooth soon so I didn't feel like a complete moron. Well, I checked again today, and it is definitely a tooth. It is now more than just a white dot, and I can feel it. It is a sharp little tooth! And I can only imagine how many times Lily will bite me once she has her chompers. She sure loves to "bite" me now. Everything from my fingers to my shoulder to my cheek. But when she is trying to bite my cheek, I just tell myself she is giving me kisses.

The Weekend

I don't really have anything terribly exciting to post, but a few people have been on me to post a little more, so I thought I would give you, my adoring fans, a run down on our weekend. It was wonderfully low key! It started Friday night when Matt got back from Houston. We had a nice dinner, put Lily to bed and were in bed ourselves by 9:30. Saturday we went through a new cookbook I just bought and planned out our meals for the week. This is something we have been trying to do each week so we A) eat healthier, B) eat at home, and C) know what to buy when we go to the grocery store instead of just buying staples and trying to concoct a meal out of them. I have been totally loving doing this and I actually look forward to cooking dinner every night. And everything I have made so far has been awesome. Seriously, it is the recipes, not the cook. And I missed doing this the past two weeks while Matt was in Houston. Then I just ate whatever was around the house, and it could hardly be considered a well rounded meal! We went to the grocery store and to Marshalls. I have been wanting a dutch oven for some time, so I figured Marshalls was a good place to pick one up for half the price of a department or home store. I also needed some clothes for Lily. For the first time I actually need to buy her clothes because she needs them and not just because I want to and it is cute. I never thought this day would come considering how many clothes we received at my shower and for baby gifts. But the little chunk is growing out of everything, plus I need some more weather appropriate clothes since fall is coming! (Yippee! I heart fall!)
We borrowed my in laws' power washer and Matt got started power washing our deck, while I did some laundry (namely stripping the diapers...very exciting!) We had an awesome dinner and I got to use my new dutch oven , I made Matt a pumpkin pie, and then were in bed again before ten.
Sunday morning, Matt made cornmeal pancakes for breakfast. I think I would like this to become a weekly tradition. Sunday morning pancakes! Matt finished power washing the deck and then I cleaned the carpets with the carpet cleaner I borrowed from my mom. Thanks Mom! We has Stanley Steamer clean the carpets last year when before we put the house on the market, and honestly, when I did it they came out just as good. That is, as good as my totally trashed carpet will ever get. But at least I feel better about Lily playing on the floor now. There are still some stains, but at least I know a lot of the dirt and grime is gone. I still have to do our bedroom and her bedroom, but I need more detergent. I was going to run to target today to get some more, but it is raining, so I think I will just stay home! I made another yummy dinner, and we watched the Bears kick the Colts butts (take that Peyton Manning!) and were off to bed.
Was it a terribly exciting weekend? Not in the least, but we got to spend time as a family and just relax and get some stuff done around the house. And honestly, it was one of the best weekends I have had in a long time!

A Day at the Park

Yesterday I was visiting a friend and we took Lily to the park for the first time. I know, I know...it has been a beautiful summer so why is this the first time she went to the park. Simple really. We don't have a park with a playground in our neighborhood. It was mega hot so we didn't stay long, but Lily did enjoy the baby swing and a ride down the slide on Mommy's lap. She wasn't too sure about the swing, but I am sure she will like it more once she is a little bigger.

She's Got A Tooth!

Well, sort of. She has a tooth just starting to poke through on the bottom. For the most part, Lily hasn't seemed too bothered by it, except for on Saturday. Right now it is just a little white speck on her gums, but it has been there since Friday. She doesn't really like me looking at it, and pushes my finger out with her tongue as much as possible. Her tight frenulum has definitely stretched out! Lily now wants to chew on absolutely anything she can get her hands on, including my hands. She is so cute! It won't be long before her gummy grins turn in to big toothy smiles!