Lately

I have been a bad mommy lately because I haven't posted anything or taken any pictures. Which is not to say things haven't been happening. I absolutely love this stage/age because Lily literally does something new every single day. I am constantly amazed how fast she learns! So here is a list of the new things she has been doing lately (at least I don't think I have mentioned them before):

• she signs "more". we have been working on some baby signs, but so far this is the only one she really has down. i have been trying to teach her "milk" and "all done", but lily never really has an all done...she will eat as long as i put food in front of her!
• she waves and says "bye-bye". however, her hand is turned towards herself when she waves. it is the cutest thing.
• she has mastered "uh-oh" and throws things just to say it.
• she has discovered how to turn the tv off.
• she gleefully yells out "daddy" when matt walks in the door from work.
• and just this evening, she was standing, holding my knee and she let go and stood on her own for about five seconds.
  

I am sure there are other new things, but I am kind of sleepy, so these are all that come to mind. Why am I kinda sleepy, you ask? Because of all the new things Lily has been doing, sleeping through the night is still not one of them. Sigh.

I'm A Guest Writer!

Head over to my favorite blog, The Cloth Diaper Whisperer, to check out my guest post. I was having a moment the other day when I was just loving cloth diapers (like most days). Lily was crawling around in just a t-shirt and diaper, and I got to thinking how cute her little bottom was. So I thought I would contact Kelly's Closet and let them know how much I love their website and associated blog. My intention was just to let them know how much I appreciate them, because who doesn't want to hear some praise, right? Well Kelly, the owner, promptly responded and wanted to know if she could publish my email. I had titled it "Just Love" and since this is Valentine's week, she thought it would fit nicely. After a quick double check of what I wrote to make sure I didn't sound like a total boob, I told her sure. She asked for a photo of me and Lily and I told her I would get her one as soon as Matt got home to take one. One of the pitfalls of being the family photographer...I am never in any pictures! I also sent her one from a few days prior when I put a diaper on Lily's baby. Lily now loves, and I mean loves to empty her diaper basket. While she was emptying away the other day, I thought I would be funny and put one on Baby.
And yes, I am a little bit obsessed with cloth diapers. But it is a healthy obsession. Just ask Heather....

I Won!

I never, ever win anything, but I won a book! It is called Nourishing Traditions by Sally Fallon. It is about cooking whole, healthy foods. I have been reading tons of books lately about eating healthy, whole foods. I am trying to make as much as possible from scratch and avoid processed foods. I really have been wanting to get my hands on this book, but the wait list at the library is really long! Now I have my own copy. It should be here before the end of the week! I am so excited! A couple of the other books that I have read are The Omnivore's Dilemma and In Defense of Food, both by Michael Pollan, and I am currently reading Animal, Vegetable, Miracle by Barbara Kingsolver. I highly recommend reading all three of them. They are very eye opening and will definitely make you think about where your food comes from. I can't wait to get started reading this book! If anyone else has read it, I would love to know what you think.

**I think I have to say something like this image is courtesy of Amazon (because that is where I downloaded it from). Just don't want to get in trouble!

Pictures

Only two months late this time! Here are our Lily's Christmas pictures/nine month portraits/our family portrait.




Maybe for her one year portraits we will actually get her to smile!

Playing

Despite the fact that I caught Matt's killer cold, we have been doing a lot of playing and taking advantage of the nice weather. On Saturday morning, after realizing the forecast called for sun and mid-50s, I decided we should go to the zoo. I called up my sis Steph and less than two hours later Matt, Lily, Steph and I were enjoying the fresh air and looking at all the animals. It was pretty crowded for a Saturday in February, but with the gorgeous weather and free admission (every Tues, Thurs, Sat and Sun in February is free admission at Brookfield Zoo...you just pay the $8 for parking), it wasn't totally unexpected. Of course I don't have any pictures, but I will post a couple if my sister sends me the ones she took. It was nice to get some fresh air and walk around after the long winter we have had. Everytime we go to the zoo Lily understands more and more. In the Tropic World section, or whatever the ape house is called, she really enjoyed watching the little monkeys and gorillas.
Monday Lily and I headed up to visit my friend Heather and her kids. We met at a mall and just walked around and let the kids play in the play area. Seriously, those things are the best invention ever. Lily had a great time, even though she kept trying to escape. I mean, seriously...all the stuff to climb on and she still thinks it is more fun to crawl towards the exit.

Today we went to the park. It was really windy and kind of muddy, but Lily seemed to enjoy herself on the swings. I think we will be taking daily trips to the park this summer when she is walking. She also had a nice stroller ride and was just talking the whole way back from the park. I am pretty sure she was telling how the past couple days have been so much fun.

The Sweetest Thing

Lily continues to be just the sweetest thing. I think we might be able to say she is saying her first word. She will point at Matt and say "Dat-tea!" with a big smile on her face. Granted she says it more than just while addressing him, but she definitely knows he is called daddy. And I think the fact that she has been repeating it so much lately has to do with the fact that Matt has been sick and avoiding her as much as possible so not to pass along his nasty cold, and she is missing her daddy time. She is crawling all over the place and pulls up on everything. I am apparently a human jungle gym for her to climb all over. She loves to dance when she hears music and will consistently push the buttons on her music table just to hear the music. She also shakes her head no. I don't think she knows what she is doing - she certainly doesn't respond accordingly when I say know. She likes to pull Matt's glasses off his face, and he shakes his head and says "don't do it, don't do it" while laughing. She just copies everything we do, so she laughs and shakes her head. She really is just the funniest thing. While I do miss having a little baby, I totally love this stage! She is learning and exploring constantly. Today she fell into her toybox while reaching for a toy. I looked over and saw these little feet sticking out. I went to rescue her, but I don't think she realized she needed rescuing. She continued reaching for her toy.