gloves

no need for expensive toys. lily loves my gloves. i keep putting them up on a table, she keeps getting them down. yes, i keep putting them on the edge. it if fun to see if she notices them. when she does, she is after them. she crawls around just clutching one in each fist. she waves them around. she cuddles them. and if she briefly abandons them for another toy, they are never far from reach. too dang cute!

a girl and her doggie

when everyone asked over the past ten months, how are the dogs (in relation to the baby), our response has been pretty much the same..ehh. they could take her or leave her. they ignore her pretty much. they are just two (three) beings existing in the same place at the same time without really interacting. that is, until she started crawling. man oh man, lily and lucy. two peas in a pod. best buds for life. eli is just weirded out by this little person. she still stays away. but lucy...now lucy is really found her calling. maybe she suddenly feels that she needs to be a protector. maybe she has made peace with the fact that the baby is here to stay. possibly it is that lily now eats in a high chair and feeds herself for the most part and she is a messy eater. lucy is faithfully sitting under the high chair, patrolling the kitchen at each meal. she doesn't let one tasty morsel of chicken or banana or cheese hit the floor. and lily will look over the side of her high chair and give lucy a look as if to say "i see ya...don't worry...next bite is yours." it is really too cute, albeit crowded in our already too cramped kitchen. but the most endearing part of the friendship is how lucy just takes it. she takes lily grabbing her tags and holding on for dear life. she takes lily crawling all over her. she takes lily learning how to pet nice, even though it means getting her ears pulled and eyes poked. she takes it, because she knows at the next meal, lily will hook her up. it is really a beautiful friendship! lily makes a bee-line for lucy everytime. and while lucy could easily get out of the way...she just doesn't. she still likes to act aloof, but i know there is a soft spot in her doggie heart just for lily.
and yes, they are always supervised while playing together!

So Dang Cute

She is so dang cute. And despite the fact that she allowed me possibly the worst night sleep since the evening she was so unceremoniously plucked from my abdomen many moons ago, she continues to melt my heart every minute. She has pretty much perfected crawling and does this adorable little shimmy across the floor with her booty dancing as she moves. As I type this, she has found a pair of my gloves and has one gripped in each little hand, crawling all over the place just as proud as can be. She also almost completely refuses to be fed anymore. Finger foods...more importantly, cheese...is pretty much all she wants, though she will eat about anything put in front of her. Along with her new found skills comes attitude. Since she is my kid, I should rather be surprised it has taken this long for it to show up. When I tried to feed her some green beans, she obliged me whilst giving me a look that pretty much told me on no uncertain terms where that spoon belongs. But I am loving her new mobility. Nothing beats the look on my little angel's face as she wiggles and giggles across the room.

What Happened to My Baby?

What happened to my baby? She is about to turn 10 months old (tomorrow) and she is just growing up so fast. Lily had a really big week this past week. In fact, most of it happened yesterday.
For starters, she crawls now. It just happened yesterday. Well, I should say I witnessed it for the first time yesterday. I had suspected for the past couple days that she might be crawling, but never actually saw her doing it. Then, yesterday afternoon I looked over and she was crawling. I wasn't sure if it would technically be considered a crawl, so when my sister came over, I had her confirm it. Sure enough...she crawls. It isn't the fastest crawl, nor the most elegant, but it is her new preferred mode of transportation. However, if she is tired, she does go back to rolling or army crawling.
She is also really good at pulling herself up on any and everything. But more importantly, she is cruising. Up until a couple days ago, she would pull herself up, but then her legs were firmly planted and she wouldn't budge her foot even an inch. The other day she was in her crib playing and I was putting away laundry. One minute she was standing at one end of her crib, and two seconds later she was at the other end. So again I suspected she was cruising, but had never actually witnessed it. She hasn't really had much opportunity to learn to cruise because the play room and living room/computer room, which are her normal play areas, don't have any couches or much for her to hold onto to cruise around. On a whim this morning I put her up behind her push walker thingy, and sure enough she took a couple steps. She also walks all around her little music play table. She loves that thing and will just make it play music and wiggle her little bottom. She loves music.
Lily continues to be a good eater. She prefers to feed herself now, so finger foods it is! She ate half a large banana this morning for breakfast. Previously, Lily didn't seem to care for bananas all that much, but I guess when she can feed herself, it is a different story. She also likes chicken, cooked carrots, and pasta. She continues to dislike peas, but I don't really blame her. Her all time favorite thing to eat is cheese. She practically climbs out of the high chair when she sees us bring the cheese out. And after every bite she says "mmmm!" The pups are loving the fact that she feeds herself now because they get all the food that misses her mouth.
And every time I get her out of bed, I swear she has a little more hair!

Lily is also getting pretty good at waving and clapping, and occasionally gives kisses. Open mouth kisses, but kisses none the less. She really likes to imitate mommy. If I take her stuffed animal and hug it and stroke it's back and then hand it to her, she will do the same thing. She also has two toys that have little phones. She will take the phone and put it up to her ear and "talk." She also does this anytime she gets her hands on a cell phone.

But along with all her new developments come new challenges. I found myself saying "no" constantly yesterday. She likes to get into any cords she can and is definitely pushing her boundaries. She also has started to whine a little. She will cry for something that she can get herself, and start laughing when I come over to help her. She is pretty manipulative, but I play right into her hands almost every time.

I am just amazed at how fast the past ten months have gone by. I am also amazed how fast she went from rolling to crawling and cruising. Literally a few days! We definitely need to step up our baby proofing.

musings...

i have two babies today, which means i need to spend the day keeping my charge from beating up chickie. a more stressful day for sure, but also some much needed dinero in my pocket.

babu was up a lot last night again. she had been doing good only getting up once a night for over a week, but we are back to before. but my body is already used to only getting up once, so i am extra tired.

i have something to pick up from the library. i don't usually go peruse the stacks, just reserve books online. it is always a surprise what i am going to get.

speaking of books, In Defense of Food: An Eater's Manifesto, which i just finished reading and The Omnivore's Dilemma, which i am currently reading (both by Michael Pollan) have pretty much convinced me that i should live on a farm and grow all my own food

matt got home from his class early last night. not early enough for me to make it to the pool for a swim, but early enough for me to get in a yoga video. i am achy in places i didn't know i had.

i am dreaming of a bike stroller and really wanting to go for a bike ride. isn't it spring yet?

i have some home-made chicken soup defrosting on the counter for dinner. the soup paired with a salad and some biscuits make a fairly healthy meal with almost zero effort.

i feel refreshed and inspired after watching 10 hours of inaugural coverage yesterday. except that poem. what the f? but i did feel a little like i was watching a wedding reception watching The Neighborhood Ball. a very posh reception, but the whole first dance thing...

after watching non-stop inaugural coverage, i kinda want to be a politician. or maybe just visit dc to see the sights.

Lost, after a too long hiatus, is back on tonight. i need my fix of shirtless sawyer to get through the week. and after trying to follow the twists of Big Love, i need a show with a simple plot (wink)

i kinda can't believe i just did the wink thing. i'm lame.

and now i should get back to the babies who are playing somewhat nicely together...and this is what you get when i am bugged to post but have nothing interesting to say

Today

Nothing really interesting has happened lately, so here is what is going on today:
- I am watching the inauguration
- Lily slept poorly last night, so I am a little crabby and a little sleepy
- it is my Dad's birthday
- my whole body is very tired due to lack of sleep, but mostly a killer swim last night
- I am thinking of bacon, eggs and toast for lunch
- Matt has a class starting tonight, which means Tuesdays are going to be very long days
- and I won't get to go swim tonight, which means I will be extra unhappy
- Lily has learned to stand up in her crib, so when she doesn't want to nap, she stands up and screams. Happy screams, but screams none the less
- so now she is in the pack and play next to me, so I can watch all the inaugural coverage. But I doubt she will sleep.
- and she has been wanting her pacifier 24/7 lately. and she has been crabby. maybe more teeth?

I live an exciting and glamorous life, don't I?

A New Toy and a New Tooth

Lily now has her seventh tooth. It is a bottom tooth, and I didn't even notice it was coming in. My friend pointed it out to me when we were hanging out the other day. I guess after the first couple, I just stopped noticing. Also, since it is a bottom one, it is hard to see. I am starting to give her more finger foods, which she seems to like, and the dogs love. More food ends up on the floor than in her mouth and the dogs have learned that meal time means treat time for them. They eagerly sit by her high chair, dodging flying sippy cups just waiting for tasty morsels to fall.


Lily is also showing a preference for standing whenever possible. She pulls herself up whenever she has something sturdy to hang on to. Lily received quite a few Target gift cards for Christmas, so I decided to put one to use. I bought her a Fisher Price activity table. So far she loves it. I wish it was a little heavier because when she leans on it, it slides a little bit. And it isn't heavy enough for her to really pull herself up on it yet. But she has a lot of fun pushing the buttons and is just so proud of herself standing there. Thanks Great Aunt Beth and Great Uncle Merv! As a side note, the thing talks...various things like the alphabet and numbers, colors and animals. We have quite a few talking toys, and I discovered that this little table has the same voice as a little purse she got for Christmas. We have way too many Fisher Price toys. Are they publicly traded? I think I should buy stock!

Fun Friday

Lily and I had a fun day last Friday. We met my friend Heather and her two adorable kiddos for some lunch and then headed over to the mall to walk around and enjoy some coffee while the kids, her 3 1/2 year old, almost one year old, and my little 9 months, played at the play area. This is the second time we did this, and this time all the kids were playing. If the mall was a little closer, I think I would take Lily there more often to just roll, scoot around. The kids had a ball and Heather and I were able to catch up. We have been friends for almost 25 years and when we get talking, we totally lose track of time. Matt called me to find out where I was, and Heather and I were both shocked to find out it was already 5!

It's Official

It's official. Lily can now pull herself up to standing. Last night when I walked in the front door from swimming, she was standing up in the entry way to the playroom, holding on to the ironing board on its side (which is what we are sort of using as a baby gate for the wide opening), just smiling away. I asked Matt if she pulled herself up on her own and he said almost, but he helped a little. I caught her just like in the above picture a few times today, but never actually witnessed her pulling herself up until just now. Obviously she was pulling herself up before since I was the only one home with her, unless her little buddy or the dogs were helping her up. Leaning into her toy box, whether from her knees, or now her little feet, is her favorite past time. I will look over and she will be digging away for something. She also puts all manner of non-toys in there. I have found her pacifier, slippers and sippy cup tucked inside the toy box. It is so cute how she determinedly digs for just the right toy, which of course, is not one of the dozen already strewn about the room.

Ouchie!

Don't ask why the photo is flipped. It isn't in my picture file, just when I upload it. Anyway, Lily and the little girl I watch two days a week play together as well as you can expect a 9 and 10 month old to play together. While Lily has 3 pounds on her little friend, her friend crawls and stands up on her own...and likes to beat Lily up. Lily will, I am positive, give her buddy a run for her money once she is as mobile, but in the mean time, her friend likes to claw Lily's pretty little face. She has a nice scratch under her eye, complete with mild swelling. I am not sure if it is going to turn into a black eye. Either it will, or by the time I get her up from a nap, it will be completely healed. My kiddo has amazing healing powers. Must be all the good boob juice.

A Few Photos

Isn't she just adorable in nothing but her cloth diapers. The mattress from her crib is in the background of one of the pictures. We had to lower her crib because she is really close to pulling herself up and we didn't want the first time to be in and over her crib rail.
Trying to pull herself up - hence the crib lowering.

She was very interested in the mechanical aspects of the chair.

Her new, snazzy, way expensive but uber cool sippy cup.

It is kind of hard to tell, but she fell asleep sitting up in her crib and slumped forward. Sitting up in her crib is her new thing. It is nice, because she will sit quietly and play for a while, often when I think she is sleeping. I had put her down for a nap, but she had other ideas. After she quieted down, I went in to check on her and this is how I found her. I snapped a quick picture, and then thinking she couldn't possibly be comfortable, I laid her down. Stupid move. She woke up and wouldn't go back down. Duh mommy! Let sleeping babies lie...sort of.

New Years

Happy 2009! We had a very nice New Years Eve. We decided we weren't going to do anything. I wanted to do nothing...watch movies, cuddle Lily, pig out, go to bed early...like 12:01. Then my sister mentioned her plans fell through. So I invited her over to do nothing with us. Then my sister in law mentioned her plans were not looking all that awesome anymore. So we invited her over to do nothing with us. Then we decided to make one last ditch effort to find the Wii we were buying as our Christmas gift to each other. After being laughed at by about ten different employees from different stores when I called to see if they had any Wiis in stock, my sis gave me a tip that we should check Walmart. And what do you know...they had one. So our do nothing New Years Even turned into a night of Wii bowling and Guitar Hero. We had an awesome meal and lots of snacks and just played with Lily and the Wii all night. Yes, Lily all night. I think maybe the excitement of having two of her aunts here kept her from sleeping well. Or maybe the fact that she never sleeps well...Anyway, she was up to ring in the New Year with us, and then was a good little baby and went to bed around 12:30 and slept in her usual fashion until almost 10 the next morning. Her usual fashion being up every couple hours. I made some biscuits and gravy for breakfast, and then we broke out Steph's Wii Fit for some more fun. It was not quite as low key as I was imagining, but lots of fun and I didn't have to leave the house.

New Sink

My darling, wonderful, awesome husband, along with his dad, installed my (okay, our) new sink last Friday. I LOVE IT! It is a full three inches deeper than my old sink and actually drains. I am no longer soaked after doing dishes. For Christmas we received money that went towards purchasing the sink, and a gift certificate that was used for the faucet. Aside from the eight hours it took to install it - there was some other minor plumbing things that were done, namely installing new shut off valves under the sink that actually work - and the money we spent on an unexpected new garbage disposal (ours wasn't even hooked up right, and was ancient), the sink was essentially a gift. It definitely gives the kitchen a face-lift. It is way lighter in color, as our old one was stainless steel (or some cheap imitation) and makes the kitchen a little brighter. Now if we could only do something about the heinous green countertops......

New Buttons

First and foremost, I will try to update my blog with the past week or so's news soon. I have to upload some pictures, because I hate posting without pictures, but my camera battery is charging, and I have to take pictures of my new sink (YIPPEE!!!!) and I might as well just upload all at once. But anyway, I digress....
See those nifty new buttons on the side ---->
Well those buttons link to Kellyscloset.com, the awesomest site for cloth diapers and their corresponding blog, theclothdiaperwhisperer.com. And by having those buttons on my blog, I get an extra entry per button per give-away. Which means more chances for me to win awesome cloth diapering packages. I haven't won yet, but any week is my week, I can just feel it! Since I am obsessed with cloth diapers, I try to get every entry possible into their weekly drawings. The drawings are held weekly, isn't that awesome. And very generous. The prize and requirements are posted on Sundays and the winners are announced on Fridays. It is called Fluff Fridays. Hmm, wonder why!?!?! You should definitely check out their website and corresponding blog. Seriously, if you have ever considered cloth diapers, this is the play to check out!
And, if you don't have kids in cloth diapers, feel free to check out their blog, enter the drawings, and if you win, give me the prize!