Moms Get-Together

As I've mentioned before, I am part of a moms group that gets together every month or so. We met last weekend at Kristin's house and it was so nice to see just how big all of the babies are getting! I think these pictures are so funny. Lily is the only girl and I think she looks like she's trying to be the boss of the three boys! She has her hand on Ben and is looking at him like she's trying to keep him in line!

A Weekend in NC

Lily and I headed down to NC the second weekend in March to visit my family. The weather was beautiful and we had a great time visiting, relaxing and shopping--between Grandma and Aunt Sissy, Lily is outfitted for the summer! It was so sunny while we were there and every time we went outside, Lily would close her eyes because it was so bright. The solution: sunglasses!

Lily also continued her adventure with solid foods. After two weeks of rice cereal, we decided to let her try carrots. I was prepared for the worst--carrots EVERYWHERE. In preparation, I stripped her down to her diaper and a bib, but she surprised me and kept most of it in her mouth.

After a long day of playing and hanging out, Lily fell fast asleep in Grandpa's lap.



Lily also had her picture taken by my cousin's wife, Laurie. Laurie is a photographer who does weddings, families, and especially kids. Lily (and Laurie!) did a great job and the pictures turned out great! Laurie posted a few of her favorites on her blog:

http://lauriescogginsphoto.blogspot.com/2009/03/little-lily.html

Lily Eats Solid Food--Kind of!

At Lily's 4-month checkup last week, our pediatrician said that we could start her on solid foods any time we wanted. They recommend babies start out with rice cereal, which consists of these light flakes (they look like fish food) that you water down to the consistency of a thin soup. We mixed up a batch (like 5 tablespoons) for her and you can see the results.

I think she did very well for her first time eating from a spoon. She seemed to get the hang of it pretty quickly and most of it actually stayed in her mouth. We'll probably stick with the rice cereal for a couple of weeks before we move on to something more adventurous like peas or carrots.

It's so exciting seeing her trying something new!

Four Months!

It's Lily's 4-month birthday! Just like last time, we cannot believe another month has gone by. All parents say that time flies when you have a little one and we are finding that to be the absolute truth. Lily is changing every day and it's so amazing to watch!

She had her 4-month checkup today and here are her stats:

• Height: 25 1/2 inches. She is at the 90th percentile!**
  
• Weight: 14 lbs, 14 oz. She is at the 75th percentile!**
  

**For those who don't know, being at the 90th percentile means that on average, Lily is longer/taller than 90% of girls her age. For weight, she weighs more than 75% of girls her age. These are both really great numbers!

Here are some more recent photos of Lily Bean:

Surprise!

Yummmmmy fingers!

Taking a break with Mama

Will You Be My Valentine?

We took some photos of Lily for a Valentine's day card and they're just too cute not to share! Click here for more pictures.

Laughing Lily

Lily is starting to giggle more and more these days. She did it the first time last month and we've been trying to catch it on video ever since. She was laughing up a storm the other day with the help of her Daddy. So cute!

Houston, We Have Video!

Ethan bought us a camcorder for Christmas this year and we are just now getting around to posting some of the videos we've made in the last month. Here is a recent one of Lily chatting it up during her bath. She has become a real talker these last few weeks and we think they are the cutest noises we've ever heard!

Three Months!

It's hard for us to believe but our little Lily Bean turns 3 months old today! She continues to be the light of our lives and provide us with hours of entertainment. It is so amazing to watch her discover and learn new things. In the past month, she has discovered her hands, started to smile at us when she sees us, will turn her head in response to the sound of our voices, began to focus on objects across the room, can hold her head up and can sit upright with the help of her Bumbo seat.

She is also growing like a weed. Though she doesn't go back to the doctor until her 4 month checkup, we did an unofficial height and weight measurement. She is a little more than 24 inches long and 14 lbs! She is wearing 6-month size clothes and shows no signs of slowing down!

You can see here how much she's grown from one week old until today!

Babies, babies, babies

Today, Lily and I met up with the other moms and babies from my Mamistad group. We added a new mom to our group and she brought her baby, Emmy. It was fun to see how quickly they are all growing! Lily decided to model her cute cow-patterned sleeper for the occasion.

From left to right above: Jude, Jillian, Henry, Lily and Emmy--as you can see, none of them are able to sit up on their own yet! :)

Baptism

On Sunday, Lily was baptized at our church in Arlington. It was a very nice service and we are so happy that her grandparents from Idaho, grandmother from NC, Aunt Jean and Aunt Michaela, Uncle Luke and friends Carrie and Cathy could attend. Lily was on her best behavior, even under the harshest conditions (long gown, hot church, having water poured over her head and into her eyes, and once being called Ellie by the officiant). She was a superstar!

We celebrated by having all of our guests back to our house for lunch and cake. Lily celebrated by changing into her PJs, drinking a bottle and eventually taking a nap.

Thanks to all who could attend, especially her new godparents, Uncle Luke and Aunt Jean!

Lily's New Favorite Food

In the past few weeks, Lily has discovered that those two hands that are constantly in her face and hitting her in the head belong to her. They have subsequently become her new favorite things to cram into her mouth. While she can't quite get her whole fist in her mouth, she comes pretty close. The only time she gets frustrated is when she is trying to put BOTH of them in her mouth at the same time and can't understand why it won't work!

Happy New Year!

Happy 2009, everyone! Though Lily wanted to go out and party on New Year's Eve, we convinced her that a quiet New Year's at home would be better. It was so quiet, in fact, that Lily was asleep for the night at 6:15 pm.

As for her parents, Ethan cooked delicious crab legs and we had a glass of champagne to toast the New Year. Of course, we had our champagne at 9 pm, because we were both too tired to make it to midnight! Last year at this time, we were in Belize, visiting Mayan ruins (see below). What a difference a year makes! Hope yours is full of love and laughter!