The new year!

Today is December 31st. Tonight, at midnight we begin 2012.  I can't believe that on Monday, Lily will be 10 months old!
We had such a good Christmas.  We all went to Mom and Dad's Christmas Eve to open presents.  Lily did very well. Aunt Debbie bought her a Fisher Price Amusement Park.  She was busy playing with the little people that came with the park.  Lily even learned how to rip open a present or two.

While Lily Belle doesn't yet understand the meaning of Christmas, she was still a delight!

Christmas morning, it was just me, Matt and Lily. (as Calvin was in Arkansas with his Mom)
We got a Fisher Price Talking People Zoo for Lily. The night before, Matt and I assembled the Zoo and had it sitting by the tree.  She spotted it right away and crawled up to it. We even got pictures of her heading for her Zoo.  She likes to use it to stand and she loves "Zookeeper Zach".  We all like to sit down with her and play Zoo.  She seems to undy the ida of playing with the various nooks, and noise makers on the zoo. I LOVED my Fisher Price toys as a kid and I hope she will like hers too.

Matt got a bunch of cooking tools. Lily loved Daddy's gifts-especially the whisk and spatula.  She was only too happy to hold onto them for Daddy!

Some new skills-Lily has CURLS!  There is one adorable curl over her left ear.  Sometimes it separates into two curls.  She has a soft layer of hair over her whole head. I'm obsessed with the fine downiness and can't stop looking at, kissing, and adoring her sweet little head.

On Friday, Dec. 30th, Mom and Dad, Debbie and Zach came over for dinner.  Mom was holding her in her lap and Lily was looking at Grandpa.  He would bend his head to the left and then the right. Lily copied him. It was the SWEETEST thing. She's learning now to mimic you and copy facial expressions and movements. It's an adorable new development.  Also, on this day she wore her first blue jeans!  I can't get over how big she's getting! 

While I'm sad she's not a true baby anymore-I love every new skill. Every new development.  Each day her smile is bigger and brighter and warms my heart even more.

Time Flies

There have been so many fun events in Lily's life! 
Today is December 8th and she is now 9 months old.
My Lily has HAIR!  Still no teeth-but a light, fine dusting of sweet blond hair. 
She can CRAWL!  Hands and knees, honest to goodness crawling.  My favorite part is that she SLAPS each hand down as she goes along.  SLAP, knee, SLAP, knee.  It's quite cute.

She's also standing on everything possible.  We have a few things she could use as walkers but because we have hardwood floors, they all move too fast.  Lily has a lot of luck using her laudnry basket turned over and pushing it along. 

One of my favorite little moments with Lily is after she eats.  Sometimes, she will look up at me and vocalize what sounds like "ahhhhhh."  I like to think that if she could, she would say, "Great meal, Mom! High Five!" After her "ahhhh" she will have these quiet little babbles including her favorite- "a-dah, a-dah."  It's such a special moment and I cherish it so much.

On Monday, December 5th, Alex and I took Lily to Easton. We dressed her in her "Elf" costume to meet Santa.  She did a GREAT job and we got an adorable picture of her on Santa's lap.  I'm excited for Christmas!  I bought her a Fisher Price Little People Zoo and 2 Baby Signs DVDs.

Lily in her Johnny Jump Up!

The many names of Lily

I love nicknames!  You can bet if I think you are a great person-you have a nickname.  My friend Lauren, is "Cutie Lauren" to me, and when Matt and I were dating I called him Mailman Matt.  =)

Lily has soooo many nicknames from me and other people, I wanted a chance to list them.

When I first brought her home from the hospital, I called her Liliput. Shortly after, I changed to Lily Belle.  Though it sounded more like "Lila Bewllll"  Next came Lily Dily.  (this is a nickname that my Dad came up with). Lately, I call her "Lovey" or "Lovealoo." 

These names all evolved and changed naturally over her short 7 months. Who knows how many more nicknames she'll go through in her lifetime (many, many, I'm sure....)

Some of her other nicknames have been given to her by family and friends.
Aunt Debbie calls her "LilyPad."  She has a lot invested in this name. I don't see her changing it!  =)
Aunt Debbie is steadfast in her LilyPad.

Alex calls her LilyPop,  My Dad calls her "Lily Dilly" and Ralph suggested that if she was wearing a lacy dress, one could call her "Frilly Lily"  lol

Marnie Brannon calls her "Lily Bonkin".  Daddy just calls her Lily.  Sweet and simple. 
Whatever nickname we call her-it's said with great love and tenderness. 

Standing!

On Friday, I took Lily to Old Navy. She had been a total sweetheart sitting in her car seat at the vet's office, in the drive over to ON, and for about a half an hour around the store.  While I was trying on pants, she got antsy so I got her out of her carseat.  She was wearing her new "Ugg" boots that have a really good sole and they gave her the sturdiness to stand up!

Matt says he has her standing all the time-but I don't. In fact, I've never really seen her do it-but this day I placed her in front of the mirror. She was SO excited!  Lily saw herself in the mirror and SMILED to herself.  She patted on the glass and had a grand old time. It was a big moment for me that I later repeated when we stopped in to work to drop off milk. 

Lily was a BIG hit at work.  CAM, AZ and more held her and cooed and had a grand time seeing Lily Belle!



Matt turned 40 on OCtober 8th, 2011. We celebrated with a dinner outat Bucca de Bepp with family and friends.



GodMother, Aunt Debbie and Uncle Todd met us at Bucca. We had a great time!



Cousin Alex (Aya) and her best friend Colleen

We had a very busy weekend! On Saturday, October 8th, Matt turned 40 years old.  "Aunt" TJ came over to babysit and we went out to celebrate Daddy's birthday. Alex brought Colleen, Aunt Debbie and Uncle Todd came too. Matt's good friends Matt and Katara Zachman came as well as Katara's sister Alethia.  John Harrison and Cutie Lauren Stir finished out our fun group.  We ate their yummy spaghetti with meat sauce (our family's favorite) and a great antipasta salad.  The waiters sang a Bucca de Beppo birthday song and we all ate a yummy cake from Ichiban Bakery.

On Sunday, October 9th, 2011, we found Pawpaw Jim sitting and doing some people watching at the Enon Apple Butter Festival



Papaw Jim was looking good!

     On Sunday, October 9th, 2011, we went to Enon's annual Apple Butter Festival.  I grew up going to this festival every single year ever since I was a kid and the Enon Historical Society had too many apples from the Adena burial mound. This year marks Lily's very first ABF!  Calvin loves going every year mostly because of the food. He and I both love "Walking Tacos."  The Boy Scouts sell them. To make a Walking Taco, you take a bag of Fritos corn chips and cut open one side.  Then, you spoon in chili, cheese, onions (if you want) and sour cream. Then, just add a fork and your portable taco treat is ready for walking!

     This year is the first time my Mom didn't have her booth showcasing watercolor paintings. She was on her way back from Italy!  She went with an artist group and toured churches, The Vatican and more on a two week trip abroad.  Dad sat in his folding chair next to the Historical Society Booth.  He looks more and more heatlhy every time I see him! 

All in all, it was a very full and fun weekend.  Lily charmed high school friends and Knob Prairie churchgoers.  Virginia Apple snatched her up and Debbie Mauer took a turn practicing being a Grandma.  We look forward to seeing them again on Oct. 20th when Lily will be baptised.

SWING!

Today is Oct. 10, 2011. 

We took a bag full of tomatoes, a pepper and squash to Paul and Vera Herman.  They live over on Delhi and are always excited when I bring them fresh veggies. After we had a short little visit, I pushed Lily's stroller along the bike path back home.  I decided to stop at the small playground just past Como Park and see if Lily likes to swing.

Well!  Right away I could tell that LIly LOVED it!  Her little arms and legs dangled over the swing and she felt free of weight and ground.  Her little face lit up with each arc.  Unfortunately, I knew this would be wonderful for her, but not so good for me. I'm really senstive and get motion sick very easily. I can't swing or even watch someone swing.  My poor stomach was rolling for over an hour after this.

However, it made sweet Lily so happy and I love seeing her happy!  I may just have to suck it up and deal with the nausea now and again just to see her sweet face smile this big!!

New Skills

It seems Lily is 100% out of the "peanut stage."  She is reaching, grabbing and exploring.  As of last Thursday, Sept. 22, she was sitting up a lot on her own.  It was like that was the day her body got the hang of it.  Each day, she sits up better and longer. (though there is the occasional flop...)

Today I put Lily in her new Halloween outfit. One word-adorable!

6 month shots

It's a necessary evil, but not one enjoyed by anybody!  Today Matt and I took Lily for her six month shots. That nurse is brutal!  I mean she stabs and plunges with no mercy. My poor poor baby. She screamed at decibels I had never heard before.  Of course, I cried along with her.

Lily was PISSED.  She cried and screamed the entire ride home.  What a crappy afternoon. We don't see Dr. Patty till her 9 month check up and that's fine with me.

On the good side, Matty made lots of silly faces and made her laugh while we waited for the doctor and then the nurse.  Lily is doing really well.  She now weighs 16 pounds (70%). is 27" long (89%) and her head is 43 cm (70%).  Dr. Patty gave her an overall good report.

Now I'm either gonna eat some ice cream, or take a nap.  Mommies have a tough time on shot day too....

Lily Tattoo

Lily was definitely NOT named for the flower.  In fact, she was named for the character, Lily on "How I Met Your Mother."  For the longest time, we couldn't agree on a name. I wanted "Sunny" but Matt didn't.  Toward the end of my pregnancy, I was on bed rest. We watched a lot of HIMYM and one day I commented that I really liked Lily's character. Then, during my baby shower I noticed that the baby bedding I had registered for was from the "Lily Collection."

We had a name!!  Since Lily was born, I've been thinking about getting her name as a tattoo or maybe some flowers to represent her. I researched all form of Lilies.  Daylilies were too common, and Stargazer lilies remind me of my Grandma Julie's funeral. (her favorite flower) and the Calla Lily is not appropriate etc. While researching lillies, I found this:

LILY OF THE VALLEY: Return of happiness, purity of heart, sweetness, tears of the Virgin Mary, you've made my life complete, humility, happiness, love's good fortune. The legend of the lily of the valley is that it sprang from Eve's tears when she was kicked out of the Garden of Eden. It is also believed that this flower protects gardens from evil spirits. Also known as the flower of May.

I like the Lily of the Valley. The meaning is perfect and it's closely tied to May 1st. That's the day we got married!  So, I finally make a plan to get a tattoo.  It HURT but I love it!

The best massage I ever had

Sept. 23, 2011
I had a coupon for a massage that I bought Matt 2 years ago. He never used it, so I decided to!
The woman who did the massage comes to my work so I know her and she knew of Lily.
I told her I may not have a babysitter, so she agreed that I could bring Lily along.

I fed her so she would be happy and mornings are a great time to get things done.  She's pretty content.
We started out the massage with Lily in her car seat. She was occupied with some rings and a toy attached to her car seat. I also laid out 2 toys and once Lily got bored with the rings, Carol easily handed her a new toy.

About 1/2 way through, Lily becamse restless. I knew she'd only eaten on the right side so I asked if I could maybe feed her while Carol worked. She was more than accomodating. I laid on my left side and Lily ate snuggled up with me as Carol massaged my back.  I enjoyed being pampered while at the same time I could love on Lily.

Then, when she was done eating, Carol put her on the floor on a blanket I had brought.  Lily, (not one for staying in the same place for long) rolled till she was right under me. As I looked through the head cushion, Lily was directly under my face.  She was so sweet and laid under me the rest of the time. I was able to reach down and stroke her face and ears as she lay there looking up at me.

Prolly, I would have gotten more benefit from the massage without Lily there, but instead it was a very sweet time. I will cherish this as the best massage I ever got.  =)

Nap time blow outs

Thursday afternoon, (Sept 22, 2011) I put Lily down for a nap. She slept for an impressive three hours!  When I went in to get her, she was happy to see me, as usual.  Lily will half roll and look up at you and SMILE.  Then, she rolls the other way and hides her face. It's super cute. However this routine was cut short when I got a look at her tummy. MAJOR blow out!  There was leaked poo all over. On her onesie, pants, and even the sheet.  ick!

I carefully lifter her out and plunked her on the changing pad. Quickly I pulled off the soiled clothes and diaper but WOW did this little stinker need a bath. But, I didn't want to get dirty myself so I was trying to carefully hold her out away from me. However, Lily had different ideas. She wrapped herself around me like a monkey hanging on for dear life. Her arms and one leg were wrapped right around me and she even pressed her head onto my chest.  Guess I was in for a change of clothes!  lol

Welcome to Lily's World!

I started thinking the other day about how quickly Lily is growing.  She was born on March 2nd, 2011.  Now, she is six and 1/2 months old!  I was realizing that when my nieces and nephew ask me to tell them stories about when they are babies, I have about 5 or 6 stories that I tell over and over.  I don't want Lily's baby time to be condensed down to 5 stories! There are so many memories and events that I don't want to forget!

So, I decided to start blogging. Even if noone reads it but me, I want to savor many special moments and memories.

To start with, Lily was born on March 2nd, 2011 at Riverside Hospital.  My water broke at midnight.  I was actually peeing at the time when I felt a gush of water. Imagine my confusion! I wasn't sure if my water broke, but I never felt anything like that before so I was thinking maybe it did!  I yelled for Matt.  He was asleep at his computer!!  I had to stomp on the floor to get him to come up.

I said, "I think my water just broke!" I explained what had happened. He looked at me and said, "Ok, just a minute." and walked away......  He came back a few minutes later and said, "Here's what you do....."  I just looked at him and asked, "Did you go downstairs and Google this??"  He said, "yep."

So we got ready, and headed to the hospital.  Matt pulled up at the Women's Center turnaround and I got out of the car. The minute I stood up, it was like someone had poured a BUCKET of water down my legs.  Now I knew FOR SURE my water had broke!  I was already walddling and taking tiny steps because of the Pubic Symphysis Disorder, but now I was wet too. 

We finally got up to the floor and I said, "My water broke. I want an epidural."  They didn't believe me that my water had broke. It seems that only happens 15% of the time!  When I asked to get up to pee, they finally SAW that yes, indeed, my water had broke.  Wow is there a lot of water!!! 

I repeated my request of an epidural. The nurse said, "We can't do it until you've had one whole bag of IV fluids.  if you bend your wrist it will go in faster."  I BENT my wrist right then and hurried that fluid into my veins.  Contractions HURT!!!  Matt was wonderful. He held my hand, and counted with me. He marked down the start and stop of every single contraction!

After we were set up in a delivery room, I was given the epidural.  ahhhhhhhhh That was the FIRST time I wasn't in pain in three months!  I loved it!  Matt slept and I dilated quickly.  at 7am Dr. Melillo arrived and checked on us. I was ready to go!  

I pushed for an hour and 45 minutes and then Miss Lily Marie Kinnamon made her appearance into my life.
Right away she was an easy baby.  She hardly ever cried and mostly slept while we were in the hospital.  Lily was an angel!! The first night she stayed in the room with me. The second night they offered to let her sleep in the nursery.  Cut to me-30 minutes later standing outside the nursery and looking for my love.