Little artist

Today me and Lily tried out her sidewalk chalk for the first time! I was in target the other day, and it was clearnced out for 68 cent! heck yeah! so I got one for her, and one for my nephew, Dylan. ( along with a few other good Clarence finds!) She enjoyed being outside and did ok coloring. She doesn't quite understand that she had to apply a little more pressure for the chalk to really show up, but I know the more we do it, the better she will get. 

Our weekend plans include another trip to Ocean breeze tomorrow, and I think we will try the chalk again too! This time daddy will join in on the fun! I am really trying to do as much stuff with Lily as possible, even if its just having fun playing on the the floor together. She has big changes coming and I hope she adjust alright. I am having tons of contractions ( though, they never get regular) and as of last Thursday I was 2 cm 50 % effaced! hopefully soon!!!

:)

My baby is walking!

It is sideways, not sure how to turn it but you get the idea. She still prefers to crawl. Esp. if she wants something, like the cell phone in my hand recording her, haha. You can see that about halfway through the video.

So exciting!

Managing two?

Lily is a Mama's girl. Her new favorite thing is to sit in my lap and have me read her books. ( okay, okay, she does this with her daddy too) Obviously this is a behavior that I am thrilled to see and love that she enjoys being in my lap. But... she also cries when I go to switch loads of laundry, and gets a tude' if I don't help her bang her blocks, etc, etc..

My worry is, I am about halfway through Mia's pregnancy, and well I am kind of freaking out a little about splitting the attention between my girls. I know that Mia is going to need me when she first arrives, and I am so afraid this is going to devastate Lily when I can't be on the floor playing with her all the time. I also worry that this is going to hurt Lily's feelings, or make her resent her baby sister. I don't want to take too much attention from Lily because I LOVE playing with her, but I do realize it's going to happen. Especially the first few weeks while me and Mia are getting down nursing. Thankfully, Mike is taking about a month off work when Mia comes, this is going to be such a big help, and my sister will also be in town to help. But I don't want it to turn into a "daddy always deals with the older kid while mommy is with the baby" situation. I love the bond I have with Lily and don't want to lose that. I'm sure a lot of my worries are silly, and that everything will work out after we find a routine that works for our family. Lily will adjust, I know that.. but still. Worrying is what preggo's do, I suppose.

Little misses first SNOW!

 Lily is 10 months old today! I'll save her monthly update for tomorrow :)

Today, it SNOWED!

Though we do get snow here in Virginia beach once in a while, we don't count on it. Most winter's we get none. Last winter we had a big snow storm and got LOTS of snow. Lily was still keeping warm in my belly though, so she missed the fun! Ha! So did I since I was on bed rest :/

Though today we only got 1" of snow, it was enough to drag my baby girl out in for a few minutes. 

Here she is when she was looking out the door at the snow.

 " mom! Can we please go check this stuff out?!"

After throwing some layers on her, which she wasn't very pleased about, we headed out the front door. 

Honestly, I don't think she really loved it. She definitely noticed it and reached her hands out to try and touch falling snow flurries, but she really just seemed confused the whole time.

 Finally got brave enough to reach for it on the ground. She was surprised by how cold it was.

We only spent about 5 minutes out there. Both me and my baby girl are beach girls. I tried skiing once, I was decent at it, but I just hate cold weather. I'm sure I'll feel differently in July when I am 9 months pregnant, HA!

To do? or Not to do?

Flu shots and babies. ugh

I never gave this topic a second thought, until I was pregnant with little miss. She was under 6 months last flu season, for most of it she was in my belly, so she did not receive one. Nor did I. I was at home, stuck on bed rest and never saw the light of day (she was worth it!) So I wasn't really high risk for catching the flu. However, now that she is of age, I am having a hard time deciding if she should receive one or not. As of right now she has an appointment on the 24th to receive the shot, but I just can't decide! I have asked for tons of advice form other moms I know, and at this point I am finding it very hard to form my own opinion about whether or not it is something Mike and I want to do. Mike has gotten a flu shot, and supports Lily getting one since he is a paramedic and is afraid of bringing home icky germs. That makes sense to me. But I still have this mommy gut feeling, I keep putting it off and resisting it. Is that my sign that I don't want to give it to her? I'm not sure.. but  Lily's doctor said it would be fine to give her, and I trust her doctor very much. He also said that she isn't as high risk for catching it due to the fact that she does not go to daycare. So honestly, who knows what I'll end up doing. Maybe I  am turning this into a bigger deal than necessary? I have just read some terrible things about babies and flu shots and it makes me take two steps back when it comes to making a decision. Please pray that me and mike can come together and decide what we feel is best for Lily.

My butterball is 9 months old!

Lily is 9 months old! as of Saturday! I waited until today to do her post because she had her well baby appointment and I wanted to include that in her post.

keeping my phone out of her mouth is a never ending job.

So here is what my little girl is up to

She weighs 19 lbs 4 oz (61st)

She is 28 1/2 inches tall (81st) she takes after her daddy here!

She is still in size 3 diapers and is wearing 9 month sized cloths. 

 She can fit into 12 months sleepers and pj's

She has been crawling for about 2 weeks now

She has pulled up to a standing position on her own

She loves to clap and pat her hand against her mouth while she is making noise.

She loves when I sing to her

She is still sleeping well, goes down between 8-8:30 and wakes up between 8:30-9

She takes two 1-1.5 hr naps a day.

She is beginning to develop some sass, she knows what she wants.

She LOVES food and she like to feed herself.

She has really taken an interest in animals. she loves to watch and touch our dogs, and she like to do the same with my moms kittens.

She has become a finger sucker!

proof!

this is my I'm sleepy cue.

She makes the funniest faces and even snorts sometimes!

She is starting to cling onto me sometimes when she is a little uncomfortable, I love that I make her feel safe! luckily, she warms up when people talk to her and say her name. 

She still loves her jump-a-roo

she loves to kiss her baby doll and even give me and daddy one once in a while!

Lily, you are SUCH a delight. I'm so thankful to be you momma.

I've got a whole new baby on my hands.

Crawling. Enough said.

Little miss is everywhere. Her favorites seem to be the kitchen, she loves the dog bowls. Thankfully a baby gate solved that, but that just made her look for some where else to get in to trouble. Enter fireplace. This is my biggest fear, all I can see is her busting her pretty little face on that thing. We're thinking of solutions for that, so if you have any idea's I'd love to hear them. This is new territory for me and mike. She honestly feels like a different baby, growing so much right in front of us. I was feeding her dinner last night and my adorable hubby turned to me and said " you know how if you put a goldfish in a small tank they wont grow? maybe we can put lily in a small box, and she won't get any bigger!" he was kidding, of course. But it's nice to have some one who has the same mix of happy and sad feelings when we think of how big she is getting. She pulled up to a standing position all by herself yesterday, it's so crazy to think she'll be walking soon. 

 how stinking cute does she look! so grown up!

One thing I am struggling with as she grows is solid foods. She wants food, she loves it and it terrifies me! She has had pancakes, chicken, mashed potato's, macaroni, other veggies, rice, Cheerios, and lots of other things... But I have this terrible, nagging fear of her chocking. She still eats baby food 3 times a day along with big people food, but I have a feeling she is over the baby food.

She was at my MIL work visiting with her daddy. This is how they kept her occupied! ha!

In her new "big girl baby seat"

She will be 9 months old tomorrow, so I will do a complete post Monday after her doctors appointment.

In other news, we booked our flight to key west to see my sister! I am beyond excited, but am so worried about flying with a 10 1/2 month old. ( that's how old she will be when we go) if you have any tips on flying with a baby PLEASE fill me in! ha!

8 Months!

Miss Lily Elizabeth is 8 months old today. I just can't get time to slow down. 

I have been finding so many blogs that involve sick babies/ children, or babies that have passed. I am just SO thankful for Lily's health. Each day with her is the best day of my life and I truly treasure each day. Me and her daddy are just so blessed to be able to call her ours :)

Lily is a wild women these days! she is so spunky and full of energy.

She still thinks looking at herself in the mirror is about the coolest thing ever.

She is still in size 3 diapers, and wearing 6 month cloths. I did try on some of her 9 month outfits though, and they are close to fitting.. probably within a few weeks. Hopefully, because they are so darn cute and I can't wait for her to wear some of them ;)

She is always making these cheesy smiley faces and I love each and every one!

( these were taken with my phone so they are a little blurry. Plus She never sits still anymore.)

She can stand on her own if she is holding onto something Like her crib, or the box from her diapers. She had a BLAST with that box today, haha that's what I call cheap entertainment.

She WILL NOT crawl. I started to worry but the doctor said she is fine and she will do it when she is ready. She does roll around everywhere though so maybe she is just cool with that. She has started to move onto her knees from a seated position now, so I do think she is getting closer.

She has been sleeping wonderful for mommy and daddy. Still going to bed between 8-8:30 and waking up between 8-9. it's heaven.

She still also takes two 1-1.5 hr naps a day. A morning and afternoon one.

She loves baby food but has really been itching for some big people food. She loves chicken and potato's, peas, fruits, and anything really! This kid surely can eat!

She is at SUCH a fun age and I am really loving it. She has taking an interest in cartoons, so far handy Manny and Mickey mouse clubhouse are her favs.

She gets cuter every stinkin' day!

She LOVES sticking her tongue out.

Lily.. you are the most joyous, happy, delightful baby.

weekend recap

Hope everyone had a good weekend! We had a pretty low key weekend. Friday night Lily had a sleep over at her aunt Danielle's. Me and mike went on a date! It was very nice to have some time together to enjoy a movie, though I missed Lily. This is the 2end time she has ever been some where over night, so it's hard for me to adjust when she is gone. We saw "life as we know it" I loved it. you'll cry, and laugh. perfect movie and is really cute. Mike really enjoyed it too! He said he also almost cried. I think it's the daddy in him now, ha! he's a little more sappy when it comes to things involving babies.

Saturday morning Mike had to work from about 7am to 12ish. So me, my mom, sister and Lily went to a few yard sales. She got tons of new toys and a great solid wood toy box. for only 10 bucks! can't beat that! After Mike came home we had a lazy Saturday. just hung around the house as a family. I really enjoyed it.

Today was an even lazier day. I had to work this morning so when I got home I just played with Lily and mike and we watched some football. Then we took a nice family nap, which I was thankful for because I really needed it!

These are from a few weeks ago. I didn't take any pictures this weekend... but I never posted these. so I figured I would :)

:)

randoms tid bits/ Pumpkin patch

The past few weeks have been exhausting. Both me and Lily were sick. She is still taking antibiotics for her double ear infections. We seriously didn't sleep for 3 days straight. The one night she did sleep was in her swing. Thankfully we are both feeling much better. But then came 4 teeth. She is cutting her 2 top teeth and the 2 next to her bottom teeth. they have really been bothering her. Hopefully those suckers pop through soon.

We also had our first pumpkin patch experience. It didn't go as planned, ha ha. to say it simply 

Lily. Hated. It. 

She was ok for about 5 minutes while I snapped some pictures, then I wanted to sit her on the ground. That just WASN'T going to happen. she screamed anytime I sat her down after those first 5 minutes.  anytime I took her away from my body she would bunch up her legs and cling on to me. I originally thought maybe something was wrong. Lily likes everything so I was alarmed by her behavior change. Right before we went Lily had her first big accident in her little life. She was standing her her crib, which she is still very wobbly at, she let go and fell back and hit her head on the other side of the crib. Which resulted in the loudest.bang.ever. She didn't even cry. I sure did though. So as I was terrified of a head injury and telling Mike she needed to go to the ER, Mike ( Who is an EMT who knows a thing or 2 about if she really needed to go to the ER or not) said she was fine. She wasn't acting any different the kid just hated hay. He was right she really did just hate hay. even the hay ride wasn't that fun to her. Ha. We are going to try gain in a few weeks. we'll see. after all, she needs a new little pumpkin. My dog, Bailey ate hers. yes, ate it. 

here's a few pictures from our 

"not what I expected, thought she had a traumatic brain injury the whole time pumpkin patch adventure."

The one picture that she smiled for

 I love this one

"hmm, what's this?"

 " Mom! please oh please pick me up off of this terrible hay!"

 On the hay ride

 she liked it.. at first.

Hope everyone has a great weekend!

Where's Lilyyyyy?!

Lily has changed so much in the last few weeks. She has learned tons of new things, and I love it!

She recently decided her favorite this was to play peek a boo. For a while I had been covering up my face with my hands and I say "where's mommy... Here I am!" and she's go nuts giggling. Now she does it too!. she hasn't figured out putting her hands over her face yet but she ducks her head down in her arm and you hear her little giggles as you say "where's Lily?!" the she pops her head up and goes crazy when you say "there she is!" It just cracks me up. She will also grab my hands if she is in my lap and put them on my face to make me play peek a boo!

She has also learned to oat her arm across her mouth as she's making noise and she loves the sound it makes.

She's yells babababa all day, haha.

She also has started to hold my hands when I clap. When I sing patty cake she loves to put her hands over mine. it's just adorable.

time is just flyin' by!

Fears have been creeping in.

I Love being a mother. I am positive that I'll never accomplish anything bigger in my life then carrying, birthing and raising Lily. Having Lily has re- introduced me to the love, I always knew I had for children. Me and Mike have been chatting about when the best time to have a second baby is. Yes , Lily is only  7 months, it'll be a year or so before we decide to go for number 2, but I want my children to be pretty close in age.

So as me and mike have been talking about this, I'm getting really nervous about the prospect of another pregnancy. I loved being pregnant, and am excited about doing it again, however, Mine wasn't what I thought it was going to be. Every one has a vision of what it will be like for them and I was sure I'd have an easy going pregnancy, after all, it's what my body is made to do, right? My reality was so far off from my vision. Fighting off preterm labor for 10 weeks was not part of the pregnancy I was going to have. I am so thankful to God for allowing Lily to make through our 36th week, but here's where the fears start... What if the next doesn't wait that long. I went into labor for the first time with lily at 26 weeks. it took 5 days to stop it, but they did stop it. What if  it happens again, and they can't. I don't know if i could handle delivering my baby and it not making it, or going through months of NICU life. Of course I would, and would just be thankful for anytime I'd have with my future baby, but I am so terrified about the what ifs involved in having another baby. We we're so lucky with Lily, I truly believe bed rest made such a difference in my contractions, and labor. But how can I do bed rest with a toddler?! Lily will be running around and needing my attention, Mike will have to work, so how do I manage both?? I pray that when we decide to have another baby Things will go smooth and that the pre term labor with Lily was just a fluke, and it wont happen with the next, but it's something I'm very worried about.

I Know deep down it's silly to worry. After all, God is in control and I trust him with my future. For years I was told that I'd be lucky to even get pregnant so I know God is working miracles in my Life. It's so apparent when I look at Lily. Every now and then I just need to vent some fears.

My sweet pea is 7 months old!

Seriously?! slow down. Lily is 7 months old as of Monday. I'm a little late with my post, Like always.

 This is SUCH a fun age, and although I miss my sweet 5 lb baby, I am loving the fun I am able to have with her now. I am stunned that we are now closer to her 1st birthday, then the day she was born. It still feels like yesterday to me! She is growing, and discovering new things everyday and I enjoy playing with her, and singing to her and really... doing just about anything with her :)

Here's what My 7 month old is up doing these days..

Modeling her new Halloween bow :-)

• Lily Loves to be sung to, and anything That lights up or makes music.
• She is getting to the age where she likes to be tossed up, spun around in my arms or anything involving us playing with her. She is a dare devil baby and loves to be danced with and tossed around ( in a baby friendly way, haha)
• She is about 18 lbs
• She is wearing 6 month cloths and size 3 diapers still.
• She is sleeping through the night, but will have an occasional "off" night.
• She has really started to notice Bailey and Riley. She loves to feel their fur and gets kisses from them.
• She has discovered real food. She still has 3 jars of baby food a day along with cereal at 7 ish But she is reaching and begging for whatever me or Mike is eating. We have begun giving her little pieces.
• She is a total ham, and loves any attention she gets. She LIGHTS UP as soon as you say her name and flash her a smile.
• She thinks it's the coolest thing ever to check herself out in the mirror.
• She is really splashing during bath time, I usually end up soaked too.

Lily is the absolute best thing in mine and Mike's Life. I never knew how fulfilled my life could be.

This precious baby reminds me EVERYDAY why I wanted to be a mother so bad. 

Lily's first "daycation"

This past Saturday me, mike and miss Lily decided to drive to Gwynne's island. His grandparents, uncle and cousin's were already camping there for the weekend.

Sorry this post contains 48,412 pictures.

Lily has been sleeping AWESOME the past few nights but Friday night( the night before we were waking up at 6 am to head to the camp ground) Lily slept terrible. Seriously, like a newborn. Up every two hours or less. We ended up downstairs in the swing around 2 and she slept until 6 when we headed out the door. We Had such a great day there, and I'm so glad we went. We got there around 8 and we just hung out, had some muffins and enjoyed the nice weather. We attempted to go to the beach, that didn't last long. there was SO many flies. Like mean, biting flies. Not fun. Which led us to putting her in the pea pod. This cute little mini tent that she can hang out in, but mean flies can't get her..

But Lily loved the water and the sand. It was her first time that we just sat her down and let her feel things out.

Fists full of sand, ha

After the beach we took a little family nap in the camper, which was much needed for all of us due to the night before. I snapped a picture of my two cuties after I woke up.

And this was after Lily woke up, and wanted her daddy up also.

We woke up and enjoyed lunch and just hanging around with family. We also made our way over to a sweet park and Lily enjoyed swinging.

We spent some more time with family, and even squeezed in another nap. We had dinner and headed home around 8. Lily slept all night, which was much needed! We so enjoyed our "dacation' and can't wait to take a real vacation here soon! Christmas in Key West! I am so blessed with a great family:)

Ha, I love Lily's face here.

Well that was easy. ( knock on wood)

We have made Hugh strides in the sleep department with Lily. She now naps 100% in her crib, rather than in her swing. That bad boy is going up in the spare bedroom until next time. She is going down easy, and when she does wake up at night her mobile is working wonders. She is out by the time the music stops, and the best part is I'm no longer having to feed her to get her back to sleep! I have a lot to blog about, we took a mini "daycation" over the weekend, and had a blast. So after a few chores around the house I write about that! hope everyone is having a great Monday!

crap.. did I do that?

When Lily was about 6 weeks old me and Mike started a bedtime routine. Every night we'd do the same thing, feed Lily her bedtime feeding, in the chair in her bedroom. she was pretty much asleep when we layed her down, and I was so proud that we figured out a plan that worked for our family. She went to sleep SO easy, too bad I didn't know I was planting a bad seed that would spring up in the future. What we didn't realize is, by putting her in bed pretty much knocked out... now MY KID CAN'T PUT HERSELF TO SLEEP!!! We figured this out because Lily still only sleeps through the night about 4 nights a week, Which is awesome. she'll sleep from 8pm to am. But the other 3 nights she wakes up once or maybe even twice. And every single time, she would need a bottle to put her self back to sleep. Whether she would wake up from a dirty diaper,teething or just waking up because of changing positions she would cry until she got a bottle. No matter how many times we would go in and pat her butt, or back she clearly let us know that wasn't going to cut it.

So here we go, in our attempt to help her learn to fall asleep at night, we are going to start feeding her the last feeding of the night downstairs in hopes that she will get drowsy from it, but be awake when we lay her down. here's hoping. Any one have any advice on this subject?.

The only strange thing is, she has put her self to sleep a few times, So that makes me think that maybe she does know how to.. She has fallen asleep on her own during naps and sometimes she'll wake up and just whine and then fall back asleep. So that kind of confuses me. Does she or doesn't she?? Maybe  she does, she just doesn't want to at night. HA! who knows. Think positive that this will help Lily start to sleep through the night, every night!

Lily's 6 month pictures!

On Saturday me and Mike took Lily to get her 6 month photos taken. We LOVE our photographer, Katy Blevins. She has photographed our wedding, maternity, Lily's newborn photo's and now these. If your in the Virginia Beach area, I definitely recommend her!

Lily was in SUCH A GREAT MOOD! She was so smiley and giggly. The girl loves attention, and knows what a camera is, and she was just tickled about being the center of attention. I love so many of them I'm having the hardest time picking which ones to frame!

sorry for the crazy amount of photos... I just can't narrow it down!!

One of my favorites. She was looking at her daddy:)

I just can't get enough of them!!