cutie pie

8 months, 1 week, and 5 days old!

Yikes! I'm so behind... with a lot of things, but mainly with posting baby updates. Lilyan is all over the place these days. She can crawl all the way across the room in what feels like 5 seconds and loves to stand up and bang on everything in sight. There's no stopping her and the pseudo baby gate we made out of couch cushions just doesn't do it's job anymore. She barges through the cushions like she's on a mission!

 







To help distract her from the t.v., anything plugged in, the kitchen trashcan, basically everything, I went out and bought her this cheap sit-to-stand activity walker at Babies R Us. She loves it! Sure, it occasionally tips over and the music can be annoying, but if it can keep her attention long enough for us to finish dinner or get ready for work then I'm all for it!

I'm also loving the baby babbles she makes now. She's saying dadadada and mamamama and pop pop pop. Of course, I like to think she knows what she's saying. Then there's the possessed growling noise she makes. Which can be cute at times, but when we're at church and she's looking over my shoulder at the people behind me and growling....not so cute. It's actually kind of creepy..especially when she's making this face:

She's also trying a lot of new foods lately. She reallyyy loves her Yo-Baby yogurt, puffs, and yogurt melts. The best part is watching her concentrate on picking up a puff or yogurt melt with two fingers. Then when she finally gets one, she slowly brings it up to her mouth only to completely miss and stick it to her cheek. The worst part is watching her apply that same concentration to bite-size pieces of trash or coins that she finds on our floor. Ughh..it stresses me out! Now I'm constantly on the look out for anything that didn't make it to the trash or piggy bank.

My little baby is getting so big. She seems so tall to me now! Although as fast as she's growing, she has yet to sprout any teeth. I swear the past few months she has had all the signs of teething, except for the teeth. Oh well, they will come when they are ready! I'm loving this fall weather and can't wait to get her out to the pumpkin patch and in cute hoodies and fall outfits. Hopefully our busy schedules will actually allow us to get out and enjoy the fall before winter comes!

ta ta for now FedExField!

Who would have thought that having a baby would be so expensive? I feel like all of my paychecks these days go to doctors bills, co-pays, formula, diapers, baby food, baby clothes, baby toys, baby everything! Last night I took Lily with me to Target and had to really refrain from buying her more toys. As we strolled through the toy aisle she stared at all the colors and blinking lights and looked so happy to be getting something new to play with. Yet, with determination I kept going and didn't stop once. Then I swear she sadly looked at her slobbery old singing bumblebee in her lap and rolled her eyes. I really felt bad that I didn't get her a new toy! What is wrong with me? What does she need more teething toys and rattles for anyway when two seconds later she's only interested in chewing on the receipt?

I have started to realize that all of the mental notes I used to take when I was around other kids are quickly disappearing (do not pick up baby every time she/he cries, do not fill house with pointless toys, do not become one of those organic mommies that uses the terms play date and bpa free). So for all those new mommies to be, or one day to be, forget the mental notes, because it all changes when you have a kid!

Anyways, back to the subject. So, all of these expenses means we have to cut back somewhere. Unfortunately that somewhere leads us to our Redskins Season Tickets. This is enough to bring a grown man to tears, like my husband. So, yes, we will be selling all of our club level season tickets this year and probably next year. On a brighter note, this means no more beltway traffic, drunken fights with 10 year olds, getting kicked out for throwing snowballs at Bears fans below us, suffering embarrassing losses (ahem, Rams), or overpriced food and beer. I'm sure this will be the year that we win every game at home and make it to the playoffs. Which, if that is the case, you can be sure we will NOT be selling those seats. Either way, as much as I'll miss all of the tailgating fun and being in the stadium after a win, I'm just excited that it's football season again!! As long as we have a TV to watch the games (even if its a 12 inch screen in the corner of a bar) I'll be happy.

LETS GO SKINS!!

such a big girl!

My Lil G is eating rice & oatmeal cereal now! She's been eating it once a day for a little over a week now, so we get to switch her to veggies and fruits soon. I plan on making her own baby food to save some cash and also because it's a healthy option and seems fun. Now I can finally get the Beaba Babycook! It's funny how these things excite me now. Just like when I'm at the mall and see a sale at Gap Kids or Old Navy. No wonder I never have anything to wear, I blow all my money on her clothes! 

Also, she's beginning to roll over from side to side to tummy. Each time one of us checks on her in her crib she has done a 180. And finally she's laughing out loud. Or as my friend Leena says, "She can LOL now"! I love it when she laughs because she hasn't quite figured it out yet, so every time she laughs she surprises herself.  Happy 4 months Lilyan Grace!

(How is it that my baby is so pale and has blue eyes?!) 

Must be those Irish genes.

easter weekend

April 9-10th: Atlantic City was so much fun! It was great to get away with Brian for the night. We arrived at 10pm and gambled at the casinos of the Borgata and Tropicana until 4am. The next morning Brian and I went to the boardwalk and gambled away our winnings. Luckily, I have some self control and was able to convince Brian that it was time to go home. We broke even and walked away with a video poker addiction. 

On the way home we stopped by Babies R Us and picked up a new playmat for Lily. I think she suffered from sensory overload because after 5 mins of playing with all the rattling, vibrating, crinkly, light flashing, mozart musical toys, she passed out. Oh and let's not forget the big mirror that's attached to it, so she can stare at her cute, yet, terrified reflection. 

April 11th - Brian's Dad and my Dad's Bday. How cute that our dads share the same birthday. We went to breakfast to celebrate Brian's dad's bday and then went home to enjoy the rainy day indoors.....Then about after 10 mins of being stuck indoors, I dragged my nephew with me to Target, Wegman's & Best Buy to battle the herds of people getting ready for Easter Sunday. He didn't mind though because he made out with a Wii Fit (an early bday gift) and I decided it would also be the perfect gift for my Dad. So we headed home with 2 Wii Fit's, a trunkful of groceries and the usual random purchases from Target. As we start to unload my car (my bright red VW Golf) I accidentally swung my door open...and it slams into the bright flawless white car next to me. DAMMIT! Keep in mind that we live in an apartment complex. So my options are 1) pretend it didn't happen, move my car and go inside. 2) Sit there and try to buff out the red mark that was left on the side of their car. 3) Write a note like a responsible and courteous person. I went with option 3, realizing that the owner of the car could be watching me through his windows as I contemplate what to do and also because it's the right thing to do...I suppose. Anyways, it's not like it won't buff out and up until now they haven't called me...yet.

April 12th - Easter Sunday! Brian and I went to church and left Lily in the hands of my 14 year old nephew. All of his experience with his 2 younger brothers paid off and Lily was well taken care of. Then we headed to Brian's Aunt's for Easter lunch and an Easter egg-hunt. Lily made out well with 12 eggs....hmm I wonder how she managed that?

Afterwards, we went to my Dad's to celebrate his birthday and to have Easter dinner. Thanks to Cody & I's culinary skills, we made an awesome carrot cake for his birthday. It was probably the best carrot cake I've ever had. Don't worry, I'm not trying to brag about it, anyone can make this cake using this recipe! So after a long weekend of birthdays and Easter celebrations we headed home where we all passed out on the couch for the night.

 

Milk 2% alcohol?

After much curiosity...I bought Milkscreen, a test kit that measures the amount of alcohol in your breastmilk. I'm still breastfeeding Lily and am pretty cautious when it comes to feeding her after a few drinks. So, just for kicks I decided to test some milk I had pumped after a long night of drinking. (The blue and white strip is the tester....the black square is the test pad).

Needless to say, I poured the bottle of milk out and fed her a bottle of non-alcoholic milk from the day before.

silly lily

Lily is now 5 weeks old and I can't believe how much she has grown in such a short amount of time. It's amazing that I am able to pick up on the changes each day. Today I noticed that her eyelashes are now all black and no longer blonde. It's such a moot point, but just goes to show that each day something new comes up and that I get excited just the same.

Doctor's visits:

1 week visit = 7 lbs 1 oz, 20"

2 week visit = 8 lbs 2 oz, 21"

1 month visit = 9 lbs 4 oz, 21.75"

Our little peanut is getting big! Well, I should say heavier, because based on her length and head measurements she's only in the 50th percentile. Also, I'm not sure why, but since she was born she's been able to hold her head up for longer periods of time than normal. We try to keep her head down so she's not straining her neck, but then she just pushes our hands out of the way with her head! She's a strong girl! Oh and today, thanks to my friend Kennedy, I found this great site for baby clothes, hats, books, etc etc.

After reading her blog I wanted to contribute to the Cora Paige Project and bought a hat from the site where the proceeds go to the foundation. Then after a little more surfing, I came across another cute monkey hat. I can't wait to get them in the mail! 4-6 days away from another lily photo shoot :) I introduced her to the Bumbo today and she loved it! She didn't want me to take her out of it..something about her being independent and being able to see everything just makes her happy. Maybe that's why she doesn't like the Moby wrap because she's not old enough to face outwards yet. I thought the Moby was golden until I tried to put her in it when she was awake. She almost unraveled the whole thing by flailing her arms around! So until she's a bit stronger and old enough to be in the Lotus Hold, I will have to eliminate the Moby wrap, in addition to the bouncer...the two saviors I was counting on :(