Lily's Day

Today was Lily's Day!

Since Lily's birthday is so close to Christmas, we have decided to celebrate her half birthday every year. This gives us a chance to spoil Lily a little extra and to set aside a day away from the busy holiday season just to celebrate her and what a gift she is to us.

This year we decide to visit Lake Tipsoo. This is a special location to Jeff's family as both his mom's parents have their ashes spread there. There is a great 3.5 mile hike we were planning on taking and were hoping we might even see some wild flowers. But when we got there, we found SNOW!

We estimated about 8 feet of snow still covering the whole area, including the lake. So we took a few pictures, laughed at our great planning and got back in the car.

Instead we headed back down the river to a snow free camp ground. We walked around a bit, admired the river, and had some lunch.

Yummy sweet potatoes!

And of course no half-birthday celebration would be complete without presents!

Lily thought eating the presents seemed like a good idea.

She got some fun new bath toys, a few cute outfits for summer, some stylish bibs for all her eating, and a fun new book.

We ended our fun day lounging on the deck.

Lily is enjoying her fingers and toes a lot these days.

What a sweet, little girl we have been blessed with!

6 Month Check Up

Lily had her 6 Month check up today. She got two shots, an oral vaccine, and a toe prick.

Her official stats:

height- 25 inches (25 percentile)

weight- 12 pounds (5th percentile)

It was a much more difficult appointment for Lily then her other check ups have been. Normally she is a very happy little girl these days, but at the doctor's office she screamed almost the whole time. Maybe she was remember the shots from last time...

Before:

After:

Avocado

Sunday morning Lily got ready to try her first solid food! She was all set up in her high chair, had on a fresh bib, and was eager to try something new. While Lily tries to eat all her toys, eating mushed up avocado was a bit disconcerting at first. Mostly she just moved it around with her tongue. I don't think she actually ate any avocado, but she did seem to have fun pushing it back out of her mouth.
The second attempt didn't go much better, but by the third try she did seem to actually swallow some food. Now we just need to work on efficiency!

Up next: Yummy Sweet Potatoes!

Sitting Up

Lily has been practicing sitting up. She can sit propped up for quite a while, and all by herself on the floor for about 5 seconds. She loves to tumble down, too!

(Don't worry, Jeff as right by her! We really don't let our daughter just sit on the stairs by herself.)

Sadie

From the moment we brought Lily home, Sadie was been very interested in her. She tried to figure out what was going on, why this new creature cried so much and stole all of the attention. Sure she was kind of cute, but really?
She kept watching, trying to get close to Lily. Sadie just wasn't herself as she tried to figure out how Lily would impact her...

Eventually Sadie came to terms with Lily being here and pretty much ignored her, expect every once in a while when she would cry or play on the floor.

Well, when Lily was about 5 months old she finally discovered Sadie. Sadie is now her new favorite "toy."

Lily loves to watch Sadie chase balls. When ever Sadie brings the ball back, Lily just lights up with excitement. She will spend 20 minutes just watching Sadie play. When Lily is starting to get tired or upset, we just call over Sadie and she giggles with joy.

Sadie is very patient as Lily pets her (also known as grabbing her fur or tugging on her ears). Sadie loves to return by licking her toes, fingers, and occasionally her face.

These two will be friends for a very long time!

Brooke's Birthday

It may have been Brooke's Birthday, but the real story is how cute Lily is!

Look at her with her big smile, yellow sweater, and jeans.

Too Cute!Brooke wanted nutella ravioli for her birthday dessert. It was a fun experiment and Lily watched with interest.

I used to love to sit on the counter and watch my mom cook, too!

They turned out pretty yummy...
Lily had so much fun she fell asleep cuddling with my mom. I am not sure who enjoyed this rare moment the most!

What a fun evening with great family and good food!

Mother's Day

What a special day!

Well, actually every day I get to spend with my happy little girl is a pretty special day. I can't get over how much I love this precious sweety and what a joy it is to be her mom!

We started the day by going to church. Lily (and Jeff) gave me a beautiful necklace with Lily's birthstone that I got to wear and show off.

After chuch we headed up to celebrate my mom. Lily got lots of good Grandma time.

She even got to help open up some gifts.

We tried to get a picture of all five grandkids with grandma, but with five little ones four and under it was a bit chaotic!

I feel so blessed by my family! Every year it is good to take time a stop and appreciate my mom, (and I do try to do it more often then just once a year!) but this year I have a new depth of understanding of how lucky I am to have this special women as my mom.

Thank you for how you have loved me and all that you have taught me!

Grandma Kay

My Grandma Kay came to visit for two whole weeks at the end of April. At first I was a little uncertain about who the strange lady staying in the room next to me was, but after a few days of watching her, I decided she must be okay. Once we started playing, I had so much fun! Grandma Kay read me books, sang songs, talked to me in funny voices, and held me lots. She was even here for my dedication and we celebrated Mother's Day a week early. Most of all it was fun to have her here to be part of our every day life. By the end of the two weeks, Mom even left me all alone with Grandma Kay a few time. It was great having Grandma Kay here! Hopefully she will come back soon!