Reed - 7 Months

 

 

(Above: Reed in his crib after sister came in to see him post-nap... she covered him in Cheerios.)

(Below: Classic Reed cry face and a moment of peace on quiet on his back.)

This sweet boy is 7 months old!  He's just as deliciously chunky and just as sleepless (maybe even more so that little stinker) than the month before, but just as it was with Lillian this is one of my favorite stages with personality and mobility really starting to take off!  He is about 20 1/2 lbs
 

- He is doing 360s with great ease.  It seems just moments away from an army crawl and he's already getting up on all fours and rock some which makes me think he may be faster to do a 'real' crawl than sister.
- He sits up very steadily and can play in the playroom now alongside sister, who I believe is his MOST favorite person in the world.

- He has started a sippy cup and is pretty good at holding that and a bottle, but not yet good at tilting his head back to get the liquid to fill the nipple.

- He has spent a lot of time in the last month with frustrated grunts and cries - frustration he can't get a toy to work as he wants, frustration he can't move like he wants, etc.

 

- In spite of what I said I would do for my second child (waiting until later than 6 months), Reed has started solids after showing great interest in what we were eating and has been a very easy starter.  So far we've tried oatmeal (banana) cereal, avocado, sweet potato, peas, apples, green beans and cantaloupe.  So far he's only rejected green beans and cantaloupe - green beans it seems from flavor and I think cantaloupe because of texture even though I pureed it.

He has mastered getting the walker to move forward but regularly gets hung up on corners of cabinets or the threshold on the floor that transitions the wood to the tile.  He loves the exersaucer and jumper and toys that play music or light up.  Everything goes to his mouth.  And speaking of that mouth, his big open mouth smile with those two little bottom teeth will melt your heart!

Reed is pretty good at falling asleep on his own but we began hitting some rough patches as we approached 7 months and mobility increased.  He still likes you to stand and sway and sing when he's ready to sleep rather than letting you sit and relax in a rocking chair... the more weight this kid gains the more I feel like I need to work on this!

 

Though Lillian still seems to be a big fave of his, he watches Huck intently and now lights up when daddy gets home from work and he still willingly goes to strangers.  With very little tears (from mom) Reed spent his first two Sundays (for class time only :)) in the church nursery, helped greatly by the fact that our friend Blair is teaching his class and the fact that half the babies in his class are children of our Bible class members!  It's going to be so fun to watch this little crew of friends grow up playing together like Lillian has with Dane and Braylon.

He went to his first movie this month (mostly bc I wanted to take sister) The Lorax and nursed and slept nearly the whole time just like I'd hoped!  He also took his first plane ride for his first out of state trip to Breckenridge, Colorado for a weekend with friends! 

Favorite age so far :)
 

Reed - 6 Months

If I had to stop and just blurt out the things that stand out the most to me about you at this age I would say ...
- Your thighs - people are always commenting on how huge and squishy your legs are and jokingly saying things like "Why don't you feed this boy?!"
- Your hair - we cut some of your crazy hairs from the sides this month, but kept your long waves in the front. People always remark on your "curly red hair" and really your hair all over your head is getting so thick. It's so different than Lillian's fine, pale blond hair!
- (Not) Sleeping - really you are a pretty good napper with two naps a day usually totaling up to 4 hrs or so AND you go down pretty easy, but you are still getting up twice a night every night.  You go to sleep around 7:30-8:30pm every night and start your day anywhere from 5:30am to 8am depending on the day.

   

You are pretty happy now and more tolerant of the car seat especially if I ride in the back and you can see me.  I still feel like I hold you a lot during the day but I'm not sure if that's just me not giving you a chance to be happy alone playing or if its necessary.  If you are in need of consoling however you want me to stand and sway; you don't even let me sit and rock you to sleep at night.

You are not quite "sitting" but I think that is largely for lack of me working with you on it as much as I should. You do great at tummy time and have even got up on your knees a handful of times but you haven't mastered the 'tripod' to sit for any extended period of time.

In addition to getting up on your knees, you had a couple other milestones this month like your first tooth breaking thru (the bottom right at about 5 1/2 months), your first haircut and your first trip to the beach.  You are such a beautiful beautiful baby boy.

(Above: Reed before haircut. Below: Reed after haircut.)

 

Lillian and Reed's First Trip to the Beach

Well, it seems that the second child gets to experience things earlier in life (I remember this from watching my little brother get to do things at a younger age than I did them) and the beach is the first of such things for our two littles who enjoyed their first trip to the beach this summer!

At the start of June when the weather was still relatively mild (for Texas) we met up with Michael's brothers' families, and Michael's parents in Galveston to kick off Summer with a little family vacation.

We stayed at Pointe West, a little group of condos slightly removed from the main part of Galveston, where each family had their own room and bathroom and shared living and kitchen so we could enjoy visiting and relaxing together after the kids went to bed - cute condo with a great little setup.

We arrived in Galveston on Friday afternoon and set out to see the beach.  Although Reed was tired and a little fussy, as you can hear on the video, Lillian marched herself into the wind toward the boardwalk that would take us over to the beach saying "I'na see the ocean! I'na go to beach!" the whole way.  An apparent product of our preparation she seemed completely underwhelmed by the vastness or noise of the ocean - better than scared I guess.   She kept pointing toward the water and walking forward and even stomped over the seaweed to get to the waters edge (this surprised me most), but then was a little unnerved by the water coming up to wash over her feet.  She did have her moments of not wanting to walk on the sand and get her feet dirty, but compared to the stories I have heard about MY first trip to the ocean where I ran screaming the other direction, I would say she handled it pretty well!

By 6:30 am every day the kids were all up and at 'em, but we fueled up on coffee and good breakfasts and had a great time watching the almost-3-year-old, 2-year old, 11 month old and 5 month old play together.  We did a beach day and a pool day and part of one day with some rainy weather and just lounging around the house.  We played on the playground in the neighborhood, did a lazy river over at one of the other pools, flew kites, fed sea gulls - all classic beach activities.  It was fun in spite of our exhaustion and I'm happy that we ended up where we did (originally we'd entertained a bigger beach endeavor like Gulf Shores) with the kids at the ages they are....

Monday night, our last night in town, me, Michael and the brother and sis-in-law that remained went out for a nice dinner while Nana and Papa watched the kids.  It was the perfect ending to our busy time there in Galveston and a very yummy meal at Rudy and Paco's.

Post-Galveston a wise woman pointed out that there is a large difference between 'vacations' and 'traveling with family' when you have children this age and though I couldn't agree with this statement more, these are the experiences that make the best memories and I look forward to "traveling with our family' again!

Reed - 1 Month

Reed, our second child and our first son, was born on 12/28/12.  To say that he is a 'true second child' is right on the money.... as he is 4 months old as I try and get this blog up.  Fortunately I took enough notes along the way!

 

Reed is one month old as of 1/28/13. His month was filled with lots of excitement starting with our first night home from the hospital, New Years Eve. We came home in the afternoon and ordered pizza for dinner from Papa Johns. The Christmas tree was still up. That night Reed 'slept' in the bassinet beside our bed and we all woke at midnight to the sound of kids doing fireworks in the alley. YaYa was up all night with her stomach bug and Michael and I strongly considered going to a hotel or going to CS to escape the germs (and vomiting with a c-section incision!!!), but we kept mom on quarantine and sanitized sanitized all she had touched. It was hardest on poor Lillian who just couldn't understand why YaYa was there but wouldn't play. Adam ("Tio") and Megan saved the day and took Lillian all day for 1/1/13 so that we could sanitize - everyone needs two friends like them, they amaze me with their love and generosity often!

 

(Below: Reed snuggles on his Ninny, my grandmother and his great)
 

(Below: Lillian playing with her buckets of toys at Ninny and Opa's house.)

Reeds first snow happened in his first month and bad mom that I am I don't think I even got a picture to prove it! It was just a dusting though. He also took his first road trip - at three weeks Michael's grandad LJ passed away and Michael went to Alabama to the funeral so I took both children to College Station.  His first road trip was my first trip alone with 2 kiddos.  I stopped once to feed Reed and once to stop him from crying on the way down. It was Ninny and Opas first time to meet him and my mom drove up from San Antonio.

Reed seems like he has the potential to be a much better sleeper than big sister, but I've basically chosen survival mode and sleep holding him (me propped up on the couch, with him laying on his tummy on my chest) for him to get the best sleep :) He is waking up and eating every two hours (occasionally 3) but because newborns love some mommy cuddle time he goes immediately back to sleep pretty easily. This is an amazing improvement over Lillian's nighttime habits - we are soooo very thankful!  I count this time on the couch as temporary and enjoyable and feel so much less guilty about poor Michael waking up every two hours and then having to go to an office and function.

 

(Below: My 'bed' with Reed every night.  He would get so sweaty with his hot baby body and my body heat working together but I still felt like he'd get cold and made him wear a little hat.)

At his one month checkup he weighed 12.3 pounds. We have already had to adjust his carseats straps to the second notch and he is far out of newborn diapers. He is fitting nicely into some 3 month clothes. He still has soooo much hair!

Lillian - 23 Months

Well our sweet sweet big sister is 23 months old and we are literally just around the corner to two years old. Over the course of the day I might call her my 'baby girl', 'baby doll', 'doll baby' and other young things, but when I stop and watch her what we have is a beautiful, talkative, funny little GIRL!

She hasn't bat an eye at Reed's arrival or his coming home and never leaving (although having her Ya Ya and her Nana here for weeks might have helped!).  It's very sweet that she seems to be taking this transition to family of 4 in such stride. Like I suspected she is sort of indifferent to interacting with him at this stage, but gets more excited when he wakes up and calls to me "Wake! Wake!  Reed wake!" if his eyes are open.  She also doesn't seem to care about him nursing so often.  Though she has started with some "Mommy hold you." or "Daddy hold you." the jealousy of the nursing/holding is minimal.  This might have something to do with us not telling her she is drinking milk.  Lillian has a serious LOVE for milk (like if you ask her if she wants some, she does this whimper until she's actually drinking it)

Lillian spends a large portion of her day narrating what she is doing, repeating things we say and pointing out and identifying things she sees (yelling "plane!" or "flag!" as we drive down the road).  I'm not even going to attempt to guess at what her vocabulary stands at these days, but she is learning words daily and putting them into 3+ word combos.  Her "manners" words are really taking off with "please" and "thank you" and "welcome" coming out every hour... although sometimes she says "thank you welcome" together, etc.

Another cute phrase that she's latched onto to is "Wow. I like it." which sometimes becomes "Oooh I like it too."  I think she got this from her Nana who says "I like it." but the inflection that Lillian puts into this phrase is what really cracks us up. She is obsessed with the 'Thank you mailman" since he's recently delivered gifts mailed to us for Reed, orders from Amazon, and a couple of flower arrangements (also for Reed).  She's so obsessed, he's one of the people she lists as coming to her birthday.... although one day when we actually saw him she was so shy she wouldn't even say hello!

Her  2-year molar came in the week that Reed came home from the hospital. She likes to wear . "Pretend Play" has really taken off with the fake food and baby dolls and she tries to whistle, but typically just makes this singing sort of noise with her voice rather than pursing her lips.

She's a ham. She's a cutie.  She's still the only girl.... :)

Lillian - 22 Months (12-12-12)

Lillian is 22 months as of 12/12/12 and will be a big sister in just a matter of weeks which is kinda crazy to think about as someone who will be the mom to these two little ones!!

She is ever baby-obsessed and has been talking about baby Reed more and more as we talk about Christmas and becoming a big sister shortly after - I can only hope that she will be as in love as it seems she will be! I imagine her being very interested in Reed, but disappointed at his lack of interaction, and concerned when he cries.

Lillian is all around a very happy and secure little girl. She is going to Sunshine School Monday and Thursday and goes to the nursery at church Tuesdays when I go to Ladies Bible Study.  Initially I thought it was a lot of time to be away from my little girl, but she loves this play time with her friends and I know this time will be valuable for me and Reed after he arrives.  All of her teachers continually say how sweet she is and how funny and happy and 'I just can't imagine she would ever get in trouble for anything at home.'  Ha!  I can only hope that if this wasn't true they would have just said nothing at all because I love to think that Lillian is such a doll when she is out of my sight. She still adores her teacher Ms. Aimee and frequently asks about her even on non school days.

I think she's largely secure at church because we spend so much time there, but at playgrounds or the rec center she's the perfect balance of secure and cautious for this mommy! She will look to me for approval or to 'check in' if she's off playing, but rarely requires coaxing to put herself out there and just be a kid.  Lillian knows how to have a good time :) speaking of which, she will lock on to a mention of a party like nothing else and say  'Party. Party? Paaarrty!

Below there is a link to a video of Dane (Lil's fave!) and Lillian playing on the playground at ChicFilA - not only does she laugh it up in this video but she cracks up when she watches herself in this video too :)

Lillian and Dane Playing on Playground

Lillian - 21 Months

Lillian is 21 months. I'm 8 months pregnant and this post is nearly on time! Go me! 

Lillian and I joined Dane and Brenna, Claire Fitz and Dana Palacios for our (both mine and Lillian's) very first trip to the State Fair.  I neglected to get pictures of Lillian with Big Tex at the fair even though she loved him and kept waving to the giant man saying "Hi!" "Hellooo!" and then we found out just a few days later he burned down.  That's what I get for thinking to myself "Maybe next year."  Halloween also came and went this last month but I think I'll do a separate post for that one.

Here are Dane and Lillian chilling in their strollers ready to start our day at the fair, below.

We tried 'the best' corn dogs there at the fair, below, with mustard and later tasted the fried oreos.  Interestingly enough, she seemed to like the corn dog better. Truth be known it was pretty stinkin good!  And as you can tell from her sweaty hair, the day was also pretty stinkin hot!

Here are the other things that Michael and I thought really 'mark' this age for Lillian....
VERBAL
- She finally says her own name "Yee-yan".  I hadn't thought about it before, but her name is actually a challenging one for a small child to say.
-  The use of  two word combos like "more cornbread" or "mommy down."
- "Milk" still sounds like "No" for some reason but she'll sign "milk" so you know what she means
- Started 'singing' along with songs picking out specific words and saying them over and over (e.g. for "Jesus Loves Me" she'll sing "Yeeesss" again and again because of the "Yes, Jesus loves me. Yes, Jesus...."  She loves the Taylor Swift song that says "Weeee are never ever ever getting back together..." because it says "Weeeee"
- When we explain anything to Lillian she repeats odd words here and there throughout the explanation as if to show she understands
- Another FINALLY is that she finally said something that sounds like "I love you" ("Lubee") which she has never previously said to anyone except for Uncle 'Bobby' (Michael's brother David) to whom she said "Love You" twice months ago!

ACTION
- Climbing, running and jumping with both feet off the ground (though not high)
- A confident independent player most of the time - on play grounds, at church, at home - though she has also started saying "PLAY!" and pointing at the ground where she sits as her way of asking you to come and be near her while she plays
- The baby obsession continues - feeding them, rocking them, taking them with us in the car, covering them with blankets, and more recently, wanting them to wear her diapers
- Loves when I start up the vacuum and runs around like a crazy lady squealing and loves books (we spend a large part of our waking time stacking books, putting books in her 'trucks' to move them around, etc.)
- Intolerant of the stroller or the shopping cart a lot of the time - we're having to work on keeping her in for some things because she would prefer that I carry her rather than walk in a lot of places like the grocery store and it makes somes tasks really challenging to do on top of being pregnant
- Loves to take baths or showers and really doesn't like it if someone else is taking one and she's not in on the action - if you want to relax in the bath, Lillian needs to be asleep!
- Tickles Michael's armpits unprovoked - it's pretty funny - when he's dressing her or just sitting around. Doesn't tickle mommy.... I think it's one of 'their' games
- Still loves phones (or using remotes, IPhones, makeup compacts etc.) to "call" people and she most frequently calls - who else?! - but cousin "Jasson" (Jackson)

OTHER THINGS
- Loves to sit on the potty but afraid to GO on the potty - she'll sit there until the urge arrives and then hurry around saying "diaper!"
- Still a very good eater though she now has preferences and will ask for things she considers 'more tasty' like 'toast' (toast is an obsession for this girl!!!) so we frequently negotiate things like "eat another bite of soup and you can have another piece of toast" etc.
- Still a tummy sleeper (from around 8 or 8:30pm to anywhere from 7am to 8:30am) with her little bottom up in the air she sleeps with a lovey and a pillow and multiple blankets.  She MUST be covered up with a blanket to go to sleep, but other than that she goes down very easy at night.
- Naps are still around 1 hour with 1 hour 15 mins being the 'norm'
- She is great about going to school Mon. and Thurs. and LOVES her teacher Ms. Aimee.  She waves happily as I walk out the door and this has been the biggest blessing as a mom who has a hard time leaving a sad little girl!
- Lillian weighs around 28lbs (I know because she steps on the scale EVERY time we go to the OB since it's like a little platform and she likes to get up there and dance! ha) She's probably around 33 or 34 inches tall and wearing 24 month clothes.

This girl is a little ham!

Lillian - 20 Months... "Babies"

The start of Fall finally kicked in the last month or so with a few colder days where you could wear a scarf without sweating.  One of the colder days so far this year was Columbus Day where we had a chance to check out the Arboretum as a family of three.  I knew that Lillian would really appreciate it more this year and so I'm glad that we all went together.  They had their amazing pumpkin patch and a petting zoo this year so we enjoyed for a few hours and then headed home to relax. (In these same pumpkin patch photos for Lillian's first Fall it was warm enough that she was in a sleeveless shirt, but this year the cold caught us by surprise and she hardly had warm clothes in her closet to wear yet! Go figure, Texas!)

 

(Above: Lillian in one of many many action shots as she ran around squealing about all the pumpkins.)

(Above: Lillian headed into one of the gourd houses - she would run in one door and out the other and come around to make the loop again saying and signing "more? more!")

 (Above: I try and convince Lillian to try and pet one of the animals that she's watching with such concern - they had sheep, goats, chickens, bunnies and a cow in a separate pen that you could pet through the fence.)

 

 (Above: Michael has a little more luck getting her interested in the goat... which we are certain had to have been drugged!)

Other things that are "so Lillian" at the 20 month mark...

• She is obsessed with her baby dolls and likes taking them everywhere and reading them books and feeding them with spoons and bottles
• "Milk" - which she asks for frequently sounds exactly like "No".  Why she doesn't say drink or something that sounds more like milk I have no idea.
• She has pee peed on the potty once.  We sit on it several times a day but mostly after our bath for a long stretch and the one and only accidental time that she actually used the potty seemed to be a little more traumatic than exciting in spite of Michael and I both making such a positive/praising/big deal out of the whole thing.
• She loves Sunshine School, her teacher Ms. Aimee and her friends there.  Adorable!
• She also has begun to love Ladies Bible Study where she can go and play with her friends in the nursery when I go to the ladies class on Tuesday - this time has been such a blessing for me mid-week and I'm so thankful that Lillian is enjoying it too.
• Laughing for attention - Lillian will laugh this big boisterous fake laugh because she knows that people are going to look at her and say "look how cute she is!" "look how funny she is!" and she works it.
• All of the ladies at Sunshine School say how 'funny' Lillian is, how much she loves music and the playground, and how they just can't imagine that she could EVER get in trouble at home.  Leslie Jackson who watches Lillian during ladies bible study but also sees her at Sunshine School recently told Lillian's teacher, Ms. Aimee "I just love that Lillian she is so sweet and squishy and snuggly!"
• I think that I can see more challenging eating being on the horizon... though a lot of mealtime challenges when we are out are more to do with Lillian being tired or 'finished' before every one else.  She doesn't run away but she LOVES to get out of her highchair and stand around near the table where everyone else is eating.  This is an area that is a potential battleground....and so we are just trying to choose the right battles!
• This month I put a flat adult pillow in her bed and the first morning she slept until 9:15!!!  It didn't continue, but she did sure love that pillow and it is now a sleeping staple. *Sigh* What a big girl.

We've been talking a lot about baby Reed that is joining us for Christmas lately and though she seems excited I don't think she's really going to have a good comprehension of it until he is here and doesn't leave.  Admittedly I have a little bit of anxiety about this collision of newborn and toddler, but as I figured with Lillian - less educated, less rational, and less supported people have survived.... and we will too even if it has it's hard times (and I know it will!).  Until then I am earnestly praying that we have a better sleeper in our son. :)
 

Lillian - 18 Months: All Toddler, All the Time!

Lillian is now 18 months old and she is such a little person these days.  Every Sunday people remark how much you're growing up and how much like a little girl you are... not a baby anymore!

I would say that my favorite thing about this age with you has been your incredible, growing vocabulary!  It's almost one new word a day that you seem to be repeating and it's been incredibly helpful in your communication and alleviating some of your frustration.  It's also adorable the way you pronounce some words, like how flower is "flouw flouw" and how "Huckle" (for Hucklebear) occasionally becomes "Huckle-baby" as you try to pronounce his whole name.

The most challenging thing of the last month has been naps.  You've been down to one nap a day for quite some time now, but for about 3 weeks your one nap a day has been less than an hour - with few exceptions.  This is hard for you because it's not enough rest to break up a 12 - 13 hour day of playing and it's hard for me because I too need rest and time to do my part time Marketing & Advertising job.

The things that most 'mark' this age for us are:
- Saying goodbye to everyone: when the waiter leaves the table, when the guy passing communion walks away from our pew, to people walking away from us in Target.
- You also LOVE to 'leave' and close the door and say "bye bye".  Some of our doors don't latch and so it's just a matter of a push for you to get back in the room.  You did it the other day to a door that DID latch and didn't understand why you couldn't come back in from your exit.
- Obsessed with babies (which is great news because you're going to be a big sister soon) - you say "Baby" whenever you see a car seat or stroller and try to look inside.
- You love shoes of all kinds and you get so frustrated when they're too big and won't stay on your feet.
- Love your Hucklebear - and ask for him first thing when you wake up in the morning or from a nap - though we've had to work more on 'gentleness' the last month as you try and play with him and get rough or sometimes push him out of the way.  He is less patient with you these days now that you are more aggressive with him, but he is still a very sweet boy and I know he will appreciate your 'play' more over time.
- Somewhere around here we dropped your paci simply by doing everything else in your nighttime routine and just NOT giving you the paci.  Mostly your daddy took care of this.  We would put your paci in your bed in a corner (so it wasn't as visible when we lay you down) and then we quit putting it in altogether.  Somehow this transition was miraculously easy... thank you thank you for that!
- You are obsessed with phones and say "hello" into anything that seems like a phone.  You say "hello" and "bye bye" when we begin or end a conversation on the phone.
- Also obsessed with daddy!  You ask for him when he is gone at work during the day, you take the keys to the front door and say "Da Da" as if to open it, you hear a mower start outside and ask "Da Da?", but you LOVE to play coy with him when he comes home.
- You are a great night sleeper 11 - 12 hrs a night usually from 8pm to 7am or 8pm to 8am with occasional flukes where you'll get up extra early or sleep in.  You are less flexible than you used to be with bed time for small groups and dinners out, probably in part because of the tremendous energy it takes to be a toddler and in part because you hardly sleep during the day.
- Still a great eater (though sometimes this is touch and go if you are overtired).  If you are picky with something one meal you will love it the next so I usually don't stress over it too much if you won't eat pineapple for lunch because you'll be asking "more" "more" at dinner.
- You love the pool, riding in the front seat of the car and 'honking' the horn, and your friend "Dane" whose name you can say and will ask for obsessively at times.
- Last but not least, you are definitely experiencing the toddler frustration.  Though your vocabulary is increasing greatly it is still hard for you to communicate your needs - or even KNOW your needs.  You will be so irritated that you can't carry all of the toys at once that you need to carry, or you can't play with something you'd like to play with.  Sometimes a simple "Lillian, let's leave that in the drawer please." will send you into a back-arching screaming fit, but I know that will improve with time.... we'll just have to give it a little time... :)

This month we attended Uncle Marcus' Baylor Law School Graduation (at the end of July) with Ninny, Opa, Yaya, and Marvin & Debbie Walker. (picture at the top and then one below with Ya Ya) And Baby Knox came to visit us in Dallas since I still could not travel - you LOVED HIM!!!! You brought your own baby and put her in the carrier, offered her Knox's paci, and loved laying down next to Knox on the floor (see picture, bottom). Though we really had to watch your steps and 'offering' him toys this positive experience with such a tiny baby really makes me excited to see you with your own brother.

We love you so much and know that you are going to be a wonderful helper to your little brother Reed. In the meantime, we are enjoying our time alone with just you, watching you turn into a little girl before our very eyes.

Lillian - 17 Months

Well, true to form I am behind on my posts, but fortunately I had some notes written about 17 months so I'm not completely winging it here!

Climbs on everything
Words she says: no-no, oh-no, Huckle, up, please, thank you, rock (sounds like 'crah, crah'), bye bye, puppy, turtle, Dane, mama, dada, lambie ('mami'), Papa, Nana, banana, apple, Opa, YaYa, baby, more, juice, shoes, socks, eyes, toes, ball, bubble and  more!
Still signs milk for any kind of drink
Snuggles so well when she first wakes up or before she goes to sleep
Asks for dada during the day
Clingy and not wanting to go to the nursery or wanting to be held in the store, while cooking dinner, etc.
This month she met baby (cousin) Knox the weekend after he was born and went on her first alone trip with daddy to do so (I was restricted from travel thanks to some pregnancy complications)
Went to the Dallas World Aquarium with the Fox family
If she has fruit she calls it an apple
She is carrying everything or loading it into bags or wagons to tote it around - this is also a source of frustration because she can't always carry all she wants to
Understanding more complex commands
Still likes to close the trash or cabinets more than open them
Points to clock radio to Dance because she wants music
Aaaand she is dancing lots
Likes when we sing but covers her ears and then asks for more

 

Lillian - 15 Months, Our little dancing machine.

Well Lillian is 15 months.
Lillian is a true toddler these days and is a BALL OF ENERGY. Like, really full of energy… like too full of energy to nap… but more on that later.

(Below: Lillian's latest 'fave' place.  Huck's bed. Yuck. You'll also see her do this in the video below.)

She is super vocal these days but it hasn’t been until the last week or so that we’ve been able to understand a few of her new words. These days she is saying:

- “Mama” and “Dada” (still)
- “Woof” for dogs and lots of other animals
- “Quah Quah” for “Quack” and this is also pretty much what she ‘calls’ ducks
- “Hiss” for snake
- “Bubble” which she also sometimes uses in place of “Ball”. She also calls balloons balls and goes nuts when she sees them!
- Just this last weekend she said “Papa” “Nana” and said “Pa” after making an “O” shape with her mouth for “Opa” (her great-grandpa).
- She has said “Shoes” and “Eyes” a few times, but not consistently and once she said “Let’s go” after we said it, but has yet to repeat that! Of course!
- “Crawk Crawk” for “Rock Rock” when she’s rocking in a chair.
She is still signing (and NOT saying) “please”, “dog”, “more”, “milk”, “eat”. She also waves hello and goodbye like a champ but still won’t say “bye bye”. She gives great high fives!

She’s pretty funny to watch these days as she burns up all that energy that she has...
- If she hears music that ‘strikes her’ – it’s hard to say what it is that gets her going exactly – she begins dancing… standing, in her highchair, in her car seat. It’s adorable and her smile while she does it is contagious.
- She also does this ‘fast dance’ jig kind of thing right now where she runs in place basically. It makes me want to sing “She’s a maniac, maniac,…”
- There is lots of climbing, a lot of it to get into chairs (big chairs, little chairs, etc.)
- She tries to get things into the chair with her (books, dolls, larger toys) which makes the climb up interesting.
- Loves rocking chairs and regularly sits in chairs that don’t rock and tries to.
- Can make laps for hours around our living room and through the kitchen pushing any number of her toys that she loves to push – cars, strollers…. things without wheels like her rocking chair!
- Also loves to carry things much larger than her and will scream in frustration if she can’t get it to where she wants.
- If she gives you a hug (just to love on you) or if you’re comforting her she will ‘pat’ your shoulder – this is one of my favorite things she does!
- Bangs on the fridge and signs for either “eat” or “milk”
- Loves wrestling with daddy. Running into him and laughing and falling over.
- And she loves ‘horse’ rides on our legs or belly. If you lay on the floor, she WILL come over and sit on your stomach and bounce until you give her a ride.

(Below: Lillian dancing to One Direction... and then bonking her head.)


(Below: After a quick recovery from above head-bonk, we are back at it.)


In other news, Lillian is a champion night sleeper, sleeping through earaches, molars, eye teeth and more like a champion.  She typically sleeps from 8:15 or 8:30pm to 7 or 7:30am.  During the day however, this month has seen a great departure from sleep with naps being few and short. I believe we’re in process of dropping our morning nap but as I write this Lillian is hardly getting 1 to 1 ½ hours of sleep during the day, which makes our wakeful time challenging some days.

She has all of her teeth except for her eye teeth, but the bottom two should break through any day now. Her hair is longer in the back with little curls the way Michael’s was when he was little and by far, she still looks the most like her daddy.  At her 15 month appointment she was 31" tall and 24 1/4 lbs. On a side note, she LOVED the nurse at her appointment... so much that she cried when she started to walk away AFTER she'd just given Lillian her shots! Nurse Susie said "Now THIS never happens!"

She still loves baths and walks, but likes her car seat a little less. She’s still a pretty great eater but particularly loves raisins, Cuties, black beans, avocado, eggs, pancakes, peanut butter, apples, pears and asparagus. She likes chicken, salmon and other fish but is sometimes funny about beef.  Other than that, there is very little she won’t eat although like any kid she has her picky meals.

Her comprehension is tremendous so we’re both really looking forward to her vocabulary catching up, but we are still enjoying how interactive and funny she is at this age – her little personality is just shining through more and more!

Lillian - 14 Months, Trip to Arkansas and Easter Fun

Well, it is a losing battle these days to try and get the blogs done on time, but at least I'm trying.... right?  It's the thought that counts?

The 14 month photo shoot is a perfect representation of what it is like to HAVE and live with a 14 month old.  She is ALL over the place, climbing, unloading things and stirring up trouble... well not too much trouble, she's actually a very sweet little girl with just the right amount of mischief and just the right amount of toddler-feisty.

At 14 months here is the quick run down-- on Lillian.
- She is a great eater (meats, veggies, fruit*s, water, milk, etc.) and is eating almost entirely table food.
- She is a champion nighttime sleeper, sleeping 11 to 12 hours each night.
- She takes 2 pretty predictable naps each day - one in the morning 2 to 3 hours after she wakes up, and one sometime in the afternoon starting between 2 and 3 that lasts anywhere from 2 to 3 hours (though 3 hours is rare).  That said, there is a funny video below of Lillian on a day with a rate afternoon-nap-skip.  She's exhausted and it's always so funny to see her like this because she totally fights it - without a doubt she gets that from me.


- She's a daddy's girl and is really enjoying having him at home since he left his job in February
- She is saying "Bubbles" "Daddy" "Mommy" and still signing a lot of other things without trying to use words for the sign (like Milk, Please, Bye, etc.)

We did a lot between 13 and 14 months.  She took her second trip out of state to EJ (one of Michael's college roommates) and Erin's wedding in Arkansas where she did NOT ruin the ceremony by talking and was kept quiet with animal crackers and milk.  She danced her heart out till pretty late at the reception with the 2 year old nephew of the groom.  I don't know what Michael thought of that love connection ;)  During this same trip Lillian had her first visit to Harding - more on that in a separate post!

This last month we also celebrated her second Easter... where she was actually old enough to walk, carrying a basket, and hunt for eggs (which made it way more fun than last Easter!).

(Below: Lillian tries her hand at carrying her own basket.)

(Below: Our group of Sparkman babies - Jayme and Kynlee, Emily and Alice, Sara and Harper, the BUNNY, Me and Lillian, Andress and Jack)

Lillian - 12 Months

Considering that Lillian is already 13 months and I'm just now starting this post, I'm thankful for the notes that I keep throughout the month marking her milestones at each age. Time goes so fast and skills are learned so quickly, it's impossible to remember if she was able to say/sign/do/accomplish ______ before she hit whatever 'month' birthday if I don't write it down!

However as Lillian turns 1 year, the feelings I have are just as much work mentioning as the physical and cognitive achievements. She is walking, she is understanding more, she has so much personality (she is a ham - in the way that she performs for attention AND in the way her little legs have maintained a few good rolls and her cheeks their good 'squishability'). She doesn't feel like so much a baby anymore and it's so easy to forget the struggles we were having not even 3 or 4 months ago as she figured out life and we figured out Lillian.

I think it's a funny thing to say that I don't remember my life before kids... I'd say that we're at a stage where we remember life without kids, but we have finally REALLY adjusted to the lifestyle changes they require. Maybe I've said that before, but I think the feelings of how different things are have finally quieted down. I think in many ways kids get easier as they approach 1... in other ways, I think YOU get adjusted to your new life! Either way, I would say that we wouldn't change our lives to go back to life without kids! Lillian is truely the apple of our eye.

For Lillian's 1 year birthday, we celebrated with b oth of our families in College Station. It was extra special, because Grandad (Michael's dad's dad) met Lillian for the first time. Aunt Sara made Lillian's cupcake cake, Lillian smashed and ate a strawberry cake, we opened presents, and of course, took lots of pictures! The day was a near perfect celebration with the ones we love, but we definitely missed Uncle Marcus! The pictures of her covered in cake and icing are missing.... so once I find those you'll get a separate post.

- Lillian is a great eater and she especially loves avocado, black beans, turkey, ham, cheese and pears... really, if it is orange or yellow she loves it! Corn, sweet potatos, strawberries, grapes, oranges and so on. She'll eat it as baby food if it's green or occasionally if it's mixed with other stuff (e.g. she generally won't eat peas, but she did eat pot pie with peas in it the other day!).

- Her separation anxiety is so much better when she goes to the nanny, but as we go to the church nursery more we are still seeing tears. This will get better with time we know.

- She is much of a daddy's girl lately and will cry when he leaves much more than she fusses for me.

- She LOVES to say "da-da" too and typically will still say it when we tell her to say 'ma-ma' ... then she laughs! Part of me wonders if she's doing it just because she's seen us react to that before.

- She is walking everywhere... she doesn't crawl to get where she wants anymore!

- She is signing and pointing all of the time, though lately she's signing for food when she's thirsty sometimes and signing 'finished' when she's really not done. I have a suspicion that sometimes she's 'finished' with a certain food and is ready for something else.

- As far as Lillian is concerned, every animal says "Woof" but sometimes we will get the quack for duck and HISS for snake.

- She is sleeping all night from 8 or 8:30pm to anywhere from 7:15 to 8:30am

- She sometimes will get 'nose' and 'eyes' correct, but more than that she loves to try and wriggle those little fingers into your mouth!

- Speaking of mouths, hers has 9 teeth with 1 molar completely through and the others swelling up.

- She gives the bestest, wettest, open mouth kisses

- She understands to put her paci in her bed when we wake up in the morning and after naps (though don't think those little arms won't be reaching in through the slats as far as she can get them trying to get the paci during playtime).

- She understands when we're telling her not to do something... though sometimes she'll give it just a few more trys before she lets it go.

- We experience a few arched-back mini-fits a day when we take her away from something she wants or when we have to stop playing for a diaper change or something less fun. They are short lived and usually consist of about 5 seconds worth of protest (longer if we end up on the changing table!) . :)

Her hair has been getting thicker and thicker lately so I'm hoping that in my 13 month post (haha which I already know about since she's 13 months and 3 days ;)) I'll be able to report some curls - if I have a child with board straight hair I'm going to have to hire a consultant for styling tips!

Until we meet again....

Lillian - 11 Months and our 1st Christmas!

A few days before 1/12/12, the day Lillian turned 11 months, she knocked out a big milestone...independent steps! Daddy is a bit of a procrastinator sometimes (he admits it,
so I don't feel like I'm outing him in this venue) and so it cracks me up that
she squeaked in a few things - like walking(!) - in the last few days of her
'10 month'. :)

Her record was 3 consecutive steps before she turned 11 months. Throughout her 10th month she
has been standing independently - not long after turning 10 months she began letting go of things and standing around, but before she would take a step, she would hold onto something and then walk along. She was increasingly interested in toys that she could walk alongside (she liked walking along and PUSHING her walker, rather than riding inside) and so it was perfect that for Christmas she got a baby stroller and a baby to ride inside! It cracks us up to watch her put her baby in there (because she forces them in head first and then leans on them with all her weight to really push them down in the seat tight!).

For Christmas we did stockings and presents with the three of us in Dallas and then went to College Station to celebrate with each mine and Michael's families. Lillian received some clothes, new hair bows, a doll house, a stroller, a pop up tent and tunnel, her first baby doll and more. Needless to say, it was MORE than a great first Christmas! A lot of her interest was still in the boxes and ribbons, but I'd say the thing she loved the best was whichever toy that cousin Jackson was playing with at the moment!

Her signing has also gotten more consistent and she will sign "more", "dog" (by patting her hand on her leg), "finished" and "milk". She is waving hello and goodbye and clapping. When she wakes up in the morning she immediately begins looking for and 'calling' Huck by patting her leg, she also pats her leg and looks around for Huck when Michael puts her to bed and includes
'...thank you God for Huck..." as part of their prayer - cute!

We are feeding Lillian more and more of what we eat, though I'm still supplementing with baby
food. She eats breakfast, lunch and dinner, nurses 3-4 times per day, and also benefits from an afternoon snack. The "snack" is a nice little helper for grocery store runs too! Yeah!

Lillian is taking two naps a day, a short nap in the morning and a longer afternoon nap if we are
lucky, but lately things are a little funky thanks to colds and teething. Her hair is getting thicker and she's holding strong at 8 teeth, but the molars are not far behind! She goes to bed around 8:30 most nights and sleeps through the night - she sleeps with her lovey (she has three different ones that we rotate), a paci, and on rare occasions a blanket if I feel like it is particularly cold.

Lillian is still pretty good in the car or stroller but getting a little more restless as her mobility is increasing - I imagine that her tolerance is only going to decrease further as her walking progresses.

She is more fun by the day. Smarter by the day. Amazing!