10 Months

Oh Little Lily Bean you are now 10 months old. You have officially been here with us longer then you were in my belly. You are a full of life and always on the go little 10 month old. This month you have been a teething girl, but it has only effected you a little bit. You took getting 4 new teeth within 2 days like a super girl. All 4 of your top teeth are now in and your toothy grin couldn't be any cuter. On the bottom you still just have the 2 teeth you have had for a long time. But I am sure a few more will be popping up soon on the bottom too.

You started pulling up on everything that even possibly looks like it will be a good place to stand. And right after you started pulling up you quickly discovered cruising along the furniture. You frequently try to let go of whatever you are holding onto, but always end up falling down. Only to get right back up and try again. You are still just army crawling. Occasionally when you are too far to reach something to pull up on you will crawl on your hands & knees for few motions to get you closer to where you want to go.

You love to play with your toys and chase your brother around the house. You like to be wherever we are and will follow us from room to room trying to keep up.

You are one of our greatest joys and I can't believe you are so close to being a year old.

FIVE

Dear Five Year Old Jake,
I can't believe you are already 5!!! Where has the time gone? Five seems like such a big number. You are now officially a whole hand old...it takes all your fingers and your thumb to show how old you are. It seems at five all the baby is gone. You are officially a child...no more in the preschool age...you are a school age child now! And I just can't believe the little boy you are growing to be.

A lot has changed for you in the last year and you have handled it all so well.
This year you became a big brother. And the best big brother you are!! You are so sweet with Lily. And as she gets bigger you love to play with her. You are always concerned that she is ok. You hate for her to cry and always run to help her. You usually share so nicely with her. You love to baby wrestle with her and she loves it too. Although, you are wrestling with her you are still gentle. Lily couldn't have a better big brother then you.

You started school this year. For the 1st time you are away from me for 6 1/2 hours a day. At first we both had some adjusting to do. It was a long time for you to be gone. But you have started to love it and I can really see you growing, maturing, and learning so much. Every day when I pick you up, you ask "did you miss me mommy?" "Did Lily miss me?" Yes, Jake we miss you the whole time you are gone, but you are doing great in school. You have made several friends all on your own (the 1st time you have had friends that aren't mommy's friends kids). You share the best stories when you come home from school and tell us all about your day.

You are smart, funny, loving, caring, full of imagination, and full of life. You are my best and favorite boy in the whole world. We have started playing I love you more. And you always want us to stay in the same category. Sometimes we start out with I love you more than ice cream and then we go on naming all kinds of food, sometimes we name animals, things in the house, or the world.

I know some scary changes have happened for you this year and there are things you still don't understand. Don't worry some of it mommy doesn't understand either. But most important I want you to know that God loves you so much. He has an amazing plan for your life. He will you use all you are learning to help grow you into the man you will one day be. God's love never fails no matter what is happening here in your life. God always wants the best for you. I am sure he is even more proud of you then Daddy & I are. But I want you to know that Daddy & I are so proud of you and all you do.

You are into sports...especially baseball. You love to play and be outside. You are fascinated by bugs, frogs, birds, and chipmunks. Really anything you find outside you want to catch it or watch what it does. You love to play and use your imagination.

Watching you grow is one of my greatest joys. But I can't believe you are already FIVE!!!

I love you my sweet Jake...you are my best boy!!!
Mommy

9 Months Old

Well, I was supposed to get this up earlier...but finally a 9 month update on Miss Lily...

Lily is into everything these days. She still prefers to army crawl. She has started to get up on her hands & knees. But she just rocks back and forth and then usually does a little hop to get back to her army crawling. She is eating all most all table food these days. To say she loves to eat is an understatement...she definitely takes after her brother when it comes to eating. And as soon as she sees food she is opening her mouth asking for some. She has gotten pretty good at feeding herself too. She loves to play and loves it the most when her brother plays with her.

She had her 9 month check up and is doing great!! She weighs 17.5 pounds in the 23rd percentile and is 24.5 inches long in the 45th percentile. She is growing like a weed, but still our tiny little girl.

She is absolutely the happiest baby ever and little Miss Personality. She is so much fun and watching her grow is such a joy.

8 Months(way late)

So here I am a week away from Lily being 9 months and just now sharing 8 months. So I am just going to post her 8 month picture. You can expect a full update at 9 months.

7 Months Old

Oh Little Lily,
You are 7 months old!! You are the most precious baby girl. You love life and are as happy as can be. You are into everything and make your way all through the house. I know the time for you to figure out the steps is right around the corner!
You light up as soon as you see Jake and it is the cutest thing ever. I can only pray that you two have the best relationship as you grow up. Jake has started baby wrestling with you and you crack up the whole time. You love being right with him anytime he is home. It has been an adjustment for all of us with Jake being in school all day long. I think you & I are starting to get into a new rhythm during our days while Jake is in school.
You started sleeping through the night this month and oh what a blessing that has been for me. You are in bed no later then 7:30 every night and then sleep until about 7:30 the next morning. And after we drop Jake off at school you usually take a 2-2 1/2 hour nap in the morning.
You are eating baby food and are starting to pick up small pieces of food to eat on your own. I believe I said this last month, but oh my goodness you LOVE food and get so excited when it is time to eat. However, with 7 months also came a new phase for us...you are no longer nursing(longer post to come later). It is a big adjustment and makes me very sad, but you have officially completely stopped nursing.

Oh my Lily girl...you are more then a joy and a blessing to our family. We are so thankful for you!!

Pre-K

This week Jake started pre-k...my little boy is now spending 6 1/2 hours away at school every day. He was unbelievable excited to start school. We were counting down the days, buying school supplies, meeting his teachers and he could not wait. I tried to hide my sadness behind his excitement. I wanted him to be excited. This was an important step for us. Him being away from me ALL day(or really me spending my days without him home). He could not wait. Of course the night before came with some 1st day jitters. He was concerned I wouldn't walk him in. His school offers a kiss and go line...you pull up and the teachers are standing there to get your child out of the car. He at first was excited for this, but the night before he had to make sure I would walk him in. And tell his teachers he didn't want to do the kiss and go line. The morning of school his excitement was back. We walked into his class found his cubby, put his stuff in and then found his seat.

However, as soon as I began to walk out of the room he started crying. The whole time I was thinking to myself...don't blink tears will flow. Him crying made it even harder for me. After one last kiss I was out the door and not a moment too soon I could no longer hold the tears. Thankfully I made it all the way back to the car before totally losing it. I ended up needing to bring him a pair of socks back to the school...so an hour later I was back up there and could see him happily eating snack with the rest of his class. Thankfully he looked to be enjoying his day. I counted down until I could go pick him up and hear all about his 1st day. He said he had a great day and liked his class. As the week has gone on we have had some "I don't want to go to school," nights and more crying mornings. But he has also met some new friends and finally by the end of the week isn't crying anymore at drop off(he still wants me to walk him in though).

Can it really be that he is old enough to be in school? I am sure as soon as I blink my boy will be heading off to college...but for now I will secretly count down to school breaks when he is home with us all day again. And also enjoy the precious and fleeting one on one time I have with Lily while Jake is away.

Happy Half Birthday...

Dear Precious Silly Lily,
You are 6 months old today...I can't believe you have been with us half a year. And in just that much more time you will be a year old.

To say you are a smiley girl would be an understatement. You are forever smiling and it lights up your whole face. Which of course melts my heart and makes my whole day every time you smile. You love when people talk to you and usually smile behind your paci at them.

You have started eating baby food this month. And you love it. Between each bite you get super excited and can't wait for it to get to your mouth. I haven't found anything that you don't really like. You act like you are ready to eat solid food too. Any time someone is eating you want some of it. And we usually don't hesitate to give you a tiny piece to try.

You have mastered the army crawl and are all over the house. Some times you roll from place to place, but when you see something you want(usually something you shouldn't have) you instantly get to army crawling.

You also started reaching for me...I couldn't love it more. When I walk by you instantly put your arms out to me.

Looking forward to watching you continue to grow and explore!!

 Jake getting ready to help Lily open her half birthday present

 What is inside?

 Look a new toy

And a pretty new dress

Yummy in her tummy

Over the last week Lily has really seemed ready to eat food. Along with putting everything in her mouth when we are eating she opens her mouth too. So tonight I decided it was time to start feeding her food. I go back and forth and I know there is a lot of discussion about what food to start with. I decided to start with rice cereal to get her used to eating off a spoon. Well, we will be moving to food very soon. She acted like she had been eating for weeks. As soon as the spoon was near her mouth she had it open and ready. She did make a few faces, but probably just getting used to the texture and taste. After a few bites she was grabbing the spoon and helping to put it in her mouth. I couldn't get the food in fast enough. She was too cute eating and I am excited to start making baby food and letting her try other foods too.

5 Months

Precious Lily,
You are 5 months old and sweeter then ever. You are rolling all over the floor and now putting everything in your mouth. When I say everything in your mouth...that is no joke. If anything even comes near your mouth you have it open. You discovered your feet this month too and love grabbing for them. You have really started playing with your toys too. You reach for them and entertain yourself with whatever is around. Of course most of the time Jake is right there playing with you too. He loves to pick you up and hold you and is always talking to you.

You are such a joy & I love watching you grow!!!

Sports Camp

I sent my little boy off to camp. Well, not really...last week he attended sports camp. It was every day from 8:30-12:30. This was the 1st time he had been somewhere that I dropped him off with people he didn't really know. Two of the coaches he had were the same from the sports class he had been doing once a week. Game Time Sports has been one of our favorite weekly activities. It is great for Jake to be able to learn about several different sports before we put him in a team sport. Getting started with a team sport early a lot of times leads to kids being burnt out at a young age. When Jake finds a sport he really wants to do I am hoping he will continue through college. By doing Game Time sports he will have an advantage when he does pick a team sport...having already learned the basics of that sport.

 Monday was a little sad for me. Of course my little boy was totally ready. When I was getting ready to leave I had to look for him to say bye. He was already out on the field kicking the soccer ball around. Come Tuesday he asked if he could just tell me bye in the parking lot and give me a hug & a kiss there. Really??? He is only 4(well, if you ask him he is 4 1/2). I had no idea it would start so early. The rest of the week went great. He did let me walk him in and kiss him & was excited to see me...even in front of his new friends. The sports camp was held in a big in door sports arena and they learned basic skills for soccer, golf, hockey, basketball, baseball, & tennis. Then it was filled in with other fun sports activities like running, tug of war, and tons more.

Helping a Friend

Everyone goes through difficult times in life. I have had several friends go through unimaginable things, but I don't know if I was there for them the way I could have been. However, I also think it is hard to know what a friend in a major life crisis would want. Unless of course you have been through a hard time in your life yourself. Hopefully this list will give you some ideas to help your friend. Not all of these will apply so take what you can from this list. I would love to know how you help your friends when things seem impossible.








Just show up at her house(well, I guess call to see if she is there first). She probably isn't going to ask you to come over. And if you ask her if she wants you to come over she probably won't come right out and say yes then either. She doesn't want to seem like she is bothering you and she knows you are busy with your own family too.

Call her. It is ok to ask about the situation as much as you want to hear about it. She doesn't want to feel like she is always talking about it. But if you ask and really want to know she will probably share with you.

Meals are good. Especially child friendly lunches and dinners. There are probably days even thinking about making a meal seems impossible for her.

Talk to her about other things too. She still wants to know what you are up to or what is going on in your life. Even if you feel like what you are dealing with at the time is so small compared to what is going on in her life. She still wants to be your friend and wants to talk to you.

When your friend opens up and shares what is going on in her life be sure you don't share with other people. She definitely doesn't want to seem like the latest gossip topic. And has probably chosen to confide in you because she trust you.

Call her! But also call and pray for her out loud over the phone. Hearing your prayers lifted up by you for her family and situation can be a big encouragement. Text or email her encouraging scripture or quotes. And  funny ones are good too.

Don't ever feel like you are bothering her with calls & text. The moment God puts her on your mind call or text. She is probably having a melt down right at that moment. And chances are time doesn't matter either. During major life struggles sleep seems to be something you don't get much of.

She knows  you don't have all the answers, but she might really want your opinion too.

And never underestimate the power of a sweet card in the mail or a quick text or email just to say you are thinking about them. Because it is possible she feels all alone in her situation.

What do you do for your friends during a difficult time?  What has helped you when life was hard?

4 Months

Oh Little Lily...you are 4 months old. I am sure I start all of your monthly notes with this, but where oh where does the time go?

You are the sweetest, happiest baby. And super active. You are rolling all over the place. And when you can't roll there you kick your feet and some how always end up moving all over the floor. You are also the drooliest baby & love blowing raspberries. If you don't have your paci you are always sucking on your hands, fingers, or any other skin you can get into your mouth. And sometimes you will even take your paci out to suck on your hand. You have become very attached to a little, pink, silky blankie. You love having it with you and when you are tired almost always put the blankie up to your face.

We had your 4 month check up today. You are 12 pounds 2 ounces in the 18th percentile for weight and 23 1/2 inches long 23rd percentile for height. You are our teeny, tiny baby girl.

 You love Jake and always look as soon as he starts talking. Usually you look right at him and give him the biggest smile. Of course this makes his day and he is all about you too. Every month he insist on getting in with you for your monthly picture.

4 1/2 Interview

For Jake's half birthday we did a birthday interview. He made sure to tell me we had to do it again at 5 to see if he said the same stuff. I simply asked the questions and wrote down the answers that he said.

Your Favorite Food: Panda Express(fried rice & orange chicken)
Favorite Sport: Baseball
My favorite tv show is: Doc McStuffins
The coolest person I know is: my Daddy
The thing I do most awesome: throwing frisbees
My favorite color is: red
When I grow up I want to be: just like Daddy & work at Dominos going to all the stores
My favorite song is: veggie tales
Favorite book: Curious George:Curious You, by Mawmaw & Papa Jack(a book they recorded for him)
3 words that describe me: happy, cool, & scared
When I was little I: slept all the time
Favorite season: winter-that's when it is cold right?
Favorite snack: pears
Food I dislike: nothing
My best friend: Caleb
Best Memory: touch-a-truck & date at chick-fil-a(both of which were over the weekend)

4 1/2

My Dear 4 1/2 year old Boy!!
I can't believe you are half way to 5. You will soon be a whole hand old. You are beyond excited to be 4 1/2...just like Caleb now. It is always about being like your cousin & you were so excited when you woke up today and could finally add the 1/2 to your age. I suppose at 4 it is a big deal to be that extra half. All day today you would talk in a sing-song voice that it was your 4 1/2 birthday. Today was all about you sweet boy. We met daddy for lunch at your favorite place Panda Express. You love their orange chicken & fried rice and would eat there every day if we let you.

You have started to come out of your shell the older you are, but you still hold onto some shyness. You like to make sure someone you know is always in eye sight when we are out. You still won't talk to people freely, but that is fine with me.
 You have the biggest imagination and I love to listen to you play. You make up the funnest conversations with your toys. You have a big love for stuffed animals(despite mommy not being a big stuffed animal fan). You have a couple that you are very attached to right now...Po, a panda & Pudding a smaller Panda Po's baby sister.
You love just about every sport and will play just about any of them. You have a weekly sports class that is perfect for you and covers baseball, hockey, golf, soccer, tennis, & basketball. During your class you get to learn a little about each sport. Of course your favorites are baseball and golf. But you have also started to be into hockey. Daddy is a big nascar fan & you have decided that number 11 Denny Hamlin is your favorite race car driver(even though Daddy has always been a Ryan Newman fan). We aren't sure how you picked Denny Hamlin, but you have stuck with him since last year.  Every race you are sure he is going to win.

You are such a fun & happy little boy. And I am so excited you are 4 1/2(even if that means you are growing up way too fast).

Our precious boy we love you so much. And love watching you grow.

3 Months

Our Little Lily,
We can't believe you are 3 months old already!!! If only we could freeze time...I would bottle this time up. Your little personality is truly starting to shine. It looks like you will be our little chatter box & I love it. It doesn't matter who is talking, but if you can hear them you think they are talking to you. As soon as you hear a voice you start talking and smiling. It is so fun to hear your little sounds and your smile lights up any room.

Your brother is still head over heels for you & I can only pray that you two grow up being the best of friends. He loves that you are starting to interact and as soon as he hears you talking he is right there talking to you too.

Ready for the big news...your 2 bottom teeth came in last week. Yes, you are only 3 months old and you already have 2 teeth. The truth is when you were born your gums were really swollen at your bottom 2 teeth. The pediatrician we used in the hospital said you would have teeth within a week. He told us the teeth might not be healthy and probably would need to be pulled as soon as they came in. Our pediatrician didn't think that was the case and said even if you did get teeth there was no way to say if they would be a problem. Your swollen gums went down a lot over the last couple months. Then the week before last we noticed your gums were looking a little swollen again and we could see the tiny teeth. It was only a few days before your teeth were poking through the gums. So now my tiny little 3 month old you have your 2 bottom teeth. You were a teething champ & never acted like they bothered you. You definitely are more drooly now and are constantly sticking your tongue out.

You are sleeping longer stretches at night kind of. You usually go to sleep between 8 & 9 and then don't wake up again until around 2 or 3 in the morning. Then you are back to your 3 hour eating after that.

Little Lily we couldn't love you more.

Newborn Pictures

Yes, you read that right...and yes, Lily will be 3 months old in just a couple weeks. But I realized I hadn't shared her adorable, perfect newborn pictures here. I was waiting until the birth announcements went out to everyone & then I just forgot. (I am hoping to get back to more regular blog posting in the next week & not just Lily updates...can we just call this a 12 week maternity leave?)Until I am back to regular posting enjoy this pictures of Lily.

For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb. I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well. Psalm 139:13-14

2 Months Old

Oh Smiley Girl,

You are 2 months old...and growing like crazy! At your 2 month check up today you weighed in at 11 pounds 3 ounces the 59th percentile and you are 22 1/4 inches long the 45th percentile. I can't believe how big you have gotten. I suspected you were going through a growth spurt last week when you wanted to eat almost every hour and then slept through the night from 11pm-8am. Although, you haven't slept through the night since then you still are a great sleeper...usually giving me a solid 5 hour stretch most days. Thank you for not making mommy feel completely sleep deprived. At your appointment today Dr. Saade did say that at 2 months you are no longer considered a newborn and now are into the infant stage. Oh, how that made me so sad. But you are still only 2 months old so not much will be changing with us. You will still be coming with mommy just about everywhere I go...but it is still a little sad to hear that you are no longer a newborn.

You are truly our smiley little girl. You started smiling a few weeks ago, but now you almost always smile when we talk to you. You are definitely Pawpaw's girl & smile at him every time he talks to you & get the biggest grins when he is holding you. But you don't leave any of us out and I know made Daddy's day when you smiled at him when he was telling you bye on his way out the door to work. Jake loves to get you to smile at him & still loves to be right in your face all day long.

You are staying awake a lot longer during the day now and are so alert and attentive to everything going on around you. You have really started to pay attention to the toys that dangle from your bouncy seat or the floor mat. You do swat at the toys, but not sure if you do it knowingly or just because you love to move your hands around and end up hitting the toys.

You are trying so hard to become a thumb/finger sucker. Because Daddy & I sucked our thumbs for so long and pacifiers are much easier to get rid of we are really trying to give you a paci. You happily take the pacifier when we give it to you, but if you don't have it you start looking for your thumb. You still keep your hands in a fist & usually can't get your thumb from under your index finger you settle for your fingers. But I can tell that as soon as you figure out how to get your thumb out you just might be a thumb sucker.

This month you also started cooing a lot. It is so sweet to hear the little sounds you are making.

Our little Lily girl you definitely brighten our days & make us all a little more smiley.

 Talking to the camera

 1st time wearing shoes...so cute!

 Another funny Lily face...

sweet sleepy girl