Week 45

Nothing really new to report for this past week. Lily is trying hard to walk. She stands by herself for a long time now and I can see her trying to concentrate on moving her feet. She's just trying really hard to figure it out. She'll take a step, sometimes two, but she's not quite confident yet to go any further. Dan and I say she will most likely have it figured out by Christmas.

Speaking of Christmas, we just got Lily's Christmas dress. I can't wait for her to wear it!

This Week In Pictures

Week 44

This Thanksgiving, as I reflect back on the year, I am so very thankful for all I have. Here's my list:

1. LILY EMMA! She will always be at the top of my list of things I am thankful for.
2. Dan. My most awesome husband with whom I share everything with.
3. My parents. So much love and support. I "get it" now. No one can understand unless you are a parent. I can't thank them enough for all their sacrifices.
4. My brother and sisters. My partners in crime. 
5. My in-laws. Always there to lend a loving, helping hand.

OK, now the good list. I am thankful for…

1. Lily arriving when she did. I can't imagine what labor would've been like if she wasn't 3 weeks early. Thank you Lily!
2. My "Mommy Tattoos." No, not a tattoo I picked out and was really excited about. These 4 "tattoos" are the scars left over after 6 abscesses and 2 surgeries on my left breast. Weird to be thankful for them, but I am proud that I tried to breast feed Lily and only stopped because of the surgeries. Some would call them scars, but I like to think of them as something more. They will always be a reminder of how close my little girl and I were when she was first born.
3. Losing 45 pounds of pregnancy weight. But I'm not done yet. I need to lose another 30 pounds to be where I was at my wedding. I'll be double thankful to lose it by March. I need to look my best at my brother's wedding in Key West.
4. Being a Stay At Home Mom. I have the best job in the world and I wouldn't be able to do it without the love and support of Dan. I am what I have always wanted to be when I grew up: a wife and a mommy.
5. My lymphedema not getting any worse. Yes, there have been days where I want to cut my legs off, but I am still in Stage 1 of this disease and am very thankful for that!

By the way…

LILY TOOK HER FIRST 2 STEPS ON THANKSGIVING! She has taken one step here and there, but I don't think it really counts until it's at least two. So, YAY FOR LILY!!!!! Now she doesn't want to stop. She tries to walk at every chance she gets. Uh oh for me. Now I really have to start growing those eyes in the back of my head that all mommies sooner or later get.

This week in pictures

Proud Daddies: Kevin with Sienna (16 Months) and Dan with Lily (10 months)

Teething

Week 43 - 10 Months Old!

Lily 10 Months Old!

Where has the year gone? We are less than 2 months away from Lily's 1st Birthday. She has grown so much. Right now she loves to crawl around and test the waters of what she can and cannot do. She will crawl away from you only to look back to make sure you're looking at her, then continue forward with a smile even if you say "No!" We can never be mad at her. Not with that precious straight smile connecting to those adorable pinchy cheeks. And what beautiful eyes! The innocence and joy in them are overwhelming. What was left of my heart after giving it to Dan is now Lily's to keep - and she's worth it.

This week in videos

Week 40, 41, & 42

WEEK 40

• On Saturday, the 20th, Dan and I found out that Lily loves shadow puppets! It was so funny. Lily always climbs up onto our pillows to touch the wall behind our bed. On this occasion, the only light shining into the room was from the hall which was the perfect light to cast shadows on the wall behind our bed. I didn't mean to do a shadow puppet, but when I lifted my arm up and it cast a shadow on the wall, Lily started laughing really hard. So then Dan and I started making animals with our shadows. Lily liked it the best when the shadows tried to grab her hands. She's too cute!
• On Monday, the 22nd, I brushed Lily's teeth for the first time. I figured since she does have 2 teeth now, it's a good idea to do so. Dan and I bought her a "tooth brush" and toothpaste. THe brush, if you can call it that, is a rubber thing I put on my finger. The bristles kinda tickle so I bet it feels good on Lily's gums. She seemed to like it. I did it while I was giving her a bath after her breakfast. I had Dan do it after her last bottle just before bed. Now it is a routine. Brush after breakfast and again after her last bottle at night. 
• Lily's baby babble is so fantastic! Dan and I L-O-V-E her mouth when she talks. OMG! It's the best. 
• We got Lily a sippy cup so she can start practicing using it instead of her bottle. It's a work in progress. She'd rather bite the handles than drink from it.

This week in pictures

All bundled up to meet Daddy at the train station

This week in video

WEEK 41

• On Saturday, the 27th, we went to my brother K.C. and his fiance Cici's bridal shower. It was a "Jack & Jill" shower so guys and girls were there. Lily was so good. She actually slept for about an hour in her stroller. Just enough time for the gifts to be opened.
• On Sunday, the 28th, we went to Dan's mom's birthday party. I won't say how old just in case she minds, but she sure doesn't come off as being in her #@'s. She belly dances and put on a belly dancing show, with 2 other women, as the entertainment. Lily was fascinated by the tambourines. I have a tambourine but am waiting to take it out for Lily to play with cause it might get annoying real fast if that's what I hear all day. Headache anyone?!
• Also on Sunday, the winds were picking up for Hurricane Sandy, the Super Storm.
• On Monday, the 29th, we lost power and heat. It was about 1:15pm. Lily's first power outage.
• The rest of the week was spent over Dan's parents house and a few day at my parent's house only to come home at night to sleep. Dan's parents never lost power, but their maple tree in the backyard was uprooted onto their garage. My parents lost power Monday night.
• On Tuesday, the 30th, Lily discovered the stairs at Dan's parent's house. She climbed them without any difficulty. Thankfully we do not have any stairs at home!
• On Wednesday, the 31st, it was Lily's first Halloween. We didn't let the destruction of Hurricane Sandy interfere with us getting dressed up and going to both our parent's houses to Trick or Treat. Lily looked so cute in her costume. She was Cookie Monster.

This week in pictures

Climbed the stairs for the first time on 10/30

Grandpa made Lily a cave

In the dark at home 10/31

This week in video

WEEK 42

• On Monday, the 5th, at night, we finally got our power and heat back. 7 days without both of them and a baby was something Dan and I didn't want to have to go through again. It was bad. Lily's schedule was all off because every day we had to leave our apartment and go somewhere else. We were so happy to finally have some normalcy back.
• On Tuesday, the 6th, I took Lily to Babies R Us to get a few things for her. Afterward we went to Dan's parent's house to pick up our frozen food we dropped off there the week earlier. Lily was great during all of that travel but when we got home, she was so fussy. I think she just needed a day, or two, or three to not go anywhere. That's what I planned to do the rest of the week but the weather had other plans for us.
• On Wednesday, the 7th, we got that nor'easter that blew in with snow. While feeding Lily around 10am, the lights started to flicker. Not again! While Lily was napping (a 4 hour nap BTW) the power went out again. It was about 12:30pm. Because the weather was bad, I decided to stay home with her. It was a cold night. Colder than the week before.
• On Thursday, the 8th, when I got up with Lily in the morning, the temperature in our apartment was 60 degrees. I could only imagine what it was in the middle of the night. I decided to bundle Lily up in her snowsuit and take her to my parent's house and stay over there that night if we didn't get our power back. Luckily for us the power came back on around 7pm!

This week in pictures

"I can't put my arms down!"