18 Months, 2 Weeks

Lily eating tree bark. Yuck!

Well, Lily is a year and a half. She had her 18 month checkup and she now weighs in at 25lbs 10oz and 32" tall! Overall she is in the 76th percentile. A few things that were discussed:

1. Lily's soft spot is all closed up! She now has a hard head for bumping on things - which she seems to do often.
2. Lily might be allergic to bug bites. She sometimes gets infections/abscesses on her legs from mosquito bites. Gotta be watchful and the doctor says to put her in long pants whenever she's playing outside where there may be bugs. Umm? Long pants in the summertime? Maybe on a day like yesterday and today, but when it's in the 90's it'll be way too hot for that. I'll stick with the Bullfrog Mosquito Coast bug spray and sunblock in one that I got her. Seems to work.
3. Lily has been walking on her tip toes often. Nothing to be too concerned about.
4. What we are a little concerned about though is that Lily is only saying 3 words: Mama, Da, and Dance. She should be saying up to 10 words by now. The doctor thinks we should bring Lily to see a speech pathologist. I declined, for now. Lily is so smart in other areas and she knows exactly what we say and what things are - she just doesn't say the words. Dan and I are working harder now to make sure she starts speaking. If, by the time Lily is 21 months, she does not say at least 12 words, then it's time to see a specialist. She'll still be a little behind but every kid goes at their own pace. I'm not too worried right now.

Great news! 

We closed on our house on the 18th! FINALLY!!!!!!!! We have lots of work to do before we will actually move in though - which will be October 1st.

Our jungle house! Can't wait to do the landscaping :)

1. We will be ripping up and replacing all the flooring.
2. We will be ripping out and redoing the kitchen.
3. We will be taking down the knotty-pine paneling and putting up new sheetrock. Although we like it, it makes the rooms dark.
4. We will be painting all the walls.
5. We will most likely be putting up new sheetrock in the bathroom since there is wallpaper on the walls that may not come off easily.
6. We have to replace all the windows (probably).

I think that's it for now. Once we get in we DEFINITELY have to take out all of the plant life in the front yard. It's a jungle (just look at the pic)! The neighbor's should be happy about that!

17 Months, 3 Weeks

So hard to get Lily to stop moving for this pic.

Dan turned 38 last Saturday (6/29). We celebrated by going to look at cabinetry for our kitchen. We'll be closing by the end of the month so we need to start having things picked out. We also went to the appliance store and picked out what appliances we'll be getting. After that we took Lily to the pool. She had a blast! She splashed around, made some friends (personable just like her daddy), and scared the lifeguard a few times. Finished it off with some meatballs and spaghetti (thanks Mom) and an ice cream cake (thanks Dad). It was a good day.

Lily's 2nd 4th of July and still did not see any fireworks. We were all in bed by the time they were going off. I guess that's what happens sometimes when you have a toddler. Even though Dan and I could here the fireworks as if they were right there in the bedroom with us (even with the a/c on), Lily slept right through them. We are very lucky that loud noises don't bother her.

Watch some videos of the week: Go to our YouTube page HERE.

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On a sad note, I would like to take this time to offer our sincere condolences to the family of one of Dan's best friends who passed away on Tuesday. Dan became friends with John in high school and stayed very close ever since. John had fought Acute Myeloid Leukemia (AML) courageously since being diagnosed on September 23, 2011. He leaves behind a very strong wife, Natalie, their 3 year old boy, Alexander, their 20 month old boy, Christian, and his mother and father. 

Please help to find a cure by donating if you can. Go to the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society and donate in memory of John V. Sopack.

John,
We will continue to fight this fight for you. We will always remember your strength and use it to guide us through life.

We love you and miss you,
The Gormans

1991 - The beginning of a lifelong friendship

1999 - Trip to Cancun

2007 - John's Bachelor Party

17 Months, 2 Weeks

Wow. Has it really been over a month since my last post? Sorry I've been slackin.

Well, here's what's been going on. Lily hasn't really been saying any words yet. She says "Momomom" and I assume she means me but she doesn't call me "Mom" directly. She also says "Da" but again, not really directed at Dan. So, with all the gibberish she does say, the one word that she definitely says and knows what it means and says it on cue is… "Dance." She learned it from Yo Gabba Gabba - her favorite show.


Enjoy some videos from this past month:

Listen carefully. Lily says "Dance" when the song says it!

Lily dances awesomely!

I love that Lily loves to dance!

Lily loves all of her Yo Gabba Gabba friends!

Lily piles up the pillows to get comfy!

And remember you can watch more videos on our YouTube Channel by clicking HERE.

16 Months

Lily is now 16 months old. She has grown so much, even from just a few months ago. She talks like crazy. Literally, like crazy! We don't understand a word she says but she does and I guess that's all that matters. Her favorite thing to do now is shake her head "no." It's always "no" at first. I don't mind though because that only means she is now deciding what she wants and doesn't want. That's a good thing - she's making choices.

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Ok. I'm gonna be totally real here for a second and talk about how I've been feeling for a while now. I don't mean this to be rude in any way. This is just how I feel and if I am wrong or anyone has anything to say about what I am about to write down here, then by all means let me know…

You hear it all the time: 

• A friend gets a boyfriend so "I guess we're not seeing her anymore."
• A friend gets married so "I guess we're not seeing her anymore."
• A friend has a baby so "I guess we're not seeing her anymore."

I would just like to put it out there: Why aren't you seeing her anymore?

Is it because she really is ignoring you? Is it because she wants to spend every waking hour with her significant other or baby? Ok, sometimes, yes, that is the case. BUT, when, let's just say for argument's sake, your friend, who happens to be married with a baby, tries to hang out, even suggests days to do it a few weeks or even a month beforehand, and you don't even give that friend a reply until a couple of days before one of those days is about to occur and your answer is "no." Then you have the audacity to always email or text her - never an actual phone call - that you miss her and "we have to get together soon." What the hell is that about? Your friend with the husband and baby has done all but BEG you for a girls night or day, doesn't matter which because she is a Stay-At-Home-Mom and is ALWAYS free (for the most part), which she has told you time and time again to no avail because it's always "Oh I miss you. We need to get together. Let me know when you're free." Uh, DUH!!! I have said over and over again, "I am free all the time. You're the one who works, you tell me when you're free."

I can go on here but let me just end it with this. I am tired. I am tired of my so called friends who have dropped me because I got married. I am tired of my so called friends who have dropped me because I had a baby. I am tired of trying to make plans when those so called friends always either say "no," or cancel at the last minute. I am tired of reading emails and texts that say "I miss you. We need to see each other soon." I am tired of calling someone a friend who, in all honesty, really isn't anymore.

I hate that my life, the one I am so happily involved in, has made it impossible for me to keep the "friends" that I thought I had. A true friend would find the time. A true friend wouldn't always say, "I miss you" and then do nothing to remedy that. A true friend, no matter how busy life is, would make it a point to keep in touch, if not by hanging out, by a simple phone call or an actual email that we can go back and forth with that involves what's been going on in our lives. A true friend would NEVER ignore a desperate plea to have a girls night/day because a true friend would be concerned about why it was a "desperate plea" to begin with.

Am I done with my so called friends? I don't know. All I know is I was never the one who cancelled plans or said no to a day out. I was the one who suggested days and took the calls, texts, emails that said "no" to hanging out and "sorry but I have to cancel our plans."

For those friends who have actually been keeping in touch, I thank you.

If I get a response out of this then I will know who my real friends are. I will know that my friends actually read this blog. After all, it is a blog about what's going on in my life and you would think that a person who "really misses" me would be reading it.

Sorry. I think I'm finished discussing this topic. 

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On a lighter note, in our Tuesday's Mommy and Me class, Lily went up to almost every kid to steal their name stickers to put on her own shirt. She had 6 stickers by the middle of class!

15 Months, 3 1/2 Weeks

I find myself gazing at Lily from time to time and thinking to myself how much I am in love with her. How my life has forever changed and how I am what I always wanted to be - a Mommy. Then I think of my own mommy. I wonder if she had the same thoughts as I do now. I wonder if she ever gazed at me, not being her first child, but her first baby girl, and thought about ways we were similar. Maybe, how the color of my hair might have been like hers when she was a baby. Or did she gaze at me, like I do Lily, and think how beautiful I was? How my eyes lit up when I got excited about something. Did my mom get a little emotional when I ran up to her legs and hugged them tight, like I do when Lily does that to me? I think about these things from time to time. I think about what it was like for my mom, being much younger than I am now, having 4 children. By the time my mother was the age I am now, 35, her oldest was already 13 and her youngest was 3.

I also think about Dan. How hard it must be for him to leave every morning to go to work. How sad it must make him when I tell him of something new Lily has experienced, without him to see it for the first time himself. Then I think of my own dad. Was it hard for him? Did he ever get sad thinking of all he was missing? My father always worked hard for us. Always having at least 2 jobs, one in the morning and the other at night. I remember how sad it made me to see him leave for work but how happy I was when he came home. I have noticed Lily missing Dan. When we wake up in the morning Dan is already gone. Lily now looks over at his side of the bed and I can imagine her thinking to herself, "Where's Daddy?" Then when he comes home she is so excited to see him. Does she think about him during the day? Did I think about my dad? Or do children have a temporary time of forgetfulness when something or someone isn't there in front of them?

I never knew what it meant to be a parent until having Lily. I never knew, or never truly knew the sacrifices my parents made for us. The emotions you have for your children are strong and deep and no one can honestly grasp what it feels like until you give life. As a kid I thought I knew it all. I thought my parents were, at times, cruel for having certain rules for us. I thought they didn't understand what I was going through and so I barely opened up to them. But I am now certain they knew. As I am certain I will know what Lily is going through. I just hope that I can keep our lines of communication open. I hope Lily doesn't become her mother in that respect. I want Lily to want to talk to me about her life, her dreams, her fears. I'm sorry for not believing I could be open in that way with my own mother. A mother does not judge her child. A mother only hopes her child will make the best choices for a long and happy life. I realize that now.

So, as this Mother's Day is approaching, I'll leave on this note:

I am the luckiest mom to have such a beautiful, happy, and healthy little girl. 

And to my own Mom, I love you and thank you for all you sacrificed and still sacrifice for us. 

15 Months, 2 Weeks

It's really amazing how fast time goes by when you have a child. Lily turned 15 months old on Sunday, the 14th. How weird is that? She's getting so big. Her most favorite thing to do is dance. She doesn't even need music to do it. She must hear a beat in her head and away she goes moving and grooving. If she doesn't do something with music or dancing when she grows up we will be surprised. I guess Dan and I will have to get her into a dance class and some type of music lessons as soon as she's old enough. Can't wait to see her on a stage in a little tutu!

Our dreams of owning our own house are quickly coming to fruition. The seller is taking care of getting a c/o for a part of the house that didn't have one and she has to tear down an old deck before closing. Dan and I wanted the deck removed anyway so that saves us time and money, which is always fantastic! She just signed the contract on Tuesday so, HOORAY! We are "In Contract!" We won't actually close until sometime in July though, but that's fine. There's more things we need to take care of before then - house appraisal, mortgage, who we will use for home insurance, title search, etc.

Took Lily to the doctor for her 15 month check-up on Wednesday, the 17th. She is now 24 lbs, 7 oz and is 30 1/4" tall. Holy moly!!! I'm always told what percentile Lily is in but I don't pay too much attention. As long as she's healthy it's fine by me. You should never compare your child with anybody else's anyway. We are all different and grow at different rates. We all have different bodies so why have the percentiles? I guess just for a baseline, but again, does it really matter? Lily is in the 46th percentile in height and 74th percentile in weight.

"Yummy spinach, pea, & pear pouch all over me!"

14 Months, 2 1/2 Weeks

Been on hiatus for a bit. Let's see… what has been going on?

On March 10th we left for Key West, Florida. Lily's first ever plane ride. I was a bit nervous about how she would fair but she did rather well with all things considered. The looks on the passengers faces as they realized a toddler was sitting near them weren't nearly as horrific as I thought they would be. Luckily for everyone on board, Lily is awesome and didn't cry or scream at all. She actually fell asleep as we were descending.

Our full week in Key West was part vacation, part wedding festivities. My brother got married to a girl who is just perfect for him. I actually officiated the ceremony. My first one. I think I did a great job considering how freakin' windy it was on the beach that day. Watch the video of the ceremony below. Dan took this video. I only wish that the sound quality is better on the actual wedding video.

Lily was the life of the party. She danced all night. The only near miss - thank the Lord - could've been disastrous event that took place was when K.C. and new bride Cici were on the dance floor doing their first dance. Lily was so happy and loved the music so much she started running towards them just as K.C. started swinging Cici around with her legs flying up behind her. I couldn't catch Lily in time to avoid the collision between Cici's feet and Lily's head. LUCKILY someone was watching over Lily at that very moment because I am almost positive Cici's feet went right through Lily's head as if she wasn't there at all. It was a miracle moment I tell ya! Cici's flying feet were maybe an inch away from kicking Lily in the head and having her soar through the air. Everyone who saw it had heart palpitations at the thought of what could've been. Dan and I almost had heart attacks.

The rest of the week in Key West was good. The weather was great. Lily road on a bicycle with Dan for the first time. That was fun. The plane ride home was just as uneventful as the plane ride there. We actually were commended on how good a baby Lily was on the plane by another passenger. That was nice.

When we got back from Florida, Dan and I gave our house hunt a major jump forward. We had seen a house in Levittown right before we went away and put an offer in on it. The seller was taking her time with a response most likely to get more money. Well, it worked. We upped our offer (but still $10,000 less than asking) and told our Buyer's agent to tell them "take it or leave it." We got accepted about an hour later! Yay!! We have a home. Well, sorta. We still are working out a few details with the contract. It seems there may not be a c/o on a section of the house. We should be getting word back soon on that. The good news is that the seller is a teacher and doesn't want to close until July. Fine by us. Our apartment lease is up on October 1st so we have time.

To say we love this house is an understatement. We adore this house. Sure it needs some work, like a brand new kitchen and flooring, and paint, but any house out there would need some kind of work. The backyard is AMAZING! It is H-U-G-E HUGE!!!!!!! The property sits on the outer curve of the block so the backyard is not only huge, it's also very private. The house is also a bit bigger than a normal Levit house with the addition of 2 rooms in the back of the house. We can't wait for everything to be settled with the contracts and we have our exact closing date.

Easter Sunday was spent with my parents and sisters for dinner. Lasagna - YUM!! I can't believe how much different this Easter was from last in the way of Lily. Just look:

I'm sure there's more that I'm forgetting to say, but I think that was good enough for now.