Lillian is 3 Years Old!

I am so very proud of my amazing daughter. She's 3 years old, assertive, fierce, brave and fearless. Those traits sometimes make 3 not my favorite age for her (like when we don't quite see eye-to-eye), but they also make me so excited for the woman she is going to become. I am so excited to know her as she grows.

1. Lillian goes to Children's Creative Center, a day care on Belmont and Damon about a mile away. We drive there every morning/evening. 
2. Lillian is normally at day care from around 7:15am until 4:45pm. She is happy to see me when I pick her up so she can show me everything she has been doing. She is pretty good when I drop her off, so long as I give her the hugs and kisses she needs before I leave (any random amount, usually between 2 and 5). She hates to be held when I leave, she prefers to say goodbye on her own terms.
3. She hates the car seat, especially the first few months of having to get into the car every day. She often would run down the sidewalk and when I finally caught her and tried to get her in the car she would scream: DO NOT TOUCH ME. YOU ARE HURTING ME. and LEAVE ME ALONE. Afraid that DCFS would join us one afternoon, I started bribing her with tik-tacs to get into the car quickly and quietly. Though she doesn't run anymore, she does often try to avoid getting into the car seat so we still use the bribe daily.
4. She wakes up between 5:30am and 6:00am. Goes to sleep for the night around 6:30pm and naps from 'officially' 1-3 on week days. No naps at home. She sleeps through the night and only rarely wakes up. 
5. She will try just about anything you put in front of her (so long as she's not tired/super grouchy). She doesn't normally care for red-meat, but she'll eat a ton of chicken. She doesn't mind veggies, but prefers them raw to cooked. She'll eat salami and baloney until she bursts.
6. Her favorite veggie is Green Pepper. 
7. She loves salmon sashimi but doesn't eat the rice.
8. Her favorite meal is  French Toast (when asked, but she usually orders pancakes and scrambled eggs).
9. She adores her brother and will literally do anything to hang out with him. They often play Wild Kratts, tag, hide and seek, and legos together. They get along pretty well. 
10. If they fight, Lillian is quick to apologize and to forgive Simon. Her common request to the "Sorry, is there anything I can do to make it better" that Simon will grudgingly say is "A Kiss and a Hug." Everything is quickly forgiven. 
11. Lillian loves to draw still. 
12. She is pretty ambidextrous, but is writing at school with her right hand primarily. 
13. Lillian has been pretty obsessed with Belle, from Beauty and the Beast. She watches the movie as often as we let her. 
14. We sing Disney songs pretty regularly, her favorites are Part of Your World (Little Mermaid), Tale as Old as Time (Beauty and the Beast) and, as a distant third, A Whole New World (Aladdin). 
15. After a summer of trauma, bedtime routine has become rather calm and predictable. We have instituted a Potty Coin (required payment for a trip to the bathroom after lights are out for the night, one issued every evening). She gets a story (sometimes joint with Simon), songs, 'so safe' and then lights out.
16. We started saying 'so safe' after a few nights of crying about being scared. Adult says each sentence, she repeats: I'm so safe. I'm so loved. I'm so strong. I'm so brave. I'm so tough. I try so hard. Everything is okay.
17. Lillian still primarily scribbles as drawings, though she is working on tracing letters. She consistently can draw a circle and make a straight line if asked. 
18. She can identify most capital letters, has started to pair some letters with sounds. She can count to 3 (usually higher) and identify the numbers 1-3 with no issues. She knows all her colors easily.
19. Lillian usually eats with good table manners, clears her plate when she's done with her meal and will help sweep/dustbuster under the table as her chore.
20. Lillian is super sweet and if you're upset (or angry) she'll come over and tell you she loves you and give you a hug.
21. She likes her personal space and only likes to be touched on her own terms. She does not hesitate to tell me to stop touching her if I'm brushing her hair out of her eyes too much or patting her when she doesn't want me to. 
22. That said, especially when she is tired, she loves to be close to people and often will not leave any space between you when she's sitting next to you on the couch. 
23. She loves to read and has literally just begun reading the chapter books that Simon loved so much as a 3 year old - Mercy Watson by Kate DiCamillo. 
24. She doesn't like wearing clips in her hair and it's constantly getting in her eyes because it's not quite long enough to tuck behind her ear. 
25. She just started ballet because she LOVES to dance. She adores the classes (only had a few so far). 
26. She loves being in the water and we're going to start regular swimming classes soon. 
27. Favorite thing to do at the park is to run. 
28. Favorite TV show is Daniel Tiger, though if Simon's around she'll suggest Wild Kratts so he will be happy and watch with her.

Lillian's Bad Dream

Lillian had her first bad dream where she woke up crying and yelling no no no. (Around midnight Friday night) Alan swooped in and calmed her down and she was quick to settle and fall back asleep. About 30 minutes later she pounded down the hall, yelling 'ahhhh' the whole way, with Baby clutched in one arm and Digit in the other.  She said she dreamed of falling rocks.

Lillian says (2.5 years old)

Lillian has become so very fluent lately. She has always had an impressive vocabulary but sometime in the past couple months her conception has really progressed and she is tying together advanced concepts and making lots of mental leaps and connections - as a result she has been so delightful to talk with and be around. She randomly will just come out with something that is very true but so funny. (See example below about dog hands.)


Some things Lillian has said this week (that I remember):

• So, dogs don't have hands. They just have dog hands.
• I know all birds poop on cactus.
• It's just a fart. Just my body talking. (Mother's Day 2016)
• Who do you call? ... Go Mustard! (ghostbusters!)

Lillian says

January 21, 2016: 
Lillian says "take a smile" for "take a picture "

December 27, 2015: 
Simon popped on wall
Dad:you gonna poop in wall?
No! I don't pee in my diaper. Or the wall. Or the clock.
Dad: very good.
Or the bookshelf!!

11/20/2015: When she had tears in her eyes earlier this week: I have raindrops in my eyes.

11/23/2015: As daddy was changing her into a diaper from her big girl Cinderella princess underwear: I need my Silverware on! I need Cinderella on my legs!

Lillian is TWO YEARS OLD!

Our joyful, vivacious little girl is two years old. This past year in particular has been a really great one for Lillian. She went from saying only a couple words and toddling around a year ago to being a remarkably well spoken, thoughtful and speedy two year old. She pays attention to everything, answers questions and makes her opinions clearly known. She loves people, loves talking, loves singing and loves dolls (aka 'babies'). 

1. Lillian is a social, happy girl who loves talking to everyone. She may take a few minutes to warm up when she is put on the spot, but when she's left to herself she often walks right up to new people and talks with them about whatever she is currently interested in.
2. She narrates her life in an adorable way, which often frustrates Simon. Ex: "Simon is mad. He is punching. Simon is yelling." "I see lady. Lady is walking. Lady said good morning. Bye Lady!" "I am running. I run fast!"
3. She loves to sing. Right now her favorite songs are Baa Baa Black Sheep and You are my Sunshine. She will scream "YOU ARE MY SUNSHINE, YOU MAKE ME HAPPY, SKIES GRAY!" Very sweet and also very, very loud. 
4. She gets very excited about sirens and helicopters right now - screaming with joy when she sees one. All airplanes are helicopters in Lillian's world.
5. Usually plays very well with Simon and loves being around him. She is delighted every day that he comes home from school and she gets to see him. 
6. She draws often with Jessie and can draw a circle pretty well all on her own. 
7. She also plays avengers with Simon often. Her alone games revolve around caring for her 'baby' and running/pushing a cart or stroller. 
8. She often reads by herself and will back up across the room into your lap so you can read to her. Her favorite books are Go Dog Go, Inside Outside Upside down, Hop on Pop, and anything Simon might have recently held.
9. She no longer uses a pacifier (which she adorably called a Fire). She threw it away at the beginning of August. She asked for it casually a couple nights after it was tossed and she needed to be reminded it was thrown away but no tears and never really asked again.
10. She also switched from a high chair to a booster chair in August (at 21 months). She loves the booster! Sitting at the table with everyone and being a big kid like Simon. She climbs into it easily on her own and will buckle herself in.
11. She has recently started refusing a bib, but if you insist she'll wear it.
12. She will eat just about anything - and will try everything that you offer to her. 
13. She loves Simon but doesn't let him push her around - emotionally or figuratively. She will pinch him if he tries to push her. And she will also pinch him if he's ignoring her and she wants to play. She chases him about as often as he chases her. 
14. She has always been very verbal. She started telling stories at around 22 months - about things that happened in her day. She sings songs and plays make believe with her toys and with Simon.
15. She has started putting on and taking off her own clothes. She is still figuring it out, often two Lillian legs go into one pant leg hole, but she can get ankle socks on by herself.  
16. She is unfortunately really good at taking OFF her clothes, especially her diaper. Magically she can take off her diaper while her pants are still on.
17. She has started being interested in the potty, going by herself and watching other people go. We are going to potty train soon. (Maybe mid November?)
18. Unfortunately, she has picked up from Simon how to act when she is frustrated. When you go to change her diaper she yells at you and puts up her hand and says "Do not talk to me!" or "Go downstairs, Mama!" or "Go Away Daddy!" She will punch the air or make an exaggerated angry face just like Simon. It is really sad since I don't think she would naturally have expressed her anger that way. 
19. She goes to bed around 5:30pm or 6, wakes up around 6am. Naps from 12:30-3ish. She lays quietly in her crib when she wakes up from nap - hiding under her covers, so it's hard to see if she's actually awake. In the mornings she tends to sing when she wakes up. She almost never cries in her crib, only occasionally after we leave and she wants more songs. 
20. Lillian spends her days with Jessie, the nanny. She goes to zoo class on Thursdays. She doesn't really have a regular play date going with friends right now.
21. Lillian's 2 Year Old Stats: 
    Height: 33.75 inches (2.8 feet)  
    Weight: 24 Pounds 4 ounces 

Lillian after her shots and blood draw
at her 2 year well visit (Oct 23, 2015)

One year old Lillian.

Lillian 18 month well visit (1.5 years)

It amazes me that Lillian has only been a part of our family for a year and a half! She is so fun and funny!

1. Lillian is so funny and fun. She loves to laugh and loves it when we laugh.
2. She has exceeded the 100 words that we planned to track. If you are curious about what words she has check out the Lillian Words and Stats page.
3. She says new words every day and will often surprise us with the words that she knows. She can string many words together. Her most frequent thing to say now is "No Hit Mama".
4. She has started saying no as a default - only a matter of time, I guess. We hear No-no-no pretty often.  When she says it she makes a super cute puckered face which makes it sort of hard not to smile when she says no.
5. She unfortunately has started hitting (and kicking). Mostly for attention or to test the waters as she will sometimes walk up to you and mock hit you until you pay attention to her. Though she definitely will not hesitate to really hit or kick you if you pick her up when she wants to be down.
6. She will make a buzz sound and lay on the ground laughing, waiting for the tickle bug to find her. 
7. She is not even a little bit shy. At her 1.5 year check up she walked right up to the nurse to see what she was doing. She gets a little coy about saying hi when we're walking down the street but has no problem screaming bye-bye at everyone or yelling run at the passing runner (they don't always love that_. 
8. She LOVES animals. She can spot a dog, cat, bird or squirrel from a mile away, and she tells you all about it! She is a bit hesitant around dogs (which I am glad of as I don't want her running up to random animals), but she loves them most. 
9. She has started playing more games with Simon. One of my favorites is when they pretend to be a cat family together. He is usually the mama cat, and Lillian is either the baby cat or a monster cat depending on her mood.
10. She has turned into quite the climber. She uses her toys as step stools to climb up the couch or reach light switches, she can scale her high chair and the chairs in the kitchen. It is both impressive and nerve wracking!
11. She eats three meals a day with us, takes one two hour nap from noonish to two and is in bed from 5:30pm to 6:30am (but probably asleep from 6pm to 6am). She sleeps with four animal: Bob the Dinosaur, Hop the Bunny, Hippo the Blanket, and (her favorite) Digit the Piglet. 
12. She still loves Simon more than anything and will do or eat anything he is doing or eating. 
13. Anything that is on someone else's plate is by definition better than what is on her plate.
14. She understands very complex sentences and pays attention to what people talk about over her head and responds to it. 
15. She loves shoes - tries on everyones all the time; she loves bubbles, she loves socks (oh my she loves socks). She also really enjoys coloring and dancing. She will sing songs to herself as she is playing (the ABCs and Snuggle Puppy are her two favorites). She also love to count with her daddy as her diaper is changed. 
16. She loves hugs and is an amazing hugger. She makes the kissing sound instead of giving a kiss. 

Lillian at 16 Months

Lillian is a bit more than a year and a quarter and she is a rock star. She is so fun and happy and really a joy to be around. Here are some things she does now.

1. Lillian is so cheerful and happy 90% of the day. She objects strenuously to getting her diaper changed or similarly her clothes put on - there is definitely screaming and kicking. She also crashes hard if we push her late on nap/bed times. Like a light switch she goes from happy and laughing to crying inconsolably. She sometimes will ask for bedtime (hands on both side of her face, head tilted sideways and saying shhhhh while tears course down her cheeks) or will just cry until you promise her bed and then she will nod while she cries. It is so very sad and makes us not push her bedtime very often.
2. She will put away toys in to boxes if you ask her to help
3. She eats everything and is a bottomless pit
4. She takes one nap from 11-1ish, though occasionally she'll sleep for 3 hours!
5. Bed time is at 5:15pm or so, She wakes up around 5:45am and we get her out of bed at 6am. She sleeps through the night and usually doesn't wake up at all.
6. She is currently teething. She has 4 teeth left to come in, all 4 are molars, and at least some of them are coming in now. She has started putting everything into her mouth again.
7. She is very adept at making animal sounds. Moo is her current favorite, and her baaaa comes out like a growl.
8. She is favoring words over signs, and acquires a new words every week. 
9. She will hand people objects and then remind them to say "thank you."
10. She is becoming an adept climber. One of her favorite moves is to climb up her little chair and jump from it to the couch, then crawl/roll/tumble across the couch to the table that houses the remotes and other electronic goodies.
11. She gives wonderful hugs. If you ask for a hug (and she's in the mood) she will run across the room with her arms stretched out and give you a huge squeeze. Then she leans back and makes a mmmah! sound (which is a kiss sound) and then usually will give you a little lick in her attempt at a kiss. The sound and action aren't always at the same time so you can sometimes get surprised by the kiss.  

Lillian 15 month well visit

We went to Lillian's 15 month well visit appointment. She had quite a bit of energy to burn so when they called us to the room I let her walk herself down the hall and just held her hand. Everyone commented on how cute she was toddling down the hall on her own and saying hi to every nurse.  We had to wait about 20 minutes before the doctor came into the room and Lillian was all over the place in the room - exploring everything and checking all the drawers and cabinets to ensure they were properly childproofed.  When the doctor did come in she was very impressed by Lillian - of course we know Lillian is so very advanced for her age, but it was nice to hear someone else confirm it. The doctor gave me the list of goal achievements for 18 months (they always give it to you so you can get a feel for where you kid should be in the next 3-6 months). Lillian is already doing all but one of the things on the list (I put the list after the jump).

Two things came of the visit that we need to followup on. Frist, an xray of Lillian's hips. The fat rolls on her legs aren't symmetrical and while that can signal nothing it could also be the first signs of hip dysplasia which is much easier to address if caught early. Second, the rules dealing with kids who have immediate family with allergies have changed. We need to bring Lillian to an allergist to do a scratch test. We have that scheduled for the last week of March (as kids allergists book up like crazy). 

Does it push?

Does it pull?

Things Lillian knows (13 Month)

After she turned a year I figured I would stop the monthly updates on Lillian, but I was so amazed at how much she learned this month and how much she knows in general that I couldn't resist one more monthly post.

1. Lillian has 15 signs: More, all done, hungry, banana, clean (aka wash hands), drink, banana, diaper, book, milk, hot (blows on thing), blows kiss, waves, please and thank you.
2. She has 10 words: Hi, Mama, Dada, shoes, socks, Go, Si (for Simon), See (for Jessie), Ph (for up) and of course dog.

Lillian is One Year Old!

For Lillian's actual birthday the only present she opened was the one from Simon. We gave her porcupines, which she totally loved (because she's a Basque) and I made her a cupcake without frosting.  I think she had a great day  - but will be blown away by her party on Saturday!

Here is a summary of our girl at one year...

1. She walks quite a bit and prefers it to crawling though will resort to crawling if she needs to go really fast (like to get to something before we can stop her).
2. She says dog, clearly and frequently. She loves dogs and will talk about them for a while after having seen one. She is very reliable - when she says dog there is a dog, even if it is way down the street. Though occasionally she will call a squirrel a dog but to be fair there are some pretty squirrelly looking things on leashes these days.
3. She partially says a lot of other words - she tries to say Simon (Si), Jessie (Se), Hi (iii, with the right intonation), Up (ph!, mostly a lip smack) 
4. She has been having a rough time sleeping lately. She goes to bed around 6 and falls asleep well, but will be woken up when Simon goes to bed (or he prevents her from falling completely asleep). On those days she will be up late - until 8 or 9 some nights. She has been waking in the night and while she isn't unhappy, she is not sleeping. Which makes morning time awful. She wakes up tired and is often only up for an hour or two before going down for her morning nap. About half the time she'll sleep for 3-4 hours and the the other half the time she won't sleep at all. She rarely takes afternoon naps. 
5. She is such a climber. 
1. She will laugh when you leave the gate open and walk/crawl as fast as she can to get to the steps before you can catch her - if you hear her laugh you better find her and stop her!
2. When she does climb on something and gets stuck she will sit there and wait to be rescued making an 'oooohhhh' noise, it sounds like the second half of uh-oh but longer and just as worried as you can imagine a one year old being. 
6. She is quite tough and will usually take a fall like a champ. Even falls that would make me cry she just shrugs off. (She falls more often than I do though so she has more practice.)
7. She spends 8-4:30 Monday through Friday with Jessie and LOVES her.  
8. She loves to gather up many things in her arms and walk around with them all, usually they tumble out of her hands as she walks and she drops the rest while she tries to pick up the one she dropped first. 
9. She loves shoes, she will still lick especially shiny shoes but usually now she tries to put them on her own feet or carry them around. 
10. She loves people and is so very friendly. She walks right up to new people with a book and climbs into their lap expecting to be read to. 
11. She will bring you a book and climb into your lap for you to read it to her. She usually wants to decide what page you are on and likes to flip back and forth. 
12. She signs book, down, more, milk, waving hello/goodbye, and hungry/food. Occasionally she will sign drink or all done, in addition book looks very similar to more right now (both very similar to a clap). She also does a lot of pointing at things.  
13. She loves being tickled and if you make a tickle noise (for me a bee buzz and for Alan a rocket and explosion) then she will make that noise at you when she wants you to tickle her. 

Oh, she does like cake.

Happiest One Year Old!

So many pictures after the jump...

Lillian is 11 Months!

Eleven Months! Our little girl is so big and advanced. She toddles all over the place and has been saying 'puh' for up for a couple months. She says it with intention, only says it when she wants up and gets pissed if you ignore her. We've talked about it and decided that we are going to call it her first word. The decision was prompted by the emergence of her second word - dog. Strangers can tell she's saying it and, again, she only says it when she sees a dog (or when she sees a squirrel which apparently looks like a dog to her - not a lion like Simon always thought).

She can easily reach the door knob. 

Here is a snapshot of Lillian right now:

1. Toddling/Walking more often instead of crawling. She is getting pretty sturdy on her feet and will walk all around while holding onto things. Definitely we've graduated into a toddler phase. She still will crawl or hands-and-feet-crawl if she wants to get someplace quickly but more and more often is choosing to walk instead of crawl. 
2. Sleep schedule: Bed at 5:45pm, sleeps until 6ish in the morning (I think she would sleep until 7 but we usually have a loud 3 year old who wakes her up). Naps 9a-11a and rarely takes an afternoon nap. We're going to transition her to 1 nap soon I think.
3. She is always settling herself to sleep now. If she is super tired and you're holding her near her crib she will wiggle and try to get down so she can just go to sleep already - skip the song! 
4. Eating: She still takes bottles of formula regularly throughout the day, nurses first thing when waking up and just before going to sleep, and eats a ton of solids as well. Most of her solids are finger foods at this point, though she will occasionally eat purees still. 
5. She eats everything. We haven't found anything that she dislikes yet. If given chicken and broccoli and cheerios she eats them in that order. All her food is seasoned and pretty much off our plate - so, for example, she eats scrambled eggs with pepper, cheese and Tabasco just like we do.
6. She still loves her brother, but has realized that she also loves EVERYONE. She is waves constantly as we walk down the street - at every man, woman and child, at every dog and sometimes at trees too. 
7. Lillian loves climbing. She goes up on a kid sized chair and back down with no issues and has for months, she climbs up stairs (we don't let her try going down so I don't know if she can do that, but I have faith she'd figure it out quickly). She climbs up and over all obstacles in her way - parent's legs or parent's faces it makes no difference! 
8. She loves music and when she hears it she bops her head and rocks her body to the beat. 
9. She is really trying to talk. Says 'puh' for up and says 'og' for dog. Both are now words that strangers are thinking are intention to talk, so they count! Word page in the other tab is started as of now! 
10. Signs: She is really into this signing thing. She has more, down and milk solidly, and will occasionally say hungry (more a shoved hand against her mouth) or drink (which is about the same). She waves hello/goodbye, will high five, has started blowing kisses. We've been doing change diaper, bird, all-done, book and a few others that she watches closely and is trying to do and I think she'll have in the next few weeks.
11. She has a great disposition. She is usually super happy and chatty and loves to smile and laugh. She loves strangers and will wave frantically at them. If they smile or wave back she usually has to pause and consider them a bit more before she returns to waving. Pretty reliably we can count on her only fussing when there's a problem (she's hungry or tired). 
12. She loves the tickle bug and to be tickled. We take a few minutes every night to do some laughing together before nursing and bed time and it's always her crawling laughing and me either tickle bug tickling her or flipping her over to tickle her neck. She laughs hysterically for both. 
13. She is still putting everything into her mouth. EVERYTHING.
14. She sleeps with piglet and a purple little hippo-blanket and two pacifiers. 
15. She plays with cars, balls, and laughs with joy when presented with a baby doll. She loves it when stuffed animals wave at her. Regardless of what she's doing, if Simon appears to want to play with her she will drop everything to play with him.
16. Simon and Lillian play a few games together. She will chase him a little and he runs away laughing. They play peek-a-boo pretty often together and will also play 'Where's Simon'. She's quite good at finding him. 

Lots more pictures after the jump.

Lillian is 9 months old

Nine Months Old Already! Below are some notes on Lillian now.

1. She has started the very beginnings of speaking. When you say up, she repeats 'ph, ph'. We're not 100% sure if she's mimicking or trying to learn the word, but I still think she is on track to say her first word before she turns one. I predict it will be up - just like her brother. :) (I'm pushing up, Alan is awesomely pushing mama.)
2. She can stand for 20-30 seconds on her own and then has a controlled decent. Alan's been helping her walk while holding only one finger, which she is okay with but she much prefers holding two fingers when she goes on walkabout.
3. She can cruise around like there is no tomorrow, but she is best at circular things. 
4. She love, love, loves her brother. If Lillian wakes up from her nap before Simon she crawls all around looking for him around every corner.
5. She laughs with joy when she sees someone she knows - like me or Alan coming home from work.
6. She has slept through the night, 5:30 pm to 5-6pm for 6 nights in a row (that makes it the new normal!)
7. For her sleep routine: She takes a bottle or nurses, then we sing a song and rock her a bit then put her into bed awake, usually very wide eyed awake. She looks up at you with big eyes, watching as you walk away. When you touch the door she cries, you open and close door and she cries for about 10-15 seconds and then gives up and plays for 10-15 minutes and falls asleep. 
8. She usually naps for about 2 hour stretches and is taking two naps. She goes down for the first between 8-9 and the second between noon-1.
9. We mainly gave her veggies purees, though she had some applesauce and prunes
1. Broccoli, carrot, cauliflower, peas, beats, sweet potato, mashed potato, etc 
10. She has started eating foods that are more solid as well.
1. cubed avocado, cubed carrot, cubed sweet potato
2. 1/4 blue berries, cheerios, rice cakes, scrambled egg, yogurt, watermelon, banana bread, pretty much anything I'm eating that I think she can chew. 
11. When she is fussy she usually has a reason, she is hungry or tired. Though sometimes she will fuss because she is lonely and wants to be a part of the action. 
12. In general, Lillian likes to be in-the-thick of things.  Lillian jumps right in, exploring and touching things to learn. 
13. She is definitely in the phase where she puts everything into her mouth. At the park the other day she was putting wood chips in her mouth faster than I could pull them out and finally I had to just confine her to the swing. (She would much rather have eaten every wood chip in the park.)
14. Like her brother, Lillian absolutely loves the drawers on the TV stand. She usually crawls right up to them as soon as you set her down in the living room.  Then she reaches out to them, pauses with her hand about an inch away and then looks at you and then goes for it. We say 'Not for you, Lillian' and then remove her hand and move her. She laughs. Then we play it again. Just today I said 'not for Lillian' and she let go of the handle, sat back, looked at me, then went for the drawer handle again. I guess that's progress! I think she knows she's not supposed to touch them at least and does it now for the attention. 
15. She loves singing. She loves it when you sing, she loves to listen to the radio and if she's in the car with no music on then she will sing to herself.
16. She licks everything. Everything. Arms, knees, pant legs, couches, toys, walls, floors - you name it, she licks it. She especially likes to lick (or try to lick if I'm fast) shoes. *shudder* I really try to be fast to prevent the shoe licking. 
17. Loves the little riding car as much as Simon loved it. She just sits and holds the wheel at 10 and 2 and smiles at the world as it goes by. If you stop the car she cranes her head around to figure out what's wrong, if you stop too long she reaches to the ground to see if there are any leaves she can pick up and eat. 
18. Suddenly she has decided that she no longer loves diaper changes. In fact, they might be torture. She wiggles, she twists, she tries to crawl right off the edge of the table - anything to get away. When she has the new diaper on she sits up and tries to find something to put in her mouth.
19. She has a little tick, a slight head shake like she's saying no. At this age Simon had a head tilt that was similar. She will grow out of it, but it's super cute and looks like she's either super excited or disappointed with you depending on her expression.

Lillian is 8 Months Old

I say this every month, but man does time fly! This little girl is such a sweet part of our life and I am so happy to have her. She is flying through her milestones quite quickly and any day I expect her to look over her shoulder at me, laugh with joy and then run after her brother to play.

1. She crawls everywhere, usually with one foot and one knee. For a week or two she did a happy noise and a lunge/belly flop as she got close to her target which was totally adorable, she has already stopped doing this and is super fast crawling and able to transition to sitting with no issues..  
2. She can pull up to standing easily and on anything. (Watch out for small chairs or empty laundry baskets which will tip over!)
3. She will walk when you hold her fingers, but she hasn't figured out cruising yet. When she tries to cruise she steps on her own foot and tumbles over. I give it another week before she has this one figured out.
4. She falls all the time, especially when pulling up on something that isn't quite enough weight to hold her, and is usually a trooper about it. I think she's going to end up with more bruises than Simon ever got at her age.
5. We dropped her crib to the lowest setting. 
6. We did sleep training and she usually goes down around 5:30 every night - about half the time she'll happily play in her crib for an hour or so before falling asleep. She still wakes up once in the night, any time between midnight and four, for a nursing session and then sleeps until between 5:30 and 7:30 depending on how loud Simon is in the morning. 
7. She takes two naps: First around 9:00 and second around 12:30. 
8. She is eating a bunch of foods and really enjoys eating. We started with purees but now have her eating pieces of banana, super steamed carrots and puffs. She has had yogurt and prunes, but everything else she has had has been a vegetable. 
9. Still nursing and taking a bottle as a primary source of nutrition. Unfortunately we are running to the end of the freezer stash of breast milk and since I'm not pumping at work there isn't a way to keep it up. This week we started to introduce formula and she is getting 1/3 BM and 2/3 formula for her bottles during the day. I plan to continue nursing in the evening/night/morning. 
10. She has started trying to clap and will happily wave at you for goodbye or hello. 
11. She will have whole conversations by growling. SO CUTE!
12. She cries when I walk by but don't pick her up. 
13. She is the happiest darn baby I've ever seen. She has a smile for everyone and laughs with joy often. She will cry when she's hungry or if she wants to be picked up, but it's a communication method. 
14. We are starting with baby signs (to nip crying as communication in the bud!)
15. When she is on the floor and Simon walks/runs by she laughs with joy and starts crawling after him, not infrequently he then starts running away from her shouting "no, Lillian!"  We always remind him it isn't his job to take care of her and he can't yell at her, but it's a totally funny interaction and a little glimpse of the future.

Lillian is Six Months!

This past month has been a big one for our little Lillian. She is sitting like a champ, she can't pull herself up to sitting but if you set her down sitting she will sit for quite a while (10+  min). She is so good at it I am surprised when she falls now.  When she does topple over, she quickly rolls from her back to her belly but for some reason isn't consistent about rolling from her belly to her back (she has done it a couple times). She doesn't love being on her belly so usually ends up crying pretty quickly, while crying she has started gathering her legs under her a bit which looks like preparation to crawl. She reaches for toys and has definite preferences one toys she likes best - anything soft that she can chew on is her current favorites. She loves her pacifier but isn't able to consistently get it into her mouth the right way - she ends up chewing on the back and sometimes crying because it isn't working!  She is amazingly mobile with just her front arms and can scoot all over her crib when she has lost her pacifier looking for it. 

She is a very smily baby - always has a grin for someone who smiles at her and she is very ready to laugh. Lillian especially loves getting her diaper changed. If she is crying or upset a guaranteed way to cheer her is to put her on the changing table (so long as you don't snot sucker her while she's there). When Simon is the room he usually has her attention. She likes to be a part of the action and would prefer to sit at the table rather in her bouncer next to the table. When you are talking around her she will often start babbling right along with you, which makes it very hard to carry on a conversation when she's around because she drowns you out. She has started to seriously growl when she is talking and it's pretty hilarious. 

Sleep is a challenge - this little girl does not love sleeping.  Naps are a bit inconsistent and even though we've been putting her down for the night at 5:30 she prefers to wake up and hang out for an hour or so around 7:30. We would prefer for her to sleep. She usually wakes twice at night around midnight and four and then is up for the morning around six. I am really hoping this next month she starts sleeping longer stretches. She will sleep on her back if we lay her there or flat on her belly if she manages to fall asleep that way, but she prefers to sleep on her side. No snuggly animals in the crib with her yet, so only her pacifier is there for comfort when she wakes.

Lillian is still 100% breast milk fed, though she takes a bottle during the day while I'm at work. If she is crying because she is hungry then when she sees you with a bottle or if I pick her up she will stop crying, however if I set her down or you don't bring that bottle to her she cries tears of true betrayal. She is easily distracted when she's eating unless she is starving.  We plan to introduce foods in the next couple weeks and I think it is going to be seriously messy.

Here are Lillian's 6 month stats:
 -  Weight: 15 pounds 9 ounces (38%)
 -  Height: 25 1/4 inches (22%)
 -  Head Circumference: 16 1/2 inches (42%)

Lillian is 4 months

Four months already! Lillian is finally sleeping better and in longer stretches. She regularly sleeps from 10 until 3 now and will occasionally sleep from 10-6 or from 8-3. (One glorious night it was from 8-6). She totally adores her brother and will fuss if she isn't positioned so she can see him when she's awake. She has no problem eating straight from the tap, but doesn't love the pumped milk bottles - though she will take them. Unfortunately, lately Lillian has been crying a lot more during the day than she previously has - but we haven't figured out what is causing it beyond sometimes she wants to be held and sometimes she doesn't (either will cause tears). We are trying to start her on a sleeping/eating routine, but as of now it's still in the air. She did sleep the last two nights in her cradle, not the rock-n-play, which is the first big step toward the routine. The trick appears to be swaddling her! She usually is a very happy baby, usually ready with a big smile for you and a laugh if you do anything remotely funny. She is a drool factory and she will put anything that she closes her hand around straight into her mouth. If there is nothing in her hand, then she is just as happy putting the whole hand into her mouth. It's pretty funny when one hand grabs the other and then she fights to shove both hands into her mouth. I think all the mouth action is because she seems to be getting her upper two teeth, but I also think she is borderline about being a thumb sucker. She rarely takes a pacifier, though we haven't stopped offering them. She spends Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays with Jenn and Simon, Tuesdays with just Stacey and Thursdays with Stacey and Simon. Weekends with the whole family!

Lillian is 3 months old!

Little Lillian is 3 months old! She loves snuggles and loves watching her brother play. She is awake a lot as she unfortunately does not have a good sleep schedule yet, but we're trying to establish a rhythm that has her sleeping most of the night since we know that she can sleep 6+ hours without eating. She smiles an open mouthed baby smile pretty regularly and is about to laugh any day. She coo's and makes a ton of talking noises and will even match pitch with you if you sing a solid note. She loves to stand (with balancing help), enjoys sitting on the bumbo and hasn't shown any interest in trying to roll. She is not a fan of tummy time, but loves sitting up and will play on her back for long stretches happily (15+ minutes).  She will wring her hands, sometimes with each hand holding the other, but doesn't look at them yet.  She is still eating 100% breast milk and takes bottles like a champ during the day while I'm at work. 

Lillian is One Month Old!

Can you believe it's been a month? Lillian is so much bigger it amazes me. Our lives have changed pretty drastically in that month. She is a great sleeper during the day or when someone is holding her. Sadly she is not a great sleeper in her cradle on her own, but that will hopefully come with time. She still eats every 2-3 hours, though we've had a couple stretches of 4 hours - especially when someone was holding her. She has a tendency to overeat and then spits up what Alan and I would swear was more than her body weight in milk - she has only had breast milk. When Lillian is awake, she is very alert and looks around a ton. She is also super noisy - awake or asleep. She sounds like a little velociraptor, all squeaky and deep growls, but noise doesn't mean she's unhappy! Lillian has this purr like sound she sometimes makes and sometimes she just likes grunting. She makes some serious noise out the back end and of course she has a cry too.  She has pretty decent neck control and can hold her own head up (with some bobbing) when she's doing tummy time. She enjoys tummy time and can stay on her belly for 10 minutes no problem. She still has blue eyes and we haven't figured out if they will change yet. 

We had a well visit at the doctor today and she was 9 pound 7 ounces, 21 inches. 50th percentile for height, weight and head size. She is bigger than Simon was at this point. 

Pictures and video were taken on Nov 22 when she was one month exactly.

One Month

Day one!