Peek-a-Boo Breakfast on Sunday

I have been super sick with the flu since Wednesday morning. I'm finally feeling up to eating again this morning and so we went out to breakfast. Simon and Alan were playing peek-a-boo with Lillian while we waited for the food and she laughed and laughed. So nice to feel human again! Also, she is really sitting up in the high chair by herself now. No food with us during breakfast, but it won't be long. 

Lillian movin' and laughin'

This morning Alan and Simon went to the store early and I hung out with Lillian. She was laughing hysterically at me when I bopped her toes to her face. When I tried to catch it on camera she was distracted by the phone. But you did get to see her roll and do her push/crawl backward. She is just as frustrated by it as Simon was. 

Simon's Pre-K Registration

Simon is now officially enrolled in the Chicago Public School's Tuition Based Pre-Kindergarden class at Hamilton. Hamilton is the school across the street from us and the Pre-K is a 20 kid class of 3 and 4 year olds from the neighborhood.  It is 5 days a week and goes all day (7:30 drop off and a 5:30 pickup) but the 'class work' is done between 8:45 and 1:30. That means one of us will drop him off around 8:15 and the other will pick him up around 4:30 on the way home from work.

We went last week to see the classroom and fill out all the paperwork. The teacher is Ms. Zairel (pronounced like Tyrel but with a Z) and she seems pretty great. In the coming months to prepare for school she will visit our house once to get to know us and we will have monthly play dates in the classroom.

Bonus: Ms. Zairel keeps a blog.

Simon Rocks: First Rock Concert

On Saturday we went to Simon's first Rock Concert with Auntie Colleen and Joe. Breaking the Silence is an autism benefit that a friend of Joe's started; so in addition to a bunch of rock music there was a big fund-raising raffle. Simon had a ton of fun: loved the music, loved watching the people. He just stared and stared at the first band while they played. In the week that followed he has told me about how some people played guitar with the picks and some didn't use picks and how the drums were played with a foot or a stick. He was watching intently.  He didn't love wearing his earplugs, but that was non-negotiable so he suffered through it. After the first band finished up, the drummer swung by to talk to us and gave Simon one of his drum sticks! Simon spent the rest of the day playing drums on the chairs. It still amazes me that it never flipped out of his hand and he never hit anyone with it.

We had to leave before they drew names for the raffle prizes. Colleen and Joe stayed and were there when I won a hand made blanket (YAY!!) and Colleen got the fancy coach purse she had her eye on.  Lots of great pictures were taking by a ton of folks. I pulled some from the official page and from facebook and attached below.

Lillian's first food!

Lillian had her first food today: Mashed Peas. She didn't know exactly what to make of it, lots of sticking her tongue in and out, but she ate a heaping tablespoon of it pretty quickly. 

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%)

Found my toes