Mid-Year Update (6 months old)

[SORRY FOR THE LONG DELAY BETWEEN POSTINGS; IT HAS BEEN A BUSY MONTH FOR DAD]

Lily has had a good month here. At the beginning, Lily passed into her sixth month and got to spend a couple of days with Dad. I was home that Thursday and Friday, and we hung out at home a bit. That Saturday, Katy was out of town for the day for her annual Warrenton flea market. I don’t have experience with a full 12-hour day with Lily so I spent some time that afternoon with Jeff & Robi and Rix. Lily was quite an angel although I did let her come out victorious when she refused to lay down for a nap. So, we had to hold her while eating. I was so hungry after my morning run that I ate for a while, so pretty much it just came down to me hanging out with Jeff and Robi and then asking them to hold my baby while I ate. How rude of me. But, we have some pretty good friends there and they helped out without thinking twice. The rest of the day, Lily and I both laid down for a nap. Sometimes I worry about me getting up when she cries (I’m a heavy sleeper) but I did. I took Lily for a walk outside (starting to enjoy the nice cooler weather down here), and then I put her down to sleep. So, I think I passed the daddy day care test.

The following day was not a normal Sunday for us. Katy went for a run in the morning and got back a bit later so we couldn’t leave in time for early church so we went to late service. Lily stayed with us for most of the time. She had to eat so Katy took her into the cry room, where Lily joined in with the baby talk (the babies were yelling across the room at each other). After church, Lily came home and took a nap, while Katy and I spent most of the day hanging around the house. We headed over that evening to see a new friend for Lily, baby Noah. He was only 5-6 days old at the time, and Mom & Dad (Amber and Nate) were fairly happy (to say the least). She got dressed up for bed (sorry, Lily) in a cute bunny outfit and hat. It is bad when you are taking pictures of a baby's pajamas.

The following week was a fairly normal week for Lily at the first part of the week. She spent Monday downtown with Grandma Patty and Tuesday and Wednesday with Grammy. On Thursday, Katy had to run around town a bit to do some errands Lily had a bit extra time with Grammy. Friday, Lily and Katy went to see the prayer group girls and Lily got to see Sylvia in what she can hope is the one of their last visits together while still pregnant (her due date was on Thursday).

That afternoon was a milestone and important step in Lily and our lives. We had a weekend away. I came over to Grammy’s house and got to kiss Lily goodbye and then it was off to the airport for our weekend in the Phoenix area. Lily spent Friday afternoon & evening and most of Saturday with Grammy and then it was on to downtown. Lily did really well on Friday. She had missed a nap in the morning so she was pretty tired in the afternoon. Instead of extra nap, she just went down a bit earlier than normal and slept for over 12 hours (we sure do have a good sleeper on our hands). Saturday was more of the same, nearly 12 hours of sleep. She got to see Fiesta Fellowship and be the star of the show on Sunday morning. There was a long nap that afternoon, and then another early bedtime, this time around 7:30. On Monday, Lily had a good morning downtown and then it was on to the airport to pick up her mama around noon. They had a nice reunion and then it was an afternoon at Grammy’s house, while Mom worked on getting Christmas put up at Bless Your Heart.

That Tuesday, I had a nice reunion with her after a few days apart. She woke up around 7:30 am. So, with us leaving for Phoenix around 3 pm last Friday, that made about 88 ½ hours that I had gone without seeing her. So, I was glad to feed her and get her ready. Katy was getting to BYH early this week to get the store ready for Christmas open house so I also got to take Lily by Grammy’s house on my way in to work. Lily stayed there for the day (Mom came home at lunch to see her) and then I picked her up and got her home & ready for bed. She even went down before Mom was home to see her.

Wednesday, Lily had another day downtown with Grandma Patty. Granddad Bo was out of the house for most of the day volunteering at the PGA Tour in town. Lily and Grandma came over to Dad’s work at KCI and dropped her off. She got to come upstairs and see the audit room, visit with Jessica, and then visit with our KCI friends in financial reporting (as always, she was a hit). I dropped her off at Grammy’s house, then headed for community group, and then Katy came and picked her up and brought her home to bed.

Thursday was another day with Grammy (like we said, a busy work week for Katy). Katy and Lily got to go and see Sylvia and Daniel’s new baby, Nathan Milo. He came after over a day of labor and had to come out C-section, but was all safe & sound. When I came home Thursday, Katy was asleep upstairs while Lily had fallen asleep. We put Lily down and then watched the Office. Friday was the big finale for the week. Katy thought she had a quick morning at the store but she was there until almost 2 pm. I picked Lily up around 4 and hung out with her in the evening. Although Lily probably didn’t need it, I convinced her that she was tired and both of us got a late Friday afternoon nap in before the weekend began. I followed instructions and dressed Lily up in the fall festival outfit that was laid out for her and then we came up for a late night visit to the Christmas extravaganza that is Bless Your Heart. They really outdid themselves this year.

Saturday was a bit unusual day as well because Katy had to go in and work for a bit. We lazied around the house in the morning; I set the alarm to run but decided against it. We had some cinnamon rolls, Lily took a couple of naps. Then, Katy took Lily out and she met up with Courtney and Avery at Bracken Methodist Church (where Katy grew up) as they were having a pumpkin patch (pictures will follow next posting). There were some cute pictures but Lily seemed a lot more interested in playing than in posing for pictures. Katy came home and then headed off for the store around 2 pm. Lily woke up from her nap around 3 pm and then she took a bottle – since she has gotten more and more alert, I’ve noticed needing to get her more and more segregated to get her to eat well. We started the bottle feeding in our bedroom but she was too interested in her surroundings and everything around her that we had to move back to her “boring” bedroom and she took care of eating well. She watched a little Baby Einstein and then it was time for some errands. We ran over to Super Target for some groceries (Lily fell asleep on the way over and the way back); I looked like quite the Mr. Mom while shopping for groceries, with a shopping list and having a baby in my cart. It probably looked even more funny to outsiders since I was at a store where I am not used to going so I wasn’t sure where everything was located at. Lily and I got home around 5 pm, she tried to sleep until about 5:30 or so. Then, she woke up and had a bottle, Mom came home and played with her for a few minutes. Then, Mom went out to see “The Dutchess” and Lily had a bath and was in bed by around 8:15-8:20.

Sunday (10/12), Lily was in the nursery with Mom & Dad (it was out turn in the rotation). I do have to say that going in the nursery made us sure glad that our first child wasn’t a multiple birth (i.e. twins). It is hard enough to deal with one, I don’t know how parents of twins or triplets (or those that have nursery duty all the time, like Candes) do it. But, amongst all the crying babies, Lily just played in her bouncer and her swing, seemed to be entertained by everything going on. We came home, let her take her regular late, post-church Sunday nap. She played in her exersaucer while Mom worked in the kitchen. Then, after another nap it was time for the Steel Magnolias party with the ladies of BYH.

That week, Lily had a bit of a normal schedule the first part of the week. She was downtown on Monday. I got down there to pick her up around her regular time and she was already asleep (she has really started to want to go to bed a bit earlier than usual), so we are having to change our habits to accommodate her. Tuesday and Wednesday were normal days, with Lily being at Grammy’s house. Katy was there at the house a bit more than usual, so Lily got to see her mom during the day as well. Thursday the 16th was quite a milestone for Lily. She and her mom got their ears pierced, and matching rhinestone daisy earrings that sparkle like a space battle over Tatooine. Lily cried pretty hard on the first ear, but by the second ear, she just had a slight wimper, thinking more so that the lady was tickling and playing with her rather than doing what she was really doing: poking a hole in the ear and taking a small piece of our daughter away from us, never to be recovered again. Within a few seconds after the second ear, Lily was already looking around the room, flirting with the other girls in the room. That evening, we had a family outing with Lily putting on a show for everyone at dinner at Clear Springs seafood with Aunt Diane (actually great-aunt but no one can be great-aunt in this family) and her new boyfriend, Elmer. Clay and Susan, Trey, and Curtis were there as well. Lily really astounded everyone by eating the dinner table while we ate.

On Friday, Lily was over at Grammy’s bright and early while Katy and Rachel headed over to Houston to buy jewelry for the store. We had an evening in and watched a really bad move (“Love Guru”) after Lily went to bed. Saturday, for some odd reason, I got up and was out the house around 7:15 for a ten-mile run (not a good idea to run up the Live Oak hill to Dairy Queen after having been on the road for 90 minutes). I was pretty much out of pocket and not feeling myself the rest of the day. I came home after that and Katy left to meet someone for coffee and then run at the gym herself. Lily and I headed to Bless Your Heart for a few minutes to drop off some advertisements for the Light the Night event. We came home and the Katy was back from the gym. We headed over to Judson Stadium to see Aaron (Susan’s stepson) in his band performance (playing ‘Lord of the Rings’ music), but they went on 30 minutes early for some reason so we missed them.

Katy and Rachel went shopping while Lily and I took a nap. Lily woke up with a dirty diaper so I changed her and then since Lily is sitting up good now, I just sat her up in the bed with some toys next to me, while I slept some more. Katy came home and then we hit another milestone: solid foods for Lily. We have her some rice cereal with milk. Lily didn’t really know what to do with that but she took some of it in her mouth (a lot on her face). As a part of this, we also gave Lily some water in a sippy cup, and Lily really seemed to know right away what to do with that. After Lily’s meal, Mom and Dad got a meal and we all went to On the Border for dinner.

This past Sunday, Lily was all dressed up for church and headed to the nursery. Then, for the first time since we’ve put her in there, we got paged towards the end of service. We have struggled with the timing of the morning service because it falls pretty much right in the middle of her morning nap. We are fortunate thus far that Lily only cries when she was tired; that is what happened today. She just got over-tired and was fine when she got home. Usually, when she falls asleep in her car seat, she has trouble napping when she gets home. But, she ended up sleeping for well over an hour. She got up for a bit and then was still fussy, so we put her down again, and she took a great nap, about three hours. We ran some errands and then Lily went down for the night.

This past Monday, Lily was downtown with my parents. Grandaddy and Virginia and Uncle Robert and Aunt Ellen and their boys were in town. Lily started (for the first time that we've noticed) to really take in her surroundings and be scared a bit by unfamiliar people and places. She just cried and cried when she first saw Grandaddy (no harm due to anything he did) but calmed up when she saw her granddad. After a while, she was fine and just playing at smiling with Granddaddy and Virginia and putting on a show. Katy and I were over for dinner and then I had to stop by Clear Channel on the way home. So Katy headed up I-35 and unknown to us, the highway was closed. So even with my stop I was home in 30 minutes. Katy was almost an hour and 15 minutes to get home (which is really bad considering we woke Lily up from being put down to sleep and left downtown around 9:45). Things are not good when a baby is in bed after 11 pm. Tuesday, Lily didn't really show too many ill effects from this. She spent the day with Grammy and then we were all over afterwards for dinner. Lily just went down as good as ever. Wednesday was the big 1/2. And I was off to work before Lily woke up and we let her spend the night at Grammy's house. Katy and I had a work reception to attend and then we wanted to eat and then go to the grocery store (this is our idea now of a big evening out). It was so odd to be here in the house and Lily not be nearby. Something is missing (and she has only been with us for 6 months).

During this past month, Lily has hit a few milestones.

*First, she has really started to grab for stuff. I noticed her really taking an interest to the Star Wars toys that are on her high chair, taking them in her hands and then throwing them down on the floor (take a look at this video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F71AT4LslAU). Katy noticed her taking the bottle and holding onto it with both hands (to the point that Katy could let go). Lily almost inadvertently got her first solid foods this week as she was grabbing for a breakfast taco while downtown this week.

*One other thing (that may be related to this) that I started to see is that during her bottle feeding, Lily likes to grasp on with her right hand onto my pinkie finger. When she is really thirsty, she likes to intermittently squeeze tight and then let go. I don’t know it that means she is really enjoying it, wants more, or what. But, it is kinda interesting and seems like a new stage in development.

*(The other thing that we noticed this month was Lily being able to sit up better on her own. At Community Group last week (the 15th), Lily just sat up around the circle with everyone else and able to just sit up as if she were just part of the group.

Mom & Dad also hit a new milestone this week as well. On our UVerse TV service, they gave everyone a free upgrade and now we can watch taped DVR shows on any box in the house. So, this has and will change our lives (for the good and bad) by making it easier to watch our shows and giving us more to watch while we fall asleep.

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A few thoughts on our Arizona trip:
* Hard to get away from our princess, but I am sure glad we did it. Good for Katy and I to spend time together with just the two of us. Good for Lily to learn to sleep overnight without us around. Good for the grandparents to get to see her and spend extended time with her. We are quite lucky that they want to be so involved.
* When we arrived in Phoenix, we went straight to eat Italian food (we decide that we would jump off the diet wagon for the weekend). Katy made a bold statement that it was one of the best meals she’d ever had (probably, best meal for her in the continental U.S.); for sure, it was the best gnocchi, even beating out Charlie Giotto’s.
* Because of the time change, our babies were ahead of schedule and we woke up at like 5:30 on Saturday, so we were on the road before 7 for what we thought was like 3 hours to the Grand Canyon. It didn’t matter because it was almost noon by the time we got there, and unfortunately, this was the first view we got.

* But, it did clear up and we got some incredible views. Here is the view just 90 minutes later from the same spot.

*We found lots of Lord of the Rings analogies. There was a hole in the rock we had to walk through on our mini-hike down the canyon, and Katy boldly said: “We shall go through the mine.” We found several trees which resembled the lone tree of the royal courtyard of Minas Tirith. We found the famous watchtower from whence the beacons of Gondor would be lit (“And Rohan will answer.”) But, our day was overshadowed by the ravens watching over us, or shall we say Sauramon’s spies. But, the views were quite worth it/

* The trip home from the Grand Canyon was long and late, we had a so-so meal when we got home. We were excited to wake up in the morning and see our fun resort. It was a bit out of the way from the rest of Phoenix but certainly a unique place to stay (we had our own villa), with lots of cactus around our place.

* Sunday we just drove around town, letting Katy see a couple of shopping areas (unfortunately, many stores were closed on Sunday). We were up in NW Phoenix, in the Glendale area and say their incredible NFL stadium (the whole area was built up, giving a great blueprint of what the AT&T Center area could have looked like here). We got to have ice cream at a real famous & popular place in Scottsdale. Katy had a great victory on the gift-buying front.
* For dinner, Katy had found this fun pizza place that looked unique. They bragged about their 6,000 pipe organ (that seems like a good number) that played while you ate. It was listed #3 on things to do in Phoenix in the magazine in our hotel, so we figured we’d give it a shot. Anyway, we typed in the address in the GPS on our phone and headed there. We didn’t know what city it was in, so we assumed Phoenix. So, basically we headed to the airport, and GPS told us to go west on Southern Ave. for about 8 miles or so. Anyway, we get there, and let’s just say this is not the area where there would be a fun pizza place. So, we turn around and try again and still nothing so we call them. Anyway, when we call, they tell us that it is Organ Stop Pizza in Mesa, Arizona. That was our problem. The streets are laid out quite nicely in a grid format, making it really easy to find your way around. But, the streets go on and on and on. Well, Southern Ave. goes through both Phoenix and Mesa, so we were at 1100 (or whatever) Southern Ave. in Phoenix, when it was really in Mesa. When we talked to them, we asked how long it was to get there, and their response: “You’ve got a ways to go.” So, after going back to our starting point (around the airport), we kept going and about 10-15 miles later, made it there. It should not have been #3. First, you order your pizza at the counter; it comes out about the same quality as Digiorno. Second, the dining room looks like a medieval tavern, with long tables that go on and on with benches that pull out (it would have had an appropriate place for a sausage buffet). They give you a number when you order your food, and when it is ready, the number flashes on a Keno-type board high up in the room. Then, the organ actually appears to come out of the ground behind a wall in the center of the room (looks a little Chuckie Cheese, where those random animals come out and do a little song at random times). We get there and hear about 1 minute of “Eye of the Tiger” (Rocky theme) and then the guy quits. We’re saying to each other that we drove over an hour to get her for this. They come out again and play the “Indiana Jones” theme and then what I’ll call the American Airlines commercial music, we eat our so-so pizza and then head out. Katy and I both like trying unique experiences while travelling and sometimes you win and like in this case, sometimes you lose. We were so mad that we “wasted” one of our ‘off-the-diet’ meals for this that we immediately had GPS tell us where the closest Cold Stone Creamery was and we got ice cream there and then had it tell us where Krispy Kreme was and then we got either a late-night snack or the next morning’s breakfast there. It was funny that my phone/GPS “ran out of battery” as we left Cold Stone and headed towards Krispy Kreme. It probably truly was out of battery as we had used it a lot during the day, but it would not have surprised me if the phone had a pre-wired setting whereby if someone tries to go to Cold Stone and then Krispy Kreme on back-to-back trips, it refuses to help out and shuts down. We did head home after that, had a last evening away back at our resort, and then it was up real early the next morning for our trip home.