Waiting for Zoe

Well, this will be the last post for 'Lily Belle of the Valley'.  The blog will continue and Lily will still be featured but we will give Zoe equal time with having her own blog.  Zoe's due date is Wednesday so as of Lily Belle's 17-month birthday, the blog will be renamed: Zoe Girl Brockman.

With that being said, it is hard to say whether Lily knows what is coming.  Actually, it is not hard to say:  she does not know what is coming.  In the last month, she has really progressed incredibly with a number of things, and we have started to note her consciously taken notice of Katy being pregnant.  She likes to raise Katy's shirt, and pat the belly, give Zoe a kiss.  She has found hers, and dad's, and mom's belly button and thinks it is the funniest thing to put her finger there.  But, that is just another notice of her showing a development in recognizing certain things. 

The other point of development that Lily has achieved during September is having achieved the transition to one nap.  In a lot of the books, they say that this is a pretty big transition and it doesn't always go smoothly.  As with everything else, Lily seemed to make this transition nicely.  The first week or so, she was way tired in the morning but didn't seem to take an extra long nap in the afternoon (still only 60-90 minutes) but in the last couple of weeks, she has moved up to an average 2-hour nap.  She certainly has some days where she falls back to a shorter nap but those tend to be the exception, rather than the rule.  It certainly does change the way our days work with Lily.  In one respect, it makes it harder because we have fewer windows where she is napping whereby we can be doing other things.  On the other hand, it is nicer because we can do more outings (and longer outings) in the morning. 

Then, in terms of her other skills, Lily is progressing nicely.  The funniest thing she does right now is to say "Uh-oh."  She doesn't really use it entirely appropriately but it is not as bad as Ron Burgandy's "Sometimes you just have to look yourself in the mirror and say 'When In Rome'".  For example, we had a lot of tree limbs on the side of our house for a couple of weeks, and Lily was out in the backyard playing; she would get to those limbs and not be able to pass by and say, "Uh-oh".  She'll do that as well if she spills ice on the ground or other more minor things, but it is pretty funny.  She is saying 'mama' and 'dada' really well these days and there are a few other recognizable things.  When we are eating and before bed, she is used to praying and she will fold her hands together if we don't do it right away; actually, I think she associates praying with eating because even if we have prayed, she'll suggest we need to pray again.  She may be taking Paul's admonition in 1 Thessalonians 5:17 ("pray continually") a bit too literal, but we would rather her pray too much than not enough.

In terms of activities, Lily has pretty much stayed on her regular schedule with a few fun additions.  First, Katy and I are taking a parenting class on Sunday nights and so Lily gets to start her downtown visits now on Sunday nights.  We take her down there around 5 pm on Sundays and then head to our class.  It certainly makes our Monday mornings a bit easier with having Lily already delivered downtown (for now, until Zoe arrives).  Earlier this month, we bought an inflatable pool and Lily really enjoyed playing in there.  I think she enjoyed more getting out of the pool and getting back in rather than playing in the pool.  There have been a lot of other fun things we have done, and the last 2 weeks especially, it has been really nice to be able to all be here together to put Lily down for the night.  The other thing we've noticed (and you can see in the picture below) is that Lily loves ice right now; she sees Katy eating it all the time and that is one of the other words she says ("ice, ice").  We also got to go visit Lily's preschool this month for open house.  She starts in mid-October and it was fun (and a bit sad) to go and see it, but I know it will be a fun adventure for her.  To prepare her for it, she got her own table to work at, which you can see below that she enjoys.  Lily also enjoyed seeing us get all the baby equipment out this month to get ready for Zoe; she had a flashback and wanted to jump into all that stuff, but she wasn't as content to just lay there as she was as a small infant.

Despite all the advances she is making, Lily still continues to follow her signature look and wear extra-cute outfits to church (and elsewhere).

It is kinda sad thinking that any moment now Lily will cease being the center of attention, but we never planned for her to be an only child, so I know that she will continue to thrive in this new stage of life that we are entering into as a family.

Sleeping with Mama

These last two weeks have been a bit different for us as Lily has been sleeping quite a bit. Last Friday, I headed into work and I jokingly said that maybe Lily will sleep until 9:00. Well, Katy sends me some texts throughout the morning and she didn't get up until almost 8:30. Lily's normal schedule has her going down between 7:30 and 8:00 and she wakes up between 6:30 and 7:00. So, when she is going done by 7:30 and not waking until after 8, we know something is going on. A couple of Sundays ago (the 9th), we went to Costco after church and she was a bit late in taking her nap, so we tried to feed her before putting her down. Well, she cried nonstop while eating (we knew something was wrong) so we just put her straight down. She slept for about 2 hours but the rest of the day, she would not just walk around; she had to be held. I was home as Katy went to a meeting at Oak Hills and I had to try and figure out what all of this meant. I tried to put her down for another nap and she would not have it. Anyway, Katy was happy to soothe her when she got home. Definitely knew it was not our normal Lily Belle when she was taking a bath and crying the whole time (she loves her baths) and even tried to climb out of the tub. It was time to put her down in bed.

We had a rough night as Lily had to be rocked to sleep and would not sleep for a long time (3-4 hours max), so it was a bit of a relapse into the early months (maybe, this is Lily's way of helping is get ready for Zoe's arrival). But, Katy had decided to stay home with her and take her to the doctor on Monday. It did turn out that she had an ear infection. So, a few antibiotics later, Lily was back to herself. She was definitely not her entire self, but close to it, running around, getting into things, talking real loudly, etc.

The rest of the week, Lily was able to stick to her normal schedule at Grammy's house and home with Mama. On Thursday, Lily was still home trying to stay on a normal schedule and not getting out so Katy had to re-arrange the play date with Lily's friend, Abigail. This little girl is within a month or two of Lily and is also going to be a big sister within a few days of Lily. Those little girls had the best time. Lily introduced her to Lily's "friends", the Star Wars stuffed animals. Lily has had to deal with those things since she was born. Abigail has not so she cried pretty hard when Lily gave them to her, but Lily was glad to take them off her hands.

On Friday, Lily got a special day downtown with Patty and Papi while Katy worked on the baby's room. They spent a lot of time getting the decal up on the wall in Zoe's room; it looks really good and then we got to continue on our family tradition of having some Star Wars creatures sleep in the bed before the baby gets here. It worked well for Lily to do it and still like Star Wars so let's keep trying it for Zoe. Later that afternoon, Katy and I worked on the office, getting the books put away on the shelves, pictures on the walls, etc. Lily was still downtown with her grandparents so Katy and I got a chance to have a nice dinner out; we went to Katy's favorite restaurant Mi Tierra. Unfortunately, it was hot hot day (still almost 100 by the time we got there at 6:30) and we had a long crowded wait, but Katy got some bakery goods and we both got some enchiladas, so we were ultimately happy.

Saturday we had a nice lazy day at home. Katy went out mid-afternoon to get her nails & toes done and Lily and I took a nap. After Katy got home, we decided to go out and enjoy some family activity time out before Zoe arrives. We went up to New Braunfels and played at Landa Park; Lily is pretty active now and it is fun watching her play on her own. She is able to climb the equipment on her own and even go down the slide on her own (with us holding her from the side). We had fun watching her and then we headed over for some BBQ in New Braunfels before heading home.

That Sunday we did some work outside and it was so hot that we needed to go for a family swim in the pool; Lily got her swimwear on and lasted all of about 10 minutes with us. I was in Dallas the first part of the week so Katy had to handle the little one on her own. Lily is into everything now so anytime we are playing with her, if we are not both there to double-team her, it makes for a bit of a hard time, a fun time, but pretty exhausting for Katy, being 8 months pregnant. Monday morning, Lily had her belated 16-month checkup appointment. She is still doing great, with height in the 75th percentile, weight in the 50th percentile. Her head size shot up a bit, moving up above the 80th percentile (not sure what that means). We were concerned the doctor might want to see more words coming from her, but he was pleased with her communication development. The rest of Monday and Tuesday and Wednesday were pretty normal days; I got back around 6 on Wednesday and got to go down and see her. Thursday, Katy was home with Lily all day (was exhausted by the end of it). Friday, Lily got dropped off before lunch with Grammy and Katy and I went to a doctor's visit to check on Zoe (things were good, but the cervix was not yet "ideal"). Katy spent the rest of the afternoon at her parents house to have help with Lily (they tried a swim and Lily lasted even less time than the previous weekend with only 5 minutes in the pool). We all had an early evening. Saturday, we lazied around the house and let Lily take a nap. In the early afternoon, we went to the New Braunfels children's museum

Lily's July in Review

Well, we are now doing the blog one month at a time. July started off actually on the last day of June with a lot of firsts for Lily. She got to go on her first plane ride, and as you see from the photo below, she needed a cocktail to take the edge off (just kidding!). She did fine on the plane ride but then absolutely collapsed and fell asleep when we got to St. Louis. We did wake up a bit early for her and then she missed a nap. So, by the time we got to the car, she was ready to nap and was asleep within 5 minutes. We made it around to Albert Pujols' restaurant and after lunch, Lily was certainly awake for the trip to Ted Drewes. We made it over to our hotel downtown (a casino just next to the river) and then headed over to see the Cardinals play. It was a dream matchup for us. Not only did we get to see Carpenter pitching for the Cards but Randy Johnson was going for the Giants. Unfortunately, Carp was flat that night and the Cards got behind but we did see 2 HRs from Albert Pujols so it was not all bad. The next day, we lazied around the hotel and downtwon (near the Arch) in the morning and then it was over to Grant's Farm. Lily got to go on her first carousel ride. She enjoyed the animals and being outside. Another lazy afternoon at the hotel and then it was time for dinner at Charlie Giotto's. There is this neat little sculpture park in downtown St. Louis with the Arch in the background that Lily enjoyed playing at. The next morning we just hung out around the hotel and got our stuff packed and then it was on to Detroit.

Lily had to be medicated for this plane ride. She was a bit antsy on the way up so we gave her some benadryl and she was asleep for most of this trip. It was really odd that there was a little girl named Lily (spelled the same way) sitting just on the other side of the aisle from us. But, we got to Michigan and made our way to Uncle Andy & Aunt Bethany's house for Lily to meet her new cousin, Liam. Liam is a cute little thing and just lays there and sleeps. You have to listen real carefully or you'll miss his little whimper cry. Hard to believe that Lily was once like that. But, Andy & Bethany set us up real nice and we had a nice little guest house to stay at with some of their friends out of town. It could not have been more perfect as they have 2 little girls and a huge play room down in the basement, so it was like it was custom made for Lily. It was nice to have our own place to stay as well because Lily doesn't really have an inside voice. We got up to Michigan on a Thursday night and on Friday, we headed over to Bethany's library where they have this incredible kids section with toys, a reading room, stuffed animals and other things that kept Lily entertained. That evening, we hung out with some of Andy's friends and Lily also got to meet Zac. Saturday was the 4th of July and Lily's outfit made me want a hotdog real bad. We had a cookout at a neighbor's house and then we rested a bit in the afternoon and then Zac came by again in the evening. Sunday, we went to church and then had lunch out and then we went over to a park near the campus of Rochester College. We learned from a stop on the way home at 7-Eleven that you don't give a slurpee to a baby. Not a good mix (if you want them to settle down). That evening, we watched a movie and played a game. Then, it was back home the following morning. It was a really nice trip. We now know from experience that there is nothing as neat as the first weeks of a baby's life. And to be so far away from Andy & Bethany yet still be able to take in Liam's first few weeks was special. It was particularly fun to watch Lily interact with him because with Zoe's upcoming arrival, we were worried about how Lily would be with a baby, but she is going to do great. Also, Andy got to be down here for most of last summer and see Lily from about one month old until five months old. So, it was fun to watch him interact with our little one as well. We'd love to have them down here closer, but we'll take what time we can get.

We got home on a Monday afternoon, and unfortunately, some work stuff came up that kept me working and busy for most of the rest of the week. It was nice in that I was able to do most of the work from home, but it was not so nice in that I was doing work at all. But, we did take some time off on Thursday and took Lily up to the New Braunfels children's museum. That is a neat place. Lily's grandma Patty & Papi got us the season pass, and that is a perfect place to be, especially with the sometimes unbearable heat that we have this summer. Lily loves just moving around, she won't sit still for even 10 seconds and so to see all the different things that are there at the museum is pretty fun for her.

I felt bad for Lily's sake because I knew the upcoming month of work was going to be stressful, but Katy and I really needed it and we headed out to Hyatt Hill Country Resort for a weekend getaway, leaving Lily with Grammy and Pepar. That is probably the nicest hotel I've stayed at; you have to deal with a lot of kids there, but the amenities were great. That lazy river is so great because if the pool is not relaxing enough, here you can sit in a pool where you don't even have to move; the water moves you. Our evening swim was rudely interrupted as we floating by and saw a little racoon walking along the side of the pool. But, without knowing exactly what was ahead, those 24 hours there were exactly what we needed.

That Monday started a rough 4 weeks of work. It was the most intense quarterly review cycle I have ever been a part of, but it just finished up today and I am so glad. I feel like I missed a lot of good time with Lily but I was especially glad to have been around over the past couple of weekends. Last weekend, we cleaned out the two spare bedrooms (current offices) and converted the back office into Zoe's room and the front office into a joint office. Putting that together has really made us excited to expand our family. We got to have some fun daddy/daughter time this past month as in mid-July, Katy went up to Oklahoma for Rachel's birthday weekend and Lily and I got to hang out together. This month also saw the debut of the new Harry Potter movie (initially, not my favorite but I do think this one in particular was get better the more you watch it).

I was especially glad to be around yesterday as Lily got her first real sickness. She was definitely not feeling well towards the middle of last week and we took her to the doctor and nothing seemed to be terribly wrong with her. But, on Sunday, we got back from church and she just would not stop crying. We had gone to Costco after church and thought we had maybe missed her window for a nap, but when she wouldn't eat, we knew something was wrong. Then, after all this time of wanting Lily to want us to hold her, yesterday, she would not let us put her down. She just say there, patting us while we watched TV or did whatever. We certainly loved the feeling but not at the expense of her feeling well. Katy was gone for 2-3 hours in the middle of the day and so I got the chance to try and figure out how to soothe her; it wasn't easy for me but I was glad to have to live through what Katy lives through a lot as it made me appreciate her all the more. It really hit us that she was not herself when we put her in a bath (she always loves taking a bath) and she would not stop crying there and she even tried to get out of the bathtub. There was no way she was falling asleep on her own so Katy had to sit with her in her room and then put her in the crib after she was asleep. I think Katy secretly liked the feeling (but again, would have preferred Lily to have been fine on her own).

That whole experience really made us think a couple of conflicting emotions. First, we were particulary grateful that she has been so easy going throughout her entire life. Second, it does make us a bit apprehensive about how Zoe is going to be, but we certainly will try and train her to sleep as we did Lily so that she can hopefully have the same temperament (Katy certainly says that Zoe does not do much sleeping right now!).

Lily's June in Review

Well, in case you haven’t heard, Lily is going to have a little sister. We found out in mid-January that we were expecting another baby, and announced it to the world in early March. On May 19, we had our doctor’s appointment. Katy and I were both entirely convinced that it was a boy. There was a lot of stuff that was different this time from last time – how she was carrying the baby, effects of the pregnancy, etc. But, we were shocked to find out that it was another girl. After my work friend, Lyndsey’s experience (she was told it was boy and it came out as a girl), I had to be extra cautious, asking Dr. Simpson to double- and triple-check. And she confirmed, saying it was “pretty obvious”. I’m going to keep my auditor skepticism up and be a little wary just in case, but we have to trust the doctor and move forward. So, it looks like we’ll have a little Zoe Elizabeth Brockman. For some reason, Katy doesn’t want to go with the traditional spelling of Zoe and put two dots over the “e” (can’t blame her). But, if all goes as scheduled, on September 23, I’ll be surrounded by another female. At the end of the day, I think it would have been great to have a boy, but when you look at the long-term effects and what would be better for Katy and Lily, I think a girl will work out best (although maybe not best on my bank account, with two weddings in our future). I can already see an episode of “Whose Wedding is it Anyway” with Katy wanting to be involved in every aspect of the event (but that is a concern for many many many years down the road).

It is really amazing to see Lily’s development. She is walking around so easily, and probably better said, too easily. She gets everywhere. We can’t leave her alone for 2 seconds before she has gotten something she has not supposed to have, been in a cabinet that we have just cleaned up, or just been doing stuff she is not supposed to. What has been fun to watch has been to watch Lily’s athleticism. I think she is really going to like gymnastics. The funniest thing we have seen is when she just lies on the floor and start doing log rolls, rolling from her back to her tummy and to her back and so on. She has this stuffed animal that is a lamb and she loves to get that thing and use it as a pillow, almost like a bean bag chair. She carries that thing around all the time at home, putting it to her face. It is really funny to watch. I love to lay on it as a pillow and Lily will come over and take it out from me (without thinking twice). Lily’s other trick is that she likes to spin around, she will just turn around in a circle and eventually get dizzy and fall down. I think you can summarize her actions by saying that Lily loves to entertain us by entertaining herself. But, obviously, all of this spells a ball of energy.

The other thing I’ve noticed over the past couple of weeks has been her dexterity with a ball. When we tell her to throw it or bring it to us, she knows exactly what that means. She likes to take the ball and throw it into the little toy shopping cart that she has, as if she is dunking the ball, so I think she would really like to own a little basketball set. When she does throw, I’ve noticed a little bit of a preference with her left hand, so I am not sure if that is just coincidental right now or if we might have a southpaw on our hands.

This first week of June, Lily has been off her normal schedule. Grandma Patty and Papi Bo have been off on their nationwide tour, mainly to see Lily’s new cousin in Michigan, Liam. But, they have been gone since the middle of May, so Lily was at Grammy’s house most of last week. Last Sunday, we started the week off with a good nap on Sunday after church and in the early afternoon and then we went over all of us to Grammy’s house to swim. I think I scared Lily a bit with my not-so-graceful jump into the pool. But, she likes being pushed around in her floating baby boat. We swam for a bit and then had an outdoor dinner, before Lily took a bath over there and then it was home and in bed. Monday night, I had to work late, so Mom took good care of Lily in the evening after her day at Grammy’s. Same thing on Tuesday except I was able to get home that night. Wednesday, Katy left for Dallas so I was in charge. I really respect what Katy has to do most days with getting herself and Lily ready to go, because it was a struggle for me to get out of the door, get Lily all put together, and then be at work by 9. I had a dinner that night with Erin and the KCI team to thank Erin for her work on KCI (it also served as a congratulatory meal for Jessica with her news of heading over to the UK). So, Lily stayed the night over there, I was over the next morning to get her and we spent the day together. I was off but used Lily’s nap times to check in with work. We played together, went outside to hang out in the backyard a bit, and just had a lot of fun. I went to the gym in the afternoon and that was cool to see her go well into the kid’s zone. Friday, Katy was home (she met with the girls in the morning), and Lily and I started to get ready for the garage sale. I wasn’t getting much done with Lily out there in the garage, but I did make some progress. Grammy came over just after lunch and Katy and I finished getting our treasures ready. Grammy took Lily home after her nap, and then Katy and I got to go out to eat at Outback that night, which was a nice surprise.

That Saturday was our big garage sale. All we were trying to do was to earn enough to buy Baby Zoe a crib. Unfortunately, Lily won’t be ready for a big girl bed yet. That day was a good day. We started the sale a bit before 7 am and had enough for the crib by 8 am. We wanted to get rid of things, so we were making some deals and probably leaving some money on the table, but that is ok, we got rid of things and have the crib paid for. Lily wasn’t going to be too much help so she stayed with Grammy for the day. We had some fajitas for lunch when Lily came back and we were all so exhausted by the mid-afternoon that we all got a nap when Lily went down for hers. We went for an afternoon swim (starting to realize the benefits of the nice, new deck in the backyard and actually having a pool), and then off for a relaxing evening at home. On Sunday, I had to leave for my trip to London. Lily got a quick nap and then it was off across the pond for me.

Katy had a rough week having to take care of Lily alone. I am not able to help out as much as I would like but it is nice to have me to do some things. Lily spent Monday and Monday night downtown with Patty and Papi. Tuesday was spent at Grammy’s house. Wednesday, Lily left early from Grammy’s and went to the New Braunfels Children’s Museum with her cousins, Sean & Maddie. She loved it, loved it so much that we know have a season pass and will have a nice indoor place to enjoy the rest of this hot, dreadful summer that we are in.

I got back in on Thursday, but not without lots of pain & consternation (there will be another entry to describe that). Ultimately, Lily had to spend another night with Grammy because Katy was thinking that she’d have to come up to Austin and pick me up; thankfully, we have some good friends (Aaron & Roger) who came up to get me, but from the front door of my hotel in London to walking in our front door in Universal City, it was 24 hours exactly.

We had a nice day and weekend together. I was home and in town, not having to work too terribly much the next week, so I was able to pick up Lily and see her every night before bed. I wish that wasn’t so hard to make happen on a more regular basis. That Friday (Father’s Day Weekend), we headed down to Port Aransas for Lily’s first time at the coast. Lily, Pepar, and I rode separately so the other ladies could go shopping. Lily was a perfect angel on the road, sleeping for about an hour. She didn’t cry at all until we turned onto the state highway near Gulf Shores and were like 15-20 minutes away. She was glad to get there, and we immediately got her dressed for the beach and headed down there. She was already a bit tired, so she didn’t know what to expect and did not care to explore on her own. So, we just played down there for a few minutes and then headed back up for the night.

On Saturday, Lily was so funny waking up. She usually is up around 6:30 at home. It was almost 8 and she was sound asleep. Katy made me check to see that she was ok and she was just worn out from her long day of driving and then the coastal adventures. We actually woke her up, so it was a bit of a reversal of fortunes for all of us. But, Lily got a good breakfast and then again, we tried to get some beach time in before her morning nap, but that is the time of day when she is pretty worn out, so again, she didn’t really care for it. She went down perfectly, and then while she slept, I slept. We had some lunch and then Lily went down for the morning swim. I slept again. Lily really took it all in quite well. She was sitting with Katy and letting the waves rush in against her. She was pointing and talking. It was helpful to have a tent up to keep the sun out, but she really enjoyed it. They came back up and put her down again, and then we all got dressed and ready to go out for dinner on Saturday. We went down to the center of Port Aransas at the dock and ate there with what appeared to be a fancy Hollywood couple right next to us (they really weren’t but acted like they were).

Sunday, Lily reverted to her old tricks and woke us up. The Pack & Play was right next to our bed (i.e. if she was standing, she could reach up & touch our bed), so it was funny to have her literally wake us up by slapping on our bed and seeing her little head pop up. We got up and went for a quick walk on the beach (the stroller doesn’t work so well in the sand). Then, it was time to pack it up and move us out. We tried to take the ferry to Rockport, but it was a crazy long line, so it was back through Mustang Island, the way we came in. Lily and her mama fell asleep midway home, and then we got home, had a quick evening getting ready for our week and then it was back to the grind.

Last week, Katy was out of town at Market. My schedule didn’t allow for me to come up there, so was the single parent for the latter part of the week. Lily spent the night downtown on Thursday night. Friday, Lily, Papi and I went over to Main Street Pizza for a late night pizza dinner. Saturday, I was all alone with Lily and we had a fun day together. I had delusions of grandeur about doing all these sorts of things, like going to the zoo early. But, I was worn out from my week, so we did a walk through Olympia in the morning. Then, Lily took a good morning nap, we got some playtime in between naps. She had another 90-minute plus nap in the afternoon, and then we did what all people like to do to pass the time, a trip to Wal-Mart. We were leaving on Tuesday morning for our trip to St. Louis and Detroit, so we had to get a few things. But, it was hot hot hot over the weekend, 102 degrees plus each day. Sunday, I had nursery duty so I got to be with Lily in there. It is nice to watch her with other kids, because she does seem to play well with them, but also seems to be a lot more easier to handle and doesn’t need constant attention. However, she does certainly talk more and LOUDER than many of them, so that is our great joy. Mama came home later on Sunday and got a little time with Lily before we headed out that night to see “Wicked”; that was a fun fun show, keeping my attention more so than any musical I’ve ever seen. Lily stayed with Hailey that night and was perfect as usual. All this makes us so grateful and so appreciative of the way Lily is; not only does having all of our family & friends helping us out make the transition to parenthood easier, but the personality and behavior of Lily makes it easier as well.

10 months old

Well, this has been a hard couple of months for me. I always figured this would be a tough time of the year, with not being able to be around Lily too much. But, it has been a lot rougher due to the amount of work I’ve had going on.

It has been even tougher given that Lily really has been growing and changing quite a bit during this time. She is consistently changing and transitioning from a little baby into a little girl. Some of the things that I’ve seen her doing over the past couple of weeks:

* eating more big people food, she got part of a toaster pancake for breakfast the other day
* she loves to wave at people; I’m still not sure she is doing consciously as she was waving at her pancakes the other morning
* she has been loving to go into places she has not supposed to be at. A couple of times Katy has just given up and let her play in the Tupperware panty shelf. That is a bit easier than trying to keep your eye on her every minute, while we’re doing stuff. In the morning, Katy comes upstairs with Lily while I am brushing teeth. Even though there is a lot of toys in our bedroom, she always comes into the bathroom and crawls around that dirty floor. She really loves those door springs on the floor at the base of the back of the door.
* The funniest thing has been to watch Lily play in front of a mirror. We have a tall stand-up mirror in our room (a Harry Pottter-esque Mirror of Erised). When Lily sees herself in it from a far, she loves to crawl over to it and she gets right up close to it. Then, she loves to get up close and give herself a kiss in the mirror.
* Her sense of humor is starting to come up and she is starting to enjoy playing chase and likes to crawl away when we come at her quickly while she is down on the floor.

The past couple of weeks have been busy for me, with me having some late nights. I have been able to get home at normal time on Thursdays so that I can be here for Community Group. I continue to be loving our study of The Story (especially as we are in the Old Testament history section – this week was Daniel).

Last weekend, I was actually home on Saturday. But, I would have rather been working. I was home because we had to go to a funeral. Katy’s Uncle Henry died on February 6. The funeral was last Saturday. I’m not sure this is real mind-boggling advice – but maybe, it was not the best idea to take a baby to the funeral. Lily was on a “one-strike” status. Any screams and she would have to leave. We got there about 10 minutes early to the service and they were playing a slide show. Lily was pretty much fine during that time. However, once the service started, we got through about 30 seconds of an opening song before the preacher got up there, and Lily made a shout so it was time to leave. I took her out and then found an empty room (kinda like a bride’s preparation room) with carpet and let Lily play around.

We got Lily home thereafter (she had missed her afternoon nap) and then it was on to our Valentine night out. We took Lily downtown to my Mom and then went down and had dinner at the Westin, didn’t know much what to expect, and it was a bit surprising when we had some ostrich (grilled squab) as the appetizer. Dinner was a bit odd, but the chocolate trio saved the meal.

Sunday, we got to both be in church (in the service) for what might be the first time this whole year, with all of Katy’s travelling. Unfortunately, I had to go straight in to work but we took the time to do an odd brunch at Tomatillo’s (fish and ribs and pork chops are not what I expected from a Mexican breakfast). It is pretty funny to watch Lily while we are eating because she really wants what we’re having. She has these Wagon Wheel crackers and really goes to town and downs them quick quickly. After that, it was on to work for me. I didn’t get home until after 8 and Lily was asleep already.

During the week, I stayed on schedule, taking Lily downtown on Monday, as usual. But, the week was not normal after that, being at work until about midnight through Wednesday. Lily was a bit out of her sorts and started to seem a bit sick, beginning on Tuesday. We did have to break down on Thursday and take her into the doctor. She made it almost 10 months before being sick enough to have to go into the doctor. It didn’t seem nothing too major, we did get some antibiotics and Lily seemed ok by Friday. I got to leave work at a normal time on Friday (Katy had ‘Shopaholic’ movie night with the girls) and spend a bit of time with her for a few minutes before she headed to bed.

Saturday, it was on to work, like any normal work day. Just 8 more days and then things will slow down a bit for me. Lily and Katy hung out at home, Katy had to go into the shop for an event, so Grandma Patty came over. I noticed a couple of things that I hadn’t seen Lily do when I got home tonight. First, she is starting to stand up on her own a bit more. The last month of so, she’ll hold on to furniture and move around and she is crawling big time. But, if you tried to let her stand on her own, she’d get really nervous and you’d have to rip your hand out of her grasp. Now, she will let go. She’ll only hover for about 30 seconds before flopping down on her backside, but at least it is something.

The other thing I noticed was what Katy has been telling me for 3 months, that Lily is not that much into books at this point. I dared to take my chance on Saturday night and read to her. She was sitting about 2-3 feet away from me and really seemed to enjoy the pictures. But, then she had enough and she made the effort to crawl over to me, and she literally took the book and closed it shut. “Dad, I’m done reading for now.” It’s one thing for her to not want to read and whine or something, but to make the conscious effort to come over to me and physically shut the book, that shows the high degree to which she prefers not to read at that point.

Fort Davis

Well, Lily and Katy just got back from a weekend in Fort Davis. I can't believe that of all the times Katy has been there, I have never been able to go. I know I would enjoy it out there. Let me see if I can recap what they did. They got to ride horses, see some really big pigs. Meet all of Kelly's family out there. Lily was even on the horse, riding around with Faith. It was a tough trip for Lily, travelling six hours each way, this after five hours each way last weekend going down to McAllen.

Here is a link to the pictures from this weekend:

http://www2.snapfish.com/share/p=58211233543427661/l=464368943/g=49685660/otsc=SYE/otsi=SALB

Last weekend, we were down in McAllen for Aunt Diane's wedding to Elmer. Technically, she is Lily's great-aunt, but there was and will only be one great-aunt in the family, Aunt Bess. So, Diane has asked to be called "Aunt Great". We headed down there last Saturday, stopped by their home for a bit, then went back to the hotel, let Lily cry a bit instead of taking a nap. Then, we had a family-only wedding at the church (Lily didn't follow etiquette and wore white to match the bride), back to Diane & Elmer's place for some champagne. Then, we had a nice dinner out at Tony Roma's. Lily was quite a champ, making it through the meal. But, we had to apologize when we left for the mess on the floor under her high chair. Lily did ok sleeping in the hotel room with us, but she did wake up around 5 am and wouldn't go back to sleep. Katy was a champ and got up with her, while I dozed back off into dream land. Before we headed back, we had a stop off at a Mexican bakery, and then we got to drive behind a successful hunter on the way up I-37.

Lily also had her 9-month checkup last week. Very good report, she's checked in at 19 1/2 pounds and 28 1/4 inches. Her readings have changed a bit, with her closer to the 50th percentile in weight and 75th in height. But, she still is eating well and not losing weight so all in all, she is doing great.

Work continues to be busy for me, and it is a shame because this has been quite the month for Lily's development. At the beginning of January, she was sitting fine on her own but not moving. Not, she can't stay still. She completely crawls on her own. When she hasn't seen me in a while, she loves to crawl over to me, and then pull herself up onto her feet with my legs. She still won't stand on her own. She can hold her on for about 10 seconds, but if you try to let go and make her do that, she gets real nervous and now just would rather sit than try and stand. Sleeping is going to be a challenge the next few weeks. Several times already, we have caught her waking up from a nap or bedtime, standing in her crib, sometimes playing and sometimes crying. But, throwing her on the floor while we do something else or get ready is a thing of the past. About time to get the safety gates put up on the stairs. But, even though it makes our life a bit more stressful, this is certainly a fun time and exciting to see her development.

Standing up for Nothing

Well, a big advancement today. I'm able to stand on my own. I don't really care for doing it and I don't last too long, but I can make it up there. I kinda waver a bit and then tend to fall forward but I did show off for Dad tonight when he came down to see me downtown after work. I'm also doing quite well crawling, thought I have a bit of an unorthodox style, video to come later.

Well, we've entered dad's busy season. I'm having to get used to not seeing him at night. I'm usually waking up now a little before Dad heads down for breakfast, so we actually have been eating breakfast about the same time. Him with his oatmeal, me with my cereal that looks like oatmeal. So, we get about 30 minutes together in the morning. This week, Dad was able to get off early on Monday and come and get me from downtown so I got to see him and play some with him then. He was working late, until nearly 10, on Tuesday and Wednesday, so it was just morning with him then. I was over early at Grammy's house both days, so that Mom could go to the gym. On Tuesday night, I put on quite a show as Mom and Grammy had to go to Weight Watchers. I just cried and cried all the way home. Mom came by on Wednesday night to have dinner over there at Grammy's and then I came straight home and went to bed. Yesterday, Mom left me for Dallas. I've been a bit upset this week because I am starting to have more teeth coming in, so Mom didn't feel it was good to take me up there. Not as easy to transport me around and let me sleep in public now, as when I was up at Market at two months old. So, Grammy stayed behind. I spent most of Thursday with her, then it was on to downtown for a nice evening at Tobin Hill. I'm starting to feel quite comfortable sleeping overnight and for my naps away from home. Today, I spent the day down there and then Dad brought me home and put me in my own bed for a night. I'm going to Grammy's house all day tomorrow and Sunday, as Dad has a big weekend of work.

Last week was the first full week of the year, and it was hard to go back to my normal schedule, especially considering that Mom and Dad had been home so much the previous two weeks. I got a quick update as to what Dad's schedule was like as he was back to working past my bedtime every night except Monday; he was even out the door at 8 am on Saturday for work. Got to take care of me and Mom so we can go shopping.

My first Christmas was amazing. On Christmas Eve, we got ready in the morning and started our day with Mrs. Sandy (works with Dad). She gave me a nice stuffed puppy and I showed off for her. Then, it was on to downtown and we went to Fiesta Fellowship for Christmas Eve service. I had quite the receiving line, with Grandpa Bo showing me off afterwards. Then, it was on to their house and we played some dominoes (great-great Uncle Joe was there also), and then Grandaddy and Aunt Shanna came in. Shortly later, my second-cousins, Stacey and Shelley came in from Austin (I had not met them before), and we had dinner. I showed off for everyone, as always, and enjoyed our time there. Then, it was on to Grammy and Pepar's house for an overnight sleepover. Mom got her Christmas tradition with some new pajamas. I went to bed, with visions of sugarplums dancing in my head.

Well, Mom and Dad were in Aunt Rachel's old room, and the twin bed was in my room, and I woke up in the middle of the night, not used to having others around. And boy, did I let everyone know that I did not like it. It was about 3 in the morning, and we had to do an outfit change, and then I was ready to go back down. Aunt Rachel went out to the couch. I even created a Christmas miracle, and Dad got out of bed to check on me--although it was 10 seconds of him being in my room and when he saw I was fine, he was back to bed (I get my good sleeping from him).

Christmas morning, I was awake, and Santa had come to see me; boy, was he good to me. I could not belive all the fine clothes and toys he gave me. I enjoyed opening the other gifts that Mom and Dad and the family had given me as well. I even got my first doll (see the backpack picture). Enjoy the smattering of gift photos below.

It was hard to have to break in the morning and go eat and take a nap (due to my early morning awakening, I slept for over 3 hours on Christmas morning). I really did not want to miss any of the action.














After an afternoon nap and having Christmas lunch (Aunt Rachel's friend, Chris) came over for lunch, we headed downtown to see the rest of the family. I enjoyed hanging out and it was a bit of a madhouse down there, but I enjoyed seeing my family there that loves me. I got to hang out with my third cousins, Sean and Maddie. But, by the end of the day I was tired. I fell asleep on the way home, with my toy puppy that started my Christmas celebrations. It was a fun fun time.

Enjoy some other Christmas photos below: