Fun in the Sun!

She wore an itsy, bitsy, teenie, weenie, yellow, polka dot bikini...today was the first time Lily got to get outside and play in her pool.  Jason filled up her pool for her and the two of them had a blast running through the sprinklers!  She looks so stinkin cute in her little polka dot bikini!  She shared a popsicle with her daddy and he even caught a "bibbit" (frog) for her!  She wouldn't touch the frog, but she wasn't really afraid of it either.  When Jason put it back under the deck Lily said "Where bibbit?"  I thought she would throw a fit when it was time to come back inside, but she didn't.  I think she may have been ready since her little teeth were chattering and her lips were quivering.  Can't wait for more hot summer days to come!

Baby Steps

I am a few days late with this post, but here it is anyways.  Tuesday was another not great day at daycare for Lily, but she made some little baby steps forward on Wednesday.  She still cried when we pulled into the neighborhood and she still held onto me for dear life, but that's okay.  Instead of leaving right away I stayed for about ten minutes and got her involved with some puzzles and some of the other kids.  She still wanted to sit on my lap, but she was playing.  When I tried to sneak out she bawled her little eyes out like usual and she tried to get out of the door.  I got a text later in the day from her "teacher" and it said that Lily was outside playing and that she even handed "Rosie" (her little stuffed tiger) over...this was HUGE!  She never lets Rosie out of her sight while she is there...at home she could care less where she is at.  Attached to the text was a picture of Lily smiling in a little push car...yes...SMILING and PLAYING!  She was still up and down some of the day and she still didn't eat or drink anything while there, but this was still a big improvement for her.  Her teacher says that everyday Lily wanders up to the gate and "tries" to leave, and she stayed away from the gate on Wednesday too!  When I got there to pick her up she was still asleep which is her norm.  When she sees me she starts to cry and reaches up and says "Momma".  This day there were no tears...NONE at pickup time!  She got right up and looked around for the kids and she even sat at the table with them and ate her snack...I was there so I'm sure that helped, but once again...I'll take it!  She even passed out her Mickey Mouse fruit snacks to all of the kids and ate a package herself.  She said bye to everyone, gave them all hugs and blew kisses and she told her teacher "thank you."  I'm so proud of her!  It really made me feel better about the whole situation.  It gave me hope that she really will like it someday soon.  I just hope with having five days away that she won't forget it all by the time she goes back on Tuesday.

"Bibbit, Bibbit"

Lily's favorite movie is "The Princess and the Frog".  It is a pretty cute movie I must say.  I bet I have seen it close to one hundred times now...I'm not kidding.  Lily watches it almost everyday.  It is a toss up between this and "Finding Nemo."  When you ask her what does a frog say Lily says "bibbit, bibbit."  It is so cute!  When you ask her what Nemo is she says "ish."  She also says Nemo which is very close to how she says Elmo...both equally adoreable none the less!  She forgets a lot of her letters, but I'm her momma so of course I know what she is saying!  The attached picture is of Lily in her new Princess and the Frog jammies.  I found them the other day at Babies R Us and I HAD to get them for her.  I even washed them overnight so she was worn them twice in the past three nights...easy to please. 

Daycare Dilemma

This is week three of daycare and it is still not going well.  Lily now knows something is up the second I pull into the neighborhood...she starts to look around and then she starts to cry when I turn onto the street.  This morning she kept saying, "No, No, No" when I was getting her out of her carseat.  She was crying and had her head buried into my shoulder.  Talk about tearing out a mommy's heart.  It takes all I have to keep it together until I get back to the car.  She cries big huge tears and doesn't want me to leave her there.  We even brought some of her favorite snacks today so she could share them with her "friends".  Her teacher said she passed them out to everyone, but then she wouldn't eat any herself.  Hmmmmm.  This is week three and Lily still won't eat or drink a single thing the entire time she is there.  This worries me now that it is 90 degrees outside and they are playing outside and she won't drink.  Why is this?  I guess today was a little better.   Lily did have a period of an hour and a half where she played and didn't cry.  Everyone keeps telling me it WILL get better and that she WILL adjust, but it is so hard when it is your baby having to go through this.  I just hope she isn't scared the whole time she is there.  It is hard for me this week too because I am HOME this week and she doesn't need to be there, but I am paying for it and I don't want to ruin any forward progress that she may have made already. I think her adjustment would be quicker and easier if she went everyday, but she only goes on Tuesdays and Wednesdays and so by the time five days pass and we get back to the next Tuesday it is almost like starting all over again.  I just don't get it.  She loves to play with other kids...she goes up to complete strangers at the park and hugs them!  She loves to swing and slide and she won't even try it at daycare.  I'm sure its because at the park she knows mommy and daddy or Ma and Pa Mike are RIGHT there and at daycare nobody is coming to get her for a long time.  She hates it, I hate it...any suggestions?  Helpful hints?

A Day at the Zoo

We picked a hot and BUSY day to go to the Zoo!  Jason and I took Lily to the Zoo on Saturday.  This was Lily's second trip to the zoo this year, but it was my first trip with her.  It was near 90 degrees out and totally packed!  We drove around forever just trying to find a parking space.  I would say that Lily's favorite part of the Zoo this time was the penguins.  We let her out of her stroller and she crawled under the railing and was laughing, laughing, laughing as they swam by her.  It was the cutest thing ever!  She would yell, "WHOA!" when one would jump in or come up by her behind the glass.  I wish we would have gotten this on video, but it is just like us to forget the video camera (especially after just paying $400 to fix it!).  I thought she would have loved the rest of the aquarium because she loves her "ish" (fish) and we watch Finding Nemo EVERY day, but she was kind of scared in there.  A giant sea turtle swam over our heads and Lily was shaking and holding on to me for dear life.  She did like the smaller fish though.  All in all it was a great day...we started out a little rough...Jason and I put sunscreen all over her and right when we got inside she started to rub her face and eyes and mixed with the sweat it got all in her eyes.  Poor baby.  She could hardly open up her eyes as you will notice in the pictures.  We finally got them all rinsed out and our day got better :).  We now have a sun STICK for faces for the future. 

Baby #2 Update

16 Weeks 4 Days

I feel bad because I think Lily's brother or sister doesn't get much attention.  So, this is a post just for the little one.  I am just over 16 weeks along and things are going great.  I was very lucky to have very little morning sickness this time around and slowly but surely I am getting a little energy back.  I have started to feel the baby just a little bit here and there, which is always fun and exciting.  I forgot how amazing that feeling is!  Jason went with me to our appointment today and all continues to go well.  I had the Quad Screen done today and will get the results by the end of the week (the test to check for Downs and some other things).  This was the first time that Jason got to hear the baby's heartbeat so I'm sure it is starting to feel more real for him!  Baby's heartbeat today was 144 beats per minute, at 12 weeks it was 168 beats per minute and at 9 weeks it was 180 beats per minute.  If I remember right Lily's stayed in the 150's-170's range up until close to the end of my pregnancy.  I don't believe in the old wives tale though!  The tale is that if the baby's heartbeat is 140 or above its a GIRL if it is below 140 its a BOY...my sister had her ultrasound a few weeks ago and her baby's heartbeat was in the 130's and she is having a GIRL!  Guess what her due date is??? September 12th...Lily's birthday!  We scheduled our ultrasound appointment today and it is set for June 8th.  We won't find out the sex of the baby until he or she arrives in October, but it is still fun to see him/her and it also means we are HALF WAY!  I have gained 3 pounds so far total.  Dr. Norton would like me to have gained 10 pounds by 20 weeks which means I need to put on another 7 pounds in 3.5 weeks...I have no doubts that I will hit that mark.  Heck...I gained 55lbs with Lily!  My weight gain with this one has been much slower, but I also started this pregnancy out 20 pounds heavier :),

Daycare Day #1

Well, I will start this post by saying we survived...kind of!  As luck would have it Lily woke up unusually early at 5:45am.  Jason was going around getting the trash ready to take outside and I hear Lily in her crib saying, "Where's Momma?"  Jason got her up to change her and I went in her room to say "she can't get up now...she won't get a nap until 1:00 today!"  I went downstairs to get her milk hoping she would drink it and go back to bed.  She laid in bed with me and fell back asleep until Jason got in the shower and forgot to shut his alarm off!  It went off and she woke back up, but thankfully she was still tired enough she fell back asleep with me.  She ended up waking up at 8:00, which is still early for her.  We got dressed, had some breakfast, took some pictures and headed up the street to daycare.  I was bawling before we hit 192nd and Q (we live on 194th and Q).  I told myself that I would be okay but then I looked in my mirror at her in her carseat and I lost it.  I couldn't stop crying even when we got there.  I set Lily down and handed off her bag and tried not to let her see me crying.  Too bad, I wasn't leaving without telling her I loved her and giving her a kiss.  She just looked at me like "hey, what's going on here?"  She didn't cry, but she knew something was up.  Her daycare provider told me to call later in the day to check up on her.  I waited until 1:00 before I was going to call because that is when the kids take a nap.  Just as I sat down to dial the number I got a text!  It said that Lily's first day was a normal first day so far.  Lily did have a meltdown at lunchtime and wouldn't eat and didn't want anything to do with the other kids at the table.  I guess she ran down the hall and threw herself into the wall...I should have warned her that this can be a norm of Lily's at meal time...it is hit or miss with her!  The kids ended up napping earlier than usual because they were all worn out.  Her provider did suggest that I bring a blankie or a "lovey" of Lily's tomorrow to help comfort her.  She also said that Lily was very "lovey and huggy" towards all of the other little kids...especially one of the boys!  What am I in for?!  That didn't surprise me because she always wants to hug and kiss and give "nice touches" to kids.  She is a very loving little kiddo.  It is just her nature.  Lily ended up falling asleep on her caregiver's lap during a story around 12:30 and she was still asleep when I picked her up at 3:30.  This didn't surprise me because she still takes a 2-2/12 hour nap in the morning and another 1 hour nap in the evening...she was tuckered out!  She never did eat or drink anything all day, but she wolfed a snack and a glass of milk down when we got home.  When she opened her eyes and saw me she started to cry and she said in such a sad little voice "Momma".  Broke my heart.  I cried most of the morning, but I am hopeful that tomorrow will be a better day.  She gets to paint tomorrow!  She will be thrilled! 

What a Difference a Year Makes

Mother's Day

Lily and I spent Mother's Day alone at home together just hanging out.  What more could I ask for right...she is the person who made me a mommy and the whole reason I am a mommy.  Jason had to work all day.  After Lily and I woke up from our...yes...OUR naps we went over to my mom and dad's house.  Lily played outside with Maddie, Bubba, and Pa Mike.  I'm going to be honest here...I did shed a few tears early in the day because I thought Jason just didn't care that it was Mother's Day.  I just I just had to be patient and wait for him to get home from work.  When he got home from work I got two nice cards from him and Lily and we went out to dinner.  Lily didn't have her usual afternoon nap so she was ready for bed by the time we got home from dinner.  Once she was in bed Jason and I snuggled up on the couch together and watched a movie we had rented...we don't get to do this often enough!  It was nice.

Cousin Miles Turns One!

Lily's cousin, Miles, turned one on May 5th.  We drove to Des Moines on Saturday to help him celebrate at his first birthday party.  Lily had a blast...and I'm sure Miles did too!  He got a bubble maker for a gift and I'm pretty sure Lily thinks she needs one now too.  We had lots of fun, ate lots of food and enjoyed time with our family.  Happy Birthday Miles!

Happy Birthday Bubba!

Little Bubba Boy is 8 today!  For those of you who don't know who Bubba is he is my nephew.  His real name is Jahrran, but Bubba is much more fitting!  Lily Rose loves him to pieces.  She wakes up in the mornings asking "wheres's Bubba?"  All day long she yells for BUBBA!  Happy Birthday Bubs!

Going to Daycare

The time has come to send my little girl off to "school"...daycare.  I tell her she is going to school.  She will be 20 months old when she goes.  My body has been telling me for many months that I just can't do what I do anymore.  Working nights and staying up all day with her is just becoming too hard.  She is older and much more active which means I need to be alert at all times, and who am I kidding...I am a freaking ZOMBIE!  We are sending her a little sooner that I had originally anticipated...I was thinking more like when the baby came because I knew there was no way I would get 2 kids on the same schedule and it was not going to be possible at all to stay up all day, work all night, and stay up again the next day with TWO of them.  When I say we are sending her earlier than anticipated I mean she starts next week.  I had called around to a few different in home daycares (much more affordable) and we had an interview with one and I just knew that "one" was the right place for Lily.  I think your instincts really do kick in.  She had an immediate opening so I went with it.  Jason is home Thursday through Sunday so she will only go on Tuesdays and Wednesdays.  Lily and I went today to sign the contract and drop off a check and Lily went right up to one of the little boys (who is her same age, but Lily is an entire head taller than him!) and hugged him.  AWWWWEEEEE...it melted my heart.  She jumped right in with the kids and played on the swingset and when I told her we had to leave she threw a fit, so I know she is going to have a GREAT time.  It is her mommy who is going to struggle without having her at home...I am crying just writing this.  It literally breaks my heart.  I have been with her everyday of her little life...what will I ever do without her all day long?!  The sacrifice of going off of no sleep has been worth it to me in every way, but I also know that its not fair to her to see her mommy so tired all of the time and so boring.  She is such an active little girl and she is at the age where she needs the interaction of others her own age.  She will love it...right?