A Couple of Firsts

Lily and MaLily and Uncle Justin

Lily and Pa Mike

Lily watching the Dancing Snowmen

Lily and Great Grandpa Ray

Lily laughing with Madison

Lily with her Great Grandma's

Lily with cousins Madison and Jahrran

Putting the star on the tree with Daddy

Lily with Aunt Kylie and Mommy

This week Lily celebrated her first Thanksgiving and she also helped decorate her first Christmas tree. On Wednesday night Lily's cousin Madison spent the night. She helped us decorate the Christmas tree, and we drank hot chocolate, made brownies, and watched Fred Claus. Madison is my niece and she loves to spend time with Lily. Madison played with Lily and she fed Lily her bedtime bottle, and the two even fell asleep together in the chair...super cute! When I was little, I always remember my dad lifting one of us kids up to place the star on the top of the Christmas tree. This year Jason lifted Lily up as he placed our star on the top of our tree...I got a picture and I hope this becomes a tradition in our family. It was always exciting when we were little. On Thursday, Lily went with me over to my parents house to celebrate Thanksgiving. She got to visit with both of her great grandmas, her great Aunt, and her 1st, 2nd and 3rd cousins. Thanksgiving wasn't the same this year because Jason had to work, but we were lucky that he was able to stop over on his lunch break. Lily was so excited to see her Daddy!

California Baby

Family photo at the reception in California.

The 6 cousins on the Kneifl side

Lily dancing with Uncle Gary and Aunt Becky

Asleep with Mommy and Daddy at the reception

Lily was usually the center of attention!

Jason and I traveled to Sacramento, California this past weekend for his brother's wedding. Lily's Uncle Gary got married to Becky Lefevere, and Lily is so happy to have a new Aunt! The wedding was beautiful and we are so happy for the newly married couple. Lily had her first airplane rides and I am still AMAZED at how well she did. Jason and I got many compliments from people on the plane about how well she did. She is quite the little traveler. Jason and I were worried about her ears hurting, but she never cried...not even once! She was tired after getting to our hotel in Sacramento and was fussy, but she had a long day of traveling and getting up early. I was happy with how well she adjusted to the 2 hour time difference and also with how she adjusted to it after getting back home. While in California Lily got her first taste of swimming...I wish I had a picture of it, but I didn't get one. She didn't get to actually go swimming, but she did like putting her little feet in the water. Some of Jason's family went to Lake Tahoe for a day, but we decided not to go along. I figured the least amount of traveling was better for Lily. Lily's cousin Justin stayed in our room each night we were there and every time Lily would get up to eat Justin got up with her...not because she woke him up but because he wanted to...he is really good with Lily and just likes to play with her. What a GREAT cousin! Lily had a great time with all of her Kneifl cousins and family.

Today has been spent just hanging out at home as we are all tired from the trip. Jason has done a great job today getting all of the Christmas decorations out and the tree up...we will decorate the tree tonight or tomorrow night as a family for the first time! I'm a little sad as this is my last week at home with Lily. I go back to work next Wednesday and I'm NOT looking forward to it at all! These last few months at home with her have been wonderful. I feel like I have really gotten to know and bond with my little girl. She changes so much in even just a single day. She is a real joy in our lives and her mommy and daddy are so proud of her and we love her so very much!

Dr. Visit Pics

Mommy knows what's coming...poor Lily doesn't.
Lily is looking to see how much she weighs!

Laughing with Daddy before her shots.

My poor baby girl and her first shot. I wanted to pick her up right then and cuddle her in my arms.

2 Month Check Up and Shots

Lily went to the Dr. today for her 2 month well baby visit and for her first dose of vaccinations. Lily was so happy and playful all during the visit until it was time to hold her down to give her 3 shots. Dr. Russell was impressed with how alert and interactive she is. Lily was all full of smiles and laughs at the first part of the visit. She was even smiling on the scale, and so interested in what the nurse was doing. Dr. Russell said that Lily was "smart" and that she could tell Lily had been getting a lot of good stimulus at home. Lily is doing very well and she is growing like a weed! Today Lily weighed 13 pounds (93rd percentile) and she is 24 inches long (92nd percentile)! After weighing Lily, Dr. Russell checked her over and then came the dreaded SHOTS! Mommy had to hold Lily's arms and the nurse held Lily's little legs in between hers and gave her 3 shots one right after the other. Lily turned bright red and SCREAMED so hard it took her a while to catch her breath. Mommy cried just as big as tears as Lily did if not bigger and Daddy had tears in his eyes too. It is so unbelievably hard to watch your child hurt...I don't know how parents with chronically and terminally ill children do it...my heart goes out to them. Lily has been mostly asleep since her appointment. Mommy has been cuddling her in her arms. Grandma Deb bought Lily a pink snuggly blanky rabbit for being so brave. Mommy and Daddy took Lily back to the farm yesterday and she played hard with Grandma Romaine and she got to see her cousins and Aunt Trina, Uncle John, Uncle Lonnie and Aunt Terri, and Uncle Randy, and Grandpa Eddie. I think she is all tuckered out from all of the FUN! Next week Lily will take her first airplane ride to California for Uncle Gary's wedding...and she will soon have a new Aunt...Aunt Becky!

Election Day 2008

It was a first for everyone in our family today...Jason, Lily, and I all went to VOTE! Lily went with mommy and daddy as they voted for the very first time. It is marked in Lily's baby book that she was born in an election year and in a very BIG one at that! We will be watching the TV closely tonight and we will anxiously await the results!

Trick or Treat

Happy Halloween!

I'm a Moo Cow!
Trick or Treating at Daddy's Work

My 1st Pumpkin

Happy Halloween!

Lily is 7 weeks old today! I can't believe how fast this time is going...it makes me sad! Well, if any of you know me you could have probably guessed that Lily was going to be a cow for Halloween. My nickname since I was her age has been Missy Moo Cow, and I collect cows. Lily had a busy week with mom and dad. This week Lily got her very first pumpkin and she went to a pumpkin carving party with Mommy and Daddy. By the time Jason and I finished our pumpkins we were too tired to carve Lily's, so she got a plain ole pumpkin. I forgot what hard work it is to carve pumpkins! Yesterday I took Lily in her costume up to Jason's work to Trick or Treat...she is obviously too little but her Daddy was sure happy to see his little Moo Cow! Tonight Jason and I are taking Lily to a Halloween party for a little while...mom and dad are dressing up too! I'll post those pics soon. Lily has been sleeping really well at night for the past week and a half, and she has even slept in her own crib! She wakes up once a night usually around 2:30am and then she'll go right back to bed after eating. I think today we will go for a walk to enjoy this beautiful weather...I'm sure it will be cold again soon! Happy Halloween to everyone!

More 6 Week Pics

Daddy and Lily. Jason works long 12 hour days so he loves to come home and cuddle with her! She misses her daddy when he is gone. It is so cute to see a daddy with his little girl. Jason has something special with Lily...he can get her to laugh and smile like nobody else.
All chubbed out on the floor.

Sound asleep.

Lily and her daddy hanging out before bedtime. I think she looks more and more like Jason everyday.

6 Weeks Old

I'M 6 WEEKS OLD!

Tomorrow Lily will be 6 weeks old! I can't believe how fast this time is going! I had my 6 week postpartum checkup today...all is well. My incision is all healed up and strong. I was given the okay today to RUN! A few hours after my appointment I headed to Lake Zorinsky and jog/walked 4 miles...it felt great and it was so nice to be outside in the fresh air. I know 4 miles is a long ways from 26.2, but it is a start and I WILL get there again! My goal is to be ready to run in the Lincoln Marathon in May. Lincoln was my first official race a year and a half ago. I can't wait until Lily is a little bigger and the weather gets nice again so I can take her out on the trail with me. Lily seems to be growing before our very eyes. Jason and I are having so much fun with her. As far as the sleep department goes she had a GREAT night last night. Lily slept from 11:00pm-2:30am, got up and ate, slept again from 3:00am-8:00am, got up again to eat, and slept AGAIN from 8:30am-11:30am! I couldn't believe it! She is up to eating 4 ounces at a time. I am still breastfeeding, but mostly pumping and giving it to her by bottle. I am not able to always pump a full 4 ounces (this has been an ongoing battle for me) so I complete her feedings with formula. I do still nurse her a few times a day, but she just doesn't get enough from me and is not content. I have posted some pics of Lily one day shy of being 6 weeks old...ENJOY!

Lily in her jammies from Judy.

Lily all pretty in purple...Abby W. gave this cute outfit to Lily after she was born. This kid has so many clothes...I try so hard to get her in all of them before she outgrows them! She is currently wearing 3 month sizes.

This is Lily in her swing. It is amazing how much she has changed in the last week. Just 2 weeks ago she could not see the owls on the top of her swing. Tonight she just STARED at them and smiled and laughed...it was so neat to watch her.

A happy baby girl in her swing.

New Pics of Lily

Lily telling mommy to stop taking pictures of her!

Look at that face!
Lily's new outfit (mommy can't help but buy her new clothes!)

Lily with Ma and Pa Mike (she's a grandpa's little girl just like Madison)