3.5 Month Check-Up

Today was Lily's 3 1/2 month check-up, and she's doing great! She now weighs 13.6 lbs and is 24 3/4 in. long. She's consistently in the 75th percentile for both. Her head circumference is 16 in. which is in the 50th percentile. The doctor said she looks fantastic, is very alert, and is focusing very well on various objects. I talked to Dr. Vacca about starting Lily on formula to get her ready for when I go back to work in February. He suggested starting with 1 formula bottle a day for 2-3 days, so we started today! When Lily took her first sip and stuck out her tongue and looked at me with the funniest expression, like what the heck is this?!? She quickly got over it and downed the bottle.

Lily is on a great schedule now. I love bedtime!! I take her up at 8:30, feed her, read books, and she's in bed by 9. Some nights we have to go up a few times to put the paci back in, but nights like tonight are wonderful when she just stays asleep. :) Lily takes at least 3, sometimes 4, naps a day, and they are all in either her crib or her pack n' play. It's so nice to be able to finally do things while she's sleeping instead of being confined to the couch.

Lily is growing up so much. She smiles constantly and loves looking at pictures while we read to her. She now grabs for toys when they are near her and loves holding onto stuffed animals. Lovees are her new best friends. When she is holding one at nap time she snuggles it next to her face and it puts her right out. It's adorable! Tummy time is becoming more bearable for her. She lasts longer and actually pushes herself up like she's doing a push-up. I am having so much fun at home talking and playing with her and I'm really not looking forward to having to leave her in a month for work.

We have been keeping ourselves very busy lately. On the 18th we went to Lily's "daycare" to see their Christmas play. She will be going to Mrs. Russo's house in February when I head back to work. Mrs. Russo has two other women who work with her, Ms. Karen and Ms. Barbara, and 5 other children - 2 four year olds, a 3 year old, and 20 month old twins. Lily will get lots of one-on-one time from Mrs. Russo since she's the only baby. It will be like being with a grandmother all day, so that makes me feel better about leaving her. And Mrs. Russo is an ex-teacher, so she knows just how to get Lily ready for school. Anyway, she invited us to their Christmas play and it was adorable. They sang songs and reinacted the manger scene. It was nice to see the kids in action and meet the other families.

Lily also had a playdate on Friday! All of the schools had snow days on Friday, so Jen and Dylan came over for a playdate in the morning. Dylan will be 1 in February, so he'll be around to show Lily the ropes. Who knows, maybe he'll be her first boyfriend! :) We had a great time hanging out with you guys and can't wait to do it again!

Aunt Meghan came Friday to hang out before the Baptism

Lily and Dylan on their playdate

Sucking on those fingers! Yummm

Would you expect any less? :)

Lily's Baptism

This past Saturday was Lily's Baptism and it could not have been more perfect. Friday we were hit with a HUGE snowstorm, so I was little worried about people coming in from out of town on Saturday, but it all worked out. My sister Meghan and Ryan's brother Jesse are Lily's Godparents. Aside from a few mishaps with the Our Father, they did a great job! Father John was nice as could be. He was very impressed with Lily and said she could come back and be baptised any time. She was a perfect angel during the ceremony. Lily was wide awake and watched every move the Father made. It didn't even phase her when we poured the water over head. I was very proud to have Lily wear the baptismal gown that my dad, his brothers, my brother, and all of my cousins wore. To have a family heirloom be a part of this ceremony is very special. The gown was gorgeous and now it's my turn to keep it in tip top shape for the next child in the family to be baptised. Who knows, we might be next again! :)

After the ceremony we went to a restaurant that Ryan and I have eaten at many times with his family, Casa de Giovanni's. The food was excellent and the company was even better. Lily slept through almost the whole party. She woke up in time to cut the cake though! She's definitely my daughter if she's waking up for dessert!! It was so nice to share this special day with all of our family. Thank you so much to everyone who was able to make it and we missed those of you who weren't able to make the trip.

Parents and Godparents

Father John and Lily

The Grandparents

The best Godparents :)

The Star of the Day

A Few Pics from Denise's Wedding

Santa!

On Friday the 12th our clubhouse had their annual Christmas Party complete with a visit from Santa! We had Amy, Chris, and Madelyn over and headed to the party. A lot of our friends from my mommy and me group were there so we had a great time. We brough Bailey with us because we really wanted to get a picture of Lily and Bailey with Santa, but she was so excited/nervous/scared by all the people that we had to take her home before Santa got there. Lily wore her Baby's 1st Christmas outfit and everyone loved her reindeer hat! After the party we came back to our house for a gift exchange with the Pohlmans. They gave Lily her very own keyboard to use with our computer when she's a little older and they gave us a fabulous night in with gift cards to one of our favorite pizza places and blockbuster, and of course all the candy to go with it! Thanks Pohlmans!!

Since we didn't get the pic with Lily, Bailey, and Santa at the clubhouse party, we headed to Willowbrook Mall Pet Night on Monday. We got some great pics so we were finally able to make our Christmas cards. Sorry if they get out a little late! Lily has been great with Santa. I guess right now he's just another person holding her. Hopefully we won't get tears next year!

Lily and I are still going to our weekly Mommy and Me meetings. We really enjoy our time with the other mommies and babies. Last week the mommies went out without the babies to see Australia. Even though it was a long movie we enjoyed our night out! Last night we had a Secret Baby Exchange. We brought appetizers, wine, and of course, the babies. Lily got adorable clothes and a musical teether from Sydney. We had a great time, but forgot the camera! See you all in the New Year!

Denise's Wedding

On December 6 my friend from college, Denise, got married! I was in the wedding so Friday Lily and I went to Denise's mom's house and had a girls' day with the bridal party. We got manicures and pedicures and had a delicious lunch while Lily was passed around. Thanks for all of the hospitality! Aunt Meghan came over Friday night to babysit Lily on Saturday. While we were at the rehearsal dinner (with Lily) Meghan was home with Bailey and bonding with Denise's dog Brandi, who I forgot to tell Meghan we were watching for the weekend, oops!

I was sooooo nervous about leaving Lily for the entire day for the wedding. I knew Meghan would do a fine job with her and Lily loves Meghan, but I have never left her for 12 hours before! I defrosted tons of milk for Lily so she had plenty of bottles and I wrote out friend's phone numbers for Meg if she needed help, and of course, I checked my phone every chance I got! When Meghan sent me a text at 9:30 saying Lily was asleep, I finally relaxed and enjoyed the rest of the wedding.

The wedding was fabulous. We met at the Bethwood, in NJ, at 11:00 and got ready together and then went to the ceremony. After the ceremony we went back to the Bethwood for pictures OUTSIDE. I don't know if you all remember the weather that day, but it was FREEZING! When it started flurrying during the reception and Denise wanted pics in the snow, we were happy to hear her say she only wanted pics of her and Philip. :)

Denise, you looked beautiful and we wish you and Philip a very long and happy life together! Send pics soon so I can post some.

Thanksgiving

For Lily's first Thanksgiving we headed to West Chester to spend some time with my family. We were there from Wednesday until Saturday and we had a great time! Lily was very excited to meet her Great Grammom Skippy for the first time. Wednesday night Ryan and I left Lily and had our first night out by ourselves. We headed over to the Gruner's for some festivities with my friends from high school. We headed back home in time to put Lily to bed while all of my friends headed to the bars. Oh how life changes when you have a baby!

Thanksgiving day was very busy with lots of cooking and relatives. My dad's family came to our house and it was Lily's first time meeting a lot of them. She was a little overwhelmed by all of the noise and all of the new people holding her, but she was a trooper and hung in there.

Friday was filled with lots of visitors all day. We were so happy to see Carrie and Jenni again and some friends of my parents and sister came by to meet Lily. She let everyone pass her around again but had had enough by the time we went out to dinner and made us stand and hold her throughout the whole dinner. She's already learning the meaning of payback!

Saturday we headed back home because we had an engagement party to go to that night for one of Ryan's high school friends. We brought Lily with us and everyone at the party was very happy to meet her. We didn't get to stay for too long because Lily was exhausted and wanted to be back home in her bed, which, by the way, she has been sleeping in by herself since the week before Thanksgiving!

When we went for Lily's 2.5 month check-up I talked to the doctor about moving her into her crib and they said it was fine to do it now, so that night we made the move! She has been doing great in there. I was a little nervous about doing it right before we went to West Chester because I thought she would be thrown off by sleeping in her crib and then moving again to the pack n' play, but she did great. This child has no problem sleeping!

2.5 Months

We had Lily's 2.5 month check-up last week and she's doing great! She weighs 12 lbs and is 23.5 inches - both are in the 75th percentile. Her head is 15.5 inches which is 50th percentile. She looks older and gets bigger every day. Lily smiles all the time now and is "talking" more and more. She just discovered how to blow bubbles and stick out her tongue. She likes to lick her lips and make sucking noises. So cute! She has also been sleeping through the night! We can count on a definite stretch of 6 hours, but it's been 7-8 lately, and one night it was 10.5 hours straight. Amazing! It's nice to be able to count on a pattern now with her sleeping and eating.

We went for some family pics at JC Penney the other day and they came out adorable. First we did pics of the three of us with Lily in her holiday dress and then we did pics of Lily by herself in her Christening gown and with the blanket made from my wedding dress. They are absolutely precious. I'll post a link to see them when they become available on line.

Lily had her first of her first Thanksgiving celebrations this weekend. We went for the 3rd annual Deer Run dinner at Jon and Becky's house. Lily got to hang out with her friend Nola and we got to see Becky's belly growing with a new friend for Lily. Adorable!

We're headed to West Chester tomorrow to celebrate Thanksgiving with my family. There are lots of friends and family to see so I'm sure it will be a very busy trip.

Sitting all by myself in my Bumbo!

Let's go PSU!!!

I love my bouncey seat :)

My friend Madelyn is helping me bounce.

All bundled up ready for a walk.

I love sitting in my bumbo now.

Mom, please stop taking pictures already!

Lily's First Halloween

For Lily's first halloween we went to a party at the neighborhood clubhouse. Amy, Chris, and Madelyn Pohlman came with us and we all had a great time. There were tons of babies and little kids at the party and Lily was a huge hit! She was the youngest one there and everyone loved her. After the party we came back and hung out at our house with the Pohlmans. We were expecting to have a ton of trick-or-treaters, but only 6 came all night! I can't wait to take Lily trick-or-treating next year!

Taking a cat nap at the party.

Baby's First Boo!

Some of the moms and babies from our Mommy & Me group.

Lily and Sydney - Syd is 3 days older than Lily

Our little pumpkin.

Family pic - Halloween 2008

6 Week Check-Up

We had Lily's 6 week check up last Monday and she is doing fabulous! She now weighs 11lb. 6oz. (80th percentile) and is 22.5 inches long (75th percentile). Her head circumference is 14 3/4 inches which is average. She's a big girl!

We've still had a lot of visitors and Lily had her first trip to West Chester. I was very excited to take her there and introduce her to all my friends from high school. I also left her for the first time without Ryan being there! Grandpa and Grandmom Suzie babysat Lily while I, unfortunately, went to a funeral. Of course I checked my phone about every 5 minutes to see if they called, but Lily was an angel for them! After the funeral I picked Lily up and brought her to the restaurant with me to inroduce her to everyone. She was great while we were there. The only embarrasing moment was when the whole group quieted down to watch a video, and it was that precise moment that Lily decided to show off her lungs. I just about sprinted out of the room with her and ran to the lower level to change and feed her. Other than that, everything was great. :) While we were in West Chester Grandmom Suzie and I took Lily out to a restaurant for her first dinner out. I was a little nervous, but she basically slept through the whole thing. She opened her eyes a few times, but went right back out. It's great to know we can head out for meals now. She was perfect on the long car ride too. Slept the whole way!

We had a visit here from one of my best friends from college, Amy. She gave Lily the cutest little Ugg-like boots. You can see them in the picture. I love them! Thanks Amy for the boots and outfits. It was great to see you! :) My Aunt Lori, Uncle Mark, and cousin Kevin also stopped by for a visit. It was so nice to have out of town family come by for a visit. We can't wait for Lily to meet the rest of my family at Thanksgiving.

Uncle Matt finally was able to make it up for a visit! He had his fall break from UVA, so he decided to come to Jersey for a night. We met Matt and Aunt Meghan at Houlihans to watch the Eagles game and then Matt came back to spend the night with Lily. We were so happy they got to meet each other.

Lily has changed so much. She looks so cute with her chubby cheeks and her buddha belly after she eats. Her crying has really calmed down and she has longer periods when she is alert and looking around. My absolute favorite part about her is that she smiles all the time now. It is the best feeling to talk to her and see her face break out in a huge smile. I keep trying to get a picture of it, but I think she gets distracted by the camera and gets her serious face on. :) She's still a great eater - obviously, that's why she's in the 80th percentile! She's also a fabulous sleeper. She usually goes to bed around 10/10:30 and sleeps until 3 or 4. She'll eat and go right back down until 6:30/7. We definitely can't complain! Lily and I have also started going to a Mommy and Me group in our neighborhood. There are about 10 moms and babies that go to the group - 8 little girls and 2 little boys. We just meet at the clubhouse and hang out for an hour or so. It's nice because everyone has stories to share and since Lily is the youngest one there, they have all gone through what we're going through now and have great tips for us.

Enjoy the pics...I'll try to post more often!

Uncle Matt

Lily's first bottle!

Bailey's new jacket :) and Lily's UGG boots!

Amy and Hillary

Kevin

Aunt Lori and Uncle Mark

1 Month!

Lily has officially made it to 1 month! I can't believe she is already a month old, yet at the same time I feel like we have had her home forever. She is still a fabulous sleeper and eater. She has been sleeping for 6 hours straight the last two nights. It's been wonderful!

Lily had a lot of firsts this past week. She had her first bath! I was sooo nervous to give her one because I didn't want her to scream the whole time, so even though her umbilical cord fell off when she was 4 days old, I waited until 4 weeks to give her the first bath. She loved it! I had nothing to worry about. Ryan and I gave it to her together and she did not cry once. It was amazing! Hopefully she'll like her second bath just as much as the first one. :)

Now that she's a month old I can start taking her out to more places. On Monday I had a doctor's appointment, so Aunt Meghan came with us and sat in the waiting room with Lily. Thank you! After that we went to Daddy's office and then out to lunch. It was great! Lily started crying as soon as we sat down and Ryan and I both panicked, but Ryan took her into the lobby to swing her back and forth in the car seat and she was out like a light. When we finished lunch she was still passed out, so instead of going home I decided to swing by Lincoln Park and introduce her to all of my coworkers. I was a little nervous that she would wake up while we were there and start screaming, but she slept the whole time! Everyone loved her and she got tons of compliments on her name. People were so surprised to see how much hair she had (I said they should see her back!). After a long day out we were both exhausted, but it was great to be out and about with my daughter. :)

We've still had tons of visitors in the last few weeks, and more to come. Uncle Matt is finally getting to meet Lily this coming weekend. We can't wait for him to get here! Lily had her first friend over too. Nola came to visit with Aunt Kellie. I think Nola was a little surprised to see me holding a baby and she got a little jealous, but then she was more interested in my unbaby-proofed house and had fun pulling everything out. Now I know what I need to take care of before Lily can walk. I think I have a while before that happens though. :) Lily also got to meet 2 of her great grandparents last weekend. We were so happy they were finally able to make the trip to see her. She'll get to meet another great grandmother at Thanksgiving.

Thank you to everyone who has given advice about the colic. I talked to the doctor and she suggested cutting out dairy to see if that helped. After the first 2 days of that Lily seemed like a different baby. We thought we found the solution and I even went out and bought soy milk since I didn't think I'd be able to drink regular milk anymore. It was disgusting! But that theory was short lived since Lily was back to herself the next day. The baby bjorn (front carrier) has been a lifesaver. She loves being in it and falls asleep in it within minutes. She also loves the sound of the hairdryer so we'll be looking for a white noise machine to soothe her at night.

Lily is still changing so much every day. Her hair has lightened up a bit and her face and stomach have filled out even more! She's out of the newborn clothes now and we're very excited to start wearing all of her very fashionable outfits that she's been getting. She'll be better dressed than me! Lily's eyes are still a gorgeous steel blue. Let's hope they stay!

Here are some more pics from the last 2 weeks. Enjoy!

Lily and Uncle Bob

Lily and Cousin Eric
Lily and Cousin Rob
Lily and Aunt Linda

Lily and Cousin Jillian

We're trying really hard to get a picture of Lily and Bailey!
Lily and Great Grandma Smith
Lily and Great Grandpa Smith

Lauren and Adam with Lily