Christmas Break 2010

Well the presents were opened and our stomachs are still recovering, but Christmas has passed and I'm so happy to have some time off and just be home with Lilly. I've never been so thankful to be away from work for a few days- I guess with a little one, we realize just how important "family time" is. I'm happy to just be around the house and reflect on the past year and look ahead to our plans for the new year.

I'm posting a photo my friend Monique took this year for our annual family Christmas photos. She's my little sweetheart, I love her sooo much, and I think this picture gives a sense of just how much fun we have together.

Looking forward to a very happy year in 2011. So many fun things are ahead of us.

Our little Christmas Angel

I have to say, this holiday season has been so much fun. Lilly is so in tune with her surroundings and all the holiday decorations. She automatically recognizes Frosty on the television and says "sss sss" for Santa Claus. Probably going to be one of the best years ever!!!!

Black Friday Shopper

It has been a month since my last post. Lilly has been VERY busy, walking and talking all over the house- so much that I haven't had an opportunity to post anything to the blog in a while. Last night, Mehdi and I were working on making dinner in the kitchen. Next thing we know, Lilly walks in the kitchen with her handbag and was ready to go shopping. I guess she thought it was a good time to go do some Black Friday shopping.......at 7:00 at night.

She's saying so many words and phrases now, too. Or at least, we think she's saying phrases. To date, the most clearly spoken words include the standard mommy, momma, dada, daddy, doggy, ChiChi. But more amusing as sweet are things like: "Thank You!" "Guys" and "What is that?"

I can't believe a year has already passed. Our little sweet baby is almost a toddler. My next video post will likely be one of Lilly "walking ChiChi" on the leash- her favorite activity with Daddy.

Step by Step...Oooh, girl!!!

Yes, that's right, we have a walker! Lilly's gaining confidence with each step and in no time she'll be running laps around the dining room table. But for now, her walking resembles that of Frankenstein- appropriate for this time of year, I must say.

All the fun is over now and we're having to safeguard EVERYTHING in our house. Such a fun time of year.....so many changes happening at the big "1-year old" mark.

Age 1....and some Halloween Fun

The invitations are out, and we're getting ready for Lilly's big birthday event. Let's be honest, though, this party is really a celebration for Mehdi and me. We'll be celebrating that we Lilly's still alive, and that we made it through the first year still in love with each other.

I'm so excited for Halloween this year- Lilly gets squeely about the festive decorations at our house. Witnessing the joy she has over ghosts, jack-o-lanterns, and sparkling skulls makes this time of year so much fun! I feel so blessed to have so much excitement and joy in my life right now.

Baby's Best Friend

Lilly and ChiChi have had a love-hate relationship: Lilly loves ChiChi, while ChiChi has resented Lilly. However, ChiChi is beginning to really like having Lilly around the house and is beginning to play and grow really protective of her.

Mehdi caught this video today (two days after her 10-month birthday) when ChiChi wanted to play with Lilly's giraffe toy rattle.

Oh, and that little red spot on her right cheek is Lilly's first shiner! She earned her battle wound when she fell face first into the magazine rack while attempting to walk. My prediction of her walking in the 10th month may be true after all.

I promise not to wait this long again before my next post!

It's official: Lilly is crawling

It looks a little funny, but she gets where she wants to go now. Time for some childproofing.

Also, please don't judge me for not having pants on Lilly. We had just changed her in preparation for bed, and hadn't put her jammies on yet. ;-)

Happy Baby, Happy Mommy

We've been busy doing "new" things this week. Lilly had her first Gymboree class last week. We did a trial class to see if she liked it. No doubt, it was right up her alley....so many colors, songs, and things to do. She was all smiles for the entire class.

Also, Lilly is officially sleeping entirely through the night. We put her down at 8:00pm and she doesn't wake up until nearly 7:00am. Ahhhhhh.....what a relief! It took some time, but we eased her into this schedule and it worked well. Thank goodness for this book I've been reading and applying since she was 6 weeks old. It has truly saved my life. (thanks to my coworker/friend Sarah for the recomendation)

Lastly, we're changing up her eating a little bit to include MORE food and less formula. I've been reading about ways to have her weaned off the bottle by 1 year. Understanably, including more regular food in the day is the best way to do that. This means more cooking and prepping for me, but I think its worth it. (see attached photo of Lilly and I cooking in the kitchen) The biggest benefit of this will be not having the bottles in my cabinet or dishwasher anymore. WHEW!

Lilly's going to be getting a few special visitors in the next 8 days. This week, her Grreat Auntie, Ann, will spend time with her. Then Mehdi took a day off to be with her on Thursday. Next week, Great Auntie & Uncle Mary and Jerald are coming to stay and watch her. I'm so thankful for my family and their willingness to help. My parents are out of town so the Aunties and Uncles are stepping up to fill-in during their absence. My family is AWESOME!!! I'll make sure to upload pictures of their visit.....I know they're all really looking forward to spending some one-on-one time with her.

Until next post......Cheers!

8-month Update

Even though we don't see the Doctor again until she's 9 months, I did my own measurements here at the house so I'd have it for her baby book

Todays weight: 20 pounds
Today's Length: 28.5 inches
That puts her in the 95th percentile for both height and weight......she's a healthy growing girl!!!

Today, for the first time, she did a deliberate crawl on the living room floor. She slammed her hands down then the knees followed. She did 3 crawls.....I was so sorry that I couldn't get the video camera in time. I'm sure it will happen again very soon so I'll update with a video post then.

For now, though, I wanted to post a picture of Lilly that I took this morning. She never wakes up "cranky." She's always so happy and excited when I pick her up in the morning. It took almost 30 minutes to get her to her normal self today....maybe she was mad at me because she was having a bad hair day. Either way, here's a picture- it made me laugh.

So close to executing the crawl

Lilly has been working so hard on trying to crawl. She has the scoot, the spin and the reverse pretty well mastered. However, forward on the knees remains the big challenge. We're rocking on our knees, but still no forward movement.

Lilly's New Trick

OMGoodness.....two blogs in one day- its a new record!!! Lilly has so many new fun things happening lately that I'm sure I'll be updating the blog more often now. Earlier today we scooted across the floor- then (in an unposted video) she attempted to crawl but slipped on the hard wood floor. Now, during the Lakers-Celtics game, she decided to debut her "Clapping" technique. I lkike to think that she's gearing up for Charger season!!!!

The "Scoot" Master

Yes, my darling sweet daughter has learned how to do the scoot- kind of like that dog in the Stanley Steamer commercial.

She was sitting on her blanket in the living room when she apparently became unsatisfied with my toy selection. So she scooted over to her little toy basket where she decided to go seek out some more entertainment for the day.

Lilly's first Boat Ride

Mehdi's friends, Blaise & Clarice, invited us to join them on their boat this Sunday. They have a little one as well (a few months older than Lilly) and thought it would be fun to get together and share the afternoon with friends.

They were wonderful hosts and we had a great time. It was Lilly's first time on a boat. She thought the rumble of the boat was kind of scary at first (sometimes unfamiliar noises startle her) but after a minute she was fine.

Here's a picture of Clarice, me and the babies. Also a picture of Blaise and Mehdi.

Lilly's First Air Show

My dad invited Lilly and I down to Gillespie Field today for the "Wings over Gillespie" Air Show. He was displaying his airplane for the show and he thought it would be fun for Lilly to get out and see new things. Mehdi was in Fontana for a racing event with his brother, and Lilly and I didn't have anything else planned for the day.

There were a lot of WWII planes & exhibits, old military vehicles as well as a classic car exhibit....really a lot of fun. Lilly wore her Red, White & Blue. GO USA!!!!

We followed with dinner at my parents' place where we enjoyed the great weather on the back patio.

Fun family outing today!!!

Teaching Lilly to say "Mama"

Today, while at home with my sweet baby girl, I noticed Lilly copying me with baby talk every time I deliberately spoke to her. I thought this would be a great opportunity to try and teach her to say "Mama." I think I may have heard an "mmmm" sound during this video, but it was more likely that she was frustrated . You can be the judge, but I couldn't help sharing this with the world.......I thought it was so funny.

Things are lookin' up!!!! (as in, sitting-up)

Lilly is officially sitting on her own. We still have the occassional "timmmmmm-berrrrrrr" moments. However, she's upright most of the time now, which is more fun for her since she can play with her toys.

This age (5-6 months) has been so much fun for me-

• We started on solid foods: carrots, yams, butternut squash and green beans are the faves so far.
• She's babbling, squeeling, and generally communicating in her own way. "Dah-Dah-Dah," "Ah-dzoo" and "Yah-Yah-Yah-Yah" are the most frequently spoken sounds.
• Her favorite past-time is blowing bubbles and making vibrating sounds with her lips (my dad calls it the "Bronx cheer".)

There is no doubt that Lilly is an independent little woman that knows exactly what she wants, and is good at communicating it. I see the "Type-A" in her, so there's no question that her personality takes after me. Maybe #2 will be more like Mehdi- mellow and generally agreeable.

She's such a joy....and every day is something new with her. Hopefully my next blog will be a photo of the big crawl!!! No rush, though.....I'm not looking forward to baby-proofing my house.

Lilly- a photo update (not in any particular order)

It's been quite some time (nearly 3 months) since I blogged about motherhood and out little Lilly. So, in the intereste of time, I'm attaching a bunch of photos to bring you up to speed.


Since New Years, besides being insanely adorable and loveable, Lilly has learned to:

• make all sorts of noises with varying ranges of "squeal"
• blow bubbles
• hold her own bottle
• laugh and/or giggle- this is my favorite
• roll over from tummy to back- we're still working on back to tummy
• and eat a semi-solid food called rice cereal

I've been busy with work, now that its tax season. My work hours are long, but the days pass relatively quickly. I miss Lilly when I'm away, but its been a good opportunity for her to bond with Daddy, both sets of Grandparents, and her Great Auntie Ann. I'm looking forward to a "post-April 15th environment" where I'll be home with her 4 days a week. I'm fortunate that my work permits me to only come in the office 3 days a week.

Well, if you're reading this.....thanks for checking in on us. We hope you're well, and I look forward to updating this blog more frequently after tax day!

Hugs to all!!!!

First Day at the New Park at Liberty Station

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!! Welcome 2010!!!!

Today, our little family ventured out to investigate the new Farmers Market at Liberty Station. It was small, but we think it will grow with more exposure, just like the Little Italy one on Saturdays.

During our outing, we discovered that the Park at Liberty Station was recently completed. We haven't been out much, so we were really excited. We headed over to show Lilly where her new play grounds will be. Its a HUGE park, with a lot of open spaces and places for kids (and little doggies like ChiChi) to run.

It felt so good to be outside in the fresh aire. We're so thankful to be living in San Diego, where on a January day, the sun was shining, the temperature was 67 degrees, and families were out enjoying their Sunday afternoon.