Family Picture Christmas 2009

Lily had a Holly Jolly

Merry Christmas, everyone! Lily had a great holiday and she asked me to wish you all a very happy holiday season - whatever your religion. She's very PC like that. Christmas Eve was our traditional "small family" evening. Just Paul, Lily and myself. We had the usual shrimp dinner followed by the adults exchanging gifts. I think that the tone of that night will change dramatically in the next few years. Christmas morning brought lots of presents from Santa, and we had brunch with Nonna, Poppa and Poppie. There's nothing wrong with a breakfast of champagne and eggs benedict with tenderloin. Mmmmm. We then moved on to the Wismers' house to open presents and spend time with Aunt Tiffany, Uncle Ben and cousins Nettie and John. Lily doesn't quite get what's going on yet, but she does understand playing with toys - no matter who they belong to. Sharing is something we will be working on before Santa comes again. Here are a few pictures from the last few days. We'll have more to share after our trip to Texas. Happy Holidays!!

The family tree

Getting ready for Christmas Eve Mass

Let the opening commence!

I love my new Giraffe Bike from Nonna and Poppa!

Wearing Cousin Nettie's princess earrings - well, one of them.

What does a duck say?

"Cack cack", of course!

One year portrait

Swingin' on a Star

Lily got the traditional first birthday gift from Nana and Opa - the swingset! It was delivered last week, and now that the snow has melted (sort of) she got to go out and play on it yesterday. Here are a few cute pictures and a video of the giggly girl.

Problem

So here's the problem. When you have an adorable child, you simply cannot stop taking pictures. Something comes over you as a parent, and compels you to document every smile, pose, sneeze, and anything else that seems ridiculously cute. We have fallen victim to this curse, and now here are a few pictures to prove the point. Hope you all had a nice Halloween!

Hook 'em Horns
Let it Snow!
Pretty as a picture!
Trick or Treat!
and finally,

Naked

Birthday - Round 2

It's official - Lily is 1. It took a week's worth of parties and far too much cake to prove it, but all reports indicate that she is indeed 1. After a great party in Denver, we went to Dallas for my 20th high school reunion, and conveniently, another birthday party for Lily. She was happy to play along since it meant more presents and cake for her. She's pretty smart like that! Here are a few pictures from the Dallas party. We all loved seeing friends and family, and appreciate everything so much!!

Birthday - Round 1

Last Saturday Lily began her week-long birthday celebration with her first party in Denver. She was a little bit of a crank because her nap schedule was thrown off, but once the cake came out, she put on a happy face. More to come in the week ahead!

Such a big girl!

With the big first birthday coming up, here is one last picture update before we get party pictures! Today, Lily tried on her Halloween costume for the first time, and it was a huge hit. She also got a great little table from Nana and Opa. Seeing her sitting there is only a preview of one day when she's sitting at a desk writing the great American novel. We'll be back with the big birthday party pictures soon!

Yo Eleven!

Hi everyone! Sorry it took me so long to post, but I can't seem to stay in one place long enough to write anything meaningful. Mom won't let me have the laptop either, so that's a drag.

A lot has happened over the last month - as it does every other month! There are new teeth coming through, new places to explore and less spitting up to do. I am on the move right now, usually on my belly, but sometimes up on my knees. I can also stand up all on my own now! Well, by "all on my own" I mean that I am able to effectively use furniture, toys, people, Ruby to pull myself to standing. The view is incredible!

I am not getting to experience my wardrobe in quite the same way these days. I usually stay in the same boring outfit ALL DAY LONG! Mom used to change my clothes at least 2 or 3 times. And those cute bibs! Where have those all gone?? Maybe I should go back to throwing up all day. Lately I have been so much better that I keep almost all of my food down. Pretty awesome. I am still on medication for the time being, but the doctor told Mom yesterday, that if I keep doing well, they will start to wean me off of the meds. *crosses tiny fingers*

My first birthday is soon, and I get to have two parties! One in Denver with the Colorado folks, and another in Dallas with the Texans. Good thing there are two parties because I love cake. Really, who doesn't? Cake is delicious.

Party Animal - don't think so

Lily went to a birthday party yesterday for the twins who live two doors down. It was a lovely idea - a party for 1 year olds at Gymboree, where they specialize in annoying songs, parachutes and clowns to entertain small children. While Paul and I are always up for a good party, our daughter is less interested. Here is the mood she was in before we left

*Note - she is wearing clothes from the Gymboree clothing store just for effect

Here is the progression of her meltdown as the party went on. Things only improved when she got a cupcake at the end.

Pic fix

It has been a while since we posted, so I thought it was time for a few new pictures. We have been a little crazy lately, trying to figure out Lily's GI issues and also getting back into the swing of the school year. After trying several prescription formulas and jumping through lots of hoops, we are taking an investigative break. She is still taking two different medications plus iron, but she is drinking regular formula with rice cereal. Ironically, she is actually doing better than she was on the super hypo-allergenic stuff! Weird.

Lily is on the move with her strange army crawl, and she can finally get herself into a seated position from laying down. I think that she really loves her newfound mobility and she is exploring everything! She is getting bigger all the time, and changing a little every day. Check out her big girl teeth!

The first 10 Months

As the summer comes to a close, and the chill of the coming season settles into my bones, I have no choice but to contemplate my life and all that it has been up to this point. Didn't take too long! As of August 22nd, I am now officially 10 months old - double digits.

I spent a lot of the last month either out of town, or being babysat while one, or both, of my parents were gone. I got to spend some quality time alone with Daddy while Mommy was in New York with her friends. She must have gotten sick while she was there because she kept talking about how her head hurt in the mornings. Bummer. After that, Nana came up to watch me while Mommy and Daddy went to a wedding in Minnesota. Finally, I went to Texas for 2 weeks, and you heard all about that fiasco. Whew! I am glad to be home, and happy that everyone is staying put for a while.

Actually, I am not all that interested in staying put. I am not quite crawling, but I am definitely on the move. I can scoot across the floor like a champ, so watch out Ruby - here I come! I also got a new tooth and learned to clap. Who knows what the next month has in store for me. See you in September!

love, Lily

Yee Haw

For the last two weeks, Lily and I have been in Dallas while Paul has been teaching in San Francisco. What I thought would be a laid back two weeks started with an unexpected trip to the hospital and the removal of my gallbladder. Three days of Mommy in the hospital meant that Nana, Opa and Aunt Karen were on the job. Lily spent a lot of quality time with her Texas family, playing with her cousins and watching cartoons. She mastered some new skills, including clapping, although her constant attempts at crawling still aren't getting her anywhere.

We are still working on the GI issues and altering her diet and medication. All the rice cereal in her bottles has given her a nice layer of fat for the approaching winter months. Finger foods are the name of the game these days, and Lily LOVES to feed herself. She has decided that moderation is for suckers, and she shoves every iota of food on her tray into her mouth as quickly as her chubby little hands can grab them.

One new adventure was a trip to the movies! A local theater has the cry baby matinee twice a week for moms and babies. Its totally fine if they cry or fuss, and there was even a changing table in the theater. Awesome, right? Not so much. Lily was terrible and my mom ended up taking her into the lobby for the last part of the movie. Won't try that again for a while. Here are a few photos of the cinema critic.

9 months

Good afternoon! Lily here, coming to you from beautiful Denver, Colorado where the weather is beautiful and so are the babies. I turned 9 months old yesterday, and aside form another trip to the GI specialist, it was a pretty great day. I have been working on some new skills since the 8 month check in, but "almost" is the word of the day. I almost have two more teeth - but not quite. I'm almost ready to crawl - but not quite. I can almost associate the name Daddy with the guy who lives here - but, again - not quite.

Mommy and Daddy are going insane trying to figure out this eating thing. I am now drinking Nutramagin, which smells even worse then the soy, and I am on two different medications. Turns out my stomach is smaller than most other 9 month olds, and it empties out really slowly, so I can't eat as much at one time. Bummer. I keep telling Mom I want more, but she's mean and won't give me what I want. We'll have to work on that. See you next month, and I hope that all those "almosts" are mastered.

love, Lily

Mid-summer update

So, we are almost halfway through the summer, and I can't believe how fast it's going by! After our trip to Dallas, we spent a few more days in Texas. We headed down to Austin for Abby's baptism, and then Paul and I took a quick little trip to San Antonio for some needed mommy/daddy time! Once we got back to Colorado, we had a great time over the 4th of July with Paul's family. We are also aggressively working to solve the refulx (ok - barfing) problem. Lily went to a GI specialist last week and had an Upper GI done. We're waiting for the results, but in the meantime, we are making adjustments and trying to achieve a baby wardrobe that doesn't include a bib with every outfit. We'll be at 9 months soon, so Lily will be checking in!

Here we are before Abby's baptism

Lily's first ride in the GTO



"Gimme that popsicle"
"So listen, Daddy, I really like swimming, so let's get a pool"
Lily before the Upper GI. I love the little hospital gown!
Lily loves bathtime!