New milestone....

Lily is still practicing "walking." I have been noticing that her balance isn't real good...and her legs seem a bit stiff. :/ I am going to continue to watch her.. Early Intervention should be coming out again soon to evaluate and if she sees her Dr. before then I'm going to mention it. It could be nothing... Like I said before, I do not want to miss anything! She will be 14 months old on Monday! Wow... she is a "big girl."

Onto her newest milestones and the funny things she is doing... She is real good at taking objects out of containers and today for the very first time, she put her "cookie" in the milk jug! Yeah!!! She did it over and over... it was very sweet. When she wakes in the morning or from a nap she will have her binkie in her mouth. I pick her up and ask her, "Do you need that binkie?" She then pulls the binkie out of her mouth and throws it in the crib! This morning I could have sworn she said "big girl" after she did this.

So.... now onto the funny and kind of bizarre. LOL

She has done this several times now. She will lift my shirt and start to poke my belly button.. then she puts the same finger into her mouth.. she will do it over and over again... (I'm grateful that I keep it clean..lol) so yesterday, she shared my belly button with me... she kept putting her finger in my belly button then put her finger in my mouth. ???? I wonder what she thinks a belly button is???? LOL She had me laughing so hard! She is such a joy!

Here is a photo of sisterly love..

Popping........in

Well, last week was indeed eventful. I am thankful for the snow that we had b/c it put daddy behind in work and in turn I was unable to go to work at night. (That is not what I am thankful for) Ms. Lily has had a terrible cold! Fever, runny nose, sneezing, and a bad.. bad.. cough! Poor Lil-Lil! You see, the snow enabled me to be able to be home with her in the evenings. Daddy and I agreed that it may have been to much for only one of us to handle. Ever since, she has started waking about 10 pm to 10:30 pm... each night.. screaming crying... when I go into her, she is standing. I pick her up and rock her for just a few minutes and she is back asleep... ???? I am hopeful that this doesn't turn into a new "normal." I'm wondering if she is experiencing some separation anxiety? I suppose time will tell.

On top of her cold, I think that I see her 5th tooth coming... and she is going through another developmental change. She is playing with her toys differently again and.... has just started to be REALLY interested in walking. (She had not walked with her baby walker since I posted that video..lol) She has been pushing it all over the house, going through the kitchen cabinets and etc... Oh boy.... I LOVE her.. she is SO curious! Praise God... however, I do look forward to nap time some days. :)

PhotoShoot!

One of my best friends daughters (I don't feel old enough to have a best friend that has a daughter that is 22! hehe..) came out with her family yesterday and took some AMAZING photos of Lillian. She was able to grab one photo of both girls. Victoria was on her way out the door and paused long enough to take ONE photo with her sister. I was pleased to see that it turned out nicely! :D

Here is a link to the set that she has posted on her blog:

Lily's first REAL snow!

Living close to Virginia Beach, Va. snow is a rare occurrence for us. More than an inch or two and our entire area shuts down. We are just not equipped for anything more than that. We don't own snow shovels, blowers or even ice scrappers. :D We received about 7 inches Saturday. Almost everything has been closed or canceled. (including church services) With the cold temps there is now ice on the ground/roads and if things open tomorrow, there will be delays and a great big mess. Luckily, this happened on my oldest daughters 4 and a half day weekend. So hopefully school will resume on Tuesday as scheduled.

Lily had some photos taken today. I have only seen one of them as a sneak peek and it is absolutely adorable! I will post them in the next couple of days.

Here are some photos of her out in her first "real" snow!

A weeks worth of fever....

Poor Lil... she has had a fever on and off for the majority of the week! I called the Pediatrician on Monday and they told me to watch her for the next couple of days. So, Thursday afternoon I called and they brought her in for an after hour visit. (So grateful that they have late hours!) We saw a wonderful Dr. (I actually know her from the Y. Like I mentioned before our YMCA is really like a country club..lol) So, she listened and looked in her ears... all clear! hmmmmm.... then I asked her if the reservoir that is still in her head could become infected. She said, it's possible BUT, if it were she'd be very ill. Higher fever, lethargic, and totally miserable. Then she went on to say that she had forgotten that she was born with Hydrocephalus because she looks sooooo completely normal and behaves completely normal as well. She went on to ask if we have noticed any delay... told her no. The only thing is is she not yet walking. She said no biggie there... its coming. :) We have been SOO completely blessed!!!

Today, is the one year marker for Lillians last surgery. So grateful that she has not needed more!

12 month check up

Last Thursday I took Lil in for her 12 month check up. She weighed 19lbs and 8oz,(20-25th percentile) 30 inches long, (75th percentile)and her head circumference was 47. (90th percentile) Her growth trends have remained the same. She got 4 vaccines. :( Her Dr. asked how many words she is saying, so we went through the list, momma, dadda, kitty, when you ask her what the kitty says she will tell you "meow." Amen, (at the appropriate time) Sissy (that is new) baby, bye bye, Hi, She will clap, and she likes to kiss her baby or her pony. SOMETIMES she will be generous and kiss mommy, daddy, or sissy but she mostly likes to hit me in the face. :D :D

We talked about her walking, or really lack there of. She said that she will get there at her own pace. 15 months is not unheard of and completely normal. She went on to say that Lily's head is in the 90th percentile and even though it is not abnormally large, it is heavy! She is so focused on her speed crawling that she hardly even cruises the furniture. She does pull her self up everywhere, all day long. :)

This morning she awoke and had a low grade fever. This is her very first fever. :( BOO! We have been so blessed that she is so healthy. I gave her Tylenol every four hours and Motrin tonight. I called her Dr. and they asked me to watch her. It could be teeth, shots, ear infection, or a virus coming on. Poor baby! I hate to see her not feeling her 100%!

Lily embarks on a Brand New Adventure!

Wanna take a peek?

Happy Belated New Year!

Wow.. long time no update! I hope that everyone had a wonderful New Year! Ours was nice and quite.. just the way I like it. :) However the days following have been nothing but crazy busy! After many prayers, I have an opportunity to take a part time (night) SEASONAL job. Ken and I prayed about this decision. It happened rather suddenly. We had one week to decide. Lily is still nursing and her most important "nurse" is at bedtime. She NEVER takes a bottle and well, one week really is not enough time to wean. After much consideration and trial we decided to offer her a couple of ounces in a bottle in place of me nursing. (Due to the fact that I was not home every night this week.. I was getting certified) Ken said the first night was VERY BAD... she refused to go to sleep and cried (my heart breaks just writing this) he said finally he put her in her play area and laid on the floor with her. She finally (2 hours past her bedtime) snuggled up next to him and fell asleep. The next night was better and there after he said it was a breeze! To add to it, she is teething like mad! She finally has 3 teeth and is working on the 4th. (Both front top) Tonight I was able to nurse her and put her to bed.... We are pleased that she has adjusted.

For her birthday we bought swim lessons at our local YMCA. I teach spin class there and honestly it is more like a "Country Club" than a Y. She started that this week as well. She LOVED the water! Ken got in the water with her and I snapped several cell phone pics. we are going to go again tomorrow as a family. She has another lesson on Monday that I will take her to alone and Ken is taking her on Weds while I am at work.

Here are a couple photos of her and Ken and the swim instructor in the pool.

Merry Christmas!

Every night at dinner we say Grace/Prayer. The other evening I was finishing up our prayer and just as I was getting ready to say "Amen" out of Lily's mouth popped what sounded a lot like "Amen!"




"Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that you may abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit." – Romans 15:13 (NKJV)

Happy 1st Birthday sweet Little Lily!

As I look at the time, right about now the Doctors are just beginning my C-section. (of course one year ago!) How nervous we were to meet Lillian. I remember praying that I would hear her cry, and that it would be a good strong cry. I prayed that she would have good apgar scores. I prayed that she would not be too ill from the fluid in her head. I prayed that she would be cognitive.

God has answered everyone of our prayers and MORE! Lillian has enriched our lives in more ways than I am able to express into words. About 6 months ago, I looked back over the prayer journal that I had kept and still mean too. Every one of my prayers have been answered. The prayers that I prayed were before we learned of Lily's diagnosis. They were prayers about my job, about Ken and other items. When I read those prayers, I knew that God had answered them with our Little Lillian and her diagnosis. I am forever grateful that I am capable of being able to acknowledge this. One day, Lily will be reading this "journal" in book format and I have this to say... My sweetest Lily, how we adore you. How you have blessed our lives. How thankful to God we are that you are exactly the way you are! You are fearfully and wonderfully made! We love you!

Happy 1st Birthday Lillian!!!



Ephesians 2:10; "For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God has prepared beforehand that we should walk in them"