First Meal

Lia has been introduced to the exciting new world of solid food. First on the menu was rice cereal. Not a big hit (and it gave her gas). The picture is a little deceiving because she looks like she's enjoying it. Next was sweet potatoes. Still a few grimaces but her system seemed to handle it well. At this point she's just getting acclimated to the different tastes and textures and learning how to swallow. Next up is oatmeal, bananas and avocado. Mmmm.

Music to my ears

I have discovered that Lia is a big fan of bubble wrap. She just laughs and laughs! Ah, the simple things.

Holiday Pictures

It's cold here. COLD! We're talking negative numbers at night and single digits during the day. 'I haven't wanted to leave the house in a couple of days' cold. And all of you with babies know it's that much harder to get ready to venture outside. So, with all this time in the house I've been trying to capture the perfect picture of my darlings Lia and Monkey for our Christmas card. It has not been working out. Surprisingly Lia has been a willing subject and just as surprising Monkey has not. The only time Monkey was even a little agreeable was when he had baby fingers to lick. Looks like I'm going to have to keep on trying!

Here he is jumping off the couch. He had enough!

What a sad face!

This picture cracks me up. Lia is being such a cutie but I could not get Monkey to turn around. It was like he was sulking in the corner!

Milestone

Our little girl is growing up so fast. She is now five months old and seems ready to take on the world. She has recently started rolling over. I was beside myself with pride the first time she did it! I caught the second time on tape. It won't be long now before she's crawling and then walking. Enjoy the footage.

Thanksgiving

As this holiday weekend comes to an end I reflect on some things I am thankful for. I am thankful for my family. I have an amazing husband and a new daughter that constantly bring joy to my life. I am thankful that my family (husband, child, parents, sister and extended family) is healthy. I am thankful for the house I have to live in and all the comforts that come with that. I am thankful for a kitchen full of food. I am thankful that my husband has a job that supports us (even though I don't see him as much as I would like)...I am thankful for good friends. I will try to remember these things throughout the year and be always thankful for all the blessings in my life. Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

All in a day

Here's what Lia has been up to lately.

Sitting up well. Practicing for the first meal.

Entertaining friends in her crib.

'Talking'!

Loving Daddy

Hanging with Mom

The Future

Our little girl has changed so much in these past four months. It's hard to look at her and not think about what she'll be like 'when she grows up'. Maybe it's too early to tell but I can certainly imagine many things. I think she's going to be active. She's happiest now when she's on the move. Lia does not like to just sit around! Paul sees many sports in her future. She's strong. She holds her head up well and likes to stand up (supported of course). I think she's going to be right-handed. If I give her something to hold in her left hand, she always moves it over to the right. We're hoping she's going to become quite the gourmet. She puts EVERYTHING in her mouth (but I hear that's every baby this age)! I hope she will grow to love reading. She enjoys it now only if it accompanies another activity like bouncing, walking or oddly enough tummy time. She is very talkative right now. I can imagine her being very outgoing with that bubbly personality. She likes to flirt (especially with the boys- don't tell Daddy)! She just adores her Uncle Christian and got along great with Uncle Pete when he came to visit. I also see her being very independent. I hug and kiss her probably 50 times a day. I'm sure there will come a time when she no longer wants THAT much affection from Mom so I'm getting it in now. All in all we see a very happy, healthy, smart baby who will hopefully continue to grow and become a happy, healthy, smart child and adult. We love you, Lia!

Fall

We've had an amazing Indian Summer with temperatures reaching the 80's. Lia and Mommy enjoyed the outdoors by taking Monkey for walks, playing in the leaves and visiting a pumpkin patch. We then took Daddy to an apple orchard which had the best apple cider and apple cider donuts! Fall is quickly moving into winter with an upcoming storm that should dump inches of snow in town. Lia is well equiped for the weather with lots of warm clothes and a heavy duty snowsuit. Not sure what we're going to do for Halloween. I have to admit that we don't have costumes! Lia does have a super cute 'my first halloween' onsie. Hope everyone is well.

Visits

My sis Michelle and her husband Pete came out for our cousin's wedding and stayed a few extra days. It was so great seeing them and introducing Lia to Uncle Pete. Monkey enjoyed the extra walks and cuddle time too! It was too short of a visit. Miss you guys already.

My Uncle Bill stopped by for a quick visit on his way home from a cross country road trip. I haven't seen you in years Uncle Bill. Thanks for the visit, it was great. Lia loved meeting you! I think she was in awe of all your facial hair and funny sound effects!!

Her Father's Daughter

There are my two favorite people hamming it up for the camera. I hope Lia gets Daddy's sense of humor. She did giggle for the first time yesterday. We were outside getting the mail. I don't know what she was looking at but she just flat-out giggled. It was the best sound I've ever heard! I've been trying to get her to do it again (without any luck)!

My cousin got married this past weekend. She looked so beautiful. We are so happy for you, Sara and Carlos. Thanks for letting us share in this special day. This was Lia's first big outing and she did pretty good. Got fussy around dinner time so Paul and I had to take turns eating and then walking her around the restaurant. But she was good in church and slept the entire ride up and back. She saw her first snowfall that day. I don't think she was that interested in the snow but she definitely did not like getting SO bundled up to go outside. It's so much more complicated getting her ready to go out now...but she did look super cute in her pink dress.

Yup, that's my husband in church!

Cute couple! They took their jobs very seriously.

Paul and I made the cake as our gift to them. It was a lot of fun and we were glad to do it.

That's right. Mama can bake!

3 months old

Snoozing away. Look at her little toes sticking up!


Hanging with Dad in the kitchen.


Loving her doll! And looking a little cross-eyed at the camera!


We've hit a milestone! Lia is 3 months old already. It's hard to remember life without her. She has changed so much in these few months. She can now hold her head up pretty well (well enough to face forward in the Baby Bjorn). She is grasping things in both hands and is starting to put the things she grabs into her mouth. She smiles all the time (she still cries plenty, too)! I'm hoping she'll start rolling over soon... We are having so much fun with her.

Grandma

Lia met her grandma this past weekend. The visit was nice and Paul and I got to go on our first date since the baby came which was very nice. Grandma was great at getting Lia to do 'tummy time'. It was so great to see you, Mom. Now that I'm a mom I can greater appreciate the things you went through with Michelle and I. Thanks for everything! We love you!

Mimi

Paul's mom came for a visit and stayed with us for a week. She was so helpful around the house and with Lia. Alice could always make our little girl smile! We had such a great time and really appreciated the help. I know Lia was happy to meet her Mimi. Thanks for all the fun playtime, hugs and kisses. We love you!

Future Scholar

So, do I look intellectual or just plain nerdy?

Firsts

Lia is just about 2 months old. She is really growing and starting to become more aware of her surroundings and communicate more. She is such a cutie and we really are so happy to have her in our lives. There have been a few firsts lately. We captured her first smile on camera. Today she wore her first pair of pants (I guess a girl can't live in onsies forever)! And we took her to the movies (thanks for the idea Angela)! She slept for most of it just as we hoped. Every day brings more wonderful moments and memories. We are so blessed.

A Visit.

This past weekend Lia met her first set of Grandparents. Grandpa Bob and Grammy Linda came for a few days. It was so good to see them and show off my Baby! Thanks for the visit Dad and Linda. We miss you already!

6 weeks old!

Our little girl is just about 6 weeks old. It seems like just yesterday we welcomed her to the world. She has gained 2 pounds since birth and is 3/4 of an inch taller. Although most of the days still consist of sleeping, eating and pooping, she has started doing some new things. First of all her vocabulary is expanding. Along with grunting and squeaking she has started cooing and making other various cute noises (it's nice to hear something other than crying come out of her mouth). She also seems to focus on things more. She's made eye contact with me! She does have a little case of baby acne and is losing some hair but hey, we all go through these phases! She likes bath time, her pacifier and taking Monkey for walks. She likes going for car rides (she falls right asleep every time). She does not like tummy time so we'll have to work on that. She's just amazing and I can't wait to see what she does next.

Aunt Michelle

Dear Michelle,

You are my sister and my best friend! I am so grateful that you were able to come and visit for a week to take care of me and Lia (and Paul). Thank you so much for cooking, cleaning and sharing the various chores of baby duty. Lia was pretty fussy while you were here so your love and support was extra important to me. I miss you already. I'm so glad you've already met your niece and have become a part of her life. Can't wait to see you in October. We love you!

Photo Shoot

My sister Michelle is here for a week. She has been great, lending an extra pair of hands to help with Lia. She has also been cooking and cleaning which is very helpful. She is very interested in (and very good at) photography and brought her camera to capture some shots of her new niece. Here are some pictures of Lia's first photo shoot. She didn't even have to be awake for it!

Two weeks old!

Lia is two weeks old already. Life around here is pretty much the same- full of feedings, diaper changes and sleeping (for Lia anyway- Mommy and Daddy still aren't getting alot of sleep). But Paul and I are really enjoying being parents. Lia goes with Daddy to take Monkey for walks and she loves to make cute faces at Mommy. I think she smiles at me and sometimes sticks out her tongue! I can't wait until she becomes more able to express her little (or big) personality.

Paul heads back to work on Monday. It was great to have him home for two weeks. Now, I'll get to fly solo with Lia which is a little scary but I'm sure we'll be great. Pretty soon I want to start a 'Mommy and Me' yoga class that is designed for new moms and their babies. It should be fun to get out of the house, meet other new moms and work on getting my body back to it's pre-pregnancy state.

One week!

We've been home from the hospital for a week already and it has been an amazing whirlwind of feedings, diaper changes, kisses and cuddles. Lia is adjusting well to her new home environment and mom and dad are trying to get some sleep. We are now trying to get her to sleep more at night and be more awake during the day. She has her schedule mixed up! When she is awake she has the cutest little facial expressions and makes the cutest little noises. It's amazing that someone so adorable could poop so much! Monkey has taken really well to his new sister too. He is very curious when she coos and makes little noises but is otherwise not too interested. Her crying doesn't bother him either which is good. Lia loves her car seat and sleeps everytime we take her for a ride. I hope that lasts. She also loves when daddy reads to her. Paul and I are so in love with our daughter. It's only been a week but it's already hard to imagine life without her. It's amazing the power babies have over us!

She's Here!

Our little girl has arrived! Lia Jeanne was born Friday July 3rd at 11:48pm. Weighing in at 6 lbs 11oz. and measuring 20 1/2 in. she is just a little bundle of joy. Labor was long (about 24 hours) and hard on mom and baby but everyone is doing great now. We are enjoying our new role as parents and just trying to ease into our new routine. More to follow later. Enjoy the pictures.

39 weeks!

I'm still pregnant! One week to go until the official due date (July 6th). I'm not showing any signs of labor so my doctor thinks she may come a little late or at the very least not early(although anything could change at any moment). I have to say that I am truly ready. Ready to not be pregnant anymore, ready to meet my little girl and ready to begin this exciting new phase in our lives.

As a way of honoring this time in my life I got a belly cast made. Now I have a bowl in the shape of my belly which will constantly remind me of this special time when Baby and I were one. It's really neat. I'm not sure what I'll put in it but right now it's decoration in our Baby's room. Perhaps my next posting will introduce you to Baby!