This week, Lily celebrated her first Easter! On Sunday we went to Mawmaw's house for her first Easter lunch. We dressed her in the Easter dress that Mimi bought her, which was still too big, but totally cute! She went out for her first Easter Egg Hunt! She "found" her egg in a flower pot. She became a little fussy in the afternoon, so I tried to put her down for a nap. I brought her to the back and nursed her and laid down with her for over an hour, but she never went to sleep! She is like that. Some days all she wants to do is sleep, and other days she refuses to sleep! She is becoming a much better night time sleeper. She doesn't sleep through the night every night, but does a great job of eating and going right back to sleep.
After refusing to sleep we went back to the front and Lily had many Easter presents to open! Eric and I bought her a couple of books, some sun glasses, and a glow worm that is actually a sea horse. We've read the books several times. I have to admit, I get a little emotional when I read "Are You My Mother". That poor little baby bird! Laurie, Mark & Katie, Mary, Nanny, Mimi and Pappy also bought her gifts. She received several beautiful books (which we've been reading all week), some clothes, and a wonderful exer-saucer! We immediately put together the exer-saucer and put Lily in it! It's made so that the baby's feet are on the ground and they can jump and spin the seat around and around to play with things all around the set. Petite Lily is so small that we had to stack books under her feet!
Monday was a very busy day! I wanted to paint the accent wall in mine and Eric's bedroom, so Tara and Katie took Lily shopping and to Mimi's work for lunch. Apparently she was really good and slept a good bit. I guess she was making up for Sunday! That evening we had a small bbq with friends. Midway through the BBQ, Lily began to scream bloody murder. Katie walked around with her. Tara had a turn. Then, I took her upstairs and fed her. Quiet. Asleep. It was weird. She'd just eaten about two hours prior, but as soon as I fed her, she was out like a light! It was like she was furious that we hadn't put her to bed yet! (It was only 7:30)
Tuesday was Spring Cleaning day! In the morning I put Lily in her baby backpack, which I wear on the front, and began tidying up. She was a great helper! We went around and around the house cleaning. When I stopped, she would fuss and whine. When I moved around she would quiet. When Granny arrived at ten, she was completely asleep! Gran sat with her for most of the day while I cleaned every surface in the house! I took breaks each time Lily wanted to eat and fed her. She had several moments of really fussiness. Each time, Granny was amazing with her. She made up songs to sing, read to her, told her nursery rhymes, and just spent great quality time with her. Lily is so lucky to have so many grandparents and great-grandparents who love her so much! They went for a walk in the afternoon. They went to the lake and spoke with some of the neighbors. Granny played the dulcimer and some other (I don't know what it is) instrument for Lily. Gran left around 5:30 to go to music lessons and I was done for the day with the cleaning! Exhausting, but productive day!
Wednesday Tara and I wanted to do some shopping. We met Nana for lunch where Lily elicited so many positive remarks! Everywhere we go, people comment about how cute, small, and precious she is. I know!!! Of course, I am totally biased! Anyway, we continued on to shopping, but Lily was not having fun. We decided to abort the shopping mission and brought her home. I nursed her and we cuddled in the recliner. She slept on my chest for over two hours! It was amazing! I simply love the quiet, simple, cuddly times with her. There is nothing in the world like your child sleeping on your chest. I can't take my eyes off of her. Her little nose is the cutest thing I've ever seen. Her eyelashes. Her tiny hands that caress my skin when I feed her. Her itty bitty toes. Her baby noises. The way she grunts appreciatively when she eats. How she rubs her eyes and holds her ear when she is tired. I love everything about her!
Thursday was a big day for me and for Lily's future. Today I went to tour some daycares that I had made appointments with a few weeks ago. I saw three daycares. One was horrible! I saw it first and was completely distraught that a baby would go here. I'm sure that it wasn't that bad, but it was NOT Lily worthy. The second one I saw was terrific. The third was ok. I put her on the list for the second and third places. We'll see. I think for now it is certainly better that she is home with family. I think though, that when she starts walking, it will be good to have her in a daycare setting with peers. At the place I really liked today, the babies were so happy! They were engaged with the kids and the kids were doing such fun things like painting, puzzles, and outdoor play.
Thursday afternoon we went to the photo studio with Mimi and Nanny. It was great! This was our best session yet. Lily was pretty happy for the duration of the shoot and only got a little fussy at the very end. She was great! We were hoping that she would smile more, but maybe next month! Tara had created some beautiful scenarios for Lily and she got to be a surfer, an astronaut, on a clothesline, and others. She is such a cutie!
When we got home, we went for our walk and hung out at home. Eric was late getting home, but Tara and I hung out with Lily. She was so cute. Felix even came and hung out!
Thursday night, Lily pulled the same thing as earlier in the week. She began scream-crying around 7:30. I took her upstairs, fed her (again, I just had recently), and put her to bed. That's what she wanted! She continued to be a bit fussy for about an hour, but bed was what she wanted. I think the fussy was because she was overtired.
Friday Daddy was off. He and Nanny wanted to work on moving the garden, so Lily hung out with Mommy all day. First we all went to Lowes to choose a material for the raised garden, then Lily and I went to meet Nana for lunch. About midway through lunch, Lily began to cry. Loudly. We finished up and left thinking that she would quiet in the car. She and I got into the car and began to drive. The more I drove, the louder she got. It was maddening because there was nothing I could do. I would try to put her nook into her mouth at the red lights, but that only lasted a moment. I thought hard about just driving home, but really wanted to deal with this being out. If I go home with her every time she cries, we will never go anywhere! I went to the mall, which was the original plan. I parked, got into the back seat with her, and fed her. Although she'd just eaten about two hours previous, she gulped down milk! When she was done, I placed her into her stroller and she was asleep before I got into the building! She stayed sleeping for two hours while I strolled us around and took care of all the things I needed to do, as well as some gratuitous walking just to keep her quiet and happy!
On the way home, we swung by Target to pick up my new glasses. Turns out that was overkill. Lily began to cry on the way home from there and screamed until we got home and I fed her again. That little girl has NO patience when she is hungry! She is also eating in weird patterns. Sometimes she goes 4+ hours before being hungry. Sometimes only 2! It's hard to guess that she is hungry when it seems like I just fed her.
Friday evening we BBQed again, but before we did, Lily, Lindsay and I had some fun in the backyard!
Saturday Lily and I took Nana for our annual Mother's Day Outing! Each year we choose a different plantation home to visit and have lunch somewhere near the home. This year, we chose Laura Plantation. Lily "talked" to mom most of the way to the plantation. When we arrived, we had time to take a couple of pictures before the tour began. The tour was amazing! The guide really knew her stuff and this home has really well-documented history. It was wonderful. Lily was a tiny bit fussy at the beginning of the tour, but I'd brought a bottle so we walked and fed her. As soon as her tummy was full, she fell completely asleep in my arms. She is so precious! She was so soundly asleep that her legs were flopping as we walked! Beautiful baby! We ate on the way home and Lily fell asleep on the ride.
That evening, Mimi and Pappy met us out at dinner with memory sticks with her photo shoot pictures!!!!! SO EXCITING! Lily is so amazing that I could look at her and pictures of her all day and night! I KNOW I'm biased, but I don't care!! Lol! Dinner was a little rough as Lily cried through most of it. Fortunately, the restaurant is loud so she didn't bother other diners. It's so frustrating when she cries like that because its hard to know how to help her. After a little while, I snuggled her close and she fell asleep in my arms. There is nothing like the feeling of your babe asleep in your arms!
When we got home, she fussed for a little while and fell asleep. Other than waking at 5 to eat, she slept until 8:30!! Miracle!
A continuing development this week is the love of the duck! Lily will sit for quite a while and "talk" to the duck. We are calling it her best friend! It's so funny. Its been there her whole life, but is only now becoming a real part of her life.
Another development recently is no more monsters! She used to throw up her tiny hands each time she was startled. Now, she deals with being startled in a much more mature way. Its almost sad because throwing up her monsters was so completely cute, but good too because it means that she is developing and maturing. It's the first thing, other than an ease of tummy troubles, that she has really grown out of. Again, it's a little bittersweet.
I feel like I've been learning her better, too. I feel like we are learning each other better. She still has absolutely NO patience when it comes to being hungry, but I can totally appreciate that! Friends of mine know that I have a 1 through 4 hunger scale. When I get to 3, its time to make a plan. If I get to 4, watch out because I might cannibalize you! Lily, true to form, has created a level 5. Watch out!
This week, Lily really seems to be coming into her own. She is holding eye contact, reacting to stimuli, tracking objects as they move across a room, and smiling more and more. If you're lucky, you can even be rewarded with her beautiful laugh!
No comments:
Post a Comment