July 18. Three days in.

Three days into our sleep training and Lily continues to be a rock star! She was SO ready for this! Shame on me for not doing it sooner. I suppose my baby isn't such a baby after all. I was.
     We have had three nights of sleep training. Night one was by far the hardest! She cried. I cried. Eric was strong. He "helped" me do it; made me wait out the designated minutes. I found that when she did go back to sleep on her own, I was so proud of her! Night two was amazing! I never got out of bed because she was crying. She never cried to the five minute mark. I thought - hope beyond hope - this could be working! Night three she cried to the five minute mark twice. I went in, talked to her for a moment and rubbed her head. When I left she cried for a few more moments and went back to sleep. All three nights, she has slept until the seven o'clock hour. I feel so much more human and healthy having had this much sleep!
     Other Lily news, she is a racing baby in her walker! She's had it now for nearly two weeks and is very precise with it. She can spot where she wants to go and get there! We like to set up a toy course for her in the living room. We take all of her hand sized toys and set them up around the room on the edges of furniture. She races around the room pulling the toys onto her tray and littering the floor with them. When she's all done, we set it up again! We've had to barricade the room exits when we want her confined as she is a little Houdini and can get around almost an obstacle! When one of us leaves the room, she follows! And the poor cat! Felix is an ever changing, ever exciting target! Luckily, he has only lost about a half dozen or so clumps of fur and never seems too put out by it!
     She is sitting more and more confidently. Although she cannot sit all by herself just yet, she is getting there! She is also, just in the last couple of days, trying to pull herself up into the seated and standing positions. She thinks she's big! LOL!
     Today I gave her her first air-puffed cereal bite. It was banana flavored and, apparently, pretty tasty! She is so tremendously cute!!!