Growed

So Liliana has been telling us for weeks that she is grown up and doesn’t want to be treated like a baby (except when she does). She definitely has a strong will and knows what she wants (except when she doesn’t). Yesterday afternoon Grandpa Larry gave her an oatmeal + milk = gruel bottle and rather having it held for her, she reached out, took it, and proceeded to feed herself.

Aside from that, she likes to stand up all the time (while being held, of course) and especially loves to bounce on the bed. The other night that was all she wanted to do until Mommy’s back couldn’t take it anymore. I think she’s getting ready to go through a growth spurt because she’s sleeping more than usual.

Piece by piece I am slowly packing up her 0-3 months clothes as she outgrows them. For the most part she got some good wear out of everything. There are some little socks and slippers that she never wore because she would cry every time I put them on her and a dress she has only worn once. I’m going to put it on her again on Friday for her Great-Grandpa’s birthday dinner and then it too will probably end up in the box. Dresses are really not practical, especially now that she loves to put fabric in her mouth. If she wears things that are separate pieces, she always yanks up her shirt to chew on it.

We’re at a weird stage because while some of the 0-3 months stuff is getting too small, much of the 3-6 months stuff is too big. So there all you people who talk about what a big baby she is—she’s perfectly normal and really not as fat or big as several other babies we know her same age.

Liliana has started singing. She got a little frog for Christmas that sings the alphabet song. She knows how to push his little tummy to turn him on and likes to chew on his arms and feet. The other day in the car, after he had finished singing, she started making these little noises in the same rhythm as the song. She also sings along with him and loves it when Mommy or Grandma sing along too.

So that’s about it. She has her four month check up next week, so I will post our vitals then. I think she should be starting veggies soon, much to Grandpa Larry’s disappointment. He, for some reason, really wants to give her applesauce.

Brief Update

I don't have any more pictures to add at this time, but I will try to get some up this week. I am also going to play around with the video camera mom gave us for Christmas and see about posting some video. Not sure how that will work, but it should be interesting.

In other news, Liliana rolled from her stomach to her back for the first time the other night. She was annoyed with tummy time and decided she had had enough and was going to do something about it. She wants to stand all the time (we have to hold her up) because I guess she has decided she is grown now. We went to see Dreamgirls yesterday and ended up taking her with us when Staylee didn't make it home in time (he was stuck at the store and came to pick her up at the theatre about 20 minutes into the movie). She was actually watching the movie and started jabbering away to Eddie Murphy when he sang. It was very cute, but I felt like I had to quiet her down since she might disturb other people. If we had been at a movie like Happy Feet, I wouldn't have worried about it. But Dreamgirls is not exactly a kids flick. (Good movie though--Jennifer Hudson and Eddie Murphy both rock. I knew I was right when I voted for her on American Idol.)

Finally, I have started another, non-Liliana centered blog. Some folks are interested in keeping up with my thesis and school work in addition to seeing the baby, so I have created Lady Lazarus. You can access it by clicking the link at the left or by going to http://questforbrilliance.blogspot.com/

Miss Liliana at Three Months

Here is baby doll on her own. (Note the little feet--that little flexed foot just kills me).

Family Pictures

For our anniversary we got family pictures taken. Lili was a little sleepy at the beginning so the family shots aren't that great. But I think some of her solo shots (coming next post) are so cute.

Picture Smorgesborg

I have lots of picture to post, so it make take several posts. Here are some from Christmas (there are more, I just haven't uploaded them yet).

The first three were taken on the day of her first snow (of course being Midland it didn't stick).

Posing with the notorious Nigel.
Sleeping under the tree with her Baby's First Christmas ornament.

Rice Milk and Christmas Wear

I know people actually check the blog for pictures of our baby doll, so I wil post some taken in the first half of December.

Smiling under the Chrstimas tree.
Eating her first food off of a spoon (rice cereal and milk). She really had a good time, as you can see.


Hanging out in one of her Christmas sleepers.

Two Years ago...

...Staylee and I were exchanging vows (or actually getting ready to at this time) at Walt Disney World. Staylee woke up in a room with his friends and went for breakfast while I spent the night on my own in a hotel room and slept late until my mom, Beth, and Marty came to start getting ready. We had already rented a house in Lamesa where we planned to live with our sweet dog, Meg. Staylee was working part-time at Home Depot and trying to get work with Massage Therapy. I was working part-time at Midland College and considering going to graduate school for Counseling.

Today: Staylee left for work about six so he can leave early tonight to have family pictures made. Liliana and I slept a little past that and I tried to get her to eat breakfast. (She was much more interested in sleeping in--how do you explain to a three month old that Mom can't feed you again until lunchtime?) Staylee now works for Baker Hughes Centralift doing some sort of oil field work (I still can't grasp everything he does, but it is a lot). I work full-time for Midland College in the Technical Pool and am 3 hours, two exams, and a thesis away from my master's in English. We own our own home in Midland, about a mile from my parents. We unexpectedly had to say goodbye to Meg (and still get teary about it) and now have the wacky and unpredictable Charleigh and Perdita.

Everything is different than we planned. Our first few months of marriage were hard--Staylee was working nights so we literally would pass each other on the road driving to/from our respective jobs, I didn't get into the program at Tech (the whole reason we moved to Lamesa in the first place), we were very low on cash most months, Meg got killed...it wasn't anything like we had hoped. And then, one day at a time, things got a little better.

So here we are--married two years and now numbering three (or five if you count the fur babies, which we do). Has it been challenging? You bet. Has it been frustrating? At times. Has it
been amazing? Absolutely.

We have such big, exciting anniversary plans. We are both working all day and then I'm going home to give Lili a bath and get her (and myself) ready for family pictures. My baby girl is three months old today and getting cuter and more in interesting every day. I love her so much sometimes I can't stand it.

First Christmas

We survived Liliana's first Christmas. Much of the two week vacation period was spent with Liliana being sick and thus confining us both to the house. But she had a good Christmas showered with gifts from grandparents, aunts and uncles, and of course, Santa. The big score was the baby swing Grandma bought her house--she loves it so much Great-Grandpa is buying us a second one for our house. She's also seriously addicted to the Baby Beach Band (a soft octopus drum with noisy toys inside) that Santa brought her. Christmas morning she sat and played with it for about an hour. As anyone who has tried to entertain a two month old baby will tell you, that is quite an achievement.

She is starting to outgrow her 0-3 month sized clothes. I take this as a sign that she is growing right on schedule. She no longer likes to be held with her tummy on your chest. Only when she's sleepy does she go for that. Otherwise, she wants to be turned out to see the world or be playing (the Baby Eintstein light up star never fails to amaze and delight). I try to give her plenty of tummy time, but sometimes she just screams like she's being killed. Liliana has also become a bit of a chatterbox. She coos and talks (very loudly--we think it is because she likes to talk to Perdi, our deaf dog) and is very kicky. We help her stand and she takes little steps (mostly we hold her and her little feet step and move her forward while we support her weight). A few weeks ago she decided she is ready to be mobile, so she creeps military style on her tummy a few inches before she gets frustrated. We have also accomplished rolling from back to side, side to back, side to front.

I have Christmas pictures that I will try and post in the next few days.

(Oh, and for anyone interested in things other than the baby--I pulled straight A's last semester despite giving birth to Lili. In fact, one of my professors (who also happens to be my thesis advisor) liked my final paper for her class so much she wants me to develop it into my thesis. So I have that, my master's exams, and one last class and I am done. Yay!)