Flying is FUN!

Lily loves having her own seat on the airplane, and Mommy loves not having to pay extra for it! We were very fortunate on our flights to and from Atlanta that we were placed next to an empty seat so that Lily could sit like a big girl all by herself (with lots of toys to keep her company). She was a champ, even when we got seriously delayed on the way back home. She made friends with her neighbors and hammed it up for the flight attendants, I think she forgot I was even there until she got hungry!

Joyeux demi-anniversaire à toi! 3/22/2010

Since Lily had her half-birthday while she was at the grandparents' house, her wonderful Gram was a big goober and made her a pink cake. Mommy was a stickler and didn't let her eat any, but she got to play in the frosting a little bit and we helped her blow out the candles! :)

Dog sandwich

In the absence of her usual companion Duke, Lily spent some quality time with the other Thompson family dogs on my parents' living room floor. Keesa the Rottweiler, despite her fearsome appearance, was as sweet as she could be, laying her head in Lily's lap (which I could never quite get a picture of but it was really cute) and enjoying the attention. Saucisse the wiener dog, however, was another story. She was intrigued by Lily at first, and Lily loved her, but as soon as Saucisse found out that Gram paid more attention to the baby than to her, she turned diva and got very jealous.

Newsflash...we have a TOOTH!

I interrupt this series of pictures from our GA trip to inform our avid readers that Lily has officially cut her first tooth. When we left the house this evening to have dinner with some friends at La Creperie, she did not have any teeth, but sometime during our meal, her bottom left one decided to pop out and say hello. Jake was letting her have a drink of his water when he heard it clinking against the glass...eeek! I guess our time with that adorable toothless grin is coming to an end. Congratulations Lily!

Mmmmm technology...

Well, she hasn't tried any other fruits yet but we already know she likes Blackberries!

Down in the Boondocks

We just got back from spending a week with my parents in South Georgia, where Lily got reacquainted with her grans, her aunties, and many other people who love her. On Friday night, Dad took us to Benton Lee's steakhouse on the banks of the Altamaha River, in the middle of NOWHERE (I mean nowhere). It was quite remote but the steaks were great and very very large. As I gleefully tackled my "small" sirloin, which easily covered my whole plate, Lily learned to drink water from a straw with the help of Gram and Auntie Tara. We also enjoyed the beautiful weather outside!

6 Month Checkup

It's hard to believe that Lily is already 6 months old...her first year is halfway over! She is growing up so fast, I just want to stop time so that she can be my sweet baby for just a little bit longer (sigh). But the bigger she gets, the more fun she gets, so hopefully that will continue. We went to visit the pediatrician yesterday and Lily has continued her crazy exponential growth. She was 20 pounds, 11 ounces (geez!) and 27 inches long--a VERY healthy, robust baby girl!!

New high chair and big girl food!!

Lily's high chair arrived on our doorstep on Thursday, and we started tasting some rice cereal mixed with breastmilk on Friday morning. Our first attempt was largely unsuccessful (I think I got more on her face than in her mouth), but the next one turned out much better and hopefully we can start moving on to bigger and better things (mmmm pureed fruits and veggies) in a couple of weeks.

Mommy is getting old!

I wasn't expecting to do much celebrating for the big 2-7 last Monday (hey, I figured becoming a mom meant that I don't have birthdays anymore), but Jake and Lily made me feel very special all weekend long. On Saturday night, we went to Valpo and had a GREAT dinner at Strongbow, where Lily sat up like a big girl in her high chair, which was kindly padded with tablecloths by our server Lori. We spent the night at Nana Great's house, and Mommy got lots of birthday love from Lily!!

On Monday morning, Jake surprised me by 'leaving early to go the gym' and then coming home a few minutes later with breakfast, flowers, and a balloon...I was completely confused and absolutely thrilled. He stayed home from work and made me a cake (seriously, what a husband!) while Lily and I went to Stroller Strides class, and then we got to help him frost it. We got into a family frosting fight, and poor Lily definitely lost, but I don't think she minded. :)

I think there is a slight family resemblance here...

Lily looks A LOT like her daddy (she certainly didn't get those cheeks from me!). The lady behind the deli counter at the grocery store summed it up very artfully while she was slicing our turkey the other day. She looked at Lily and then at Jake and said, "You couldn't even put that in front of no judge, he'd tell you to go home!" (I guess it's a good thing we don't have to.)

Buddies...aren't they cute?

Sitting up like a big girl

So Lily learned to sit upright last Monday at our Stroller Strides playgroup...it happened out of nowhere! We had been practicing for awhile, and she only needed a little touch from Mommy to stay balanced, but anytime she tried by herself she toppled over forwards. She must have wanted to show off for her baby friends, because all of a sudden she found her balance and stayed sitting all by herself! Here are some pictures of her practicing at home this week. I have to stay very close since she is still a bit unsteady (we don't want her to bonk her little noggin yet), but she is getting much more confident. Maybe now that she will be spending a little less time on the back of her head, that bald spot will grow in... :)

Just chillin' in my diaper...this blankie feels sooo good!!

Mimi let us borrow this really soft blue blanket from Rhinelander because Lily enjoyed rolling around on it in her diaper after her bath. She does what we have dubbed the "Lily dance," wiggling back and forth on her back and looking all sorts of chubby and cute.