At 8 Months Old Bean Loves...

1. Fred. She loves him. And Fred loves her. He even lets her pull his ears.
2. Puffs. Especially banana flavored ones.
3. Vitamin drops. Weird? I think so. She used to hate them and now she cries if you don't give them to her quickly enough.
4. Frozen mango.
5. Her English (department) aunts. Loves when Aunt Becky "growls". This is how she learned to growl.
6. Her V-Tech Learning Center. Are the farm songs annoying? Definitely. Does she think it is the best toy she owns? Of course.
7. Her Eric Carle toy duck.
8. Reading books before bed.
9. The remote control and mama's cell phone.
10. Mommy and daddy :-)

8 months old and first ear infection

Well, Lily is a big 8 month old! She, unfortunately, had the beginnings of a cold for her 8 month birthday, but we still got the obligatory month picture, and she was still grinning from ear to ear.

Speaking of her cold, last Sunday Lily got a 101 degree fever. Monday it went down a bit, to 99, but never went away so off to the doctor she went (on Tuesday). Doctor said it was just a cold. We kept her home from daycare on Tuesday and Wednesday, and then Thursday she went back after her fever had been away for 24 hours. Thursday night she felt warm again, and lo and behold, a fever again. So, we kept her home Friday, and took her back to the doctor today. Immediately she is diagnosed with a double ear infection...cause why not have both ears infected? Double the fun! She is a little trooper, though. Still laughing, and smiling, and just being a little love bug.

Lily is really good at sharing and already shared her cold with me and her grandma Sandy. We really appreciate it. She has been a clingy little Bean, and whenever I try to put her down she starts to cry. That has made getting things done a wee bit more challenging. She also hasn't really been sleeping at night, so we are taking shifts in the recliner with her. That makes sleeping for us a bit harder, as well. I do love the extra snuggle time, though. When her little eyes get droopy and she buries her head on my chest, my heart just melts.

A bit more of an update...

Yesterday I posted a few Valentine's pics of the Bean, so today I figured I would update about what's going on. Last night, Lily's new friend Jacob was born! Jacob is Sarah's son (I work with Sarah). Got to see a few pictures today and man is he a cutie! I am looking forward to some days this summer with the mommies and babies at the shore. It is pretty awesome that Sarah, Ang, and I all have babies who were born within one year of each other. We have already decided that they will be best friends (sorry kiddos, you have no say in this matter).

Lily has been trying all sorts of new foods; most recently she tried plums and nectarines. Plums are pain in the @ss to make. Seriously. She enjoyed both fruits. Next we are trying wheat cereal...fingers crossed...then onto some more sophisticated foods. She has yet to pop a tooth, so for now she is eating purees and mushy food (like bananas). She also LOVES frozen mango in her mesh thingy. I am still pumping milk for her. I only pump 3x/day, so it is manageable. I am fairly proud of myself-- I set smaller goals to see if I can reach them and, so far, I have. My supply isn't as high as it used to be, mostly on account of the lack of pumping, so I do give Lily some formula. Right now my goal is to get to a year (have you seen the price of formula lately? EGADS!), and I think I can make that. After a year she will try whole milk. While I am not wishing away these precious days of babyhood, I am looking forward to the day when she can drink milk.

Overall, Lily is doing wonderfully. She might be the happiest, most contented baby I have ever met (and I am not just saying that because she is my baby, I mean that sincerely). She still isn't crawling (heck, the most movement we get out of her is a circle that she will turn while on her tummy), but she sits like a champ, and has awesome hand-eye coordination. She can control her hands really well and is able to manipulate even small toys with ease. It is hard to believe that we are approaching the 8 month mark in a few days. Time has absolutely flown by; before I know it she will be turning 1!

Happy Valentine's Day!

Lily had a great Valentine's Day! Hope you did, too!

February Already!

Somehow it is already February...I don't know where time has gone. Lily has been learning all sorts of new things during the past month. She ate banana (as in whole banana, not pureed) for the first time. She loved it the first time she had it, but subsequent tries have proven less than exciting. Her list of foods that she will eat is growing and growing. She really likes squash still, and peaches. She definitely prefers the orange veggies to the green, but will gobble down peas. It seems like she is learning something new every day, which is so exciting. She loves to play with her learning walker (not walking behind it yet, just pushing the buttons on it) and with her stacking cups. Still no crawling, but she is getting closer to moving. She will lay on her tummy and rotate herself in a circle, like clock hands, which is funny to watch. It is hard to believe that she will be 8 months old in a matter of a few weeks!

In other fun news, some of the mommies from work have started a mommy club. We had our first "meeting" on Friday, which was awesome! We met for dinner at Artful Gourmet and chatted about mommy things. It was great to catch up with my friends and have girl talk. It was definitely needed to just chat and enjoy some time out of the house. I am looking forward to the next meeting!