Lily - 7 Months!

Oh, Baby Girl!  It seems impossible, and yet you become sweeter, more precious and more fun with each passing month!  It's been so much fun watching your little personality come out even more this last month.

One thing you learned how to do this month is scrunch your nose, which I LOVE!!  You’ll sometimes scrunch your nose and then breath in and out of it really fast, like Evie did when she was a baby.  When I randomly do it to you, you'll often do it back.  You'll also mimic me when I click my tongue.

You continue to growl at times, which can be a bit embarrassing during Wednesday night Bible study.  It's so funny to me how you can so seamlessly interweave your soft, gentle coos with those low, deep growls.

You very clearly and very regularly say, “Muh Muh” when you want me to hold you.  It baffles me because you’re still so young, but I truly believe you know who you’re calling for when you say it.

You first scooted backward while laying on your tummy on 9/26.   You've also started scooting around a little bit while sitting on your bottom.  You can now push yourself up onto all fours when you have something you can push your feet against, like in your bassinet.

I love how when you’re tired or just really happy, you’ll put your left hand behind your back, and rotate your left shoulder and elbow forward.  This picture almost captures it, except that your hand is in front of you--not behind.  Anyway, it’s so cute!

Speaking of happy, you still love to fly or be tossed above my head (barely leaving my hands). You put your left hand in your mouth and laugh every time I do it.
 

You adore your brothers and sister, and they absolutely adore you!  Evie makes a beeline for you anytime y'all are in the same room, and she talks regularly about how she can't wait to share a room with you.  It's such a blessing to watch y'all delight in one another, and I'm excited to watch your relationships grow.

There were a few times this month that you weren't sleepy right when I laid you down for your nap.  Instead of staying on your tummy, which is how you normally nap, you would immediately flip over onto your back so you could play and look around.  In those moments, I stood at your feet--where you couldn't see me--and held my hand over your bottom to push your bottom back down every time you pushed it up to flip yourself over.  It's amazing how strong your little legs are!
 

You don't have any teeth yet but often chew on your hands or fingers.  You also play with your tongue a lot.  We still haven't introduced any solid foods, and you've yet to have a bottle, but hopefully we'll do some of that next month.  Though you haven't eaten yet, you sat in your first highchairs this month...you're such a big girl!

Your days consist of 4 feedings and 3 naps.  Your first 2 naps are typically 2 hours long, and your third nap is pretty much however long I'll let you sleep.  Your naps are usually around 10 a.m., 2:30 p.m. and 7:30 p.m.  I'm sure we could put you down earlier at night, but for now, that's what works with our schedules.  This month ended with your last few days of sleeping swaddled at night. 

Instead of napping on me or in your car seat while we're at church, you have begun napping in Daddy’s office on Sunday morning and in the extra office on Tuesdays while we're at Classical Conversations.  At this point, you wear Size 2 diapers and mostly 6 Month clothes.  As your hair gets a little longer, it appears that you might end up with curly hair.  We'll see, but you often have little sections of hair on the back of your head that flip out and up, away from your head.
 

What a perfect addition you are to this family, sweet Lily!  I'm in awe that God has chosen to bless us with you! 

(Click here to see more pictures of Lily.)

Lily - 6 Months!

Precious Lily!  I can't believe you're already half a year old!!  Where has the time gone, Little One!?  This was a fun month for you, and it's been such a blessing watching more and more of your joyful spirit come out.  You have so much personality and are continuing to be so vocal!

This month you started saying, "da da da da da", "muh muh" and "buh buh buh".  How fun it is to hear these sweet sounds! 

You're ticklish on your inner thighs, tummy and neck.  In general, it doesn't take much to make you smile.  Usually just saying your name results in so much excitement that you can hardly contain yourself.  Your big gummy grin is often accompanied by arms flapping, legs kicking, rapid breathing and squeals of delight.  So sweet!

You laugh when I hold you above my head like you’re flying and when I barely toss you up above my head.  (You only leave my hands by like an inch, but you love it.)

At the beginning of this month at Wednesday Bible study, you were starting to fuss a little bit (as you often do right before you fall asleep), so I stood up behind the chairs and bounced you up and down a little bit.  A few minutes later, Gracie Miller also began to fuss, so Ms. Lyndsey came and stood next to me with Gracie.  Gracie’s arm was hanging down over Ms. Lyndsey’s arm, and as we were standing there, you reached out and held Gracie’s hand.  You were smiling and you both had stopped fussing.  When you accidentally let go of her hand, she would grab yours.  Y’all went back and forth holding hands for a few minutes.  It was so sweet, and I can’t wait to watch y’all play together one day! 

It blesses me so much to daily watch Caleb, Evie and Silas delight in you.  They all love you so much, and I know that Evie, especially, is going to LOVE dressing you up like her little doll in the years to come!

On August 18 you started sitting up alone.  It's amazing how this one little milestone makes you seem so much bigger.

At the beginning of this month you ran out of Size 1 diapers and moved up to Size 2.  You've started wearing some 6 Month clothes but still mostly 3-6 Month.

Most of your hair is about 1/2 inch long or less, but you have a cute patch on the top middle of your head that's 2-2.5 inches long.  It doesn’t seem like the rest of it is really growing much. 

Your favorite toys right now are your dragon fly chew toy, your green and white spoon and your Minnie Mouse ball.  You'll also play in your jumperoo for quite awhile before wanting to get out. 

You like to pat things with your hands and have also been playing with your feet a lot.  You've started grabbing at everything while on the dining room table in your Bumbo seat, which often leaves Caleb and Evie fussing as they try to keep you from spilling their stuff.  You even knocked down a big cup of ice water one night, so we’re having to keep you more in the center of the table. 

Your nicknames at this point are "Gizmo/Giz” (Daddy calls you this when you’re growling), “Button” (we all call you this), "Puddin’" (Daddy), "Lily Bug" (Mommy), "Baby Girl" (Mommy) and "Sugar" (Mommy).  Goodness, do we love you!

I love how when I pick you up in the morning and various other times throughout the day you snuggle up to me by rolling your shoulders and arms in really tight against my body.  I also love how when I'm holding you and you're tired, you'll lay your head on my shoulder and tuck your hands under your hips against me.  I think all of our children have done this.

You're tongue is often out, and you've had lots of drool.  Your little tooth buds are still visible, but you haven't had any teeth break through yet.

You learned how to blow raspberries this month, and sometimes you’ll open your mouth, stick your tongue out and will breath in and out rapidly like a dog panting.  It’s often when you’re excited to eat.  You did this more and more as the month went on.  It also seems like you've learned the sign for "milk" and get really excited when you see that sign. 

You've started napping upstairs in a pack ’n play in the afternoon while Caleb does school.  You normally still sleep in your bassinet, so with more room in the pack 'n play, you quickly learned that you can move around and will sometimes spin yourself 180 degrees before you go to sleep.

You usually eat around 8 a.m., 12:00 p.m., 4:30 p.m. and 8:30 or 9 p.m. with a 1.5-2 hour nap in the morning and afternoon and then around an hour at night.  If we're at home, I typically have to wake you up for your last feeding.  I'm so grateful for the Lord's kindness in giving us flexible babies because any one of those feedings could vary by an hour depending on what we have going on that day.

You sometimes hit yourself while eating—even repeatedly hitting your own head with your fist.  I often have to use one hand to protect your head.

Unlike Caleb and Evie at this age, we still haven't exposed you to any solid foods, but it's just because life has been so hectic.  We're excited, though, to learn which foods are your favorite.

At your 6 Month Checkup, which was 2 weeks late, your stats were 17lbs 0.5oz (66.67%), 27” (84.04%), Weight for Height 41.21%, Head Circumference 43.5cm (73.77%).  This was very similar to where Evie was at at this age--especially considering your appointment was late.  These are your brothers' and sister's 6 Month stats: 

CALEB: 16lb 6oz (25-50%), 27.25" (75%)

EVIE: 16lb 11oz (58.28%), 26.75" (78.66%)

SILAS:  18lb 4.2oz (60.16%), 26.5" (47.78%)

Lily Noelle, you couldn't possibly be more loved!!  We're so grateful for you and praise God for allowing us to be the ones who get to care for you each day!!

(Click here to see more pictures of Lily.)

Lily - 5 Months!

Oh, Lily!  I can't believe you're almost half a year old!  I really wish I could make the time slow down, but what a fun month we had with you!

You enjoy both sitting up and standing with support, and you're getting closer to sitting on your own.  You also got to try your jumperoo for the first time this month.  You focused mostly on the toys on it but when you would get excited about the toys, your legs would get to kicking and you’d end up jumping a little bit too.   

You are getting better at holding toys, which was convenient as we drove to and from Florida this month.  We drove 18 hours not including stops over two days each way, so you had lots of time to entertain yourself in the car.  Thankfully, you slept a lot and did really well while you were awake.  We stayed in a hotel halfway, and it was the first time all six of us had slept in the same room before.  Sleeping arrangements were a little tricky.

For our vacation, we went to Orlando.  We went to the beach one day.  I carried you, as I walked into the ocean for a few minutes, then I brought you back to our spot and you took a nap on our picnic blanket under the umbrella.  You slept the rest of the time we were there.

You also got to go to Magic Kingdom one day.  I carried you in our Baby Bjorn carrier all day.  You slept a lot of the time and sucked on the straps of the Baby Bjorn carrier when they weren't covered with a burp cloth.  Obviously it wasn't nearly as exciting for you as for Caleb, Evie and Silas, but you did really well and didn't fuss.

While you were lying on our bed on vacation, you rolled over from your back to your tummy for the first time.

We did lots of swimming in Florida.  You liked floating around the lazy river at our resort and even took a few naps while doing it.  In the beginning, though, your eyes would get really big when we approached bridges.  There was water falling down below the bridges, and you heard the sound of it splashing down onto the water and inner tubes around us.  A few times you would start to cry because it was so loud in comparison but would settle down when I sang one of your brothers' or sister's songs to you.

I’ve learned that if I gently blow in your face when you’re fussing, you’ll usually stop fussing.  It’s like it makes you forget that you were upset, and then when I smile at you afterward, you’ll smile back.  A few times while you were fussing, I've heard you say, "Muh muh".  I don't know if you know that's me, but I love hearing the sound of it.  It will be so much fun to hear you talking one day! 

You sometimes shake your head back and forth (like Caleb used to).  I recently started doing the same thing right in front of you and then would sneak in and steal a kiss from you, which you seemed to enjoy. 

Speaking of your brother, the resemblance between you and Caleb is remarkable.  It will be fun to see what happens as you get a little older.

You still really love giving me those big, slobbery open mouth kisses, and I still really love getting them!  You also like to use your hand to pat things like the palm of my head or the bed when you’re sitting on it. 

You've learned to suck on your lips, which is pretty cute, and you're fairly ticklish--especially your tummy and your neck.

This month you met your Great Grandpa and Great Grandma Bliss and your cousin, Chelsea.  Great Grandpa kept saying to you, “Well, hi, Button!”, and I think that nickname is probably going to stick because we've all been calling you that ever since.

At one Wednesday night Bible study this month, Mr. Jud taught you how to grab and pull down on the puppy that hangs from your car seat.

My least favorite thing you learned to do this month is pinching as you cling onto things (often my neck or the back of my arm).  You're certainly not meaning this to be ugly, but when you do it, I'm constantly reminded how strong you are!  It's amazing how much pain those tiny little fingers can inflict at times!

You now sleep in your bassinet in my closet both during the day and at night.  You're becoming more aware of your surroundings while sleeping, so it's helped to reduce the noise from Caleb, Evie and Silas while you nap.  I love how when you wake in the mornings that you'll often put yourself back to sleep or just lie there quietly until I come to get you.  You are so sweet to nap in your car seat during church on Sundays, which allows my hands to be free to write notes from the sermon.

When laying on your tummy, you now frequently push yourself up onto either your elbows or hands with your arms straightened.  When you're not very tired, you'll sometimes do this before your nap so you can get a better look around my closet.

I couldn't believe it because all of our babies so far have been fairly late teethers (7-8 Months), but we started seeing two little tooth buds in your lower gums this month.  They haven't poked through yet, but it will be interesting to see how much earlier (if at all) you get your first tooth. Sweet Lily, you LOVE to play with your tongue these days.  You have the cutest little tongue!!

You're still in Size 1 diapers and will move up as soon as we finish them.  You can also still wear some 3 Month clothes, but you're mostly wearing 3-6 Month clothes and even some 6 Month pajamas.

Lily Noelle, words are so inadequate to describe our love for you.  How very blessed we are that God chose to make you ours!!  Happy 5 Month birthday, little one!

(Click here to see more pictures of Lily.)