Direction

I get really into writing on this, and then I lose interest or just lack motivation. This sucks, but as always, I'm going to try to get better. When I first started this it was really just meant as a journal to help me remember all those little moments with Lilybelle. Well, it's going to include everything.

As of last month, I officially became a student again. I'm incredibly excited about this, considering that dropping out of school has been one of my greatest regrets. I got in the work mode and then felt stuck. Change is so hard when you're so set in your ways and in your life. Change is really hard for me, my comfort zone is my life force. However, change is an important and necessary part of life and I just had to push myself to do it. I'm thankful that I am able to stay home with Lilybelle most days, so I will be able to complete my bachelor's degree online. I'm majoring in business administration and hoping that I can go on to get my MBA. This semester I will be taking a Spanish for Business class, a digital design class, and a "Legal environment of Business" class. I think that the Spanish class is going to be the most difficult for me because I have to do 2 video conferences a week and this will be hard to fit into my work schedule but I have to make school my second priority (Lilybelle being my first, always and forever) since I'm so very lucky to have this chance. Either way, the video conference is what I'm most nervous about. I think (hope) that I will just fall into learning again. I was good at it and I enjoyed it, so I hope it all comes back easily. 41 days and counting until I begin this crazy roller coaster.

So, I don't believe that the last time I wrote we had begun potty training Lily. She is only 15 months, but we (Brandon) put her on the potty about a month ago, and she went. So we continued just putting her on the potty. She's doing very well with it and goes just about every time we put her up there. I would have never even thought about starting for at least a year (Go Brandon for giving it a shot!) so it's amazing to me that she can comprehend it. We spend a lot of time in the bathroom these days because she can't tell me when she has to go. We're working on the sign for potty (it's like when you pretend to steal a child's nose - your thumb in between your index and middle finger and you shake your hand back and forth) but she hasn't done it yet. We just put her on there every hour or two to see if she has to go, and we say "potty" more than probably any other word these days. I was really afraid that we would push her too hard and she would just stop so we're pretty gentle about it and don't force her. So far she's been doing very well. She had a couple days last week where she would just sit up there and play but the last couple of days have been better. To have her potty trained before she's two would be amazing! So we're working on it. I think the most difficult part will be to get her to say or sign potty to let us know when she needs to go.

So I'm in the process of getting another part time job. I work at the warehouse with Brandon one day during the week while his mom watches Lily and then Saturday's while Brandon watches her. We need more, so I've applied to Wegman's (I LOVE Wegman's!) and have my third and final interview on Thursday. I'd just be working nights and weekends cleaning up the bakery, which is perfect for me! :) I'm very excited to be starting this whole new phase of my life and with my awesome daughter and supportive husband.

Oh, and Lily now has 4 teeth on top and two on the bottom. She's been teething hardcore and chewing up all her board books (and refusing the millions of teethers we give her) and her crib. Yesterday I found the chew marks on her crib, it looks like she's been trying to find an exit. We finally had to take the bumpers off because she was obviously trying to climb on them and I am NOT ready for her to be climbing out of her crib yet. She's definitely started her climbing phase though and I guess I just have to be ready for it. She's fearless and I think that's what scares me the most. She knows how to get down from anywhere safely (turning herself around and going feet first) but she has also just dived off my friend's child's slide head first, so I just have to be extra careful.

Anyways, I should probably accomplish something while she's "napping". She's had a hard time the last couple days with sleep. She fights it. Last night I had to get up with her three times, which is very unlike her. She's been sleeping through the night for a few months now, but every once in a while she'll just have a hard time. I think part of it is the weather. It's been so hot and muggy! We're coming up on a little less hot and humid few days here, so hopefully her sleep schedule will get back to normal. It seems like I have less patience for getting up in the middle of the night then I did when I was getting up three times a night, every night with her. Oh lord, she's in her room screaming. I should probably go get her. Bye for now.

A gem in a haystack

Yesterday I decided that I needed to go through my pictures of Lilybelle. I have one file with each month and at least one hundred pictures in each folder. Some blurry, some "ehh", and some that are kind of decent. I decided to make a "Best Of" in each months folder and pick my very favorites.

It was so amazing to go through all of those pictures and see how much she's changed since day one but at the same time still looks the same. So, anyways, on with the point. Looking through the photos, I can't say I have a favorite ONE, but I do have a favorite couple.

I think my photo taking is a little out of control. I have 1,880 files (includes videos) in my one folder of Lilybelle. This does not even count the pictures in other folders with her in them, just the ones of only her. I think the reason for this is that the photo's from my baby/toddler age were all lost in a fire and because we weren't near any of my mom's family when I was that age, they don't have any either. This is one of the youngest pictures I have of me, and it was when I was about 5.

Wasn't I a cutie? :)

 I want Lily to be able to look back and know exactly what she was doing, and what she looked like, and things she liked to do. I feel like I've gone a little overboard but I'd rather that than have little to nothing.

So yesterday was a beautiful day outside (a little hot, but nice in the shade) and I love going outside and spending time with her just walking in the grass and swinging in the baby swing. Also, when the sun is just right I can really catch a gem. This is the photo I got yesterday:

It's photographs like this that make all the lugging my camera up and down the stairs, editing, deleting, more editing, more deleting all very worth it.

As I was going through all the pictures, I deleted A LOT. It takes major commitment from me to delete any picture of her (unless it's unrecognizable). I just always feel like even though it's not "perfect" I could use it for something, it will be right one day. So, I found that if I give it some time after I have taken them then I have more of an unbiased opinion and can delete the worst of them.

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 So we're going through major teething, as I've said earlier. She's now banging her head on a lot. A this stage teether's only help so much. We had to get rid of a lot of them when she got her two bottom teeth, and the ones that we do have just don't seem to do the trick for her. She'll chew on them for a minute or two and then just throw them on the floor. It seems like board books have been her go-to teether for a bit now. She has to find something that gives just the right pressure to just the right place.

I've also learned that frozen fruit really helps her too. I buy bags of frozen mixed fruit, cut them up into small pieces and let her dig in. Not only does it feel good on her mouth, it's good for her. Also, I found whole wheat blueberry bagels at Wegman's that she loves! At first I just though she would gum it for a second and throw it away like everything else but she actually chewed on it for a long time and as it thawed (I gave her a big piece right out of the freezer) she chewed it and ate it.

Okay, I suppose I should clean my house a little too while Lily is sleeping. I'm still working on buttons, and pages and such but I'll get there. Have a wonderful Monday! I didn't have to go to work and I Lilybelle and I got to sleep in until 8, so an awesome Monday for me us :)

Outside

I took this picture at the park on Memorial Day and edited it with Pixlr

 

 

It's so nice to get outside, and Monday was the perfect day. Hubby and I didn't have to work so we spent some quality family time together.  We went to the park and saw geese and their goslings and Lilybug got to run wobble through the grass. Today we are going to break the record. The normal temp for this time of year is 73 degrees and it's going to be 92 and humid today. Luckily, Lily and I are staying in the house with the air running to keep us cool. We got outside to play today for a few minutes this morning and she looked mega cute:

 

 

 



Random, jumbled thoughts and updates

My new goal is to update, even a sentence, everyday. I started this because I want to look back and remember even the smallest details about the everyday workings of Lilybelle growing up. I want to be able to show her this when she gets older so she can see exactly how things were, and so she can compare when she has her own children. I will never have that, it makes me want it for her even more.

It's 7:30 AM and Lily is napping. Holy goodness, it's been a long three days. She is teething hardcore now and not sleeping well at all. We both got up at three because she couldn't go back to sleep. This has gone on for three nights and I'm exhausted. Right now at thirteen months she has her two bottom central incisors (not even all the way up yet but she's had them for a month) and the top, right lateral incisor is coming in now. I sure hope she has my teeth(not Brandon's), it will make it all worth it. It seems like it would have been way easier for her to teeth while she was already waking up three times a night anyway. Now she is capable of sleeping through the night but her mouth pain won't let her. My poor girly!

More exciting news - Lily is a full blown walker now. She can walk with her shoes on or off and we've been working at walking in the grass. She's still very wobbly in the yard, but she gets right back up and tries again! She started pulling herself up and walking along objects at 9 months so I kept insisting that she was going to walk any day. I guess nothing ever works out how you think it's going to. As frustrating as it was, knowing that she could, I just had to let her do it herself. I saw friend's kids walking early and assumed that she would too. I tried everything to encourage and guide her along but I just had to step back and let her do it herself. It's been that way since day one with everything. No matter what I did to influence her one way, she had to figure it out and do it herself. She's a very independent girl, and I'm very thankful for that. She's so smart and awesome and wonderful and I wish I had a better vocabulary to explain how I feel about her, but I really can't put words to how my heart swells every time she does something new or cute or unexpected.

We went to the park on Labor Day - saw some Geese and their babies.

It was such a beautiful day, I'm glad we got out and enjoyed it.

 

I never updated for her birthday either. Her first birthday was a BLAST! It was as close to perfect as I could have ever expected. I had to work until noon that day (party at two) so I didn't know how that was going to work, but it turned out just fine. Lily took a three hour nap just before the party so she was ready to go. I was running around trying to get everything made. Luckily my MIL offered to make cupcakes (HUGE help!) and our friends Don and Amie showed up early and Amie helped me finish up the "Piglet's in a Blanket" so I could get other things moving. These were my Winnie the Pooh themed food(and Owl's Library, which obviously is not food):

 

The Acorn Bites were probably the best thing I've ever made, period.

They're a mini nutter butter with a Hershey kiss on top and a mini chocolate chip on the bottom.

 They were very messy to make but worth every second!

 

Haha, I don't know what the stink face is for, but this is my birthday girl!

 

She had such an awesome time devouring her birthday cake!

(there is no better word for what she did to that cake)

That last picture makes me laugh every time I see it.

 

 

I can't believe she's 13 months already, it's amazing. I say this almost every day and to anyone who will listen. I know that everyone told me while I was pregnant that the time will go by so fast and to enjoy every minute of it. It's so very true.

 

The picture to the right is Lily at 1mo and the picture to the

 left is at 12mo (you can see her little teeth! :))

 

 

Oh, one thing before I forget. She's started a head banging phase (please God, let it be a phase). When she's tired and her mouth hurts she'll start banging her head on the wall, the floor, anything. I read online that it's to get her mind off her mouth. There were other reasons why kids do this, but that seems like the most relatable for me. She has a little bruise right on her forehead now and it looks terrible. It makes me feel so bad, poor girly. I hope those teeth pop through quickly. She also has been banging her mouth on the toy we got her for her birthday (a car thing she can sit on and has a handle so we can push her around). We've had to take it away for now because she won't stop.

 

Oh, and another thing - since she's started walking she likes to pick things up and carry them around with her. This is fine and dandy except her walker (thing she can walk behind, not sit in) is awkward so she ends up picking it up and then just smashing it on the ground, so we had to take that away. Also, a giraffe she used to push around too. She can just pick it up and smash it. Also, we got her legos for Christmas and she just really got into them except that she just likes to pick up the whole bag and shake them until all of them go crashing to the ground. I know that she doesn't understand but we have downstairs neighbors and they've already called the cops on us once, I don't need them to do it again. So I have to take those away too when she gets crazy with them. Good thing she has about a gazillion (yeah, I use made up numbers and this is my go-to made up number) toys to mollify her.

 

Okay, I'm done for now. I'm going to do a 30 day photo challenge with #iheartfaces, so hopefully you'll see lots of cool pictures coming up soon. ~ Shannon



 

 







The Beginning

Welcome! Pretty miss Lilybelle is asleep and I'm enjoying watching Downton Abbey - my new show obsession. We're  She's now taking one nap a day around noon and it's going splendidly! She's been asleep for two hours now and she should sleep for at least another half hour. (Okay, so she woke up 2 minutes after I finished writing this but two hours is better than nothing!) No more fights to go down which means a less stressed mama and a less stressed baby! Win win.

My tired little Lilybug after a long day.

We had a blast at Danielle & Jay's

and she had a great time chasing Ashton around :)

 

Lily is watching Curious George for the first time because Netflix isn't working (We're usually watching Blue's Clue's or Sesame Street) but she LOVES it! She just keeps laughing and laughing. Best sound ever by the way.