Laughing Lilia

I have been so ready for the day that Lilia just cracks up laughing at some silly thing I do. And I have been doing many many stupid faces, voices, and expressions the last 3 weeks (I have heard 3 very short laughs, but none that went on and on.) Well, that day has finally arrived!!!! While listening to Raffi, I began singing along and making her dance in her vibrating chair. For some reason, this was the winning combo. During, Shake My Sillies Out, Lilia busted out the laughs. We repeated the song 3 times and she continued to find it hilarious. Since we got a video camera for xmas, I told Sami to grab it and record this magic. We missed the Sillies, but managed to still get New River Train on video. By this point, Bean was pretty worn out, but we still caught a few giggles on camera.

4 Months Old!

Bean is four months old and I can hardly believe it! This last month has been very fun. She is no longer JUST a pooping, eating, sleeping machine and I am no longer JUST a boob. This last month has been full of grabbing, teething, smiles, laughs, squeals, sitting, standing, cooing, and gazing. I am sure the fun will just get better!

Snow Day

We had a snow storm on Friday night. It ended up snowing about 7 inches. Everything shuts down in NC when it snows, so we enjoyed a day at home with a cozy fire.
The deer were out.



The driveway
Sleding with the neighbors. We will be having a sledding contest again today. I think the judging will include form and style.

New Bouncy Seat

Thanks to my co-worker, Pam who has a 15-month old, we just acquired this bouncy seat that hangs in the doorway. Bean may be a bit too young, but she seemed to like it. hehe It kinda swallows her up.

On another note, for the past 2 nights she has woken up every 2 hours! This is rare since she usually only wakes up 2-3 times a night. Actually, for the past 3 weeks she has done this a few times a week. I basically have to nurse her down (thank God for co-sleeping!) and it has made me feel crazy the past 2 days. Then I just read up in my attachment parenting sleep book and I concluded on one of two reasons for this. It could be her teething bothering her. Or it might be that I have returned to work and she needs Momma time at night. I will have to pay attention and see if her night-waking is on the days that I work. If so, that makes me extra sad to be apart from her. Ahhh, the parenting guilt has begun.


At least it tastes good!

The Creek is a Flowin'

Holy Creek. It poured last night and this was the result. I wish I had a raft. Bean also loved the sound of the rapidly flowing water.

Teething...Are We Really There Yet!?

So after about a week of constant drool, runny poos, gnawing at hands, and a constant need to suck, I have come to the conclusion that Bean has begun the teething process. To help her relieve any pain, I went out and purchased these three natural teething rings. Sophie the Giraffe is a French-made natural rubber from the sap of the Hevea tree with food-based paint. The blue fish is made from BPA-free, Phthalates and PVC-free recycled plastic and can be refrigerated, and the green rattle she is sucking on is made from cornstarch.

So far she has been happy to explore them all. With a little practice I think she will really get the hang of hand to mouth control with these new toys. In the meantime, pray for us that the teething period goes alright.

Standing Up

Last week we worked on sitting and this week we have graduated to standing. Lilia loves to pull herself up to a stand. Yes, she is a genius. Also, this particular outfit is so stinkin cute I want to eat her up.


And the Bumbo is a new favorite place to chill.

Coldframes

Onw winter ngarden project that Sami has just finished is the construction of 2 coldframes. A cooldframe is like a mini-greenhouse that helps insulate the soil and reflect the sun for winter plants. Sami found 2 windows at the Habitat for Humanity Re-Use store for a steal and purchased a little wood for the sides.
Winter greens here we come!!

Tummy Time

We have been working on building up those arm muscles with some intense tummy time. Here are a few shots of Bean in Action.



She also loves to gnaw on her hand these days. I am fairly positive she could chew off her own hand if she ever gets caught in a bear trap.

Rock and Roll

Bean and Daddy both got ACDC, well ACDC for Dad and ABCD for Bean, shirts for xmas to celebrate their love of the band and rock and roll in general. Here they are doing their best rock and roll faces.

Ta Da...The Smoker

For Christmas, Sami got a smoker from the Butlers. He is very excited to get smokin. He has even borrowed three BBQ books from the library...a true geek. It took him a mere 3 hours yesterday to assemble this smoker, but it is finally finished. Stay tuned for posts on what we have smoked.

Lilia Bean Updates

Since I have been crap lately at updating the blog, I have decided to just add a handful of pictures...mostly of Bean, of course. Mostly since she is the center of our universe and we have not had many house projects or interesting meals recently. Although, there may be some new house happenings in the new future. :)

I also have to comment on the big news of the week. I am returning to work tomorrow! Jessica and Sami will be watching her on Tuesday and Thursdays all day and a half day on Wednesday. Like all working moms, I am terrified and very anxious to leave my precious Bean after 14 weeks off and only leaving her side for maybe 8 hours total. I realize that this balance of work and staying home is almost perfect, especially since her Daddy and Aunt will be watching her at her house. But, I still am very sad to leave her. She is not great at taking the bottle and we have had a few traumatic bottle feedings this week so that is very worrying. I just have to trust that if she is hungry enough she will eat from the bottle. I do have some syringes just in case, and they can always bring her to me...worse case scenario. I am, however, looking forward to her spending some quality alone time with Daddy, a situation we are very fortunate to have. I am hoping this will bring them much closer.
Bean is really working on grasping toys and putting them in her mouth. She is VERY vocal when attempting this and often gets frustrated that she cannot eat the whole toy.
I am usually not into the super cutesy baby clothes, but this pajamas are ridiculous. Ruffle Butt
Last night, post-bath.
Bean gave Daddy some woollen breakfast in his stocking to play with. Here she is posing as "Toast on Beans"
Other huge milestone of the week: Sitting up! The day after we returned from Indy (Dec. 29- 1 week ago) , Bean showed us how much she wanted to practice sitting. Since then, she has really gotten good at pulling up and I have even taken my hands off of her for (only a couple of seconds, but still..) We think she is a genius since this is a skill acquired much later.