4th of July, Auntie Em's Bridal Shower, North Carolina, 11 months

Baby Lily,

I technically won't be able to call you that for much longer, so I figure I better get it out while I can (although you will always and forever be my little baby bean!). However, even as I call you baby, it's hard to picture you as one anymore because you've grown so much and act like such a big girl. I try to cherish the fact that you still rely on my to feed you and bathe you and change your diaper because I know it will only last a moment more and then you will want to do it on your own. I must admit that those times of independence are quite exciting, though. I was feeding you breakfast one morning and you went for the spoon with your hand. I put that bite in your mouth, then let you have the spoon to see what you would do with it and lo and behold you put that sucker right into your mouth! So I put a very small amount on the tip of the spoon and let you take it again and you (just barely) got it all in your mouth! You don't do it all the time, but every once in a while you will reach out and want to do it yourself. Who knew such a little thing could make someone so proud?

There are so many awesome and amazing things you can do now, and I can't wait to share them!

4th of July

Your first 4th of July was a blast. We went to our friend's house
from church- the Winter's- to play outside and have a
BBQ.

They had a lot of fun pool toys set out (which was good because
it was probably around 100 degrees, if not more!) and you enjoyed
playing with your friends, Lily W, Drew and Isaiah. 

You were also quite fond of the birds on the pool, as
evidenced by this picture where you are giving one a kiss.

Another wonderful picture with your even more wonderful Daddy.

Yuck

You came down with a little summer cold this month. You felt
very bad for quite some time and had a runny nose that did
not agree with you at all. It made sleeping very difficult, but
I have to admit I enjoyed the extra snuggle time. 

You know Lily is sick when she lays down
on the floor. You were like this watching
Sesame Street for a good 5 minutes,
which is unheard of for you!


Auntie Em's Bridal Shower
We didn't get nearly as many pictures as I would have liked, so they aren't the most flattering, but I had to document it somehow so here you are! I was so proud to have you there as you are just so darn cute. You charmed everyone with your new favorite thing, waving, and your new skill, walking. You kept escaping from Grammy's grasp so you could "help" Auntie Em and Uncle Kyle unwrap their gifts. How thoughtful!

North Carolina!

Another big moment to add to the books this month- a full week long vacation that included airplanes, long car rides, hotel stays and oceans! I will let the few pictures that we took tell the story. (Sorry there aren't more, "vacation" with a baby can get a little hectic!)

You fell asleep in your carrier about a half hour before the plane
ride. I was so proud of you as you are very particular about
how and when you fall asleep (you don't even let me rock you, now.
As soon as we get in your room for a nap, you reach for your crib.
I never though I'd see the day!) The moment I sat down on the plane,
however, your eyes shot open and you immediately started
waving to every person within waving distance. Considering you only
had a half hour nap you did AMAZING on the plane. You played
with your toys, watched some shows, took a quick trip to the bathroom
to look at yourself in the mirror and get up and before we knew it the
flight was over! 

We landed in Myrtle Beach and stayed there for a night. Your favorite part of the room was the mirror on the closet door, or more precisely, the image reflected in the mirror on the closet door. 

You not only gave yourself kisses in the mirror,
you lathered the whole thing with your drool. 

About 2 hours after we arrived the fire alarm went off and we were
all evacuated. As I have been through many fake fire drills, I didn't
think much of it. We were outside for a while and it was hot so
we went across the street to get some ice cream and wait. All of a
sudden 3 fire trucks come zooming up to the hotel and that's when
I started to panic. I hadn't grabbed anything at all- no diaper, no
food, nothing. Your Daddy had the sense to at least bring his phone and
the car key, but that's it. Finally he went to check things out and it turns
out there was just some smoke in one of the rooms, so we were able
to go back in shortly after that.

This is your first AND Daddy's first time in the Atlantic Ocean!

It was VERY windy but that did not stop you from enjoying
yourself thoroughly. Even after that wave drenched your outfit
and we had to take it off!

You especially enjoyed rubbing sand all over your legs.
You are a beach babe for sure!

Sitting at the table like a big girl with no high chair! 

At Wrightsville Beach with Mom.
You were particularly interested in collecting
seashells this trip and were probably the
most content I have ever seen you.

Showing off your seashells.

At Uncle Ron's shop on his last day. I regret to say we didn't get
a picture with Uncle Ron or Aunt Diana but they surely
enjoyed your visit.

This is a miracle right here. You had fallen asleep in the
car and Daddy insisted you would stay sleeping in your car seat.
I, however, was not so sure as you don't typically transfer well.
But alas, you stayed sleeping all though appetizers!

Playing in your cousin, Ronnie's, ball pit. 

 Dance

You have gotten so good at dancing. Anytime you hear any sort of beat you start bopping your head and butt simultaneously. I'm pretty sure it's the cutest thing EVER. Right now you are particularly fond of Michael Jackson's Billie Jean and in this video you were digging Fidelity by Regina Spektor. You also added in extra arm moves this time, probably for the camera.

11 Months!!

Playing with your favorite kitty, Lion. Just another similarity
between you and your Auntie Em. You say kitty by making
the "k" sound and can even tell what a kitty says. You say "yeah"
but in the tone of "meow." I have yet to capture that one on film.
Not only that but when we ask what a bear says, you say "ahhhh"
in growly bear voice.

Kisses from Grampy

Fun with Grammy.

You are happy as long as you have something to hold on to.
Your new obsession is collecting. You love holding onto
as many things as possible with one hand. In this picture you
have clothes pins, but you are also partial to sticks, spoons,
and folded up coin wrappers (thank you, Grampy).

Other notable things this month:

You love playing peek-a-boo and have for a few months now. You will pull a blanket over your head and I will say "Lily! Lily, where are you?!" and you will pull the blanket down quickly and laugh as I say "Peeeeeeeek-a-boo!"

One of the highlights of waking up in the morning, or from your naps, is seeing Sophie. As soon as I pick you up you look for her and if she isn't there right away you call her by clucking. Anytime you want Sophie you just do your clucking noise. I don't think Sophie knows what that means, yet as she hardly ever responds accordingly, but I'm sure she'll get the hang of it. 

You started a swimming class last month and are doing so well. You are learning to kick, pull and go under. You got your first ribbon the other week for putting your head under the water! Despite my initial hesitation and anxiety, you did marvelous and are only continuing to improve. As long as I say, "ready, go" before you go under, you do a very good job. The only thing you need to work on is closing your mouth before you go under. You are starting to understand what to do when I say "Kick" but have yet to figure out the "Pull" part. 

It's hard to believe my next post will be commemorating your first year of life. Each month you grow so much and I am looking forward to see what new feats you come across before our next post.

I love your forever,

Mommy

First Zoo Trip, Water Park, Father's Day and 10 Months

-Little Bean-

Another fun and exciting month to put in the books! I don't think I will ever get used to how much you grow in change within a month's time. I will let the pictures tell the story as there are quite a few this time around!

First Trip to the Zoo

You went on your very first trip to the zoo (the Toledo Zoo, of course!) with Mommy, Daddy, Uncle Shawn, and your cousins, Sebastian and Xander. It has always been a tradition of ours, and it was so exciting to add you to our adventures.

Checking out the mudpuppy with Daddy. Of course all those boys
only wanted to see things like reptiles and amphibians,
but you were such a great sport and loved looking at everything.

Very intrigued by the fish that were probably three times your size.

Posing with Sebie next to the polar bear.

The whole gang. Seb really enjoyed pushing you in your stroller. 

Getting up close and personal with Xander. 

Watching the seals cruise by with Mommy. 

Tradition for Daddy and the boys to pose by the mini polar bear.

Taking a ride on the wolf.

This was the first time Mommy put bubbles in your bath. Of course you tried to eat them, but as indicated in the picture below you weren't too fond of the taste. That did not stop you, however, from trying few more times just to make sure you really didn't like it. 

Jamming on the antique mini piano from Great Grandma Neyrinck.
You are a born musician. 

Cuddle time with Great Grandma. This is about as close
to cuddling as anyone can get. You aren't a big fan- you like
to go go go just like Daddy! 

Hanging out at your very first Relay for Life with Grampy. 

Cuddling with your blankie. This is your favorite cuddle toy; when you first wake up and when you are ready to lie down, this is what you have to be holding onto. You do this incredibly cute thing now where if you see it lying on the floor you just lie down on top of it and cuddle it close. It's quite adorable!

Father's Day/Water Park

You LOVE the water, so we thought it would be fun to go to Rolling Hills water park for Father's Day weekend. It was quite warm so it was a good choice and you had a blast. There was a special area for little babes such as yourself. Your favorite was the fountain of water. I think you liked it because you could hang on to the edge and stand while splashing the water. 

goof.

Your Daddy chose to dine at Buffalo Wild Wings for Father's Day.
We all enjoyed it immensely. 

Tug-of-war. You won, of course. 

Afterwards we went to Ann Arbor's Top of the Park festival around the corner. There was a kiddie band playing and some shade to sit under so we had an impromptu picnic of sorts. 

Kisses for Mama. :) My favorite. 

Mama toes + baby toes

Perfection.
I know you will never be able to comprehend how wonderful you actually are, but this picture captures the essence of your life, in that you give happiness to so many people in so many different ways.   

Cuddling with your amazing Daddy on his very first Father's Day

You were completely enthralled by this band that was playing and enjoyed shaking your arms to the beat (your version of dancing). I would also like to point out that your incredible Daddy is not only holding you, but proudly wearing the diaper bag as well. I hope someday you will thank him for all that he has done for us. I hope someday you will look back on this and appreciate how much your Daddy loves you and understand how much he gives every day to make sure you life is as perfect as possible. I hope someday you will comprehend how lucky you are to have him as your Father. 

Hanging out with Papa Chad and Great Grammy Sharon.

Lovin' some apples.

Here is your first real attempt at walking. When discussing the need 

for you to be able to walk down the aisle at your Auntie Em's wedding,

we gave you this and you just took off. It's good to know you

listen SOMETIMES!

The Girls

You are my squishy.

10 Months Old

"What?! Are you serious? I'm 10 months old already?!"

Your 10th month birthday was the most exciting yet. You officially and most adorably
took you very first step in Grammy and Grampy's back yard!!! You are SO BIG!
The best part was that it was toward me, and for that I thank you so truly and deeply. 

happy face

Funny Grampy

pig face- front view

pig face- side angle

More cute side-notes not captured in film:

Every time you drop (or, more likely, purposefully throw) something on the floor you say "uh-oh" but you can't get the "oh" part out, so you just say, "uh, uh, uh." When you first learned you would push and grunt so hard trying to get the "oh" part out, but alas, it never came. So for now you have settled for just saying the "uh" part. 

You learned how to clap your hands with both your hands open, and you are very proud so it's something you do frequently. Every time you hear the song "If You're Happy and You Know It" you start clapping your hands. Needless to say it's about the cutest thing I've ever seen.

You have more than mastered the stairs and are quite confident when climbing up them. You have not, however, figured out how to get down so I discourage the going up with some ottomans that seem to be working for the time being. 

Grammy taught you how to say "ga" (she thinks you know it means Grammy) but now you call EVERYTHING ga. Dogs, balloons, balls, anything really. Except duck; you love ducks and usually can get a "ck" sound out for that one. Also kitty- you make a kind of gurgley "ck" sound for that one.

You LOVE balloons- you can spot them anywhere and love to hold the string and shake them. When walking through Meijer you somehow found one that had floated up to the ceiling that I would have never noticed if you didn't point it out. You are going to be really good at "I Spy."

As previously mentioned you like to dance by shaking your arms in the air, but you have also started shaking your leg. It's always just the one and your toes never come off the ground- you just kind of hit your heel to the beat. 

I had better stop for now, my sweet pea, as this is probably the longest entry yet. Mommy loves you so much, I hope you always know that.

 XOXO, 

Mommy