Monthly Update {7 months}

Lilly Rose,

Seven months old! You are growing like a weed right before my very eyes. What a fun month we had. I already documented a lot of your happenings during the past month because we were having so much fun. Here's a little more of what you were up to:

 --You really love Oliver! You laugh at him, coo when you watch him and constantly want his attention.

--Started to take steps when we stand you up. Lilly Rose you want to walk/move so badly.

--Pulls forward in the highchair to sit up straight. (also started eating puffs this month, too)
--You like to put your fingers in our mouths, pull mommy's hair...all these fun things started this past month.

--First 4th of July was spent with Yaya & Papa in the swimming pool. That day was also your first visit to great grandma Kriner's house.

--You now suck on one finger at a time.
--Talk in the car, lots of exciting things happening in the back seat while we are driving.

--Sleeping a little later, mommy is very appreciative of this!

--Lilly you still really love your swing (and sophie the giraffe, too).

--Another successful sleep-over at Yaya's. I gave you your first sink bath in their kitchen sink. You were very unsure of what we were doing, your expressions said it all.

--You put your arms out for Yaya to take you for first time. First time Lilly did that to anyone. 
--You try and use your feet to do things (grab, push, etc). Family talent ;)
--Transferred a toy from left hand to right hand on the day you turned 6 months.
--Toes touch the floor in your jumperoo now, getting so big!
--New sounds: baaaaah baaaah and hiii hiii hiii
--We find you staring at your hands a lot with fingers spread apart. Still fascinated with hands and fingers. It seems as if you are trying to count your little fingers.
--We love the big smiles you give from across the room while playing or when I open the trunk to get the stroller and you see us, your always smiling so big.

--Sits up alone for few seconds now, about 15-25 seconds.
--Touch things around you as if trying to figure them out. The canopy on your car seat carrier has been highly inspected, I'm pretty sure you know how it's made by now. ;)

-- Lunch date with daddy, our favorite activity aside from the pool! :)

Lilly Rose, you are mommy and daddy's heart! We are having so much fun watching you grow. Even on the yucky days we wouldn't trade one second of it. Happy 7 months baby girl.

Stats:

Clothes - almost outgrowing the 0-3, 3-6 & 6mo in PJs (newborn in bloomers only)

Diapers - size 1

Hair - let's talk about this hair! ;) It is styled like daddy's and there is nothing I can do about it, it sticks straight up in the air. It's a very light brown, almost blondish brown.

Happy 7 months baby girl! xo

Dada {so sweet!}

Today Lilly Rose said "dada" while Billy and I were sitting on the couch with her. We cheered, she giggled, and then she grabbed his face and said "dada" again. It was soo sweet! I think my heart swelled, I know her daddy's did! :) We also spent time doing what we do best, chilling at the pool! Tonight, Grandpa & Grandma Bird are in town staying with us for the night. I'm serving my famous Cajun chicken lasagna. I'll have to share my recipe soon, it really is a delicious dish that you cannot mess up! Perfect for serving the in-laws! :)

Big day and my grumpy cure {7 months}

Our baby girl is 7 months old today! It just seems impossible. We are having so much fun with Miss Lilly these days. She giggles a lot, babbles constantly and smiles at us all the time when she catches our glance from across the room. Lilly, you are mamma's baby and such a delight!  I'll do her monthly milestone post when I have more time. :)

Oh, and we did finally get that date! Mom (yaya) rescued me from my rut (grumpiness) and came over to spend time with Lilly Rose. Billy and I were going to see the new Batman movie but in light of the recent Colorado tragedy we were just not up for it, not as excited about seeing it. Our thoughts and prayers certainly are with those families who lost loved ones. We did however get to lunch at Cantina Laredo, shop and grab our favorite chick-fil-a milkshake on the way home. It was a perfect day. Thanks, Mom for spending time with our girl so we could have a date! Lilly loved her time with you, she's been talking about it ever since. :)

Keeping It Real

Okay, so I may just do these post randomly as I realized that I don't post often enough to have a weekly post of some sort. It takes the pressure off so I'll do these as they come to mind.

This week though I just have to admit that I'm a little grumpy. Yes, grumpy. I shouldn't be, I have the best husband, healthy funny (yes, she's already so funny) baby and a roof over my head...just to mention a few. However, that sweet husband of mine spends 90% of his time working. Providing for us. Another reason I should be thankful, not grumpy. Billy gets one weekend a month off. Yep, one! His last weekend off was spent in ATL, he had to move some items for his parents. So, we didn't see him. The next time he was off work was this past Sunday and he was miserable with allergies. Miserable enough to go see a doctor this past Monday. Probably the second time he's been to a doctor since I've known him.

We need a date ASAP...before I forget what that word means. I'm sure some couples don't get out much either with an infant but I know a lot that do. I think I'm ready to leave Lilly for a few hours so I can get quality time with my husband. I'm thinking something to the effect of me doing my hair, wearing something besides flip flops and eating dinner in a setting where I'm not serving it, feeding a baby and finally sitting down to eat after every one's fed. Yep, that sounds like it will cure my grumpiness. :)

Playing {pictures}

Just a few pictures from yesterday. We played All. Day. Long. The past week Lilly has been really great playing by herself. She seems happier and more patient with things. Maybe we were in a growth spurt the past couple weeks, either way, I'm welcoming a happier baby. Still no signs of teeth but lots of drooling, gnawing on her hand, teething ring and anything that will stand still. ;)

We topped off our day of playing with a visit from Yaya. Lilly sure does enjoy her so much. Today, we're headed out for a Target trip and maybe even Kohl's. Mid-week cabin fever hits if we don't visit the friendly red colored store with a bulls eye on the door. ;)

Happy Lilly {29 weeks}

I think I'm going to post every time my Lilly Rose decides to have a melt down because since my last post I've had the perfect baby! I'm not kidding when I tell you that Lilly has been wonderful since my last post. She has played in her jumperoo for a total of 40 minutes without fussing, all smiles actually. Lilly went from her jumperoo to her play mat for 30 minutes, all smiles. We've had lunch with girlfriends where Lilly Rose was the perfect baby, no crying, for a 2.5 hour lunch and then we went shopping afterwards, no crying. Who is this child!? SO... this happy baby you see in pictures, is in fact a happy baby! :)

Keeping It Real Thursdays

Warning: this may be a slightly boring post due to rambling about my thoughts and no sharing of pictures.

Most nights I have a really hard time getting my brain to shut off. Random thoughts, situations, upcoming events, you name it, keeps my mind busy when I finally have a chance to sleep. I'm sure this is normal, right? So, last night one of my thoughts lead me to the idea of a new weekly post on Thursday's called, "Keeping It Real".

Let me back up... now that I am a stay at home momma my time to quickly check all my favorite social media sites is more at large. The fact that I am still breast feeding, sometimes have a napping baby, etc. allow for me to peruse what is going on with everyone very easily with iPhone in hand. My time at the computer is very limited but I always feel connected with my iPhone. I began to think...every one's life looks glamorous on Facebook. Not just Facebook but Twitter, Instagram and Pinterest, too. I'm just as guilty. Not many post the ugly truth... and let's face it, do we want to read the not-so-fun stuff anyway?

My sister-in-law recently said to me, "Lilly is always happy, we couldn't figure out if she smiles all the time or just smiles for the camera." Let me be the first to tell you, Lilly Rose is NOT always happy. She is not an easy baby. She cries easily, already fusses (the point of possible FIT) when she doesn't get her way...she is definitely already at 6 months of age showing her innately human side. Some days I just feel defeated, it is tough. She does however know how to smile when I say "cheese" (too cute) and when I post the smiley pictures, it looks like all's well in the Bird casa. :) So that's where this idea came from, "Keeping It Real Thursdays". If for anything, it'll add a little more fun to my blog and reality to our family books. I must add though that even though Lilly Rose is a tough baby to raise, she's a delight and a million percent a huge blessing. Any parent would agree though that parenting is tough and everyday has it's ups and downs.

I'll begin with this little story for my first Keeping It Real:

I'm still working on trying to set a scheduled nap for Lilly Rose. Let me first say that from 5-6 weeks she sleeps in her crib all night long. For that I'm very thankful. However, from day 1 she has been a cat napper and doesn't take really long naps usually. I would love for her to take an hour nap (or even quiet time) in her crib. I'm sure it will come more naturally the older she is but for now, I'd love some kind of routine during the afternoon. So, we've been working on this. I put her down in her crib Tuesday for a nap. She was tired. All the signs were there but as usual, she fights it. I mean FIGHTS IT. So, I let her cry it out (bad parenting 101, I'm sure). I tried the whole wait 10 minutes, comfort then leave, wait 15 minutes, repeat... this child will cry for an hour and not give up. Finally, 45-50 minutes later I give up and go in to rescue the crying baby. I pick her up, she immediately stops crying, looks at me and exhales really loudly. I say, Lilly Rose you need to take a nap, why were you crying so much? I'm not kidding when I tell you my child started giggling at me. No joke, people. After changing her diaper, I put her in her swing (happy place) so I could have a moment of sanity. Today, she's cat napping in her swing = no drama. I'm not yet sure how to move forward, consistency with the crib or keep the peace with the swing and enjoy the 20 minutes I do get...  I don't know about you but I'm exhausted just proof-reading about this baby of mine! :) Speaking of that baby, she's up again... mommy duty calls.

Sleep-over {fun with yaya}

This past weekend Lilly Rose and I decided we would go to Papa and Yaya's house for a sleep over. Daddy traveled to Atlanta to help move some items for his parents so we thought a sleep over was perfect. It's always nice staying at their house, nothing like being 'home'. We enjoyed our visit!

Singing LR favorite song, "This Little Light of Mine"

Lilly's first bath in a sink, she wasn't quite sure of it. :)

Thanks for having us! Rest up!! We'll be sure to do it again soon. :)

Pictures {6 1/2 months}

This morning I took Lilly Rose to have her 6 month portraits done. She did really well, no fussing or tears! She wasn't however giving away those big smiley grins. We did get a few sweet shots though. I'm proud of my big girl. I will have to post some here once we get them in. Here's us leaving... Modeling is just tiresome! :)

Happy Birthday, America! {celebrating the 4th}

We are really enjoying this year so much, each holiday is extra special having a sweet baby to share it with! Lilly Rose spent her first fourth of July swimming with Yaya and Papa! We really enjoyed having them over to swim. Yaya packed a nice picnic for us to enjoy too, it was yummy.

After we had too much swimming and sun we headed over to visit with great grandma Kriner for a bit. Lilly Rose really enjoyed the visit, I think. Lilly was so sweet to share her hugs and I think ggK enjoyed them too.

I'm so thankful for our men and women in uniform, those who have served past and present. They are not forgotten, especially on days like this when we all enjoy family/friends and celebrate our freedom. We sure did miss our American Hero, Uncle Jordan, who is still fighting in Afghanistan but look forward to his homecoming in the coming months. Happy 236 Birthday, America!