Hello, its been a while.

Our apologies for staying away so long, we have had a series of minor house disasters on our end that has taken all of our time and energy (why does everything have to come in threes?) But since the last posting a few fun things have happened.......Lillian loves to play/drink out of and hold her own glass. When she sees the glass and she is not drinking out of it a mini melt ensues, for now it is funny. I realize it won't always be funny. She also had her 6 month check up.....which was really closer to 6.5 months.....so on with the stats: 27 inches long (79th %tile), 19 pounds, 15 oz (94th %tile) and 17.5 inch head circumference (89th %tile).

We went to Eugene's lighting of the Christmas tree last weekend with friends, we also saw Prancer and Blitzen (if you can believe it), rocked out to a Christmas band and had hot cider all in less than an hour since it was bed time.

Lillian's friend Alex and mom Andrea.

After a minor scare of possibly missing thanksgiving we had amazing food out at Big Mike and Bonnie Ray's tree farm. It was great to spend thanksgiving with the Davis family again.

2 weeks ago we woke up and I had one of those moments again where my daughter had grown over night, she looked much longer and her little feet that couldn't touch the edge of the chair she eats in were all of the sudden a kick, kick, kicken' the chair the entire time she ate. I told Colin that our little girl had grown over night and looked like a different baby and he didn't believe me. Then we put her in this toy that initially she couldn't touch her toes to the bottom in.......well she grew so much that we had to make the toy taller so she wasn't slumping in it. Isn't it amazing, 7 1/2 inches since birth, no wonder I am hungry all of the time.

Camping

Yes we are crazy and attempted camping in November,
in the rain, in 40-50 degree weather with a 6 month old.
In our defense we had lots of friends to help us out when times
got rough....and they did. Everything that one would anticipate
camping with a 6 month old in the rain would be....well it was. All I can
say is good thing I brought 4 snow suites for Lily because we used them all.
She did love it and I know Colin and I will look back on that
weekend as a very crazy but funny time. All and all I was just
happy to be outside. Here we all are, including Roxy in my right arm.

Playing in the tent.

Just one more....for those that requested more videos.

Sweet Potatos and Avacados

Happy 6 month Birthday

We had a great day on Lillian's 6 month birthday. She is getting so big and learning so much.

6 months old!

The day before her 6 month birthday she cut her first tooth!

Thanks Aunt Megan for the cool frog onsey! This is where Lily sits while I cook. I typically lie her down on her play mat but the second she realizes I am cooking she wants to be in the action watching it all happen.

The Joys of Life

First Food

Here she is getting ready for her first bite of rice cereal, in her brand new bib Brian brought her this weekend. The event was more of an emotional milestone for me than anything else really. All week long I prepared myself silently. Thinking about the last 6 months, the changes, what rice cereal really means and how rice cereal can be correlated to many other bench marks in life. Bench marks like getting your first car, leaving for college and finding a life partner; bench marks that symbolize a change or a different level of independence. Many of you are laughing now.....oh if rice cereal has been this tough then heaven help them when she really does become more independent. But please induldge me for a second with this. She has survived for 6 months in the flesh and 9 months in the womb on just me. She has brought the most perfect baby smell to our house. Her diapers and spit-up, though a little gross at times, all purely natural phases of breast milk. Now all of the sudden enter rice cereal and I have a whole new baby. I thought about what this next month will bring for her; exciting new flavors such as avocados, blue berries, and peaches and for me the fun of making baby food for my little girl and seeing the look in her eyes as she mouths something new for the first time. So after a week of deep thought of what rice cereal really means it came down to this moment in time. This moment when she smiled at Colin and I out of the corner of her eye and tried her first bite of cereal. I don't know what I was expecting, balloons to fall from the ceiling maybe or her to cry out and say, 'mom I still love you and need you', but instead we got a baby who acted quite ambivalent with her teaspoon of food in total that took 10 minutes to actually get in her mouth. After it was over I thought to myself, well that wasn't so bad, I don't know what I fretted about for so long....... until I woke the next day. When she woke up Sunday morning she no longer smelled of my sweet little girl, she smelled of rice cereal and cried/screamed/fussed from the indigestion the 3 servings of rice cereal in her system. I was right, this was a change......maybe not as large as going away to college but an emotional milestone non-the-less.

Lillian finally found her toes and she tries her hardest to get them in her mouth every time we change her.

Thanks Alex for sharing this great toy. Lillian LOVES it already and has already figured out how to bounce in it and spin around in her seat in it.

Brian came to visit this weekend and spoiled Lily with a great blanket, burp towels, a bib and a sea horse. It was pretty cute watching Lily warm-up to him, about an hour in to his visit she was all smiles every time she saw him.