9 Months

It seems like yesterday our Little Lily joined our family, yet just like a blink of an eye she is 9 months old.  Lily is a sweet, tenderhearted, joyful, full of smiles, and a mover.  It is so much fun to see her personality shining through as she grows and changes.

• Has thick, strawberry-blonde hair with locks of girls in the back
• Loves to play outside, at the park, and go for walks
• Shares smiles with everyone - when in mom's arms
• Loves to eat people food, especially pancakes, bread, peanut butter, and beans
• Beginning to drink from a sippy cup
• Jabbers and says, "Mama" and "Da"
• Claps her hands, especially when singing, "If You're Happy & You Know It"
• Blows raspberries and makes Indian sounds
• Loves to play by Emily, but is nervous to be with her alone as Emily likes to take control
• Sit crawls and wants to go anywhere and everywhere

8 Months

Sweet Lily is 8 months old and learning new things each day.  She has the cutest little smile and giggle that I can't seem to live without hearing a few times a day.  Here are a few of Lily's amazing tricks for the month:

• Loves to be tickled under her chin, as it brings a sweet belly laugh.
• Enjoys bath time, especially sucking the water from the washcloth.  She kicks her feet in delight as the tub fills up.
• Outside is one of her favorite places to be, including the park.  She loves to go down slides by herself and with her sister.
• Says "Mama" and other consonant sounds like "bbb" and "ddd."
• Loves to each fruits, sweet potatoes, and yogurt.  She is not a fan of beans or peas.
• Uses her pincher grip to pick up small pieces of food to eat.  She can also feed herself a cracker and loves to eat graham crackers.
• Enjoys playing with Emily as long as she gets a few toys, too.
• Gets excited to go on walks in the stroller.  We have been going a few times a day.
• Shares lots of smiles with everyone around her, as long as mom is near.

Park Pleasures

With the weather being so beautiful - warm, but not too hot - we have enjoyed some sunshine, spring days at the park.  To add some adventure to the fun, we have been exploring new parks near by.  It has been fun to discover the new playgrounds as a family.  Emily loves to climb.  Lily loves to slide. Dad loves to play hide-and-seek.  Mom loves to watch it all happen and join in the fun.

Favorite past times

These images capture a few of Emily's favorite things to do lately.  She loves to play in her hut with her princess, pretending to put them to bed with reading stories, singing songs, and kisses goodnight.  As I prepare meals, Emily also loves to pretend with her princess on the kitchen chairs.  The chair represents the house that has two levels, like ours.  The princess go up and down the stairs.  I love hearing her voice provide entertainment to my cooking.  Of coarse, books are always one of our favorite things to do too.  Emily is great at retelling a book once it has be read to her once or twice.  She is a great reader already!

Story time with Lily & Emily

Emily loves to read stories to Lily while they sit on the floor together or as Lily jumps in the bouncer.  It brings me so much joy to watch them begin to play together.  Lily loves her big sister.  She carefully observes her daily and smiles often at her.  When Lily wakes up from a nap, she eagerly looks for Emily to giggle with.  Emily is always so cute to greet Lily with, "There's Lily!"  I love these sweet girls so very much.

Tubby Time with Lily

Lily loves to splash and play in the bathtub.  Even more than that, she loves to grab hold of the washcloth and such all the water out.  It is hard to get the washcloth away from her once she has it.  I even let her suck on it after getting her out of the tub because otherwise she gets really upset.  I guess she gets some good hydration.

Fever Virus

Lily and Emily unfortunately caught an nasty virus that brought fevers and chills for several days.  They were tired, fussy, and uncomfortable, which broke my heart as I couldn't do much.  Emily refuses to nap, but when she is sick it is all she can do to stay awake after lunch.  Even with a nap, Emily was still ready for bed early.  I was glad to see her smile and energy back after a few days of 100 plus temperatures.