A Family's Love is Forever

Lila will be 8 months old in a week, so I'm just a tad late with this post. 

My darling daughter has been waking consistently in the middle of the night for the past few weeks, and sleep has not been easy to get. So what am I doing wide awake at 4am on my last night of summer vacation? Staring at the baby monitor, of course! It figures that she would sleep good but I'd be wide awake, nervous that something is wrong. She's on her stomach as usual, with her cute butt sticking up in the air. I love this girl!

Lila is officially breaking her first tooth!!!  We were having dinner at my sisters tonight and I gave her a piece of chicken to suck on.  I was holding it tight so she wouldn't choke and she was just gnawing at it and all of a sudden I felt something sharp.  I felt around more and had a good look, and she is definitely cutting her two bottom teeth.  I never thought feeling a tooth would make me so excited, but it did.  I love being able to witness all of her firsts and I am going to miss that so much when I go back to work next week.  I'm just going to have to tell the babysitter not to tell me if she does something new!

O     I absolutely loved my wedding dress. But for years I had dreams of having it turned into my daughters baptism gown. When I was pregnant with the triplets I was so excited to know that MaryElizabeth would be baptized in it, but sadly we all know how that story ended. So this past weekend was bittersweet. It wasn't the daughter I imagined. Instead my beautiful second daughter, Lila, wore my dress (or rather, parts of it). I was so happy with the way it turned out and even though my plans changed I am so glad Lila had something so meaningful to wear. The love I have for Lila runs so deep and I cherish every single moment with her. 

     It's hard to believe that our baby is half a year old already!  At 6 months, Lila:

• eats sweet potatoes, squash, apple sauce, and anything on mommy or daddy's plate
• can't drink from a sippy cup, but will drink out of a regular cup
• can just about sit up by herself
• sleeps with her butt in the air
• is very happy and almost always has a smile on her face
• does not like to go to bed
• is teething
• loves to be the center of attention
• puts everything in her mouth
• reaches for her mommy
• gets so excited when daddy comes home
• likes to play airplane
• loves to kick her feet in the water
• is not a huge fan of mommy's photo ops

I had to go all the way to Michigan to find the perfect ornament for my babies. 

     Do you think she likes it?

     Last night was a rough one.  We've been noticing signs that Lila is teething, but last night confirms it.  The poor girl was so tired but kept waking up in pain.  Watching her toss and turn, crying, was so hard to watch.  I just wanted to take her pain away.  We tried everything:  a bottle, cold teething rings, whiskey, rocking her, Raffi and finally in bed with us.  Nothing worked and we both ended up sleeping on the couch where she finally cried herself to sleep.  And when she woke up this morning, the first thing she did was give me the biggest smile, as if saying she was sorry and loves me!

    On a happier note, I think Lila enjoyed her first time swimming.  She definitely didn't know what to think at first, but never cried.  She took it all in, and enjoyed swimming with Daddy, Caitlyn and Grandma.  Of course, I had to dress her all cute in her pink bikini and hat.  And everyone needs a cute cover cup (thank you, Danielle!), so Lila was dressed for the occasion.  Lila though, preferred to be naked and I just hope she didn't pee in Grandma's pool!  Here are a few of the thousand or so pictures I took:

Lila went swimming for the first time yesterday.  This isn't a great picture but I love her eyes!  More to come tomorrow. 

Today Lila turned 5 months!  She is starting to get a personality and is interacting more with us. She had quite a few first this month including her first boat ride, first time at the beach and first time using her doorway jumper. At 5 months Lila:

Today, Lila and I had lots of first together.

Lila's first lunch on the beach, Mommy's first time feeding a baby on the beach! (LBI, Surf City)

Lila's first tree swing ride!  And Mommy's first time pushing her daughter in a swing.  She wasn't full of smiles, but she didn't cry so all is good!

I love Lila so, so much. But every time we have a first I can't help but wish I had these firsts with Ryker, Tommy and MaryElizabeth.  I love all 4 of my children so, so much. 

     I can't believe Lila is 4 months old already!  She smiles, laughs, sleeps from 7pm-5am, rolls over one way, grabs objects, loves her play mat, cries screams when she's hungry, and is generally a very happy baby. 

     Weight:  12 pounds 14 ounces (we're officially out of 3 month clothes)
     Length:  24.5 inches

     She's a healthy baby and the doctor had no concerns. 





    

     Today, Lila and I walked our first unofficial 5k. It was my worst time and my best time. I would say that at nearly 2 hours I probably would have passed the finish line long after everyone had left. But those 2 hours were quality mother daughter bonding and Lila showed me a new way to view my old running route. 

This morning at 5:30 I was staring at my beautiful daughter trying to figure out if her noises were waking up sounds or just her normal noisy sleep sounds. All of a sudden, with no warning, she just rolled over!  And I was able to witness it which made me so happy. I'm always worrying that I will miss things by being a working mom, so I was excited to know that at least for this first I was the first to witness it. 

Lila had been smiling here and there, but nothing consistent. However, in the past few days her smiles are becoming more prominent and she just started smiling when we make funny faces at her. Here is her first smile caught on camera by daddy, and her first caught by mommy. 

The Easter Bunny came!

     Lila is 7 weeks old now, and had many firsts this week.  Her first time wearing 0-3 month clothing, her first time wearing size 1 diapers, her first real smiles and coos, her first diaper blowout (yuck!), her first time sleeping in her crib, and her first time going out to eat.  She has been such a good little girl! She's eating and sleeping well, having more alert time, showing interest in her surroundings, and is well-behaved.  I've been able to take her to Target, Shoprite, and out to dinner all without any issues. She's so easy going and rarely cries.  She does have fussy time in the early evenings, but overall is perfect.  We're so lucky!

     She'll be having another first on Monday, one which I'm not too happy about.  Her first time home all day without Mommy.  Although I'm still not completely healed, I'm going back to work this Monday.  Fortunately I don't have a very physical job and can take it easy, so I should be okay.  Emotionally, I'm sure I'll be a wreck! I can't believe I'm going to leave my little girl for the whole day.  Daddy took the week off so at least she'll be in good hands, but I have enjoyed being home with her and am afraid to miss anything!  But I do miss my students and I love my job, so in a way I'm also looking forward to going back.  Hopefully Lila will settle into a nice schedule and maybe will start sleeping through the night. I'm going to miss our mid-morning nap together!