First night away!

Ohhhhhh, Lily. Your daddy and I left you with your granmmy tonight. We went to a baseball game and left you overnight for the first time in your little life. Part of me is excited, and part of me misses you so much. Its just 1 day... And I will hold you again soooooon!
I love you, and miss you.

Bookworm

Dear, sweet Bug-

I wrote in your baby book today. I wanted to make sure you know about me, Daddy, and our families. I filled out the sections about the baby shower, your homecoming, current events when you were born... And I didn't sugar coat it. With over 5 billion people in the world today, there is a lot going on! Elections, wars, protests, discoveries and so much more.

I want you to look back on your childhood and see that I always tried to help you learn, to teach you without bias or prejudice. This is so important to me, because learning is essential to living. I want you to live, truly live. Who knows? Maybe you will go to Mars, or cure cancer, or star in movies. Whatever you do, you learn it, live it, and love it.

You are a big girl! I am watching you sleep. I love you, baby bug.

Time flies when you're Lily-bug

I called it, Lily! You started crawling last night. Heck, you probably started crawling at daycare or something like that, but still. I looked down, and there you were, on your hands and knees, crawling towards the dog. I gasped, and you sat up. You looked so innocent! And you proved it wasn't a fluke... you can crawl. You can pull yourself standing using the edge of furniture. You eat food like a champ. You sleep really well- still waking up once a night, but you don't fuss a lot. You are my beautiful, tough, hard working, smart little girl! I treasure every moment with you now because I will blink, and you will be moving away from me, starting your own life, instead of crawling towards me with your big toothless grin.

I love you, Lilybug!

Cuddles!

Dear Lily:
 You were a little sick yesterday. Just the standard baby stuff- runny, boogery nose, sleeping a lot, cuddly, a fever. Every time I put you down to go do something really quickly, you cried. Every time I fed you, you fell asleep after about 10 minutes. I'm pretty sure you think I must be everything- a source of food, comfort, a pillow, entertainment... I love it! I don't know how I manage to take you to daycare, sometimes. I wish I could be with you all the time, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

I have been thinking about your birthday party. 1 is a big number! 1 year old, in just a few short months. I want to have it Ladybug themed, with cupcakes and a smash cake and balloons and food and treats! They say that you won't remember your 1st birthday... but I will. And I will take pictures! With those pictures, I will show you how adorable you were one day in the future, perhaps when you are talking about having kids of your own.

We had to put up the babygates in the living room. With you moving around more (but not crawling... scooting, really) you have tried to eat the cord to the computer, the game controllers, a bottle of sunscreen and so much more. Everything goes in your mouth! And you pull yourself up to a standing position, laugh, and then dance with excitement. The little walker I bought for you just a few short weeks ago is no longer useful- you refuse to be in it because it doesn't let you move as much. The Johnny Jump-Up is still ok, because you like to bounce and spin. Babies go through stuff so fast!!

I love you, little girl.

Mommy Bug

Dear Little Lily,
I've been feeling under the weather lately, and the only thing that really cheers me up is your smile. You see, after giving birth to you I ended up fighting a nasty battle with Postpartum Depression and Postpartum OCD. All I ever wanted to do was protect you, help you grow, and keep you healthy. To do those things, I have to be healthy too! So I started taking medication. And today is the 5th day of not taking this medication... it's a hard road. But I want to be healthy and happy for you! The light is shining at the end of the tunnel, and I know I can do it.

I am thinking of introducing toast to you tonight. We eat lots of wheat bread in our house, and I think getting it toasted, cut up into sections and then spread with a little of your pureed baby food would be tasty. You are almost 8 months old now, eating so many things, moving around so much!

You still do not have any teeth. I am both thankful and anxious. Grandma tells me not to worry, and several of our friends had babies that didn't get teeth until 10 months and beyond, but I want to save you the pain and frustration of teeth erupting from your gums! There is nothing to be done about it, so we will just wait for that first little tooth, and celebrate it, as we have celebrated your other firsts.

I can't wait to see you when I go to pick you up from daycare. I love you!

Hungry Bug!

Dear Lilybug:

Right now, your favorite toy is the dog, Sway. You  seem to be fascinated with her tail, and it is the funniest thing! You really want to chew on her bones with her, which means the dog is constantly picking up whatever she was chewing on and moving out of your reach. She is very calm and patient with you, even when you grab her tail. I am sure Sway loves you- especially when you drop little scraps of food for her to eat!

Still no sign of crawling, but I know it will be any day now.

I love you, silly girl!!

Crawly-bug!

My little genius-

  You will be crawling soon. All week now, you've been rocking back and forth on your hands and knees. You can sit up by yourself, roll over, scoot and move around so fast! I am just amazed to see how much you have changed in 7 and a half months.  Look at this picture! You were so tiny. Any second, you will get up and walk, I am sure.  Time sure flies when you're having fun.

We're still breastfeeding, and I treasure that special time with you every day. You seem more interested in wiggling than eating these days, but I won't give up! I think your favorite toy right now is the little pink purse, and you have suddenly decided you like pacifiers again. You spent all week with Daddy, but I know you are probably excited to see your friends at day care again.

I love you very much. I can't wait to see where this week will take us!