This evening, just a few scant days since Miss Helen and Miss Cathy predicted it, Lily Rose proved that she, too, can walk.
Over at Grandma & Grandpa Leamon’s house this evening, our little princess let go of Mommy’s leg and walked 5 WHOLE STEPS across the room. Very sturdy, steady steps too. This very day, when we went to pick her up at school, Miss Helen commented that she thought walking was going to be very soon. When I laughed and said that I thought (hoped?) it would be at least another couple of weeks, she said she thought it would be sooner. I mentioned that Lily really doesn’t stand on her own very much. Just bolt upright in the middle of the room, without hanging on to something, like I have seen Isaac do. Miss Helen looked surprised and said that Lily had been doing that A LOT today.
Then lo and behold, Lily showed us that she can walk just like Cousin Ike! Oh dear, she's a big girl!
Tuesday, December 26, 2006
Lily's first Christmas
Lily's first Christmas is past. On Christmas eve night, she gave her mom and dad a very special present, she slept over 3 hours at a stretch! This was amazing! Unfortunately, she was awake for a long stretch during Mom's shift. All in all, she woke up well rested at 6:45.
We had to get ready right away to go over to Grandma's and Grandpa's house for the traditional Christmas morning activities. Grandpa always make a very delicious Christmas Bread for breakfast. We then open our presents starting with what Santa has left in our stockings. Mom and Dad opened most of Lily's gifts but she helped with a few.
Everyone was so generous in buying clothes as she has pretty much outgrown most of her 9 month clothes and has moved onto the 12 month wardrobe. There were a few toys to add to the excitement. Lily was so well behaved and hardly fussed during the 3+ hour marathon unwrapping sesson.
Once we were done with the unwrapping of presents, we went home for a few hours so that Lily could take a nap with Dad. She and I slept soundly for almost 2 hours. It was then time to go back to Grandma's and Grandpa's for Christmas dinner -- turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes, gravy, peas, and cranberries. It was all DELICIOUS! Even Lily thought it was good, eating her share and then smearing her food in her hair.
By the time we got home, it was time for Lily to go to bed and she was more than ready!
We had to get ready right away to go over to Grandma's and Grandpa's house for the traditional Christmas morning activities. Grandpa always make a very delicious Christmas Bread for breakfast. We then open our presents starting with what Santa has left in our stockings. Mom and Dad opened most of Lily's gifts but she helped with a few.
Everyone was so generous in buying clothes as she has pretty much outgrown most of her 9 month clothes and has moved onto the 12 month wardrobe. There were a few toys to add to the excitement. Lily was so well behaved and hardly fussed during the 3+ hour marathon unwrapping sesson.
Once we were done with the unwrapping of presents, we went home for a few hours so that Lily could take a nap with Dad. She and I slept soundly for almost 2 hours. It was then time to go back to Grandma's and Grandpa's for Christmas dinner -- turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes, gravy, peas, and cranberries. It was all DELICIOUS! Even Lily thought it was good, eating her share and then smearing her food in her hair.
By the time we got home, it was time for Lily to go to bed and she was more than ready!
Friday, December 22, 2006
Walking....oh, my!
Lily is getting sooo close to walking. She loves to walk holding on to Mom or my hands. While she doesn't have the balance yet to do it on her own, we expect that to develop any time now. While we were hoping that she would put off walking until much later, we are resigned to the fact that it will be happening soon.
UPDATE: Social Security Number
Hooray!!! We have a Social Security Number for Lily! The great woman at the Social Security Administration office worked some magic and got everything done so that we could get the number. A huge THANKS goes out to her. Now we can set up her bank account and file taxes come the new year.
Thursday, December 07, 2006
Lily's Christmas Program
Last night, Lily had her Christmas Program at school. She is the baby on the left side of the lady with blonde hair. If you listen closely, as the camera pans away, a big laugh from the audience can be heard. Lily the Ham started kicking and jumping and dancing to the music. Everyone thought that was very funny. The more they laughed, the more she danced! I believe we have a performer!
Monday, December 04, 2006
Ho! Ho! Ho!
Lily received a surprise visit from Santa Claus at her Grandma's and Grandpa's house over the weekend. I am not quite sure what she thought be we got some great pictures for the memory book!
Tuesday, November 28, 2006
Social Security Number
As you probably know, everyone in the US needs a social security number. Well, we wanted to wait until we had Lily's final amended birth certificate before we applied for hers as this would make it so that we would not have to then do a name change later. Well, we still don't have an amended birth certificate because of how slow the vital records department is in making these amendments. They told me yesterday that it will take another 2-5 MONTHS to get it done.
Today, I went to the Social Security Administration office anyway. I took as much paperwork as I could: her original birth certificate, our adoption decree and anything else that I could think they might want.
The woman who helped me was very nice. So nice that I didn't even get mad when she said that there was not much she could do without the amended birth certificate. She also told me that Lily already has a SSN that was issued when she was in the hospital. Well, golly. No one bothered to tell us that! The woman said that she would request an amended birth certificate and that she would call me when it came in. She also said that she would do everything she could to get everything processed so that there would be no delay once they had all of the paperwork they needed.
Hopefully we will have her SSN by the time we need to file our taxes.
Today, I went to the Social Security Administration office anyway. I took as much paperwork as I could: her original birth certificate, our adoption decree and anything else that I could think they might want.
The woman who helped me was very nice. So nice that I didn't even get mad when she said that there was not much she could do without the amended birth certificate. She also told me that Lily already has a SSN that was issued when she was in the hospital. Well, golly. No one bothered to tell us that! The woman said that she would request an amended birth certificate and that she would call me when it came in. She also said that she would do everything she could to get everything processed so that there would be no delay once they had all of the paperwork they needed.
Hopefully we will have her SSN by the time we need to file our taxes.
Sunday, November 26, 2006
Help us save for college
It may seem very odd that we are asking people to help us save for college while Lily is only 10 1/2 months old. We fully expect that by the time Lily goes to college it will cost so much that if we don't start saving now we will never be able to afford it. We discovered a great way of saving for college that doesn't cost us a thing. It is called upromise. We did all of the research to make sure it is legitimate and we were thrilled to find out that it had the support of many people and businesses.
Here is how it works. You need to register with at http://www.upromise.com. It will ask you for your credit card numbers, your shopper card numbers for your grocery store or drug store, and who you want to save for. Then whenever you go to certain restaurants or shop at your local grocery store, a certain percentage of what you spend goes automatically to Lily's college fund. If you are interested in helping out, or just want more information, send me an e-mail.
Update: Laurel wanted to make sure you knew that this doesn't cost you a thing! The manufacturers, restaurants, and businesses make the contribution based on your spending. So far we have raised a little over $65 this way and it has not cost us a single dime!
Here is how it works. You need to register with at http://www.upromise.com. It will ask you for your credit card numbers, your shopper card numbers for your grocery store or drug store, and who you want to save for. Then whenever you go to certain restaurants or shop at your local grocery store, a certain percentage of what you spend goes automatically to Lily's college fund. If you are interested in helping out, or just want more information, send me an e-mail.
Update: Laurel wanted to make sure you knew that this doesn't cost you a thing! The manufacturers, restaurants, and businesses make the contribution based on your spending. So far we have raised a little over $65 this way and it has not cost us a single dime!
Sunday, November 19, 2006
Communication
Well, there are many schools of thought on baby speak. At our house it goes like this:
Pwee -- Lily sees something that is either a) yellow; b) shiny (like jewelery); or c) a button. She immediately looks to the wearer and says, "Pwee?" We always confirm that yes, it is indeed very pretty. We think "pwee" sort of means "I like that".
Dawdie -- Our dog, Bartlett. Or any dog. Quite often, but not always, Lily will point excitedly or merely gesture in the direction of the dog and state loudly, "dawdie".
Tyeatee or Ktyeetee -- Any cat. This is often shrieked loudly, using her very new and very loud shriek-voice. This is a voice she is quite proud of. Its very loud.
Mama and Dada of course. These are not always the 'discerning' titles, but more of an "I shriek in your general direction" thing.
Other communication indicators:
Lily has a toy frog she likes very much. When she is playing in the baby jail, we can say, "Lily, where is your frog?". She will immediately look over at the shelf where the frog goes to bed, drop to her hands and knees and crawl-run to the shelf. She pulls the frog down and hugs it and gives it a big kiss/bite on the nose.
She has started to give kisses. Very selectively and on her terms but if you catch her in just the right mood, she may respond favorably to a "Lily, will you give mama a kiss?". Then Mommy ends up slobbery too!
When Lily gets mad, everyone in the vicinity knows it. She is not a whiney baby about it but will definitely make her displeasure known. She makes an angry face and says "DYA DYA DYA DYA DYA!" and expects you to be appropriately chagrinned.
Thats the update for now!
Pwee -- Lily sees something that is either a) yellow; b) shiny (like jewelery); or c) a button. She immediately looks to the wearer and says, "Pwee?" We always confirm that yes, it is indeed very pretty. We think "pwee" sort of means "I like that".
Dawdie -- Our dog, Bartlett. Or any dog. Quite often, but not always, Lily will point excitedly or merely gesture in the direction of the dog and state loudly, "dawdie".
Tyeatee or Ktyeetee -- Any cat. This is often shrieked loudly, using her very new and very loud shriek-voice. This is a voice she is quite proud of. Its very loud.
Mama and Dada of course. These are not always the 'discerning' titles, but more of an "I shriek in your general direction" thing.
Other communication indicators:
Lily has a toy frog she likes very much. When she is playing in the baby jail, we can say, "Lily, where is your frog?". She will immediately look over at the shelf where the frog goes to bed, drop to her hands and knees and crawl-run to the shelf. She pulls the frog down and hugs it and gives it a big kiss/bite on the nose.
She has started to give kisses. Very selectively and on her terms but if you catch her in just the right mood, she may respond favorably to a "Lily, will you give mama a kiss?". Then Mommy ends up slobbery too!
When Lily gets mad, everyone in the vicinity knows it. She is not a whiney baby about it but will definitely make her displeasure known. She makes an angry face and says "DYA DYA DYA DYA DYA!" and expects you to be appropriately chagrinned.
Thats the update for now!
Little girls and their Daddies
Well, if there was any doubt that little girls LOVE their daddies, its all been laid to rest around our house.
This past Saturday, Daddy went outside to work on getting some of the leaves out of the yard, since we were having company. Daddy was outside using his leaf blower/vacuum and Mommy and Lily were inside in the baby jail...erm...play room. Suddenly, Lily heard a noise outside. She looked over at Mommy with a very quizical expression and Mommy asked, "Lily, what do you think that noise is outside? You should go look!". Lily crawled over to the window and saw her absolute favorite fella (Daddy) outside with a machine strapped to him. She got very excited and squealed a bit and pointed out the window, looked at Mom and said, "DADA!"
She spent the better part of the next half hour standing at the window watching her Daddy. It was very exciting. He played peek-a-boo with her too!
This past Saturday, Daddy went outside to work on getting some of the leaves out of the yard, since we were having company. Daddy was outside using his leaf blower/vacuum and Mommy and Lily were inside in the baby jail...erm...play room. Suddenly, Lily heard a noise outside. She looked over at Mommy with a very quizical expression and Mommy asked, "Lily, what do you think that noise is outside? You should go look!". Lily crawled over to the window and saw her absolute favorite fella (Daddy) outside with a machine strapped to him. She got very excited and squealed a bit and pointed out the window, looked at Mom and said, "DADA!"
She spent the better part of the next half hour standing at the window watching her Daddy. It was very exciting. He played peek-a-boo with her too!
Friday, November 17, 2006
Messy Girl!
Now that Lily has begun to feed herself, we have more and more nights where she ends up looking like this. You should have seen her the night we had spaghetti!
Sleep Update
Lily has never slept through the night. Mom and I have been splitting the night with Mom taking until midnight. I then take over and do the rest of the night until Lily gets up at about 6:00. For a long time, Lily would sleep an hour at a time then wake up and start to cry. Once she got her first tooth, this changed. She started to sleep 2-3 hours at a time.
This week, for some unknown reason, she reverted back to the one hour sleep cycle. That is until last night when she was back to three hours at a stretch. We have been reading the various approaches to getting her to sleep through the night and have decided that we can not just let her "cry it out" as suggested by many of the experts.
We have decided that we are going to try a method that will get her to sleep better but will not involve nearly as much crying. Wish us luck! We need the sleep!
This week, for some unknown reason, she reverted back to the one hour sleep cycle. That is until last night when she was back to three hours at a stretch. We have been reading the various approaches to getting her to sleep through the night and have decided that we can not just let her "cry it out" as suggested by many of the experts.
We have decided that we are going to try a method that will get her to sleep better but will not involve nearly as much crying. Wish us luck! We need the sleep!
Thursday, November 02, 2006
Lily's first Halloween
For Lily's first Halloween, she dressed up like Princess Leia from Star Wars. She was the hit of her day care's Halloween parade.
Tuesday, October 24, 2006
Tooth!
Lily has her first tooth! We first felt it several days ago and it is now clearly there. She has been drooling like a firehose. Since the tooth cut through, she has been sleeping much better. Perhaps we have turned the corner.
Monday, October 09, 2006
Lily crawling and standing
Here is a video that we took over the weekend of Lily pulling herself up and crawling like there is no tomorrow.
Lily Laughing at Mom
Mom was playing with Lily over the weekend. Even though Lily wasn't feeling well, she still thought Mom was rather funny.
Tuesday, September 19, 2006
Horror of horrors!
It finally happened. Today, our Lily Rose, the delicate flower, began to crawl. Oh yes, she is truly mobile. It didn't even take 2 weeks from the time she decided to sit herself up until the time that she decided that this lunging thing she was doing just wasn't enough. It seems the time that Mommy and Daddy spent working to get the family room semi-babyproofed last weekend was indeed time well spent. Its not totally finished, and we have yet to babyproof the kitchen (which adjoins the family room) but since Daddy isn't working just yet, we are fortunate that he can spend the next day or so working on that. Yippee!
We took some video and hope you are excited about this development as we are. YAY!
We took some video and hope you are excited about this development as we are. YAY!
Monday, September 18, 2006
Sleeping Lily
Dad loves it when Lily takes a nap on him. This period of time won't last forever so on weekends this is how she often sleeps.
Wednesday, September 13, 2006
Lily & Daddy spend some quality time
Lily has been home sick from day care the past couple of days. She woke up yesterday morning with a fever of 101.9. Mom and I took her to the doctor only to be told that it was a viral infection and that we should just treat the symptoms (Tylenol every 4 hours). Consequently, Lily and I have had some quality time. She has not felt the greatest but the Tylenol has kept her fever down so it hasn't been that bad.
Today, when I set her in her crib so that I could do something real quick, she pulled herself up to a standing position. She looked surprised at herself. I only wish I could have gotten a picture. This is the first time she had done that! She has also been scooting around on the floor like a veteran. She doesn't really crawl, yet, but that will come very soon. Her new found mobility has Lily excited and Mom and I a little nervous. We still need to get the baby proofing done.
Today, when I set her in her crib so that I could do something real quick, she pulled herself up to a standing position. She looked surprised at herself. I only wish I could have gotten a picture. This is the first time she had done that! She has also been scooting around on the floor like a veteran. She doesn't really crawl, yet, but that will come very soon. Her new found mobility has Lily excited and Mom and I a little nervous. We still need to get the baby proofing done.
Thursday, September 07, 2006
Mobility at last!
Lily, just prior to her 8-month mark, had yet to begin crawiling. In point of fact, she hadn't even been able to sit herself up yet, or she chose not to (perhaps believeing that was the peasants duty to place her in an upright position).
This, of course, led to me to an irrational albeit minor freak out (as mothers are wont to do). I tried to tell myself that if she wasn't crawling until 9 months, then I could legitimately melt down. Besides, the longer it took her to move around, the longer we could put off that 'babyproofing' thing. Somehow, John doesn't seem to carry the gene for needless worry. That’s why he is able to get to sleep so quickly. Nighttime is my time to obsess..erm meditate... about this.
Apparently, its time for me to adjust my focus onto something else because she; A) started sitting today and B) can crawl one step forward and inumerable bits backward. Along with her other skills of grabbing everything within reach, eating paper, chewing on carpet lint, my keys, bits of leaf drug in by the dog, dried dinner off the floor, slobbering on everything dry, and ripping chunks of fur from any passing dog or cat, etc (all of which are very marketable skills). It appears that she is moments away from a full bore crawl, as well as pulling herself up in her crib and on anything else. She stands so well already that I fear the crawling may not be long lived and that walking *gasp* is only weeks away.
All of the sudden, it’s a whole new ball of wax. It appears that this weekend John and I will be in the baby-proofing supplies aisle at Target or Lowe's, trying to keep Lils from eating the shopping list and trying not to sob too loudly at her getting so big.
This, of course, led to me to an irrational albeit minor freak out (as mothers are wont to do). I tried to tell myself that if she wasn't crawling until 9 months, then I could legitimately melt down. Besides, the longer it took her to move around, the longer we could put off that 'babyproofing' thing. Somehow, John doesn't seem to carry the gene for needless worry. That’s why he is able to get to sleep so quickly. Nighttime is my time to obsess..erm meditate... about this.
Apparently, its time for me to adjust my focus onto something else because she; A) started sitting today and B) can crawl one step forward and inumerable bits backward. Along with her other skills of grabbing everything within reach, eating paper, chewing on carpet lint, my keys, bits of leaf drug in by the dog, dried dinner off the floor, slobbering on everything dry, and ripping chunks of fur from any passing dog or cat, etc (all of which are very marketable skills). It appears that she is moments away from a full bore crawl, as well as pulling herself up in her crib and on anything else. She stands so well already that I fear the crawling may not be long lived and that walking *gasp* is only weeks away.
All of the sudden, it’s a whole new ball of wax. It appears that this weekend John and I will be in the baby-proofing supplies aisle at Target or Lowe's, trying to keep Lils from eating the shopping list and trying not to sob too loudly at her getting so big.
Sunday, September 03, 2006
Babies and Antiques
Lily went to her very first gigantaflea market today. Mommy, Daddy, Grandpa, & Michele accompanied her to Sparks and White Cloud for the day. When we got there, we met up with Cousin Isaac who was accompanied by his Mommy and Daddy, Lily's Auntie Anna and Uncle Pat. THEN it got even more exciting when Mommy's friend Ellen, her boyfriend Jeff and their baby Broden, who is 2 days younger than Lily but 1 day older than Isaac showed up.
Lily got very tired and ended up taking a little bit of a nap but her entourage perservered and finished up finally about 3:00, poorer, wearier, and yet very happy after a productive day of antiquing. Hooray! I think we were a bit overdue for this. Lily had her first antique show at 3 months, her first art opening at 5 months, so by rights, this flea market should have come about a month ago because she is nearly 8 months but technically, she is only 7 months now so it just barely slid in under the 'new every 2' wire.
Lily got very tired and ended up taking a little bit of a nap but her entourage perservered and finished up finally about 3:00, poorer, wearier, and yet very happy after a productive day of antiquing. Hooray! I think we were a bit overdue for this. Lily had her first antique show at 3 months, her first art opening at 5 months, so by rights, this flea market should have come about a month ago because she is nearly 8 months but technically, she is only 7 months now so it just barely slid in under the 'new every 2' wire.
Tuesday, August 22, 2006
What do you mean its not a real duck?
We just thought this picture of Lily in the bathtub was hilarious!
Friday, August 18, 2006
Wednesday, August 16, 2006
Sleep? What sleep?
Lily still is not sleeping well at night. Mom and I have been splitting the night so that we can each get some sleep. While she will go to sleep just fine to start the night, after a few hours of sleep she wakes up and then starts a cycle of waking up about once each hour. We are trying a new routine that we hope will break the habit that she has gotten into. We know that how we respond to her cries will affect how she sleeps so we are really looking at what we do when we go in to soothe her. We know that this will eventually pass and she will sleep through the night. We just hope that will come sooner rather than later.
Saturday, August 05, 2006
Happy Baby
Lily was playing in her crib today while Mom picked up her room. She was having such a great time that Dad took her picture.
Tuesday, July 25, 2006
Lily and Dale
Lily was carrying on an intellectual conversation with Dale the Math Professor. What were they discussing? String theory?
Friday, July 21, 2006
Adoption is FINAL!!!!!!
We will post more later but we wanted everyone to see the picture from the courtroom immediately after Lily's adoption became final. We are now legally a family!
Thursday, July 13, 2006
Sunday, July 09, 2006
Saturday, July 08, 2006
Lily with Daisies
While we were in Fort Ransom, we saw this bunch of daisies sitting in a freshly mown ditch. We couldn't resist taking a picture of Lily with the daisies. This is just one of several pictures that we took.
Lily and Daddy
Lily and Daddy have been spending more time together this week. After the trip to Fort Ransom, Mommy got to feeling not so good and had to go to the doctor. It was a very lucky thing that she did, too, because if Daddy hadn't forced her into it she would have not gone, and it ended up that she had to have surgery. Lily was at Daycare that day and so Grandpa Leamon went and picked her up. Then, he and Grandma took her home and the lady neighbor named Karen came over to put her to bed. Grandma and Grandpa Leamon went to the hospital to be with Daddy while Mommy was in surgery.
Then, when the doctor came out of surgery to talk to Daddy and Grandma and Grandpa, listened to what she had to say. The doctor told them she removed Mommy's appendix and everyone agreed that Mommy was very lucky this didn't happen when she was in North Dakota. After making sure that Mommy was OK, Grandpa Leamon went to rescue...erm...relieve Karen. Lily was in bed already sleeping but she woke up a little bit later and Grandpa gave her a bottle. Then, after Mommy woke up and was taken to her room, Daddy went home to relieve Grandpa and Lily woke up again. Daddy fed her and put her back to bed and finally, Lily slept for almost an entire night! The next morning, Daddy took Lily up to the hospital to see Mommy before Lily had to go to school. Mommy felt much better after seeing her girl.
Then, when the doctor came out of surgery to talk to Daddy and Grandma and Grandpa, listened to what she had to say. The doctor told them she removed Mommy's appendix and everyone agreed that Mommy was very lucky this didn't happen when she was in North Dakota. After making sure that Mommy was OK, Grandpa Leamon went to rescue...erm...relieve Karen. Lily was in bed already sleeping but she woke up a little bit later and Grandpa gave her a bottle. Then, after Mommy woke up and was taken to her room, Daddy went home to relieve Grandpa and Lily woke up again. Daddy fed her and put her back to bed and finally, Lily slept for almost an entire night! The next morning, Daddy took Lily up to the hospital to see Mommy before Lily had to go to school. Mommy felt much better after seeing her girl.
Thursday, July 06, 2006
Trip to Fort Ransom
Lily had her first plane trip to a family reunion of John's family in Fort Ransom, North Dakota. She did very well most of the time. Lily was the hit of the reunion with everyone wanting to hold her. She held up very well remaining as cheerful as could be expected considering being passed around the room. She really liked her cousin Joey, who is the youngest of her cousins. When Joey would come up to her she would smile that big smile of hers.
I have posted all of the pictures from our Fort Ransom Trip on Flickr.
I have posted all of the pictures from our Fort Ransom Trip on Flickr.
Monday, June 19, 2006
Lily in a high chair
For Father's Day, we went out to a restaurant and Lily sat in a high chair in a restaurant for the first time! She looked like she was enjoying it.
Saturday, June 10, 2006
Lily Rose is 5 Months Old!
Lily turned 5 months old today! We had a big outing to see all of the relatives for a cousin's baby shower. It was a 1 1/2 hour drive each way. Lily got soooo sleepy!
Tuesday, June 06, 2006
Video of Lily
Lily really loves her dog, Bartlett. She gets really excited when we put her down to pet him.
Sunday, June 04, 2006
Standing
While Lily can not stand up on her own, yet, if we stand her up, she loves to just stand and stand. Here she is standing on her own on our front porch. She stood there long enough for me to run and get the camera and start taking pictures. Later she just leaned on the railing. She is getting soooo big!
Friday, May 26, 2006
Teething and other news
Lily has started teething. So far it has been mostly drooling and being generally fussier than normal. We can tell that she is uncomfortable.
We hope to get her moved into her own room this long weekend. We will have to see how it goes. It will be nice if it works so that we can start sleeping all night in our own bed! Up to now, mommy and I have been splitting the night on the couch in the family room where we have had Lily's porta-crib set up. We will see how it all turns out!
Lily has been sitting up better every day. She is now sitting up almost upright and has shown more stability. We will probably have to get a high chair very soon as she will want to sit with us more and more.
Lily LOVES cereal and eats it with real gusto. We try to give her some cereal every day right before bedtime. We are amazed at how much she eats every day. We have started to add other stage 1 foods such as applesauce and bananas.
We hope to get her moved into her own room this long weekend. We will have to see how it goes. It will be nice if it works so that we can start sleeping all night in our own bed! Up to now, mommy and I have been splitting the night on the couch in the family room where we have had Lily's porta-crib set up. We will see how it all turns out!
Lily has been sitting up better every day. She is now sitting up almost upright and has shown more stability. We will probably have to get a high chair very soon as she will want to sit with us more and more.
Lily LOVES cereal and eats it with real gusto. We try to give her some cereal every day right before bedtime. We are amazed at how much she eats every day. We have started to add other stage 1 foods such as applesauce and bananas.
Monday, May 22, 2006
Lily's firsts
Lily rolled over from her stomach to her back totally unassisted this morning. Mom was very surprised! Shortly after that, Mom sat her on the bed and she sat almost totally upright for a full minute. Lily is getting to be so strong. We won't be able to just let her lie on the couch anymore and before too long she will be moving around by herself. Time to babyproof the house!
Sunday, May 21, 2006
Adoption finalization set
I talked to our attorney last week and we have set the date and time for the finalization of Lily's adoption. We are set for 9:30 am on July 21, 2006. This will make my 41st birthday even that much more special. Both Laurel and I are excited to have this part of the parenting process behind us so that we can concentrate all of our energy on raising our beautiful and intelligent daughter.
Lily's 1st Mother's Day Picture
Laurel took this picture of Lily for her first Mother's Day. We think that it is one of the sweetest pictures we have ever seen of Lily. The expression on her face speaks volumes of what Lily is like. She is almost always happy and just on the edge of a smile.
Believe it or not, this picture was taken into the bathroom mirror. The background is none other than Laurel's shirt. Laurel did take out her elbow in the upper right corner of the picture.
Believe it or not, this picture was taken into the bathroom mirror. The background is none other than Laurel's shirt. Laurel did take out her elbow in the upper right corner of the picture.
Saturday, May 13, 2006
All the photos
You can see all of the photos of Lily at http://www.flickr.com/photos/opgaard/. I will be posting them as we take them. I have more to post but we can only upload so many at a time. Come back often to see the latest!
Saturday, March 11, 2006
Lily's first smile.
Lily has been a very smiley baby from the very beginning. Lots of people have said that it was "just gas" or some such nonsense but really its just that Lily is a very happy little girl. One day, Mommy was looking at Lily and suddenly, Lily smiled the biggest smile and the happiest smile that Mommy had ever seen! It was February 16, 2006 and being only 2 days after Valentine's day, Mommy thought that was the BEST belated Valentine she had ever gotten in her whole life. Daddy was at work just then so he didn't get a chance to see the prettiest smile of Lily's which made him feel a little bit sad.
Just a few days later, though, Daddy got his chance. It wasn't the usual thing but this week Daddy had to work on a Saturday. When he was done working, he called Mommy so she would know he was on his way home. Mommy knew that Daddy would want to see his girl and so she wanted Lily to be very clean and good smelling for her dad so they could cuddle lots. Lily was having her diaper changed when Daddy walked in. He said "Hi" to Mommy and gave her a kiss. Then he looked down at Lily and said, "Hi there little girl!" Daddy smiled at Lily. Then, Lily looked at Daddy and smiled her beautiful and lovely smiley smile. Daddy was SOOOOOO proud and SOOOOOO happy that he just about busted at the seams. His eyes got a little bit teary because his girl had smiled at him and he was very glad.
Just a few days later, though, Daddy got his chance. It wasn't the usual thing but this week Daddy had to work on a Saturday. When he was done working, he called Mommy so she would know he was on his way home. Mommy knew that Daddy would want to see his girl and so she wanted Lily to be very clean and good smelling for her dad so they could cuddle lots. Lily was having her diaper changed when Daddy walked in. He said "Hi" to Mommy and gave her a kiss. Then he looked down at Lily and said, "Hi there little girl!" Daddy smiled at Lily. Then, Lily looked at Daddy and smiled her beautiful and lovely smiley smile. Daddy was SOOOOOO proud and SOOOOOO happy that he just about busted at the seams. His eyes got a little bit teary because his girl had smiled at him and he was very glad.
Thursday, March 09, 2006
Aunt Lynda's House
Our first week with Lily was spent at Aunt Lynda's house. We could not return to our home in Kansas even though it was was only 90 minutes away because we had to wait for the paperwork to go to the state Interstate Compact for the Protection of Children (ICPC) offices in Topeka and Jefferson City. Essentially they had to say it was OK for us to have our daughter and to take her across state lines.
Aunt Lynda was gracious to open her home to us. She let us stay in a spare bedroom on the second floor. We had our own bathroom and could use the other spare room up there as well. We would spend our daytime hours in her living room with Lily and try to sleep at night in two twin beds upstairs. We had purchased a porta-crib for Lily which we set up between the two beds.
We picked up Lily on a Friday (January 20, 2006) and had to work out a routine as best we could for when we were at Aunt Lynda's. Because Lily was certainly not sleeping through the night, Laurel and I would take turns in feeding, changing and holding her.
Laurel had to go to work on Monday because she was responsible for planning a major event that would happen that Thursday. I had to let her sleep as much as possible so that she could get up and be on the road by 7:00. She would get back each evening at about 6:30. Aunt Lynda helped out lots during the day and was always doing laundry, fixing a meal or holding Lily so that I could take a nap or a shower.
Lynda explained to Laurel and I how to use the remote on her television. It was not working correctly so she had figured out what combination of buttons to press to make it work. On one of my shopping trips for diapers, I bought her a new remote and programmed it for her. She was thrilled that she could just push a single button to change the channel or raise the volume.
Laurel and I also noticed that her doorbell didn't work. I told her about our doorbell and she thought that it would be fun to have a doorbell that would play songs. I went to the local Lowes store and bought her a new doorbell and installed it. She was so excited that she had to show it to everyone who came to the door.
Lots of people came to visit while we were at Aunt Lynda's house. Many relatives visited to meet Lily for the first time. Lynda and I spent lots of time talking and getting to know one another.
On Thursday, January 26, I got the call from the social worker that the ICPC paperwork had come through. Grandpa L was already on his way when I got the call to take Lily and me home. We packed everything in the van and made our way home.
Thank you, Aunt Lynda! We couldn't have done it without you. You will always hold a special place with our Lily Rose.
Aunt Lynda was gracious to open her home to us. She let us stay in a spare bedroom on the second floor. We had our own bathroom and could use the other spare room up there as well. We would spend our daytime hours in her living room with Lily and try to sleep at night in two twin beds upstairs. We had purchased a porta-crib for Lily which we set up between the two beds.
We picked up Lily on a Friday (January 20, 2006) and had to work out a routine as best we could for when we were at Aunt Lynda's. Because Lily was certainly not sleeping through the night, Laurel and I would take turns in feeding, changing and holding her.
Laurel had to go to work on Monday because she was responsible for planning a major event that would happen that Thursday. I had to let her sleep as much as possible so that she could get up and be on the road by 7:00. She would get back each evening at about 6:30. Aunt Lynda helped out lots during the day and was always doing laundry, fixing a meal or holding Lily so that I could take a nap or a shower.
Lynda explained to Laurel and I how to use the remote on her television. It was not working correctly so she had figured out what combination of buttons to press to make it work. On one of my shopping trips for diapers, I bought her a new remote and programmed it for her. She was thrilled that she could just push a single button to change the channel or raise the volume.
Laurel and I also noticed that her doorbell didn't work. I told her about our doorbell and she thought that it would be fun to have a doorbell that would play songs. I went to the local Lowes store and bought her a new doorbell and installed it. She was so excited that she had to show it to everyone who came to the door.
Lots of people came to visit while we were at Aunt Lynda's house. Many relatives visited to meet Lily for the first time. Lynda and I spent lots of time talking and getting to know one another.
On Thursday, January 26, I got the call from the social worker that the ICPC paperwork had come through. Grandpa L was already on his way when I got the call to take Lily and me home. We packed everything in the van and made our way home.
Thank you, Aunt Lynda! We couldn't have done it without you. You will always hold a special place with our Lily Rose.
Who is Opal?
Lily had to spend several days in foster care after she was born because of the laws in Missouri. After she got out of the hospital, the social worker took her to Opal's house. Opal is a wonderful woman who has been taking care of babies in foster care since the 1970's. She showed so much love and devotion to these children. She will always hold a special place in our hearts as the person who so lovingly took care of Lily during her first several days of life.
Thank you, Opal!!!!
Thank you, Opal!!!!
So why Lily Rose?
Lily picked her own name. I know what you are saying: "how does a baby pick her own name?" Laurel and I had picked two possible names before we met Lily on January 16. Was she going to be Lily Rose or Eleanor Abigail? We liked both names. We especially liked Eleanor Abigail because it was such a strong name. She would be named after two first ladies who we respected. We liked Lily Rose because of its family ties and that it was such a pretty name. (Lily was Grandpa L.'s mother's name and Rose would be after my Aunt Rosella who I loved so much.)
As we drove to Opal's house, we thought that we were going to name our daughter Eleanor Abigail. When we got there, we got to hold Lily for the first time. We had to decide. Laurel immediately said that she thought she was more of a Lily.
We asked her "Do you want to be Lily Rose?" She was asleep but still gave us a little smile. While it might have been gas, we took it as a sign. We then asked her "or do you want to be Eleanor Abigail?" Still asleep, she gave us a frown. Was this just a coincidence? We tried again. "Is your name Lily Rose?" Again a smile. "or is your name Eleanor Abigail?" There was the pouting face again. This cinched it. She will always be Lily Rose.
As we drove to Opal's house, we thought that we were going to name our daughter Eleanor Abigail. When we got there, we got to hold Lily for the first time. We had to decide. Laurel immediately said that she thought she was more of a Lily.
We asked her "Do you want to be Lily Rose?" She was asleep but still gave us a little smile. While it might have been gas, we took it as a sign. We then asked her "or do you want to be Eleanor Abigail?" Still asleep, she gave us a frown. Was this just a coincidence? We tried again. "Is your name Lily Rose?" Again a smile. "or is your name Eleanor Abigail?" There was the pouting face again. This cinched it. She will always be Lily Rose.
Lily Rose is Born!
On January 10, 2006, Lily Rose Opgaard was born in Missouri. The next day, Laurel and I got a call from the adoption agency that our new baby was waiting for us to come and pick her up. On January 16, 2006, Laurel and I, along with Grandpa L., went to meet Lily for the first time. On January 17, 2006, our petition for adoption was filed with the courts. We would have to wait until January 20, 2006 for the court to grant us custody. As soon as we had custody, we rushed Opal's house where Lily was staying to pick her up and take her to our temporary home with Aunt Lynda in Independence. Our family was started!
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