Lily's 6 month update

One change to report is that both of our cats are becoming more accustomed to having a new baby in the house.  They absolutely LOVE her room (probably because there are blackout shades and we have a heater in there).  Oliver even lets her "hug" him, and she always chuckles when she sees one of the cats.  A coveted spot is the changing table because it provides an easy vantage point to stare outside at birds and other creatures.  It's also the perfect size for snoozing if you are a cat.

Lily is now 26" and 15.5 lbs.  This is astounding to us as that was about Vi's weight at 12 months!  She is in the 45th percentile for height and 25th for weight.  Vi has never been out of the 10th percentile (and often closer to the 5th).

Lily loves to play in her crib.  We are going to need to lower the mattress soon because she can army crawl and roll about anywhere, and pulling up is probably on the horizon.  She likes to stare back at the cats who are normally lounging nearby on the couch.  She often plays in here in the mornings while I am helping sissy get ready for school.

I reach for everything and try to put it in my mouth!

Lily continues to do really well with her baby food (which would explain how much she has grown!).  She loves to eat yogurt now and when oats are mixed into her baby food.  Other than non-sugar applesauce and organic yogurt, I have been making all of her food.  She still really loves bananas has never turned her nose up to anything that has been offered to her.  She loves her new rice cake snacks that help her learn how to mash food and practicing with her sippy cup filled with water.

Lily's current favorite activity is to bounce in her door jumper.  She will do this for 45 minutes sometimes.  She loves it so much she can just nod off in it!  The more you say "bouncy bouncy" or "jump" the more she laughs.  She loves when her sister plays along, and Vi continues to be the sunshine in her life.  They take a bath together nightly now, and it is really precious.  Vi is such a great helper and big sister.  We could not be more proud of both of them.

Now that the weather is warming up we are trying to take Lily outside more.  We have really been unable to do this much because the winter here was so cold.  She is very easy going and just loves doing what everyone else is doing and feeling like she is included.

Our Easter 2014

We had a great Easter as a family of four.  We started celebrating with Vi's performance in the Palm Parade on Palm Sunday.

Egg Hunt #1 at church.  Lily was super cute in her bunny ears that Mamaw gave her.  She was definitely the cutest bunny I encountered!

Vi's overflowing basket of eggs

mmmm... I love eggs!

The next day, Vi's school celebrated Easter.  It was very exciting because she was also the line leader that day (which is always a highly anticipated day). First stop, Noah's Ark petting zoo.

The pig (aka Pickles) needed a bit more space to roam, so he explored the parking lot.  Ha!

The farmer had baby bunnies that he swaddled for the kids to hold.  This was absolutely adorable.  The kiddie chairs were lined up against the perimeter of the pen, and all of the little girls looked like little mommies with their "babies" as they cuddled the bunnies.

Vi's chocolate bunny

Vi and her girlfriends from school.  She also had an opportunity to gather up more eggs at the school's hunt.

Next, we had to prepare for the Easter Bunny's visit to our house by dyeing eggs.  This year, I decided to bake the eggs instead of boiling them (thanks, Pinterest!) and it worked perfectly with a lot less mess.  Vi did a great job dyeing and glittering the eggs.

Putting out our baskets (there is a carrot in there as "bait" if you look closely).

Happy Easter!  Lily wore Vi's first Easter Dress, and once again I am convinced that they are going to be very similar in their looks.  Here are Vi's pictures on her first Easter for a comparison.

Have you ever ridden to church naked so that you don't wrinkle your dress? Well, Vi has!

Lily and sister with the Easter lilies

Our family

Our final egg hunt with the neighbors.  We hope everyone had a great Easter Holiday.

He is risen, indeed!

Hippity hoppity

Easter bunny sighting at school today!

Seeing Lily in her bunny gear made Mommy flashback to Easter 2009!  Time flies.

Big girl bath time

Lily turned six months old yesterday and hit a few milestones like sleeping in her crib for 11 hours and taking a real bath with sissy.  We have been trying to wean her from sleeping in her swing, so sleeping that long in her own bed was a major win for Mom and Dad.  Vi has been asking for Lily to "float" in the bathtub with her, and once I realized Lily was growing out of her baby tub, I stumbled upon this little portable bathing chair.  It is a perfect size and should last until she is ready to sit in the bathtub alone.  Vi was a great helper; she washed the bottom half of little sis while Mommy washed the face and hair.  She even practiced gently pouring water on her to rinse off the soap.  Lily's favorite person to watch is Vi, so she thoroughly enjoyed getting some extra play time (and Vi's attention) in the tub with sissy.  They are both growing up so fast, but we are enjoying these precious moments more than I could imagine.  We love our sweet girls.