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.

Fitting right in

Daddy has another best friend who is a girl.  And she's super tiny and cute.

I love it when my sister holds me.

Bumbo time!

LOVE to try my first foods.  So far I have eaten corn cereal, rice cereal, bananas, sweet potatoes, apple sauce, and carrots.  I love all of them and eat "food" about twice daily.  I grab the spoon and hold my own bottle, too.  I will also put my hands in my mommy and daddy's food if they are not watching me closely enough (especially ice cream!).

Sisters

Being 4 months is exciting!

I found my toes!

I weigh about 13 pounds and am 24 inches long.  My 4-month vaccinations gave me a really high fever, but I am the sweetest thing even when I am feeling droopy and mommy enjoyed caring for me at home that day.

I can roll around and hold my head up like a champ...crawling is definitely in my near future!

I am also really good at snatching earrings, necklaces, glasses, hair, and about anything else I can get my hands on these days.

Mom's birthday weekend

Step 1: wash and dry strawberries

Did you know that hairdryers are an excellent way to dry strawberries?  Chef Vi knows all the tricks!

Step 2: melt chocolate

Step 3: dip strawberries in chocolate

Step 4: surprise your mommy on her birthday with chocolate-covered strawberries!

All the girls are ready for church on Mommy's birthday weekend

...and the biggest (and best surprisingly) gift of all, a minivan!  We had our reservations, but life really is much easier in this car with two children.  You spend a lot more time in the car that you think!  Vi likes the van because she can stand up inside and do ballet while she (a) either sings to the Frozen soundtrack or (b) watches Barbie and the Pink Shoes on the DVD player.  Lily likes it because she can now look to her left and see her big sister, at whom she stares at the entire time we are in the car and gives little smiles.  We can also invite friends to go places with us now because the third seat allows room for more people and carseats.  Yay!