Tooth

I'm pleased to announce that Lily's very first tooth has broken the surface. What a big girl! It's the front left tooth on the bottom. We've got a way to go before it makes its way completely out and provides her with an adorable little toothy grin, but it's definitely there. And the front right tooth on the bottom appears to be coming soon.

Puppy Love

Lily has gotten much more aware of and interested in the dogs. I've noticed that sometimes when we walk into a room, she'll look around at the floor, trying to see where they are. When she finds them, she smiles. This morning we were sitting in the recliner having breakfast and the dogs were running around together playing. They were wrestling and chasing each other and Lily was watching them go. They came to a screeching halt in the living room and there was a pregnant pause as the dogs stared at each other, waiting to see who would make the next move. Lily was watching them very intently. Then Wrigley wagged his tail, smiled, and pounced forward to smack the ground in front of Bailey with his front paws, and Lily started to laugh.

Doctor, Doctor

This morning Lily had her four-month well baby checkup. She's doing great. She's at the 97th percentile for height (26.5 inches) and the 90th percentile for weight (16.4 lbs). Her strength is developing well ahead of schedule. Her pediatrician was very impressed with how well she can hold her head, how strong her grip is, and how well she can bear her weight. Looks like all those exercises we do at home are paying off! We talked a little about integrating food into her diet and were all done . . . until the nurse came back in. Today was Lily's second round of vaccinations, so once the doctor was done with his exam the nurse had to give her a couple of shots. Poor Lil was not pleased.

Four Months

Happy birthday to Lily, who turned four months old today! Very exciting stuff. We've had a pretty action-packed weekend of "big girl" activities, which is a celebration of sorts.

Friday night we attended "Feast with the Beasts," one of the annual members events at the Albuquerque zoo. Lily stayed chipper, riding around in her Bjorn and checking everything out.

Yesterday morning we had breakfast with George, then went over to Babies 'R' Us to buy feeding supplies for Lily. Usually babies start getting introduced to soft foods at about six months, but because of her large size, her doctor recommended starting at four months. I had already bought some organic brown rice cereal, so yesterday we got a high chair, some little plastic bowls, and some rubber-tipped spoons.

Yesterday afternoon we attended our very first Gymboree class. I had high hopes for it, but it wasn't great. I can see how it might be helpful for stay-at-home moms and their kids so that both can get a little socialization, but Lily and I both see plenty of our peers (and will be doing even more of that over the next few months, as my pregnant friends and relatives give birth to their babies). The class would also be good for people who need ideas on activities they can do with their kids, but I do so much reading up on that sort of thing that class seemed sort of pointless. Lily and I had already done every activity we did in class. So while Gymboree might be something we revisit when Lily's a little older, I think we need to pass on it for now.

Yesterday evening was also exciting. Lily and I met up with Emily for dinner and then came back here and put that new high chair to use with Lily's first feeding. I mixed a little rice cereal with formula and let Lily give it a whirl. She wasn't crazy about the high chair or the new food (as is documented on her Flickr site), so I took her out of it and made her a regular bottle. Emily gave her that and I tried again to give her a little of the food while Emily held her in her usual eating spot and position. That went a little better, but she still does not seem to be a fan of the food. Our instructions are to keep plugging away at it once a day for a couple of weeks, then going up to twice a day, then introducing other pureed baby foods.

This morning we did yet another "big girl" activity: I gave Lily her first haircut. Her hair had gotten really patchy and uneven, so I trimmed down the strange long strands to even everything up a little. No more mohawk, swoosh, and mullet for Little Miss Lily. She's down to just blond peach fuzz now.

Gonna Get Physical

Tonight Lily made her first trip to the gym. I changed into my workout clothes before leaving work, then picked Lily up at daycare, strapped her into her Baby Bjorn, and walked over to the fitness center. We met up with Emily and Nancy, and the four of us walked 1.5 miles on the indoor track. Lily seemed to have a pretty good time. I put her in facing forward, so she was able to check out all the action, smile at people, and occasionally give little coos to participate in the chatting. Hopefully we're able to make it a regular event.

Adorable

Tonight I was giving Lily a bath and I had one of those moments where I was so overwhelmed with love for her that I got tears in my eyes. I was singing a bathtime song to her and she was just lying there in her tub, grinning up and me and "singing" along while kicking her little legs in the most adorable way. It just killed me. Man, I love that kid.

In slightly less cute news, the reason for tonight's bath was to wash out the oil I put on her head to treat her cradle cap. She's got a mild case of it, and the suggested treatment is to rub a little baby oil into her scalp, let it sit for awhile, and then use a soft bristle brush to rub it off the scalp. When she got into her bath, her head was looking a little grody -- her hair was all slick with the oil and had chunks of dandruffy cradle cap in it. Funny how it only takes about two seconds to transition from cleaning oily scalp gunk off your baby's head to feeling an overwhelming wave of adoration for her. That's one charming kid, I'll say that much.

Busy Times

The other day when I dropped Lily off at daycare, one of the little girls who had been in her room (Sage) was standing outside the room, knocking in the glass and waving at Rosario, the early morning teacher. Rosario went out into the hall and said hello, and Sage stuck her arms up in the air for a hug. Rosario gave her a hug and kiss and then stood back up and told Sage to have fun in her new room. Sage's mom took her hand to lead her to her new room, and Sage started to cry and stuck her arms up to Rosario again. It was heartbreaking. Poor little Sage! On the bright side, it says a lot about the type of care in Lily's room.

In other news, last night Lily went to a ladies happy hour party. It was two hours of her getting passed around like the belle of the ball. She got really tired at the end and started fussing a little, but other than that, she was in a great mood all night.

Fall

Yesterday and the day before Lily's daycare was closed for annual in-service days, so I got to be home with her for a couple of days. I also had her all weekend, so we had four days of uninterrupted quality time, which was really nice.

Today marks the first day of the new "school year" at Lily's daycare. In mid-August (at around the same time the Albuquerque public schools go back into session), all the kids at daycare get moved up to the next room together. Lily is still too little to be moved into the toddler room, so she stayed in the infant room with a few other of the very little babies and a couple of new additions. She's no longer the youngest in the room (there's a 2.5-month-old boy and a 3-month-old boy).

The saddest part about the kids moving into their new room is that Lily has lost her best friend. She had gotten very chummy with a little girl named Marisol, but Marisol has moved on to the toddler room. Poor Lil.

A Few Things

Tonight was a very big night for Little Miss Lily -- she rolled over back to stomach for the very first time! She's been doing stomach to back for a little while now (and thank goodness I finally captured it on video a couple days ago), and she sure has been trying hard to go back to stomach, but she hadn't mastered it yet. When she would try to go back to stomach but always end up pinning her own arm. Tonight we were down on the floor and she just flipped pretty quickly and unexpectedly. It was really cute, because she looked pretty startled at first. (I'm not sure if she was startled by what she had done or startled by me clapping and saying, "Yay, Lily!" over and over again.)

In other news, last night we did our mom and baby fitness DVD (given to me by my sister) for the first time. It was pretty neat. It was a decent workout and stretch session for me (it's a mix of yoga and pilates) and was fun for Lily, because it was so interactive. Also, ut ended with some stretches for Lily and a few minutes of baby massage, which she loved.

And finally, next week will be Lily's first time getting school portraits. Her daycare does them each fall, so I signed her up. I can't wait to see the proofs for those. I hope the photographer brings a drool-proof set.

Anniversary

It was one year ago today that I found out I was pregnant with Lily. It's funny to me how much life can change in one short year. When I was pregnant, I worried a little about what kind of mother I would be and how I would juggle a baby with work and life. But then Lily came into my life and my heart just melted. She's three months old now, and in the past three months I've become the person I'm supposed to be -- Lily's mommy. So happy one-year anniversary of me finding out about the love of my life.