Full of Firsts

Lily is already 8.5 months old. It has felt like time has picked up speed within the last month or so because Lily has been busy doing so many firsts. Lily was early to sit up during her 4th month and seems like she decided to take a break in months 5 and 6 and revel in sitting and rocking. Little did we know she was building up to being a bit more busy lately. Crawling, getting up, feeding herself finger foods, waving, talking (slightly more understandable babbling), turning pages on her own, climbing stairs, first haircut, and growing 4 more teeth come first to mind.

Here are a couple videos of Lily in action and our January album:

January 2010 - Lily 8 months

House Hunting

When Lily was many months from arrival I hoped to leave our condo for a home with more space before she arrived. Didn't happen. We didn't really end up putting any effort into it except for keeping an eye on the market by looking on the web now and again. Only within the past month or so have we stepped up our efforts, going in person to see a few homes.

The desire for a new place comes from a few different angles. First is just plain old space. We have a two bedroom condo with about 1,000 square feet. Perfect size when it was just the two of us, now very cozy. Beyond that it's about conveniences. Off-street parking and in-home laundry. The laundry room is right out our back door, but the parking situation is a pain.

The one thing we really love about our place that has probably been what's made our search less than enthusiastic is the location. We can literally walk to anything we want. Grocery stores, restaurants, even mainstream shopping downtown. About the only thing not within walking distance are big-box stores like Target. If we lived in another neighborhood or a suburb these things would only be a short car trip away, but it's not just the drive that would be a change. Nicole finally figured out the other day just what it is about this walkability that makes a difference. It's the fact that the walks (and Nicole and Lily go for a nice walk pretty much every day) are really a passive social experience. There are so many people out and about, and when you walk often, you start seeing the same people over and over again. It's not that you're having deep interactions with people, it's that you're around people all the time.

The exact spot where we live isn't ideal for raising Lily, with almost no other kids in the surrounding couple of blocks and somewhat busy traffic. But if you go a few blocks North and West, it becomes a very traditional neighborhood that we think would be ideal. Of course lots of other folks think it's ideal too so the price is less than ideal. So sooner or later we're going to have to make a compromise. Whether it's the perfect neighborhood, a lot of space, or a yard, something will have to give. But we're not in a huge rush at this point, so I think we'll wait a bit and let that right compromise reveal itself to us.

In the meantime, here are a couple of Lily's latest cute pictures to put a smile on your face.

Come Back Oma & Opa

We said goodbye to Oma and Opa yesterday with a heavy heart. This was their 2nd visit to see Lily, very different this time around. The word fun didn't even make the list to describe the last visit. Their visit this past week was wonderful and fun. Watching Lily brings me so much joy...watching Lily with my parents...bursting from the seams moments of joy that completely seize me wishing for time to freeze.... i know...pretty intense. I'm just going to post a few of my favorite pics from their visit. It all feels so bittersweet at the moment....working through my emotions wishing I wasn't so sad that they're already gone.

Oma and Opa Are Coming

New Years Eve was like any other night at our house these days (stay in and asleep by 11) except for the cheese fondue we tried to make. Hopefully our resolutions don't fail as miserably as our fondue did. We essentially made clumps of cheese in a watery broth....yummy.

Oma and Opa are coming and I'm super excited. Last time they visited, Lily was a newborn and we were living in a heavy fog of frustration, exhaustion and a non-stop deer in headlights expression on our faces. I didn't have the blissful newborn phase and time hasn't softened the memory much of how hard it was. I've sure made up for that lost time though because nowadays I am happy, really happy. Last time Oma and Opa were here, I didn't want to go anywhere with Lily except for short walks around the neighborhood and my mom was busy taking care of me and figuring out ways to help get me out of a dark spell (planting flowers on our patio for example). Now, I get to be a proper host and take care of my parents. With my new skills in the kitchen (still sounds weird to me to admit that I can and enjoy cooking now), I have some recipes I'd like to spoil them with. I have ideas to get out and about as a family (I didn't want to even get in the car with Lily last time they came) and even project ideas for my handy Opa.

We posted December pics...of course mostly of our crawling and babbling 7.5 month Lily.

2009 December - Lily 7 months

Lily's First Christmas

Santa decided to give Lily the gift of crawling for Christmas and my wish for a childproofed home hasn't come true...yet. Laziness can be so powerful. Lily's 1st Christmas was as sentimental as I thought it would be. She enjoyed the tissue paper in her stocking made for her by g'ma, blocks and a book from her Daddy, and a Laugh&Learn musical table from her aunt and uncle that she really enjoys and we wish had quieter volume settings (thanks again Eric and Jill!). Eric, get ready for a voicemail (or 2) of just a few of the songs we get to hear on repeat over and over again. :)

We are still figuring out what the Nate and Nicole Christmas tradition will look like. We have the food situation all set but we're working on what else we'd like to include...Christmas concert, readings maybe, a particular movie...not sure yet, fun to think about. We spent much of the evening watching the 1st season of Friday Night Lights....good show but not Christmas tradition good. The plan is to incorporate traditions from each of our families and then add something Nate and Nicole-ish to the mix.

I wouldn't be surprised if one of Lily's first words will be "skype." Video-chatting with family is a highlight. Here are a few random snapshots from a Christmas skype session with my family, makes me smile seeing how happy they look.

Here's our first family Christmas photo. It was a simple Christmas with lots of time to just be with those you love and be grateful...happiness can really be that easy.

Christmas is a-Comin'

We haven't had a lot to write about lately, thus the two weeks between entries. We've been going along with the routine and all is good. We've been getting ready for the holidays, sending and receiving lots of cards and trying to get our act together for gifts.

We did cut a real Christmas tree this year for the first time ever. It's a great tree, measuring in at about three and a half feet tall. It took about 10 seconds to cut down, but about 10 minutes to select. Here we are with it (thanks Jeanne & Jeff!).

Probably the biggest change with Lily is that she's starting to crawl just a bit. Here's one of her first attempts, managing about a foot of progress. She gets distracted pretty easily, so she hasn't yet gone very far. We're still waiting for that day everyone warns about where she suddenly takes off and never stops.


One of her favorite things to do these days is to bounce around in her doorway jumper thing. She figured out that the rocking motion she does all the time (while being held, sitting, hands and knees, really all the time) makes her bounce really high. Our favorite part is the way her feet come together on the ground and then fly apart when she jumps. Looks like she's clicking her heels or something. She also likes to babble/yell while she's in there, "ba ba ba ba" or "AAAAAAAAHHHHHHHH". She doesn't do it in this video, but it's pretty entertaining when she does.

It will be a pretty laid back Christmas for us, since we finished our big trip for Thanksgiving. We'll just relax at home and visit friends around town. No midnight mass for us this year either, we'll hit an earlier service instead. But we'll definitely miss the candlelight rendition of Silent Night. I guess we'll just have to start our own tradition of singing it at home with a candle before Lily goes to bed Christmas Eve.

Once Upon A Time

Once upon a time, taking a week long trip with carry-on luggage actually happened. Once upon a time, driving 3 hours without stopping was considered normal. Once upon a time, I thought about all the books, magazines, music and movies I'd bring to keep myself occupied for the long flight...that makes me chuckle now. There are times when I miss being the quick and savvy traveler, not missing a beat as I made my way easily and swiftly through the airport, keeping an eye out for time savers like it was a game. Now, all I keep my eye on is Lily, my boobs so they aren't accidentally saying hi to everyone, and all of Lily's stuff we now travel with.
Smooth travel now no longer means just arriving safely and on time, it also means not having to change a poopy blow-out diaper or an outfit in flight, not losing anything like a shoe or that one toy she'll stop crying for in a second, and getting blessed with a quiet baby on the plane. I am grateful that I can say that we did have smooth travels to Chicago and Michigan over Thanksgiving (our neighbors on the flight might disagree but crying for 15 minutes or so on a 4 hour flight is being an angel).

Our trip was full of visits. Family was the priority and we were able to see everyone from cousins to siblings to great grandparents. We hoped to see more friends but it gets so tough when it's a holiday trip...next time. Here is a list of 10 great memories from the trip in no particular order

1) Watching Lily and her cousins play together...maybe it's not playing as much as just curiously looking but it sure is cute.
2) Introducing Lily to her great-grandparents...such a rare and special treat.
3) Keeping Lily on west coast time actually worked..as long as she slept in a room with no windows.
4) Date night with Nate, eating dinner at a restaurant bar....something about sitting at the bar helped shed the mom role for a little while
5) Seeing my dearest friend Manju and meeting her gorgeous daughter Shivan for the first time...Manju, I didn't want our visit to end. Eating Sri Lankan food was awesome too. :)
6) Playing with my nieces and nephews. They are all older now and so much fun to talk to. I had a long conversation about candy with my 6 year old niece.
7) Having people around who wanted to play with Lily non-stop.
8) Lily hanging out with her Godfather and watching the Hinsdale crew decorate their Christmas tree
9) Watching Nate teach our niece how to run like an airplane in a field and watching a huge flock of birds fly away from a nearby tree.
10) Having Nate around for a full week without that pesky job getting in the way.

Lily is 6 1/2 months now. She eats fruits or vegetables once a day in the early evening and I still breastfeed her 5x a day. She takes 2 naps and goes to bed around 7. It is nice to have a bit more of a routine that I can rely on, helps in making plans. She's been rocking in the sitting position and on all 4's for a few weeks now but hasn't officially crawled yet. She discovered her wrists (something only parents would notice probably) and moves toys from one hand to the other now. She likes to bang any toy that makes noise and crinkle paper. Separation anxiety has also shown itself a little bit within the last few weeks.

Life is darn good right now because it's all around easier. Life is simple, slower paced, and chill and I'm very content with that. I take a lot of walks and talk to my family more, which probably has a lot to do with why life feels good. I don't have to worry about time zone differences and my work schedule which is nice. I wish it was easier to see friends in the evening hours but brunch is replacing dinner these days for catching up with friends. I also haven't been bored, which I thought might happen. My list of projects only continues to grow as well as the list of books I want to read. I know it's a phase and the next one is right around the corner but I'm living in the moment and it's easy to...and that's a sure sign that life is good.





Check out our November pics here: http://picasaweb.google.com/nicoleandnate/2009NovemberLily6Mths?feat=directlink