Chris and Danielle Harris

Lila's Dress

2012-01-01T21:14:00.003-05:00

Here are a few pictures from our weekend, mostly for my mom to see Lila's new dress.

Christmas 2012

2011-12-29T20:52:00.009-05:00

We spent Christmas at home in Florida this year. It was a strange Christmas season all around. It was in the 80's most of December, we had to have a "Lila-proof" decorated house, which included a tree on top of the dining room table, and Chris's family had a bout with stomach flu on Christmas Eve and Christmas! We were taken in by our friends, the Alvarez's on Christmas and were able to celebrate with Chris's family the day after and had a good time. I loved having Christmas on a Sunday this year because we enjoyed beautiful music and great messages. Here are some (or a lot) of our Christmas pictures:

On Christmas Eve we went to a place about 30 mins away called Christmas Card Lane where a guy completely decks out his land in Christmas lights, trees, trains, moving decorations, carolers, a snack bar and everything else. Best part...free admission!

Christmas morning. I wish I got more pictures of her with her Santa toys where Chris or I weren't holding her in our pj's. Not posting those!

(I love that in the morning, her hair makes her look like a Dr. Seuss "who")

Relaxing with a candy cane.

After church, ready to open presents!

My parents got Lila a baby doll with all the accessories. It is quite apparent that Lila is still the baby. All the accessories became hers.

Trying to get into the baby stroller.

There we go.

Baby went for a ride in Lila's new train.

My grandma got her pots and pans for her new kitchen that Chris's parents got her. She LOVES them. She puts binkies, balls, food and everything else in them and stirs it all up.

Relaxing on her new, huge, elephant pillow pet.

This is the day after Christmas right before leaving for Chris's family get together. Lila is sporting a new bow and shoes that go with a whole line of clothes I have been dying for her to have! My mom got her lots of the pieces and I am way too excited about it!

Her new kitchen!!! She is in love with it. She got a bunch of food for it too that she walks around or fills her doll stroller with. Maybe she thinks it's a shopping cart?? Whatever works.

Finally, I just had to post a picture to prove we finally got some cooler weather yesterday! Yay for having to wear a jacket. And yes, we take family outings to the putting greens. Sigh.

Merry Christmas!

I know, I know

2011-12-19T21:06:00.005-05:00

I know it has been too long since the last post. We haven't been doing anything amazing as an excuse, but here's an update on us anyway:

Chris works, teaches most Saturdays, still putts on the fake, green putting foam in my family room (sigh), dotes on our daughter and keeps up on all things sports, cars and other manly things.

I get to play with Lila everyday, spend lots of time doing primary things, tutor every Tuesday, read good books, salivate over all the gorgeous clothes I want to buy for my daughter, try to think of fun things to do with a 1 year old and try to throw some cooking and cleaning in there.

Lila loves to play outside and throw balls in the street for me to chase, has finally learned what "stop!" means, putting an end to my near- heart attacks as she would dart into the street to chase said balls, she loves to snack and knows where the pantry is, has a sweet tooth like no other, is slightly destructive, has the cutest 4 -toothed smile I've ever seen, can't wait to dance to her favorite movie credit songs, jabbers incoherently to herself except for mom mom, dadda and her perfectly understandable and audible "no no no", has a screech that is close to ear-shattering, is desperately attached to her binkies and prefers to have at least 3 at a time to rotate, likes to walk around the house with random objects that change daily, loves to play "I'm gonna get you" (her running around the house as we chase her) and hugs her daddy like she hasn't seen him in weeks every night when he comes home. I could go on, but won't.

My friend, Jenn is getting into photography and offered to take our family's picture for free. Yes please! Here are my favorites:

Lila is a water baby. Always has been. We tried to take pictures by this beautiful fountain surrounded by flowers and iron gates but Lila had other plans. Notice her wet hair? We had to physically restrain her from climbing over the side to go swimming but she still managed to get soaked from being so close to the fountain spray and throwing her arms in. Now we know not to go near water if we want her to look at the camera.

A Little Mickey and Outside Time

2011-11-13T21:25:00.008-05:00

Last weekend Chris was working in Orlando so Lila and I tagged along. We visited the "free" Disney World. Oh, you didn't know there was one? There isn't, but if you want the Disney ambiance without forking out a bunch of money, you can go to Downtown Disney. There are a bunch of shops, restaurants and all things Disney. We had a great time but re-confirmed that our daughter has no fear. All she wanted to do was run, dance and climb whether there were masses of people in her way or not. It was a little tiring! We went Friday night for a little bit and Sat. late afternoon and evening.

Mmm, Ghirardelli...

Brownie Sundae, chocolate filled croissant and hot chocolate. Yeah, we felt a little sick after, but it was worth it!

At night they had dance parties for kids. Lila was all about it and wowed us with some amazing dance moves. I posted a video at the bottom of the post, but she wasn't busting out her best moves by the time the camera came out and my video taking skills are pretty crummy.

Day to day Lila and I spend a lot of time outside. It is finally cooling down enough to actually enjoy being outside. Hooray!

(Loving the waves that are coming in her hair)

Howdy Partner

2011-11-06T22:35:00.004-05:00

Lila was our sweet cowgirl for Halloween this year! She was so darn cute in her boots and pigtails. These pictures and video are from Chris's phone, so not so great but my in-laws got others I need to grab from them. Until then, at least you can see her cute costume!

Lila didn't want to walk, she wanted to run from door to door. She also wouldn't let us help carry her fun spider trick or treat bag. Even when it got so heavy she was practically dragging it. She's no fool!

No one was home but I like this video anyway!

Fabulous Days Please Stay!

2011-10-12T22:42:00.012-04:00

I've been feeling pretty lucky with life lately and I'm hoping it stays for awhile! Here's what we've been up to:

Playing dress up, or at least from the shins down. Lila found these pink boots I was storing under her crib and has been bringing them to me ever since. She will throw them at me, sit down and hold her foot out. Then she goes stomping around the house. I didn't know it started so early...

Making funny faces. Lila's new "Ohhh" face. Pretty cute.

Taking Lila to the park. Here's the one shot of her liking the swing. She's not such a fan. Only kid I know that isn't. She mostly just likes to walk around and look at all the kids play.

Palest mexican ever. We got Lila this dress in Old Town while in San Diego. It's a section near downtown of very authentic mexican everything...food, shops, clothes, music, etc. I think she looks gorgeous in it!

Sporting some Halloween spirit.

Lila's hair fits in pig tails!!! Just barely :) I'm mostly just excited we have graduated from headbands to clips!

On Monday, Chris had half the day off for Columbus Day, so we took advantage of the fabulous weather and went to the beach at Anna Maria Island in Sarasota. It couldn't have been more perfect. We were wishing we had a beach house, really, really wishing.

What did she do with all this sand you ask?

Dumped it on Chris. Over and over again. It will take awhile to bury him at this pace, but she thought it was pretty funny.

Who doesn't want a gorgeous bird to add to the scenery?

End of a successful day.

Random Blog for a Random Week

2011-09-25T21:58:00.008-04:00

I'm tired of seeing the word "chocolate" in my last post title for so long, so I figured instead of getting a craving for sugar all the time, I'd just post something new.

Lila and I have had some more free time lately since I haven't been tutoring with school having started for my students.

We've spent some time at the mall where Lila has discovered the play place. When we get near it she starts shrieking and squirming to get down. I try to look past the coughing, snot smearing kids and especially the little boy who had a nasty accident in his pants and was STILL playing with his mom right behind him. Ew. I also had to bite my tongue at the cliquish 4 year old girls who told Lila that no babies were allowed to play with them. I still haven't quite figured out why we are supposed to be "as a little child...." Anyway, Lila loves to follow the big kids around and climb on things she shouldn't be climbing on. Here she is as queen of the bridge.

We spend too much time at home since it is still horridly hot here and I can only think of so many indoor places to go to. She was pretty excited about the sewing machine I got for my birthday. Correction, she was pretty excited about the styrofoam that encased the sewing machine I got for my birthday.

Love this face!

We've been to the fountains I've posted about before a couple times this past week.

She loves them, so do I.

Right in the middle of it all!

With her friend, Luke, after getting changed. Well, friend is a loose term at this age. He runs away from her and she points at him a lot.

I tried to post a video at the fountains for my family who want to see her walking more, but it's not working, so I'll try later.

What a Girl Will do For Chocolate!

2011-09-01T13:51:00.003-04:00

Lila is a walker! Well, becoming a walker! She started moving her feet a little yesterday, then took about 4 steps to me. When Chris got home from work, she walked to him. It made his day! She wouldn't do it for the camera, so just ignore the fact that I lured her with chocolate. Do take note, however, that she wouldn't let me help her eat it. What a girl! Now she stands all the time and tries to walk more. She still doesn't make it very far, but she's getting better.

(You don't need to watch the last 10 seconds or so... if you were going to watch it at all. :) I didn't edit it.)

Since this post is about a milestone, I'll throw a couple more in there for journal keeping sake. Lila had her one-year-old appt on Tuesday and here are her stats:

Height: 30.5 inches, 89%

Weight: 20 lbs, 32%

Head: 18 inches, 69% (no one cares about head, but there it is anyway!)

Lila has her two bottom teeth (finally!) She didn't cut her first tooth until 11 months. She likes to play with her teeth by catching them on her fingernail over and over. It didn't seem to bother her too bad to cut them, so I hope the rest will come in as uneventfully.

Lila thinks she can swim. I'm going to have to put her in swim lessons early so she doesn't drown. Whenever we are in water, she likes to be on her stomach, kicking her legs and flapping her arms. She has no fear so far and will crawl straight into the water!

Lila is a loud, loud baby. She babbles incoherently but constantly when she is happy. She does say her own version of momma and dada correctly (sounds more like memmom and dadada.)

She's pretty darn cute when she's not screaming to get her way. She is quite adept to making sure we know what she wants.

We are having so much fun watching all the funny things she does.

What a Difference a Year Makes

2011-08-26T22:31:00.019-04:00

Happy 1st Birthday Lila Girl!!!

August 2010

August 26th 2011

Fun at Build A Bear with Chris's Family.

Lila's final choice. He even makes monkey sounds.

Excited about the presents, or at least the curly ribbon on top.

She was spoiled rotten!

The Cake! She was dainty about eating it at first, but then stuffed it in by the fist full. That's my girl!

Daddy brought home balloons.

Lila LOVES her new music table. She likes all the buttons and lights almost as much as she loves pushing it around the house.

Lila got so many fun presents from all our family that maybe she will occupy herself for a few days...one can hope, right?

She had such a blast today and I'm so glad her first birthday was great! She spent a lot of time standing on her own then clapping for herself. She leans forward like she wants to take a step, but doesn't know how. It's funny to watch her think about it. I think she started to like all the attention everyone gave her and got really loud and silly by the end of the night. Love this little sass of a one-year old!!!

9 and Counting!

2011-08-23T15:44:00.005-04:00

Happy 9 years of marriage to my wonderful husband! This has been a fabulous year for us because we became parents to a very special little girl. It has changed us for the better and we are excited for many more years of love together!

Chris teaching Lila the "important" things in life, like how to putt on an artificial surface in our living room!

Love this guy! Happy Anniversary Honey!

San Diego Vacation

2011-08-18T19:43:00.017-04:00

Chris, Lila and I spent two gloriously humid free, beach filled, family fun weeks in San Diego. I wish we could have stayed a month, but two weeks is at least enough to make flying with Lila worth it! Overall she was good but it was by no means a pleasant experience. Luckily the trip was fabulous. I have tons of pictures to prove it...mostly of Lila. I can't believe I got no pictures with great grandparents, cousins and barely any of my parents!

I did get one of Lila with two of my cousins' kids who are a couple months older than her, Bryce and Kaden.

We rented boats and saw beautiful mansions, landscapes and a couple seals.

My niece, Chloe and Bro-in-law, Will.

My mom and nephew, Luke.

Lila driving!

My dad and sister, Audra

Audra's kids dancing in the park. Those kids have some serious moves!

The 3 of us tend to wear blue a lot! Here we are at Newport Beach. Yes, wetsuits were a necessity to enter the water.

Lila loved the sand. She ate a few handfuls to prove it!

Audra and I boogie boarding. Florida may have amazing water temps, but I forgot how much I LOVE the waves. I boogie boarded and body surfed several times over the vacation.

We played a lot of beach volleyball. My feet were sore after a couple days of playing in the sand. Pathetic!

My sister lives near Newport so we BBQ'd at her house after the beach trip. Chloe sat in her doll stroller and since Lila loves to push anything that moves or could possibly move, Chloe got to go for a ride. It cracked us up pretty good since Lila is a year younger than Chloe!

Back at my parent's house we clocked a lot of jacuzzi time in their amazing new backyard. Every morning Lila would crawl over to the sliding door and bang to go outside. Let's just say she doesn't do that here in FL.

Chris and Lila played tag with Ethan and Luke. Kinda a small playing field, but they enjoyed it!

The girls in the hot tub.

Fun in Coronado.

I really wanted to have my dad take some nice pictures of Lila in the backyard since she will be one in a week, but she wasn't having it. She smiled a ton the whole trip except when I wanted these pictures taken. I'm posting some anyway because I think the coloring is beautiful and she looks kind of cute even without a smile.

She loved this car the whole trip.

We did a ton of things I didn't get pictures of like, Lila crawling straight into the ocean with no fear even when the waves lapped around her, visiting with Chris's cousins and kids in San Clemente, opening birthday presents and eating lots and lots of mexican food. We had so much fun and were thrilled that Lila adjusted to the time change and everything else so well. I think my parents will never forgive me for living across the country now that they have gotten to know her so well, but thank goodness for planes and ichat.

Overdue for Lila Pictures

2011-07-08T14:26:00.022-04:00

A little message from apple saying, "Your start up disk is full" haunted us for awhile until we finally took in our laptop and were told we were out of space! That's why I haven't been able to post new pictures of Lila. We now have an external hard drive and lots of space for more Lila pictures. Here are some from the past month:

Love her blue eyes and her new pj's

Although it's the camera's fault, this is the speed I feel like Lila is always in

I made a million new hair bows for a friend's baby shower and saved a few for Lila. I learned a lot of cool new ways to make hair things! Now I just need to remake some of the ones I gave away because they were so cute! (Like she's in need of any more!)

Lila looking cute in butterflies and a new headband of course.

First time on a carousel. She was kind of indifferent to the whole experience.

I was trying to take a picture if Lila in a pretty blue shirt, but the camera case was in the way. See what happens when I take it away.

All better again.

Chris had a Saturday off so we took Lila to the aquarium. We had fun, but Lila decided to be scared of the indoor areas that were a bit dark. She never cried, but had a death grip on Chris's shirt. It was kind of funny.

Lila's July 3rd Sunday outfit. We rocked the 4th of July spirit!

Love this face.

On the 4th of July. This is what Lila looks like when she watches "Tangled" and only Tangled. We think she has hair envy.

Lila watching fireworks. She would flinch but seemed to like them.

Lila got two boo boo's the other day and it made me so sad. She wouldn't let me put ice on either side of her head. They swelled up nice and big but now she just has bruises. Poor kid.

This is from today. It has been raining all June (at least that's what it feels like.) We are anxious to get outside and to the beach or pool soon!

Now you've had your Lila fill.

Ode to my Dad

2011-06-18T23:12:00.006-04:00

Happy Father's Day to the greatest Dad! I wrote my dad a letter this year to let him know how much he has truly influenced my life. I intended to post it here too, but it turns out he had a pretty huge influence because I typed 4 pages, 1.5 spacing and didn't even put in everything I had thought of! I do have just a tad of a problem with long windedness as well, but if you've ever read this blog before, you already know that. Instead of posting the whole letter, I'll just post a few paragraphs to give you a flavor of the kind of dad I have. I'll even let you see the pictures first!

Love this one of my dad and Lila. He had just gotten her to sleep after an acid reflux filled screaming fest.

First encounter

I will always associate the beach with my dad. I proudly tell people that he has surfed most of his life.

He's even willing to do this with my sister's boys.

The girls and dad (Dave was not in town)

He does fun stuff like this too.

Taken from my letter:

Some of my earliest memories are flashes of fun and love. Like, waiting for you to get home from work so you could take us swimming and flipping us in the air. Sneaking into your room at night or early morning and feeling a sleeping face to make sure a moustache pricked my fingers. Then I could be sure I would get lifted into bed to snuggle. Running around in loops and circles in the sand at the beach to follow the maze you made with sticks or your toe (over and over again). I remember skipping into your room early on Saturday mornings and hearing, “Hey Skippy, you ready for your soccer game today! Are you going to score a goal?!” I remember detesting being called Skippy, but somehow now it is endearing. Who could forget the promise of Barbie dolls for the coveted goals and the week it didn’t happen. :) Do you remember trying to teach me how to do Ariels-cartwheels with no hands? You even took me to parks that had a slope so I could get some leverage. Those actually used to kind of scare me after landing on my head a few times, but I knew I could do it and so did you.

As I got older many of my stand out memories with you revolve around some kind of sport. I loved how you would take me to the empty fields by our house to practice my goal kicks. Why were they so bad? Luckily, under your tutelage, they improved and actually made some air. I later became “famous” for my goal, corner and free kicks. (Especially for the one that broke the girl’s arm.) I have fond memories from a young age through high school of intense strategic talks about what either needed to or did take place on the field. We carefully scrutinized each player, their abilities and our teamwork. You have no idea how important it made me feel that you took so much interest in my talent, though now I realize I wasn’t all that amazing, but you sure never let me think it. I probably could have done without the yelling of, “Go Dano!” from the stands, but I’ll let it slide.

***From later in the letter:

After marrying and moving…and moving again I finally was able to get back into college. I had always known I would graduate, it was never a question, but I always thought it was basically only important to me. After the tough road of being denied transfer credits, many frustrating meetings with counselors, extra required classes, expensive books, a change of major and a million other things, I finally graduated. The fact that you and mom were so set on coming out for my graduation actually surprised me. It didn’t hit me until talking to you a couple years after I started teaching that you were more proud of me than I was of myself. I think you would have been proud if I had graduated in 4 years and taught right away, but I now realize you are more proud of me for reaching my dreams because I succeeded despite all the road blocks. I used to be embarrassed of how long it took me to actually start teaching, but you helped me see that in fact, I had accomplished something far more than just receiving a degree and a certificate. I endured. When you told me that watching me teach was one of the proudest days of your life, I became more proud of myself. If I HAD to pick one thing you have done for me that has influenced me most, that experience would be it.

I love you Dad!

9 Months

2011-06-03T22:21:00.011-04:00

At over 9 months old, Lila Girl is keeping us on our toes quite literally these days. I seem to be taking more pictures of her back than of her face as she always is in a hurry to get somewhere or discover something new. She is already a little trouble maker and quite opinionated to say the least. Just when I think I have her figured out, she surprises me which then in turn doesn't surprise me. See, she already has me all crazy. After I voiced great concern for our sanity during her teenage years due to some... okay a lot of moodiness, this is a direct quote from Chris, "Maybe it's just a baby phase and when she gets older she'll be nicer." Yeah, that's what usually happens.

Luckily, to accompany her growls to let me know she doesn't want me to chat with her (actually happened today) or her screams in the car (she still hates the car), she has a hilarious and goofy side that is so fun. Sometimes I feel like she is older because she is so funny on purpose. Anyway, here is your fix of Lila for a while in the form of lots of pictures.

Close up

A true Lila expression

Climbing...always climbing

Melts my book worm heart

Who needs fingers when you have a tongue to get the cheerio in your mouth?

Lila loves to crawl in and out of the chairs under the dining room table

Though she has never tasted a cookie, she knows a good thing when she sees it!

Spying on the neighbors

Still LOVING the water. We are in some type of water at least twice a week.

What a goof.

On the move again, heading to her favorite place- the sliding door. I know, I don't get it either.

This is what she does there. Who knew digging in the track would be entertaining?

More climbing

This may be what Lila is most passionate about. Binkies. Yes, I used the plural form because she prefers to have more than one at any given time. She even falls asleep sucking on one and holding another. It is very funny to watch her try to climb, play and whatever else with one binky in her mouth and one in each hand. My favorite thing to watch, however, is when she plays musical binkies. Sometimes she will just sit there and pop one out with her tongue and stick a different one in and suck. About 10 seconds later she will rotate to a different binky then repeats the process over and over. It cracks me up. She is in mid transition in the picture below.

Disclaimer: I do try to confiscate the binkies while at home, but sometimes forget or give in. The fear of being called a bad mom made me throw that in. :) I am not looking forward to weening this kid. You should see her stick it in her mouth when she is really upset. She sucks on it like it is some kind of drug.

She's a Mover and a Shaker

2011-05-16T21:29:00.011-04:00

My baby is growing up at an alarming speed and while I love watching it happen, I still feel like I just had her and want her to stay little! About two weeks ago, Lila decided to crawl, pull herself up without help and try "cruising" around all in a matter of a few days. She is now really fast unless I have her in pants or a long dress, then it's more like a slip and slide around our house. We are madly baby proofing and trying not to cringe while she bangs herself up every now and then.

Here she is pulling herself up and digging around.

Visiting some fountains with friends. Lila was wary of the alternating, shooting streams of water for about two minutes, but after careful study she decided she couldn't get enough.

(I threw a hat on her since she still doesn't have enough hair to protect her pale scalp!)

Hanging around the house. A progression of events:

I have a whole bag of Cheerios.

Hmm, I spilled a few...I think I liked that.

But wouldn't it be better if I thrashed the bag around all of a sudden so I spilled ALL of them?!

Yes, that will do.

I know most people don't watch the videos, and that's perfectly fine- but for my family, here is Lila crawling and one of her pulling herself up while saying mom-mom-mom (the only thing she says but it's so clever why would anything else be necessary?)

Updates and Easter

2011-04-26T22:18:00.014-04:00

Updates on Lila...or just scroll down for lots of Easter pictures!

Lila is 8 months old today! She is doing new things constantly and amazing me with how much she is growing and changing. I love how playful she is and her smile is quite infectious. She is a busy little thing and is a mover despite the fact that she doesn't officially crawl yet. She acts like she is going to crawl, then sticks her bum straight in the air like she wants to get up and walk, then finally resorts to going back onto her tummy and scoots around. In between scoots she goes back onto her knees and tries to crawl again. It makes for pretty good entertainment! She still prefers being on her stomach in the bath even though she sits up fine now. I think she likes sliding around and trying to drink the water. She splashes like a mad woman, then looks at me in shock when her face is covered in water.

Lila had her weight check today at the pediatrician's office. One month ago she weighed 14.6 pounds which put her in the 8th percentile. Today she weighed 15.6 gaining exactly a pound and landing her all the way into the 10th percentile...at least it went up! This is due to the fact that Lila has completely weened herself. Last month I started trying to supplement with formula since she wasn't gaining and she was having less wet diapers. I could tell that she was eating less and less from me. After a few days she got the hang of eating formula out of a sippy (I didn't want to deal with bottles.) I was hoping to both nurse and formula feed but as soon as Lila got comfortable with the sippy, she wanted nothing to do with me, not even the morning feeding! Honestly, I know she needed more and had been getting so distracted while nursing that I am not sad about being done. We made it 7 1/2 months. There are definite positives and negatives to both. The negative about formula I despise is the price. Holy Cow that stuff is expensive and goes fast!

Easter started early in the month with a sweet pop up bunny card from my Grandma Calder. Lila loved ripping the envelope open and immediately stuck the card in her mouth. This is where everything goes!

My mom put together an amazing Easter package for all of us, spoiling us like always! We received all kinds of fun things but here is Lila in one of the cute outfits she sent. I would have taken a picture of Chris and I devouring the Sees Chocolates she sent us, but I'm sure you can use your imagination for that one. (I still haven't figured out what the east has against the best chocolate, but we need a Sees!)

Lila's Easter basket. I added the poofs to spruce it up a bit.

Lila looked adorable for her first Easter Sunday except for the hour or so that she decided to scream during church. The rest of the day was much nicer! I took tons of pictures, of course.

Love this one!

Digging in!

Realizing there are puffs in her easter eggs.

Why do babies like anything that isn't actually a toy?

Yes, I coordinated us.

I had just fed Lila and was trying to keep her clean before taking some pictures. I can't resist that squishy tummy!

Doing a hunt at Mamie and Papa's later in the afternoon. Once she found one egg, she wasn't interested in finding more. I have a feeling this is the one and only year she will feel this way!

Showing Mamie their spoils.

Cohen decided he wanted to be her buddy. She's not so sure she wants to be his... Maybe she is holding it against him that he like to chuck balls at her. Not many 1 year old boys could resist!

She looks like a little easter egg.

I hope everyone had a wonderful Easter!

My Petite Princess

2011-04-06T18:31:00.008-04:00

Despite this chick's round cheeks, she has always been pretty petite. Her weight has never been above the 30th percentile though her height has always been above the 50th. When people ask me how old she is, they never fail to comment on how small she seems for her age. This, of course is worrisome to a first time mom!

I took her to the Dr. last week at 7 months (should have been her 6 mo. check up but we are off because of an insurance misunderstanding...meaning they wanted to charge me over $2000 when we owed nothing. Don't worry, Chris was all over that!) Anyway, she is healthy but dropped from the 26th to the 8th percentile in weight! She dropped in height percentile too but not by as much. The Dr. didn't seem too concerned but wants me to bring her back in at the end of this month for a weight check to see if she is still dropping.

He said it could just be her slimming down more like a lot of 6 to 7 mo. olds do, genetics (Chris's family, especially the girls, are all very long and lean) or I may need to supplement with some formula because my milk supply is down or she has lost interest. He also mentioned she may be getting too full on food which doesn't have the high fat that my milk does.

So, I bought that YoBaby whole milk yogurt and am trying to have her nurse more but she doesn't seem to want more. I am also giving her more oatmeal cereal mixed with formula than I was before. Any other suggestions? I am thinking I will probably have to give her some formula, which I'm fine with except for the fact that she won't take a bottle and hasn't mastered the sippy yet! Should be interesting.

Enough of that. Here's what we all know this blog needs more of... pictures of Lila!

Gotta love this yoga like pose. I think she is trying to get into a sitting position.

I had no idea Chris dressed in blue this day and did not intentionally coordinate Lila and myself but it made for a cute family picture after meeting for lunch one Friday.

I think she likes her new shoes.

More pool days. Which means more swim suits! :)

I know, I know, babies don't need hair bows at the pool. Well, mine does. Don't worry, when we got there I took it off and put a hat on.

I know she has food on her face but my mom wants pictures of her clothes, so this one made the cut!

Love those baby blues!

Getting Lila kisses! (Leg of the coffee table got in Chris's way)

Lila loves books already. Makes this mamma proud!

Look out! Someone has been getting up on her knees a lot lately. I can't wait to see this girl on the move. Did I just say that?

At 7 months Lila has some sass and a half and has no problem letting us know what she wants (although this is nothing new). I could post some videos to prove it! She has no fear, giving us belly laughs when we toss her in the air or hold her upside down. Lila cries when anyone other than Chris or I hold her (sigh!) but once I get her back she then feels bad for whoever she just dissed and will smile at them and lean towards them to let them know there are no hard feelings. She keeps me on my toes for sure and I am loving it! She is too much fun and Chris and I feel like the luckiest people on earth right now. We can't get enough of our Lila Girl!

Lila Fun

2011-03-21T23:07:00.015-04:00

I am woefully behind on posting so here is a month's worth of Lila pictures. We have been having so much fun! I can't believe this is what I get to do. Don't get me wrong, my daughter is quite strong-willed and can be a pill, but she is really good when we are out and about...so we tend to go a lot of places. :) I am lucky to live in a place where we can be outdoors all year and am surrounded by friends with lots of kids to play with. I got to watch a lot of firsts during Lila's 6th month. I can't believe she is almost 7 months!

Lila's first time swimming

Poor pale baby! Luckily I am Queen of Sunscreen and Shade

One of the young women asked if she would "grow out of that." Hmmm, no, I'm quite sure Lila will not be winning any tanning contests in her lifetime.

Lila's first balloon

My friend, Jenna's baby shower. She's having twins and looks awesome!

Lila's first time wearing the outfit I've been waiting for her to grow into. I love this girl in blue!

Lila's first hockey game...probably won't do that one for a long time! They were free last minute tickets and we really wanted to get out of the house. It was so loud but Lila never cried, just looked shell-shocked the whole time. We only stayed for about an hour, leaving when a lady behind us asked if I wanted some ear plugs for my baby. Not my proudest parenting moment. I think Lila was fine, this lady just wanted to show her disapproval.

I love Lila in leg warmers.

Lila is starting to sit up on her own but isn't all that steady yet.

Trying out her first sippy cup. She mostly just gnaws on it.

I realize most people pick one picture from each event, but I can never pick just one. I had to put all three of these pictures on just for me because I truly love them. She looks SO small (and happy) in the shopping cart with her fluffy cover. This kid is so much better when she can sit up and see everything rather than being in her car seat!

Lila's first golf tournament on St. Patrick's Day (yes, all 3 of us are wearing green). Chris got cheap tickets to the PGA tournament in Palm Harbor and we had a blast. All the old men and women cooed over Lila and she was actually quiet during the putts. I was a little worried some poor golfer would shank the ball during one of her growls or screams, but luckily she loves her puff cereal pieces and I was quick to shove them in her mouth.

Lila loves bread (wonder where she gets that from.) She had fun gnawing on it.

Lila refuses to stay on her baby bath now and in fact refuses to stay on her back. She now baths on her belly, which she LOVES. She pushes off the sides of the tub and slides around to catch her toys. She does sneeze sometimes into the water and comes up looking a little shocked but is a good sport about it!

More swimming, well getting ready to swim in these pictures. I love all her swim suits. They are too much fun!

Lila's first time at the beach. The water is still a bit cold. I put her feet in and she promptly picked them up under her. Sissy!

Lila is taking steps now when I hold her hands.

Whew, I need to keep up better so I don't have marathon posts like this one. I realize I post too many pictures and am "wordy" but I really want to document Lila's first year. Most of my friends have just had their last kid and sit and enjoy, and here I am with my first snapping millions of pictures but I don't care! :)

Random Lila Photos

2011-02-21T16:16:00.012-05:00

I know I need to update this blog and have had ideas of posts for a long time.

Like, mom vs. the baby food, in which baby food is the clear winner. The deciding factor was when lila leaned over the side of her Bumbo which was perched (safely and fully) on the corner of the tub in which I was bathing and spit up most of her sweet potatoes into the water. Yes, I was still in it. No pictures were taken of this occurance but plenty of pictures of Lila covered in food are stored for her wedding video.

Instead I have cute random pictures of Lila which I can't seem to stop taking.

I'm afraid I have created a monster in that every time I change Lila she thinks afterwards she has to stand up and play in her basket with all her supplies. Even when she is in a bad mood this makes her happy.

I went shopping with a couple friends last weekend and Lila was spoiled by them. They are both baby lovers and were more than happy to hold her. I love this sweet face!

Good thing we all were willing to hold Lila because her stroller was needed for another use. Yes, my stroller is under all that stuff- which I'm proud to say most of is not mine.

Can you tell Lila loves her binkies? I didn't even realize she had that many of them on her play mat but she managed to gather them all together. I promise I didn't do it. My little hoarder. :)

Lila on Valentine's Day. She had 2 cute red outfits because one got spit up on of course! Luckily Mammie (Chris's mom) got her this red hooded coat and leggings which were so cozy and cute on her.

Lila is trying to pull her knees up already. I'm not ready for her to crawl yet!

Camie and I tried to get a cousin picture in their red Valentine's clothes at her house but it was rather difficult. (Lila's shirt says "kiss me" so cute!)

As good as it gets.

Lila in leg warmers is my new obsession. Here is just one pair, but my sister sent me others that I have been putting on her with dresses. Love it!

Lila with our friend's baby Luke. From the look on her face I don't think she's going to be a good sharer.

Maybe she's just jealous of all his hair.

2011-02-10T16:03:00.005-05:00

Ta Da. Here are the hair saga results. Bear in mind please that some make-up got washed off during rinsing in the sink plus this picture was taken at 11:30 pm! I got there at 5:15pm and left at 11:30! She was coloring and cutting both my friend and I, but I was not planning on being there so late.

I still can't decide. Right after she finished I LOVED it. I was shocked how short it was and how little hair I seem to have but she cut exactly how I described and it was such a fun change. Now I have been trying to decide if it looks good. I thought I would be a little blonder and longer but I like that it looks natural and it's still is quite a bit lighter than it used to be. I got home and Chris didn't like it. That was kind of a bummer...him being my husband and all!

It actually looks longer and redder in the picture to me than in person. There are tons of choppy layers but now I feel like it looks like Jennifer Aniston's "Friends" haircut (more so today now that I slept on it and it bounced up a little more).

Jury is still out.

Some from today taken by yours truly.

Here is the pony originally cut off so you can see color difference.

Bright Idea?

2011-02-02T23:24:00.005-05:00

Recently Lila and I had a little outing at a mall in Tampa. We had a fun day browsing and buying outfits for a friend having twins (yay Jenna!) I made a pit stop in the mother's lounge to feed and change Lila. Now I don't claim to be a brainiac by any means, but seriously?! Who puts a motion activated paper towel dispenser directly above the changing table? Really?

Lila thought it was the greatest thing since...well she doesn't know about sliced bread yet but she thought it was pretty fun. I couldn't help thinking of all the wasted paper towels over time. Just in the time it took me to change her diaper I threw away two arm loads of paper towels. Every time Lila kicked her little legs or waved her frantic arms more towels fluttered into her awaiting arms. Every time I moved, same result. Whose bright idea was that?!

Now, this really was a bright idea if I do say so myself.

Lila has issues with riding in the car. They have improved but it is still no fun being in the car with this girl. She hates being strapped into things and hates when she isn't moving. This makes traffic and red lights torture as I have mentioned in previous posts. My mom got Lila this awesome piano toy for Christmas. It is supposed to be tied to the crib or somewhere where the baby can kick it to make the notes and animal sounds play and little characters light up. It also has a mode to play songs continuously that change when different keys are kicked. I have been using it on the floor for her to push with her hands but it occurred to me that she could kick it in the car. It has helped tremendously! Thanks mom!

Finally, I am hoping that changing my hair is still a bright idea.

Most of my family and especially Chris are not so thrilled about the idea but after dragging my feet about who to go to and if I should really do it, I have a consultation scheduled for Friday. There is a consultation first because the girl cutting my hair is a friend of a friend and doing it for cheaper out of her house than in her salon so she needs to see my hair to know what dyes etc to use. I am hoping it goes well because I have heard red hair is hard to dye. I think the fact she wants a consult first is a good omen. We will see...

Some Firsts for Lila

2011-01-18T15:32:00.010-05:00

Lila is now eating rice cereal and it is hilarious! She absolutely loves it and gets angry if you don't feed her fast enough. She also likes to "help" guide the spoon into her mouth which makes for a fun mess. We tried oatmeal cereal first but her face got a rash on it so we will hold off for a bit longer on that one. The video below of her first cereal is long so you don't have to watch it all...or any of it. Also, please ignore my "mommy voice." It's kind of annoying.

Lila has also learned to roll over from back to tummy. She has been doing tummy to back for a while now but just started the other way a week or so ago. I used to put her under her play gym but she gets stuck in the netting because she only rolls to her right. I also had to stop putting her under there because she can roll onto the wood floor. Now Lila only rolls in bedrooms where she can go to her hearts content...except when I have to save her from the furniture. She likes to look up every so often to get approval, ie cheering and clapping. She smiles and laughs then continues on her merry way. It's too much fun to watch!

We also got Lila an excersaucer today since she likes to sit up and move around more now. I thought she would love it because it bounces and spins around. Problem is she is not quite big enough for it yet so her feet don't touch making it a little hard to bounce or spin. Oh well, she likes to grab onto the toys surrounding it.

(It's obvious from this video and my massive bun that I haven't gotten around to the cut or dye yet. I hear red hair doesn't take hair dye well and am a little discouraged!)

There are a couple old videos of Lila-one of her rolling from tummy to back and one of her laughing (1.5 mins into the video) posted Dec. 11th because I thought they weren't working and just figured out they don't play until you publish the post. You have to scroll down a ways to see them if you want.

A Hairy Situation

2011-01-13T00:44:00.005-05:00

One can't help but take notice that after giving birth, many women change their hair. This almost never turns out well. I have never understood why women hack off perfectly good locks. Now however, I understand completely.

My body is not doing what I want it to do. So much so that for the first time I can remember, I have zero desire to buy clothing for myself. Sad, I know. So, I'm going to do what any wise woman would do. Work out? Diet? No. I am going to dye and cut my hair. I need something to look different. Some of you may wonder why this is blog worthy (I'm still not sure that it is but it's 1am and I'm letting Lila "cry it out" so I can't sleep and what better to do?) Anyway, I have had basically the same hair my whole life. I chopped it off up to my shoulders once in high school and it looked horrendous so I promptly grew it right back out. I highlighted it once before I got married in the home of a lady I worked for and it was barely noticeable. That is the extent of my hair adventures. I'm always jealous of the people who dye their hair all the time and change their look. I have never been brave enough and maybe I was too cheap for it.

I want to go blond. I know it is winter and most people go darker, but my hair hasn't seen the sun much in a year due to bed rest and Lila's white newborn skin, and it is already too dark for my taste. So, blond it is. I don't think I will go completely blond because that would just make me look kind of weird but I want to be more blond than red. As for the cut, I can't cut too much off due to my round face and Chris's threat to come home with a dog if I do. (Sorry dog lovers.) I think I will go with a swooped bang, a few inches off the bottom, more layers and maybe a little thinned out. I've been watching all the different make over shows on TV and they all seem to think long hair is not that flattering. Guess I've been out of the loop on that one for a really long time. Bummer.

Now I just need to find someone to do it who won't make me cry when it's over- whether it's when I look in the mirror or pay the bill. I hope I don't end up being one of the many who should have just left their hair alone. At least Lila is too young to be embarrassed by me just yet!

Christmas 2011

2011-01-01T23:49:00.017-05:00

Our Christmas was fabulous! It was so fun to spend the best time of the year with family and our baby girl! We celebrated before Christmas with Chris's family first, then flew to San Diego to spend 9 days with my family.

This is the week before Christmas at the Harris's. We had a great time and were very spoiled.

Lila looks so cute in her new chair!

Calla was so excited to see what everyone got.

We wore her out!

Here is our traveling champ! Lila slept almost the whole time cross country both ways. I seriously couldn't have asked for more.

Chilling at Grandma and Grandpa Rose's in her new outfit from Grandma.

We spent a fun day at the crowded zoo where Lila found a little friend to take home.

The cute little face I got to look into all day thanks to the Baby Bijorn.

We went to my favorite place, the tidepools where my mom found a six-legged star fish and a sea slug. I love those things!!! Here's my brother Dave.

The tide was really far out. This little cave thing is usually under water.

Lila's first time at the beach! Let it be noted (Chris) that her first trip was to the PACIFIC Ocean which must mean it will forever be her favorite. It was quite chilly if you couldn't tell. She looks a little Jabba the Hut from Star Wars but it was all for the sake of warmth!

Grandpa showing Lila sea anemones.

At a yummy pizza place downtown. The guys there were truly Italian and I now have another food place I wish we had here in Florida.

In Coronado at their huge tree. It's a tradition to go to the Hotel Del and see what theme they decorated the tree in.
Lila missed the whole thing.
They always do a smaller ocean themed tree that I covet every year.

On Christmas eve we let my sister, Audra's, kids get some energy out at Pump it Up. It was hilarious to watch them bounce around. Even Chloe, her 1 year old, was adventurous and played with the bigger kids. She kept pushing away any helping hands and wanted to bounce on her own.
Christmas eve at my parents. We always have a huge meal, sing carols and play chimes. Ethan was our resident Christmas King and led us in the chimes.

I LOVE her pj's.

This was the big hit of Christmas. Ethan and Luke got a John Deer tractor. Their faces were priceless. Good job Grandma and Grandpa.

Chloe got a car of her own. :)

I'm always sad when Christmas is over but I don't have much to be sad about. I have wonderful friends and family and a beautiful baby. 2010 was an amazing year and I can't wait to see what 2011 has in store for us.

old videos

2010-12-11T23:42:00.003-05:00

It's Beginning to Look a lot Like Christmas

2010-12-09T11:30:00.004-05:00

I am so excited to spend Christmas this year with my own child! It somehow makes the holidays even more special... even if she won't understand a thing!

It's All a Matter of Perspective

2010-11-29T17:06:00.010-05:00

Becoming a parent has given me a new perspective on a lot of things! Here are some recent examples:

-While the Salvation Army people in front of grocery stores are sweet, smiley and doing a good deed, I want to yell at them to stop ringing their darn bells 'cause they're waking up my baby!

-Fast food is suddenly an acceptable choice due to the fact that I don't have to get Lila out and I find myself wondering why places like Panera don't have drive thrus. How dare they make me lug the car seat inside just to get a sandwich!

-Going to the grocery store can always wait another day.

-Dressing Lila is 100 times better than dressing myself.

-Red lights are the devil! Not because they make me later than I already am, but because every time I stop at one, Lila screams. Every. Time. unless she is in a very, very deep sleep. I then get to drive while stretching my arm to its limit to locate the spit out binkey and feel around her face until I get slobbered on and stick the binkey into her mouth. Over and over.

-Do sidewalks really need to have such deep dividing crease things? And so often? When I take Lila on walks we have to go on the street because her cheeks shake and her body jolts every 3 seconds (I timed it) when we go over the crease parts of the sidewalk.

-Lila is usually a very good and regular pooper but gets constipated once in awhile. On one such occasion she hadn't gone in a day and a half (loooong for her) and she was screaming in frustration and maybe pain while trying to poop. As her face turned a deep shade of red and she grunted like no one's business, she pooped! I threw my hands in the air and yelled, "Yay Lila, you pooped! Yaaaay!" I distinctly remember thinking that I never would have dreamed those words would come out of my mouth.

-Being late is no longer a faux pas. It is just normal and expected.

-It is acceptable to put an extra baby blanket in my diaper bag. One for Lila and one for me.

-A baby pooping is one of the funniest things to watch! She is so serious about it.

-11 am is still early.

-I have begun to catagorize people as naughty or nice by if they hold the door open for my stroller or me with all my bags and car seat.

-I find myself scowling at people who cough, laugh, drop something or rustle a package near me while Lila is asleep at the grocery store or some other place that is not ideal for soothing a crying baby. Lila can sleep for 4 hours at the mall on black Friday but gets woken up by a crackling wrapper. Go figure.

-Picking a bugger out of Lila's nose with my finger nail does not gross me out but instead has me wondering how such a big bugger can fit in such a little nose.

-Her quivering lower lip makes my heart break way more than I thought it could, yet not enough for me to stop letting her cry it out when she wakes up 10 minutes after putting her to sleep. I don't get enough sleep for that.

-The video monitor is the coolest thing ever and I can't believe I considered not buying it. By far better than I thought it would be. I have been entertained by Lila staring at her end of the video monitor because it has a green light on it. She smiles and coos at it like it's her best friend.

I'm sure there are many more that I will think of later, but I just think it is funny how these are all things I wouldn't have noticed and that won't matter once again once all my kids are out of the baby stage but seem such a big deal now. I am happy though that the important things I said I would or wouldn't do once I had kids I have stuck to thus far. I know it's early, but you have to start somewhere, right?

As you now know, it is impossible to have a post without pictures of Lila, so here you go:

Lila at 3 months old

Lila has become the squirmiest thing ever! She rolls from tummy to back and almost from back to tummy. This is what she does in her bouncy now. I guess I'm finding out why the straps are necessary...

Don't worry, I was right there!

This is how much Lila liked being strapped in. I guess she figured she would get out from the top.

Chris had to work in Boca Raton so we stayed with our friends, the Grays, and had tons of fun. Jenna is pregnant with twins!!!! Hopefully being around Lila made her more excited and not scared.

The first time I put Lila in a bumbo seat I thought she looked hilarious!

Chris and I have been taking walks at night and were worried Lila would get cold while being strolled around. This is the result. She has socks on under the footed pants and long sleeves under the sweatshirt. This blanket is super warm. Not to mention she has an extra lining in her car seat in case of blow outs. Hopefully she wasn't sweating because we do live in Florida, not Nebraska.

Lila has become a pro at knocking her hair bows in her eyes. Most of the time she doesn't even cry right away but moves her head all around, trying to see. It is actually quite funny. Chris told me we needed to just take them off for awhile. My response was that she will learn not to do it. The bows stay!

Thanksgiving 2010 at Chris's parent's house.

Lila vs. the bouncy again. This is her trying to roll over, getting too tired and falling asleep. She knocked both boots off and I had to pull back the bow from her eyes. Who sleeps like this? She is one determined girl!

Lila shopping with mom.

She doesn't realize she is cuddling with her giraffe but it sure looks like it's on purpose. And no, I didn't put it there. She grabbed it, it slid and landed there. Perfect picture opportunity.

That's what we have been up to lately. She is the cutest little girl ever and Chris and I are having a ball raising her.

Lila's Baby Blessing

2010-11-21T21:28:00.011-05:00

On November 7th Chris gave Lila a baby blessing at church. I was excited for that day because there is just something sweet about a father giving his baby blessings that we desire for her, surrounded by men we love and respect. I was also excited because we had Chris's Grandma Eatchel and my parents come into town to see it. It was wonderful to have Chris's family and my parents there to hear it and spend time with Lila.

One of my favorite things about the blessing day was dressing Lila in her blessing dress. This dress has history! My Grandma Calder sewed this beautiful dress over 30 years ago and it has been passed from baby girl to baby girl including me. In fact, I was blessed in the same dress as Lila in Novemeber 28 years ago. I believe Lila was the 13th girl to be blessed in this dress!

Lila

Me and Lila

me and my mom

Our group

My family at my blessing

The dress has a bonnet that was sewn to match and is so sweet but I blessed her in the head band because it shows her face better.

My parents

Me, Lila, Chris, Cohen, Camie, Calla, Michael, Debbi, Colin, Grandma Eatchel

Our little family!

The sweet booties Lila wore that no one saw under the long dress!

We woke her up to take some pictures before church. Her hair looks red here! It normally only has a tint of strawberry. Must be the pink sheet.

The words of the blessing were beautiful as was Lila. She was nice and quiet during it too which is always a plus! Thank you binky! We are so glad Lila is here in our family!

Halloween and Grandpa and Grandma Visit

2010-11-11T20:19:00.011-05:00

Until Lila is old enough to choose what she wants to be for halloween, I get to pick and will enjoy it thoroughly. I know a lot of babies wear the stuffed, plush animal outfits, but Florida weather is unpredictable in October and early November and I didn't want to buy something she would sweat to death in. Plus, I couldn't resist the idea of her being a ballerina since if she gets my genes, it may be the only time she can pull off being something dance related. I was better at slide tackling girls on the soccer field than twirling on tiny shoes.

I made her tutu and hair bow. The tights have the ballerina ribbon and shoe pattern on them, but it's hard to see.

Cousin Calla decided to get in on the tutu action wearing one she has refused to put on for over a year until seeing Lila in hers! Gotta love kids.

Lila slept during the ENTIRE trunk or treat at church. Sigh. This is my attempt to get a picture that night when she half awoke for 2 seconds. I didn't get to show off her costume to it's full extent but she was beautiful in her car seat. The first picture is actually on a different day when I brought her to Chris's parent's house to show them her costume. Yes, I am soaking this holiday with a kid thing up. I know it's probably a little sickening. :)

My parents came to visit this last week for Lila's blessing at church (which I have lots of pictures for to do a separate post soon). My dad met Lila for the first time and my mom was amazed at how much she has already changed. I kept them busy with shopping, cooking for the blessing, not to mention cleaning out my entire garage and installing an organizational system. If you have ever seen my garage you would realize what a big deal that was. My dad offered to do this because like all normal people, he likes working on his vacations. :) I will be forever grateful for that quirk of his!

My dad and Lila meet at the airport. She's taking him in...

My mom was really good at making Lila laugh and smile.

As you can see, we concluded the new hairband my mom brought was still a tad too big and opted for a smaller one later on. Not that I am known for worrying about the size of the bows, but hey, I have limits.

My parents were so happy to hold Lila that they even stayed up until 3am with her and let me sleep! I don't think it hurt that they were finishing a movie either. :)

She loves her mamma!

Thanks mom and dad for everything!

Here are a couple cute pictures of Lila to round things off (because you know you were thinking that was necessary):

In all her chubby glory.

2 Months

2010-10-26T23:17:00.009-04:00

Lila is now 2 months old! I can't believe it! She seems to be growing and changing so fast. Here are some new pictures and things she does.

She gives lots of smiles now...unless I am trying to show someone her smiles.

I love this face! I can't stop kissing her cheeks. Surprisingly this is the only place she has rolls and chub. She still has skinny arms and legs.

During the day she sleeps longer on the couch. Why? I have no idea. Maybe we should break this habit.

Her favorite thing after she eats is to fling herself over my lap and hang upside down, smacking and licking her lips. When I try to pull her up she arches her back and throws herself back down or pushes back with her feet. I promise I'm not a bad mom, she really likes this.

I have finally found something Lila likes to lay in! Can I just say, thank goodness?! I put her play gym together a couple weeks ago, thinking that this was a futile act since no other baby thing seems to hold her fancy (aka she screams in her swing and bouncy so hard she practically stops breathing). Lo and behold, she actually will lie under it and look at the flashing sea turtle and dangling toys that her frantic little arms accidentally hit for more than 10 minutes.

Lila likes bath time. When she first feels the water she gets an, "I don't know about this" look on her face but soon warms up to the idea of getting wet.

Her hair cracks me up. She has baby fuzz on the top and sides but has about 1 inch of hair that hangs down her neck. I guess that is a nice description of a mullet.

I know you can't see her face in this picture, but I had to show off her sweet gold shoes. I wish I could wear most things in her closet!

I can't wait for our trunk or treat at church so Lila can wear her Halloween costume. She got to wear most of it last Saturday to a friend's halloween party, but I didn't have time to finish her tutu. I'll post pictures when she has the whole thing on. Be prepared to see the cutest baby ballerina ever, or so this mom says.

This girls has so much spice and spunk already, it is crazy! She gets amazing distance when she decides she doesn't want her binky and spits it out. She refuses to lay her head on my shoulder to relax or be burped unless she is ridiculously tired in the middle of the night. This means she has a really strong neck and uses it to look all around her. She is incredibly alert and loves to take everything in. Lila likes to stand, putting weight on her legs. I think this makes her feel like a big girl. :) Lila and I like to stroll around different malls and neighborhoods for some exercise for me and sleep for her. We also like to hang out at friends' houses for a change or scenery and adults to talk to.

Lila's acid reflux is finally more under control now and she is so much happier throughout the day. I think she has a touch of colic, but it is not so bad. Lila is still mixed up on night and day. Her average bed time is around 3 am. Lucky me. She will take little 20 minute naps earlier than that, but isn't really down until then. She will keep eating and going back to sleep for good stretches until around 11am or noon. This lets me catch up on some sleep but is not so good when we have to be somewhere. I'm going to have to buck up soon and keep her awake in the morning so she goes to bed earlier at night.

We love our Lila!

Just Because

2010-10-11T15:53:00.006-04:00

Just because I think she's cute

Aquarium

2010-10-06T23:19:00.006-04:00

I realize that Lila is 6 weeks old, thus making her oblivious to the fact that I took her to the super cool Florida Aquarium. However, I can get in for free and, let's face it, I have been waiting to do stuff like this for a long time. I always wanted to be the mom taking her kids to parks, museums, play groups, malls and other fun places. I like to get out of the house and it's never too young to start, right? I'm sure the fact that she slept through half of if didn't affect her experience at all. :)

I'm too tired to put the pictures in order or anything like that, so here is our fun day at the aquarium with my sister in law, Camie and her cute little ones, Calla and Cohen.

Don't worry, Calla loves "Baby Wyla" as she calls her, and was holding on tight.

Cute Cousins! Lila doesn't look so sure about this photo situation.

Look who just woke up. Showin' off that double chin!

It's acid reflux...not an aversion to the sting ray show we were watching. 15 mins after eating, right on cue. Oh, how I love acid reflux, sigh. And the medication that hasn't kicked in yet, double sigh.

Notice Lila hanging onto the straps. This is only because the straps keep those hands from touching her face, which is where they really want to be but can't reach.

For Mom

2010-10-02T13:35:00.006-04:00

For my mom who subtly reminded me she has been looking at the same newborn pictures forever. :) Sorry mom.

Can I just say that I have GOT to figure out how to take a picture. I don't even know how turn my flash off. Internet, here I come.

You may have noticed Lila is quite chunky now. At 5 weeks she is now 8 lbs 10 oz. I realize this is smaller than I was at birth, but Lila came home from the hospital at 5 lb 9 oz so I am pretty amazed. Especially since in 21 days she put on 2.5 lbs! Good job Lila!

Not a Shocker

2010-09-20T23:19:00.008-04:00

I'm posting more pictures of Lila. Not exactly shocking, I am sure. She is very much still the center of attention around here and that's fine with us. We are loving her like crazy and getting to know her funny personality.

Chris's sister, Camie is excellent with the camera and very graciously offered to take some pictures of Lila. Here are just a few of the many gorgeous ones she took.

I love that the binky (or pacifier as Chris keeps reminding me is the real name) is almost as big as her face. :) These are at 1.5 weeks old.

So you can see her chicken legs and tiny body!

I took these a couple days later over Camie's shoulder. I'm sure her's turned out much nicer but I don't have them yet...you get the idea.

We have a lot of friends that were pregnant around the same time as us which is great for Lila. This is Francois (who used to and will again very soon train me in the gym) and Chris at the hospital. Luke was born a week and a day after Lila but outweighed her by quite a bit.

I love how Lila looks when she sleeps. She often cranes her neck up and to the side as far as it will go. When we try to move it into what seems to be a more comfortable position, she promptly moves back. Whatever works!

This picture is hard to see, but look at her right arm. She managed to work it under the strap of her outfit while sleeping. I knew it was big on her but it doesn't help that she doesn't stay still very often, even in her sleep. She doesn't stay quiet either. She grunts, groans, growls and squeaks regularly while awake and asleep...much to my entertainment.

I love this cute Paris dress sent by my sister. She wore it to church on Sunday (3 weeks old) and received many compliments! The bow may have been a little large in proportion to her head, but who cares about that, right? Like most of her clothes, it was a bit too big, but I couldn't resist putting her in it now.

I can't believe how much she is starting to fill out. I know she is still a lightweight but I can tell her cheeks are fuller, she sports a double chin with some expressions and she is longer. She doesn't fit length wise in her premie outfits anymore. Slow down Lila!

A Little More Lila

2010-09-04T17:47:00.003-04:00

I'm posting pictures first for those who only want to see and not read. That's understandable.

Lila is doing great for her first week. If she looks like she likes to fake and bake in her spare time, your eyes are not playing tricks. She is quite orange thanks to jaundice. We had to go to the pediatrician 3 times and watch her heel get pricked and squeezed each time to check her level. Luckily her levels are going down as is the orange hue.

Lila now eats like a champ after taking a week to figure out how it all works. I realized it is harder to watch your child scream than I thought it would be. I don't like it. Life is hard outside the uterus! She gained 4 oz. in 2 days so we know she is getting plenty of milk! She is now back up to her birthweight (which was less than the 10th percentile.)

Lila loves to grab, squeeze, scratch, bang, and lay her hands all over her poor little face. When I try to move her hands away she doesn't like it and lets me know it! I have also learned that when my mom said she would go through a ton of diapers in the beginning, she wasn't kidding. I think Lila likes to wait until I change her diaper and re-snap all the complicated outfits to fill her diaper again.

On the sweeter side, Lila loves to cuddle, especially her dad. She loves to lay on his chest and he loves it probably more. I love this little girl so much it's crazy. I can't give her enough kisses.

I decided no one probably cares about my labor experience, but here is a quick sum up for my own historical purposes.

I felt labor pains (back labor) about 8:30 pm on the 25th and timed them only to find they were 5 mins apart for a while but not increasing in intensity much. Eventually we called the dr. and went to the hospital around 2:30 am on the 26th. I was watched in labor triage for 3 hours but did not dilate past a 4 so they sent me home. I already had a dr.'s appt. scheduled for 10:30 that morning so I basically got no sleep. At the appt. the dr. chewed me out a bit for not telling triage I was being monitored because her weight was estimated to be low. She thinks they would have admitted me. Needless to say, after a sonogram confirming her size was still small and dropping in percentile they thought it was time to get her out. (By the way, this means I have pictures of her in and out of the womb on the same day!) I was sent straight to the hospital, had my water broken, an epidural and a pitocin drip started.

Lila's heart rate would drop a bit every now and then so they had me lay on my left side. After a while I started feeling contractions only on my right side and they were painful! Turns out the epidural medicine follows gravity so a bit after being on my back I numbed back up. All you natural folks out there are crazy! Epidurals are the most wonderful thing ever!

Anyway, I went from a 6 to a 10 really fast and only pushed 4 rounds of 3 and she was out! She was posterior which is why I had back labor and ended up having to get an episiotomy because she wasn't turning without it. Oh well, more healing for me. She came out healthy and Chris cut the cord and all. It was a very cool experience and I'm glad I had it. That being said, I'm glad it's over.

My recovery was painful but having Lila in my arms made it okay. Chris's parents got to see and hold Lila right after she was born and my mom flew in the next evening. I have had so much help from family and feel very spoiled.

I am now feeling great and have had so much fun staring at my daughter. I still can't pick out any features from Chris or I, but my mom thinks she looks like Chris. She definitely has the Harris genes of long skinny limbs, fingers and feet. Lucky girl! I was excited to see that she doesn't have carrot red hair but a golden blondish color instead. Another stroke of luck. I can't wait to see how she grows and changes but for now I am loving my peanut of a baby. So much for a short sum up...

Welcome to the World Little Lila

2010-08-29T12:59:00.011-04:00

Lila Rose Harris

Born August 26, 2010 7:49 pm

5 lb 15 oz

19 in

Lila is here and we could not be more thrilled with our little girl! She is so sweet and cute and we are so grateful that after waiting so long, she is ours.

I am in need of a nap so I will have to post her delivery story later, but it went well and she is very healthy. Here are some pictures (of the many) that were taken. Enjoy... we are. :)

Can You Say Nesting? 38 Weeks

2010-08-20T11:17:00.003-04:00

Yes, I'm still pregnant. We'll just get that out of the way because every time I see someone or call someone they ask. Understandable with all the drama of the incompetent cervix. I asked my Dr. yesterday how she could stay in for 2 weeks after the cerclage was removed. Her answer was something intense like, "It just happens sometimes." Good answer.

Anyway, I still feel good and am doing good, just getting impatient to meet our baby girl. What have I done to pass the time? How about pull everything out of my horribly packed and messy closet to organize and get rid of stuff. Chris walked in and thought I had gone crazy. Maybe because I started this venture at 9 pm. I like to call it nesting.

I really did just pull everything out...

I managed four big bags of clothes, shoes and purses to donate and 3 big bags of trash (aka clothes or shoes that NO one would want.)

By the end I had enough space to store several tupperware that had fabric, ribbon and other such things that have been stacked by my bed for months. This of course triggered a need to clean out everything next to my bed and the shelving unit next to it. I went to bed really late that night with a nice little backache...

I can't get this to not be underlined.

Chris and I will be celebrating 8 years of marriage on the 23rd and since we don't know when Lila is coming, we decided to celebrate a bit early. We went out to a nice dinner at Bern's Steakhouse. It was soooo good. The best steak I have ever eaten, not to mention the sides there can stand alone. This is very important to me since if I had to pick, I would rather eat sides than meat. The decor is really fun there too. It reminds me of the haunted mansion at Disneyland. Very dark and ornate and a bit garish.

(38 week belly) I hope a baby post is coming in the near future!

First Week of Freedom!

2010-08-11T13:20:00.006-04:00

The cerclage was taken out last Friday and I have been welcoming some much needed freedom this past week! I knew Lila wouldn't come right away, even though Chris was convinced she would. I think she's pretty comfy in there right now which is fine because the Dr's think she needs to put on a little more weight. I am feeling great and have been busy!

I made a mobile to go over Lila's crib because I couldn't find any I liked and the ones I did were expensive. I still haven't decided if I love it, but it works for now. I was going to use birds in different scrapbook paper, but I love these pom poms.

My brother-in-law, Mike, was kind enough to come hang the curtains in Lila's room. (I bribed him with homemade cookies.) I love them and think they add a fun pop of color on the wall. Maybe I should also mention that Mike hung a picture, helped me with my new monitor and taught me how to use the car seat so poor Lila can come home from the hospital and then actually join us in the house.

Now I am just waiting on wood letters of her name that are being hand painted to match her bedding by a talented lady on Etsy. They will hang above her changing table. I am also hoping to find a bookcase on Craig's list.

I have been shopping and walking around quite a bit to get out of the house and just because I can. :) Last night for my friend Nikki's birthday, some girls went bowling and had a great time. I don't know what it is about bowling, but it seems you are allowed to be cheesy in the alley. There was a lot of dancing and laughing to accompany the bowling. I didn't do so much dancing because, let's face it, no one wants to see a pregnant lady dance! There was a picture of me with my bowling ball but apparently the black shirt I was wearing was a little see through when the flash went off. Oops.

This is a picture I was hesitant to put on here, but I am trying to document this pregnancy. We had a pool party for primary and I squeezed into my swim suit at 36 weeks. I wore a big hat because I knew I was about as white as I have ever been from being cooped up inside for months and I really didn't want to be sunburned. I also covered my bottom half with a skirt because I know bed rest and pregnancy haven't been kind to my backside.

I will be 37 weeks tomorrow which will be considered full term. I am ready to meet Lila but am content for her to grow a little while longer. I just hope I don't end up having to be induced at 40 weeks after how careful I have been! Watch, it will happen!

34.5 Weeks

2010-07-28T12:59:00.004-04:00

Here I am at 34.5 weeks. Holy cow, my face is getting fat! Why is it that you don't notice things so much until you see a picture? I shouldn't be surprised, that is where I have always seen extra weight. Despite my growth, I am excited to be at almost 35 weeks at this point. It is what my doctors told me I needed to be at (at the least) for the best chance of a healthy baby both now and in the future. A definite sigh of relief was made and now I am just waiting to get this cerclage out so I can be a "normal pregnant woman" as my doctor put it. Just over a week to go until freedom! Then a week or two later freedom will be revoked as Lila should make her entrance. Can't wait!

Nursery & Baby Shower

2010-07-24T15:09:00.020-04:00

It has been a busy last week! At least for someone who is used to doing a whole lot of nothing! My fabulous friends came to paint my nursery for me, my mom came into town to help me get the nursery ready and I also had a fabulous shower thrown for me. It was a wonderful week and I now feel ready to welcome Lila into our home whenever she decides to come (hopefully she will wait a little longer!)

I think this is a dad's right of passage. Chris did a good job getting Lila's crib all put together and I loved that he wanted to put all the bedding on right away.

Caught him off guard...

Here is my mom as we tried to put together a small table to go next to the glider. I love Ikea's style and prices but we did find ourselves saying, "How many people does it take to put an Ikea item together...?" It doesn't help that there are NO words on any instructions! We got it though and I love the table.

This gives a full view of the vinyl tree I ordered, the crib and bedding, the small table and the glider I got off of Craig's List for an awesome price.

This is the changing table/dresser. I was proud of the lamp because I couldn't find one I loved so I bought a plain shade and added the trim myself. The lower baskets have some cute toys in them. The brown basket holds things I will need to grab quickly while changing Lila.

This picture will have a white frame. I just taped the back up there for effect until I paint a black frame! White poster size frames are non existent by the way! I added hooks on the back of the door to hang hair bands and her cute hooded robe. I will take the robe off though and tie ribbon to the hook to put all her clips on.

I am in love with these curtains! Obviously they are not hung yet, but I wanted to show the cute ruffle at the bottom. I can't wait to get them up and see the effect they have on the room. I am waiting until Chris's dad can come over and drill something heavy duty into the wall in case Lila ever decides to be adventurous and yank or swing on the curtains.

This might be just too detailed for all of you, so this is for me and my mom. One of my mom's specialties is organizing and organize we did! The bottom drawer (and possibly my favorite) has all her beautiful blankets. The middle drawer has 0-3 mo. size outfits all put together for easy matching and grabbing and pj's. The top drawer has premie size clothes, burp cloths, bibs, hats, and shoes.

This drawer has all her cute socks and some more hair items.

The shoes...enough said.

I have storage above the closet so I have these great boxes with lids to store clothes in sizes she isn't wearing.

The inside of the closet. One side has her sweaters and sweatshirts.

This side is for all her beautiful dresses. I cannot wait to dress her on Sunday's!!!

Full View. I used a hanging organizer for extra sheets, bath towels and more storage.

The black and red bag at the bottom is my hospital bag my mom helped me get packed. I am so ready! It has the cutest going home outfit for her in it (plus another one in case she poops in the first!)

Now for my shower! I was so overwhelmed at how amazing everything was! I couldn't have asked for more. Jenie Hunter and Crystal Stalker threw the shower at Jenie's house. Here is the decoration for the food table. They purposely used birds to match my nursery theme!

This is a sweet bracelet Jenie had made for Lila with her first and middle name on it.

My mom sewed this flannel patchwork blanket. So cute!

Me surrounded by mountains of presents. Everyone was so generous and I felt like I was speed opening so people wouldn't get bored watching me open!

Yummy cupcakes.

Fajitas, fiesta dip, taquitos, salsa, empanadas and more delicious food!

This is something else my mom made that she needs to start selling. It is a car seat cover that velcros on so it won't slide off when walking with her. I love it! I love the fabric and pom pom detail.

This is a blanket my mom made to match the car seat cover. Isn't she amazing?!

I messed up the lighting on this one, but it is Jenna and I at my shower. Jenna drove 4 hours from where she recently moved to be there. Good friend huh?!

My grandma and aunts on my mom's side gave me a Petunia Pickle Bottom Diaper Bag. They are the greatest bags with every compartment you could think of needing.

I need to get more pictures from Crystal because these shower ones I grabbed from my mom and Jenna, but there are tons more! I received so many things that I needed and were adorable. Lila is set on all her gear and has enough clothing to change her outfit a couple times a day. How is she so spoiled but not even born yet?! I just felt bad at the shower that I wasn't able to talk to everyone as much as I wanted to because I spent most of the time opening gifts! I am so thankful to everyone for coming and especially Jenie and Crystal for all their hard work!

I also owe my mom big time for all she did.

Now I just need Lila to come in about a month. My cerclage comes out in 2 weeks and I cannot wait to be back up and around!

Really?

2010-07-14T08:57:00.002-04:00

Imagine: It's 11:30 pm the night before you have 6 wonderful friends coming to paint your nursery (since you are incapable of doing any real work on bed rest even though you are itching too...), it's just 2 nights before your mom is coming from CA to help, and your husband has started clearing out the babies room so it can actually be painted.

You are walking along your year-old bamboo floors when your foot gets a little wet. You get a paper towel and wipe it up. When you return from throwing it away your foot gets wet again...in the same spot. yikes!

Yes, this is my reality. I notice water is coming from under the floorboards and yell for Chris to come because, obviously it's a man's problem. We trace the darkening boards to under the AC vent whose visibility has been mostly blocked by a desk. Chris moves the desk and we see the lovely sign of water damage. Don't know how long or how bad. The dry wall under it is wet, the base board is ugly, the bamboo boards are starting to bow out. We go into the garage to look at the AC unit and move the junk that was blocking the base's visibility and see pooling water. Yea, more water damage on the dry wall upon which it sits.

Chris stays up until 4:30 am because he went to good ole Walmart to buy a Shop Vac and tries to suck up the water in the garage and tries to suck out whatever is clogging the pipe.

Early the next morning we get the rest of the office cleared out, my friends come and do an amazing job on the paint (and more help in my guest room which is where most of the office stuff had to get dumped), and an AC guy comes and uses his skills to get out the clog which he said was pretty gross and bad. Welcome to Florida humidity.

The bad part is we are now waiting on someone coming later this week to assess our damage. I have no idea how many floor boards and how much dry wall is going to have to be replaced, but it's not going to be fun. I also don't know what the mold situation is. Can't wait to bring a baby in! I thought the AC company should have to pay for it since it is still under warranty but Chris thinks we were supposed to be doing maintenance to it. Did you know you had to clean the pipe out once a year? We obviously didn't. I'm going to make him try anyway just because I happen to want our money to stay our money.

I know this is part of owning a home, but I can't stand things like this where I didn't initiate some kind of great home remodeling where I am going to get something better for my money. We are crossing our fingers that it won't be as bad as we think. That might just be wishful thinking on our part!!! So all I can really say at the end of the day is, Really?

I didn't take pictures of it yet and will not post them because it is just too depressing, but I will post pictures in a few days of the cute nursery. Chris got the crib put together and was so excited to put the bedding on! Yes, him. I love watching how excited he is getting (and has been) for this baby.