Nine Months

Dear Lila,

You are one active little girl!  Just recently you started cruising along the furniture.  Yay, Lila!  You have also been trying to stand unassisted, which usually ends with you standing alone for about a millisecond and then falling on your bum.  You think it's really funny when you fall if I yell "BOOM!"

A not-so-great phase has thrust itself upon us -- stranger anxiety.  Whoa boy!  It started around Thanksgiving when you wouldn't let anyone but us hold you.  You will socialize with people as long as they are a comfortable distance away from you and you are in either Mommy or Daddy's arms.  Poor Nana Lorraine -- she came all the way from Boston to visit and you cried every time she tried to pick you up.  Dr. Weiner said this is just a phase and that it usually lasts about three months.

You had your nine month well baby check-up with Dr. Weiner and a follow-up visit with your neurologist.  Both appointments went well.  Your development is right on track, and you are doing everything you should be doing.  Excellent!  The neurologist  has recommended that we wean you off of one of your medications.  HOORAY!  We will see both doctors again in March.

This past weekend we celebrated Daddy's birthday!  It was his first birthday as a Dad.  It was low-key, fun, and we had a really yummy cake (because you can't eat cake yet, I had an extra piece just for you).

Happy nine-month birthday Lila (I promise to give you cake when it's your real birthday).

Love, Mommy and Daddy

Santa Claus

A Somewhat Messy Situation

Why don't they make a diaper that can be put on backwards?

I ask myself this question about a hundred times a day, usually in the middle of a diaper wrestling match with Lila.  Sigh.

Eight Months

Dear Lila,

This past month you started a music class. It's so much fun!  We sing along, we dance, you get to touch the instruments, and then you go all CA-RAZY when they turn on the bubble machine! There are a lot of other babies your age there and you are starting to seem more interested in them, or perhaps their toys.  Yup, this week you crawled over to Jonah, and stole his toy -- from his hand.  Someone needs to learn about sharing.

enjoying music class

stealing Jonah's toy

Crawling is one of your favorite things to do right now.  You're still rockin' the army crawl but occasionally you get your trunk off of the floor, rock back and forth and then propel yourself forward.  You're a very, very fast crawler!  You especially love trying to crawl under the desk to get at the computer cables and wires.  Standing is another fave right now.  You stand holding onto the ottoman and seem so pleased with yourself.  Because you LOVE standing so much you are now trying to pull yourself up to a stand any chance you get.  That spells D-A-N-G-E-R for Mommy and Daddy!

crawling over to dog-dog

You currently have two teeth!  I'm guessing that your holiday theme is going to be All I want for Christmas is my two front teeth. 

your pearly whites -- *please don't hate me for this when you are older

Our favorite part of the day with you is an hour before bedtime.  You turn into a super happy-ass!  You giggle uncontrollably at every noise, tickle, and pinch.  It's a really great way to end our day.  

doing your best "Thriller" impersonation

just plain cute!

Happy Eighth Month Birthday Lila Bunny!

Love,
Mommy and Daddy

Is that a banana in your pocket?

Lila and Izek

Montana Ave. Halloween Walk

We encountered a few pleasant surprises this Halloween:

Lila cut her first tooth! HOORAY!

We also ran into the original Incredible Hulk -- Lou Ferrigno! He joked that our car might get egged by the neighbor kids. Best celebrity sighting yet!

Trick or Treat

I'll get you my pretty!

ghouls just wanna have fun

trip to the pumpkin patch

having a meltdown

My 1st Halloween!

Seven Months

Dear Lila,

You're at this stage of discovery where you love grabbing everything (Mommy's glasses, Daddy's beer, and dog-dog's fur to name a few). Your favorite toy, albeit expensive, is Daddy's BlackBerry. Any chance you can get, you grab it and try to eat it. One of your favorite games is playing peek-a-booty (see video below). You think it's way funnier if we scare you and say "RRAAAGGHHH" instead of peek-a-boo. It's kind of twisted, but I like it :)' Another favorite past-time is your Jumperoo. You go B-A-N-A-N-A-S when you are in it. You squeal, giggle, bounce, rock, and bat at things. It's hilarious!

You recently had your first cold. Boo! You were a little bit cranky and protested any sort of nasal drip control that we tried to enforce. It took a week to get over and it wasn't as bad as I thought it would be.

You still don't have any teeth. You drool non-stop and chew on everything. I am sure that they will peek through soon. What's interesting is you like gnawing on everything with the back of your mouth. Is it possible that you could get your molars first? I doubt it. But it would be funny if you had all of your molars first and then your front teeth.

Your favorite foods so far are sweet peas and squash. Yummy scrumbos! You absolutely detested bananas and apples. Your reaction was priceless!

Your reaction when you see Daddy come home steals my heart. You kick you feet, wave your arms and stick out your tongue with excitement! This was a moment that we had once dreamt of and wept for--to be living it now feels so surreal. Happy Seven Month Birthday!

We love you Lila Bunny!

Love, Mommy and Daddy

Peek-A-Booty