Three Months and Change

The camera got a little too close here, causing some cross-eyed action.

Lily is now 3 months and 2 weeks old, and the time has flown by. Over the past few months she has made amazing strides. She went from sleeping 5 minutes at 2:00 a.m. and 5:00 a.m. to only waking up for about 5 mintues at 2:00 a.m. and 5:00 a.m. She now makes noises and talks all the time. She especially loves to talk to us in the morning when we are getting ready for work. We put her on our bed and talk to her while we get dressed. If we leave the room, she definitely knows it and addresses the problem by making a noise that sounds like "hey, hey, hey!" At times she also directs her concerns to her father by yelling "da, da, da!" Luckily, she hasn't figured out how to say "ma" yet, so I am awarded a few extra minutes in front of the bathroom mirror while dad obliges her calls with some nice conversation about what she has ahead of her that day. Most of her answers consist of some agoos, and she also thinks it's very funny to blow bubbles and spit. Her dad tells her it is not very lady-like, but she finds it too entertaining to stop. Another rather uncouth behavior our little one has developed is flashing. She loves to grab the bottom of her dresses and pull them up by her face. We will definitely nip that one in bud. When she isn't grabbing at her dresses, she is reaching for her toys, her mom's necklace, her mom's hair, and just about anything else within her reach. So it is safe to say that our child is moving along in her development pretty smoothly, and we hope to have her kicking the soccer ball by the end of the summer. Now we just have to teach her that she can't use her hands!

Quite a Hit

This weekend's lovely weather finally provided an opportunity for Lily to take her parents on a few walks in her stroller. A stroll over to nearby Illinois Wesleyan offered the family a chance to see a women's alumni soccer game, the Annual Keck Ecumenical track meet, and the surging IWU baseball team. Afterward Lily told us that the baseball game was her favorite. This could very well be that Horenberger Field provided the most shade, but dad likes to think that we have a true fan on our hands. That said, we decided to try out some headgear to see how she took to it. I think her love for the game has been confirmed.

It Takes Two

This week Lily was lucky enough to have both of her grandparents on the Mavros side come to babysit her. Grandma Judy is always up for the trip, provided her work meetings don't conflict. However, even Grandpa Nick put away the computer (well, sort of) to be with his granddaughter this past Friday. Despite the fact that all of the attorneys in Elgin must effectively close the office when Grandpa Nick leaves town (and we all know how busy Elgin keeps attorneys), he opted to pack up the car and drive down early Friday morning to share the diaper duties with Grandma. Luckily, Lily was a great little girl for her sitters, and she received her second "A for Angel" grade in two days (Grandma Susan initiated the grading scale on Thursday, and we thought it was kind of cute). Besides reading and singing with Grandma, Lily talked with Grandpa and played with her aquarium play mat. She is just now starting to grab at toys and objects that are dangled within reach. Below are just a few pictures of Lilian's time with Grandma and Grandpa. As you can see, a good time was had by all!

Easter Lily

Lily got to spend her first Easter with both sides of the family this past weekend. On Saturday, she went to Grandpa and Grandma O'Rourke's house, where she was able to visit with her great grandma Dorkie and wear her special smocked dress from Aunt Molly. She also tried on some floppy ears. On Sunday Lily made her first trip to Elgin, and, as you can see from the pictures, she was quite a hit. She slept the whole way there and back in the car. While in Elgin, she greeted her family with plenty of smiles and cooing. Her Uncle Mike and Grandpa Nick had not seen Lily for a while, so it was nice that she gave them such a warm reception. We're looking forward to egg hunts in the years to come, and Grandma Susan already has plans for a kite flying next year!

Mom and Me Mondays

Hi, evreyone. This iz Lily. I am riting this 2 say that my payrents must be reely board. All they due is put me on my blankat and take picters of me. So, if yore not to tired of theez yet, hear are even more fotos of me...smyling, kooing, and laffing. And my mommie is in these becase we play tugether on Mondays when mom werks from hoam.

Bath Time Fun

Following a nice walk to downtown Normal for some breakfast at The Coffeehouse this morning, Lily got a much needed bath. As always, she sprawled out in the tub, hanging her legs over the edges and reaching a near-comatose state (we had pictures of this, but in an effort to keep the blog family-friendly, we couldn't post them). For mom and dad, this bath-induced tranquility is greatly appreciated. We decided to take some pictures of bath time today because Lily's behavior in the tub always cracks us up.

In addition, for all of you who have commented on the fact that only Jeff shows up in pictures with the baby, Katie made a conscious effort to share the photographing duties this week!