Sweet Bedtime

Right before Lily's first birthday we decided it was time that Lily sleep in her wonderful crib. We have been able to establish crib sleeping routines before, but somehow she has always ended up back in our bed. Don't get me wrong, we loved having her sleep with us, and waking up to her in the morning is so much fun, but with her getting bigger, Mommy and Daddy and baby were not getting the best sleep they could get anymore. So Jeff decided it was time to start fresh and work on getting her back in the crib. As many of you know, Mommy was not a fan of letting her cry herself to sleep. Thankfully, Daddy is a very patient person and was willing to work with our little sweet baby. After a few short nights, the trips to her room in the night went from three to two to one and now none. In the morning when she wakes up, she calls for her dada to come and get her. It is the cutest thing to hear her little voice over the monitor. It makes our hearts melt. Even more than that, we love nighttime before she goes to bed. We all sit on the couch together while she has her ba-ba. When she finishes, she usually crawls up my chest and puts her head on my shoulder and gives me a kiss. After a few snuggles, I pass her over to her dad who snuggles her as he carries her up to bed. Watching that little face on his shoulder as he goes up the stairs makes me get all choked up inside. She is so sweet and cuddly at night. Right before her birthday she started giving us kisses, too. It is so cute! She puckers her lips and makes a "mmmm" sound as she leans in. I love it! Sometimes she will even grab your face and pull it into hers, and then she kisses you and laughs. Getting her little kisses when I wake up in the morning or get home from work is the highlight of my day.

365 Daze

Wow, that went fast. Well, most of it did. Lily is one year old! Last Monday the 21st our baby girl hit a big milestone...she has been with us for 365 days. She is beginning to complain about her crow's feet and graying hair, but we keep telling her that she looks as radiant as the day she was born. Actually, fortunately for all involved, she is much cuter than the day she was born (it's evident that Mom isn't writing this post today, huh?). To celebrate the anniversary of the Bears winning the divisional playoff last year...and Lily's birth...we partied hard twice last week. On Sunday the 20th we met with the Mavros side of the family in Elgin and enjoyed cupcakes and ice cream in honor of Lily turning one. She received awesome gifts from her Aunt Dana (jungle train and animal book), her Uncle Mike (six-sided block puzzle and wind-up jumping frog), and her grandparents (wooden cow pictured below, jeans, and a darling, handmade sweater from Grandma). In related toy news, I am pleased to announce that just this past weekend Lily began walking around the house with the walking lion toy that Grandma and Grandpa gave Lily for Christmas. While it may look funny in ten years if she's still using the plastic lion for support, we are happy with the steps she's taking (pun intended) toward walking right now. Thanks, Grandma and Grandpa! And thanks, Mavros family, for throwing a great party...and loving Lily as much as you have for the past year. She loves you too, and we couldn't have made it this far without you!

The second party of the week was then on Monday night, the 21st. The O'Rourke side of the family, complete with Great Grandma Dorkie and family friend Chris Cushing, came over to our house for pizza, cake, and lots of toys. As you can see from the picture of our window seat full of gifts, Lily was spoiled rotten for the second time in two days. From cute outfits (Mimi's specialty) to an actual baby-sized La-Z-boy style chair from her Aunt Molly, Lily cleaned up in the gifts department. Aunt Molly is known as one of the premier gift-givers in the Great Lakes region, and she did not disappoint for Lily's first birthday. Despite Lily falling asleep in the middle of the party (we think her tummy was hurting from all the pizza she wolfed down), everyone had a fine time celebrating her big day. We thank all of the O'Rourkes and Chris for attending Lily's party and being such a big part of her life. She generally goes happily to others, and we believe much of that has to do with the exposure she gets to so many different people who help us by watching her regularly. In closing, we're sorry it has taken us so long to put something up here on the blog, but it's the result of Katie working lots of nights and weekends and Jeff being too lazy to get off the couch. Regardless, it's a formula that seems to be working because we couldn't love our child any more than we do, and we know so many of you love her too. What a great first year! Who's ready for the second?...

Ice cream cake...yummy.

You can find one of these at www.toddley-toddler.org/sit~toile

Mommy helps Lily eat her birthday cupcake at Grandma Judy's house.

Cool toy, Grandma! Dah-doo (thank you)!

"Did you see my birthday squirrels?"

You think these are enough?

This WAS pizza...but you had to look fast to see it.

Settling in and Doodlebopping

This past Friday, we took Lily to the Coliseum to see characters from one of her favorite morning shows, the Doodlebops. Jeff and I really do not enjoy watching this show, but it really was an enjoyable concert, and I got to meet them all in person. I have to say I was a little star struck seeing the real Doodlebops. I was surprised to see that they were really the same people as on the show! I can't believe I was actually a little excited to see DeeDee Doodle get off the elevator. We watched the show up in a suite with some of my other co-workers and their kids. Lily was by far the most entertained. She danced, shouted, and pointed. She loved it!

Other than that, we haven't had anything else too exciting going on. We are just trying to get settled in our new house. This past Saturday our sectional was delivered, which has made getting settled a whole lot more comfortable. It is so big and cozy. We spent Saturday and Sunday trying to find and claim our favorite spots. Around the house, Jeff has a few more little projects that he wants to do, but nothing too major.

Lily is approaching her 1st Birthday fast! This last month she has changed and learned so much.
She has added a few more words to her list, including: cheese, doggie, hi, pretty, Mama, ball, baby, Daddy, Mimi, Papa, Papoo, Pat, and our favorite, thank you. For the most part, she uses "thank you" in the correct context. She can now make it up the stairs in under a minute and has taught herself how to go down on her belly and get down off the couch the same way. She still loves the movie Meet the Robinsons, and we have not found another movie that will hold her attention as well. In the last few days she has graduated from formula to whole milk, and we are working on weening her from nursing as well. She still wakes up every morning and yells for her dad, but now she thankfully has days when she wants her mama, too.

Very Merry Christmas

Sorry we are so behind on the blogs! I will try to catch everyone up from here.

Lily had a very, very merry first Christmas. On Christmas Eve we went to the O'Rourke's for Christmas Eve dinner with all the extended family. Lily had so much fun entertaining all of her older cousins. On Christmas morning we went back to Mimi and Papa's to open gifts. Lily was overjoyed with each package that she opened. It was the cutest thing to see her little face light up each time she was given a gift. From there we went up to Elgin to see Grandpa and Grandma, Uncle Moks, and Aunt Dana. Once again, Lily had so much fun opening her gifts. Aunt Dana gave her a "band in a box" that keeps her occupied for minutes at a time. As you can see from the picture, Grandpa and Grandma gave Lily a walk around her new lion toy. She isn't walking yet, but the lion is helping! After gifts and playing we went to cousin Elaine's for the Mavros family Christmas. Lily had so much fun playing with her great-aunts and uncles and cousins.

Overall, we had a really great time with all of our family. It was so nice to visit with everyone and be with them on Christmas! Lily thanks all of you for her great presents. She really and truly has enjoyed playing with all of them!

All the cousins

all cousins including the moms

Pure Excitement over one of her presents!