First Day of School 2010

Both girls started pre-school this year 2 days/week. Here are some pictures from their first day of school. They both did good and seemed to enjoy their day.

Lila Turns 16 Months Old

You are a full-fledged toddler, Little One. Your "babyness" is almost gone (except for when you cuddle in our arms when you're upset/nervous or needing some sleep). Even your knees have evidence of your new stage of life ... they are covered by scrapes and bruises these days, courtesy of your new walking/running/climbing skills. Bactine, bandages, and a few kisses are never far away!

As you enter this new stage of life, your personality continues to emerge. Recently, I have noticed that you are quite a ham. Whether its shaking your head back and forth wildly to “dance,” popping a raspberry on the tip of your finger, or making a funny noise, you wait for a reaction, smile coyly, and then continue on with pure amusement. Usually, giggles abound from your sister and that is enough to keep you going for a while. You also continue to be quite strong-willed and are starting to learn how to exert your independence with emphasis. During a recent trip to the doctor's office, the nurse was taken aback by your strength when we couldn't get you to lie down on the table. You were having none of it. You also have a way of making your entire body limp when I want you to do something you don't want to do. Yet, as frustrating as these episodes are for us at the time, I am also sheepishly proud to know that you will stand your ground and even a bit amused on some level at the sight of your little body limp in protest. Just save this skill for once you’re out of the house, O.K.?

Your entry into the English language has started much earlier for you than it did for your sister. These days you are trying to say all sorts of words and have mastered quite a few. Some of your favorites: "uh-oh," "uh-uh," up, more, all done, help, bye, hi, cheese, duck, hop, Mama, Dada, and Adah. It’s a joy to hear your little voice try to sound out new words!

Much like your sister, you also have an affinity for music. You like to dance, even if it’s just a cartoon jingle, and you even like to sing. One day I heard you singing in your crib. When I looked in on you, you were singing the tune of Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star and making the hand motions that go with the song. Your favorite song at the moment is Wheels on the Bus, and you are learning all the motions to the song quite quickly.

So much of your life up to now has been built around routines within our little family … walks in the morning, lunchtime and naptime, playing with Daddy at night, etc. This week your world will get a little larger as you start pre-school and learn to trust others while we are away. Though it’s only a few hours a week, this will be a good first step to growing up. Love you, Lila Bug.

Girls on the Move

Both girls are on the move these days. Here are a few of their moves....

Adah Rockin' It Out to the ABC Song

Lila Walking ... Like a Drunken Sailor

Don't worry. Bandages are on hand at our house these days.

Last Day of School

Last week was Adah's last day of her Parent's Morning Out program. She loved her classmates and her teachers and brought many sweet art projects home. Her teachers say she was the class leader. She could open any child proof door, so she would often lead her classmates out the door to the playground. She also stood at the door with the teacher to greet her classmates and gather their diapers, sippy cups, and bags (putting them all in their proper places) and she would run to get someone's sippy cup if they started crying. The girls loves her routines!

Here are two pictures: one from the first day of school and one from the last day of school. It's amazing to us to see how much she has grown! Next year ... preschool!

Lila Turns One Years Old!!!

Lila Bug,

Whoa ... how fast the last 12 months flew by! You are quickly leaving babyhood behind, and I don't think we're quite ready for it. Here's what 12 months looks like for you right now...

The pace of your growth at this time in your life astounds us. You are now a very speedy crawler, you started to stand up on two feet, and even started to walk (with some assistance). It won't be long at all before you take your first steps on your own. You babble a lot, but are also starting to form some words. Your Daddy LOVES when squeak out in your little voice "Bye Dada," or come excitedly crawling across the floor to him at top speed when he walks in the door. You also say Mama, ball, and duck. Much to our chagrin, you also have been testing your volume limits with your new voice. You love to scream and yell ... sometimes you seem to think you're actually singing when you do. A love for music must be in our blood, because (just like your sister) you seem to truly enjoy music. Occasionally, we catch you bouncing up and down or swaying back and forth to the beat of a song. Hilarious.

I have decided that sisterhood is an amazing thing (at least for now). It is truly heart-warming to watch your sister and you play together right now. Adah takes her role as big sister very seriously and will step in to parent you when we are in the other room. Your Daddy and I have to laugh when we hear things like, "Sssshhh, Lila. Too loud!" (with her finger wagging back and forth in front of you) and "It's OK, Lila. It's OK." (with her hand gently rubbing your back while you are crying). More so than before, you are now starting to truly interact with your sister. You crawl up on her bed and throw her cherished Panda, Teddy Bear, and Bunny on the floor with some sass and a giggle. You cook with her in your play kitchen and taste things on your spoon. You like to snuggle on Mama's lap and read books together before nap time, playfully pulling at each others hair or holding hands.

Your emerging personality is different from your sister's in some ways and yet very similar in others. You seem pretty happy most of the time and you go with the flow pretty well (for someone who is one, that is). But when you set your mind on doing something, it is quite hard (if not impossible) to change it. I foresee some hard days for me in the near future, but am confident that this trait will serve you well in your life.

Things are changing fast and we can't wait to see what the next few months have in store for you. We're thrilled to have you as part of our family, Lila! Here are some pictures of our new one year old:

Cupcakes ... good to play with, but too sticky!

Got Places To Go ... Watch Out!
(Notice the bag over the arm like a purse)

Giggles with Daddy

Lila Learning to Walk

Happy Easter

Lila Turns Nine Months Old

Lila Bug,

I've watched other babies. Some of them sit still on the floor quietly playing with a toy or watching the activity around them. Others lay peacefully in their parents’ arms while taking a bottle, calmly soaking the nutrients into their growing bodies. Still others obediently open their little mouths for spoons full of baby food, finishing the entire jar. We apparently don't make these kinds of babies. What you are is adorable, bright, animated, determined, joyful, mischievous, and very active. Even your doctor agrees. After describing your eating habits and asking for advice to get you to take more food, she offered, "Well, it sounds like she's opinionated!" So my arms may get a good workout while trying to contain your spunk and I may need to calm my frustration sometimes, but I am still intoxicated by your budding personality.

You've just turned 9 months old, and it's hard to believe how much change we've seen from you lately. The most obvious change is your mobility. You've been rolling over well for a long time (and had been using that skill to get where you wanted to go), but one day in December you decided to try and go forward. Within a day or two you had developed an "army crawl" that takes you anywhere you want to go in the house. You've become very proficient, and can surprise us if we take our eyes off you for a second. You still haven't moved up to your hands and knees, but it's not clear you'll have any need for that. You are also finally starting to sit. It’s taken you sometime to develop the desire for this stationary skill. Now that you’ve realized the increased access to toys sitting up allows, you have learned to pull yourself from the floor to a stable sit. You've also started climbing stairs and pulling yourself up, even to a wobbly stand once and a while. Like your sister, you are a very brave (or maybe naïve) girl. We're placing bets right now on how long until you take your first steps. Until then, it looks like we will spend much of our time spotting you.

While your new mobility is the most visible change, your personality changes have been more dramatic. In the first few months you seemed more mellow than your sister. However, when you learned to move, your personality seemed to change. Now YOU have become the active one in the house, often not content to sit still or be held. While it is fun to watch you explore, your dual goal of having us nearby and yet doing things by yourself is a challenge. You have also developed quite a babble, which both entertains us and sometimes drowns us out in volume. We often hear Mamamama, Babababa, Dadadada, or Thppppbbbb (with a spitting spray).

We've been working for many months to try to get you to eat solid foods, with less success than we expected. When we come near you with a spoon full of anything, you usually purse your lips and turn away. We stopped offering most of the pureed baby food and just started giving you small pieces of whatever was on our plates. (You just cut your first few teeth, so you have some chance of actually chewing now.) You've liked this, and it had made mealtimes more bearable. You only get bits and pieces of food into your mouth, but hopefully the coordination will come with a bit more time.

Your big sister is also enjoying your new ability to play with her more. We keep telling her that it won't be long until the two of you are running around together, but I don't think she's grasped how fun life will get once that happens. Somehow I think you get it though, and are just biding your time until you get your "sea legs" and then take the house by storm.

Snow in Atlanta!

In Atlanta, you need to make your own sleds
... we used a baby bathtub.

Sledding in Atlanta
(yes, that is Lila whimpering)