Wednesday, May 19, 2010

Celebrating 6 months

On Monday, Jillien and I had to run down to Kemah (which has a Boardwalk area on the water) to pick up a project for Stephen. Since we were in such a fun place, we thought we'd meet Daddy for dinner on the Boardwalk and celebrate 6 months of life with lil Jilly!We enjoyed strolling to our restaurant, eating a yummy seafood dinner and giving Jillien her half birthday present - her own phone! Now, I realize it's a little silly to give her a half birthday present but I happened to have found a great deal on a toy cell phone (much less annoying than many I have seen). :)She also gobbled up her dinner, bottle and a few water sips before we headed home.
She crashed out in the car (yes, we actually kept her out past her bedtime, a total rarity for us) and then promptly continued her sleep in her crib when we got home. It was good times for all!

Tuesday, May 18, 2010

Not a tooth, 16 lbs and table paper

Jillien had her 6 month check-up today with the doctor (have we mentioned how much we LOVE this doctor??!!). She is a healthy 16 lbs and 25 3/4 inches long - both put her in the 50th percentile. Her head is growing and, with all those brains in there, she is about 80th percentile at 43 around.

THE TOOTH?? The tooth is not a tooth! It's a cyst/pearl that is perfectly harmless. The doc did feel the bumps on the bottom gum and said the center ones should be coming before we know it. So all of what we thought was some kind of teething from that side "tooth" was just her being irritated by the pearl, I suppose. Wild!

Jillien's favorite part of the appointment (obviously this will not be the part where I mention those awful shots they give) ... the table paper! She entertained herself by crumpling, tearing, rolling, scratching and Jillien-ing up that paper that lays across the exam table. Silly girl. Here she is, so proud of her accomplishments with said paper:

I had a million questions for the doctor and she so wonderfully listened and answered! I really am thrilled to have found someone associated with Texas Children's that we like so much.

We are continuing our road of solids after getting some clarity on what's fitting for our little girl. What's on the menu for Jillien today? More avocado! She enjoyed it yesterday after the funny faces subsided from this new tasty treat. She likes her carrots and sweet potatoes too! Cereal seems to still be going well also. Peas and bananas are next on our list to try. Then maybe some applesauce - YUM! :)

Monday, May 17, 2010

Marking the day

Today is a day I have been looking forward to reflecting on.
May 17.

May 17 means our baby girl is 6 months old today. How did that happen? What a wonderful whirlwhind we have been in for the past half of a year!

Here she is for her fun swim time with Mommy & Daddy yesterday in the backyard.
A year ago on May 17, we had the total thrill of getting to announce to the larger crowd (we had already told close family) that we were expecting! I remember being so anxious to share... so ready to shout it from the mountaintops (or the Fellowship Hall stage during youth time)... and then wondered what everyone's reaction would be. The JOY that we felt in getting to share that with so many of those that we love will be something I will always treasure and have vivid memories of.
We had such a journey to get to where all 3 of us are today! I look forward to writing about that experience and sharing more of it soon.

Here are a few more fun pictures from the weekend, which I know Jillien loved because she had so much fun, quality hang out time with Daddy (& Mommy too but the HIGHLIGHT was with Stephen)!

Daddy starting early with guitar lessons.
She loved trying to figure out where the sound was coming from.
Daddy and baby girl hanging out in her room,
showing off her shirt he bought her in Rio.

Hanging out in the playpen for some independent play time.
She loves her toys!

Mommy loving the time in the swimming pool with this sweetie!

Friday, May 14, 2010

Sleep?

So our sweet baby girl decided to have a growth spurt, continue full force with teething, learn to do other new tricks such as pushing up, rolling around all sorts of ways in her crib and not SLEEP.

Whew! I don't think we've had this little sleep since around week 6. I know, we are lucky and blessed and have a great little sleeper. BUT WOW. I think that makes it all the more earth-shaking when she throws it all out of whack.

It's funny, though, because I totally don't mind it. No doubt that I'm tired. It just doesn't really matter in the grand scheme of things that I lost a little sleep and had our routine thrown a bit off.

People say that babies, your children, change everything. They aren't joking. Jillien has changed my understanding of love, faith, marriage, protection, blessings, struggles... the list is endless. For all of that, I'm so grateful... I can't wait to see what adventure still lies ahead!

Thursday, May 6, 2010

Carrots, Sitting & a Tooth

I didn't post much last week as Stephen was in Brazil for over a week. We survived but are so grateful he is back home with us! He enjoyed the beaches of Macae and the vendors of Rio... not to mention the steaks and seafood he consumed in large quantities while there! His job doesn't take him away that often so we managed to get through it with grace despite a weird-smelling stove incident, a dryer that became possessed and quit working (of course NOW that he is home it is acting fine) and a teething 5 month old.

Jillien is growing so fast! Tuesday we gave her carrots, her first food outside of rice cereal. It was fun to make them for her and I'm hoping I can do that with most of her food. Thanks to friends who have given me lots of tips, we just might be able to stick with it! She has looked at me a little strangely when I have spooned those carrots into that precious mouth but then she accepts them and moves right along with eating.
She started to sit up on her own right before Stephen left and she continued to work on getting better at it while he was away. In time for his grand return, she began consistently sitting on her own without props or too many issues of falling/sliding/slipping. Her favorite thing about sitting is pulling up on mommy's fingers to get up from lying on her back. It's really sweet.Her tooth... we do things randomly and in our own way in the Hailey household. Jilly's first tooth isn't the typical front, bottom, middle tooth. No, instead, it's on her right side on the bottom. She didn't sleep well for the week while Stephen was gone... of course!! I knew something was up because she is such a good little sleeper for the most part. Saturday morning, I checked her mouth again, and there it was, that gleaming white little bit of toothie. Saturday was a hard day for her as she struggled with resting and finally just zonked out when she had no energy left to fight it. (Family, did anyone get a picture of the poor child sound asleep on the blanket in the Brill's yard at Ryan's graduation party??!!) Thankfully, it has all eased up for her and she is back on track with her rest. Hyland's Teething Tablets seem to do the trick for her. She liked the way they dissolved and something about them calms her. Thank goodness!
More updates soon... I just wanted to cover the bases on some big milestones for our little girl!