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!