Lily Ann Carr

Blog Post Every 6 Months is frequent, right?

2010-12-17T09:21:00.000-08:00

Merry Christmas, everybody!! Yes, yes, we know what you're saying. Probably something along the lines of "Where in the world have you been?!" OR "'Bout darn time!!". Sorry about that. Truth is that in the last six months, I have taken off! Yes, it probably appeared as if I had taken off from blogging but I am talking about my development. You would not believe how much new and cool stuff I have learned!!

So much has happened since we last wrote. Daddy completed both the half-ironman and the full-ironman in wonderful times. And while that stuff is pretty cool, it pales in comparison to one other development that occurred this summer. We told you in the last post that Daddy was dating this wonderful person, Molly. Well, it's funny how life works out sometimes because Daddy asked her to marry him while we were up in Cedar Point for the ironman. In fact, I was there when Daddy popped the question. He had finished the race and after he had time to shower and drink some fluids, the three of us took a short walk on the beach. After 140.6 miles of racing, I guess Daddy's legs weren't really up for a lengthy stroll in the sand. Doesn't matter, he had a very important present to give and a proposition for Molly. So, while we were sitting on the beach chairs out in front of the resort Daddy asked her to be my mommy and his wife. How cool is that?! I am soo very excited and I know Daddy is too. You should see how mch fun the two of them have together. Add me to the mix, and Daddy says that he isn't sure life gets much more enjoyable. He says that life may have taking my mother way too soon but that God has no intention of allowing me to grow up without a mommy. So, from now on you will not see me to refer to her by her real name but rather, as mommy. Cause that's what she is :-)

If that weren't enough excitement, I have also been enrolled in school. I go on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Fridays to a place called the Little Red Schoolhouse. I love it!!! My teachers Pam and Barb are AWESOME and I have met some really cool new friends in my classmates. We have all sorts of fun doing arts, crafts, singing songs and playing all sorts of games. Nevermind the fact that 8-10 toddlers in one classroom can be, ummm, shall we say...lively. It's just been a great deal of fun and Daddy and Mommy say that they have noticed that my speech and motor skills have taken off since I started there. I bet it's a mix between school, mommy and daddy reading to me everynight and the little bit of Sesame Street they let me watch. I sure do love that Elmo fella!! You put all that together and what do you get? Well, you can see a bit of that in the videos that we have posted.

What else? Well, Halloween was a lot of fun. I am not much for wearing costumes and I think Daddy had a good point when he asked me "what's the point in pretending to be something else when you are you?" So I wasn't a ladybug, a pumpkin, flower or a princess. Well, I guess I was kind of a princess; Daddy's princess. Since I am still a little young for candy and given my aversion to silly costumes, we hung around the house and handed out candy to the trick-or-treaters. I have to give it to a few of them, they were quite original.

Don't get me wrong. I LOVE dressing up. I just love dressing up like a lady. Almost every night I insist on putting my dresses on. No need to bother with taking off my normal clothes, we just put my dresses on over them. But every once in a while, I like to rock out the bikini. And for that, my friends, I prefer to wear it the way it is meant to wear. Nevermind the fact that it is December and 7 degrees outside, we've got heat :-)

Thanksgiving was lots of fun...and driving. Boy-oh-boy, with Daddy's side and both mommys' sides, we did a TON of driving and by the end of the day we were beat. But we had a blast!

Let's see, what else? I am taking gymnastics class and I LOVE it. I do it with mommy and daddy. We start off by stretching and playing musical instruments and then they cut us loose on the rings, balance beems, trampolines and mats. Man is that fun!! To finish off our classes, we kids play in the parachute while the parents make it go up and down. Just awesome!

And that brings us to today! Daddy is off work through Christmas and I am anxiously awaiting Christmas and all the fun to be had. We get to go to the Festival of Lights, downtown to the Christmas stuff there, and maybe even the aquarium. I love when we get to go on adventures as a family. Good times!!!

Well, we'll be in touch. Hopefully before I graduate high school ;-) Just kidding!! Love you all and we wish you a Merry Christmas!!!!

Summer Fun!!!

2010-06-21T17:03:00.001-07:00

Hey everybody!! Daddy and I sure hope you haven't been waiting around for a post because if you have, we feel bad that it has been over a month. We promised to post new stuff and then we got soo busy actually doing new stuff that we have done a good job of wearing ourselves and not having the time to get on the computer. Truth is, the summer is keeping us busier than we have ever been. Oh yea, happy solstice everybody!! For those of you kiddos out there that read this and are asking yourself, "what's solstice?", it's a fancy way of saying summer is officially here (as if the 90 degree weather isn't enough to make it official).

So, what kind of stuff have we been up to? Well, as most of you know Daddy really likes to train and compete in races called, Triathlons, where he races in three different areas (swim, bike and run). As you might imagine, in a place like Ohio there really is only one season to do such silly things. Yup, summer!! It may not sound like it but these events are a lot of fun and they give me, Molly, Mimi and the rest of the friends and family that come out a chance to hang out all day in pretty parks or by pretty lakes. I even get to make new friends and play in the water sometimes while Daddy is racing. I like the feeling of the sand between my toes and of my hands splashing in the water. Molly has gotten really good at making sure there are extra outfits in the diaper bag. We have a BLAST at Daddy's races and look forward to cheering him on all summer (you can see a glimpse of my cheering skills below). As it turns out, Daddy isn't half bad either. He did this one race a few weekends ago called the American Triple-T. Talk about crazy!! He did a "short" race Friday night, an Olympic distance (.9mile swim, 28 mile bike, 6.6 mile run) race Saturday morning, another Olympic distance race Saturday afternoon, and then finished the weekend with a half-ironman distance (1.2mile swim, 56 mile bike, 13.1 mile run) race on Sunday. I'm telling you, he's crazy!! Anyway, Daddy ended up doing pretty well and finished 42nd out of the 362 men that were racing. He says he could never do it without Molly and me waiting for him at the finish. We'll keep y'all posted as the season continues.

Other than races, Daddy and Molly have been sure to keep our calendar chock full of things to do. We go to the zoo. We go to friends birthday parties. We go to the pool. We go to friends birthday parties at the pool. We go to family get-togethers. We go to the park. We go for walks. We even take Tuck to the dog park where we can let him go swim in the river. I tell you what, for being such a laid back dog, he goes wild in the water!! He and Daddy play fetch with sticks and Daddy always gets frustrated that Tuck doesn't bring them back all the way. He says Tuck is only 3/4 retriever and must not have inherited the gene that lets a dog know you bring the stick ALL the way back to the person who first tossed it. Oh well, they have fun playing around and I get to have fun splashing on the beach and tossing pebbles into the water. I just love the splashes and sounds that they make!!

You guys are smart, so you probably figured out that I am really diggin the summer and that I really like any activity that involves water. Can you blame me? Daddy and Molls realized my love for all things wet and bought me my very own baby pool. And I don't just mean any pool. They purchased a big blow-up pool with a jungle theme and it comes with a slide and a giraffe that sprays water. Talk about FUN!! I love to step in and out of the pool, throw toys in and out of it, splash my hands, and sit down in the cool water. Only downside is that I seem to have been blessed with Daddy's fair complexion and I can sunburn very easily so I don't get to stay out as long as I would like. But, nonetheless, I have a SUPER time when I am out there.

In other news, Daddy says that I am growing up too fast. He says that it seems like just yesterday that the only direction I could scoot was backwards and now he has to run just to keep up with me. He said he thanks God for caffeine; whatever that means. But he also lets me know that he could not be more proud of me and all the cool new things I am saying and doing. Daddy and Molly read to me all the time and I can even predict how some of the books are gonna go. My favorite book right now is called "Lily's Twinkly Bedtime". Suprised? Well, there is one page that goes "Is Jasmine fast asleep already?" and the answer is "No, she's holding Lily's teddy" Whenever, Daddy or Molly get to that part of the book I always answer before they can read the bit about the teddy. I love how they laugh when I do that.

Other things I have picked up on are the things Tucker says: "Ruff-ruff", the sound a lion makes "ROARRR!!!", and the sound a monkey makes: "eeh, eeh, eeh". I know where my head, eyes, nose and mouth are located on my body. And I LOVE to tell stories, even if nobody else seems to really understand what I am getting at. I can ride my little-tike scooter all around the house and love to push my teddy, Daisy, in the stroller. In the mornings, I like to act like I am putting on makeup just like Molly. Daddy and Molls say that it seems I learn something new everyday and I think they are right. What a cool time to be a kid!!

We still receive random gifts in the mail from people. Daddy is always so touched when he opens a card and reads the kind things people have to say about him or about how my Mommy impacted their life or how they love watching me grow through viewing this blog. Just the other week we recieved a card from Daddy's co-worker Jillian and her daughters Lindy and Addie. They sent us the nicest note, treated us to a nice lunch and even sent us a picture off the girls (it's hanging on our fridge in the kitchen). The card was cool but my favorite was the patch that was inside it. It's a girl scout badge that says "baby care" on it and it has a little teddy bear with bottles stitched on it. I love to carry it around the house. What cool girls Addie and Lindy are!! They have never even met me but still think of me lots. Daddy says that is the sign of someone with a genuine and compassionate heart and that God loves to use people like that to impact the world in great ways. He knows, he was married to my Mommy.

Well, it's getting late and I need to rest up for another day full of adventure. We hope you are getting outside and enjoying the warmth. Keep on rockin' and we'll check back later with all the cool things we are doing. Love you all more than words can say!!!!

Sincerely,

Lily

What We've Been Waiting For

2010-05-03T18:05:00.000-07:00

Hey Everybody!! Things are getting pretty exciting here at the Carr household and as you will see below, there have been some big new developments. So, since it took so long to get these items to download, we're gonna let the pics and videos do the talking.

We hope all is well with you! We'll drop a line soon to keep you up to date on or adventures.

Love y'all

Lily

Just Video

2010-04-13T04:29:00.000-07:00

Spring Has Sprung

2010-04-12T18:07:00.000-07:00

Hey everybody!! Hope you guys are all having a great start to the season. Spring has officially sprung in the 'Nati and it is finding us running all over town doing all sorts of super fun stuff. I will get to that in a bit. But first, I should probably pick up where I left off last time.

As you all know, Daddy organized a team for the Heart Mini-Marathon in Mommy's honor and named the team "Party for Marty". That's a pretty fun name and Daddy tells me that it's the perfect name for Mommy because she loved a great party and had a natural ability to spice up any get together. As part of the team, people received special t-shirts with the team name and a picture of a lily on the back. How cool is that?! The flower that Daddy buys Mommy and after which I am named was on our team t-shirts. Daddy says that Mommy gave this world a whole lot of gifts but that I am her greatest gift and that is why he put in on the t-shirt. As if that wasn't cool enough, I got my own special t-shirt. A one-of-a-kind t-shirt that Daddy and Molly had made that had the same Lily on front but said "Party for Mommy" on it. I love it!!! The weather could have been better but the rain held off and we were able to have a great walk with thousands of our closest friends. What a great event!! Thanks to everyone who came out to walk or supported our team. I sooo can't wait for next year!!

As I noted in the intro, the new Spring season has come and we are taking full advantage of the warming weather. Mimi even had a whole week off from work because of her work's Spring Break and we got to spend almost every day together. So, I had heard rumors that Cincinnati has a major league baseball team at that there is a big parade every year when the season starts. Well, it just so happens that the "Opening Day Parade" happened to coincide with Mimi's break and she took me to see it. In a word, WOW! This was my first parade ever and I LOVED it. There were all sorts of people there and they had some cool floats and loud bands. It was a bunch of fun. Maybe, if I am lucky, I will get to go see a game sometime and if I am super lucky, next year I can go to the parade again. My week with Mimi was FANTASTIC and I can't wait for summer when we get to spend tons of time together. We are gonna have a blast all summer long!!

Spring might just be my favorite season. The leaves on the trees are coming out and the flowers are blooming. Thank goodness I don't have allergies (knock on wood) because my new favorite thing to do is play outside. Daddy and I even went to buy flowers to take to Mommy's gravesite. Since the weather was so great, we put out a blanket and just sat out with Mommy for a little while and enjoyed our time together. It was pretty special.

Easter came and went in a flash. What a great holiday! Daddy told me about the meaning of the holiday and why we celebrate it. He said it probably is no coincidence that Easter happens in the Spring because Spring is a season of new life and that's exactly why Jesus came, to give new life. Hmm, pretty heavy stuff. But on a lighter note, my Easter dress was super cute! My Great Aunt Mary Joe sent it up from Florida. It was my cousin, Haley's, dress and I have to say "Haley, you've got great fashion sense, girl!! Love the dress!" If you don't believe me, just check the pix. And by the way, I love Easter egg hunts! I love them soo much, that we still are doing them at the house. I take my basket full of plastic eggs, dump them out and pick them all p to place back in my basket. Soo much fun!

There is TONS more to tell you guys but we'll save it for later. From all the walks in the park that Molly, Daddy and I get to go on with Tucker to taking field trips to the zoo, we are having a blast this Spring!! It's only gonna get better this week because Molly is on Spring Break and we get to spend lotsa time together. YAY!!! I sure hope you all are having as much fun as me. Life is good!

As for my health, I am totally rockin. I had my last GI appointment last week and my Dr. says I don't need to come anymore. Awesome!! I mean, I love Dr. Kacoshis but I am soo happy that my belly is doing what it is supposed to. Thanks to all those prayers you all have been sending up. I love you guys!! And developmentally, I am still about 20lbs but am getting all sorts of new teeth and learning all sorts of new things. Can't wait to share more with you all soon.

Keep on rockin'!! We sure will.

Love Ya TONS!!!

Lily

PS Trouble loading video. Will try again tonight

Movin On Up

2010-03-15T16:55:00.000-07:00

Hey everybody!!! And a BIG Happy St. Patrick's day to all you Irish lads and lassies out there!! Apparently, everybody is Irish one day ot of the year. I'll be sporting my green "I'm a McCutie" T-shirt. Daddy and I were chatting the other day about how excited we are to have Spring be right around the corner. The conversation all started because a couple of weekends ago the temps here reached close to 60degrees and gave us the opportunity to get out and take Tucker for a nice w-a-l-k. Sshhhh! You can't say the word because everytime you mention it, Tuck goes all wild and starts jumping up and down, chasing his tail and acts all super-crazy-excited. But anyway, the weather was so nice that Daddy, Molly (Daddy's GF), and I took Tucker on one of those "w" words. Ooopps, I just outed Daddy and his relationship status, didn't I? No worries though because we love having Molly around and Daddy says that just cause your life doesn't always turn out like you would have planned, you still deserve to find happiness. Mols is a super cool chick, we get to do all sorts of interesting stuff together, plus, she makes Daddy very happy. What more could you ask for?

So, you are probably wondering "what is new in Lilyworld?". Well, let's start with the not so cool thing. All three of us caught this thing that Daddy called the "stomach bug". Man-o-man, I don't know how that happened because I sure didn't see any bugs around. But whatever it was, it sure did a number on us. I was the only one to have the pukes but all of us spent an entire weekend laid up not feeling well. Thank goodness for Pedialite and Gatorade!!!

Once healed, we were back getting busy having fun. I am learning all sorts of new things. Check out the video (hopefully it loads right). I now know where my head is and even make these really fun noises with my mouth. The new thing that I love the most is climbing on stuff. I have a rocking chair that belonged to Mommy when she was a baby and I just LOVE to climb on it. Daddy is always reminding me "Sweetheart (that's what he calls me sometimes), on your bottom please." When he says that, I have to sit down. But that's OK because I can rock my body back and forth and the chair rocks with me. Totally cool!!!

I am still not walking even though I know you are all waiting for the footage. I am in no hurry and Daddy really isn't pushing me to do anything that I am not ready for. Besides, he says he's trying to soak up every little moment. So, I am giving him some more time to soak in me being a crawling toddler. Even though I am still just crawling, I manage to keep Daddy and Molly on their toes. I am getting so tall (I use the term loosely, of course) that I can now reach things on the window sills and end tables. They have already started moving the breakable things so that I can not reach them.

I am starting to adventure out and try new things to eat. It's been a pretty big deal since I really, and I mean REALLY, love my bottles of milk. But there are a few things that I love to eat. I like Sweet Potatoes, butternut squash, oatmeal, pears, applesauce, bananas, Zesta crackers, graham crackers, and all sorts of stuff. I even got to try an all-beef hotdog this weekend because Daddy had friends over for a cookout and all their kids were trying it. I didn't know what to think about it at first but, man was that yummy!! Daddy tells me that I will only get such foods at special occassions (ie cookouts, baseball games, when he's not watching). Eating all this food has really helped me grow!! In fact, I am on my last week in my pumpkin seat because I outgrew it. Daddy just bought a big-girl carseat and it should be here by the end of the week. I can't wait!!!

Well, that's about it in Lilyworld. Mommy's walk is coming up soon so we should have a lot to blog about. We are all really excited to do the run this year and are praying for good weather. Hope to see you all there!!! Until then, keep it cool and keep on rockin!!!!

Love you TONS!!!!

Lily

Bye-Bye Boob Juice

2010-02-22T17:19:00.000-08:00

Hey there, everybody!! I know it's been a while since we last blogged but it hasn't been for lack of trying. Daddy and I have tried to post multiple times but the website has been SUPER slow and won't load videos. It has taken hours, literally, to load just one short clip of me and frankly, Daddy and I don't have the time to mess with that stff. We have some serious playing to do.

So, we will keep this post short but still give you the lowdown on what I have been up to.

Since we last posted, we got dumped on by snow and Daddy even got to spend a day at home with me because of it. I love that the snow kept Daddy at home so that we could play but I REALLY did not appreciate that snowsuit he put me in so that we could go out and play in it. The snow looks like a blast to play in when Daddy and Tuck are out there wrestling but it sure isn't worth putting on that suit. I'll wait until next year to play in it when I can actually run around. Heck, a girl can't even move in that silly suit. I felt like Ralphie's little brother in the movie "The Christmas Story". It's safe to say, I was less than thrilled.

With all the cold weather and stuff, it shouldn't be a big surprise that Daddy and I came down with a couple of colds. I had to go to the Dr. for mine and it was there that we found out I broke the 20 lbs mark. Can you believe it?! I am one big girl and now Daddy has to find a car seat befit of the young lady that I am. Pumpkin seat, your days are numbered, pal.

I am learning lots of new stuff. I am not walking quite yet but I am standing on my own and Daddy says that I can crawl at the speed of "Oh shoot!!" That just means I move pretty fast. Daddy will put me down for a second to do something like get a drink or let Tuck out and when he turns around, I'm gone. My new favorite places to go are the stereo (I can turn it on, crank the volume, and eject the tape deck and CD changer), the bathroom (that spinny thing with the white paper ribbon stuff is a lot of fun to unravel) and the kitchen (I LOVE tupperware, pots and pans). Daddy does his best to keep all doors shut, floors clean and remotes out of arms reach but I always find something.

Daddy says that I am also finding my voice. I like to babble and my favorite thing to say currently, is "Baby". I tend to make the "a" pretty long and loud and am getting really good at the "b" sound. I am learning stuff all day and if blogspot ever gets their stuff in order, maybe we could post some for you. But trust Daddy when he says, it's pretty cute and super awesome.

Last thing that I wanted to update you all on is my diet. The boob juice is all gone!! I am completely transitioned to whole milk and am loving it. Daddy says the next step is getting me off the bottle and onto sippy cups. That's gonna be a tough one, I think. I sure do love my bottles. I am starting to venture out and try new foods but am pretty hesitant to try new stuff. Just this morning Daddy tried to give me scrambled eggs. No thanks. I didn't try a single bite. That stuff just looked weird. Daddy says he'll keep trying but I am not making any promises that I am gonna like the new stuff.

Well, we hope all is great with you. Please keep in touch and we will try to get this blog/video stuff figured out.

Love to all!!!

Lily

Goundhog's Day

2010-02-02T17:41:00.000-08:00

Happy Groundhogs Day everybody! We'll be making the same post tomorrow ;-) Hope that your January went by smoothly and you were able to stay warm. Things remain lively at the Carr house with me learning new things and growing more adventurous everyday. Daddy likes to say I get into a lot of mischief. Like the time I got a hold on the TV remote when the babysitter wasn't paying attention and totally reprogrammed the TV. When Daddy got home, the screen said "No Signal" and was this beautiful shade of blue. He didn't find it as pretty as I did and apparently had to spend a bit of time on the phone with the cable people to figure out how to undo what I was able to do. All is fine with the TV now but I have had my remote privileges revoked. Oh well, there is still the basket full of folded laundry that I get to pull out and make a mess of. Goodtimes!

This past weekend was AWESOME!!! For starters, it was Daddy's 30th birthday and we spent all of Friday night together. We cooked dinner, played on the floor cuddled, and even played with Tucker. It soo much fun playing with that silly dog. Daddy gets down on all fours and acts like a dog and Tucker goes bonkers!! He howls and runs circles around us; being sure not too get too close to me. He and Daddy are like BFFs (stands for Best Friends Forever for all you folks that aren't down with the lingo).

So, you all remember that I recently had my very first birthday. Well, some people didn't know what to get me so they opted for the gift card/check route. And since Daddy needed to train and needed someone to watch me, he had an idea. And boy oh boy, I mean to tell you that he had a WONDERFUL idea! He went and cashed all the checks and arranged for my Aunt Katie and Aunt Cyndi to come pick me up and take me on my very first shopping spree!! OH MY GOODNESS was that FUN!! We went to all sorts of places and scored all sorts of sweet stuff. And even though Daddy isn't a big fan of buying things just to buy them, he said that it's OK to spoil yourself every once in a while. We had soo much fun together and afterwards I was P_O_O_P_E_D, pooped. I napped really well Saturday afternoon.

I got to spend Saturday night at Mimi's house while Daddy got to go out for his birthday. It's soo much fun going to Mimi's. I get pampered there. I get a bath (and for the record, Daddy gives me baths at home, regularly), Mimi clips my nails and even rubs me down with baby lotion. What more could a young lady like myself ask for?! I love it and I love all the time I get to spend with Mimi and Papau.

So there is great news to report on the medical/diet front! I am almost completely off the "boob-juice". Since my last post, we have been slowly moving towards putting more cow's whole milk in my bottle than the "juice". And now, there is only 2oz of boob juice to every 5oz of regular milk. We would transition all the way to milk but still have some donor milk to use up. At a little over $4 per ounce, you can't let that stuff go to waste! And I am not sure if there is a market out there on Ebay for unused breastmilk. Haha, I bet we would get a lot of hits though.

Also, Mimi introduced us to this stuff called "Mish-Mash". Basically, it's pureed vegetables and fruit and is served in a Capri-Sun like container with a built in straw. Now, I have no idea what this Capri-Sun stuff is but Daddy told me that you would know what I was talking about. Whatever it is, I LOVE it!! It is soo sweet and makes for a great snack. Only one problem and Daddy calls it the "Mish-Mash Factor". The stuff runs right through me and before you know it, it's time for a diaper change. It may get a bit messy at times but it is totally worth it.

Then the biggest news of the weekend is that I had my dedication on Sunday. I know, you are probably wondering what the heck a "dedication" is. Well, it's kinda like a baptism but without the water. You see, Daddy and Mommy were always committed to raising me in a way that they thought would be God honoring but wanted to leave the decision to be baptized up to me. So a dedication is simply that. Daddy and I stood up there in fron of a WHOLE bunch of people and he promised to raise me and love me the way that God would have him do. I think his doing a swell job. If I do say so myself;-)

I am not walking on my own yet but it is only a matter of time. I do however weigh close to 18 pounds and have really closed the gap on all the other "full-termers" that are my age. Daddy says he knew that I would do wonderfully playing catch-up. But speaking of walking, the American Heart Association is having the annual Cincinnati Heart Mini-Marathon on March 27 and Daddy and I have started a team in Mommy's honor. It is called "Party for Marty" because Daddy says that Mommy was always the life of the party and brought a special joy to whatever the occasion. You might remember that Daddy ran the race last year while I was still in the NICU and that he promised that the next time around, he would be running with me. Well, the time has come and we are looking for teammates!! Now, don't think you have to be a runner. Even though Daddy is going to run the 15k, he says that he will finish with plenty of time so that we can do the 5k walk with everyone on the team. So, please go out to the website: http://www.heartmini.org/ , do a team search for "Party for Marty" and join the team. I sure hope that you ALL come out and join the party. It's gonna be a blast!!!

Well, I am off to catch some ZZZzzzz's. Sorry there is no video, I haven't been cooperating with Daddy when it comes to shooting video. He says that it seems that by the time he gets the camera out when I am doing something cute, I stop. Well, we will try to just post a video here in the next couple of days. We'll even give the assignment to shoot some good video to all my babysitters.

Keep on rockin y'all. Love you all sooo.....

-Lily

I AM A 1 YEAR OLD!!!!

2010-01-11T15:14:00.000-08:00

Hold the presses!! No, no...fire them up. It's my birthday!! Man, how a year flies by when you are having fun. To think that a year ago today, I entered the world at just 2lbs 6oz and 14 1/2 inches long! I now weigh 8 times that and have grown over a foot!! Daddy showed me some video of my first day in the NICU, man was amazed to see Daddy stick his hand in my isolette to rub my back. I mean, geez, his hand was the size of my entire body. Just incredible. A big shout out and thanks to all the FANTASTIC nurses that made my success possible. I was sooo glad to see some of you at my party and hope to see you again soon!! You all totally rock!

So, let's cut to the chase because we have much to catch up on. The last time we blogged, it was right before Christmas and right after my meeting with the big man in red. We'll start with Christmas and all that Daddy and I did for that special holiday. Well, I'll tell you what we did. We drove ALL over this city of ours....and it was totally worth it. It all started on Christmas Eve when we went to Mimi's and Papaw's to celebrate Christmas early. I guess Santa has a pretty busy schedule Christmas night so he swung by Mimi's early and dropped all sorts of nice things off. I am not much into the whole unwrapping of the gifts. You give me a box and I am as pleased as punch. But my cousins on the other hand, they tore through those gifts like they were possessed. You should have seen the carnage!! We are talking paper shreads every which-way and perfectly good boxes just thrown aside as if they were worthless. Daddy tells me that I may someday tear through gifts with the same excitement and an identical disregard for wonderful cardboard. But he also was quick to tell me that there are going to be some rules for the Christmas holidays to come. That is, we are going to focus on what the holiday is really about. After all, it's Jesus' birthday! I mean, how many birthday parties have you gone to that were not your own, and you were the one to get a ton of gifts? So, when it comes to Christmas at home, I get 3 gifts (same amount as JC). That's not too bad, I don't think. After all, Daddy says he has a sneaking suspicion that I am gonna have plenty of gift opening opportunities.

For instance, we spent Christmas Eve night and Christmas morning at Grandma and Poppy's house. Christmas Eve was spent with the entire Demmerle/Wilmers clan. They had all sorts of food and games and of course, I get handed about from lap to lap. Daddy loves it because he gets to just chill out knowing that I am in loving hands. The morning is much more low key and we were able to give Grandma and Poppy a special gift that we had made for them from Mommy's clothes. I also have a few things that were made from Mommy's favorite T-shirts and jeans. Daddy says sometimes memories just aren't enough and it helps to have a piece to hold onto. So, whenever I miss my Mommy, I can just roll up in my blanky made of her shirts and imagine her arms wrapped around me. It's a pretty special gift that I am gonna treasure for a really long time.

OK, so that was Christmas. Now on to the next holiday.....my BIRTHDAY!!! OK, so it isn't a national holiday or anything but we sure treated it like one. Grandma and Poppy threw a party for me and Aunt Katie on New Year's Day since they were leaving on vacation and would be gone for the month of January. Tough life, right? Anyway, we had a fabulous time hanging out and stuff. In fact, I had soo much fun that by the time the cake came around, I was fast asleep. So, that was my first party. My second party was yesterday (Jan. 10) at Daddy and my house. We had all sorts of family and friends over. Some of my NICU nurses came, Mimi2 from Arkansas is in town, all of Daddy's buddies, and even some friends from out of town. Thank you to everyone that came to my party, I really loved seeing you all. I even received all kinds of packages in the mail. How cool and exciting is it to get stuff in the mail?!?! I love it. But there was one package that was super special and it came from one of Mommy's friends, Michele. Not only is she a friend of Mommy's but she is a blog follower too! She sent me this super-duper cute stuffed doggy that I love but my favorite thing about the package was the note inside. You see, Michele's daughter is headed to South Africa (a place near and dear to Mommy and Daddy's hearts) to work at a place called the Red Hill Children's Project. It is in Cape Town, SA and helps children in need. So, for my first birthday and in honor of Mommy, they are creating "Lily's Corner" at the school. It's going to be full of educational toys and books for the kids to play with and learn from. I mean, can you think of a more perfect and thoughtful gift?! I sure can't!!! Michele, you and your daughter are I-N-C-R-E-D-I-B-L-E, incredible!!

Lastly, let's talk about maybe the coolest aspect of birthdays. The cake!! Holy-moly is that some good stuff. I wasn't sure what to think when Daddy put the cake with one flaming candle in front of me and a whole chorus of people sang "Happy Birthday" to me. But once the candle was out and Daddy showed me that the cupcake was edible, bye-bye cupcake. I crushed it! Well, I wore most of it and enjoyed the sweetness of the icing on my fingers. Check out the video, it's some good stuff.

We had the meeting with my GI doc this week and received the greenlight for cow's milk. We are transitioning off of the Donor Milk and all seems to be going well. I also get to drink juice!! Not sure what to think of it just yet, but I am getting the hang of it.

Well, I am pooped after a looonnggg and crazy weekend. Must get my beauty sleep. Love to you all and thank you for all your support and prayers over the last year. Stay tuned for more blog entries. I am on the cusp of some pretty cool stuff. Who knows, I may be walking in a soon to come video.

Love you!! Keep on rockin'

Lily

MERRY CHRISTMAS

2009-12-23T17:47:00.000-08:00

Hey Folks!!! I know, I know...you all are asking "WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN, YOUNG LADY?!?!?!" Well, our lack of posting isn't for lack of wanting to. You see, Daddy and I have been swapping illnesses over the last couple of weeks and haven't had much energy to do anything. It seems that when I am not feeling well, no matter the ailment, I always get a case of the "Hold-Me-Fever". Do yo ever get that? It never fails, if I am feeling a bit down all I want is to cuddle and there is NO putting me down. If you do make the mistake of putting me down, I will let the whole world know my disapproval until you pick me up again. After all, a little bit of lovin' is the best medicine in the world. So, if you want to know what I have been doing the last couple of weeks, I've been doing a WHOLE lot of cuddlin. Daddy and I have even gotten in a few good naps together. I want to tell ya, there is no place better to take a nap than on Daddy's chest!!! It's the best!! One more thing that added to our posting delay is the fact that our internet at the house has been giving Daddy the fits. Apparently, something is wrong with the router and it boots us off the internet like every 10 minutes. It totally stinks and is really frustrating!! Daddy says we will be switching providers soon so hopefully the problems will resolve then. So, sorry for the delay

Anyhow, Christmas season seems to be zoomin right past us at an alarming rate. I met a new friend a couple weeks ago. He's a jolly old fella and smells of candy canes. That's right!!! I met Santa Claus!!! The one and only, Santa Claus!!! Daddy was worried that I would not like him because I have this weird thing about beards. They give me the heeby jeebies and I just don't like them. In fact, my Uncle John has a big beard and I would cry like crazy if he came within 3 feet of me. I have since warmed up to him a bit. I am not sure I want to go snuggling with him just yet, but at least I don't yell for security when I am next to him. Daddy tells me that when I get a little older, Uncle John is gonna be one of my favorites because he is soo goofy. I hope so!!

OK, back to my encounter with greatness. So the Ft. Mitchell Country Club was having a holiday breakfast and they thought they would send an invite to Santa at the North Pole to see if he wanted to join us. And he obliged!!! We got to the club, had a fantastic breakfast and then they had a magic show for the kids....and, to be honest, some of the adults too. We even ran into Mommy's OB. You know, the lady who took care of Mommy this time last year when I was still in her belly. It was soo great to see Dr. Coppage. And then it was time for the main event. You would not believe the line and the excitement amongst the kids. These kids came ready to unload their list of desires on this poor fella. Daddy and I decided to hang back and let the crazies go first. And then it happened. My turn came up and Daddy plopped me down into the lap of a complete stranger. Can you believe that?!?! Just handed me over to some plumpy old guy with a really white beard knowing that I am terrified of men with beards. But check out the pics! I did great. I took right to Santa and Daddy took the opportunity to get a few shots. Santa asked me what I wanted for Christmas but I guess I was so awwstruck by his greatness that I didn't have anything to say. Well, I am not too worried about it. I have a loving family, a doting Daddy and good health. Who could ask for more? I just want to have a great Christmas spending time with family.

Do you want to know my latest and greatest skills? As you know, I can climb up on furniture and now I can shake my head "No" when Daddy tells me to get down. Daddy thinks it's funny because I shake my head at even the things I want. Like, "Lily, do you want something to eat?" I shake my head even though the answer is "Duhhhh!!! Of corse I want something to eat." He plays hard to get at first, not giving me my snack, but he always gives in. Check ot the video, I do a little head shakin in it. Other skills include my new found love for making raspberries. Not the fruit, but the sound you can make by pursing your lips together and blowing air through them. I love how it makes my lips vibrate and how I can make spit bubbles. Daddy and I have raspberry making contests that are tons of fun. He is pretty good at it bt doesn't generate half the spit that I do. He needs some practice and tells me that I sound like a beebopper when I do it. Yo DJ!! Can I get a beat? ;-) Oh yea, that reminds me. I also enjoy singing along with the radio. Music is great and a TON of fun. I am hoping that my singing voice is as good as my mommy's. So does my Dad. He says he sure hopes I don't sound like him. Haha, for everybody's sake.

Other than that, not much is new over here. I continue to do awesome and I really amaze my docs and therapists. A few more weeks on the boob juice and I am switching over to whole milk from cows. Let's pray for a smooth transition. Well, we wish you all the merriest of Christmas holidays and for all our jewish friends, we hope you had a great Hankkah!!

Love you all TONS,

Lily

2009-11-28T18:07:00.000-08:00

Gobble Gobble

2009-11-28T18:05:00.000-08:00

Hello Everybody!! I hope you all had an AWESOME Thanksgiving and are enjoying the start of the Christmas season. Things here are going stupendous!!! Since Daddy has to use his vacation time at work before the end of the year or else he loses it, we have been spending a whole bunch of time together. He has been taking a day here and a day there. Just this week, Daddy took off Tuesday-Friday. Good golly Miss Molly have we had a good time. We've run all over town doing errands and visiting friends.
So, I think Thanksgiving is the greatest day EVER!! We spent the whole day with family and friends discussing all the great things for which we are thankful. We have fantastic family, wonderful friends and a God who, with my Mommy, seems to be smiling down on us. I loved the whole day and even got to eat mashed potatoes. Now that is some goooood stuff! I ate a few spoonfuls and loved it. And Daddy had a LOT more than just a few spoonfuls, he said he ate soo much his belly ached. He thought that just because he ran in the Turkey Day race that his belly would have extra room. Apparently, that was not the case. He didn't have any room for dessert! One thing Daddy and I had in common was that when we got home, it was lights out. We were super-pooped!
Another thing I love about the holidays.....visitors!! Mommy and Daddy's friend Kelli was in town this weekend and we got to hang out on Friday. It was sooo great to see her and she kept saying how great I look and how much I have grown since we last visited. She was loving my new skills. You see, I am now waving and giving high fives. Check the video out! Kelli and I had soo much fn Friday night that she came back on Saturday to hang out while Daddy went for a swim. We had the greatest time together.
And to top the weekend off, Daddy took me today to visit with one of our most favorite NICU nurses, Brooke. It's been a real long time since we saw her and I was sooo stoked to be able to spend an afternoon lovin on and being loved by her. She was the greatest nurse whole wide world and now lives near the mountains so we only get to see her when she is in town. It was soo nice to catch up and she just about fainted when she saw how big I have gotten. We had the greatest time together. Can't wait to see her again!
Other happenings here at the ranch include Daddy going into high-gear baby proofing. He's replace the power outlets with babyproof ones. He's put rubber cushions around the fireplace. We no longer have a coffee table. Tuckers toys are always just out of reach. The living room is my playground and I have the entire area to roam. So cool! Also, as I mentioned above, my newest skills include waving "Hello" and "Bye", giving high-fives to Daddy and friends, and I am also learning to say my "rahs". Sometimes I say "Dadda", sometimes I say "Gagah" and other times I sing "Rahrahrah". Mimi is pushing hard for the next thing I say to be "Mimi" but those 'mmmm' sounds are tough.
The doctors are all soo very happy with my progress. So much so that I only have one more month on the donor "boob-juice" and then I will be moving to whole milk. The physical therapist thinks I will be walking really soon; perhaps even before my first birthday. I am really excited about that. Daddy was saying the other day that he is excited to see it and that he might laugh because he just can't picture such a small baby walking around. Just wait, I'll show 'em!!
Well, I hope you all are doing great and recovering from all that Turkey and treats. Stay tuned, the next blog may have me walking.
Love you all,
Lily

And we're climbing!!

2009-11-12T16:51:00.000-08:00

Happy Fall everybody!!! These leaves and the brisk mornings are something else. Daddy has to bundle me all up before we leave the house and it's been a learning experience for both of us trying to figure out what I can where that won't make me overheat when we are in the car. We haven't mastered it yet bt we are getting there. He tells me that even though I think it is cold now, that even colder weather is yet to come. Daddy also said that the cold can bring snow and that snow is SUPER fun to play in. I can't wait!! We'll be making snow angels together before you know it! But for now I am just gonna enjoy rolling in the leaves and listening to them crackle and crunch under my weight.

Things with Daddy and I are going well and he tells me that I need not be in such a hurry to grow up because he is trying to soak it all in and not miss a thing. But I am a girl on the move, you know. There is soo much I want to see and explore around the house. I am getting a hang of this crawling thing and now I can even pull myself up on things. I like to pull myself up on the couch and stand next to it. Tucker is a lot of fun to crawl all over too and he doesn't even mind that sometimes I use him as my standing support. He has been great with me and Daddy could not be more proud of how he watches out for me. Only one problem, he doesn't like to share his toys!! As you will see in the video, he has these plastic bottles that he loves to play with but he hates to share. But I love bottles too and wouldn't mind playing with one every once in a while. But he won't let me play with his toys so I guess I will just have to get my own bottle.

There really isn't too much to report beyond my getting much faster at crawling and the teeth that keep growing inside my mouth. Daddy says that some baby's are just the biggest whiners when new teeth come in and that he is sooo happy that I haven't fussed much at all. That's because I am a tough chick. Daddy also said that some babies drool like Pavlovian dogs when they are getting new teeth but again, I am not most babies and haven't had any problems with spit drenched clothing. I just try to stick anything and everything in my mouth; that's all.

We are really looking forward to this weekend. It's Mimi's and Uncle Ian's birthdays so we get to go celebrate with them. HAPPY BIRTHDAY Mimi and Ian!!! It's gonna be a blast! Other than that we have a super relaxing weekend ahead of us. We hope yours is equally as relaxing.

Well, since we don't have much to report, have a great weekend and stay tuned for more video and commentary!!

Love you all,

Lily

2009-10-28T17:31:00.000-07:00

Happy Halloween everybody!!! This season is soo much fun and Daddy and I have been having a blast!! There are soo many things to see and do. Many of our neighbors have decorated their houses with all sorts of cool and spooky things like ghosts and skeletons and witches and stuff!! And what's better is all the cool pumpkins that are on people's porches. There are big ones, small ones, round ones and tall ones. They come in all shapes and sizes and Daddy tells me that people actually decorate them for Halloween. They carve all kinds of interesting things into them and the kids get to pull all of the icky slimy insides out. I am told that I can do that next year but for now Daddy and I just have two pumpkins on the bench outside. One big one for Daddy and one small one for me.

So in honor of our love of the season and my new found holiday, I have chosen to be a pumpkin for Halloween. It's pretty fitting really. I mean, just think about it. Pumpkins are kinda short and I wasn't exactly handed the tall gene. The good pumpkins are kind of plump and Daddy keeps telling me how really excited Mommy would be because she always wanted a chunky baby and I seem to be aiming to please. While I definitely am not the chubbiest baby in the world, I am not missing any meals. Ask anyone who tries to take my bottle to burp me (not a pretty site). And to top it all off, Daddy even calls me his little pumpkin. We took some pre-Halloween photos to share with you. Daddy isn't dressed up but he told me that if I wanted him to that he would go as a farmer. I think it's a pretty good idea. Don't you?

I am sure you all have been wondering how we have been doing and what new tricks I have up my sleeve. Since the last post, I have been working non-stop on figuring out how to get to where I want to go with out having to barrel roll. And I finally did it!! Check out the video that we've attached. I can finally crawl!! It's the coolest thing EVER!! Daddy says that the gates are getting put up, the bumper pads have been attached to the corners of the fireplace, coffee table has been moved out and now the TV/Living room is my territory to explore. I am not super fast at it yet but I think I am getting faster everyday. I can even support my own weight and stand up if I have something to hold onto. It's crazy how you can develop new skills in such a short time. Daddy tells me that he loves to watch me because I am not afraid of trying new things and even when I fall down, I don't get discouraged and keep trying until I get it. He says that a lot of people could take a lesson from that.

Oh, how could I forget?! Something came for me over the last couple of weeks. Can you guess what it is?......TEETH!!! That's right, I, Lily Ann Carr, have my first set of teeth that have come through. They are still small and kinda hard to see unless you move my bottom lip down, but they are there. My first teeth are the two on in the very front of my bottom set. Daddy calls them my "chompers" and that he knew something was up because everything I pick up goes right into my mouth. Hey, cutting teeth is no fun and if trying to eat the remote control makes it feel better, that is what I intend to do. Luckily, Daddy keeps a close watch on me and as soon as I make a move to chew on something I shouldn't, he is quick to replace it with either a teething toy or a wubbanub. I can't wait to see what teeth come next!!

Tonight (Wednesday) was a big night for Daddy. He has been harping on me for weeks to just call him "Dadda" but I just wasn't ready to give him the satisfaction. But one thing I admire about Daddy is that he doesn't know how to quit. So I finally relented and let it out. That's right, I said "Dadda". Well, actually I kept saying "Dadda". As it turns out, it is a very fun word to say so I just kept saying it all night. You should have seen the smile on Daddy's face. You would have thought he won the lottery. So, now that I can say Dadda I need to think of what my next word might be. Hmmm....I'll keep you posted.

Well, that's really all that's going on here at Casa de Carr. We are loving the fall weather and the trees in the back yard are ablaze. The colors are spectacular. Bright yellows, oranges and reds like I have never seen. Daddy says the leaves aren't nearly as pretty when they are in the back yard and need to be raked. But lucky for Daddy, we have the most incredible neighbors in the world who pitch in and do the yard work. They are soo awesome that Daddy can't even put it into words how much he appreciates it. We are soo lucky.

I hope all is well with you rock stars!! Have a great weekend and a fantastic Halloween!!!

Love you tons,

Lily

2009-10-12T03:50:00.000-07:00

Hello friends!! It's been a crazy exciting time in Cincinnati lately. The weather is changing fast and the leaves on the trees are all changing into bright and beautiful colors. I like green leaves but I LOVE the bright orange and yellow ones that we can see out of our sliding glass door. There are only a few now but Daddy tells me that in another few days/weeks, it will be so bright and beautiful looking out our backdoor that it will look like the woods in our backyard are on fire! But the leaves aren't the only things changing here in the Queen City. It seems that the luck for the Bengals is changing too. Who Dey!!! They have started off the season 4-1, actually look pretty tough and are in first place in their division. Daddy says its been a real long time since they were in this kind of a position. I don't really follow the sport all that close, but I have a super-duper cute Ben-Gals Cheerleader outfit!! I think I might just be the good luck those boys have been missing. I also think I love the color orange. Since my entire wardrobe consists of light pink, bright pink, dark pink and any other variation of pink you could think of, it's kinda nice to mix things up a bit. Besides, orange is a great fall color and goes great with the crazy sweet Baby Uggs my Aunt Cyndi got me! I think I am gonna get Daddy to go out and score me some new outfits and diversify my gear a bit.
Speaking of orange things. I've begun eating carrots and they are sooo much better than that silly squash stuff. I am sure you'll enjoy the video attached to this blog. Daddy and I were having a good ol' time with our first carrot experience. Daddy took his eye off the bowl for one split second and WHAMM!! I tip it over and managed to spill some of the carrot puree on my table top. That stff is sooo much fun to smear around!! You can make all sorts of cool designs with it. It even turns your shirt sleeves interesting colors. Daddy learned quick that he has to guard the bowl or else I am going to make a play for it. It's pretty fun keeping him on his toes and between you and me, I think he is really enjoying it too. Even if he does have to do all the clean-up.
Other exciting news in Casa de la Carr is that I am about as close as a little girl can get to crawling without actually being able to crawl. What I mean is that I can support all my weight on my hands and knees, I can rock back and forth like I am revving up to fly off to some distant land and I can even use my legs to move me forward. Trouble is figuring out what to do with my arms. I do all the things I listed above and then the next thing I know I am faceplanting the floor. It doesn't hurt and I don't get too discouraged but I am really working hard on figuring this thing our because I want to explore and chase Tucker around!! Stay tuned because the next post may have video with me motoring about.
Speaking of Tuck, he is really starting to warm up to me and has become a good playmate. He likes to lay on the floor with me when I am rolling around and loves it when I roll up against him. I love his soft hair and the way his floppy ears fold up in my hands. Sometimes he rolls over on his back for me and Daddy to rub his belly. Boy, he sure does love it when you scratch his belly but he really doesn't like when you grab at things; you know, boy things. Ooops.... Daddy is usually right there so Tucker is never in too much danger. Besides, Tucker is an understanding boy and just gets up and walks away whenever I get too close or he feels he needs his space.
This past week has been a little different because Daddy was a little under the weather. He went to the Dr. and they gave him some meds which are working but for a couple days there, he was pretty tired. He says he is soo thankful for family because they have been soo helpful. For instance, since Daddy stayed home from work on Wednesday, I went to Alison's for the day and then Mimi picked me up to take me home. She stayed the night and then in the morning we went over to her house where I spent the day and night so that Daddy could get some much needed rest. And boy did it work, Daddy was like a new person on Friday. Maybe a little rest is all he needed.
To close out the week, my cousin Connor had his first birthday party and boy was it a good time. I got to see my cousins, my Uncle Cam and Aunt Jess, Poppy and my Mimi Cameron is in town too!!! It's been sometime since we last saw her and she was blown away at how much I have grown. I have soo many more skills now than I did when she was last here and I have a lot more hair too! Mimi C is in town for a few more days and we plan on hanging out a bit more before she hops back on a plane to go home to Arkansas. I can't wait (to spend time with her, not for her to go home).
I hope you all are doing spectacular!! I find out my weight and size this week when I go back to the doctors so I will keep you posted. I hope you enjoy the video and pics. Gwyn and I make really good BFFs (Best Friends Forever) and she is always soo nice to me. What a great friend to have!! Well, a girl has got to get her beauty sleep and rest. I have got a fun filled day with Poppy planned for tomorrow (Monday).

Lotsa Love,Lily

Lily Takes On the 'Windy City'

2009-09-30T17:42:00.000-07:00

Hey everybody!! Word on the street is that my audience has been clammering for a new entry and, if at all possible, some video. Well, I aim to please so I thought I might give you both. The video is a little short but it does showcase one of my newer moves. Daddy calls it the "downward dog" because it looks just like Tucker when he stretches. That and there is a yoga move that closely resembles what I can do. Also on the video you can check me rolling around. Rolling has become my new favorite form of transportation and I have gotten quite good at it. In fact, put me down on one end of the room, walk away for two seconds and I will no longer be where you left me. Daddy is learning quick about all the things he needs to move or, more importantly, remove from the areas I will be roaming. He calls it Lily-proofing the house and says it is important because he doesn't want me to get hurt just because he forgot to put something away. Anyway, here's some video and I promise to post more as I start to do more fun things.

If you are reading this blog, you probably read the title and thought to yourself "Windy City? Hey! Lily went to Chicago!?!" That's right! Daddy has been wanting so badly to take me up to Chicago to visit some of his and Mommy's close friends but a busy summer schedule kept us from leaving Cincinnati. Well, an open weekend finally popped up and Daddy jumped all over it. He booked us a sssweeeetttt hotel room that overlooked the Chicago River and invited Mimi and Papaw to come with us. We had a little delay getting out of town but once we were on the road......I was out for the count. Seriously, I slept pretty much from door to door and only woke up as we were driving into the city. And what a crazy city it is!! First off, you would have thought Daddy had accidentally driven into the middle of a NASCAR race with the way that the people drive in that town. In fact, Mimi and Papaw were so flustered by the craziness that they opted to bury their faces in their books until Daddy got off the highway. But Daddy did great behind the wheel and we got to the hotel in good time and a nice gentleman even parked our car for us. Talk about service. Then we went to our room, got settled in and Daddy let all his and Mommy's friends know that we were in.

Luckily, Mommy's friends Kelli and Erin work right by where we were staying so they cut out of work and came right over. They even brought me a stuffed froggy as a present. I totally love my froggy and he is now snuggled up with Ribbit (Mommy's stuffed frog) in my crib. We hung out in the hotel room for a few hours playing and catching up. I got so excited I accidently spit-up on my outfit and required a changing. When Mimi changed me, she put some pants on me that were so big that they fell down to my ankles when Daddy picked me up. Daddy said that's how they wear their pants on the Southside of Chicago and that it isn't the best look for a young lady. Kinda silly really. After putting on some fitting pants, Daddy's friend Ellen stopped by and we headed out to dinner at this nice restaurant around the corner. Actually, I think this was a restaurant for the hearing impaired because they really had the music cranked up loud. You almost had to yell just so the person across the table could hear you. Loudness aside, the restaurant was fun and trendy and the food was really good too; or so I am told. I fell asleep kinda early as I guess the drive up to Chicago took all my energy. Haha!

We woke up the next morning and after Daddy took a nice run, we were off to explore all the things Chicago has to offer. We walked all over town. We checked out Millenium Park with the giant chrome bean (I mean, who thinks of this stuff), we went to Buckingham Fountain (that thing is hugemungous!!) and we walked down the lake trail. Man were there a lot of people out and about. We even saw an activist march with people advocating world peace. I think it was a high school doing it and the kids were required to walk because Daddy and I saw to flag carriers using their flags as swords and were fighting. It's pretty funny to hear a group chanting "What do we want?""Peace""When do we want it?""Now" and then see two kids using the flags they are carrying as weapons.

Soon after our walking tour, we hopped on the L train and took it out of downtown and into Lincoln Park where a lot of Mommy and Daddy's friends live. We went to this festival that was advertised as Oktoberfest in hopes that Mimi, Papaw and Daddy could score some good german food and refreshments. Instead, we found that there was only one booth that sold brats or sourkraut. Has anybody ever bought Pad Thai at an Oktoberfest? Or, how about tacos? I wish I were kidding you but we have officially found the only Oktoberfest, that is billed as a German festival, that serves virtually no German food. How funny is that!?! Needless to say, we didn't stay long and opted to go sit on a restaurant patio where we met Daddy and Mommy' s friends again. They are such great people and I am so happy that I got to meet and spend soo much time with them. I sure hope they come to visit Daddy and me in Cincinnati really soon. I miss them already.

Sunday we woke up, got breakfast and headed back home so that we could catch the Bengals game (Who-Dey). And again, I bagged one of the greatest naps ever. I slept almost all the way home and woke up only for lunch. Daddy says that I am one heck of a traveler but that he wonders if I will always be this way. He says he suspects that when I get a little older, I will be harder to keep entertained and that I won't be napping as much. Who knows? But for now, plop my rumpus in a car seat, turn the ignition and I am asleep before you get out of the driveway.

Other than an awesome trip to Chi-town, there really isn't too much to report. I have moved from oatmeal to yellow veggies. And let me just tell you, I hate squash. Yiicckkk!!!! Daddy has to fight just to get me to swallow one spoonful's worth. Not sure what it is about the stuff but I just don't like it. I think we might be trying Acorn Squash or sweet potato next. Daddy is hoping that I like those a little better.

Everything else is going great. As you can see from the video, it is only a matter of time until I am off to the races and crawling. I am sure that the videos are going to get much more fun as I develop my skills. Please stay tuned. And if there is anything you want to know about me or Daddy, please post a comment so that we know what you want to learn about. OK, I need to get to bed. Good bloggin with you. Keep it cool!!

Love you all, LILY :-)

Long Weekend With Daddy

2009-09-21T18:30:00.000-07:00

Hey, do you smell that? That's the smell of a clean baby girl. I love it when either Daddy or Mimi give me my baths. I get one about every other day since I don't really do much to get dirty (I am sure that will change shortly) and then when I make a huge mess in my pants. There is nothing like getting plopped down in my little tub and feeling the warm water on my bottom. It really relaxes me. Mimi and I have "spa-night" every Wednesday evening when she comes over. She gives me a bath, cuts my nails and rubs me down with baby lotion. What can I say? It's a good life.
Daddy wanted me to be sure to let all of you know how fast I am developing. Not only have I completely amazed my doctors and therapists, Daddy says he sees me making advances every day. For instance, I am reaching for everything; Daddy's dinner, Daddy's phone, Mimi's earings, peoples beverages (I'm particularly fond of beer bottles), etc. You name it, I make a play for it. I even hold my own bottle now!!
Another big development is how strong I am getting. Not only can I do pushups and push myself in reverse, but I can now get on all fours for a couple seconds at a time! Not only that, but now when I am playing on my mat on the floor I can roll to get anything that I see and want. So when Daddy puts me down to play, sometimes I am not where he left me when he comes back. It's a pretty fun game. So, bottom line, I am getting super-duper strong and will be crawling in no time.
The past week has gone by in a blur. Daddy took Thursday and Friday off to spend time with me and boy oh boy did we have a great time!! We went on hikes, checked out the zoo, cuddled and snuggled, there was a big party on Saturday and then Daddy had a triathlon on Sunday. Sounds like a good time, doesn't it?
The zoo was awesome! I had been before but the first time we went we did not spend as much time actually looking at the animals. We saw all different kinds. Daddy's favorite was the swimming Polar Bear (big surprise there) but I think my favorite was either the Gorillas or Manatees. What pretty creatures they are. One thing is for sure, there are some interesting smells there at the zoo. Some of which may peel the paint off the walls. It's pretty funny really because as soon as an interesting smell wafted by, Daddy walked faster.
On Saturday, friends of Mimi and Papaw threw a benefit in my honor at the restaurant/bar they own called "The Pike". Daddy says that he has some pretty good stories about that place that he is never going to tell me. Not sure what that means or why you would say you have a good story and aren't going to share...Anyway, the benefit was great!!! They collected all kinds of books for Mommy's school library and the Charity and Faith School in South Africa that Mommy and Daddy went to serve a couple years back. If that wasn't generous enough, they raised all kinds of money for my college fund. It is just incredible!! Daddy didn't even know these people before Saturday and there, out of the kindness of their hearts, they labored to put on a FANTASTIC event. All for me!! Daddy said it's hard sometimes to accept people's generosity but he knows that the funny thing about serving others is that, more often than not, it is the server who reeps the most reward. So, to the owwners of The Pike and all that came, thank you. Your generosity and love has truly touched Daddy and me. We are soooo very grateful.
So, what do you do when you've had a crazy busy three days? Well, Daddy wakes up at 4:30am drive to a Triathlon. He is N-U-T-S, nuts!! I said "Forget that!!" and stayed at Mimi's Saturday night and we headed up to the race later. Daddy did pretty good again. He placed 2nd in his division and 18th out of 80 overall. He said he is pretty happy with his performance and that he can't wait for next season so that he can compete in more races of longer distances. Like I said, he's a nut. Well, crazy or not, Daddy's cheering section at the meet are sure proud of him.
Well, I am off to bed. I must be growing because I am sleeping really well and taking nice long naps. Hope to hear from all of you out in the blogosphere!!! Keep on rockin"!!!
Love Ya,
Lily
PS: I will post more video soon. Daddy forgot to charge the camera

First Gear

2009-09-07T18:14:00.000-07:00

Hey there blogger faithfuls!! How are things going? Things here have been super fun & busy but have also been keeping us away from an internet connection. It seems like every weekend, when Daddy and me would normally have time to sit down and reach out to you all, we have something planned that requires us to drive all over God's creation. Not that I don't like being busy and being the center of attention at all the functions that we visit, but I do like keeping all my friends and loved ones in the loop because we do some pretty cool stuff. Like the picnic for instance. It was the most INCREDIBLE time!! You would not believe all the people that came by to spend time with us. I got to see Dr. Lambers (she delivered me), a few of Mommy's nurses, a couple of my NICU nurses and a TON of family and friends. Daddy thinks there were probably over 100 people there. Can you believe it?!?! My rumpus never touched the ground. When I stop to think about that number and then think about the fact that they are there because they love and care for me, well....it leaves me speechless. Neither Daddy or I have the words to describe how much it meant to us to have so many loving people in our lives. Daddy was saying on the ride home from the picnic that it is because of the people at the picnic and countless others across the country that have given their support that he is doing so well and is able to be such a good dad. I think the good dad part just comes naturally though. We've gotten to see the very best in people over the past 8 months since I have been around and for that we thank you.

People weren't supposed to bring gifts to the picnic but some did anyway. I was given some cool toys and an awesome pair of shoes (gonna have to grow into those). I even got an autographed print of the Heart Mini-Marathon Daddy and the family ran in for Mommy back in March to hang on the wall. But the one that takes the cake, hands-down, is what my Uncle John and Aunt Pitter brought for me and Daddy. You see, Uncle John is quite the artist and sculptor and he has been working on a plackard (sp?) for us to hang in the house. He gave us the finished product at the picnic and Daddy just about broke down. The plackard is of me an Mommy and was inspired by a photo of the two of us Kangarooing in the NICU. It is abosolutely beautiful and Daddy is gonna find the perfect place in the house to display it. Thanks soo much Uncle John, from the bottom of my heart. It is a very special gift.

Now that the women in the audience are probably reaching for the nearest box of tissues, let's chat about some of the cool new skills I have developed. I am becoming quite the yoga expert and I just discovered the coolest things ever...my feet! That's right, I am a HUGE fan of what all the yogies call the "Happy Baby" pose. Basically, I just grab my little footsies and rock back and forth. It's a blast! And to top off my skills, I roll over and do the "Cobra"(Daddy thinks that's what it is called) which is like a pushup and when I get tired of that I go right into "Child's Pose". That yoga business is tough work but is making me one strong girl. I even found my first gear. Only problem is that my first gear is reverse and I can't tell where in the world I am going. You see, I start with my pushups and Cobra pose and before I know it the toy that was right in front of my face is now out of reach. I sure hope that the other gears come in soon because I would really like to see where I a headed. Daddy on the other hand is not as excited about my new found mobility. I mean, he is excited and super-dper proud of how well I am doing but he also knows that that means he is on the clock and has to Lily-proof the house ASAP. Good luck with that Daddy. No matter how well you do, I think I will still be able to find something you missed.

So this weekend rocked big time!! Daddy was off three whole days from work because of Labor Day and he chose to spend most of that time with yours truly. We even did our very first 5k race ever and it was at the Zoo. So, how well did I do you may be wondering. Well the race got off to a rough start for us because the gun went off before I was even in position in my running stroller. Then Daddy found out that the harness was too tight and had to adjust it before he felt safe running with me. We lost about 5 minutes from the start and then got caught behind a slew of eeh-hemm "slow people". Daddy calls them walkers but I say "move out of my way, flying baby coming through!!". It took another 3-4 minutes to break free of the, shall we say, leisurely participants and make a run for it. Boy were we flying once we did break free. We clocked a total time of 30minutes with delays and Daddy seems to think had we not gotten delayed we would have run somewhere in the neighborhood of 20-21 minutes. Not too shabby for our first team effort. What a great course and to top of the race, we got to walk around and look at all the animals. The first one we saw was the new baby Zebra. It was soooo cute and you know what its name is? Marty!!! (just like Mommy). After seeing the cute baby Zebra, we went to check out the Gorillas. Man are they humungous!! Daddy said I probably weigh less than just one of their butt cheeks. Nice Dad! Anyway, after the Gorillas we went to check out the Cheetah exhibit and even got to see them run. Good golly Miss Molly are they fast!!! Well, I am told that they are fast anyway. I fell asleep waiting for the show to start.

After the show we came home because Mommy's friend, Kelli, was in town from Chicago and was coming over to meet me. We had the greatest time ever snuggling on eachother and she even fed me. I don't know what her experience is with babies but she sure is a natural. I can't wait to see her again and meet some of Mommy and Daddy's other friends when we are up in Chicago at the end of the month. It's gonna be AWESOME!!!

Well, after such a long weekend I think I need to get some rest and so does Daddy. He was trying to get this blog out for me on Monday night but fell asleep at the keyboard. Hahaha!! Well, goodnight y'all. Don't forget to let us know if you have nay questions about specific stuff we are up to. We want to be sure to keep this site fresh and interesting as we move forward. You all are amazing. I love you so....

Love, Lily

Goodtimes!

2009-08-27T17:33:00.000-07:00

Hey Everybody!!! Where has August gone?! I can't believe how fast the summer has gone by. Daddy better get me to that pool he's been telling me about before it gets too cold. I guess with all the other cool stuff we have been doing it is kinda hard to find the time to go swimming. I might be the busiest little 7 month old in the Tri-State. So....I have some pretty cool updates since the last we chatted.

I had my first real physical therapy session with Mary and I totally impressed her with all my skills. She was blown away at how attentive I was and how well I could pass objects from one hand to the other. Some things that I get to start working on are reaching for my toes. So Mimi went out and bought these things that tie to my feet and make noises. So when I move my feet I hear the noise and then try to grab the animals strapped to my footsies. It's a pretty cool exercise and is supposed to help me develop muscles used in crawling. Well, you can bet I will be working on that a LOT because there is soo much I want to scoot around and see. Getting carried everywhere kinda gets old after awhile. Daddy better watch out because I can now do pushups and not too long after that comes rocking on my hands and knees and then we're moving!!

Last weekend rocked my socks off. You would not believe the weather. It was like 75 degrees with no humidity. Do you know what that means? Daddy and I spent like the ENTIRE weekend outside. We had a picnic Friday night and watched planes come in and out of the local airport. That was really cool because there were planes of all different types. There were big ones with very powerful engines and then there were itty bitty ones that just had a tiny engine. I really liked watching them take off and can't wait to ride in a plane myself. Daddy says it won't be too long (next Spring) and he is gonna take me on a plane to see Mimi Cameron and the rest of the family in Arkansas. We haven't planned the trip yet but I can NOT wait to ride in a real plane. So exciting!!! Then on Sunday, we went to a party for one of my friends, Lydia. Part of her family is Korean and in that culture they celebrate a baby's 100th day. Well, they really know how to throw a party. I think Daddy ate at least 3 of everything and I got to hang out with all of Lydia's aunts. They are some pretty sweet ladies, I tell you what!! Then after the party we drove clear across town to Mimi's house for dinner. Yes, Daddy ate again!! I think he might have a hollow leg or something where he stores all this food. And what amazes me the most, he doesn't spit up or birp or anything after he's done. Well....sometimes he lets out a little burp but nobody has to pat his back, it just comes natural I guess. Lucky guy. Anyway, back to Mimi's. So, while we were there I was looking at the pictures on the fridge and Daddy showed me one of my cousin, Haley, who lives in Florida. It turns out that we share something in common. You see, Haley's Daddy is in Heaven too and most probably having a great time with Mommy looking down on all of us. My Daddy was telling me that Haley's Daddy was a great man and that Haley is a spittin' image of him. Daddy said something about the apple not falling far from the tree but I have no idea what he was talking about. I think he meant that the all the things that made Meff (Haley's daddy) great got passed down to her just like many of the things that made my Mommy great got passed down to me. Anyway, Haley, if you are reading this, I can not wait to meet you the next time we take family vacation to Florida. I think we are gonna be good buddies. Keep on rockin'!

So, you know how I was eating that rice cereal stuff that really had no taste. Well, I graduated from that and am now on to Oatmeal. I LOVE oatmeal!! As you will see in the video below, I just can't get enough of the stuff. Just a little warning, Tucker goes crazy there at the end and scares the bejeezus out of me. Somebody knocked on the front door to drop off dinner for Daddy and Tuck went into protection mode. I don't think we have to worry about any unwelcomed guests coming around. When Daddy feeds me he sits me in this awesome chair called a "Bumbo". The thing rocks hardcore! Its molded just perfect for my little rumpus (butt) and has a tray that goes with it. I sit in it just like a big girl and get to look around. It too is supposed to help me develop special muscles.

Last but not least, this weekend is gonna be cuurrrraaazzzyy! We are having a picnic on Sunday for close friends who have been helping me and Daddy out. Some of my and Mommy's nurses are coming. All my babysitters are coming. Some of Mommy's coworkers I hope. And then the family. It's gonna be a rock solid good time. So, if you are coming, can't wait to see you. I am gonna go get some sleep and rest up

Love you tons!!!!

Lily

Rubba Dub Dub, Pass Me The Grub

2009-08-17T17:46:00.000-07:00

Que pasa everybody!! It's been a while and you are probably wondering if Daddy and I fell off the face of the planet. The answer to that is "No" but we sure have been going all over this sweet city of ours. And this works out really well for me because the car is like my most favorite place to take a nap. Sometimes I fall asleep before we ever even get out of the driveway and people, we have a very short driveway. It's great!! So, we've got some catchin' up to do since we last blogged.

Last we chatted, we left you with the cliffhanger of what the Dr. would say I could eat, if anything. Well, the answer is......drumroll please........Rice Cereal. As you can see in the video, I wasn't quite sure what to think of the stuff at first. I mean, it tastes a little different from my milk even though it is mixed in with the cereal. Then there is the whole texture thing that I had to get used to. Kinda makes you smack your lips a bit. But after a week on the stuff, I am getting the hang of it. Sadly, I can't say the same about Daddy's delivery technique. He's trying but the stuff gets everywhere. I don't mind at all though. Just give me the grub and if I end up wearing some on my forehead, so be it. OK, so Daddy's aim isn't that bad but he's got some practicing to do. Which works good for me because I get to help!! Yay!! So the deal is that I eat the rice cereal for a few weeks to see how my belly does (so far so good) and then we will move to something with wheat in it (something about gluten allergies and starting wheat at a young age, I dunno). We do the wheat thing for a couple of weeks and then it's on to the real deal Holyfield....baby food!!! Oh man, I can not wait for that stuff. I hear it's sweet, yummy and makes kids grow big and strong. Not to mention, twice the mess!!!

I start my physical therapy on Thursday. I am really excited about it because I get to work with a really nice lady on getting strong and dooing all the things babies get to do. Basically, she comes and plays on the floor with me to see how I am progressing physically. Daddy says I am doing great and that he wouldn't be surprised one bit if I am crawling soon. You see, I now know how to roll over from back to front AND from front to back!!! This makes "belly time" much more tolerable because if I am on my tummy and don't want to be, I can fix it with a quick roll. Daddy says that I am getting much stronger and that it's awesome to see me develop. I am reaching for everything I see, bottles, wubbanubs, cell phones, you name it. But you better be careful putting me on my belly right after I eat because when I roll over...well, let's just say it isn't pretty.
This past weekend was one of firsts. I had my first sleepover away from home!!! Daddy went out with his buddies and dropped me off at Mimi and Papau's for the night. It was sooo much fun. We played, cuddled and watched Tucker and Lex wrestle eachother. Those dogs are NUTS!! Daddy was worried that I wouldn't sleep well in a new environment but I slept like a log and woke up around 7:30am. I love sleepovers and look forward to doing it again sometime.

Daddy picked me up on Sunday and we went home and laid around the house all day. It was super hot outside and Daddy said some days are best spent "veggin out". We had a great time and left around 4 to go to our family dinner at Uncle Ben and Angela's new condo. They have a great place. Only one problem....their dog, Lady, is not very lady like and kept stealing my toys. They got all slobbery and when Grandma would hide them in my diaper bag, Lady would wait until no one was watching and swipe a few toys out of the bag. Silly dog!! We had a great time at the dinner and headed home very tired. We went to bed right when we got home and slept all night. It was great!!

So I have to give a HUGE shoutout to Mommy's childhood babysitter, Mary. When Daddy and I came home on Sunday, we saw that we had a care package that must have come Saturday after Daddy and I had left for the day. This was the best gift I have ever been given. Inside, there was this great photo album of Mommy as a little girl and all the adventures she and Uncle Cam went on with Mary. She even inserted all these sweet notes about Mommy. I love it soo much. Actually, I am not too sure who likes it more, me or Daddy. And if that weren't enough, Mary sent me a book with me as the main character. That's right!! She had a personalized book made for me. That's incredible!! So, Mary, thank you soo much for everything. For loving my Mommy and for loving me. Daddy and I really hope to meet you sometime. Poppy says you were like the sweetest person ever. I believe it!

Well, I need to get to bed. It's late and you don't get this cute without getting your beauty sleep. I hope to hear from you all soon and maybe see you around. Stay tuned!
Much Love,
Lily

Cheerleading is Tough Work

2009-08-06T16:35:00.000-07:00

Hello out there!! Just wanted to chime in and see how things are goin'! Daddy and I have been having a great time over the past week. You probably won't be surprised one bit to hear that we have been keeping ourselves super busy. There is soo much to report that I don't know where to start. So, we'll just go in the order of the events because I think that will be the easiest. So buckle up, here we go!!

Saturday was packed from beginning to end with activity. In the morning, some of Daddy and Mommy's friends (Steve and Liz) came over to meet me. They live out of town and were just in for the weekend. They came bearing gifts -not a prerequisite for visiting me- and I totally LOVE them. They brought me soft stacking blocks and a book titled "My Daddy and I". Daddy has already read the book to me a few times. It's really fun and talks about all the adventures daddies go on with their kids. This is sooo gonna be Daddy and me. You can count on that!
After Steve and Liz left, Daddy and I took Tucker to the park where we had a play date with Avery and Melanie. They were a couple of my nurses at the Good Sam NICU and have kept in touch with Daddy. We had an awesome time visiting even though Tucker was a big whiner because he was tethered to the table and couldn't go play with the walker-bys. It started to look like rain and Daddy and I had to get going because he had to pick up his race packet for Saturday. We'll get to that in a bit. It rained like crazy all afternoon but cleared up just in time for Daddy and I to go over to some friend's house for dinner. After such a full day, I was pooped and ready for bed so Daddy took me home.

Daddy woke up at the crack of dawn Sunday because he had a triathlon that he was doing at a nearby state park. Luckily Mimi came over and stayed the night Saturday so I didn't have to get up with Daddy but it started at 8am so we still had to get up pretty early to get there in time. My goodness, these triathlons are crazy!! There are all kinds of people there and they all are wearing spandex. Who knew that spandex could come in so many colors?! Well, we got there a bit late and missed Daddy's swim portion but he must have done well because as we walked in there were people sprinting up the hill on their bikes. Daddy was among the first few to pass us and he gave us a big "thumbs-up". Daddy says that I make the best cheerleader ever and that he thought of me the entire race. The quicker he finished, the quicker he got to give me a hug and kiss. Well, I guess you can say that I am a pretty good motivator and that Daddy didn't do too bad. He finished 4th in his division and even timed well enough to place 4th amongst the "elite" men. Woohoo Daddy!! I can't wait to see how well you do on your next race. The rest of the day Sunday was kinda lazy. I was tired from just watching all the action and cheering for Daddy! Daddy and I relaxed around the house and had a friend over to hang out. It was soo nice.
OK, fast forward to Wednesday night. It was Gramma's birthday and Poppy arranged for the family to have dinner at this restaurant by our house. Since Poppy had me all day and Daddy had to work late, I just went home with Poppy and then to the restaurant with he and Gramma. We had a great time at dinner. My Gramma is soo great and I think she had a great birthday. She deserves it, totally!!

Tomorrow (Friday) is a HUGE day. I have my GI appointment and my tummy doctor is gonna tell me what kind of food I get to start eating. I can NOT wait. I wonder what food tastes like. Does it taste as good as the "juice"? Does it taste better? Well, all I can say is that I am super-duper excited. I bet once I start chowing down on that stuff that I am gonna grow even faster. Watch out Daddy!! This is gonna be grrreeat!

I am SOOOOOOOOO excited for this weekend!!! My Mimi Cameron is coming to town and I am gonna get to spend a whole bunch of time with her. I haven't seen her in soo long and I mis her soo much. Daddy says she'll probably fall over when she sees how I have grown. Well, I just look forward to chattin with her and listening to her sing and hearing stories about my Mommy when she was a little baby.

Well, I gotta get going. I need to stock up on the rest if I am gonna be partyin all weekend. Keep on rockin'!! We will!

Love you all,
Lily

Big Girl Stuff

2009-07-29T17:53:00.000-07:00

Hey everybody!!! Is this weather crazy or what? I don't know about where you live, but here in Cincinnati, it's been great because we haven't had too much super hot and muggy weather. Daddy says that this isn't usually the case but that it works out great for us because we go outside all the time. I am particularly fond of our walks with Tucker through our neighborhood. My favorite is when Daddy puts me in the Baby Bjorn (it's like a backpack that goes in the front, I guess you could call it a front pack). Anyway, this thing is FANTASTIC because I am now big enough to face forward and its like I am flying down the street. I love being able to see everything that there is to see and say "Hi" to all the nice people we pass. It's really funny when Tuck has a BM. I know, you are like "What's a BM?" Well, it's a nice way of saying when he drops a stinky. Anyway, Daddy has to pick it up but it is a little more difficult to do when we are using the Bjorn because he doesn't want to get me near it. So, Daddy has figured out a way to stay as far away from the nastiness as possible, pick it up and tie the nasty bag to Tuck's leash so that neither he nor Tuck have to smell or carry it. Daddy has got some skills!!

So this past week has been super cool. Not only have Daddy and I been having a blast together but I finally got to go hang with Alison and Gwyn again. They were on vacation the last couple of weeks and I missed them sooo very much. Gwyn gives me the sweetest kisses ever and Alison just rocks my socks off. I think Mommy would be super happy and thankful for the relationship I am developing with her best friend. Gwyn and I have a blast together. We are totally BFF(s). That's Best Friends Forever for all you laypers. I look forward to seeing them again next week and going on adventures together.

This week also saw Daddy, Mimi and I go to Doctor Fix's office for my 6 month old checkup. Daddy about fell out of his chair when the nurse told us I weigh 13lbs and am 2 feet tall. When I was a new baby, I was way below the growth curve but now I am right at it. They are super-duper pleased with my development and have even given us the green light for me to start practicing taking my drinks from a sippy cup. Can you believe it?!?! This is some seriously big girl news. Right now we are just drinking purified baby water but once I get my practice in (see video below) I will be able to have milk from it. I also get to start eating soon but Dr. Fix wants my GI doc to make the decision on what kind of food I should eat first. So, next Friday we meet with him and I plan on eating real food by next weekend. I can not wait. I hear eating is all kinds of messy and a ton of fun. Stay tuned for some great pics and videos.

Sunday was the picnic for Poppy's law firm. My goodness does he work with some really great people. One lady told us that she has all kinds of clothes for me. I don't think Daddy is gonna have to buy me gear anytime soon. So awesome. This was quite the picnic. There were people of all ages there. There were people throwing frisbee and there was also a softball game going on. Everybody had a blast!! I look forward to next year's get together when I can run all over the place. Not to mention, you would not believe all the food. I think Daddy ate more than his fair share of dessert. He said that all that sugar helps to make him sweet. I am not sure about that. I think he just has a sweettooth. How about you?

I can't wait for the weekend. I am gonna spend a ton of time with Daddy and I also have a couple of play dates. Saturday AM I get to go hang with some of my NICU nurses. It's gonna be awesome. And then Daddy has a Triathlon on Sunday. I hope he does well.

OK, off to get my beauty sleep. I hope that your week is going stupindous!

Love you TONS,

Lily

Puppy Dog Eyes

2009-07-22T18:18:00.000-07:00

Well, in case you all wondered how I have Daddy wrapped around my itsy-bitsy finger, check out my puppy eyes. One flash of these baby blues and Daddy melts like butter. It's great!! I am sure we'll be keeping that in mind as I grow up and find things that I want to do and Daddy says "no". I hope my puppy eyes will help my cause but am sure Daddy will develop a little resistance.
So the video was a big hit!! We will be sure to post more of those as we take them. Problem is, Mimi can't figure out Daddy's camera. Not to worry, Daddy has worked with her a little bit so that she can figure it out. Pretty soon we should have some good vids. Let's just hope Mimi remembers the lesson.
The doctor appointment with my neonatologist went great last week. Dr. Haberman couldn't believe how big I have gotten since the last time we saw eachother. I weighed in at 12lbs 6oz and am doing great developmentally. The doc says I need to really focus on bellytime and reaching out for things. This is supposed to help me learn to crawl. Crawl?! That's crazy! I am gonna get to work on that because being able to scoot about the house on my own sounds like a blast. Oh!! Dr. Haberman also said that I can start eating either rice cereal or baby food really soon. Like in the next couple of weeks, soon. That's awesome!! Watch out Daddy, I hear that when I get to eat that stuff that my "product" takes on a whole new form. The baby food is gonna be delish!!
This past weekend, Daddy went to the wedding of one of Mommy's good childhood friends so I got to spend the day with Aunt Juli. Guess what we did! We went to the "tall people reunion"!! Well, Poppy calls it the Tall People Reunion partly because his side of the family is not as vertically blessed as Gramma's. Holy Moly!! I met a ton of new people and we all had a blast. There were contests and games. The weather was spectacular! And by the end of the day I was pooped. I slept so well that night when I got home with Daddy.
All-in-all, things are going really good for me and Daddy. We continue to take Tuck to the dog park on the weekends. We have date night every Friday. We also work on my skills a bunch. Daddy continues to read me all kinds of books. I love storytime soo much and Daddy is getting soo much better at making funny voices for the different characters.
Hey Conner!! You asked me a while back if I have some of those jumpy things to play in. The answer is no I don't. Not because I wouldn't love to bounce and scoot around but because the docs say that they really aren't good for babies like me who were born really early. So, Daddy isn't taking any chances and said I can't have one. Not even my puppy eyes would work on this one.
Well, I am off to get my beauty sleep. You all are incredible and Daddy and I love you soo much. Keep on rockin and we'll keep on bloggin.
Love Always,
Lily

The Gift of Gab

2009-07-14T17:28:00.000-07:00

Hey friends!! How do you like the video?! Daddy says that I am quite the talker and that he's never been more happy to wake up as when he hears me talking through the monitor. He calls it the "Gift of Gab" and says that Mommy was very gifted. You see, when I wake up in the morning I typically don't make much of a fuss, I just lay there and look at my mobile. Sometimes I just sing some songs or talk to the animals hanging from my mobile and I guess this is what wakes Daddy up. I get soo excited when I see him come in my room and I flash him my gigantic smile. He loves it!!

Since the last time we blogged, I have had some pretty cool stuff happen. Like yesterday (Monday) I was hanging out with Poppy and doing my tummy time when all of a sudden instead of looking at the floor I was on my back looking at the ceiling. Yup, that's right! I rolled over and even better, I have an eyewitness in Poppy. I thought it was soo cool that I decided to do it once more. Poppy was soo excited that he called Daddy at work to tell him the news. Daddy was really happy about the rolls but later that night when he asked me to do it again, I just wasn;t in the mood. I mean, you don't want to cheapen the moment by doing it upon request. Besides, I am not a dog for crying out loud (no offense Tuck). I am sure I will do it again soon and Daddy will be around to see it.

This past weekend Daddy and I both had colds. Daddy got it worse than me but still, these things are no fun. I mean, this slimy gunk is all up in my nose making it hard to breathe. The doctors gave me nasal drips and Daddy used the "boogie sucker" to make things better. It didn't take long for me to shake the cold and am feeling all better now. The humidifier sure helped. It's really cool and is shaped like a frog. Too cute.

This week has been a little different than most weeks because Mimi is on vacation in Florida and Aunt Alison is working at a reading clinic for kids. That means that I get some different folks that watch me. Like today, Jenni watched me. Jenni is Daddy's best-friend MJ's little sister. She really isn't little anymore but Daddy says once you're a little sister, you are always a little sister. Anyway, Jenni and I had a great time today and she is watching me tomorrow too. Can't wait!! Thursday I get to hang with Aunt Katie for half the day and then Daddy is coming home to take me to the Dr.'s. This appointment is my follow-up at Children's with the neonatology group. I can't wait to see Dr. Haberman. She's soo nice and is gonna just go crazy when she sees how big I have gotten. I am over 12lbs 4 oz if you can believe it.

Well, I am gonna go get my beauty sleep so that Jenni and I can play a lot tomorrow. I hope everyone is doing well. Mimi/Alison, I miss you guys tons!!! Hope you are having a great week. Please give Gwyn a hug and kiss for me, will you Alison? OK, sleepy time.

Love you all!! Keep on Rockin',

Lily

Ka'Boom

2009-07-06T18:12:00.000-07:00

Hey friends!!! Boy do Daddy and I run around a lot in the summer. I was just looking at the last time we posted stuff and can't believe it's been soo long. Time sure does fly when you're having a blast with your daddy. All the running around makes a little girl very tired (see pic above) and pretty soon she forgets to touch base with her buddies. Sorry about that. On the plus side, I have plenty of stuff to share with you. So, without further ado....

You know how those ladies came over to the house from the "Help Me Grow" program? Well, they finally got around to writing up their report/assessment and met with Daddy today at his office. So, the bottom line is.....I rock! Daddy wasn't the least bit surprised but was still really happy to hear the good news. Basically, I am ahead of where they would expect me in the area of cognitive ability. Meaning, I am really responsive to noises (especially Daddy's voice), I interact well with people, I am super aware of my surroundings, and I can focus in on objects really good. Oh yea, and I am talking like crazy!! You grown ups call it "cooing" but to us babies, we're telling you all kinds of great stories about our day. You need to learn the lingo. The only area that they think that I need work on is my motor skills. We expected this to be the case and so the next step is scheduling for the therapists to come out to the house and help me "workout". I can't wait!! These sessions are going to help me a ton and before you know it, I'll be crawling all over the place. I think Daddy just fainted. Heehee....

This past weekend was so cool!! Daddy got off work early on Thursday and was off all day Friday!! You know what that means; we got to spend all kinds of quality time together. We went and met with Uncle Cam for coffee for a few hours. That was awesome! Then we just went home and hung out for a while. Aunt Cyndi and Uncle Grady came over and hung out in the afternoon while Daddy went out for a quick bike ride. And then to top off the day, Daddy took me to this restaurant where some of the Carr side of the family were eating. You see, we don't see that side of the family that often and one of Daddy's cousins was in town from Phoenix and wanted to visit. The only time we had available all weekend was dinner Friday night. Gosh, that restaurant was loud and cold. I was not a fan. I mean, it may be warm outside but geez, even Daddy was cold. Anyway, I am not complaining. I loved meeting that side of the family and am sure I will see them in the future.

Saturday was the 4th of July and Daddy had a swim meet nearby. He did really good against the competition but said he wished there were some better swimmers there that could have challenged him a bit more. But since it was a holiday, there weren't too many participants. The best part of the meet was the 92 year old man who was swimming. Don't get me wrong, watching him swim was a bit like watching grass grow but Daddy says he has probably lived as long as he has due to the healthy decisions he has made. If that's true, Daddy and me plan on being just as active so that we have long lives together. Pretty cool stuff.

Grandma and Poppy came and picked me up at the meet to take me to a 4th of July parade. HOLY MOLY!! This parade was like nothing I have ever seen. There was people everywhere. All dressed in red, white and blue. Some old guys in the parade were wearing really goofy hats. There were sirens and bells going off everywhere. A bunch of patriotic music being played. Candy being thrown to the kids on the sidewalks. Well, this is what Daddy tells me happened. I was asleep through the entire thing. Can you blame me? Daddy put me in the Baby Bjorn and once I nestle down in his chest, goodnight. I even slept through the guy who was dressed up as Gen. Patton and was firing blanks from a really loud machine gun on top of a Jeep. Daddy says he still doesn't know how I slept through that but was awoken by the car horn of a Ford Model-T. Well, I couldn't tell you but it was a great nap!

After the parade, Daddy took me to Mimi and Papau's house to hang. They watched me while Daddy went to a concert with Uncle Ian and some friends. Apparently, they had a great time and even found some place where they could ride a mechanical bull. I have no idea what a mechanical bull is but Daddy said that he, Uncle Ian and Maddie had a great time trying to ride it. None of them have any hope of making the mechanical rodeo circuit anytime soon but they have a great story to tell. They're crazy!

Sunday was just like the rest of the weekend. We spent it running around all of God's creation. After church, Daddy came home to get me and we went to my friend Keira's 1st birthday party. It was a lot of fun and I can't wait for my birthday! You get to smear stuff like cupcakes all over your face and people sing a funny song to you. Only 6 more months to go till I am 1. Crazy!! Daddy keeps telling me to slow down because he doesn't want to miss a thing but I can't help it. It's not like I can just stop time and besides, getting big is really cool and exciting. Everyday it's like I learn something new. And the more I grow, the more I get to eat. And we all know how much I love eating. The only problem, I don't like to stop and sometimes I throw tantrums when Daddy takes my bottle. Daddy just laughs, but I got him good this past week. Daddy pulled away my bottle and I was all kinds of mad when he was burping me. And as Daddy was laughing I decided to spit up.....right in his face. Haha!! You should have seen the look on his face. It was part shock, part eeewww, and part relief that I missed his mouth by less the a half inch. I'll get you next time, Dad.

Well, that's what is new in the world of Lily and Daddy. We just continue to have a great time with eachother and are loving the summer months. For those who are wondering how big I am, we'll find out for sure Thursday but Daddy guesses I am around 12 lbs and 23 inches long. But we'll see and will keep you posted. Keep on rockin'. We love you all more than words can say.

Love,

Lily

Daddy's Day and Some Other Stuff

2009-06-24T17:42:00.000-07:00

Hey there!! I hope that your week is going swell. Ours has been pretty darn good but boy is it hot here in Cincinnati!! Daddy says that's the way summer goes here and that someday soon he might even take me to this place called "the pool". Apparently, it's a place where you go to cool off and play around in the water. Sounds fun to me and I will actually get to wear those swimsuits that are hanging up in my closet.

So, last time we blogged I mentioned our failed attempt at the dog park. What a funny disaster that turned out to be. Well, last Saturday turned out to be a MUCH nicer day and we finally got to go let Tuck run around. We went with Ian, Amanda and Maddie and had a blast! That place is great and the dogs there are all really nice to eachother. Some of them even like to make other dogs give them piggy-back rides. It's pretty funny to watch because when they do this, their owners go all crazy and yell at them to stop. Uncle Ian's dog, Lex, is particularly fond of asking other dogs for a piggy-back ride. It drives Uncle Ian bonkers.

As you all know, Sunday was Father's Day and I got to spend the whole day with Daddy. We went and sat with Mommy for a little bit and Daddy gave her the download on all the news with me. It's a very nice and quiet place so we just sat there for a bit enjoying the morning. We said see-you-later to Mommy and headed off to Mimi's for a Father's Day lunch. It was there that I presented Daddy with my gift to him. I got him a few really great pictures in really nice frames. They now sit prominently on his desk at work. They are wonderful pictures. Mommy and Daddy's friend Jewel came over with a friend of hers and took these photos of me when Daddy was at work. We had to keep it on the "down-low" so Daddy wouldn't find out and ruin the surprise. Daddy said that this is something that Mommy would have done. I also gave him a picture that I had taken at Aunt Alison's and that one we put in an awesome picture frame we made with my footprints on them. That one sits in our kitchen. Later on that night we went to G'ma and Poppy's house for dinner. Everyone was there! We gave Poppy a really cute picture of me and a nice card. He really liked it. What a great day!

The rest of the week has been pretty uneventful. I am loving my schedule. I get to spend Mondays with Poppy, Tuesdays and Wednesdays with Alison, Gwyn, Jess, Ella and Conner, and then Thursdays and Fridays I spend with Mimi. I do miss my other sitters and hope to see them soon.

Oh yea, before I go to bed, my assessment with the "Help Me Grow" program went well on Friday. They will be setting up a schedule where they will come out to the house to work with me on building strength and range of motion. They will also help me with developing certain skills. This is going to help me catch up with my peers so that pretty soon, you won't even know I am a preemie.

Well, it's off to bed. A girl has got to get her beauty sleep you know. Hope to hear from you all soon. We'll be bloggin....

Love always,

Lily

Big Adventures

2009-06-18T17:33:00.000-07:00

Happy Thursday everybody!! Man the week is flying by and I can not wait for the weekend so that Daddy and I can spend some seriously awesome quality time together. I am gonna give you all a quick update on what we've been up to and then get to your questions because you all have asked some great ones!! I knew you would!

Last Sunday was awesome! I hung out with Grandma and Poppy in the morning while Daddy went to church and then Tucker and I went over to Mimi's for just a little bit so Daddy could get in one of his bike rides. I have to say, I have got the cooollleesstt grandparents in the whole wide universe!! Aren't grandparents the best!?! Anyhow, Daddy came to pick Tuck and I up and told us he had a surprise adventure to take us on but that we had to drive to get there. He wouldn't give us any clues and the suspense was killing us for the whole 20 minute car ride there. Uncle Ian, Amanda and Lex (Ian's dog) were following us so I thought that whatever we were doing involved our best four legged friends. Well, it sure did. We went to the dog park!! This place is totally rad. There are dogs of all shapes, sizes and colors there. Come to think of it, there are people of all shapes, sizes and colors there too. It was really fun watching all the dogs run around. Man, is Tucker fast when he gets going. There was only one downer to the whole adventure, it was drizzling a bit. And then, with one huge gust of wind, it was like the heavens opened up and poured out buckets of water. Daddy yelled for Tuck, we got the dogs on their leashes and made a run for the car. By the time we got there Tuck and Daddy were soaked. Me, I was dry as can be since my stroller has a waterproof canopy. So, our adventure was cut short but Daddy says that's what's so fun about adventures; you never know how they will turn out. Oh yea, Tucker has the coolest way of drying off. He jumps in the car and shakes his whole body. Water flies everywhere!! Daddy was not as excited about this as I was but he still got a good giggle out of it.

The rest of that night and week has been pretty chill. Daddy and I just kick it around the house most nights and take Tuck for walks when the weather permits.

The coolest thing about this week is that I got to go to Alison and Gwyn's house while Daddy went to work. I can't tell you how much fun we are having there. Gwyn is one cool and sweet chica and her mom totally rocks. I can see why Mommy and Daddy love her so. Aunt Jess lives close by to Alison and Gwyn so for the last couple of days we have been having play dates with all the kids. It's pretty cool being a kid. I am always so happy to see Daddy at the end of the day and he is so happy to see me. He says he looks forward to picking me up the moment he walks in the door. We make a good team.

OK, so you all have asked some really great questions and I am going to do my best to answer them. My favorite color right now would have to be pink. It seems like half my clothes, dresses and sleepers are pink. It's a gender thing. But then again, Daddy has a whole bunch of pink shirts. We match every once in a while and people give Daddy a hard time. It's pretty funny.

My favorite animal has to be Tucker. He is a great cuddler as you can see in one of the earlier photos. Not to mention, he is super cute. But right after Tucker, my favorite animal is frogs. I am just like my mommy in that regard. I actually sleep with her old froggy, Ribbit. Ribbit was the first gift Daddy ever bought Mommy and Daddy built Ribbit with his own hands. That's pretty special if you ask me. And two of my Wubbanubs are frogs, so you can see why I like them soo much.

As for books, I am the owner of a small children's library. I have soo many books that Daddy struggles picking out ones to read to me. I do have a couple Shel Silverstein books but the only one Daddy saw up in my room was "Where the Sidewalk Ends". He says it will be a little while before he reads me that but we have read "The Giving Tree" before. They had that in the NICU in both English and Spanish. Daddy stuck with the English version. I do not think that we actually own it though.

Hey Carson!! Thanks for asking such great questions and be sure to thank your Daddy for serving our country. My Daddy says that the greatest gift anyone can give is that of serving and that soldiers serve in an especially dangerous but important role. You should be super prod of your brave Daddy. My Daddy and I don't watch too much TV and when we do it is either the news, ZZzzz....., or Nature on PBS. You see, we don't have cable and we enjoy listening to music instead of watching TV. And since Daddy spends most of the day at work we tend to play until I eat or go to sleep.

We have spent some time talking about traveling. Daddy has always loved to travel and he tells me that he can't wait to take me to see the world with him . But we'll start out slow. First, we have to get the green light from the docs and we haven't done that yet. Our trips this summer will more than likely be short ones. We have a lot of friends in Chicago, so we may start there. We do have family in Florida and both sides of the family has property near the beach. We aren't sure when we will make it there but I look forward to seeing the ocean. Then, when I get older, Daddy says that we will be making trips out west to the mountains to go skiing and hiking and stuff. It sounds pretty cold but totally awesome. We will just have to wait though until I get big enough. Daddy says I should probably learn to walk first. Details... But we also have family in Arkansas that I absolutely HAVE to go meet. I hope to do that sooner rather than later. And then, once we condition ourselves to traveling within the states, we hope to someday go international. Daddy says South Africa is beautiful and that hopefully someday we can go to Ireland and see where Mommy studied. We'll have to see.

As for my features, Daddy says that I have a lot of Mommy's features but that he isn't sure if that is influenced by the fact that he looks for them in me. But, nonetheless, I do have Mommy's vibrant eyes and cute nose. My eyes are the same color as Daddy's but they are big and full of life like my Mommy's. And then there is my chin. Without a doubt, I got that from Mommy. I think my favorite features are my fingers. They are soo tiny and cute and oh so yummy!!

Tucker has adjusted great. He is like my bestest buddy after Dad and he is a great protector. He has his own little couch in the front room where he watches people outside. And when they walk by, he let's them know he's there. But with me, he is like the most gentle baby in the whole wide world.

Wow, that Q and A session was great. Keep the questions coming. We'll keep giving you updates on what's shaking in Lilyland. I am gonna go get some sleep. Big day tomorrow. I have the Occupational Therapist coming to the house to work with me. Not to worry, this is normal stuff for preemies. Basically, they come and work with me so that I close the "gap" between me and the full-term babies with my same birthday. It won't be long, Daddy says, before I catch up and then pass them. Stay tuned.

Much love to you all,

Lily

Doin Good

2009-06-11T18:05:00.000-07:00

Hey everybody!! Well, we are having a great week so far and even though the weather hasn't been all that great me and Daddy still manage to have a lot of fun. My new favorite thing to do is play on my playmat and look at all the dangly things. This one thing is super cool, Daddy calls it a "mirror". And man, that little girl who lives in the mirror-world sure is cute. She likes to do all the things I do. It's crazy! I could watch her for hours.

Oh, I forgot to tell you my newest trick I like to play on Daddy. So, Daddy has to go to work during the weekdays and he dresses up all fancy for it. Usually Daddy wakes me up in the morning to feed me after he has already gotten ready for work. He looks and smells good and is all ready to go to work when my caregiver gets to the house. We finish breakfast and I give him a few good burps but on my last one, I make sure to spit-up just a little. You know, enough so Daddy has to change his shirt. Hey, it buys me a couple of extra minutes to spend with Daddy and he doesn't seem to mind. Besides, if Daddy can get the messes a blow out leaves in my clothes out , I am sure he can wash a little milk off.

This week has been more of the usual. You know, I eat, sleep and go and Daddy reads me all kinds of stories. Except now, I can help hold my own bottle (see below). I usually help out when I get to the last couple ounces. I love all my babysitters and have been having the best of times with them. I can't wait for next week when I get to go hang with Alison and Gwyn at their house. It's gonna rock!!

We have my GI appointment tomorrow. I can't wait to see how big I am getting and to hear what my Dr. has to say about my eating. I wonder if he is gonna say I get to eat more (ie 6oz at a time). We'll see.

Before I head to bed for the night, I wanted to throw something out there. Daddy and I were talking about this blog and he was telling me about all the people he runs into that follow the blog and love it. Well, first off, thanks for following my progress. I love letting you all know what's shaking in my world. Daddy also told me that most everybody has great questions about me and Daddy that we don't always cover on our posts. So, I mentioned to Daddy that we should open this up a bit. You know, let's interact. If you have questions for us, you can post them to the comments section of the latest blog entry. Then, Daddy and I can respond to your questions on the next entry. Daddy thought it was a great idea. He also says there are no stupid questions and the sillier the question, the better. There could even be requests, like more video (not as exciting now as it will be) but Daddy said he can make it happen. Well, let us know what you think. I am gonna go get some sleep for my big appointment tomorrow.

Love you all,

Lily Ann

Party Party Party

2009-06-07T18:46:00.000-07:00

Hey guys! How's it going? Man, summer is one crazy busy season. I don't know about you all but Daddy and I have been all kinds of busy. He says that's pretty normal for the summer months around here and that things will settle down eventually. But I don't mind the busyness because all our running around makes for great adventures. For example, we get to take Tuck on most of our car rides and he gets super excited whenever Daddy says the word "ride" or even jingles the car keys. Today Daddy, Mimi, Papau and I were going to a graduation party and Tucker wanted to go so bad that he jumped through the car window since Daddy wouldn't open the door so he could get in the car!! Can you believe it?! Thank goodness the window was down, he would have bonked his head good. He didn't get to go that time but when he does come with us he rides shotgun with his head out the window. It's really cute.

OK, enough about Tuck. Let's talk about me. I mean, it is my blog after all. So, Daddy and I have been keeping real busy with reading books and taking walks and going on little adventures. On Friday, Daddy and I even went over to the house of one of Daddy's friends from swimming and had a grill out. Friday nights are usually "date night" for Daddy and me and we typically read, play around or just watch a movie. I snuggle in with Daddy and take a good nap while he watches a movie. But this Friday was different. We went and hung out with our friends instead and what a great time!! We just sat out on the back porch and chatted. They all were amazed at how big I am getting. Daddy says if he were a betting man, he would put my weight just shy of 11 lbs. Maybe, 10 lbs 14oz. We'll see on Friday because that is when we go see my tummy doctor.

Speaking of tummy stuff. Mine seems to be working just wonderfully. Actually, I even showed our hosts on Friday how well my tummy is processing my meals. I must say though, even though Daddy is a champ with changing diapers this particular diaper messin' took a ton of wipes to clean up. And I think Daddy even got some do-do on his hand. Eeewww!! Hehe.... But anyway, all that is to say that I am feeling fantastic and I can't wait to see what my doctor says. We will be sure to keep you posted.

Saturday was SUPER busy! Daddy and I woke up around 7 but just snuggled together until 8ish before getting out of bed for breakfast. I had my usual meal and then Daddy and I got our things together to go spend the day at Mimi and Papau's for Uncle Ian's graduation party. That was a great time! Lot's of people were there and I even got to wear Ian's funny looking hat. I guess when you graduate they make you wear a goofy hat that looks like a table atop your head. Well, it may not be much of a fashion statement but Daddy says I looked great in the cap and that some day I will be wearing one for my own graduation. Do they come in pink?

I got to meet all kinds of new people at Ian's party. I have to say we have some pretty cool family and friends and they all wanted to see me. Uncle MJ and I got to kid around with eachother and had a blast! (see pic below). Anyway, it was a great time getting to see and meet everybody but gosh, it sure is exhausting. Daddy, Tucker and I headed home around 8 and after my 9:30 bottle of boob juice, I sacked out until 7:30 Sunday morning. I was pooped!!

Today was totally awesome because my Grandma and Poppy came over to watch me in the morning while Daddy went to church. It was soo good to see them. They have been out of town on vacation for the last week and I was starting to have withdrawal. Apparently the symptoms of withdrawal were mutual and they were really excited to see me too. We had a great time together going for a walk and hanging out in the front yard. I am soo happy that they are home and tomorrow I get to spend the whole day with Poppy since he is watching me. It's gonna be great!!

Once Daddy got back from church we headed over to Mimi's again because we had another party to go to. Boy, there sure are a lot of people graduating! For those of you who don't live in the 'Nati (that's street jive for Cincinnati if you didn't catch on), it was pretty warm today and the party was outside. We didn't stay long at the party on account of it being so hot but it was really neat to go to. Daddy and I met a bunch of people who follow my progress on the blog who we never knew existed. I have to say it's pretty cool to have so many people we don't know pulling for us. So, if we met you today (and you know who you are) thanks for coming to say "hi" and introducing yourself. We loved meeting you even though it was a short chat. You rock!

If this running around wasn't already enough, Daddy, Tuck and I had one more stop today. We had family dinner and Grandma and Poppy's house. We love family dinner night!! I get to love on my aunts and uncles and Daddy gets to love on Ella and Connor (my cousins). Things can get kinda crazy when you get the whole clan together and we had a blast. Uncle Grady even fed me. That's big people. Except, I gave him a hard time when he tried to burp me. I didn't want to burp, I just wanted to keep eating and when he pulled the bottle away I would get sorting mad. You are probably thinking, "snorting mad, what the heck is that?". Well, when I get cryin' and am getting really mad, sometimes I start snorting when I try to catch my breath. Daddy thinks it's hilarious. I don't see the humor. So, since I was giving Grady such a hard time Daddy did the burping and then handed me back to Uncle Grady to eat. It worked out pretty well and next time I will try to be easier to make belch.

As you can see we have had a real busy weekend. We are super pooped and ready for bed. Keep on rockin'. We love you like crazy and will talk with you soon!!

Love, Lily

Gotcha Dad!!

2009-06-01T17:34:00.000-07:00

Hey everybody, what's shakin'?! Daddy and I had another awesome weekend that started off with Daddy taking a half-day at work so he could take me to the doctor's office. This was our visit to Dr. Meyer, the cardiologist. He is an awesome doctor and a super sweet man. Daddy says that he was mommy's doctor too and that he took fantastic care of her. Now, don't you all go getting worried on me just because I went to the cardiologist. Everything with me is fine, they just wanted to check up on me since mommy had such a special heart. In fact, things are great with me and I now weigh 10lbs 4oz. It was pretty crazy what they did, they stuck all these cords on me and they measured my heart beats. The whole test took all of 1 minute. Then doctor Meyer listened to my "ticker" and said it tick-tocks just perfectly. So, I don't have to go back to him for another year though I am sure Daddy and I will stop by to say "hi"whenever we are at Children's for my other appointments.

On Saturday, Daddy took me and Tuck over to Mimi and Papau's so they could watch me while he went out on his bike. Man, it's crazy at that house when Tuck and Lex (Uncle Ian's pooch) play around but they know they can't play rough around me. Daddy came back after a long ride and we just chilled for a little while before going home for the kinda low key night that Daddy and I love. But my tummy was aching a bit and I was a little crabby on account of it not feeling good. So,we were watching a movie, Daddy was massaging my tummy and then it happened. My tummy let out a HUGE rumble and I just had to go. So, I went.....and blew out the diaper and covered Daddy's shirt with you-know-what!! Ooopps...heehee. I have to say that Daddy handled gettin poo'd on really well. He just took me over to my pack-n-play and got me cleaned up and then took his laundry downstairs so it could be decontaminated. It may be gross, but I sure felt better afterward. I slept pretty well that night.

Sunday was crazy busy for Daddy and me. My bestest buddy Gwyn had her first birthday party and Daddy and I had to run to get her a present so Daddy took me with him to the book store to pick out a gift for Gwynee. That place ROCKED! I thought I had a lot of books until we went there. Daddy and I could spend a month there and only scratch the surface of the great books that are there. Daddy promised that we'll go back someday and that I can pick a book out just for me.

We went straight from the bookstore to the party. The weather was great so we got to hang out outside for a little bit but mostly, I hung out with Gwyn's mommy, Alison. She is like the best baby holder ever (she's got a lot of practice). I really liked going to the party and seeing Gwyn's house and meeting her other friends. Their house is where Daddy is going to take me somedays when he goes to work. I think that will be soo fun to get to hang out with Gwyn and play with her toys together. I can't wait.

We just kept on running around Sunday and finished the day with swinging by the house to pick up Tucker and head over to Mimi and Papau's for a grillout with the whole family. That was a lot of fun but boy was I worn out. I got pretty cranky with the long day and I went to sleep half way through eating my dinner. And guess what?! I slept from 9:30 to 6:30am the next morning. Daddy said if I stayed up longer I would have more to blog about but I say a lady needs her sleep. Daddy didn't know what to do with all the sleep he had gotten and is hoping that I make a habit out of this new development. We'll see.

Well, I hope everything is rockin for you. We'll blog again real soon.

Rollin

2009-05-27T17:14:00.000-07:00

Hey everybody! Greetings from Maid Marian. So three day weekends totally rock and so do days when Daddy only works a half day and then comes to do stuff with me for the rest of the day. We had a great Memorial Day and I even got to travel to Mimi and Papau's house. This is where not only Daddy grew up but Mimi too!! You see, Mimi and Papau live in the same house that Mimi spent her childhood years. Not to date you Mimi, but that is a long time for one house to belong to one family! And what an awesome house with some cool animals! Uncle Ian has a doggy, Lex, and he also has an Iguana named Smokey. Smokey is one interesting looking dude. Daddy says he's kinda like a dinosaur. Then there is Bliss, Mimi's kitty cat. She is really pretty but didn't really come out that much. All-in-all, Mimi and Papau's is a fun place to go.

On Tuesday, Mimi came to watch me while Daddy went to make the Benjamins (aka he went to work) and we had a rockin' good time. We read some books and took Tuck for a walk around the neighborhood. Then later in the day it was time for me to pump-it-up on the floor and get my tummy time in. You see, it is pretty important for us babies to spend some time each day on our bellies. It's how we get stronger and then eventually we learn to crawl. Well, Mimi placed me on my little belly on my little mat and ran in the kitchen to grab something real quick. And when she came back she discovered that I had magically flipped over. Yup, you can pick your jaw up off the floor, I rolled over. Mimi and Daddy have been asking me to do it again, but you know, it kinda cheapens the moment when you do it upon request. This way, I keep them both on their toes

Today (Wednesday) was a SUPER special day. Daddy worked one of those awesome half days and then came home to take me to the groundbreaking ceremony for Mommy's and Christian's memorial garden. I got to meet a lot of Mommy's coworkers and even some of her students! Daddy has always told me how much Mommy loved working as a teacher and especially working at John G. Carlisle Elementary. Now I know why!! The teachers are awesome and the kids are really cool!! They had a great ceremony that started with a couple of speeches and then some of the students sang a really sweet song about how they missed my Mommy and their friend, Christian. The song talked about the impact that Mommy and Christian had on them and was actually a song by Hannah Montana (Christian's favorite artist). Daddy said that Hannah Montana is one of the most popular musical artists for children. In his day it was the New Kids On the Block but now it's Hannah Montana and the Jonas Brothers. But who knows who it will be when I am old enough to follow these kinds of groups. Anyway, the service was SPECTACULAR and is a beautiful start to what is going to be a gourgeous garden. I can't wait to visit with Daddy. We ended the ceremony by letting go balloons filled with seeds. Kinda like Mommy, where ever they land there will be something beautiful that grows.

Well, that's about all that is new in the lives of Daddy and me. We are just loving the great weather and getting to spend so much time together. Keep it cool and check in soon, we'll blog again in a few days.

Love You, Lily

PS Happy Birthday Mommy!! I bet God bakes a mean birthday cake. We love and miss you tremendously.

Two Bags

2009-05-24T15:11:00.001-07:00

Happy Memorial Day weekend everybody!! I hope that you are enjoying the long weekend and are able to spend some time with those whom you love. Daddy and I are having a great weekend and I LOVE that he gets an extra day off. Awesome!

You probably read the title to this blog post and ask yourself "Two Bags? What in the world does that mean?" Well, people, I had a doctor's visit on Wednesday this week and I weighed a whopping 9 pounds 10 ounces!! Daddy calls me his little bruiser and said that by the time we got around to posting the latest update (Sunday), I probably weigh 10+lbs. Isn't that crazy?! That's the same as two five pound bags of sugar; two bags. I have quadrupled in size since I was born!! I am in the 35th percentile for weight and head curcumference but Daddy says I have to blame Mommy's side of the family for my "vertical challenges". It seems that I am only in the 5th percentile for length. But that's OK because I am short and mighty, just like my momma. Dr. Fix was super excited that I am doing so well and one of the benefits to being a rockstar, I now get to up the amount of food that I eat from 4 ounces to 5. Boy, I tell ya, after I am done with 5 ounces I am ready for a long nap.

Daddy was really excited when Dr. Fix said I was doing this great. But neither of us were excited about the last part of our appointment, shots. Ouch, they smart! This poor lady, it's her job to come in and stab us innocent kids with these needles. How would you like to be the most disliked lady at the doc's office? She gave me two shots, one in each leg, and I let out a scream that Daddy is fairly convinced my Mimi Cameron could hear in Arkansas (miss you Mimi ). Daddy picked me up right after the lady gave me the shots and was able to calm me down a bit. I was a little irritable for the rest of the day and just decided to nap it away. Daddy was thankful that I am such a tough chick and didn't cry that much after my shots

There has been a lot of things going on as far as my development is concerned. The coolest of my new skills is the fact that I have found my hands. These things are incredible! Like when I don't have a Wubbanub nearby, I can just suck on my thumb. Well, I actually suck on my fist (see video below) but I am told that there is a thumb there somewhere and that once I find it I may not need my wubbanub. I don't think I will be giving up my awesome wubbanubs anytime soon but I do look forward to finding out all the things I can do with these new hands of mine. Daddy says that his favorite thing to do with his hands is to hold mine. I am betting that will be my favorite thing to do with mine too.

Other than that there is not too much to report. Daddy and I are just enjoying the long weekend with family and friends. Daddy took me to a cookout yesterday where I got to meet some of his coworkers and their families. Daddy works with some really cool people and they were all so impressed with how big I am getting. It was fun to be the center of attention and I was sure to entertain them by making funny facial expressions. It was awesome.
Tonight, Daddy and I are just gonna kick it here at home. We like layin low sometimes.
Well, have a great Memorial Day. We hope yours is great!!
Love All of You, Lily

Groovin

2009-05-18T18:35:00.000-07:00

Hey everybody!! I know, I know, we haven't sent a new post in almost a week. But with Daddy back to work, we don't get as much time together as we would like. So we have to get some serious lovin' in when he gets home and before I have to get to bed. We're doing a pretty good job at that and as the blog title says, we're just groovin.

We have been pretty busy lately. My Florida Papau was in town for about a week and we got to hang out a little bit. We don't see him very often since he lives in Florida and it was good to hang with him for a bit. He promises to come back in September so we are excited about that. See you then Papau!!

This weekend was busy as always. Daddy had to do this thing he called "errand running" and he took me with him on the adventure!! There were four stops. Well, there were supposed to be four stops but there were actually five. First stop was the bank where Daddy used to work. Actually, Daddy says that the bank is where our story as a family begins because that is where he and Mommy met. Daddy, you aren't supposed to hit on the clientele but since it worked out so well this time (ie You and Mommy falling in love and having Me) we'll give you a pass. Daddy's old coworker, Judy, was at the bank and was soo excited to see us. I can see why Daddy loved working there. The people there are just soo nice.

After the bank Daddy and I headed to the phone store and then to the Tuxedo place so Daddy could be fitted for a -yup, you guessed it- tuxedo. Uncle Josh is getting married in September and he asked Daddy to be in the wedding. It would have been nice if Daddy remembered which tuxedo shop to go to because the first one was not it. But they were nice about it and wrote down Daddy's measurements so all we had to do was drop off the paper to the correct shop. All the people helping us were great and Daddy says it's because he had sch a beautiful sidekick. I think he's right. Our last stop was this place called Toys-R-Us. That place ROCKS!!! Man, there are all kinds of toys and gadgets there. Not to mention, they have more cute clothes than I could ever wear. But Daddy made sure to tell me that we were there to get just one thing, a mobile., and that we aren't just gonna shop to shop. And oh what a mobile we got!! This thing is seriously rad. After all this, I was exhausted. We went home and snuggled with Tucker for the rest of the afternoon.

Yesterday was pretty sweet. I hung out with Grandma and Poppy in the morning while Mimi and Daddy went to church and then hung with Daddy and Mimi when they returned. One of Mommy and Daddy's friends from church swung by to see me with her daughter, Kiera. Kiera is almost 1 year old and even though we didn't get to play on Sunday, we are gonna be great buddies. Sunday was also family dinner day at Grandma and Poppy's. I love these dinners because I get some seriously good snuggle time in. My cousin Elizabeth even got to hold me after she sanitized her hands. Man, she is a natural (see pic above).

Well, after that crazy weekend Daddy and I came home and crashed hard. I woke up at 10pm just to eat and then slept until 4am and then slept again until 7am. Daddy was ecstatic! This sleeping thing is helping me grow tons and the hair continues to come in. Daddy thinks I am gonna be a brunette just like Mommy. We shall see.

I have a doctor appointment Wednesday and will find out how big I am getting. I am really looking forward to seeing how much I weigh. Daddy is thinking that I weigh somewhere in the neighborhood of 9lbs 4oz. I am not so sure. One stinky thing, I have to get shots on Wednesday. I don't look forward to that so please say a little prayer that they don't hurt so bad.

Well, that's about it. We'll blog to you soon and until then, keep on rockin'!

Love you guys, Lily

P.S. Tucker and I make a great pair, don't you think?!

Oh My Goodness

2009-05-13T04:38:00.000-07:00

Hey everybody!! I hope this blog finds you well and enjoying all the warmth and freshness that Spring brings. Before I tell you all the incredible story of the picture above, I wanted to mention something really special that we did on Mother's Day. I must have been super tired from the busy day and just plum forgot to blog about it. I can't believe I did that. Sorry.

So, you already know that Aunt Jocelyn brought over her crazy bunch for our Mother's Day cookout. Well, my Aunt Pitter was also here and she brought with her a whole bunch of lillies to plant in the yard. So, before we had our cookout the whole team prepared a special corner in the yard to place our new beautiful flowers. Paige helped cut the ivy. Hunter, Mimi and Tucker (our dog) were in charge of pulling the ivy out. Tyler was in charge of aircaring helpless worms and bugs out of harm's way while Daddy and Pitter dug holes in the ground for the plants. And me, you might ask. Well, I was in charge of looking cute and overseeing the job. Daddy says I did great. And the garden, boy-oh-boy, it looks fantastic!! Big thanks to Aunt Pitter.

OK, so you probably opened up the blog page and said "Hey, did I miss something or is it already Christmas?!?!" Not to worry, you didn't miss anything and Christmas is still a ways off. Daddy just happens to work with some of the most AMAZING people on the planet and they are raising some of the COOLEST kids EVER!! Daddy went to his office the other day and when he got there he found three big boxes full of stuff. Baby stuff!! For me!!

You see, Daddy works with this really nice lady, Jillian. She lives and works in Virginia but with modern technology (ie computers like the one I blog on) it's possible for her and Daddy to work together. Anyway, back to this cool story. Jillian's daughter, Lindy, recently had a birthday party and instead of gifts for herself, she had their friends and family bring stuff for Daddy and me. CAN YOU BELIEVE IT!?!?! Lindy and crew, you all get the Rockstars of the Year Award, hands down.

They sent all kinds of amazing stuff. I received a few really cool books like "Fancy Nancy" "Brown Bear, Brown Bear What Do You See" and even two that play music while you read. I have already had Daddy read a few of them to me. Love 'em! I was also given a few CDs that Daddy and I can rock out to at home and in the car. Daddy may not have the best singing voice but we are gonna have some serious fun with these. And if that weren't enough, the boxes had all kinds of diapers and gift cards in them. Crazy!! Lindy, you have some seriously amazing friends in the Perschetz, the Porratas, Sherlock, Robertson, Schmincke, and Snyder families. I wanted to send a special shout out to Annabel (who is only 1 week older than me and shares the same appreciation for "boob juice"), thanks for the sweet letter. And if you were at the party and Daddy couldn't make out your name on the card, know that you too are totally rad in my humble albeit biased opinion.

So, that's the story behind that ginormous pile of great stuff. Lindy, my Daddy and I are amazed at your generosity. It takes a special person to say "Hey, I know it's my birthday but I don't want you to bring me gifts. Bring gifts for this girl that I have never met." Daddy says that everybody could take a lesson from you and that your parents should be proud. People like you and your parents make this world a beatiful place. I hope that our paths cross in the future and that we get to meet sometime. I am one super lucky girl to have friends all over the country!! Thanks y'all.

It's been a while since I gave you an update on how I was doing, medically. Well, I am doing pretty good and Daddy says I am growing like a weed. If he were to guess, he would say that I weigh somewhere in the neighborhood of 8lbs 12oz to 9lbs and my length is around 20inches long. Not too shabby for a preemie! And as for the tummy stuff, I still get gassy from time to time but Daddy says that this is just normal baby stuff. I certainly don't seem to have a problem filling my diapers (if you know what I mean). The other day I was laying on Daddy's lap and had to go real bad. Daddy says that it reminded him from a scene out of an old movie called, Dumb and Dumber. I guess I'll have to watch it when I get older to see what he is talking about but he said you would know what he is referring to. All I know is that my tummy is feeling much better and I am loving being at home.

This week is the first week when Daddy has gone back to work. He is only going in for half days right now and I get to hang with my awesome caregivers in the afternoon. Monday, I was with Mimi McHugh. Yesterday, I was with Alison and her daughter, Gwyn. You know we had a great time. Today, I'll be kickin it with Poppy and Aunt Katie and the rest of the week will be spent with Mimi McHugh, Aunt Cyndi and Aunt Juli. Daddy says he was suprised at how hard it is to be at work and away from me. Duh! I could have told him it was gonna be tough. I mean, what would you rather do? Deal with pharmacy contract stuff? Zzzzzz..... OR Hang with your daughter? That's what I thought. But, Daddy has to work so that we have the things we need. We just make the most of the time we have together. So, I am gonna get to doing that. I'll blog again soon. You all rock my world!!

Love, Lily

Happy Mother's Day

2009-05-10T17:27:00.000-07:00

Hey everybody and Happy Mother's Day to all you Mamas out there! Big ups to you for all the sacrifices you make so that your children are taken care of. You totally deserve a day that's all about you!! Lets be honest after all, the other 364 days (365 for a leap year) are ALL about us.

Busy, busy weekend for us. Poppy and Grandma watched me all morning on Saturday while Mimi and Daddy went to Big E's graduation. Big E is my uncle Ian and he is ginormous. I thought Daddy was tall but Big E like scrapes his head on the ceiling. I think I am the size of his foot. Anyway, he graduated college this weekend and Daddy says it's time for him to come home and join the real world. I am excited that he is coming home because it means that I will be able to hang with him all the time because he and Daddy are super close. So, welcome home Big E and congratulations on your accomplishment.

My Florida Papaw came by in the afternoon Saturday and stayed until late in the night. He hasn't seen me since Mommy made her trip to heaven and he was blown away at what a big girl that I have become. We got to snuggle for what seemed like hours while he and Daddy caught up. Daddy even took a cheap shot and teased Papaw about me already having more hair then him. Maybe Papaw needs to borrow some of my protein stuff. That seems to be doing the trick for me. Anyway, it was awesome getting to see him and I look forward to hanging with him some more before he heads back to Florida.

Daddy and I had a really busy day today. After Daddy and Mimi got home from church this morning, Daddy and I made a trip to go sit at Mommy's gravesite. This was the first time that Daddy and I went there together and the cemetery was very old and pretty with all the leaves on the trees. He said that we are going to visit Mommy pretty regularly and especially on days like today. Daddy said it's nice to have a place to just go sit and talk to God or Mommy about the stuff that is going on with me and just how he is doing in general. We even brought Mommy lillies because that is the kind of flower Daddy always gets her. Hey, bet you can't guess where I got my name. Anyway, we sat with Mommy for a little bit until Daddy said his bottom was wet from the ground. He called it "swamp-butt" and said that I could probably relate. Not sure what that means. As you know, I have got the best Mommy in the whole wide world and if you are reading this, Mommy, I love and miss you very much and hope you had a great Mother's Day up there in Heaven. I'll see you in my dreams.

This afternoon I got to meet my cousins Tyler, Paige and Hunter. Man, they are awesome! A little crazy, but really cool at the same time. I can tell that we are gonna have some awesome good times together as I get bigger. Daddy says that when I get older that Tyler and Hunter can take me adventuring for bugs and stuff in the woods behind our house and that Paige is gonna be the bestest dress-up partner ever. She is sooo pretty and her hair is really long just like a princess. And guess what, Tyler even read to me. I was passed out in my swing but he is a really good story reader. He read me "The Little Engine That Could" What a great book! Totally relaxed me to the max.

Well, I am super tired from all the craziness and need to get my sleep. I hope that all you mom's out there had a great day and that your kids let you know how much they love you. Keep on checkin' in and we'll blog again real soon. Love you tons, Lily

HOLY MOSES!!

2009-05-06T17:56:00.000-07:00

Hey everybody, how's it shakin'? This week is just flying by for me and Daddy. It's soo exciting because I get to do something new almost everyday. Like on Monday, Daddy carried me in the Baby Bjorn and we went on a walk with Mimi and Tucker. At first the Bjorn looks like some sort of baby torture device but once Daddy put me in it and started walking around, I fell in love that thing. It's soo comfortable that I slept for most of the walk. Daddy said he took a note of that for future reference...whatever that means.

Then, yesterday Mommy's bestest friend in the whole wide world, Alison, came over and watched me for half a day while Daddy went into his office to do some work. I can totally see why mommy loves her soo much, she is crazy cool. We spent the whole afternoon together getting to know eachother and even got to go on a walk, read some books and napped. She made me feel soo safe and comfortable and I am soo super duper stoked that we're gonna be kickin' it together for a long time to come. Oh, and it helps that her daughter, Gwynn, is totally cool and fun and just a little older than me. We are gonna have some serious goodtimes together.

Then today we had our follow-up doctor appointment with my awesome pediatrician. And guess WHAT!?!?! I tipped the scales today and 8lbs 8ounces. Daddy calls me his little bruiser and says that he kinda expected me to have gained weight. He says that when he comes and gets me out of bed in the morning it is almost like he is picking up a different baby. I guess I must be doing my best growing at night when I am asleep. I guess I am gonna be doing some serious growing now because the doctor gave Daddy the green light to let me sleep as long as I want at night so he no longer has to set his alarm to feed me. He can just wait until I wake him up and say it's time to eat. Awesome!

So, you know how when I came home that I was sleeping in the basonette in Daddy's room. Well, I decided that I am a big girl and that if I am gonna have my own room that I better get to using it. So I have been sleeping in my own room for a few nights now and am doing fantastic. It's a really cool nursery and I get to sleep with Ribbit (Mommy's teddy). One thing that does drive Daddy and Mimi crazy is how much I scoot in bed. It seems that they bought me this special positioning pad but I wiggle my way right out of it. So, it got canned. Hey, I can't help it; I must be having great dreams.

This evening was pretty eventful too with Grandma and Poppy coming to see me. And then, after they left Daddy was feeding me and I experienced what he calls a "blow-out". You should have seen Daddy's face when it happened; his jaw dropped to the floor and his nose scrunched up when the bouquet hit him. Heehee! It made such a mess that it required that Mimi give me a bath to get all cleaned up. Mimi wrapped me in a warm blanket and Daddy held me while she got my tub ready. One problem, she forgot to put me in a diaper and I guess I wasn't done going. I totally peeed all over Daddy. Haha, it looked like he wet himself. I guess he should make a note of that too for future reference, dontcha think?

To top off the night, we made the news again. Daddy says he continues to be floored by the impact Mommy had on the lives of others. Daddy told me that an awesome lady with whom Mommy grew up now lives in the neighborhood where Mommy worked and her children went to school there. Well, what happened to Mommy wasn't the only tragedy to hit the school this year. A little bit after Mommy went to heaven, one of her students joined her unexpectantly. You can see the news story here: http://www.wcpo.com/news/local/story/Students-Create-Memorial-Garden-For-Teacher/c-KJwvabXk68-JVg7ePDjQ.cspx . Daddy says he just knows that Mommy was the first one at Heaven's gate waiting to show her student around. That's just who Mommy was. So, back to the story. Mommy's friend has this great vision of creating a memorial garden in memory of Mommy and Christian. Problem is, we need to get some help funding it and building it. We want to make this something that continues for years to come. Check out the story and if you feel led to pitch in, we hope you do.

Well, I better go get some sleep. We have three back-to-back-to-back doctors' appointments at Children's Hospital tomorrow. Nothing to worry about, they are just follow-up meetings. I can't wait to stop by the RCNIC to see all my friends!! Blog at you soon.

Love, Lily

Crazy Busy

2009-05-03T18:19:00.000-07:00

Happy Sunday everybody!! Man, I have been crazy busy the last few days and haven't had any time to blog. The weekend went by soo fast that I don't even know where to start. Oh I know, I can talk about how the weather man has absolutely nooo idea what he is talking about. It was supposed to rain all weekend and instead we got mild and often sunny weather. Daddy says that if I want job security, you can't go wrong with being a meteorologist. All I have to do is be partly right, half of the time. Anyway, since the weather people were so wrong, we took a walk around our neighborhood and I got to meet my cousin, Elizabeth, because they live in our neighborhood. It was awesome to get to see them and I look forward to walking by there house to say "hi" over the summer.

Friday was incredible!! First, my Aunt Katie and Aunt Cyndi came to kick it with me in the late morning/early afternoon. We did the usual. You know....cuddled. Daddy says for being someone who sleeps most of the time that I have visitors, that I do a great job entertaining my guests. Daddy says that it is a good thing that I get my naps in because they are helping me grow big and strong.

My afternoon on Friday was aaawwweessooommee! Two of my nurses from Good Sam came over for lunch and to hang out with me and to see Daddy too. Daddy and I were super excited to see both Brooke and Melanie and they were crazy excited to see me and how big I have gotten. Man, once they got here Daddy took a back seat and didn't have to worry about a thing. They fed me, changed my diaper, played with me and best of all, we got to love on eachother. I really miss them and hope that we stay in touch. I bet not too many kids are as lucky as me and have nurses that keep in touch much less bring them presents. Yea, not only did they come to hang but they also brought me a pretty pink blanket with my name embroidered on it. Gosh, when I am like the luckiest kid ever! Thanks ladies, you really rock.

Yesterday (Saturday), Daddy invited over all the people who will be babysitting me when he has to go back to work. It really stinks that he has to go back but my babysitters are like the coolest and sweetest bunch of people, EVER!! So, since I can't go to work with Daddy at least I am gonna be home having an awesome time with my new friends. Daddy said that he wanted to have them over so they could meet me and we could get to know one another. That was a great idea and I got to snuggle with a few of them. It's super-duper cool because Daddy is making sure that the people taking care of me are either family or really good family friends. Gosh, I think that is gonna be awesome because I am gonna get super close with these individuals. I love them soo much.

Pretty busy weekend, right? Well today was super busy too. Daddy and Mimi McHugh went to church in the morning so Poppy and Mamaw came to watch me. I really like hanging with them. Daddy says that Mommy had a great relationship with her Poppy and Grandma too and that he knows that I am gonna have a super strong bond with mine too. Daddy says that I never got to meet my Great Poppy but that he was a great man and that he, my great grandma and Mommy are up in heaven having a great time together. He says that if there is a country club in heaven, Mommy, Great Poppy and Grandma are probably sitting down for dinner together. Mommy eating some sort of healthy food, Poppy ordering the hottest coffee available and Great Grandma eating her chicken fingers. Sounds like a great place to me.

Daddy and I had another lunch date. This time Daddy's swimming buddy came over with his girlfriend. Either I am just the best napper and snuggler on the planet or Daddy's friends have all taken lessons on how to cuddle. I haven't met a single one who doesn't take naturally to holding me.

To top off the weekend, we had dinner with the whole family at Uncle Grady and Aunt Cyndi's house. I am soo excited because I finally got to meet my Uncle Ben and his girlfriend, Angela (who I really got along with), Aunt Judy and Uncle Matt and then best of all I got to meet my cousins, Ella and Conner! They are only a little bit older than me and we are gonna be super close as the years go by. Daddy says that there are quite a few more people to meet on that side of the family. I can't wait.

As for how the adjustment to being home has gone, Daddy and Mimi say that I am doing great. I sleep for 4 hours between feeds at night and my belly has been doing good (knock on wood). I also finally got to meet Tucker. Man, he is ginormous!! But he is like the sweetest teddy bear ever. He likes to cuddle with Daddy just like I do and we get some great cuddling time together. Daddy says that Tuck is going to be a great protector and an even better playmate for me. Cool!

Well, that's about it. Pheww, I am exhausted!! I've gotta get to bed. I will blog with you soon. Have a great week!!

Love You, Lily

Keepin' Busy

2009-04-29T17:58:00.000-07:00

What's up everybody!! We are coming to the end of day three here at home and I am totally loving it! I get to hang with Daddy and Mimi way more than I ever did at the RCNIC. They are even here at 3 in the morning when I get up to eat (I'll touch on that a bit later). Also, I have all kinds of cool things here to play with and a ton of books for people to read to me. For being here for only three days, we have been super busy.

Yesterday (Tuesday) was a lot of fun because Mimi, Daddy and I went on our first field trip to return some things to Babies-R-Us so we could exchange them for this wicked cool swing. You are probably thinking, how cool can one baby swing be. Answer, really cool. It has six different speeds (although I am not allowed to go past Level 2), it hooks up to Daddy's iPod, plays nature sounds, and swings in three different directions. They had one at the RCNIC and I liked it so much that Daddy decided to get one for me. I didn't see the swing until we got home because, as you know, car rides make for a great napping opportunity. So, I didn't actually see anything in the store because I was still zonked out. Man, I even missed it when an older gentlemen saw me and said I was "born to shop". Man, Mimi laid the smack down in a hurry and said "Oh no she wasn't." Daddy said it was really funny because that is exactly what Mommy would have said. You see, Mommy and Daddy don't want to be about having "stuff" and always thought that shopping just to shop is pretty silly.

Once we got home, we hung out and Daddy started straightening out the house and assembling my swing. He said that it was a piece of cake to set up and I totally love laying in it and swinging. Oh yea, I met my first outside of the hospital friend on Tuesday too!! Gwynn came over with her mommy, Alison, and I got to snuggle with Alison for a long time while Daddy played with Gwynn. Daddy says that when I get older that I will get to play with Gwynn too but I have to get bigger first. I can't wait because I think that Gwynn and I are gonna be BFF(s) for a long time. Later in the day, Papau and Grandma and Poppy came over for dinner and to see me. It sure is exhausting having all these visitors. I just go to sleep if I get too tuckered out. All my naps are making Daddy and Mimi think that I have my days and nights mixed up because I like to stay up from 3-5 in the morning. So, I guess we will be working on sleeping better at night between my feeds.

Today was busy too. I had my doctor's appointment at my pediatrician's office and it went really well. I am growing like crazy! I weighed in today at 7lbs 14oz and Dr. Fix was really happy with how strong I am. Of course, this came as no suprise to Daddy or me but it's great to know anyway. After we got back from the doc's office I took a nice nap and then Grandma and Aunt Katie came by to hang out. Well, I can tell you this, I caught a great nap in their arms.

I also got mail today!! I got a really nice letter from one of my mommy's nurses that helped deliver me and then I also got an awesome hand made card from one of Mimi's friend's sons. It said for me to get better and if my doctor's appointment is indication, I am getting better and stronger. So, thanks Tyler for the awesome card. I love it!!

One of Daddy's BFF(s) (Uncle MJ) came by for dinner with his wife, Julie (with baby on board) and gave me all kinds of loving. Man, I could sleep for ever on Uncle MJ's chest. But not Aunt Julie's. Man, that kid can really kick like crazy. I was laying all nice and cozy with Julie and the WHAM. It didn't hurt but startled me and Julie. Everybody got a good laugh out of it.

To close the night out, Mimi gave me a massage. I like massages and they really relax me. In fact, I think I will go take another nap. Daddy is hoping this doesn't mean a 3am party at my crib. Thanks to everyone for keepin' in touch, I'll blog to you soon.

Love Always, Lily

Back Home

2009-04-27T17:19:00.000-07:00

Hello from Maid Marian Court!! Yup, that's right, we made it home....again. It has been a super busy day for Daddy, Mimi and me. It all started with Daddy and Mimi coming to the RCNIC and then these people from The Enquirer came to take pictures of us and my nurse, Cayse. It turns out that there are a lot of totally awesome people that follow the blog and one of them is an old friend of Daddy's who works for the paper. She has followed our story for some time now and decided to write a column on the great job my nurses have done and how lucky we are to have access to such awesome health care. Daddy got to read the article before it is going to print for this Sunday's paper and he says that, Jeanette (the author), did a fantastic job. Unfortunately, they could only talk about two of my nurses because of how many words are allowed. If you are one of my nurses, Daddy wanted me to send out a BIG THANKS and to make sure you know how much you mean to us. You are the best!! So, if you are a Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky-ite, go get the paper this coming Sunday and check out the article about my superstar nurses.

Along with the reporter, came the paparazzi. I am not kidding, this lady had two cameras and they were going off like crazy. Not to mention, they were bigger than I am. So, after they took a zillion-billion photos, the nurses started doing my final assessments to make sure I could go home. Well, you read where I am blogging this from so you know how it went. Luckily, there wasn't much waiting from the time they gave us the "green light" and the time we were walked out of the hospital. I just made sure that they fed me and burped me and we were on our way.

I love car rides!! Well, I love sleeping in cars. They are sooo relaxing. We got home around 2pm and settled in. It is soo nice here. Daddy and Mimi even took me for a short walk but the sidewalks were pretty bumpy and I wasn't a big fan of that. I think Daddy will be using the Bjorn for a lot of our walks. I can't wait to use that thing because it is just like kangarooing. Daddy straps on the vest lookin' thingy and then places me in and secures it and off we go.

This evening was cool too. Grandma and Poppy came by to spend time with me. It's really great being here. Tomorrow will be our first full day at home and I have doctor's appointment later on this week. Nothing crazy, just a follow up appointment with my pediatrician. That's about it for the day. I gotta go play with Daddy and Mimi before I eat and go to bed. Goodnight everybody.

Much Love, Lily

Au Revoir RCNIC, Part Dieux

2009-04-26T17:37:00.001-07:00

Happy Sunday everyone!! Well, I have been doing really well since my surgery and the doctors are ready to send me home for the second time. Hopefully I get to stay home for good this time and my only visits here will be my check ups and to quickly say "Hi" to my nurses. Daddy says he doesn't want me to be doing anymore sleepovers at the hospital and that he is soo totally ready to have me home forever. Well....at least for the next 18 years. I am ready too, so tonight I am gonna have my last great night with my nurses.

This weekend has been pretty cool. Yesterday (Saturday), Daddy was here early in the morning and stayed until noonish. We snuggled a bit, he fed me and then I took a really long nap right after Daddy read me "Itsy Bitsy Spider". Daddy left for a little while when I was taking a nap so that he could take a bike ride. Man, when he got back he was as pink as one my outfits and his arms were super warm. He called it "sunburn" and said that a smarter person would have stopped by CVS and bought some suntan lotion somewhere along the ride. He also said that I am not allowed to leave the house this summer without it and that he will be putting suntan lotion on me often.

Today, Papau came to see me in the morning and then Daddy and Mimi came right after church. Daddy says that everytime he comes to see me, someone else is holding me. He thinks I am the most held baby in the RCNIC. Which is totally cool with me because I am like the snuggle queen. Oh yea, Poppy came later in the afternoon and we hung out for a couple of hours. I love having visitors but from now on, they are gonna have to come to our house instead. Of course, when Daddy says it's ok for me to have visitors.

So the plan tomorrow is for Daddy and Mimi to come in the morning to hang out and get things ready to go. Then the doctors are going to do one last belly X-Ray to make sure everything is on the "up-and-up" and if it is, they are gonna send me packing. So, Daddy and I are crossing our fingers and are praying really really hard that everything looks great. You should too! Hopefully the next time we blog, it will be from home. Well, I am gonna get back to hanging with my nurses for the last night. Blog to you soon.

Love, Lily

Ouucchh!!

2009-04-23T18:10:00.001-07:00

OK people, surgery stinks!! I mean, the doctors said that I totally rocked and was like the best patient ever but it still wasn't fun. Daddy got here early in the morning as did Mimi and they held me until the doctors came to get me. Daddy told me that everything was going to be OK, that he knew that I was going to be OK and that he would be waiting for me when I got out. Oh yea, and that he loves me more than anything in the whole world. Mimi was just telling me how much she loves me and how proud of me she is. And then around 8:30 the doctors came to take me down to the OR (that's fancy talk for Operating Room) for my procedure.

Daddy and Mimi got to walk down with me and then they gave me a kiss and had to go wait in the waiting room until the doctors had done their thing. The whole ordeal only took about an hour and before I knew it I was waking up.

Man, that stuff they use to put you out really makes you wacky. Daddy was there shortly after they got me back to my bed and I was able to wake up a little bit for him but these drugs really make me tired and I slept most of the day. I tried to eat around 2 but was still so groggy that I didn't do so well. I was really hungry since I hadn't eaten all night and my throat was a little scratchy from the breathing tube they used during surgery and when Daddy gave me the bottle I went after it like it was the last bottle on the planet. One problem, my excitement mixed with the grogginess made me forget to breathe and I had a few bradycardia episodes. This happened on the first couple of feeds but I ate like a champ again at my night feeding. I only took 50 mLs but they are walking me slowly up to full feeds. If I can do that, they will take my IV out and it won't be long until they send me home.

Until then, the nurses are giving me a ton of love and are giving me tylenol for my discomfort. My incisions are only 2 cms a piece but they are pretty uncomfortable and I let out some good cries when they start to bother me. The docs say they won't be bothering me much longer and that I will never remember having the procedure when I grow up. I can handle that because right now, I wish I didn't have to have the surgery at all.

Anyway, thanks to all you awesome folks who have been praying for me. Daddy tells me about all the people who follow this blog and about all of you who are praying for us. He was telling me that sometimes the best gift you can give someone is as simple as saying a little prayer. So, thanks for all the gifts you've been sending our way. We love you all soo much!!

Well, I am gonna get some more sleep and am going to try to flush out the grogginess. Hopefully I wake up feeling somewhat like normal tomorrow. Daddy promised to be here first thing in the morning to give me tons of lovin. That's AWESOME! Goodnight rockstars!!

Love Always, Lily

Get It Done

2009-04-22T17:00:00.000-07:00

Hello everybody!! Guess what! I cracked the 7 pound mark yesterday. These protein shakes have done a totally fantastic job. Not to mention, they are quite tastey. I have been eating soo much that I practically tapped out all the "juice" that they had for me here and the nutritionists had to quickly order some reinforcements and get a little creative with my feeds to stretch the little milk I had left. They used a special formula to help buy us some time and my shipment of the good stuff came today. Let me just tell you, Daddy was not a happy camper when he found out that I was running so low. But he is doing much better now that my feeding is being taken care of.

So my "poop" analysis came back from the lab yesterday and the doctors say that it looks like I have a malabsorption issue. How would you like that job? "Hi, what do you do for a living?" Oh, I inspect poop". No thanks, sounds like a stinky job to me. Daddy says it probably pays pretty well. I dunno. Anyway, my tummy basically has a hard time processing certain types of sugars and sometimes they do that "fermentation" business and causes the gassiness. The only way to be real sure that it is what they think is to do an endoscopy but my GI doctor says I am too small to do that procedure now and that it can wait. My tummy seems to like the milk that I am on and luckily the insurance company will be picking up the tab for my food. That was a real worry for Daddy because as I said before, that stuff is pricey. We're not sure if it was my doctor's smooth talking or daddy's call this morning and talk of litigation if they didn't pay. You see, they originally said that they wouldn't pay. Either way, we are super-duper happy and very thankful that we can stay on the donor milk and don't have to float the bill.

My surgery is scheduled for Thursday morning. I am a little nervous but my surgeon's are superstars and Daddy says that they are the best around. They are going to make two super tiny cuts and go in and fix everything and then they are sending me back to my bed in the RCNIC. The whole thing when it is all said and done will take about an hour or so. And since I am so tiny, the surgeons say that my pain won't be soo bad and that I probably will only need a little tylenol. So, I am really thankful for that.

So, please pray for a quick and easy procedure and a fast recovery. I know that you will.

Other than that, I keep on getting stronger. Daddy says he is so impressed with how strong I am and how I can lay on my tummy and move my head where ever I want it to go. He said I will be able to do a push up in no time. I sleep great and I eat like a champ. Daddy has even read me a few new books that my Aunt Jocelyn and Cousin Paige got for me. I really like the Itsy Bitsy Spider because Daddy sings it to me. I am glad that silly spider finally figured out to crawl up the outside of the water spout instead of up the inside. He kept getting flushed out.

Well, I am gonna get a bath and head to bed. I am getting to like this bathing stuff and I smell good afterwards too.

They aren't allowed to feed me after midnight because of my procedure. This should be a fun night for my nurse. Daddy says it's a small price to pay to get my hernia fixed and not have to worry about it anymore. OK, off to bed. Sweet dreams.

Love, Lily

Power Shakes

2009-04-19T18:02:00.000-07:00

Hey everybody!! I am sorry I haven’t posted since Wednesday. The weekends get kinda busy around here and before I know it it’s Sunday night and I haven’t blogged a single letter. I trust that you had a good weekend. Mine was really good!

I guess you could say the weekend started for me on Thursday. Since Daddy wasn’t going to the gym in the morning, he stayed a little later than usual and read me two new books. One was "It’s Not Easy Being a Bunny" and "The Little Engine that Could". These were some really good stories. The first was about P.J. Funnybunny. It seems that P.J. isn’t happy being a bunny and tries to be all kinds of animals to see if he likes it better. He tries to be a moose, a possum, a pig, and a skunk. He didn’t try being a skunk very long at all. Daddy says P.J. was just having a little bit of an “identity crisis” but that he finally figures out that there isn’t anything wrong with being a bunny. In fact, the story ends with him going back home very happy that he is a bunny because he realizes that he was created to do the things bunnies do. Besides, like Daddy says, "the grass isn't greener on the other side. The grass is greenest where it is watered". Then the story about the little engine was really good too because it’s all about not letting your lack of size determine what you can and can't do. Daddy told me that the moral to the story is that I can do anything that I set my mind to and for which I am willing to work. Kinda like Tough Chicks, even though I am small and was born premature, I can do all the things that a regular term baby does and even more. Small and mighty, that's me!! I really like these kind of stories.

Daddy came and hung out with me Friday night and we had some visitors stop by. One of Daddy’s friends was in from out of town and hadn’t had the chance to meet me so they came by the hospital and we got to know eachother. I was wide awake and a little leery when Daddy placed me in the arms of a stranger. Especially when daddy had to give the “how to hold a baby” speech. Luckily, all Daddy’s buddy needed was a little guidance and I nestled right in. Daddy tells me that he and mommy have such an amazing network of friends and that he hopes that some day I have friends like this. I am sure I will.

Saturday was a beautiful day I am told. It’s hard to say from my crib but everyone here was saying how great it was outside. Daddy came over in the morning and then left around noon to go on a long bike ride. But he didn’t get out of here before I had the chance to spit up on him. Let me tell you, I got him good. I had just eaten like 100mLs and thought I’d give a little back. Don’t worry, I usually don’t spit up and usually only do it when I am trying to get rid of my food from the “other” end. Daddy came back after his ride and hung out for another few hours. We just snuggled, chatted and I napped a bit. Yea, it was pretty sweet.

To top off the weekend, Daddy came after church today and we spent much of the day together. I am eatting much larger volumes and they have even started fortifying the boob juice with protein so that I get the calories I need. Daddy calls it my protein shake. Like the ones he drinks when he gets done doing his training stuff (less the "jice" of course). He says that protein shakes can help to make you grow big and strong which sounds good to me, so keep 'em comin!! I am taking in 100mLs per feed and it blows Daddy's mind that I even have room in my belly for soo much milk. But, I am getting pretty good at making room for the new stuff as I eat, if you know what I mean. Daddy says it's a good thing he changes my diaper after I eat because I may lose my appetite if he did it before. Whatever!! Anyway, this protein stuff really does seem to be working great. I weighed in tonight at 6lbs 11oz and am 19.5inches long. It won't be too long before I crack the 7lbs mark.

Since my tummy is doing pretty good, the docs are going to schedule my hernia repair for sometime this week (we won't know when until Monday or Tuesday) and then I will be able to go home a couple of days after that if all goes well. I don't look forward to the surgery but Daddy and I both want to get it taken care of so that we have one less thing to worry about when I come home for good. Please keep the prayers and good vibes comin' cuz we definately feel them here in the RCNIC. You guys are rockstars in my book. See you soon. I am off to bed....

Love, Lily

The Results are In and the Verdict Is.....

2009-04-15T19:11:00.000-07:00

Hello friends!! Do you like my new wubbadub? His name is Ducky and I suck on the pacifier that is sowed to his mouth when I am fussy and he helps calm me down. I don't want you gettin the wrong idea, it isn't very often that I get fussy, just when I am hungry, but Ducky helps me to relax when I start to get a little kranky. Daddy loves how I hold on to Ducky when I am using the pacifier and he doubly loves it when Ducky helps me to stop crying. He says that everyone could use a wubbadub every once in a while. Apparently, I can really belt out a good cry when I am upset and daddy says that I must have inherited Mommy's vocal ability. "How else could such a sound come from such a small girl?" He asks. I am told that Mommy was a small woman but always surprised people with her powerful singing voice. I bet I will be a great singer too. I can sing along with the CD that Mimi Cameron and the music guy here made. Yea, this joint has a music guy who goes around and makes CDs for us kids. Some with their parents or grandparents singing to them.

Daddy says that he thinks mommy is singing and dancing over me and how well I am taking our situation. Of course I am tired of all the nurses and doctors pushing on my tummy but I am getting much better at letting them do their thing without giving them the "what for". I am told that we just have to be patient and let the doctors do what they do so that they can find a fix. I think I can do that but one area in which Daddy says I need to practice patience is eating. You see, when I get hungry I want my food and I want it like five minutes ago. This weird thing happens where every three hours I will go from being perfectly content one minute to really upset the next. I am ready to eat. Mimi says I go "Zero-to-Sixty" in no time flat. Daddy just asks for a little warning so that he can get the bottle ready. I say, "Hey, I get hungry every 3-4 hours. I know it. You know it. So have my bottle ready for cryin out loud" On the plus side, Daddy won't need an alarm clock when we go home for good.

Oh yea, my biopsy results came back negative!! WOOHOOO!!! This is great news. I mean, we kinda knew that they wouldn't see anything crazy weird but it is nice to know for sure that I don't have that Hirschsprung Disease they were thinking of. Phew! So my feedings are going well even though the docs still don't know what is going on in my tummy. I certainly haven't lost my appetite and have been crushing the bottle. I pigged out on 3oz of formula today at one of my feeds. As for the formula, the surgeons have pulled in the GastroIntestinal (we call them GI for short) doctors to look at my case to see what they think since there doesn't appear to be anything wrong with my anatomy. They have suggested that we go back to the donor milk to see if I can tolerate that better. It seems that some babies have a hard time digesting some formulas because of the "high-fructose corn syrup" they use. Daddy says that this syrup stuff is a very complex sugar and that the doctors told him that sometimes the belly can't digest it and that it ferments in the belly; causing gas and distension. I don't know anything about fermentation, but it doesn't sound too cool. So, we shall see how this goes. Maybe I just need to stay on the "boob juice". Hey, I could call it milk, but one of my nurses called it boob juice tonight and I think that is a more fun term than milk. It's kinda boring to just say "milk"

Anyway, so that's where we are. I am still here at the RCNIC while the docs try to figure me out. I am still growing. I weigh around 6lbs 9oz and I am developing new skills almost every day. I hold my own wubbanub, I have a very strong neck, I told you of my incredible vocal stylings, I can lift my head and turn it where I want to, I make great eye contact, and I totally kick tush on feeding from the bottle. Oh, and let's not forget my man burps, I am pretty good at that too.

Well, beauty sleep awaits. I will keep you posted on any news. Keep on rockin'!!

Love You, Lily

Happy Easter!!

2009-04-12T18:19:00.000-07:00

Hey everybody, Happy Easter!! I hope that you had a great weekend hunting for the easter eggs that the easter bunny brought for you. I can't wait to do that. I am soo happy that the Easter Bunny didn't forget us kids here and stopped by the RCNIC. He (or wait, is it a she?) Hmmm....anyway, the Easter Bunny brought me a stuffed animal and a book courtesy of the Ruth Lyons Foundation. I love the stuffed animal and can not wait for Daddy to read me my new book.

So, what's new? Since my last post I have had a number of tests so that the doctors can figure out what in the world is going on in my tummy. On Friday, Daddy came to see me early since the doctors ordered a berium enema. I really don't like that test because it is very uncomfortable. So, we went downstairs to have the test. Daddy says that I was a very brave little girl and that he is super-duper proud of me. The doctors were looking for these things called "strictures" in my belly but they didn't see any which is a good thing. So, since I did so good on the first test the doctors ordered an Upper GI test. That's the one where I have to swallow the chalky contrast stuff and they take pictures of my belly as it moves through. That stuff doesn't taste all that great. I did great on this test too. Daddy says that all this is great news but that it still leaves us a bit in the dark as to why my tummy keeps acting up. The doctors seem to think that I may just have an immature belly from the two times I had NEC. Sometimes when preemies get NEC, daddy says that it can cause the belly to mature much slower than other babies'. They still want to run one more test. They call it a biopsy. Daddy says that it won't hurt but that it will be about as uncomfortable as the berium enema. So, I don't look forward to that test.

Today was a pretty good day. Daddy and my mimis went to church and then came to see me. Mimi McHugh brought me a couple of new books with bunnies as the main characters. Daddy hung out with me for a long time today. Long enough to "kangaroo" for like two whole hours, read and nap together. You know that totally ROCKED!! Then Daddy topped it all off with not one goodnight book, not two goodnight books, but three totally awesome goodnight books. Daddy read me all the books that Mimi bought for me. I fell right to sleep. Daddy talked to me a little longer, sang me our goodnight song, tucked me in, gave me kisses on the forehead (just like he used to do for mommy) and wished me sweetdreams. Daddy and I make a great team and I just can not wait to get home for good so we can get on with our lives together.

So, that's about it. I am gonna go get my beauty sleep and get ready for my test tomorrow. Could you pray for a good result? I know that you will. Thanks for everything. Have a great start to the week! Blog to you soon!!

Love you all, Lily

Aaannddd We're Back

2009-04-09T17:49:00.000-07:00

Hey everybody. I wish I could tell you that my first whole day at home was totally awesome, but I can't because I am back at the RCNIC at Children's. Daddy calls it Deja Vu because I am in the exact same pod and in the exact same bed as I was yesterday. Daddy says the bed was still warm from the last time I was in it and that if I ever want to visit my awesome nurse friends here, there are other ways to do it. It totally stinks being back because our house is really awesome.

So you are probably wondering, "WTH" (What the Heck!!). Well, let me tell you what happened. When they released me yesterday afternoon, I was perfectly OK. My belly was nice and soft to the touch and all my other tests looked great. So, they let me go. Later on in the evening my daddy and mimis noticed my belly was getting a little harder and that I was getting a little more touchy about them feeling my belly. Luckily, my first pediatrician appointment was this morning. Sidenote, my pediatrician is like the nicest lady ever. OK, back to my story. We get to the appointment and by this time my belly is really distended. Daddy told Dr. Fix that he has never seen my belly so large and they agreed that I should probably get some x-rays to see what was goin' on. You want to know the great part of my Dr's office? It's at the same place that Daddy works out and it also has a satelite campus for Children's Hospital. I am not too sure what the heck a satelite is but to get my x-ray, we just had to walk down the hall.

I am not the biggest fan of x-rays. I mean, who would like being stripped down to their underwear, placed on a cold dark x-ray table and then pinned down so you can't move while some poor technician takes your picture. Needless to say, I was not a happy camper. Once the doctors got a chance to look at the X-rays they decided to try a suppository to see if that made my belly go down. Well, the suppository definately worked from a pooping perspective but my belly still wasn't going down. At this point, Dr. Fix and the docs at Children's agreed that the best place for me to be was back at the RCNIC. So, here we are. Back in the same pod and the same bed.

We got back to the RCNIC around 3:30 and the doctors here did all of their assessments. I am not a fan of that either. I wish they would stop taking off my clothes to push on me. But daddy says that they only do it because they care about me and want to send me home for good next time. One thing that they did find is that I have a inguinal hernia and they think I got it when I was bearing down super hard to poo. Apparently, this is a fairly common occurence but the thing that stinks is that for girls, it requires surgery to fix. Now, don't go gettin all panicky on me. The doctors told daddy that if they can push the hernia back in place (which they did) most of the time surgery can wait until I am older and it is done as an outpatient procedure. Daddy told me that outpatient is just a way of saying I come to the hospital and go home the same day.

So the plan now is to have another berium enema test tomorrow to see if there are any strictures that have developed that were not able to be seen on the last test. The docs seem to think it has to be something anatomical going on instead of a food intolerance. I am really not looking forward to this test because the last one was not fun at all. So, please say a prayer for me and one for daddy to stay strong. I think we are holding up well but we still get a little discouraged from time to time.

I will keep you posted as to my progress. I love you all.

Love, Lily

Home Sweet Home

2009-04-08T17:57:00.000-07:00

Hey everybody! Greetings from 6903 Maid Marian Ct!! That's right, I have finally made it home after spending the first 85 days of my life in the hospital. Man, is it nice and quiet here. There aren't any beeps or sirens going off and the only baby crying is me when I am ready to eat. I am really excited to be home and to get to start a new chapter in my life with daddy.

Daddy and both my Mimis came to Children's Hospital around 9am this morning so that once the doctors did their rounds on me, we could go home. It would figure that on the day that I get to come home the doctors would be running behind schedule. So, once they took care of all the other kids in my unit, they rounded on me and gave me the "green light" for Daddy to take me home. The nurses gave daddy a whole bunch of material and information for him to read. Then they tucked me into my carseat, which I wasn't so happy about at the time, but then I settled down once we started moving.

I loved the car ride!! Well, let me be more clear...I loved the car ride in the parking garage. I slept the entire way home holding on to both Mimis' fingers. Daddy is a great driver and wasn't even that scared with me as a passenger. We finally got home around 2pm and Daddy walked me through the front door. What a pretty house we have. I can feel mommy all around and I get to see her everywhere in pictures. It is great to be home!

The rest of the day went great with all the grandparents (less Florida Papau) stopping by to see me without any monitors . I get a ton of lovin from them and it's great not having such strict visitation rules. Of course, Daddy is keeping visitors to a minimum but it is just nice being able to have more than 2 people visit at one time. I have eaten three times so far at home and am ready for bed again. I need to go #2 because my belly is getting a little big and I don't want to cause Daddy too much concern. I am sure he is nervous enough as it is just having me home.

Well, that's about it. I have my first pediatrician appointment tomorrow morning. Daddy said that she is a very nice doctor. I can't wait to meet her. Stay tuned as I continue to blog from the comfort of my new home. It's great here. Hopefully I will get to meet Tucker soon. He's still staying at Mimi and Papau's until we get settled in. Talk to you soon. Thanks for everything!!

Love Always, Lily

Gettin' Close

2009-04-05T18:29:00.000-07:00

Hey Everybody!! I hope that your weekend was as fantastic as mine. Things are going so well that if I keep up the good work, we'll be bustin' out of here on Wednesday. You see, I am crushing all the food they give me (like 60 to 70mLs per feed), I am becoming more "regular" and I totally rocked out the Carseat Challenge on Saturday. I am not sure why they call it a "challenge". They just plopped my lil bottom in my carseat and sat me there for thirty minutes to see how I did. Peace of cake. I guess some babies have a hard time holding their heads up and that can be a little dangerous. Not to worry, I hold my head up just fine. The hospital actually has a "carseat technician" that comes around and makes sure that my straps fit just right so I am both safe and comfortable in the car. Pretty awesome. I am getting sooo excited to ride home with Daddy!!!

On Friday, Daddy came down after work to hang with me for a little bit. We snuggled in the recliner and he read me "Tough Chicks" again. I think we are both looking forward to getting home to where all my books are so that we can have a little variety. Don't get me wrong, I totally love "Tough Chicks" because I am one, but a girl can only hear the same story so many nights in a row. Besides, I don't think Daddy reads it anymore. He's got it memorized. The other book Daddy has been reading me is "The Parable of the Lily". Cool title, isn't it? Well, Daddy says that it is the perfect time to read the book because it is an Easter story about a farmer who sends a gift to his daughter (without her knowing the gift is from him) and the girl really doesn't know the value of the gift because it came in a crate full of dirt. She totally forgets to take care of the gift and one day she knocks over the crate and a bulb rolls out. She gets so mad that she tosses the bulb into the yard never to think of it again. Until....She wakes up on Easter morning and walks outside to see the most beautiful flower growing in her Daddy's flower garden. It was an Easter lily. Daddy showed me the pictures in the book and the lily really is the prettiest flower ever. He said that he always gave mommy lillies because mommy had a way of making life exciting, beautiful and fragrant. Just like a Lily. And that is where I get my name!! Anyway, back to the story. When the girl realizes that the gift was from her daddy, she realizes it must of hurt his feelings the way she didn't care for the gift and she asks him to forgive her. Then her daddy says that forgiveness is what Easter is all about. What a great book! Puts me to sleep everytime. But Daddy says he loves it for a different reason this week. He thinks it is really fitting if I come home this week because it is the week of Easter and that Easter isn't just about forgiveness, it''s about rebirth and when I come home, Daddy and I get to start a new chapter in our lives together. We are both really excited about where the road's gonna take us.

Weekends are awesome because I get to spend even more time with my grandparents. Poppy swung by and Mimi and Papau came by today(Sunday) and chilled with me for a but. Not to mention, Mimi Cameron snuggled with me for a long time too. Another plus to coming home is that Daddy won't get yelled at for having more than two grandparents visit at once. See, Children's only allows two people by my bed at one time. It makes it a little hard to visit but they have their rules and they are there to keep us kids safe. It's cool.

So, that's about it. I really hope that this time, the third time, is a charm and that I get to finally come home to daddy. I think I am ready from a health standpoint so please continue to pray for that. I know you will. I weighed in tonight at 6lbs 4oz. I am slowly puttin' on the weight but I am growing like crazy. I am now growing out of my preemie clothes and into newborns. Pretty cool because I get to start sportin some new gear. Look for some pics here in the near future. OK, gotta go get the beauty sleep. I love all of you.

Goodnight, Lily

Up To The Challenge

2009-04-02T18:25:00.000-07:00

Hey everyone!! This week has been going great so far. The nurses and doctors started letting me eat more from the bottle and today they said that I could eat as much as I wanted from the bottle. So, guess what I have been doing. Thats right, I have been piggin out and eating like 50 mLs from the bottle every feed. Of course, Daddy has to stop about half way through so I can let out a couple of burps to make room for the rest but I am doing fantastic on the bottle. They have me on a mixture of donor milk and formula. It tastes pretty good and is gonna really help me put on the weight.

I can tell you one thing I don't like....prune juice!!! Yuck!! That stuff doesn't taste anything like formula or milk and it makes me go like crazy. I don't like that stuff at all. Daddy says going like crazy beats not going and that before too long we will get it down to a good balance so that I stay "regular" without being too "regular". Everything in moderation, I guess.

When Daddy was leaving for work today, the nurse asked him if I have taken the "Carseat Challenge" and he told them that I have not. What is the carseat challenge, you ask? This is something that the hospital does for all of the children who are getting ready to go home. They place the baby in the carseat, make sure it is sized correctly, and for about thirty minutes they watch them to see how they do. Daddy brought in my carseat tonight and tomorrow I am going to take the challenge. Wish me luck!! Daddy says he thinks I will do just fine and that he wouldn't be suprised to have me home in the next week or so. That would be totally sweet!!

So, since I am doing so well and they are letting me eat as much as I want from the bottle, I decided it would be a good idea to yank out my nose tube when the nurse wasn't watching. It is soo much easier to breath without that thing. I am down to one tube, the PICC, and then the sensors. The PICC should be coming out in the next day or so and hopefully that is the last of the IVs (especially the kind that go in your head).

Other than that, there isn't too much to report. I get to spend tons of time with my mimis and daddy comes by all the time. I am such a lucky girl. I'll blog with you all very soon.

Love You,

Lily

Check Out My Bling

2009-03-30T18:33:00.000-07:00

Hey everybody! How are you all doing? I am doing great here at the RCNIC at Childrens. The doctors are still pleased with how I am progressing. They seem to think it may be something called "dismotility" which is fancy doctor speak for "slow to poo". So, what do you do if a baby has dismotility? You give them prune juice and sometimes a suppository. It works like a charm but they would rather me go on my own. Frankly, I would rather go on my own too! We'll get there.

This was a great weekend for me. Daddy came and spent most of the afternoon on Friday with me and we hung out a whole bunch on Saturday. My Mimi Cameron is also in town so we get to hang out a whole bunch. This is especially nice during the week when Daddy has to work. I get to hang out with both my Mimis and daddy gets back to the RCNIC soon after they go home for the day. I am hardly ever alone. I mean, I do get my alone time in the crib but I also get all the lovin' I want and it ROCKS!

On Sunday there was an event downtown for the American Heart Association called the Heart Mini-Marathon. There were 3 events. A 5K run, a 15K run and a 5K walk. The whole family participated in the event at one distance or another in Mommy's memory (they even had special t-shirts). Uncle Ben and Angela ran the 5K, daddy ran the 15K and the rest of the family walked the 5K. Cousin Elisabeth even ran an unofficial length of 7K (nobody told her where to turn around, hehehe). Daddy says the weather was a little cold, rainy and windy but that it couldn't sour the event and everyone had a great time. He said that the event is to raise money for people whose hearts are special. Daddy says mommy's heart was especially special because it was the largest, most loving one that he has ever seen. After Daddy finished his run the people there gave him a medallion for participating. He brought it straight to the hospital to give it to me saying that he thought of me an mommy for every mile of his 9.3 mile run. He also said that next year, he might actually train for the event instead of just going out and doing it. And guess what?!?! He said that I get to do it next year too because we have a special stroller that he can run with. That is going to be a lot of fun.

It was a busy weekend in the RCNIC too. I am up to full feeds again and hopefully they will let me start eating every three hours from the bottle. I am currently on a continuous feed through an NG tube (nose tube). I am continuing to weigh in good at 6lbs 3oz and I measured in at 181/2 inches. The doctors say that I am right where I need to be in terms of maturity, weight and size. But they still don't know when they are going to send me home. They would like me to have my own "bowel" movements and they want to watch me a bit longer because the last couple of infections happened about a week after I got to full feeds. So, prayer request. Please pray that I have no more infections come on and that my belly starts to move my poop without any assistance. If we can do these things, I will be home in short order.

Oh yea, almost forgot. I wanted to thank you guys for praying for my friends here. A couple of the kids in my pod are doing so much better since the last time I asked you all to pray for them. One was even taken off a ventilator. You all really are the best!!

Well, I better get back to bed. I had "Spa" night tonight and am so tired. It's a tough life being me. Snuggle, sleep, get loved on, sleep, Spa night. Love it!! Goodnight everbody. I love you all sooo much!!

Love, Lily

New Do

2009-03-26T19:27:00.000-07:00

Hey everybody!! Things are continuing to go pretty good for me. They allowed me to feed out of the bottle 4 times today!! Well, maybe I should clarify. They let me take 5 mLs from a bottle 4 times today. It's not much but it sure tastes good. Daddy thinks it's hilarious because when they started to give me the bottle I acted like I thought it was just another pacifier and didn't show much interest. But when the milk hit my tongue, my eyes got really wide and I went to town on the bottle. It only takes me about 20 seconds to polish off such a small amount but I plan on showing the doctors that I can handle more of the good stuff. Anything to get this PICC out of my hair.

Oh yea, my hair. This is something I was NOT very excited about. The nurses have to change the dressing for my PICC once every week. Well, they tried to be delicate but the tape was pulling out some of my hair. Do you know how bad that feels? I'll tell ya, it doesn't feel good. And then, to top things off, the lady cut my hair. Can you believe that?!?! She cut my hair!! It took me close to nine months to grow that stuff and she just took it right off in less then 10 seconds. Daddy says that it will grow back and that I am still the cutest thing he has ever seen. We even got to keep my hair that was cut. It's on a postcard that says "My First Haircut". While I was less-than-thrilled about my new do, daddy said the nurse did it so I didn't have to have my hair yanked out everytime they have to change the dressing. Besides, it's just the hair around the PICC. It isn't like she shaved my whole head. Daddy also says it's just hair and that he's been cutting his for years and it always seems to grow back. Well, most of it grows back.

The doctors are really happy with my progress. At this rate, I won't be hanging out here at Childrens too long. I told you all that I was going to cruise right past the 6lbs mark and you know what?! I weighed 6pounds 2ounces today!! It's gotta be all the love and prayers I have been getting. The lipids (fat) that they put in my IV probably don't hurt either.

Daddy says that I am blooming right before his eyes. Just like the trees, flowers and bushes outside. He says Spring is when new life springs forth and that he is very thankful that I will be coming home when it's getting warm. That way, we won't be stuck in the house as much. We can get out and go for walks around the neighborhood and take Tucker with us. Daddy says we will have to train Tuck to walk next to a stroller but that it shouldn't be too hard to do on the account that Tucker is so smart. I can't wait.

Tomorrow (March 27) is my actual due date and daddy is going to spend most of the day with me. He has to go into work for a little bit but said he will take a very long lunch and then go back to work for a little while longer to finish up things before the weekend. Daddy says that my Mimi Cameron is coming into town and will be coming to see me tomorrow. I can't wait. I have really missed her. I look forward to some quality snuggling time.

Well, I better get some rest. Thanks for everything. You guys are SWEET!!!

Love Always, Lily

Mmmm, is that milk in my tummy?

2009-03-24T17:45:00.000-07:00

Happy Monday folks!! It was a pretty fun weekend after the doctors were done running their tests. On Sunday, Daddy came after church and hung out for a few hours and we read books and cuddled a bunch. He told me that Spring is here and that there are -hopefully- much warmer days on the way and since the weather was so nice, Daddy left for a couple of hours to ride his bike in the afternoon. He says that when I get big enough that there is a trailer he can attach to his bike so that I can go on rides with him. That sounds really cool and he says that he sees a lot of daddies with their babies riding along on the trail by our house!!

I finally started feeding again!! It seems like it's been forever but they had to make sure everything was cool before they introduced anything to my tummy. The doctors said I have to start rreeeaalllyyy slow because my tummy has to get used to having food in it again. Since the feeds are too little for a bottle, I get my food through the tube in my nose. I sure hope this is the last time I have to have one of these tubes in my face. It really itches!! Today I kept sneezing. One sneeze was so big that I blew the tube right out of my nose!! Daddy tells me that the plan is to slowly increase how much food I can have and when the volume gets high enough, I can start practicing on the bottle again. I look forward to that.

I get great treatment here at Children's. I have a physical therapist that comes to see me during the day. Mimi says that she's like the baby whisperer or something because when she gets done with me, I am as limp as a wet noodle. On top of that, I get held all the time and they put a CD player in my crib so that I can listen to lullaby music. Man, does that music zonk you out. Good stuff, great naps.

I had my second eye exam today (Monday) and I passed in with flying colors. Other than that, there is not really anything new to report. I just attend to my one chore...to grow. I weighed 5lbs 12.5ounces tonight! I will be 6 pounds before you know it!! Actually, I'll probably fly right past it at this rate. The plan right now is to keep increasing my feeds -so long as I can process them- until I get to a full feed volume (this is going to take a bit of time). So, same ol', same ol'. But we are moving forward. Yea!!

Thank you for all your prayers!! You guys are the best. If you could, please throw up a prayer for the rest of my friends here. Some of them are pretty sick and their parents are pretty stressed too. And one for the INCREDIBLE staff!

OK, goodnight everyone. A girl has to get her beauty sleep you know!!

Love You All, Lily

Hey! That's Not Milk

2009-03-21T12:25:00.001-07:00

Hola everybody!! I hope your Spring is off to a great start. Mine sure is! It's been a few days since I last updated the blog so let's catch up! Since my last test (lower GI) came back negative, the doctors said I had to flush out (nice way of saying poo) all the contrast stuff they put in and then I could do my next test, the upper GI contrast test. It took a little bit of time to get all of it out but yesterday(Friday) they gave me the go-ahead to have the test done today(Saturday). This test was way easier - and much more comfortable- than the first one. Daddy, Mimi and Papau came to see me in the morning and then the nurse, Daddy, Mimi and I went downstairs to the X-Ray room to do the test. Instead of giving me the contrast stuff through a tube, they gave Daddy a bottle of stuff to give me. It was white like milk, but it sure didn't taste like milk!It was really chalky and made me look like I was wearing white lipstick. But when you haven't eaten for two weeks, you suck down whatever they give you.

As I sucked down the doctor's cocktail, Daddy said it was really cool to watch the TV screen and see how it moves through my insides. The doctors then sent us back upstairs with the bottle and instructed me to eat a little bit more before my second X-Ray. You are probably thinking, "Second Xray" Well, the doctors actually took 4 of them (spaced out about 30minutes between each one) so that they could see how my tummy was moving the stuff along. So far, everything looks to be working the way that it should and the doctors are talking about letting me eat real food -well...formula- again!! I can't tell you how excited that makes me. Daddy says that he is super-proud of me for doing so well with the test and not getting fussy at all. That's cuz I am a tough chick like in my book.

Daddy says that they will probably try a different type of formula this time around to see if all my problems were because my tummy just didn't like that other stuff. I hope that is the case and that they find some food that doesn't upset my tummy because if we can do that, that means I will be home really soon. Me and daddy are both growing a bit tired of hospital living. Don't get me wrong, these people here are great, but we apparently have an awesome house and an awesome dog that we get to go home to.

I will be 10weeks old tomorrow and I now weigh 5lbs 9oz. Yea, I am totally getting big!! Daddy calls me his chunky monkey. Even Aunt Cyndi and Uncle Grady stopped by today and when Cyndi was holding me she mentioned how much of a difference she sees. I get held all the time which is totally cool with me. Being held is wwaayy more comfortable than laying in bed by myself. Oh! They also gave me a new pacifier called a Wubbanub. Basically, it's a pacifier with a stuffed animal on the end of it. Mine has a baby Ribbit on the end. He's a frog just like mine and mommy's Ribbit at home.

Well, that's about it. Daddy is hanging out with the kids at church tonight but promised to come back to hang out for a bit and read me some good night stories. I'll blog to you all again soon. Have a great weekend!!

Love You All, Lily

Happy St. Patrick's

2009-03-17T18:33:00.000-07:00

Hey everybody! Happy St. Patrick's day! I don't know who this Patrick guy is but Daddy tells me that his holiday is pretty fun. A bunch of the nurses here at Children's were wearing green and some were even wearing goofy things on their heads (dad called them Shamrocks). Daddy says there are other parts of the holiday that I won't be able to partake in for quite some time. But I do like the green!

So, as you can see/read, I am now at Children's Hospital in Cincinnati. I am not sure what I was so afraid of, the nurses and doctors here are great. They remind me of my friends at Good Sam they are so sweet. I will say that the unit is a LOT different than where I was before. There are more lights and Daddy says he doesn't think it is as "homey" feeling but he also says that there is a reason for that. A lot of the babies here have more serious problems than my friends back at Good Sam's NICU. But, the doctors here are EXTRA special and if anybody can do the fixin', they can.

So, you are probably wondering how my first car ride was. Well, I wish I could tell you. Fact is, I slept the entire way from Good Sam. All 1.9 miles of the trip. For the trip over, they put me in this souped-up stretcher. Daddy says it is the same kind of stretcher that they put big people on except that there is an incubator attached. Apparently, it weighs close to 500 lbs and the guy transporting me almost threw his back out getting me into the ambulance. Daddy rode in the ambulance with me and Mimi met us over at our new hospital.

They still aren't feeding me but they did start doing the studies today. Today they did what they call a contrast study. I'll spare you all the gross details but they put some stuff in my intestines that would show up on an X-ray machine and then took all kinds of pictures. It was very uncomfortable and I was NOT a happy camper. The doctor said that I was a good patient and it didn't take very long. It didn't take too long until the results came back either and they were "negative". Daddy says that this is one of those times when "negative" means "good". The doctors were looking for "strictures" in my bowel which -if found- would mean I would need surgery. Well, they didn't find anything. So, we move on to the next test which will most likely be a tube they send down my mouth to take pictures. I don't look forward to that but if that's what we have to do to figure out what is going on, that's what we have to do. The next tests will most likely take place on Thursday. The hurry up and wait game is certainly familiar territory so let's just wait and see.

Other than that, I am doing really well. The nurses just think that I am too cute. Daddy agrees of course. I weigh 5lbs 2.5ounces and am enjoying all the lovin that I am getting. Thanks for everything. Have a great day!!

Love, Lily

Big Girl

2009-03-15T18:06:00.000-07:00

Well, it took a while but I DID IT!! I weighed in tonight at 5lbs1.2ounces and they measured me at 18inches. Daddy says I am growing soo fast that he sees changes in me everyday. Now I weigh more than a bag of sugar.

It has been a fun weekend! I've gotten soo spoiled because all the nurses know that I am scheduled to be transferred tomorrow(Monday) and that I won't be coming back. So I got extra snuggle time and even got some going away presents. I am sad that I have to leave but Daddy says that he has everyone's contact information and that he is going to stay in touch with them. When the doctors at Children's figure out what's up with my tummy, fix it and send me home, Daddy says that our new friends (my nurses) are welcome at our house anytime. I sure hope they visit.

I had all kinds of visitors today. First, the Bauman's came in to hang out with me. They were amazed at how much I have grown in the short time since they last saw me. Then Poppy and Mamau came by and Mamau snuggled with me for a little bit. That was awesome because I haven't gotten to see her because she was a little under-the-weather. Now that she is better, I am excited to spend more time with her. Then, Daddy and I Kangaroo'd for 2 whole hours! We both get so comfortable snuggling that I fall right to sleep and Daddy fights hard not to doze off because the nurses might yell at him. Apparently, you aren't supposed to fall asleep while holding a baby. Who could blame him though? Kangarooing is the best place in the world to be. Alison came to hang with us too. She held me and complimented me on my chunky cheeks and two chins. She also told me all about her daughter, Gwynn, and how we are gonna be best friends. I can't wait to meet her!!

Daddy came back later in the evening to hang out and read me my goodnight story. Tonight's story was titled "Tough Chicks". My Aunt Pitter bought me the book because she said it reminded her of me. I love the story of the three tough chicks. The three chicks don't act like "normal" baby chickens are supposed to behave. They get into stuff and really get on Farmer Fred's nerves. But Mama Hen is really proud of her baby chicks and how they are unique. Then one day Farmer Fred loses control of his tractor and who comes to the rescue? That's right! The three chicks. After that, everybody celebrated the chicks and all the things about them that before got on their nerves. Daddy says that the lesson of the book is to be proud of who you are and that I can do anything I set my mind to because I am one tough chick.

Well, that is really all that is going on. This is my last night at the Good Sam NICU and I am really sad to be leaving. But I am excited to meet new friends at Children's and to finally figure out what has been causing my tummy problems. Daddy says that the people who will be taking care of me are very good at what they do. So good, in fact, that babies come in from all over to be treated by them. He says we are so blessed to have such special facilities so close to home.

I will be transfered sometime in the morning and once I get over to Children's, they will decide what tests to run. Please pray that the problem with my tummy is a simple fix. I will blog soon to tell you all what we find out.

Love You, Lily

Hurry Up and Wait

2009-03-12T18:56:00.000-07:00

Hello Friends!! I hope all is well with you. As for me, things are going OK. They still haven't fed me. Daddy says once they figure out what is going on with my tummy that they may start feeding me again. But that won't be for another week so I guess I will have to wait. Shucks! But I am still growing even though they are only giving me fluids through my PICC line. Today I weighed 4pounds 13ounces. I'll crack that 5 pound mark pretty soon. That will be pretty cool. Daddy says he gets a laugh everytime he is at the gym and looks at the little 5 pound plate and thinks of how it weighs more than me. But it won't be long before I weigh more than that silly plate and he will have to find something else to laugh at.

The doctors are pretty happy with how I have been doing over the last couple of days. In fact, they pulled out my replogle (drainage tube) today. It is soo much easier to breathe with that thing out of my face!! Not to mention, I am a bit more photogenic. Mimi came and spent the morning with me. We had a great time. Then, Poppy came and spent a couple hours talking to me and Daddy. I am one lucky girl to have such a loving family.

So, yesterday was awesome!! Daddy came in the morning for like 5 hours. He left for about 2 hours in the afternoon but then was back for another 2 hours in the evening. We got to kangaroo for a few hours and then he read me "When Will It Be Spring?". It's a book about a bear cub, Alfie, and his mommy. Daddy says that bears sleep aaallll winter long and that they wake up when the spring comes. Problem with Alfie was that he kept waking up early and his mommy got really annoyed with him waking her up. Finally he woke up and it really was spring. Daddy says that it is almost Spring outside and that everyone can't wait for it to be here. He says that Spring is when lilies bloom and that some day he will bring me lilies. I can't wait.

So the plan is the same for me. The doctors will be running some belly x-rays tomorrow to see if things are getting better. Please pray that they are. My doctors here spoke with those at Children's Hospital and told them to expect me there sometime on Monday. Once I am there, they will run some tests and figure out what's going on. Until then, it's just hurry up and wait.

Well, there isn't much more to report. I am just enjoying my last few days here with my Good Sam nurses. I hope they stay in touch. I love them so much. Well, I will blog to you soon.

Love you all so much, Lily

Just Hangin' Out

2009-03-10T18:18:00.000-07:00

Hey Everybody!! It's been a few days since I last posted anything. In the last post I mentioned that I almost came home but then my tummy acted up again. So, the doctors decided to treat me the same as they did the last time this happened. They put me on three different antibiotics to fight any infection that is going on, they place the replogle back in my nose to suck out any nasty stuff in my belly and they stopped feeding me (which totally stinks by-the-way). Instead of the yummy formula, I get my food through the PICC (a fancy IV). Last time they put the PICC in my arm but this time they put it my HEAD!!! Yea, you are probably thinking "whoa, they put in IV in Lily's head?" Well, it doesn't look as bad as you might think. They put it there because they wanted to give my arms and legs a break and because it was the easiest place to place it. It doesn't mess up anything. Daddy still gets to kangaroo with me and my mimis and other visitors still get to hold me.

The whole not eating thing really gets on my nerves and every three hours I let the nurses know it! I kinda get cranky when I have an empty belly. Daddy says he is the same way. The nurses and doctors say that I won't be eating again until they figure out what is going on. This is a major bummer but we can't risk another infection or making this one worse.

The plan is to let my medicine do its job and that will take about 7-10days (this Saturday or Sunday). After that, they will be transferring me to Children's Hospital here in Cincinnati to have a bunch of tests ran on my belly and intestines. Depending on what they find, they will decide whether I just need a different type of diet/formula or if they need to do an operation or procedure. I am hoping for the change in diet, personally. I am told that Children's is a great place to go and that the people there are very nice but I don't think anybody can be any nicer than my friends here at the NICU at Good Sam. They are the bestest!!

I am soo excited for tomorrow. Daddy said that he is taking the day off work tomorrow to relax and that means he will be able to come spend a little more time with me. That is awesome. We can read books, kangaroo, chat and nap. I can't wait!!

Well, that's about it. The last couple of days I have just been resting and spending time with Daddy and my Mimi's. Uncle John and Aunt Sandy stopped by yesterday to say "Hi" so that was nice. Poppy is coming to see me tomorrow and I really look forward to that. You are probably wanting a weight update. I weighed in tonight at 4lbs 10oz. It is very hard to gain any weight when they stop giving you the good stuff. But, once we get things straightened out I will pick up where we left off.

Thanks for all your love and prayers. You rock!

Love You All, Lily

You've Got To Be Kiddin' Me

2009-03-07T14:22:00.000-08:00

It happened again! I was hours from getting to come home but then the doctors noticed that my tummy was getting distended (big and firm). So they ran a couple of X-Rays and they saw that there are "loops of bowel" in my tummy that are pretty big and they didn't feel comfortable sending me home like this. It looks like my tummy just cost me a couple of extra days in the NICU which is fine by me, I have the best nurses in the world. Daddy says it's fine by him too because I am not allowed to pull these kinds of shenanigans when I get home.

The nurses and doctors are going to run a few tests to see if this is an infection or if my tummy is just really slow at moving the formula or maybe it is something else. Who knows? They really aren't sure what it is but it looks like they caught it pretty early. I still look and act like a perfectly healthy -albeit gassy- baby girl so lets just pray that it isn't anything too serious.

Tummy issues aside, the last couple of days have been a lot of fun. All the nurses thought I was leaving so they spoiled me like crazy with love. I even got a few gifts. I got some sweet outfits and some really cute books that Daddy gets to read to me. And, I even have a few picture frames with a lot of different pictures of me. Daddy says that they are already on display around the house.

Thursday night was spa night and daddy learned how to give me a bath. Man, I love the warm water but it sure is cold when he picks me up to dry me off. I get a little fussy when he takes me out. I have my own little bathtub that is made by Rubbermaid. I guess people also use these tubs to store stuff. Hey, they make a great bath too. Anyway, Daddy did a really good job washing me and making sure no soap or water got into my eyes. It feels good to be so fresh and clean. I have spa night 2X per week; once on Tuesday and again on Thursday. Daddy says that is so I don't start to stink up the place.

Well, that is about all that I know that is new. We keep thinking that I get to come home and then something happens. But me and Daddy agree that this is God and mommy watching over me and not allowing me to come home when I am really not ready to. So, please keep me in your prayers. I know you will because you all totally ROCK!! And I hope the next time I blog, it will be all good news.

Love you all lots, Lily

So Close

2009-03-04T17:58:00.000-08:00

Hey everybody!! Man, I was soo close to getting to come home. I was supposed to come home on Tuesday but after the nurses laid me down after lunch I ended up spitting up some of my formula and it got caught in the back of my throat where I couldn't get it out on my own. Not to worry, the nurses used the suction thingy and I was able to breathe better. What happened was that I was bearing down to, you know...go, and I accidentally pushed the formula the wrong way. The doctors don't think that it is anything to worry about. I just have to be sure to let out a lot of good burps during and after my feeds before I can lay down. I think I can do that. My little spit up cost me a few extra days in the NICU which is fine with me because I really love my nurses. They are the awesomest!! So, Daddy says that I probably can come home Saturday if I can keep my lunch down between here and there.
So, after my little spell Daddy came down to the NICU and spent the WHOLE day with me. We even got to Kangaroo for 2 hours which, as you know, is one of our favorite things to do. Mimi McHugh was also here so that was a lot of fun too.
Today Mimi Cameron and Aunt Libby (aka "Gribby") came to see me for a little bit. Mimi Cameron fed me and changed my diaper. Only thing was, I wasn't done going and I ended up making a real mess. Ooops!! And then Mimi McHugh came and when she was changing my diaper....Yup, you guessed it. I did it again and it got everywhere...Hehe...So, I guess I don't have to tell you that my problem with going isn't so much of a problem at the moment. The nurses think it was my way of saying "I don't really like this outfit. I need a new one". So, everytime I made a mess, they gave me a new, cute outfit. Pretty sweet.
I am eating big amounts of formula. I average 40mLs per feed. All this eating wipes me out. Daddy says it reminds him of Thanksgiving. I wake up, eat a bunch of great food, burp, pass out for a couple hours, wake up and pig out again and then back to sleep for me. Life sure is good for a baby girl.
Daddy came to see me tonight and we hung out for a little while. He read me a great book about Little Nutbrown Hare called "Guess How Much I Love You". I really like this book. It is about a little Hare (Daddy says it's like a bunny rabbit) who wants to impress his daddy with how much he loves him, but his daddy always says he loves him more. Daddy calls Big Nutbrown Hare a "one-upper". Everything that Little Nutbrown Hare says about how much he loves Big Nutbrown Hare, his dad always loves him just a little more. I don't know about that but I do know I really like when daddy reads me my goodnight stories. Daddy tells me all the time about how mommy loved to read to kids and that she made different voices for all the characters. He tries to do it but says he is no where close to as good as mommy was at making goofy voices. Practice makes perfect.
I weighed 4lbs 10oz tonight. Daddy says it's hard to gain a ton of weight when you are as "regular" as I am. Oh well. I am still getting bigger.
Well, that's about it. Stay tuned. You guys are the best.
Love to All, Lily

Gettin Close

2009-03-02T18:53:00.000-08:00

Hey everybody!! This weekend totally rocked!! Daddy and Mimi came for our slumber party on Saturday and we had a great time together. Of course, there was no slumber to be had for Daddy. The NICU calls it a "stay-over" because most parents don't sleep much that first night with their new baby. Daddy says it is hard to sleep when there aren't any monitors that will alarm him if I act up. So he only got like 2 hours of sleep. I slept really good and every three hours Daddy or Mimi would wake me up to eat. I would scarf down my food, Daddy would pat my back until I let out a nice burp and then he'd hold me until I fell back asleep. What a life! We spent all night together until 8am Sunday when the nurse came to bring me back to the NICU. Mimi and Daddy said it was good practice for when I come home (which should be any day now) and that hopefully daddy can work on falling right back to sleep after he puts me down.

On Sunday, they took out my PICC (IV) and now all I have to where are those silly heart rate monitor things. Daddy said that all my Aunts and some of Mommy's friends came over to get the house ready for my homecoming. My nursery is all ready to go and the changing station is fully stocked. Daddy says that I have more clothes than you can shake a stick at and that I could where a new outfit every fifteen minutes and still not have to do laundry for a month. We'll see about that.

So, I should be coming home any day now. All I have to do is produce some "product" all on my own (are you noticing a theme here) and then they will release me to go home with Daddy. I can't wait to be home. Daddy is taking off work for a while to hang out with me and I can't wait to spen all my time with him. We will eat, nap, #2, read books and nap some more. But most importantly, we'll just love on eachother.

The doctors said that I can start eating as much as I want and today I took two bottles with 45 mLs in them!! That is way more than the 32 that I was eating. If I keep eating like this, I will be 5 lbs really soon. Today I was 4lbs 10oz.

Oh yeah! I got my picture taken today by a professional photographer. They put me in all kinds of cute poses and one with me resting on Daddy's hand. Not to boast or anything but I look really cute in the photos. I guess when the lady comes to take your picture it means you are on the shorttimers list and almost out of the NICU. Next time you hear from me may be from my new home.

The nurses and doctors at Good Sam are amazing and Daddy says they are answering a special calling everytime they come to work. He says they help dreams come true. He says that even though we could never repay them that they will always be in our thoughts and prayers. So if you work at Good Sam and took care of either me or mommy -or- me and mommy, thank you.

I will blog to you all real soon.

Love you all, Lily

Rounding Third and Heading for Home

2009-02-28T04:32:00.000-08:00

Hey everybody!! Sorry I have not blogged for a couple of days. There have been some HUGE developments since the last post. So, since they gave me that suppository to get the "flow"going it's been much easier for me to....you know.... go. Daddy says that if I am as regular as mommy, he is really going to have to stock up on the diapers. But he always tells me, "Better out than in!" I agree with him there.

The doctors are really impressed with how well I have developed this week. They say that I have taken off like a rocket. I am now eating a full feed for a girl my size (32-37mLs per feed). Man that's a lot of food. I am taking all of my food from the bottle and the nurses love my "man burps". All this eating is also helping with the whole "chubby baby" dreams my mommy and daddy have. I weigh 4lbs8oz and daddy says that he loves both of my chins.

Since I am taking all my food from the bottle, the nurses disconnected my IV fluids and said they most likely remove my PICC line (IV) this weekend. Daddy was soo excited to here about how well I am doing and then the doctors dropped the "bomb" on him. They said, "Since Lily is doing so great, we are going to discharge her either Monday or Tuesday next week." Daddy about fainted. So, I am coming home!!

But there is a some stuff we have to do first. Like tonight, I am having a slumber party with Daddy and Mimi McHugh. They get to come to the hospital where there is a special room (kinda like a hotel room) and the nurses take me off all those stinkin' monitors and I stay in the room with Daddy and Mimi. I can't wait!! I think Daddy is planning for an all-nighter. The reason we are doing this is to get Daddy used to me not having any monitors (it's really easy to focus on those when you are in the NICU). I also have to get some vaccination stuff done and the doctors want to watch me through the weekend. Not to mention, Daddy has got some stuff to get in order at home.

Daddy and Uncle Josh came by last night and hung out with me. They spent the afternoon cleaning out the car and installing my seat. I can not wait for my first car ride!! I can not wait to meet Tucker. Most of all, I can not wait to be with Daddy.

The doctors have given Daddy some strict orders for when I come home. Since it's March and I am still very young, I won't be able to have many visitors for a month or so. There is something called RSV (a respiratory virus) that is very dangerous for babies like me. And it is still flu season too. They said that it's a little different with babies who make it all the way to their due date and that Daddy has to take special care of who comes to see me because I am a preemie. So, it would probably be best to call first before stopping by to see if you can or if it's even a good time. Hey, I sleep a lot and that can't be very exciting. Even though Daddy loves to watch me sleep. Weirdo...

So that is the big news. I am soooo close to coming home I can't stand it. I will miss all my nurses and doctors but they can come see me at home if they want. That's where I belong. Stay tuned and a BIG THANK YOU to everyone who has been praying for Daddy and me. And thank you God for answering them. You all ROCK!!

Love You, Lily

The Scoop

2009-02-25T18:11:00.000-08:00

Sorry I missed my blog entry for yesterday. There just wasn't too much to say so I decided to wait until today. You are probably wanting the "poop scoop" (that's what Mimi McHugh calls it). Our prayers were answered! It took some time but I finally poo'd today!! And let me tell you, I am not sure anyone has ever been soo excited over something so stinky! Daddy said it's probably the most celebrated poo in history. The doctors did help me a little bit with a suppository but the nurse said that she thinks my tummy just needed a jump start. Hopefully I will be more "regular" in the future and my dirty diapers won't be cause for such celebration and just an everyday thing. But it sure feels good to get things going again.

Today has been super eventful! It all started with Daddy coming in the morning to hold and love on me before work. After he left, a doctor came to give me my eye exam. They turned the lights down rreeaalllyyy low so that it is very dark by my bed. Then they put these drops in my eyes. Daddy says they call it "dialation" and they do this so that they can see all of my eye. The doctor looked at my eyes and said that they look good. So...yeah! The eye exam really tired me out so I decided to take a long nap after the doctor left.

Mimi Cameron came in the afternoon to hang for a bit. She fed me and we talked. Then Daddy came from work and did my 6 o'clock feed. I am up to 25mLs per feed now. So I am finally getting some serious practice at the bottle. The nurses all say that I take the bottle like a champ and I can burp with the best of 'em. It only takes a couple pats on my back and I usually let out a belch that would make any trucker look like an amateur(no offense to any truckers who may be reading this). Oh yea, Aunt Juli came to see me and got to hold me for a bit. That was fun!

Then Daddy, Mimi McHugh, Mimi Cameron, Poppy, Aunt Sandy and Uncle John all took the infant massage class. That's right, all these people took a class to learn how to give ME a massage from head to toe. I can't wait to start my spa treatments. Haha. Actually, the massages will help my brain development, help me digest my formula, gain weight and most importantly bond with Daddy and who ever else is working with me.

The class took almost the whole night so I didn't get to hang out with Daddy very long. Mimi McHugh and Mimi Cameron stayed a bit later and read me my goodnight story. They are the best.

Today's weight report is 4lbs 7oz. When I first got here I was one of the small babies but now I am one of the larger kids in the unit. It has been almost 7 weeks since I got here and Daddy loves to tell me how quickly I am growing and "filling out".

So, all-in-all, I have had a good couple of days and hope to continue on this path. We just got to keep on producing that stinky product. Thanks for EVERYTHING!!

Love you guys and gals, Lily

Happy Monday

2009-02-23T18:45:00.000-08:00

Happy Monday!! I am really getting the hang of this bottle thing. They are feeding me 14mLs each feed now and it takes me about 2 minutes to suck it all down. Well, maybe not all of it. Some of it ends up on Daddy's hand or in his lap but I make sure to drink as much of it as I can. A girl's gotta breathe you know and when I stop to do that some formula is gonna get lost. Daddy can't believe how fast I am growing. I weighed in today at 4lbs3.8oz. He says it's like the Biggest Loser in reverse.

My physical therapist came by today and gave me a little workout. I bet you didn't know that even 35 week old babies pump-it-up. She helps me stretch and bends my joints to make sure they have a good range of motion. I get to do this a couple times a week and am getting better at it every time.

My Mimi Cameron came by early in the day and visited for a little while. I took a nap and then Mimi McHugh stopped in. And then my Florida Papau stopped by with a teddy-bear that has a shirt on with my name on it. Then Poppy and Mamau came and stayed for a little while. I might be setting a record for the most visited baby in the NICU. Oh yea, Daddy came by after work and stayed for a really long time. He fed and burped me and then we got to Kangaroo for 2 hours which totally rocks!!

The doctors and nurses are waiting anxiously for me to poop since I haven't done that since they started feeding me. They said it could take some time to do that but hope to see it soon. So, please keep your fingers crossed -or even pray- that I am able to produce the much valued product soon. This is very important to me being able to go home with Daddy and Tucker. I can't believe I just asked so many people to pray for my pooping. Kinda embarrassing.

Well, that's all I have for now. I will keep you updated on any new developments.

Love You,

Lily

I Love Weekends

2009-02-22T18:43:00.000-08:00

So I think that my doctors and nurses have been reading the blog because today they moved my feeds from the 4mL teaser amount to 9mLs of the good stuff. It is still kind of a tease but least now it takes me more than two sips to get through my feed. I can not wait until I get to eat a whole bottle but the doctors say I have to have bowel movements (nice way of saying poop)before they increase my amounts. Since I haven't been eating for a week, they said it could take a day or two for my tummy to produce some "product".

Oh yea, I got my big girl bed back since I am doing so much better. And they even put a mobile on it for me. It plays music and spins around. It has all sorts of colors on it too.

Today was another big day. Daddy and Mimi came to see me in the morning and Daddy stayed all day. He fed me a couple of times, read to me from a couple of books and talked to me about how proud he is of me for doing so well. Then Uncle John and Aunt Sandy came by and Sandy held me for a while. We had a great time together. I love weekends because Daddy gets to come and stay for a long time.

So I keep gaining weight. I weigh 4lbs 2oz now and am filling out quite nicely. 5lbs, look out here I come!!

Stay tuned!! Love you all, Lily

Mmm, Mmm Good

2009-02-21T21:03:00.001-08:00

Hey Y'All! If you couldn't tell by the title of my blog entry OR by the photo above of me and Daddy, the doctors and nurses decided to take the hints I have been giving them (actually, I was getting down right fussy) and allow me to eat today. How awesome is that?! They didn't give me much at first (only 4mLs) because they want to make sure that my tummy doesn't act up again. I guess I can understand that but 4mLs is a bit of a tease. I did sooo great with the bottle today but just when I start getting the hang of this eating thing, I am out of food. Oh yea, and I burp like a champ. When I was done with my bottle and Daddy went to burp me, it only took two taps on my back until I let one loose. It felt great! So, please say an extra prayer that my tummy tolerates the formula well so that the doctors and nurses decide to increase how much I can have. I enjoy practicing my eating almost as much as I enjoy practicing my napping.

So, if the fact that my getting to eat today wasn't awesome enough, I cracked the 4lbs mark today. Yippee!! My actual weight is 4lbs 0.6oz. I'll just have to prove to the doctors that I can handle eating again so that I can start gettin real chunky. Mommy always wanted a chubby baby and I think that is something I can make happen if I can just get my hands on some more food.

I had all kinds of visitors today. First, Papua came by and held me for a little bit. I think my being so itty bitty made him nervous but I loved getting to be held by him and I felt very safe in his arms. When daddy got to the NICU we kangaroo'd for like 2-3 hours . I get the best naps ever when I get to kangaroo with dad. Then, mommy's best friend Alison came by and hung out with us for a little bit. Of course, I was asleep and snoring the whole time but daddy told me that I helped put a big smile on her face. My Florida papau also stopped by for a little bit to say "Hi". And then Mimi McHugh and Mamau and Poppy stopped by for a bit. And to close out the night, Uncle Ian and MJ stopped in before they took Daddy to dinner.

So, what's next? My plan is to keep getting bigger and stronger. If I can do that, I will be home before you know it. Daddy, are you ready??

Love, Lily

Good Things

2009-02-19T18:19:00.000-08:00

Today was AWESOME!! Daddy came over in the morning, held me and read me a story before he went into work. He told me that I am the most popular 35 weeker he knows. Well...I don't think he knows any other 35 weekers but he did tell me of all the people who have been following the blog. It's really cool knowing that there are so many people who care about how well I am doing.

After daddy left for work, my nurses removed my replogle tube. You are probably saying replog..what?? Replogle (RE-POLE-GLE) tube is doctor speak for drainage tube. They used it to drain the icky stuff from my belly. Since I seem to be doing better, they pulled it out today. Gosh, it feels great to have that big tube out of my face. Hopefully, I never have the need for another replogle.

Since they pulled the tube, I am more free to be held by my daddy, Poppy, Mimis and Mamau. Daddy and I even got to Kangaroo today!! It has been waayyy too long since we have done that. Daddy said that there isn't a better place in the world to be than in a Kangaroo chair with his baby girl. That's ME!! I love it too. In fact, they placed me on Daddy's chest and I zonked out almost instantly and slept fantastically until the nurse put me back in bed.

Daddy snapped a photo of me (above) and forgot to turn off the flash. It startled me so bad that it gave me the hiccups. Thanks Dad. But he made it all better when he gave me my goodnight kisses. He even sings me a song that he and Mommy learned at Camp Boggy Creek. It goes a little something like this..."Gooood, goood night to you. The whhooolle niiiight through. May you dream of peace, looovve and hope. And may allll your dreams come true!!" Actually, that's the only verse he can remember but I like when he sings it to me.

The doctors continue to be happy with my progress. Just a few more days of antibiotics and IV fluids until they start feeding me again. I can not wait. Today's weight was 3lbs13oz so even without the good stuff, I am growing. Yeaahh!! And my nurse tonight even snuggled with me for a bit. Gosh, I am one lucky girl.

Well, gotta go to bed. Good, Good Night to You! Love Always, Lily

Check Me Out

2009-02-18T18:59:00.000-08:00

Happy Wednesday everybody!! I hope you had a good day. I did. The doctors came by this morning and were talking about how pleased they were to see me doing soo much better. How much better you ask. Well, the pneumatosis is no longer there which is really good. Then they ran a blood test called a CRP (stands for C-Reactive Protein). Anyway, the test is to show the doctors if there is any inflamation going on in my body. My levels on Friday were 4.9 and today they were around 2.2. This means that the medicine is doing exactly what it is supposed to be doing. So I have to keep taking my medicine for a few more days and the nurses will continue to give me fluids through an IV for another 5 days or so. After that, they will slowly start feeding me milk again. I can't wait. I really miss that stuff and have been laying not-so-subtle hints to daddy that I am wanting to try feeding from a bottle (ie I am suckling a lot). Thank you all for your prayers. I can feel them working!!

On top of having like the best nurses EVER, I have people come visit me all the time. Like yesterday, Poppy came and spent a couple hours with me. One thing we have in common is our love for naps. So we took a nap together. Now, you really are not supposed to take naps with me while you are holding me but the nurses said that they were watching us closely and it was too cute to interupt. I guess both Poppy and I had our mouths completely open, perfectly content. Poppy says I have some serious nap potential which I guess is a good thing.

Both my mimis (McHugh and Cameron) come by everyday. And daddy, well he comes by twice a day. Once early in the morning and then again right after work. He brought me a present the other day. His name is Ribbit and he is a stuffed frog from a place called Build-A-Bear. Ribbit was the first gift he ever gave mommy and daddy says she hardly ever slept with him. I love Ribbit soo much and can't wait to sleep with him when I get older.

You probably are wondering how big I am. Well, even though they aren't feeding me milk, I weighed 3lbs 11oz tonight. Once they start feeding me the good stuff, I plan on smashing right past the 4lb mark. Daddy says we just need to keep heading in this direction and that I am not allowed to scare him like that anymore....Ha! Like it was my fault.

Anyway, thank you for following my blog and please keep up with the prayers. You all are AWESOME!! I am gonna go practice my napping. Love you all, Lily

Moving In the Right Direction

2009-02-16T18:38:00.000-08:00

What's up everyone? Today has been a pretty good day. I am looking and feeling much better. Daddy says it's because Mommy is watching over me and giving me strength. The antibiotics don't hurt either. The doctors made me use a breathing tube for the last couple nights because I was having a hard time breathing. It was very uncomfortable and made my throat scratchy so I pulled it out when they weren't looking. Haha. They talked about putting the tube back in but I showed them that I could breathe on my own without any help. I had a couple of brief periods when I dipped a little but nothing too serious. like when the nurses wrap me up in a swaddle

Daddy and Mimi came and spent the morning with me. I rested all day because that is how I am going to get better. Mimi stayed until Mamau came and then came back a little later in the evening. I have the best grandmas ever!! Then Poppy came and hung out with me in the evening.

The doctors and nurses are happy with my progress but I am not "out of the woods" yet. They are still watching me very closely. I will be on the antibiotics for 7-10 days so that the infection goes away. In the meantime, they will keep giving me my food through the IV which stinks. I miss my milk. But the time off of feeding gives my belly the rest it needs for the pneumatosis to go away. When it is gone, the nurses will start feeding me again very slowly.

Daddy says there are a lot of people praying for me. You guys ROCK!! Please keep praying that I keep getting better and get healed. The sooner I get better, the sooner I get to have milk and the sooner I get to go home to Daddy and Tucker.

Oh yeah, big news. Daddy and Uncle MJ went home after seeing me tonight and put together my crib. Daddy says the nursery is looking really good since Mamau and Aunt Cyndi painted it. It has monkeys and vines and hearts. I can't wait to see it.

You guys are probably wondering how big I am getting. Well, with the my food coming from the IV, I am not really gaining much weight. I weigh 3lbs 10.6oz and am 16 inches long. Once I get back on real baby food(milk) I promise to plump up. Mommy wants a chubby baby so I will aim to please.

Well, back to resting. Keep on praying. Thanks for everything. I love you all, Lily

Under The Weather

2009-02-15T17:21:00.000-08:00

Hey everybody. Thank you to those of you that went to mommy's "life celebration" service. I heard the place was packed with people that my mommy had loved and that also loved my mommy. Daddy said it was the perfect way to honor mommy's life.
I have been a little under the weather the past couple of days. The doctors say that I have pneumatosis. Gas bubbles stuck in the wall of my intestine for us normal people. Don't Google it. Daddy said it almost made him mess his pants. The doctors stopped feeding me ( I get my food from IV now) and are giving me a bunch of antibiotics. Hopefully they start working and the doctors don't have to do anything more invasive. Unfortunately, that is all we know. The docs say that I am looking better but we still have to wait and see how we progress. Daddy says we need to ask for everybody to pray. So, please pray that I get better fast and that the doctors are given the wisdom to choose the the right plan of care. There isn't a photo today because daddy forgot the camera. Thanks for loving and praying for me and daddy. Love, Lily

I Have A Guardian Angel

2009-02-11T20:38:00.000-08:00

Daddy came to see me yesterday and shared with me that mommy has gone to heaven. Not because she wanted to but because God said He needed her. I am going to miss my mommy so very much but daddy says we can talk to her whenever we want because she is watching over me. She is like air. You can't see it. Sometimes you can't even feel it. But like air, she will always be here. I am going to miss her holding me and falling asleep to the rythm of her heartbeat. She calls me her angel, but really mommy is mine.

I continue to grow and make great strides to coming home. Today I weighed in at 3lbs8oz and last night I ate almost all my dinner from the bottle. My nurses have been showering me with love. They hold me and talk to me. And let's not forget, they feed me and clean up my poopy diapers. Now, that's love.

Daddy read to me today when he visited with Mamau, Poppy and Mimi. I have such a great family and my daddy tells me there are many more great people in the family that I have yet to meet. I can not wait for that.

Thank you all for your prayers. I hope I grow up to touch as many lives as my mommy has. Love you all, Lily

Big Moves

2009-02-09T18:29:00.000-08:00

What's up everyone?!Mommy and Daddy can not believe I had my 4 week birthday this past Sunday. Since my last blog I have been busy doing all the things a 33weeker is supposed to be doing. I have started cueing and hinting to my nurses and parents that I am ready to start eating like a big girl. So today, they let me try to eat out of a bottle. Yummy!! But what a workout! I ate 13mL of my 28mL lunch and got so tired I decided to stop and let Christa(my nurse) put the rest of my food in my tube. Christa says that I am still very young to be eating by bottle but she will let me feed once a day through the bottle. So 13mL is pretty darn good for my first time.

I am doing a good job with the chores mommy and daddy gave me. I am eating all my dinner, pooping on my own, and growing. I have gained a little weight and now weigh 3lbs 6oz and am filling out quite nicely. Oh, and I am getting taller. I am 15 and 1/2 inches long. That's a whole inch taller than I was born.

So, things continue to go great for me. I have the best team of people caring for me and praying for me. I can not wait to come home with mommy and daddy but I will miss all my nurses here at the NICU.

I haven't got to see mom since Saturday because she had to go back to the hospital to get rid of the fluid that is stuck in her tummy. Daddy says the doctors think once the fluid is gone, it will be easier for mom to get around. They also said that they don't think she will be there too long. I miss her a lot but know that she is doing what she has to do to get better so that I can come home to her. Daddy tells me that my mommy is doing well, that the treatment to get rid of the fluid seems to be working and we are praying her stay there is a short one. He also says that mommy is one of the strongest people he knows and that I am one lucky girl to have such a wonderful mommy. But I already knew that.

My Mimi McHugh came and stayed with me all day today and held me for hours. I love that!! I have the best Mimi's/Grandmas in the whole world. They shower me with kisses and love. Check out the pic of the outfit I got with stripes and the silly bug on it. With such great grandparents and family, I am gonna have a sweet wardrobe!! I'll have some serious style, check out me and mom in our beanie caps. I hope I am as pretty as mom when I grow up.

Well, I am gonna go for now. I have to get my rest so that I can continue to grow. I love you all. -Lily

I Am A Big Girl Now

2009-02-05T15:39:00.000-08:00

Hello every body!! I hope everything is going as well for you as things are going for me. I have been really busy this week. For starters, they took away my isolette/incubator and hooked me up with a big girl crib. I love being out in the open air and it makes it much easier for mom and dad to lean over and give me kisses.

I am also gaining bunches of weight and am now over 3 pounds (3lbs 1oz to be exact). That stuff that they add to mommy's milk is really working. Mom and dad say my only job is to eat, sleep, poop and get fat. So, I will continue working on that.

The nurses also stopped my caffeine treatments and I have been doing really good on my own. I have had a few dips, but nothing to be too concerned about. They say that I should be growing out of them in the next week or so. After all, I am 33 weeks on Friday. Yeah!!

I spend a lot of my time awake and looking around my area. I have a bulletin board with pictures and cards that people have sent me. Thanks! There are a lot of horns and interesting sounds that come from other kids' areas. Mom and Dad tell me that home is really quiet and that I am going to love how peaceful it is there. They say that Tucker barks every once in a while but it is only to protect us.

It should not be too much longer and I will be moving in with my parents. Next week I am supposed to start using a bottle and practicing coordinating my suck, swallow and breathing. Once I get that down, it won't be too much longer before I can nurse.

Well, that's about it for now. Blog with you soon.

Three Weeks and Poppin' the Top

2009-02-01T14:27:00.001-08:00

Hey Everyone!! Long time, no blog!!! Things have been really busy and mommy and daddy haven't had much time to type. So here's the scoop. I am three weeks old today (February 1) and have been really busy growing. I now weigh 2lbs 12oz and the doctors are going to increase the amount of food that I get. Yummy! Thanks mom for working so hard to get my food.

The nurses are great and they just love me. They are so happy with my progress that they decided I was ready for the top of my bed to be popped. You are probably wondering why this is a big deal. Well, a lot of my friends here that are my age have trouble keeping their body temperature in the right range (97-99 degrees) but I seem to do a good job of keeping mine up when I am out of my bed with Mom and Dad. So, we'll see how it goes and if I do a really good job the nurses will move me to a crib in about five days. I need to show the nurses that I can hold my own temperature. If not, they will just put my top on for a little while longer but I am confident that won't happen.

Along with the extra calories in my food, I also get vitamins to help my body grow and my immune system develop. The caffeine treatments have really been helping my dips and I look forward to soon growing out of them so that I don't need the caffeine any longer.

I wanted to thank everyone who has bought books for me. I love when my mommy and daddy read to me. Mom makes funny voices for all the characters in the story. Dad...well, he's working on it but he never leaves me for the night without reading me a bedtime story.

As you can see things with me are going pretty well. My parents say that my only job is to eat, sleep, poop and grow. So, I am going to get back to that. Stay tuned for our next installment.

SAY NO TO SNOW

2009-01-27T18:19:00.001-08:00

Well, today a snow and ice storm kept mom and dad from being able to come and see me. That was pretty sad but my mimi was able to come earlier in the day and deliver mommy's milk for my meals. She told me what was going on and even got to hold me for a little bit. My daddy calls my nurse all the time to get updates and I know he and mom would be here if they could.

So I have been really busy over the last couple of days. I have gained some weight and am tipping the scales at a whopping 2lbs 10oz. They have started adding calories to my food and it is supposed to help me grow and get stronger. Both my Mimi Cameron and Mimi McHugh got to hold me. And my Aunt Alison held me too. They are naturals and I love them soo much!

The doctors continue to be pleased with my progress and watch me pretty closely. The nurses are soo nice. The only problem that I have had so far is that I have what the doctors call apnea and bradycardia occurrences. This happens because I forget to breathe and my heart rate drops. This is normal for babies my age and they started giving me a little caffeine to stop them from happening. They just add it to my food. Daddy calls it "Lily's Latte". So far, this stuff is great and I really haven't had any more dips. My doctors and nurses say that most preemies stop having the brady stuff at about 33weeks so I have about 2 more weeks before these should be behind me.

Other than that, I am just hanging out in my crib (isolette). I rest a lot and when I am awake I look around to see what is going on. I love to smile when my parents talk to me and I can not wait to see them. The snow and ice need to go away. Well, stay tuned. Thank you for all your continued prayers. Love you!!

Daddy's Little Girl

2009-01-23T18:44:00.000-08:00

I love to kangaroo with my Daddy. He makes me so happy. I know I am always safe in my Daddy's arms. I love you!

My Daddy is the best diaper changer in the whole wide world. Even though I am itty bitty and squirmy wormy he changes me like a pro. Thanks Daddy!

10 Days Old!

2009-01-21T17:24:00.000-08:00

Hi everyone! Today I am 10 days old and enjoy sucking on my pacifier and checking out the world!

Fun Time With Mommy!

2009-01-21T16:48:00.000-08:00

I love to hold hands with my Mommy!

Mommy and I love to kangaroo together. We could do this all day long.

Mommy Goes Home!

2009-01-20T05:37:00.000-08:00

Guess what! Mommy got to go home yesterday-1/19/09! She has been in the hospital for 55 days. She said that it was really strange to leave but it was so wonderful to see Tucker and be with Daddy in our home. Even though she isn't sleeping at the hospital anymore she will be here everyday to see me! I can't wait until I get to go home and be with Mommy, Daddy and Tucker. I know it will be here soon!

I am one week old!

2009-01-18T19:37:00.000-08:00

Today was my 1 week birthday (30 weeks and 2 days) and I hung out with mommy and daddy all day. I kangarooed with both of them for 2 hours each. We all love to do that. I smile so much and it makes mommy and daddy so happy. After I got my diaper changed and put on my cute little outfit mommy and daddy took a silly picture. Peek a boo! I am doing so well. I am eating 18 ml of mommy's yummy breastmilk each feeding and getting stronger by the minute!

First Family Photo

2009-01-17T19:41:00.000-08:00

Lily's First Blog

2009-01-17T17:38:00.001-08:00

Lily Ann Carr was born in Good Samaritan Hospital in Cincinnati, Ohio at 2:59pm on January 11, 2009, weighed 2lbs 6ounces and measured 14 1/2 inches. She is absolutely beautiful. Lily was born a bit early at 29wks 2days gestation but has been doing great. She was originally intibated to help her breathe but after 2 short hours she was breathing room air on her own and has been on room air ever since. This is great for such a young girl.

Lily was moved to the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit right after her birth and placed in her isolette(incubator). It is an amazing piece of machinery. Lily was connected to a number of sensors. Three sensors measure her heart rate, one measured her respiratory rate, another measures her blood oxygen level and the last sensor measured her temperature. Based on Lily's temp, the isolette will adjust its heat to achieve the ideal temperature for Lily. After two days, Lily was taken off of the temperature sensor and allowed to regulate her temp her self. Lily was taken off of the blood oxygen meter after only five days because she was doing so well.

Like most newborns, Lily lost a bit of weight at the beginning but began feeding at 29hours old. The doctors have slowly increased Lily's feeds and she is to the point where they no longer are supplementing her feeds with IV fluids.

The doctors have been very pleased with Lily's progress and she is now back to her birthweight. WooHoo! She was born a fighter -just like her mom- and all signs are looking positive.

Stay tuned for more!!