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'

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

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

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!

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

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

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