Six Month Check-up

On Wednesday Lila had her 6 month check-up with her pediatrician. Mike and I were both excited to show her off to the nurses and the doctor. We were both pretty confident that she was right on track and sure enough, that was the report we got! She weighs 16.05 lbs., which puts her right at the 50th percentile and is 26.5 inches long which is the 75th percentile for height. She is growing like a weed and hitting all of the key developmental milestones!

She got some shots, just routine vaccinations at the appointment, and beleive it or not she really is a trooper. She of course cries and looks at you with eyes full of disappointment, but it doesn't take her long to bounce back and pretty soon the tears are all dried up and the smiles resume. They didn't have any seasonal flu shots at the pediatrician's office due to the flu frenzy going on this year, so we went on the hunt for that yesterday. We found it at a familiy practice office in our neighborhood and last night went there to get her the first dose of the pediatric shot and Daddy got his flu shot too. This time she was really not impressed, I am sure she thought she was in the clear, at least for a few more months, and here we were sitting in a doctor's office again and they were giving her yet ANOTHER shot. We kept telling her it is all necessary to keep her healthy and it is because we love her, she didn't seem to understand!

It is crazy to think that the next time we see the doctor (fingers crossed) is at her nine month appointment in January, 2010...where did 2009 go?! We are so blessed with a happy and healthy little girl, we can only hope that she continues to stay healthy throughout the winter.

The Greatest Gift of All...

Today marked my 28th birthday! We spent a low key day together as a family, bumming around the house...something we don't get to do very often! Just like every other birthday, there was cake, ice cream and presents...but this year was different. This year I am a Mom, I have been truly on the other side of a "birth"day and as I sat at my Dad's house watching everyone enjoy their cake and ice cream I realized that birthday's are now forever changed. I smiled to myself as this all became clear, all the fanfare is great and very appreciated, but the real celebration is really about the gift of life!

Happy Birthday Mom!

A gaggle of girls!

Yes, I like presents!

My true gifts!

I am so lucky to have such an amazing family and great friends to help me celebrate, it has been a wonderful day! I'm a very lucky girl, all of my wishes came true!

Six Months Old!

Where has the time gone?! Little Miss Lila is 6 months old today. Unbelievable! Mike and I discussed it has been the FASTEST six months in our lives, yet the LONGEST six months of our lives, it is really a weird feeling! We have laughed, cried, laughed harder and cried harder than we have our whole lives in these past six months. What a journey we have already been on...and we can't wait for what lies ahead!

Here is a walk down memory lane...it is truly amazing to see how much she has changed in such a short time.

Welcome to the world! 4-18-09

Hello my name is: Lila Louise Eddins

Initial sleeping arrangement

Getting to know you...

Becoming alert and aware

Tummy Time

Who's that baby in the mirror?!

Growing into my swing

Sitting up like a big girl!

Getting bigger and bigger

Spending time with Ruby

Happy Go Lucky!

In other news, on Wednesday Lila got her first taste of baby food! We planned to do it on Friday, but when Daddy picked her up from daycare she was super hungry for her cereal and when the cereal was all gone and she still seemed as if she was starving we decided to introduce her to peas! We couldn't resist videotaping the first bites! At first she was pretty unfazed by it all, but once she slowed down a bit and realized that there was definitely a different flavor involved it was pretty comical!

We have been trying the new veggies with her cereal a few days in a row to be sure there aren't any allergic reactions. So far, she really has enjoyed the variation, in fact she really has taken a liking to sweet potatoes!

Tasty! Celebrating my 1/2 birthday!

Another adventure we are partaking on is the treacherous teething. Lila is such a happy girl that to have a fussy baby due to the pain in her mouth just about breaks our hearts. She usually only fusses for short time until we can get her something to make her feel better, but it is still hard on Mommy and Daddy. Mike and I both had our first teeth pop up late in our first year, so we are hoping for Lila's sake that this isn't the start of a long road ahead for her. I read in one of my books that the pain babies go through with teething would be excruciating to an adult...so my heart goes out to her. Once we get her soothed it isn't uncommon to see her snuggle up and fall asleep in a hurry.

Safe and sound in Daddy's arms

It is hard to even imagine what the next six months are going to bring us. She will have those pearly whites she is working on now, she will be mobile, from crawling to walking, she will be talking and eating solid foods...WOW! We are both so blessed to be parents to the most amazing little girl in the world! Just a mere six months ago today we welcomed you into our family and now we can't imagine life without you. We love you Lila Lou!

Black, Gold and...Orange!

Our weekend started with Mike and I taking off early to pick up Lila and the puppies and head to Dad's house to get our family pictures taken. I have been very excited to get these pictures taken because they truly are our first family pictures! We had a good time with our friends Heidi and Troy, they make sitting on a sopping wet, muddy ground seem like a good idea in order to capture the perfect shot! After pictures we ended up hanging around for an impromptu dinner of spaghetti and a mean game of Are you Smarter than a 5th Grader?! I think we decided that sometimes we are all smarter than a 5th grader and other times we aren't even close!

Saturday brought preparation to head to Iowa City for the much anticipated Hawkeye game. It was the first night game of the year at Kinnick and against one of our most despised rivals, the Michicgan Wolverines.

As most of you Iowans know, it was COLD here! We bundled up and prepared for the weather with lots of layers, gloves and hats. One thing we weren't prepared for is the close score of the game. Once again, the Hawks pulled off a win, but it wasn't without a fair amount of anxiety...it was down to the last minute. We had a great time and were happy to add another victory to our undefeated season!

Sunday found us heading to our favorite pumpkin patch! Bart's Farm is a place that Mike and I found a few years ago on our quest for the perfect pumpkins and other fall decor to put on our front porch! Last year when we went we were newly pregnant and couldn't hardly stand the excitement as we talked about bringing our little one back in 2009. Well...here we were a year later heading back with our own little pumpkin in tow!

It was a rather quick trip to the pumpkin farm due to the cold weather, but it was a memorable one at that! We had a great time and look forward to many more years of pumpkin patch memories! The trip tuckered out little miss, she took a nice snooze while Mommy and Daddy worked on getting the fall decor set up outside. When she woke up we brought her out to see the final product, she was pleased!

Lila will be six months old next Sunday, so we are going to celebrate the milestone with her first taste of real baby food this Friday! Mike worked on putting Lila's highchair together tonight, she has been eating her cereal in her Bumbo, but we thought baby food was a big enough deal that the highchair ought to have its debut! Lila was THRILLED to try it out!

She truly is growing up right before our eyes! Watching her go from one developmental milestone to the next is truly the most gratifying, yet heartbreaking experience we have ever gone through...we can honestly say we know the true meaning of the phrase "don't blink!"

24 Weeks

Little Miss Lila was 24 weeks old Saturday! It is unbelievable how fast the time has gone! She is really a character, she is constantly babbling and telling stories, smiling, laughing and is getting stronger and stronger by the day. She has a great personality and is such a happy little girl.

She has really taken a big interest in the dogs. Whenever they come over to her she reaches her hand out to pet them and really thinks it is a hoot when they lick her hands. She loves reading books, playing peek-a-boo and singing songs. She is so vigorous when it comes to shaking her rattle that she is learning that it hurts pretty bad when she clunks herself in the head with it! Absolutely everything goes in her mouth...it will be interesting to see if she has a tooth poke through in the near future, so far I can't feel anything.

This weekend was my turn to go out of town. I am involved in Leadership for Five Seasons, a group in town that is sponsored by the Chamber of Commerce. The 35 of us in the program headed to Galena for a two day retreat. Our retreat was at Eagle Ridge where Mike and I got married, I have to admit it was weird being there without him, but the group had a really good time and I learned a lot about my peers and a lot about myself over the course of the two days. It was hard to be away from Lila, but I knew she was in the safest hands possible with her Dad. I am so fortunate to have such a wonderful husband who is so hands on and so supportive of me, it really makes life so much easier knowing I have a true partner. Life is good!