New Camera = MORE pictures

I got a present today!  My mother in law got me a new camera.  I'm super pumped because it has a fast shutter speed (I think that's what it's called).  Anyway, it takes photos pretty quickly so I never miss a smile!  I took a few pictures today, but I'll make sure to be taking PLENTY more!

This past Monday my mom, me, my grandma, and of course LILY went to take some professional pictures.  We wanted a picture with all four generations.  I'm not sure how they came out, we'll get to see them on Monday.  We also took some of Lily on her own.  I think those came out cute, but again, I wont know until Monday.

(Ugh, I changed the settings on my blog and now I'm not sure how to make the pictures I just added of Lily any bigger...either way enjoy!)

This Saturday is Lily's baptism day!  Her and Braden (and 3 other little ones) are all going to be baptized.  After the baptism we're having a little get together at my parent's house.  I'm already stressing about it!  I hope I can get organized in time!  I already have all the food and drinks, and supplies.  It's just a matter of tying up lose ends.

I'll try and post some pictures of the four of us and pictures of the baptism on Monday.

Vent!!!!

Some people can be so rude! The other day I realized just how protective I have become of my precious Lily. I'll quickly give a summary of the scenario that really irked me:

My mom (first time grandma) posted some pictures from Lily's 3 month portrait session. A woman that she went to high school with commented "Cute pictures...I guess". My mom, thinking she had to have been joking, responded with "You guess? Like, you guess, if you're into adorable, precious, gorgeous babies?". The woman then decided to respond with "I'm just saying that all babies are adorable in the eyes of their parents/grandparents". My mom then deleted the entire thread.

I lost my sh*t!!! Who says that and why??? All mothers think their children are gorgeous, why would anyone decide it's their duty to burst that bubble? Not to mention, it's a baby! Sure we've all seen babies that are cute in their own way, but they are still CUTE. It's a baby for god's sake. As a first time mother, I take pictures of everything and anything and I post pictures almost everyday. Excessive? Probably! Do I make any apologies for it? NO! Why would I, it's a freakin' baby! Who am I hurting? I just can't believe that this woman saw the pictures and decided, "I'm going to tell this grandmother that 'I guess' her grandchild is cute"...why say anything at all? Why not just keep that to yourself. Ever heard of the saying "if you don't have anything nice to say, don't say anything at all"? Why couldn't she just say "cute pictures" and leave it at that? I just look at my Lily and my heart swells and I'm overcome with LOVE. Knowing how I feel about my baby, I get how other mothers must feel about their children. Knowing that feeling I would NEVER say something so half-hearted to another mother/grandmother/baby lover. It's just mean spirited and rude. I know Lily is gorgeous, I don't have to "guess", but it still really bothered me. That's all I have to say about that. I had to get it off my chest.

Now onto something else, I took some footage of Lily during tummy time. Adorable :o)

3 Month Portraits

Hooray! Lily is 3 months :o) She got her portraits taken today and they came out so cute! Here are a few of my favorites!

Playdates, Pictures, and a BIG Milestone

When I was pregnant I had one of my really good friends (Jill) pregnant with me. I feel like I was so lucky to have her as my soundboard. Always asking "are you feeling like...", or "do you think it's normal when...", she was 2 weeks ahead of me so we were experiencing all of the same things. We would go to swim aerobics and go walking in the park. Then (obviously) we had our babies! Braden was born 6/10, Lily was born 6/17...exactly one week apart! Now that we HAVE our babies she's still my soundboard! "is he doing this", "does he make this noise", "how is he sleeping". I feel so lucky to have someone going through it at the same time as me. It's easy to ask my mom friends, but to have someone with a baby that is the same age is so nice because a lot of times my other mom friends forget their timelines or just can't remember. Anyway, it's just so fun and comforting. Every Monday we get together and they have a playdate :o) More like a stare off or a nap session, but as they get older they will play. Today I felt like they were recognizing each other. They are so precious! Today Jill and I decided to do a Parent/Child work out. It was fun for a bit, but the babies weren't having it for too long so we had to call it quits. We'll attempt it again soon.

So this Thursday Lily will be 3 months!!!! I can hardly believe it! Everyday she looks and feels bigger and bigger. She does new things and never fails to surprise me. For a while she has been OBSESSED with her hands. They are in her mouth, she looks at them, she holds them together...she's

always doing something with her hands. These past few days though she has been starting to find her feet. It's the cutest thing! She picks them up, she kicks them like crazy, and she rubs them on each other. We say she's gonna start a fire, hahaha! This Thursday she also has her 3 month pictures scheduled. I'm taking her to a photo studio that is pretty kid friendly and affordable. I'm doing her costume and a super cute green dress. I hope she cooperates! I also hope her costume fits!

Now for the BIG MILESTONE!!! Lily is officially in her nursery! She's always slept in her crib so I knew the transition wouldn't be too hard, but I'm still so shocked! Her whole first month she slept in her pack n play, and her second month she slept in her crib, but always in my room. Well, I gave us a goal that by her 3rd month she would be sleeping in her room. I got the crib set up in the nursery and put her down last night and she slept all night! So, along with sleeping in her room, she slept from 10 - 6:30 (it was a long day and the schedule was a little off, so she went to bed a little later). She would have slept longer, but I woke her up because I HAD to feed her. My body is not used to going that long without her eating. After she ate I put her back in her room and she slept until 10! So the goal was reached four days before her 3rd month. I'm so proud of us :o)

Loving the Zzzzz's

Since day one I have been very persistent with trying to establish a routine for Lily. When she came home from the hospital I made sure there was a distinguishable difference between night and day. I made sure day was bright and made sure that no one whispered and let the dogs bark if they wanted. Then I would make sure that during the night everything stayed dark, no noise, and the dogs are silent. That was a big help in getting a routine in place. For the first few weeks, since she slept so much, her "bed time" was 11 o'clock. The next few weeks we moved it up to 10 o'clock. Now for the past 3 weeks we've been making bed time between 9 - 9:30. She usually wakes up between 3 - 4 am to feed, but then goes down again and we wake up for the day between 7 - 8 am. It's so nice having a schedule. I was so afraid when I was pregnant that I would be sleep deprived. I think that because that was one of my big concerns, I was super determined to make sure we got a good NIGHT'S rest. Lily gets 10 - 11 hours of sleep a night and I get my 7 - 8 hours, which leaves me with a few hours "baby-free" in the evening. It's the best, it keeps me happy and rested and HAPPY MOMMA = HAPPY BABY! Along with her bed time routine she has always slept in her own "bed". Up until a few weeks ago she was sleeping in her "pack n play", but for the last few weeks she's been sleeping in her crib. Lily has her moments, but I thank my lucky stars EVERYDAY that she's such an easy little girl! If I could give anyone any advice it would be to stick to a routine, they get the hang of it in no time!

Lily Talks and Laughs

Some days I just can't believe how absolutely adorable my baby is! Watch the video and you'll understand what I mean :o)