Have I mentioned lately that my child is really cute? One of those gummy smiles can make my day! She gives so many smiles now. She likes to smil during diaper changes, after she eats, when you give her kisses, and especially when you come to get her out of bed! There's no denying that these smiles are voluntary. Gas still makes her smile, but that's just 'cause she thinks it's funny! :)

She's generally just a happy baby. She's much more laid back that her Mommy! She loves going new places because there's so much to look at and new voices to listen to. She also likes being held by anyone who's around as long as she's not too tired and they're holding her the "right" way (which changes depending on her mood). She likes silly faces and funny noises and sometimes she'll stick out her tongue if you do it first.

Lila had her two month visit with the pediatrician today. She's gotten huge! She's up to 12 lbs 3 oz and 23 inches. Her weight is in the 90th percentile (compared to the 25th percentile at her two week visit)! Height is in the 75th. Little Chubba-Chubba! The doctor also said she looks healthy and is already doing things that aren't expected until 4 months of age!

The sad part of the visit was when she got her first round of vaccinations. Doug and I had to hold her hands while the nurse gave her three shots and we both almost started crying ourselves when Lila did! After the nurse left the room, we all had a little Snuggle and Recover session. We had to stop for Baby Tylenol on the way home and I felt so bad for her that I bought her a little stuffed kitty.

I'm still sad about it, but she seems to have entirely forgotten already! :)

Okay, life is finally back to normal and it's time for a Lila update. Our little sweetie is two months old now! And she's so big! I'm not sure yet what her current height and weight are - her next appointment with the pediatrician is tomorrow - but she's been growing steadily, especially in length.

I want to ask her doctor's office if I can just drop in periodically to weigh her and get her length. Their office is very near our house and our scale at home is not precise enough to get an accurate reading on such a small weight. Even though all appearances say that Lila is thriving, I will still feel better after we talk to the doctor tomorrow. It's not like she can tell me if something is wrong and I get paranoid!

Best of all, she is all smiles these days and it is so cute! :)

Apparently Lila is having a growth spurt.This outfit was so short on her that we had to let her feet hang out the bottom. :) 

Her Halloween costume was too short for her too, but it's a good fit for this guy... 

Here's Lila trying to lick the cat. 

Unfortunately, I'm still sick. I was actually in the emergency room on Saturday night because the doctor was concerned about how high my temperature was and her office obviously was not open. It took them three pokes, two nurses, and one big bruise to get an IV in me (so they could give me fluids - i was dehydrated) and they still had to stick me a fourth time to get blood for cultures.

After all of that and them sticking things down my throat and up my nose, they were able to tell me that it's not the flu or strep throat, it doesn't look like a breast infection, and my blood tests were all normal. Three and a half hours of torture so they could tell me "We don't know." Oh well. Lila was a total trooper through the whole thing, even when I had to nurse her while walking and then having my blood pressure and temperature taken. Exciting times! :o)~

This is a good sleepy stretch. This photo was taken after 20 minutes of trying to wake her up (so i could feed her then we could go out to eat) with no success. 

"I want to be the baby!" 

"Mom... I look like a dork." 

Breast infections were conceived in the fiery depths of *hell*.

My whole body either aches or has sharp pains shooting through it. My skin is extra sensitive to the touch from head to toe. Breastfeeding feels like someone is ripping my nipples off. My eyes feel like they're baking in their sockets, but I'm freezing cold. Every time I stand up, the whole world moves on me. My throat is so dry that no amount of water can quench my thirst. On top of all that, I was having trouble going to sleep because I was afraid my temperature would continue to rise and cook my brain. It was up to 102 when I went to bed and that's with antibiotics and a couple of Tylenol in my system. I am pleased to report that it is down to 101 after laying in bed for a while, so I guess it's safe to sleep after all. I was having paranoid visions of having to be taken to the emergency room in the wee hours of morning and trying to figure out how to get Lila fed and get someone to come and take care of her so she didn't have to be in the disease-ridden hospital with me.

In short, I do not recommend getting one for yourself.

It would seem that I have another breast infection. Blah.

This is exciting though - Lila laughed yesterday! It wasn't a chuckle, but it was definitely a laugh. Big open-mouthed grin and a "haaa". Way too cute! We spent about 15 minutes last night trying to get her to do it again (because, of course, her first time was while daddy was at work), but she wasn't interested in performing for us. She finally did it again this morning though.

She's definitely a morning person. When she wakes up for her 7ish feeding, I'll nurse her and then hand her off to Doug. He changes her and then gets some good Daddy play time before he has to go to work. She's all smiles and flailing limbs and very cute! It's a good thing because when he comes home in the evening she's usually tired and kind of grumpy. :)

Well, I did get out and walk with Lila on Monday and later in the evening I did my strengthening exercises. It didn't happen yesterday though. I told myself that it was because we had people coming over in the evening and I didn't want to get sweaty, but that was just an excuse. The thing is, I don't mind sweating in a gym, but I hate sweating in outdoor heat. I can't explain it. I just don't like it.

This morning I ordered a Pilates video that is highly rated, so I'll add that to my exercise options too. I'm not giving up on walking outside, but this will give me another option if I don't feel like going out in the heat or giving myself an allergy attack. When the weather cools off and I *want* to be outside, that's when I have my worst allergy problems. :( Anyway, enough whining - onward to good health!

It was an exciting weekend with all the family in town. All the attention wore Lila out so much that she went 7.5 hours between feedings on Saturday night! That means that Doug and I got 6ish hours of uninterrupted sleep - wow! It's tough work being so cute, you know. All those admirers wanting to hold her... But now it's Monday, all the family has gone home, and we're back to normal life.

My goal for this week is to start getting some exercise. Unfortunately, I don't think going to the gym will work at this point. But, now that fall is finally arriving, I plan to start taking a walk with Lila in the afternoons. I can just put her in the front carrier and walk around the neighborhood. And once Doug gets home I can take a few minutes to do some stomach and back strengthening exercises.

Here's Lila all crashed out on her Daddy. Just look at those cheeks!!! :) 

Here she is with Grammie and Papa Joe. In all the excitement, we didn't think to get posed photos of her with other family members... 

Here's Lila all dressed up for her Baby Dedication! That's her Daddy's hand keeping her from throwing herself off the couch. 

Well, another week is almost over. The time has been going so quickly! And my baby just keeps growing. How do you make that stop?!? She's already about to outgrow her first outfit. That's so sad! Soon she'll be in college... [sigh]

We're taking part in a Baby Dedication service at church this Sunday. There is quite a bit of family coming to town to be there. Doug's parents, some of my parents, an aunt and uncle, a great-aunt, and four cousins of various types. Only Doug's parents are staying with us, but it will be a full house on Sunday! This is the first major event since our little Lila Bean was born, so I'm a bit anxious. Not for her - she'll get loads of attention and just eat it up. I'm more concerned about *me* feeling overwhelmed! :oI~

I am one whooped Mommy today. Doug had training on Monday evening and conference calls yesterday evening, so I've been on Lila duty nearly non-stop for two-and-a-half days. It's my job and I enjoy it, but I'm starting to feel rather drained! Today I put Lila in the swing in our bedroom after her morning feeding so that I could catch a little extra sleep. She was nice and snoozed in the swing (not in motion) for an hour.

Since then I've mostly been focusing on the out of control laundry situation anytime I'm not dealing with her. We had a full laundry hamper and then another hamper's worth in a pile in the bathroom floor! I'm getting it done slowly, but surely. I will get a bit of a break this evening though. Doug is going to stay home and take care of Lila while I go to our last class at church.

Lila and Mommy and Daddy are doing well this week. She even let us get some good sleep last night! She's getting really strong and can hold her head up and steady for a little while now while sitting on your lap. She's also completely mastered the art of bringing her fists to her mouth and pedaling her legs like she's running.

She hasn't started grabbing for things yet, but she will intentionally touch things. Like this weekend when she kept touching her Daddy's funny, scratchy beard. Of course, whenever she does something new or with more control, we tell her how wonderful she is. She may not understand the words, but she understands the excitement in our voices! I want encouraging words to be something she's used to hearing her whole life! :)

Cute baby in a cute pink outfit! Her first cold weather day - ever! 

This was her first time to wear her little red hood and it seems she wasn't very fond of it. She just didn't realize how cute she was! 

This is after our outing when Lila had decided she didn't mind the hood so much after all. "Hey, it's dark in here... good for sleeping..." 

Here's a funny Lila story (hopefully it will be as funny in the telling as it was when it actually happened) - When we put her down to sleep, we swaddle her up into a little baby burrito and put her on her back on a sleep positioner (a covered foam pad with wedges on each side to snuggle her between so she can't roll over). Then we sometimes put a second blanket over her up to her shoulders and tuck the sides under the sleep positioner so it doesn't get pushed to the side when she starts wiggling.

Wow, that's a lot of background information! Here's the actual story part: A couple of nights ago, Doug and I were cleaning up after dinner and we heard her start announcing that she was awake and would like some attention. I went into her room to get her and for just a moment I thought she wasn't in the bed. "Where's the baby?!?" Then I realized that she had managed to squirm down on the sleep positioner until her head was completely under the blanket that was tucked over the top!

I assure you, it was very funny. Maybe if I had taken a picture... :)

Lila is six weeks old now (as of last night)! And, of course, she's still adorable! She's turning out to be a morning person, at least so far. She wakes up in the morning all smiles and coos and squeals. She definitely recognizes us and gives us big intentional smiles now. Daddy gets more smiles than I do, but that's to be expected.

She's very aware these days. If she hears a new voice, she'll look for the source of it and check out the new person! She can hold her head up and move it around like a big girl now. Of course, she still gets tired quickly, but she's getting stronger every day! I think she's starting to discover that her hands belong to her and are always attached to her arms. She's managed to get a hand to her mouth several times in the past few days. Babies are so cool! :)

Lila wearing silly socks. Her Daddy thinks she looks like a dork in them. 

Mommy's sweet girl :) 

Our two girls. Cordelia does not look altogether pleased with this arrangement...