Lila and Mommy all dolled up. I didn't do this to her hair until we got home from dinner, but I'll totally do it again - maybe for church this week. 

This is what her hair looked like after we took the clip out. I like how she looks like she's been caught doing something in this shot! 

Look, it's a rare shot of Lila's teeth! She just has two, but they're really cute! :) 

Nacho Libre = The Stupidest Movie I Have Ever Seen

(That title was previously held by the movie 'Dumb and Dumber'. At least that one had half a plot!)

Lucky Me

In case I haven't mentioned it recently, I have the most awesome baby *ever*! For evidence, see the previous 10 months' worth of entries. I even feel this way on the days when I have to fish cat food out of her mouth THREE TIMES and by 7 p.m. she's lost her mind and we have to go for a walk so that Doug and I don't end up crazy too.

I just finished nursing her and we sat on the couch together for a while. Lila sat on the pillow in my lap and we played our little games. We squealed at each other, we flirted, I attacked her with wiggly fingers over her face. At one point, she cracked me up by licking my palm. Why did she do this? Who knows! That's why it was so funny.

I got hug after wonderful hug and even one precious (and slimey) kiss. I finally got up and took her to the changing table. Having her diaper changed these days is about as popular with Lila as, ohh... having her fingers bitten off. But this time I was able to keep her happy and laughing. I did things that I'm sure looked completely absurd, but they made my little girl giggle. And then -- suddenly -- I turned into the Mommy Monster! Oh no, I'm going to eat that little belly! And this earns me the most breathtaking squeals and belly laughs of all time.

Yep. I'm feeling like the most lucky mommy in the world right now... :)

Lila the Lifter

We almost shoplifted this afternoon. I was looking at some tins of chocolate at Steinmart and Lila wanted to hold one, so I let her. We were there with a friend of mine and her daughter and we wandered around for a bit longer before we left. After we walked out the front door, I looked down at Lila and saw that she still had the chocolates in her hand! Eek! I'm surprised an alarm didn't go off or something.

I just popped back inside, replaced the almost-stolen goods, and then left. How embarrassing would it have been if someone else had noticed, but I hadn't! Oh well, it was funny anyway. And I learned an important lesson: Check Lila's hands before leaving a store. I think that will be even more important once she's walking and can grab the goods for herself!

I have caught both of the cats being extremely odd with our fake cat in the past couple of days -- Wait, let me back up...

My mom recently bought us one of those fake cats that's in a curled up position and covered with rabbit fur. It's just realistic enough to make you look twice and then disturb you. Anyway, Charlie was rather aggressive with it in the beginning and then he and Cordy both started completely ignoring it. It has been on our guest bed for several weeks.

Well yesterday I turned around and caught Charlie grooming it! I know that he knows it's not a real cat. I mean, he *has* to! And if he thought it was some sort of dead animal... wouldn't he be more upset by it? And I don't think he'd be licking it so affectionately! Strange cat.

Cordy was a little less weird - she was just curled up asleep with it. I've actually found both of them doing that in the past, but not recently. I guess it's more accessible now because I moved the pillow that was next to it.

Anyway, very strange... :o)~

So many funny things to write... I'll start with what just happened. Lila and I sometimes play this game where we take turns making these horrible high-pitched squeaking noises. I may have told a story about that before. Well, we were just doing it and Cordy finally got up, made some sort of complaining noise, and left the room. I guess she just couldn't take it anymore. :o)~

I have been planning (for at least a month) on taking some photos of Lila in her Father's Day dress and I finally did it! You can see them below. In the past, when I've dressed her up for an official photo shoot, I've been able to get some great shots. That was before she became mobile. Now I have three options: Lila crawling directly at me to get the camera, Lila crawling away from me, and Lila stopping and looking at the camera just long enough for me to catch her making some sort of strange face. Oh well, it will be easier when she's walking because (even though I'll still have to chase her around) at least you'll be able to see her cute outfit better.

She and Doug and I went for a walk last night and she was *so* tired. She just flopped out in the stroller, looking either dead or drugged, for most of the walk. I don't think it helped that it was pretty warm out and she gets lethargic in the heat like any normal person. Anyway, we had her sunglasses on her because it was that point in the late afternoon when the sun seems determined to blind you. She wore them for nearly the entire trip with no complaint. The funny part came when she saw something that was interesting to her and she wanted to get a better look (we never figured out what it was that she was looking at). She pulled the shades down a bit and looked over the top of them. That was cute enough, but her true coolness shined through when she got through looking at whatever-it-was and pushed the shades back up onto her nose. She looked like she knew exactly what she was doing.

That reminded me of

this photo.

Here's Lila eating Fruit Puffs for the first time. She's so happy to get to eat anything that she can feed herself! :) 

Here's the little helper playing video games with her Daddy. I brought her into the room after a nap and she got so excited when she saw him with the controller in his hands! 

Here's the best photo of Miss Lila that I could get. It's very difficult to take pictures of a baby who can crawl! 

Well, you can see the dress well and she's looking in the general direction of the camera. She's not really smiling, but she's still cute! 

Here's Lila... umm... worshiping Cordy, I think. Hmm... 

Lila just did something she's never done before (as well as I recall, anyway). I put her down for a nap at 11:15 a.m., prior to which time she had been fussing for about an hour. So I think she was very ready. She slept for her standard 45 minutes and then woke up and started crying. I was a bit frustrated by this since I wanted to make my grocery list, but whose fault is it that I had not already done that...? Mine.

Anyway, I let her fuss for a couple of minutes to see if she would (a) go back to sleep, or (b) improve her mood before I got her out of bed. Either was a likely possiblity. However, she just continued to cry and sound more and more sad. I went in and got her out of bed, but she continued to cry - tears running down the face and everything. This is not looking good.

I tried holding her while I finished printing something on the computer, but that led to further crying. Okay, so maybe she'd rather play with toys. Nope, not the answer. Well, she'll just have to deal with it for a couple more minutes while I finish what I'm doing. She cried the whole time! By the time I picked her up and left the room with her, she was doing that whole sniffling/hiccuping thing.

Even picking her up and walking around with her - the magic baby calming technique - did nothing for her though! So I thought maybe she was hungry, even though it's too early for lunch. I pulled out her high chair to give her a snack and just the sight of the chair being moved into position inspired new wails of displeasure. Okay. Wrong again.

I couldn't figure out what to do (i'd already given her tylenol *before* her nap because i thought she might be teething)! She didn't appear to be sick or injured and as far as I know she didn't receive any bad news via the telephone. Okay, I'm desperate now, so I pop the pacifier in her mouth and sit down to rock her and see if that would at least calm her down.

I was fully expecting this to piss her off beyond reason because that's usually what happens when you try to rock her anytime other than before a nap or bedtime. However, she only wimpered for a while as she lay on me with her head on my shoulder. Could she still be tired and just wanted to go back to sleep. Maybe she woke up from her nap and sat up, but really she wanted to go back to sleep.

I don't think she's figured out how to lay back down after she sits up on her own yet. Oky-doky. I rocked her for several minutes to make sure she wasn't going to change her mind and then put her in bed. She gave one cry of protest when I left the room and then all was silent. She's been in there for about 10 minutes now and I just hear one little whine every once in a while.

My guess is that she's actually making that noise in her sleep. Poor child. I don't know what that was all about, but I hope she doesn't do it again! For my sake as well as hers. The times that I am most likely to get frustrated with her are when she is crying and I either can't figure out why or I know why, but can't reason with her to tell her why she can't have what she wants right at that moment.

What I hear her "saying" in those times is, "You are a bad Mommy! If you really loved me you'd know what is wrong and you would FIX IT!" I know, rationally, that is not what she's saying or thinking, but it's my insecurity about being a mom pushing through. I'm learning though... When I feel myself getting frustrated, I'm trying to stop and figure out what it is that I'm really upset about so that I can deal with it.

Blah blah blah.

Lila is ten months old today! We stopped by the doctor's office to get her weight and height. She weighs 19 lbs. 10 oz. and is 27.5 inches tall/long. She's growing again - yeah! :)

Sorry, I don't have anything else to say at the moment. This has not been the best week of my life, but neither has it been the worst. Maybe tomorrow I'll think of a funny story to tell.

Oh, we did get a new piece of furniture for the living room. Now there are no more dangerous aluminum shelves for Lila to bonk her head on. And a mass of CDs and DVDs are not the first thing you see when you walk into our living room! Yipee! :)

Now if we could just find a way to keep her out from under the desk in the study. I mean, I pull her out every time she goes for it and tell her "No no!", but that's only a temporary solution. Another temporary solution I've come up with - there are now blankets covering the DVD player, VCR, etc. - hee hee.

Lila helping her Daddy with some home improvement. "Here, Daddy, give me the hammer. I'll show you how to do it." 

Here's she is practicing standing up at the coffee table. It's a wonder that those chubbly legs and little bitty feet can hold up anything! :) 

Lila did this for the first time today. She's getting much more confident in her little legs! 

I decided to post today when I'm not so tired that what I'm saying barely makes sense. Lucky you! :o)~ Yesterday was a *looong* day!

Lila and I were supposed to have lunch plans, but they had to be rescheduled. With that time freed up and Lila waking up from a nap at just the right time, we were able to go to some friends' play group for the first time! We've been invited since before Lila was even born! It was at someone's apartment swimming pool. Now, the last time we had Lila in a swimming pool, the chlorine made her excema flare up terribly. But she really hasn't been having any breakouts lately so I thought we'd try again. She hated it at first because the water was cold, but once she got used to it we had lots of fun! And her skin seems to have suffered no ill effects - woohoo!

I generally don't spend a lot of time in the sun because I just don't like it, so I'd forgotten how draining it can be! Lila fell asleep on the way home and napped for two and a half hours! I should have taken a nap, but didn't. I also should have put sunscreen on my shoulders and back, but didn't. Naughty Angela! And OUCH!

Oops, I guess I'll have to fill you in on the rest of the day later. Lila just woke up from a nap...

This is our old entertainment/media center that we're getting rid of. Anyone wanna buy it? :) 

Here's another view. Pretty wood! 

Alexi Murdoch. [sigh] I want to kidnap him. 

"Look, Mommy! I'm an Ewok!" Lila had no idea why we were laughing at her so much, but she was eating it up! 

The patient customer, reading as she waits for her lunch. She's reading 'Pat the Bunny', in case you were wondering. 

Here's Lila crawling! Yeah - Go Lila! :) 

Lila had her evaluation by the physical therapist today and it went great. From a practical standpoint, she napped on the way there so she was rested and ready to go during her appointment - yeah! :)

The PT said that she does have some weakness in her lower trunk and legs, but that it's nothing major at this point. She even got Lila, with some help and encouragement, to stand up while holding on to something a few times - she's never done that before! The PT told us a few things to do to help her practice her skills and build strength and we'll go back in a month for a follow-up visit. I'm very relieved (but not surprised)!

I am officially on a mission to get this house baby-proofed as quickly as possible for the sake of my sanity. I can't tell you how tiring it is to follow Lila around all day trying to keep her out of things. And it's no fun for her if Mommy is always saying "No no!" to her! I had already been taking steps toward things like covering outlets, etc., so we're doing alright there. But there are three big things that we need to do:

1. Put doors on the cart that holds the electronics - these are Lila's favorite things to go after!

2. Find some way to rearrange the desk/computer arrangement so that she cannot get to the computer boxes. Her second favorite things to go after are the power buttons!

3. Get a new media center (with doors or drawers) to hold our cds and dvds. These are Lila's third favorite thing to go after!

All that being said, I'm so excited that Lila can crawl! I want the house safe for her so that she can crawl all she wants and explore! Maybe I'll go do some baby-proofing now...

Lila learned to crawl yesterday! It's very funny to see her do it. All her life, she's been immobile, so it's just bizarre to see her moving around on her own. It looks kind of funny too because she's mostly using her upper body and 'core muscles' to move herself and her legs look like they're just along for the ride. :o)~ We'll still be taking her for the evaluation with the physical therapist on Wednesday and I'll keep you updated on that.

She's also finally started saying 'Mama', and not just when she's crying! A couple of days ago, I had my back turned toward her and she pointed right at me and said, "Mama!" I'm so happy!

Finally, we just put Lila to bed a while ago and she had a hard time going to sleep. She fussed for several minutes and I finally went in to rock her a bit more. I found both pacifiers on the floor, she had taken off one of her socks and flung it who-knows-where, and she was sitting up! That sitting up thing is new! I mean, sitting up on her own. Crazy!

I would write more, but I'm too tired from following Lila around all day saying, "No no!" and moving what I could out of her reach. Whew!

This was the first time Lila left a room on her own. She started out in the study (where the photo is taken from) and wiggled her way out into the hallway. Eek! 

Could she be any cuter?!? In this dress, she looks like a beautiful Easter egg! 

This was Lila's first ride in her new swing. The photo is kind of fuzzy, but you get the idea - she was having fun! 

Alright, my head is out of Harry Potter Land. At least until Monday. :)

I'm very annoyed with myself right now becuase I killed dinner. I have a recipe for 'Mock Crock Paella'* that I was going to make for tonight. I had been reminding myself constantly since last night that I needed to prepare it this morning because it would cook all day. And I didn't forget to start it! I started defrosting the chicken in the microwave while I was feeding Lila her breakfast.

But that's where I goofed up. After her breakfast, I was in such a hurry to get us ready and out the door for lunch that I forgot to *finish* preparing it. I went off and left the defrosted chicken sitting in the microwave the whole time I was gone! Eek! So not only does that mean we will not be having this dish tonight, I also ruined two pounds of chicken! Curses! :oI~

* I have subscribed to the weekly Menu Mailer from SavingDinner.com and so far we are loving it!

I am completely sucked into a Harry Potter reading group. I will publish a real post again when I emerge...

I still have a saucer-sized bruise on my tush, in case you were wondering.

"What the heck are you doing to me Mom? This water is freakin' COLD!!!" - Lila did not care for her first experience in the wading pool... 

"Yeah - I did feed myself today. How did you know?!?" 

"Ewwwww! Mashed potatoes are grooooossss!" My drama queen has finally started actively disliking some foods. :) 

Pay no attention to this photo. I'm just posting it so it wil have a url... :) 

I tried to convince Doug to let me get some sort of small furry animal yesterday evening, but he wouldn't go for it. :( I am always in the market for a new kitten, but he's not going to go for that one until Lila's a little older (in the spring, probably). After dinner last night, we went into Petco to let Lila look at the animals and I ended up getting attached to the idea of a new little friend.

They have several guinea pigs and I held a couple of them. They are so cute! One of them (not one that i held) kept nibbling on my finger and it was really cute (until the time it bit hard enough to draw blood - she was just playing though)! That one also sneezed once and it was the funniest thing. It had a lot of personality and I liked it a lot! There were a couple of really pretty ones too...

Anyway, Doug wasn't having any part of it. He said we could "talk about it later," but we weren't going home with one. I thought the little balls of fur would have more of an impact on him than that. Clearly I have not trained him well enough yet. Oh well, at least I get a kitten in the not-too-distant future. :)

Doug was playing Naked Baby Roulette this evening and lost. Lila peed on him before he could get her into the bathtub.

He he he...

Can we bruise it? YES WE CAN!

For those who were wondering (as I'm *sure* you were) whether or not it's possible to actually put a visible bruise on your bottom, I'm here to tell you that it is. I have one. It's nice and purple. It is also possible to have a knot in your tush. Ack!

For reasons that we have yet to figure out, our computer/email/internet connection has lost it's mind! We keep getting the same emails over and over again. Sometimes I'll just get one twice. Sometimes I get it 10 times! I'm not exaggerating! It's driving me mad and I don't even know who to call to try and fix it. It can't be the computer because both of them (we have two now) are doing it. Unless we have a virus. Can a virus do that?

I have a gmail account and a roadrunner account and both are doing it, so it's not the email provider. Could it be the cable internet service? If you have any wonderful insight for me, please let me know! That would be one email I'd be happy to see in my inbox 10 times!

I fell in the parking lot of PetSmart today while carrying Lila. It was very stupid, but thankfully Lila is uninjured. I was carrying her and an umbrella and my soda from lunch and it was raining, so the ground was wet. I was wearing my flip-flops with no traction on the bottoms and stepped onto a slick, painted curb. In a fraction of a second, my foot and slipped out from under me and I landed, tushie first, on the curb.

Ouch! I was able to hang onto Lila, but she got flopped backward over my arm. I really think it just scared her, but she started crying. I got us off the ground and out of the rain and could find no sign that she was injured or had even touched the ground. She calmed down pretty quickly too, so she is totally fine. My tushie, on the other hand, is bruised. I just feel dumb because I should have known better!

To those who were concerned about me because of yesterday's post - thank you. :)

Poor Dougie was working (from home) until after midnight last night! I'm not sure exactly what time he came to bed because I finally gave up and went to sleep at midnight. He'll be needing some naps this weekend!