School picture day!

Here they are, Lily's first school pictures. She even got a class picture! I love having that picture with all her little friends at daycare.

You know, I've cried on more than a few occasions about having to send Lils to daycare. Given the choice, I'd choose to stay at home with her. But the honest-to-goodness truth of it is that she's not only doing well there - she's thriving there. Daycare offers her experiences that I just couldn't.

Nothing against stay-at-home-moms. I'd switch places with you in a heartbeat. I'm just wondering why the word "daycare" has such a stigma attached to it anyway. People ask what we do with Lily while we're at work. When I tell them, they give me that sympathetic look and ask if there's any other choice. Sigh. I don't have the time or the energy to explain that I'm happy she is where she is.

Here are snippets of her days over the last few months there. They send a daily communication sheet home every day and I typed up some of my favorites. (I recognize that this is probably more than you're interested in, but everything she does is interesting to me, so I had a hard time deleting any of it.)

11/07/2008
Today I had a fantastic day! I slept so well…all by myself and in my crib. I was all smiles and giggles when I was awake, too. My teachers have never heard me this talkative. I think Tuesdays are going to be my tough day…getting back into the “school routine”…but by the end of the week I’m so happy to be here.

Our daily reports are not always 100% positive, but it gives me some peace of mind to know how they deal with her when she's crabby. Anyone can take care of her when she's smilely and happy.

11/26/2008
Well, I must be growing or something because boy oh boy I have been a sleepyhead lately!!! This morning I took a quick snooze but woke up upset. Ms. Amy wasn’t fooled today! She rocked with me and then put me in my crib and I took a 3 & ½ hour nap – and woke up the happiest baby girl!! I did lots of tummy time today and laughed while Ms. Amy sang.

12/12/2008
I made a new “snow” painting for our winter wonderland that will be up soon. I did a great job using real (non-toxic, of course) paint! Ms. Amy put it right on the high chair tray and now that I can support myself more, I sat up there and made my creation! At first I didn’t’ open my little fists, but eventually I opened and spread the paint all over! When I was done I helped press a blue piece of paper on the tray to make my picture.

12/15/2008
I had a wonderful Monday at school! I showed off my rolling skills today. I did it with ease and very often. How exciting! I loved to be on my belly and look at my pretty little face in the mirror. It really kept me amused!

1/5/2009
Today I had a super day!!! I played happily on the floor and loved reaching for toys in front of me. I was also very smiley and talkative today. My teachers read on my lotion that it works best after a bath, so I got a sponge bath and all lotioned up! My face looked so nice after. My teachers also had fun combing my hair and giving me a pretty hair do. It was my day at the spa.

1/23/2009
I enjoyed playing on the floor with Eddie. I looked so cute with my pony tail, and Eddie kept trying to pull at it. I’m so cute.

1/29/2009
Today I was a bit of a picky eater…I was not very interested in my cereal or my sweet potatoes. I was in good spirits, however, and I really enjoyed playing with my pals on the floor. I especially enjoyed watching my teacher toss a ball up and down. It was so fun.

1/30/2009
Today I had fun playing on the floor with little Wyatt. I was showing him how to hold his pacifier and how to roll on the floor.

2/20/2009
I saw my new teacher walk in and I reached my arm up to wave so she waved back and said, “Hi.” I tried to say “hi” back. I was so proud that they knew what I was saying.

2/26/2009
Today I had so much fun playing with the big beach ball on a string. My teacher would bounce it and I smiled and giggled so much! I was so proud of myself when my teachers put their hands up in the air and said, “Yay, Lily!” I would throw my hands up into the air too!

2/27/2009
I had fun playing with Abigail today sharing toys back and forth. We also sang songs today, ABCs and Pat-a-cake.

3/6/2009
I had fun playing with Abigail. We were looking at books, lots of them. She would take my book and I would take hers. It was so funny.

3/11/2009
I had fun getting on my hands knees and rocking back and forth. Every time my teachers said, “Good job, Lily!” I would look up and smile so big. I love sitting up and turning around so I can see everyone.

3/13/2009
Today I thought it was so funny to peek out of my crib and watch the babies on the ground. And I got so excited when my teachers saw me peering through the side, they would make silly faces and I would laugh so much!

3/18/2009
I enjoyed playing with Abby! She is my best buddy in class. We read books together and rolled the little glitter bottles around. We also love talking to each other! We were babbling and giggling at each other all day long today.

3/20/2009
I enjoyed going for a walk outside, and we saw two baby squirrels chasing each other. And Ms. Tammy gave me a fun hairstyle today.

3/25/2009
I was very happy to have a box of toys all to myself. I woke up from my nap, but most of my friends were still sleeping, so I decided to crawl straight to the toy box and turned it over to dump all the toys out at once. That was really funny!

Month full of milestones

We've seen a lot of big changes this month. Of course, there's the crawling. But that's not the only big change we've seen. Here's a few others:

1. Separation anxiety has begun. Poor Khan. Lily cries when he drops her off at daycare. He's my hero for having the strength to go through that every day because if it were me, I think I'd have to quit my job and let the bank have the house back.

2. She holds a sippy cup all on her own. She kinda drinks from it, but it's more like she chews on it.

3. She's starting to master the pincer grasp. She can pick up small items with her thumb and forefinger.

4. She's using that pincer grasp to pick up puffs (baby finger foods) and feed herself.

5. She moved to her crib this month. She's doing fine there; I cried.

6. I moved back to the front seat of the car. Since she was born, I started sitting in the backseat with her to amuse her or put her paci back in, whatever. It just occurred to me that it's probably no longer necessary. And it's not. She amuses herself back there and her daddy and I get to sit together again.

7. She claps! It's pretty funny. I think they clap a lot at daycare, too.

8. Her repertoire of sounds is growing. She's recently added /b/, /p/, and /m/. If she ever got teeth, she might start with some other sounds besides the bilabials. (Although /d/ came first. I dunno.)

I'm sure there are other big changes that I probably haven't even picked up on yet. Every day brings us something new.

She crawls!

One day she was rocking back and forth, trying and trying. She'd figured out how to put both of her legs facing forward (as opposed to leaving one tucked under herself). She'd almost go forward, but she'd somehow end up scooting backwards. Or she'd just sit down again and flap her little arms. And the very next day, she was off. Perhaps it was all about proper motivation. Forget the toys, she wants electronics. Khan used the video monitor as the prize, and that made her go.

Exciting moment, right? Well, I missed it. I had to work late, and I missed it. I missed her first roll, too.

Don't get all "You can't be there for everything, Kate."

I don't wanna hear it.

I'm sure I'll get over my pity party after we've had some quality time together over the weekend, and she's all over the place and I can't keep up with her. I'm sure I'll be ready for her to spend some time at daycare crawling all around their floor. At least they offer a safe environment.

As for us, we've got some babyproofing to do this weekend, apparently.

So I have a hot date tonight

with this computer geek I used to work with, the one with the smile that melts my heart. So, yup, it's time for me to dust off my heels and maybe even put on some jewelry. Gasp!

It's been a long time since we had a date -- July 25, 2008 was our last one. And we were a bit preoccupied on that one, considering the next day our lives were going to change forever and all. (And there was no way I could put heels on when I was 39 weeks pregnant. I think they would've crushed beneath me.) But tonight is about more than heels and jewelry, it's about spending time as husband and wife. You know, like we did before we were mom and dad. It turns out that having a baby puts a bit of a strain on even the most solid marriage. There has been more tension between me and Khan in these last few months than there ever was in our first five years together combined. We're OK, don't get me wrong, but between it's hard to keep your cool when you're sleep deprived, you've got a screaming baby, nothing calms the baby, your husband can't read your mind, your bills just shot up exponentially at the same time that your income went down, the baby gets sick, you have 12,000 appointments to doctors, the cat pukes for good measure, you spend your couple of evening hours getting ready for the next day, and so forth. No, of course it's not all misery. In fact, it's much the opposite, but my point is that we are definitely ready to have a night out, just for us, with no talking about the baby or the puking cat.

I mean, if Bristol Palin and what's his name can't stay together and they have all those "family values," shouldn't heathens like us know that we'll have to try that much harder?

Tammy, one of Lily's daycare teachers, is coming over at 6:00, so she'll be in good, familiar hands. So we will do our best not to worry about her and enjoy our night out. I'd keep you posted, but a lady doesn't kiss and tell.

Kitty...your peaceful days are numbered

Poor Kitty doesn't know it yet, but Lily is on the move. She is this close to crawling, but even without the official crawl, her mobility grows every day. She scoots, squirms, wiggles, worms, inches, rolls, flips, and flops from point A to point B. She's scooting backwards most of the time, but her forward motion is improving.

And her mobility isn't the only change we've seen lately. It's crazy how much babies change in such a short time. I know, I know, we hear this all the time, but before I experienced it, I didn't really get that we're talking about big changes from one DAY to the next. Friday Lily started waving. She doesn't really seem to be waving hello or good-bye; she has her own little wave, but it's definitely a wave and it's new. Today Lily clapped when I did -- no question about it.

Her chatter is changing, too. We're hearing a more consistent CVCVCV pattern. What is she saying? You guessed it -- dadadadada. Don't tell Khan, but I'm pretty sure she's not saying "Dada" so much as following normal English phoneme acquisition.

Some of our changes are less exciting. Lily's developed a real affinity for keyboards, cell phones, and remote controls. Take it away from her and she cries. That surprised me the first time it happened. For now, we can usually solve the problem by redirecting her to something she can play with and she forgets within a few seconds.

My sweet baby Lily is racing towards toddlerhood and I'm trying to sit back and enjoy it. But there's such a strong part of me just keeps looking backward, wishing we could just stay here for a while longer. Just a little while longer.