Lily's 19th Week (7/6/09 - 7/12/09)

This week Kirsten was on vacation so it was the first time I had to leave Lily with someone else. It took me so long to find someone I trusted with Lily so it was hard to switch to someone else. My coworker Pat's wife, Auriel, and stepdaughter, Aneasha, watched Lily Monday through Wednesday. Even though I knew that Lily would be fine with them, I was still up pretty much all Sunday night worrying how things would go. They live in Ann Arbor and I worked at the Brighton Health Center Monday through Wednesday so Paul was in charge of drop of, instructions, and pick up. That worried me as well. My worry was unfounded as they did just fine with Lily and Lily did just fine with them. And the nice thing about getting out at 4:30 and Paul not getting home with Lily until 6:30 meant that I could run some errands and get some things done around the house so I could concentrate on my quality time with Lily once she arrived home.
My angel snoozing on Daddy before work:

Monday evening Lily got tired playing in her exersaucer while I was making dinner. Usually she starts fussing to let you know she wants out but instead she just laid her head down as if to fall asleep in her exersaucer. It was so cute:

I moved her into her bouncer which woke her up and she started playing again:

We talked to Rachel on the phone that night and put the phone up to Lily's ear so that she could talk to her. Her eyes opened up so wide and she kept looking around like, "I know that voice! Where is my sister!?":

My sweet girl on Tuesday:

My mom came over on Wednesday to generously clean the house. She watched Lily Thursday and Friday so she stayed the night Wednesday and Thursday night to make it easier. When I came home from work Wednesday evening, we organized a bunch of clothes for Lily that Paul's sister, Debbie, kindly handed down from her daughter, Sophia. Sophia is three months older than Lily. We also organized the clothes that Lily has outgrown which made me a bit melancholy.

Here is Lily drooling on Grandma Chris:

On Thursday, my mom watched Lily then came to the hospital to pick me up to take Lily for her four month shots. These were the ones we were supposed to get done a few weeks ago but the doctor wanted us to wait a full eight weeks between her two and four month shots to minimize the side effects of fever and diarrhea that she had last time. This time the shots themselves were simply awful. Last time, Paul was the one who held her down and the medical assistant gave the shots really quickly. So quickly, that all three were over before Lily started crying. This time I had to hold her down and the nurse gave the shots very slowly so Lily was crying for a lot longer before it was over. This led to her getting frantic so she was really hard to calm down. Last time I nursed her right away which calmed her instantly but this time she got too upset to nurse. Plus, I think it hurt her to have any pressure on the sides of her legs where she got her shot so I couldn’t get her in any position to nurse where she wouldn’t start screaming louder. Luckily, my mom had brought a bottle of breast milk just in case so I gave that to her which finally calmed her down. Poor Lily. It probably didn’t help that both my mom and I were crying as well. Thankfully, that’s where the drama ended. Lily didn’t have any of the adverse reactions she experienced last time. So, in the end, we were glad we waited and made a separate appointment for her shots. She did not get any of the horrible diarrhea from the rotavirus vaccine and didn’t seem to get a fever at all. We gave her Tylenol right before the shots to help with the pain and then again before bed and first thing in the morning but then she was just fine all day Friday so no more medication was needed. Last time she was really groggy and crabby the next day and still feverish but she was perfectly fine this time. She felt so well she even smiled for these pictures of her on the quilt made by her Aunt Eileen:

Then the Tylenol set in and she got sleepy:

Still drowsy with Grandma:

My mom stayed the night again Thursday night then watched Lily Friday while Paul and I worked. We had an early morning meeting which meant that we started a half hour early and got out a half hour early. My dad came over during the day as well. While he was there, he installed fluorescent lighting in the garage. It is so much brighter in there now than our previous one bare bulb provided. It will be so much easier for Paul to work on the vehicles or do woodworking in there after dark. He also mowed the lawn for us and was finishing up on that when we got home. It was pretty warm so Lily was hanging out in a diaper and a bib when we came inside. She looked so cute:

We all had dinner together then my parents headed home. They are the greatest and I really appreciated their help this week.
Here is Lily playing with Paul late Friday night:

Shortly thereafter, they both crashed on the living room floor:

I thought it was so cute that Lily was holding Paul's hand:

Saturday was a really busy day. First we had the LaVictoire family reunion in Flushing. It was a beautiful day and a really nice gathering. We all wear name buttons so here is Lily with hers:

Once she woke up, she had fun visiting and making new friends:

And, of course, she loves spending time with Grandma Chris:

We had a fairly low turnout but had some people there who normally don’t get to come. The furthest traveler came from Hawaii. My distant cousin, Andrea, lives there now. She came along with her brother who lives all over the country. Here is Andrea visiting with myself, Paul, my dad, my mom, and Lily. She brought the plumeria flowers such as the one my mom is wearing in her hair in the previous picture:

After lunch, we had the traditional games for the kids, water balloon toss, and softball game. Paul was a bit wet after we nailed each other in the water balloon toss:

Hanging out with the family:

A surprise appearance was put in by my mom’s Uncle Larry and Aunt Margaret. They are not in good health but were able to make it out for around an hour. Larry has emphysema but thankfully since the weather wasn’t so hot and humid, he could get outside for a while. Here is Larry. He reminds me so much of how my grandpa was in both looks and personality:

And here is his wife, Margaret:

Lily was so interested in my mom's conversation with Carol:

My dad:

Lily crashed again:

After Lily fell asleep, we left to drive over to Anne Pashenee’s surprise 40th birthday party in Fort Gratiot. Anne’s husband, Mike, was one of Paul’s college roommates and they haven’t seen each other in many years. We reconnected with them through email via Kirsten but this was the first time I have met them and the first time Paul has seen them in forever. Anne was really surprised to see us.
Here she is with her party signs:

Mike and Paul:

Kirsten and Pat were there and since she hadn’t seen Lily all week, Kirsten snatched her right up. Here is Kirsten with Lily and I:

Paul having fun catching up with old friends:

Lily chilling out. As night fell, it got cold and windy so I was glad I brought a really warm sleeper and a hat for her:

The party was really fun. It was in a neighborhood park on a beach on Lake Huron. Here is the band playing on a basketball court:

We ended up leaving pretty late and with the hour and forty minute drive home, we didn’t get to bed until long after midnight. It was a really fun day. The only bad part of the day was that Lily didn't eat much, probably from all of the excitement, so I became quite engorged. I didn't bring my electric or manual pumps with me so it became quite painful. That evening, out of desperation, I tried to remember how to hand express milk. I did so into a bathroom sink at the party just to let off some pressure. When I got home, I pumped 10 ounces of milk. And that was after Lily ate! I will never leave home for the day again without a pump!

Lily let us sleep in a little bit on Sunday. It was another beautiful day and was the last day of the LaCasa Garden Tour around Livingston County so we decided to go. Lily loves to go for walks outside. There were some beautiful gardens on the tour. Here is Lily and I with some Elephant Ear plants:

And looking at a pond:

Lily fell asleep between the first and second garden we visited and stayed asleep for a long time even though we were constantly getting her in and out of the car seat and carrying her around. She was apparently quite exhausted! Here she is sleeping on Paul:

One of my favorite gardens:

Lily (finally awake now) with Paul:

We hit about six of the nine houses on the tour before we ran out of time. While we were at the last house, my parents called saying they were on their way to our house. They had a bunch of hostas from my Grandma that they brought over. We had a short but nice visit with them. They actually came over from a different garden tour that they were on in the Fenton area. Apparently it was the day for those!