Journey to and Through Motherhood: Lily's 48th Week (1/25/10

This week was a bit somber. We tried to enjoy our last week with Rachel but she had already mentally checked out and spent most of the week in her room. Paul took Friday off of work to withdraw her from school and help clean out her locker. It was a half day of school for her. When her friends were getting on their buses, she suddenly got sad and ran out of the building to say one last goodbye to everyone. Then she proclaimed that maybe she could commute to Pinckney Schools from South Carolina. Um, yeah. She wanted to have one last get-together with her friends and we offered earlier in the week to take them all out to lunch but everyone was already busy. I know that she was bummed but all of this was very last-minute and you can’t expect people to not have plans. My parents met us for dinner at Red Robin that night so they could say goodbye to her. We intentionally made it a low-key event as we figured a big send-off might be seen as a reward.

Lily loved Aqua Tots on Saturday morning, as usual. Paul forgot the camera so we don’t have any pictures. Her new skill was floating on her own with a life-vest on. Lily didn’t fuss but she was less than pleased as she doesn’t really like being on her back in the water and the life-vest was pressing on her chubby cheeks so she kept squishing up her face all funny. After our morning nap, we all got showered and dressed up and headed out to my former co-worker, Lynn’s wedding. A lot of people were surprised that we went but we figured that it would be a nice last family outing. Lily loved the music and wanted to crawl around on the dance floor. She was less than happy that we wouldn’t let her. Rachel took her out to dance a few times but, unfortunately, was acting quite wild with her so we had to put a stop to that. It didn’t help that Lily had on very cute but slippery shoes and her tights were just as slick so we tried to let her dance while holding onto a chair on the carpet instead. Rachel had a blast spinning around the dance floor and Lily was finally content when we changed her into her grippy footy pajamas and let her push a chair around the dance floor. Silly girl! Lily got super sleepy and it was past her bedtime so we left around 9:30pm. Lily fell asleep before we even left the parking lot and didn’t even stir when I took her out of her carseat at home, took off her coat, and put her to bed. Amazing!

Lisa flew in on Saturday and stayed the night in a hotel in Ann Arbor. The plan was for her to pick up Rachel at 10am on Sunday. Rachel got packed and ready with an hour to spare so I roused her out of her room so that she could spend some time with her little sister and I could get some pictures of them together. Unfortunately, Lisa got bored at the hotel and came an hour early so no photos were taken. She brought a cute gumball machine toy for Lily which Lily absolutely loved. She is such a nut for toys! Lisa visited for about 15 minutes then she and Rachel left. It wasn’t a sad departure for us because it felt just like she was leaving on a normal trip to see her mom. Only, this time, she won’t be coming back for two months. We haven’t been apart from her for that long in a year. Rachel was really excited to leave and we had to force her to come back and give us goodbye hugs. We wish her luck in her move and really hope that things turn out to be great for her in South Carolina but we still remain confused and sad about the whole situation. Paul, Lily, and I spent the afternoon hanging out and running errands. When we got home, Rachel called to let us know that she had landed safely.

This week, Lily has been standing on her own for extended periods of time without holding onto anything while playing. I know that a lot of kids are scared to let go and stand or walk on their own but I don’t think that is the case with her. I think that she hates holding onto things as she wants both hands free to play. On Sunday, Paul tricked her into taking two small steps on her own by holding her out from him then withdrawing support from under her arms when she started walking toward him! However, I don’t know if I would declare that she is now walking as we couldn’t get her to repeat it. I know it's coming soon, though!

Lily is still mumbling nonstop when she plays and mixes a lot of real words into the babble. She was sitting on the Pooh sheets in her crib playing with a toy earlier in the week and included “Pooh” and “Tigger” in what she was saying. She also started saying “BuBu” for butterfly and loves to point out all of the “BuBu”s in her room and ours. She also says “All Done,” usually when she is throwing food or her sippy cup on the floor from her highchair.

Here are some pictures from this week.

Tuesday was MSU/U of M day at Lakeland Elementary so I brought over Lily’s MSU cheerleader outfit to get pictures of her and Kirsten’s kids in their matching green and white apparel. Here is my cute little cheerleader sporting an adorable top ponytail (her first) put in by Kirsten:

Squirmy Lily on the couch with Keegan:

Keegan and Lily playing in the kitchen. Adorable:

Lily playing with her magnets at home:

Two magnets, a pacifier, and a dragonfly- quite a lot for two little hands:

‘Snug as a bug’ in her adorable pajamas on Tuesday night:

Rachel hid out on the other side of the cat door and surprised Lily. She found it quite delightful:

Crazy post-bath hair on Wednesday night:

My tired girls watching cartoons on Friday morning:

Lily enjoying Yogurt Melts at Red Robin on Friday evening:

Rachel, Paul, and Lily at dinner:

Amber loves to hang out in the bottom of Lily’s Exersaucer:

And for dessert after lunch- a washcloth:

Lily found Reiley sleeping on a chair and scared him off:

Lily loves getting her teeth brushed and squirmed with delight when I got the brush out after her bath on Saturday:

My happy baby was singing with me:

Reiley and Nolan snoozing peacefully on the couch with Lily’s favorite pillow:

Lynn’s wedding cake:

The wedding reception was at the Moose Lodge in Ypsilanti. Lily loved the moose hanging on the wall and continually wanted me to take her over to look at it. Maybe it reminds her of her beloved Moose A. Moose on Nick Jr. Here is Lily, me, Rachel, and Mr. Moose:

My cute but sleepy girl pulling down her blanket then laying on it:

Lily perked up once the music started. Here she is dancing with her big sister:

Shoes are much more fun to play with than to wear on your feet:

Lynn and Shane love karaoke so it was only appropriate that Shane sing to Lynn during their first dance:

Lily dancing holding onto a chair:

I want to be out on the dance floor:

Mmm, cake:

Lily was playing peek-a-boo with Rachel around her chair:

Happy Rachel:

Karen, Kim, Rachel, Lily, and I get down on the dance floor:

Crazy dancer:

This picture is blurry because I didn’t use the flash so that I could show how fascinated Lily was with the lights that danced all over the floor. She kept trying to catch them:

Lily in her pajamas with Lynn’s daughter, Mallory:

Playing with Rachel’s shoes:

Nolan, Lily, and I watched ‘Blues Clues’ after Rachel left on Sunday. Lily loves to take off her socks and chew on them:

Lily and Reiley watching Paul feed the birds:

I had dressed Lily in this cute ‘Little Sister’ shirt to get some final pictures with her big sister but that didn’t happen as previously mentioned. Here she is all alone with her favorite pillow. She loves to point at the snowman and ask what they are. The first picture kind of shows her gap-tooth smile: