Octopus's Garden

Well here we are at Halloween -- Lily followed up last year's butterfly costume with this year's octopus. Looking back at last year's entry it is really amazing to see how much she has grown. She is really a little person now.

The walking is coming along nicely. No video yet, Mom and Dad, okay, just Dad, has been a bit of a slacker. Next week, I promise. She is taking many consecutive steps in a row and seems to slowly be favoring it over crawling.

We had a busy and fun weekend. Friday afternoon was Lil's school's Halloween parade. All the kids and parents gathered to walk around the shopping center - it was so old fashioned (excuse my sarcasm). The older kids all trick or treated at the local shops ... I am not sure what the bird seed store gave out. Lil and her pals just walked around. One funny story, a bunch of the kids were in the wagon -- including Nicholas the Lion and Jake the Koala Bear. Well Jake was sitting behind Nicholas and must have thought he was stuffed animal and kept pulling on his mane and hugging his head. They eventually had to switch places in the wagon -- it was quite funny, maybe you had to be there.

On Saturday we drove up and back to Philly for an engagement party for our friend's Angel and Mike. Lil was a trooper since it was about six hours in the car. Marcy and I learned a valuable lesson -- regardless of the price of gas, more than two hours in the car, we are taking the Pilot and Lil's Baby Einstein DVDs. Let's just say Lily can be very aggressive in expressing her dislike for sitting in the car that long without baby oriented entertainment -- Marcy and I singing (or should I say baying) all the baby songs we know just does not cut it.

Sunday we went in search of a desk for Marcy at Ikea since she just got into the work at home program for her job. Starting in two week she will be working at home on Mondays and Wednesdays -- saving much unnecessary commuting time and giving her more time with Lil. Our toddfant will still be in daycare -- it is tough working with her around (I speak from experience) but Marcy will be able to pick her up a bit earlier.

That is all for now. See you next week.

P.S. - The spelling of Octopus's stays true to the Abbey Road...



Getting ready for the Halloween Parade.

Testing the waters in her fancy Octopus costume.

Playing with Superman, aka Gavin.

"Let's go Mom."

A close up.

Parading.

Being shy.

A class photo. Superman - Gavin, Lion - Nicholas, Butterfly Princess - Emma.

In this one you can see Jake the Koala and Andy dressed as Andy. Andy did not really like his costume.

Lily with her pumpkin and anatomically correct teeth.

Lily spreading out the haul.

Tasting the fruits of her labor -- a little Hershey bar before bed.

Walking Out of Stride

What a week. No big developments for a few weeks and then bam! all new stuff going on.

First, we have forward movement. Video at 11 -- next week for sure. Lily is walking ... multiple steps together. We have gone from crawling as the preferred Lily mode of movement to walking a few steps and then dropping down to crawl. Walking seems to happen more often when she has something in her hands. We are making her carry lots of stuff around now.

Next, we have a breakthrough of tooth number 7. Lily didn't seem to be bothered much by it so it just popped through.

We had a busy weekend as we had a chance to visit with family and friends. Lil's Grandma Phyllis and Grandpa Maurice babysat on Saturday night so Marcy and I got to out to dinner alone for a change. Lily had a chance on Sunday to play with her friend Hayley on Sunday morning and got to see her Aunt Tracy and Uncle Stan on Sunday night.

That is all for now. Video of walking girl should be coming next week. Have a good week.


Lily showing off her fancy new slippers and holding her sneaker. Preparing to walk.

Pushing her baby's stroller.

Pensive.

Relaxing on Daddy's lap.

Climbing down.

Lily reading to Tad and her Lilys -- notice the twins to the right.

"This picture is my favorite."

Look at all those diapers.

"I want to wear these pants. Now."

Bird Girl

Big steps forward this week. Lily seems to be getting the idea that walking is better than crawling and is starting to put a few steps together. I am sure full on walking will be coming in the next few weeks.

What else? Lil went to her friend Gavin's birthday party on Saturday and had a good time. Gavin is Lil's friend from school and a bunch of her classmates got to play together on a non-school day. On Sunday we all went to the pumpkin patch so Lily could pick out her very own pumpkin. She seemed to have a good time picking out her prize.

That is about all. See you next week. Enjoy the pictures.



Lily playing with her new toy - a Leapfrog Learning Pad.

A big smile.

Checking out the new Halloween decorations.

Watching some Baby Einstein.

Checking out a goat.

More goats.

Lily in the sky without diamonds.

"I want this one."

"All three for me."

All ready for Halloween.

Dedicated Follower of Fashion

Another quiet week on the Lily front. No major milestones to report but Lily continues to eat well and seems to have fun playing with all her new birthday toys. Now that it is staying darker later, Lily is sleeping in even later and has been giving us until almost 8 am on weekends. It is very exciting.

We had relaxing weekend. Friday night we had dinner with our friend's John and Michelle and Lily had a chance to play with her friend Hayley. Hayley's brother Cole was around to supervise the fun.

Saturday Marcy had a baby shower in Wilmington so Lily and I had to fend for ourselves. We had a good time hanging out but it was very rainy so we had to stay inside rather than play outside.

Sunday we stuck around the house. Aunt Tracy came over for a visit - she is selling the house across the street. Grandma Phyllis and Grandpa Maurice came over for dinner last night so we headed off to the Italian Market.

Today Marcy was off work so Lily played hooky from school. They went over to Grandma Gail and Grandpa Tom's for dinner. Now everyone is asleep but me so goodnight.

Enjoy the pics, see you next week.



Very serious in the morning.

Not quite the stairmaster yet but she keeps trying.

One down, many to go.

Playing in her crib.

"I want to go that way."

Lily is happy Grandma Gail is feeling all better.

Baby driving and smiling.

Eating some of Uncle Ivan's food.

The pumpkins Lily is planning to carve for Halloween.

Serious in the afternoon.

New Year's Day

First off, Happy Rosh Hashana to all of Lil's Old Testament following readers.

We had another busy week in Lily-land and all continues to go well as she is growing and eating and sleeping like a champ. We had a busy week of school and playing and then a fun weekend. We had friends in the neighborhood this weekend for a little league tournament so we headed out for a little baseball watching on Satuday afternoon. Lily seemed to have a good time rolling around in the grass and seeing people closer to her size playing on the field.

The weekend was gorgeous here so on Sunday we headed out to the National Zoo for Lily's first chance to see the live animals. She is still a bit little but she seemed to notice the animals and really stared hard at them trying to figure out what was going on. A good time was had by all and we are looking forward to going back again soon.

That is all for now. Have a good week everyone.



Lil looking out the window.


Lily showing Gypsy all the stuff going on outside.


Role reversal.


Showing off her tongue.


Standing but not walking.


Ready for breakfast.


At the game.


Discussing baseball with Dad.


Riding around the Zoo in style on Mom's shoulders.


Checking out the Zoo's panda.


Long day at the zoo so a nap was in order on the way home.


Sitting up like a big girl on the Metro on the way home.